258 Letters, Extracts, Notices, &;c. 



tell you that I possess the head, wing, and leg of a Penguin 

 [Spheniscus mayellanicus) which was found dead on the sea- 

 shore in the province of Rio Grande do Sul, in the neigh- 

 bourhood of Rio Grande^ by my friend Dr. H. v. Jhering. 



Yours 8:c., 



Hans v. Berlepsch. 



United States National Museum, 



Washington, January 24, 1889. 



Sir, — Mr. W. R. Ogilvie-Graut, in the last number of 

 ' The Ibis,^ has contributed an exceedingly valuable paper 

 on the species of the genus Platalea, which I have read with 

 great interest and satisfaction. It was highly gratifying to 

 find the questions which I put in my paper on the Japanese 

 Herodiones answered so ably, and to learn that I had been, in 

 the main, correct in my interpretation of Platalea minor. It 

 is evident that the excellent material at the command of 

 Mr. Ogilvie-Grant could not have fallen into better hands. 



On page 33 Mr. Ogilvie-Grant, after some flattering words 

 in regard to my work, says that his own investigations have 

 on several points resulted in conclusions quite the opposite 

 to those arrived at by me. It seems that one of these points 

 is in regard to the bareness of the face of the young Spoon- 

 bills, the other being the question as to the distinctness of 

 P. leucorodia and P. major. I believe this to be a misunder- 

 standing, for, so far as I can see, our views are not at all 

 opposite. I agree completely with Mr. Ogilvie-Grant, and 

 I think he agrees with me. 



It will be seen from what I have said, p. 277, in fine 

 (U. S. Nat. Mus. X. 1887), that I regard the immature birds 

 as having the naked space of face and throat more reduced 

 than have the old birds. But in the sentence quoted by 

 Mr. Ogilvie-Grant I do not speak of what I term the immature 

 birds, or the young birds, but of " the very youngest birds '' 

 as compared with '^ the older ones ;" and these^ as Mr. 

 Ogilvie-Grant, on the very same page, admits, have '^nearly 

 the whole face and throat naked. ^' I wrote the sentence in 

 question with special reference to a European specimen before 



