348 Mr. H. Saunders on the Birds in the 



Sojnateria fischeri, a species which is also generically distin- 

 uislied as Arctonetta and Lampronetta, is another North- 

 American bird which crosses to Siberia : the coloration of 

 the head in the male is remarkable for the quaintness of its 

 arrangement^ and the spectacle-mark is well defined m the 

 female. Steller^s Duck is represented, as a matter of course, 

 the original specimens having come from Kamtschatka. 

 The Brent Goose is the American form, Bemicla nigricans ; 

 and those who maintain the distinctness of the American 

 and European forms of the White -fronted Goose have now 

 an excellent opportunity for deciding whether the Pitlekaj 

 bird is Anser gambeli or A. albifrons. A couple of the hand- 

 some Emperor Goose, Bemicla canagica, complete the list of 

 the more important Anatidse. 



The only Cormorant represented is Graculus bicristatus ; 

 but three species of Divers were obtained, namely, the 

 Black-throated, the Red-throated, and that Pacific form of 

 the Great Northern Diver which is distinguished from 

 Colymbus glacialis by its larger and differently shaped 

 yellowish-white bill and some differences in plumage, and 

 which has received the name of Colymbus adamsi. Messrs. 

 Blakiston and Fryer will be interested in learning that I ob- 

 tained a female specimen of this species shot off Nagasaki, 

 Japan, from Capt, St. John, when in command of H.M.S. 

 ' Sylvia.^ Of the Mormonidse, Phaleris cristatella and Cice- 

 ronia microceros were obtained at Lawrence Island, and Mor- 

 mon cirrhata and M. corniculata at Behring^s Island, after 

 the liberation of the ship. Of the Laridse in the same case, 

 there is only one which calls for any special remark ; but 

 that bird is the gem of the whole collection, namely Rho do- 

 st ethia rosea, Macgill., shot by Almquist on the 1st July 

 1879. It is a bird hatched the previous year, and a dark 

 mottled band runnmg down the wing-coverts and tertials 

 indicates immaturity ; the wedge-shaped tail is, however, 

 pure white, and the black collar is quite visible at the back 

 of the neck, although indistinct in front. This is a very im- 

 portant specimen, as it completes our knowledge of the 

 various stages of this bird's plumage : the young in down 

 and the egg have still to be discovered. According to the 



