58 Mr. R. Swinhoe on Amoy Ornithology. 



sets down as immature ; all that he saw were whole-coloui*ed, 

 the females having the white belly-band. There may, however, 

 be little use in introducing this question, as it may have been 

 satisfactorily settled long ago, which, through want of references 

 I have no means of ascertaining. About the stated differences 

 in the colour of the bill and feet of this species I am troubled. 

 Burton's adult birds in the breeding-season had dirty yellowish- 

 white bills with red gular pouches, and dark feet. Now it is 

 impossible to suppose that the bill and feet at any other season 

 of the year could change to red. Two distinct species must 

 be indicated by these very distinct characters. It is likely 

 enough that this has already been noted, and that one of these 

 forms constitutes the new species of Mr. Gould, to which Bona- 

 parte in his ' Conspectus ' also refers*. Mr. Salvin does not 

 state the colour of the bill and legs of his Honduras species ; 

 but is it possible that the same species could be described by 

 one man as " nigro coracinus, splendens," and by another as 

 " dark metallic chocolate-brown " ? The Honduras bird may 

 be yet another species ! With the opportunities that Mr. Salvin 

 had, I wonder that he did not give us a study of this wonderful 

 genus, which has been the subject of so many fables, especially 

 in France. These remarks, however, may be behind date. I 

 could add, in conclusion, that there is a great difference in the 

 position of the wings in the live bird from what obtains in skins 

 and drawings. In skins the humerus is generally removed, and, 

 the ulna being drawn inwards, the carpal joint is thrown forwards 

 towards the head, and the wings lie flat to the sides, their tips not 

 extending to the middle of the tail. All the drawings that I have 

 seen reproduce this unnatural appearance. In our live bird the 

 elbow stood well out, giving considerable convexity to the wing, 

 the carpal joint was not carried beyond the shoulder, and the 

 tips of the wing lay crossed over the tail and extended to within 

 one third of an inch of the tail-tip. 



New to the Amoy list, on the 13th April I had brought to 

 me a Limosa melanura in partial summer plumage. Its bill was 

 slightly rugose near the tip ; claw of the middle toe long, curved, 



* [It appears that Mr. Gould has not yet felt sufficient confidence iu 

 this supposed third species of Frigate-bird to describe it. — Ed.J 



