100 " The Birds of Australia." [,sf"oct. 



jnela}ioccphalus\ found in Western North America from Alaska to 

 Montery in California. We are aware that certain American ornithologists 

 separate the common Turnstone of the Old World from that found in North 

 and South America, giving them different sub-specific names ; but the 

 difference relied upon appears to be nothing more than individual variation, 

 and anyone who is familiar with the appearance of the Turnstone at all 

 seasons of the year will be aware that the plumage of the old and young 

 both in summer and winter shows considerable variation. Mr. Mathews 

 would have done well to point out that the larger of the two figures on his 

 plate is an immature bird. The same remark applies to his plate of 

 C/iaradrtus gcoffroyi. The well-known Grey Plover, Australian specimens 

 of which were properly recognized by Gould, Sharpe, Ramsay, and others, 

 as Squatarola helvetica, is renamed by Mr. Mathews, although, like so 

 many others of the wading birds {Li/meola), it is found nearly all over the 

 world, and the variations of plumage to which it is subject may be safely 

 attributed to the age of the bird, and the time of the year at which it may 

 happen to be obtained. As in the breeding season it has the whole of the 

 under parts jet black, and in the winter pure white, naturally the inter- 

 mediate stages show great variation. 



" Some very beautiful Sand-Plovers are figured in part 2 of vol. iii., 

 including the Red-capped Dottrel, the Hooded Dottrel, and the Black- 

 fronted Dottrel. Amongst the larger Sandpipers two very striking species 

 are the Banded Stilt — with pure white head and neck, a chestnut pectoral 

 band, back and wings black, and flanks white — and the Red-necked Avocet, 

 which has the whole of the headend neck chestnut, the wings black with a 

 white bar, the back, tail, and under parts pure white. The last-named is 

 widely distributed in Australia, being found in Queensland, New South 

 Wales, Victoria, South Australia, and Tasmania. Why it should receive a 

 new name in Western Australia, as proposed by Mr. Mathews, will puzzle 

 those of his readers who happen to be acquainted with the species. 



" The smaller Sandpipers may be conveniently grouped in two genera, 

 Totanus and Tri?iga — the former characterized by having a hard bill, 

 semipalmated toes, and a barred tail ; the latter a soft, sensitive bill, toes 

 cleft to the base, and the tail not barred. Familiar examples of Totanus 

 are the Greenshank, Redshank, and Green and Wood Sandpipers ; amongst 

 those of the genus Tringa are the Knot, Purple Sandpiper, Dunling, Little 

 Stint, Temminck's Stint, Curlew Sandpiper, and many others. These are 

 ready marks of distinction, yet we note that Mr. Mathews, contrary to the 

 general practice, places the Green Sandpiper (with a barred tail) in the 

 genus 7 ri/iga, thus upsetting" one's preconceived notions respecting the 

 classification of these birds. 



" It seems very ungracious to find fault with an author who has bestowed 

 so much labour in the preparation of a very beautiful work (so far as the 

 plates are concerned), but he so often deliberately runs counter to the 

 accepted opinions of naturalists more experienced than himself, and creates 

 so much confusion by changing names that have been in use for many 

 generations, that it is not possible to give uncjualified praise to the result of 

 his undertaking." 



Stray Feathers. 



Charcoal in Finches' Nests. — Mr. H. G. Barnard, who is col- 

 lecting for me on the west of the Gulf of Carpentaria, has lately 

 forwarded several clutches of eggs of Poephila personata, and he 

 mentions the curious fact, which I have not previously seen 

 recorded, that in every case the birds place pieces of charcoal in 

 the nest along with the eggs. The charcoal is in small lumps, 



