332 Letters, Announcements, §c. 



transit. This may certainly be called the birdless region of 

 the ocean. 



I take this opportunity of saying a word with reference to 

 Mr. W. T. Blanford's remark (Ibis, 1873, p. 218) that I 

 " must be added to the number of those who have described 

 this bird (Elanus melanopterus) as laying white eggs." I re- 

 ceived the egg described (Ibis, 1868, p. 242) from my friend 

 Mr. William Atmore, and I have no doubt he correctly iden- 

 tified it ; but, from the experience I subsequently acquired, I 

 believe that white is not the normal colour of the eggs of this 

 bird. Mr. Kotze, my son, and myself took many specimens 

 on the Berg river in 1869; all were coloured, some more, 

 some less. 



My impression is that the amount of colour depends on the 

 strength of the bird, and that the white egg sent to Atmore was 

 laid by a sickly bird. My son took a nest of Circus maurus 

 within sight of our windows; the eggs were nicely coloured. 

 A few days afterwards, seeing the birds still about the nest, 

 he again visited and found another clutch of eggs, but much 

 lighter in colour ; a third time he robbed the nest, and the 

 eggs were pure white. I think this shows exhaustion on the 

 part of the bird, each successive laying being whiter than the 

 preceding. 



I am, Sir, yours &c, 



E. L. Layard. 



Sir. — It may interest the readers of 'The Ibis' to know 

 that during the present winter the Firth of Forth has been 

 visited by an extraordinary flock of Sea-Gulls of various species 

 and evidently of arctic parentage. Between the towns of 

 Kincardine and Alloa the estuary has been frequented by 

 swarms of Kittiwakes, the surface of the water being at times 

 literally covered with birds. While on wing the multitude 

 was so great as to appear, when seen against the opposite 

 woods of Dunmore, like a heavy fall of snow. These Kitti- 

 wakes were principally in immature plumage, not more than 

 4 per cent, of adult birds being observable. On the 27th 

 December last, accompanied by one or two friends, I visited 



