Letters, Extracts, Notices, l^c. 479 



After a vote of thauks to the Chairman the Meeting 

 adjourned. 



The Annual Dinner, subsequently held at the Cafe Royal, 

 was attended by twenty-seven Members and guests. 



The International Ornithological Co?igress. — The Inter- 

 national Ornithological Congress of 1891, held at Budapest 

 on the 1 7th of May last, was attended, we regret to say, by 

 only two Englishmen — Dr. R. Bowdler Sharpe and Mr. C. 

 G. Danford. Two other Members of the B. O. U. who had 

 intended to go to the Meeting were unexpectedly detained at 

 the last moment. From the report given in ^Nature' 

 (June 18th, 1891), and from what Dr. Sharpe told us at the 

 last Meeting of the Zoological Society, we learn that the 

 Meeting was well attended and proved to be a great success. 

 The Presidents selected were Prof. Victor Fatio, of Geneva, 

 and Dr. Otto Herman, M.P. Amongst the Vice-Presidents 

 were Dr. R. Blasius, Prof. Brusina, Prof. Collett, Dr. Finscli, 

 Major Alex. v. Homeyer, Dr. A. B. Meyer, Dr. E. v. Mid- 

 dendorff. Dr. E. Oustalet, Victor, Ritter Tschusi zu Schmid- 

 hoffen, and other well-known ornithologists. The Congress 

 was divided into four sections : — (1) Systematic, under the 

 Presidency of Dr. Bowdler Sharpe and Prof. Claus; (2) Bi- 

 ology and Oology, President Dr. R. Blasius; (3) Avigeo- 

 graphia. President Dr. Palacky; and (4) Economic Orni- 

 thology, President Major A. v. Homeyer. On the 18th 

 papers were read, in the Systematic Section, by Prof. Klug 

 on some points in the anatomy of the stomach of birds, and 

 by Dr. Bowdler Sharpe on the general classification of birds. 

 Of this last important memoir we hope to give an account in 

 out next number. The remainder of the time of the Sys- 

 tematic Section appears to have been mainly devoted to the 

 consideration of the rules of nomenclature put forward by a 

 Committee consisting of Prof. Mobius, Dr. Reichenow, 

 Graf v. Berlepsch, Dr. A. B. Meyer, and Dr. W. Blasius. 

 The recommendations of this Committee, which were adopted 

 almost in their entirety, we are told, after a two days' dis- 

 cussion, involve, amongst other points, the recognition of 



