348 Zoological Society. 



It is a beautiful sight to see a numerous flock on the wing ; all ap- 

 pears confusion when they are first disturbed and rise in the air : 

 they cross each other in the flight, and one would think from below 

 they could not avoid coming in contact ; but scarcely have they 

 reached a height of 80 or 100 feet, when order is restored, and they 

 begin flying in circles, rising with each circle higher and higher. 

 When on a more extensive journey, they fly in a horizontal line, and 

 change the leader like the cranes. When feeding on the savannahs, 

 a party is always on the alert while the others seek for their food. 



The Macusis call them Tarakamu, the Brazilians Juju, the Ara- 

 waks MoRA-CoYASEHAA, which signifies spirit of the Mora tree 

 (Mora excelsa, Benth.), the Warraus Doih. 



[To be continued.] 



Mr. Cuming, some letters from whom, while at Manilla, were 

 given in the 1st vol, of Annals, pp. 57 and 147, we are most happy 

 to state has lately arrived in London ; bringing with him, as we 

 understand, very extensive collections of the animals and plants 

 ■found in the Philippine islands. Of shells, the quantity is large ; 

 there are said to be a very great proportion of new species. He has 

 also brought alive, and presented to the Zoological Society, a fine 

 specimen of a new species of Gibbon, a species of Paradoxurus, a 

 large Flying Squirrel (Pteromys nitidus^, the Argus Pheasant, a 

 Fire-backed Pheasant, a Hornbill, &c. 



PROCEEDINGS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES. 



ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



Sept. 10, 1839. — William Yarrell, Esq., Vice-President, in the Chair. 



The following letter, addressed by M. Baillon to Mr. Waterhouse, 

 was read. It is dated Abbeville, July 16, 1839 : — 



" M. De la Motte has just informed me that when he had the 

 pleasure of seeing you in London you expressed a wish to know the 

 name of a new species of Goose which I described in 1833 in the 

 catalogue of the birds observed in the department of the Somme, and 

 which I have inserted in the ' Memoirs of the Society of Emulation 

 of Abbeville.' To this bird I gave the name Anser brachyrhynchus , 

 because it appeared to me that one of its most striking characters 

 consisted in the shortness of its beak. This species has been sent 

 by me, under that name, to the museums at Paris, Turin, Mayence, 



