AMERICAN YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOW. 415 



been exhibited to the Zoological Society of London by 

 Thompson (Proc. Zool. Soc. 1835, pp. 88, 84), was placed 

 in the Museum of Trinity College, Dublin, whence it has 

 lately disappeared. Meanwhile a third example had been 

 procured in Britain, having been shot near Stackpole Court, 

 in Pembrokeshire (Zool. p. 3046), also in the autumn of 

 1832. This was submitted to the same Society (Proc. Zool. 

 Soc. 1833, p. 26) by Lord Cawdor, who then gave it to the 

 British Museum, where it now is, and the preceding figure 

 was drawn from it. The occurrence of a fourth British- 

 killed specimen, obtained in Cornwall, was announced in 

 1835, by Temminck (Man. d'Orn. iii. p. 279) and by 

 Mr. Jenyns (Man. Br. Vert. p. 155) on the information of 

 the Author, but further particulars respecting it are want- 

 ing.* Since that time Mr. Dresser exhibited to the Zoo- 

 logical Society (Proc. Zool. Soc. 1871, p. 299 1) a young 

 male, found dead in a wood by the sea, at Wallog, near 

 Aberystwith, October 26th, 1870, and sent him by its present 

 possessor, Capt. Cosens ; while Mr. Murray Mathew informs 

 the Editor that he believes a sixth was picked up dead 

 beneath the light-house on Lundy Island, in October, 1874, 

 and taken to Mr. H. Gr. Heaven for determination.! 



This bird was originally described and figured by Catesby 



* Mr. Eyton seems to have been in error, when, writing in 1836, he said 

 (Rarer Br. B. p. 24) that " Five or six specimens appear to have occurred in the 

 United Kingdom." 



t The note contains some errors, here corrected through Capt. Legge's kind- 

 ness. 



+ Another example was said (Zool. s.s. p. 2943) to have been killed in Ireland ; 

 but Lord Clermont soon after (p. 3022) referred the specimen to the American 

 Black-billed Cuckow (Coccyzus eryihrophthalmus), which it proved to be (Proc. 

 Zool. Soc. 1872, p. 681). The bird was shot at the end of September, 1871, 

 at Kilbead in the county Antrim. Only one other instance of its occurrence in 

 Europe seems to be recorded, namely, by Dr. Bolle (Journ. f. Orn. 1858, p. 457), 

 the specimen having been obtained in the plains near Lucca in 1858, and being 

 in the Museum at Pisa, where Baron de Selys-Longchamps saw it (Ibis, 1870, 

 p. 452), as testify also Dr. Salvador! (Ucc. d'ltal. p. 43) and Savi (Orn. Ital. 

 p. 299). Its admission as a "British Bird" is not to be countenanced, but it 

 may be useful to point out that while generally resembling its congener, 0. amcri- 

 canus, C. erythrophthalmus differs by having the bill wholly black, a bare red 

 space round the eyes, the back browner and no rufous on its wings. 



VOL. II. 3 H 



