Letters, Extracts, Notices, ^c. 285 



nor could the sex be ascertained, but it is believed to be a 

 young male of the season. It was shot about half a mile 

 east of Arbroath, as it was flying inland across the road 

 leading along the top of the cliffs, on the 28th December, 

 1887, at about 2.30 p.m., the wind blowing a slight gale from 

 the south at the time ; there had been severe frost previous 



to this. 



Yours &c., 



H. W. Drummond Hay. 



Note on Zapornia spilonota. — In ' The Ibis ' for 1877 

 (p. 191) the late Mr. H. Durnford gave a figure and descrip- 

 tion of an ArgentinCiRail, of which he obtained a specimen near 

 Buenos Ayres, as Porzana spiloptera ( = Zaj}onia spiluptera, 

 Burm. MS.). Prof. Burmeister now informs us that this 

 bird is identical with Rallus salinasi of Philippi (Wiegm. 

 Arch. 1857, pt. i. p. 262), described from Chilian specimens. 

 Prof. Burmeister has lately received a female example of this 

 Rail killed near Buenos Ayres, off the nest, along with the 

 nest and eggs. — - 



Ornithological Travellers. — Prof. J. B. Steere, ('.M.Z.S., 

 who made good collections in the Philippine Islands in 1874 

 (see Trans. Linn. Soc. London, ser. 2, vol. i. p. 307, 1877), 

 has obtained a year's leave of absence from the University 

 of Ann Arbor, and, in company with three students interested 

 in zoology, has returned to that interesting group of islands 

 to study and collect. His principal work is with the Birds, 

 although he is also making large collections in Mammals, 

 Reptiles, Mollusca, and Radiates. 



Mr. P. D. Godman, F.R.S., has been passing the winter 

 in Mexico, and has taken with him from the United States 

 an excellent assistant, Mr. H. H. Smith, who was lately in 

 Central Brazil, where he made an extensive collection of 

 birds. Mr. Godman's head-quarters are the City of Mexico, 

 whence he is making frequent excursions into the less-explored 

 districts of the Republic. 



Mr. L. Wray, jun., of the Perak Government Museum, 

 writes from there, on January 7th last, that he has just re- 



SER. V. VOL. VI. X 



