Letters, Extracts, Notices, l^'c. 397 



the ordinary colour in adult preserved specimens being 

 blackisli brown very slightly tinged with yellow. 



Mr. Wills has also sent two Madagascar specimens of 

 Circus macrosceles, with a note to the effect that this species 

 frequents the swampy ground around lake Itasy and " takes 

 fish as well as poultry ; '' the following are the measurements 

 of these two specimens, both of which are adult : — 



Wing. 

 in. 



Male 16-90 



Female 17-70 



A specimen of Dissodectes zoniventris sent by Mr. Wills 

 bears the following ticket, which I think is worth recording : 

 '^Eye light brown or drab, soft skin round the eyes and 

 mouth bright yellow. Two chameleons in the crop/^ 



Yours &c., 



J. H. GURNEY. 



Northrepps, Norwich, 

 May, 1889. 



Sir, — I am desirous of offering a few remarks suggested 

 by three articles in the second volume of the recently 

 published and very interesting ' Descriptive Catalogue of 

 the Birds of the Argentine Republic' 



At p. 60 of the above volume the type specimen of Buteo 

 fuliginosus , Sclater, which is now preserved in the Norwich 

 Museum, is referred to as a melanistic example of Buteo 

 swaitisoni : this was formerly ray opinion also, but a further 

 consideration of its comparatively small size leads me to 

 believe that it is really a melanistic female of Buteola bra- 

 chyura, as mentioned in 'The Ibis,' 1882, p. 340. 



At p. 66 a doubt is suggested as to the accuracy of the 

 statement made to D'Orbigny by natives of Patagonia that 

 Harpy haliaetus coronatus captures and devours the Skunk, 

 and the opinion is expressed that it is hardly probable that 

 a bird of prey would feed on that malodorous animal ; such, 

 however, appears to be the fact, as in the Report for 1887 of 

 the Department of Agriculture of the United States Govern- 

 ment, amongst many curious details of tli£ food of Raptorial 



