4 



578 Letters, Announcements, &^c. 



Tudor House, Champion Hill, S.E. 



Aug-ust 17, 1883. 



Sirs, — As I find that you have referred in 'The Ibis ^ to 

 what I told Dr. Pechuel Loesche at Banana respecting the 

 presence of Balceniceps rex on the Cunene^ I beg leave to 

 send you the following extract from my diary respecting this 

 bird: — "^^ River Cunene, near Humbi (lat. 16° 50' S.), August 

 16th 1882. There are here many acres of dried-up marshes 

 and occasional lagoons shaded with fine trees. On these 

 raeches of still water innumerable wading birds are seen, and 

 have a boldness of demeanour only accountable for by the 

 supposition that man rarely comes here. Pelicans, Saddle- 

 billed and Marabou Storks, Balaniceps rex, and Crowned 

 Cranes are to be distinctly seen amid the short grass of the 

 scattered pools/^ &c., &c. And further on : " On these sand- 

 banks, amid the sleeping crocodiles, and apparently in no fear 

 of them, were standing one or two whale-headed Storks and 

 Spur-winged Geese. ^' On my return from the Cunene to 

 Lord Mayors hunting-veldt, about 40 miles ofl', I mentioned 

 Balaniceps to him among the birds I had observed, and I 

 believe he subsequently saw it there himself. 



I am. Yours &c. 



H. H. Johnston. 



Smithsonian Institvition, Washington, 

 Aug-ust 18, 1883. 



Sirs, — On page 350 of the July number of 'The Ibis'' 

 Mr. Saunders refers, to a specimen of the Cinereous Shear- 

 water {Puffinus kuhli) in one of the mounted groups of the 

 American section at the International Fisheries Exhibition, 

 and, with reference to the locality of the specimen in question 

 (Beyrout, Syria), suggests that "probably there has been a 

 mistake in sorting the specimens." Having been charged 

 with the selection and preparation of the National Museum 

 exhibit of North-American aquatic and fish-eating birds, an 

 explanation may be expected from me as to why this foreign 

 specimen is included. 



As may be seen upon reference to the official catalogue 



