﻿Letterfi, 
  Extracts, 
  Notices, 
  ^c. 
  277 
  

  

  [We 
  have 
  great 
  pleasure 
  in 
  giving 
  publieity 
  to 
  Mr. 
  Cook's 
  

   interesting 
  memorandum 
  concerning 
  a 
  story 
  universally 
  

   believed 
  on 
  the 
  Nile, 
  but, 
  so 
  far 
  as 
  we 
  know, 
  not 
  confirmed 
  

   by 
  eye-witness 
  since 
  the 
  days 
  of* 
  Herodotus 
  (Hist. 
  ii. 
  ch. 
  68), 
  

   Aristotle 
  {Hist. 
  An. 
  ix. 
  ch. 
  8), 
  and 
  Julian 
  (Nat. 
  An. 
  xii. 
  15). 
  

  

  It 
  will 
  be 
  found 
  alluded 
  to 
  by 
  Geoffrey 
  St.-IIilaire 
  (Descr. 
  

   d'Egypte, 
  ed. 
  2, 
  xxiv. 
  p. 
  439, 
  1829), 
  Mr. 
  E. 
  C 
  Taylor 
  (Ibis, 
  

   1859, 
  p. 
  52), 
  Dr. 
  A. 
  L. 
  Adams 
  (' 
  Nile 
  Valley,' 
  p. 
  5 
  J, 
  1870), 
  

   Dresser 
  (B. 
  ICurope, 
  vii. 
  p. 
  522), 
  and 
  numerous 
  other 
  writers, 
  

   but 
  not 
  as 
  confirmed 
  by 
  recent 
  observations. 
  

  

  Curiously 
  enough, 
  a 
  somewhat 
  similar 
  story 
  is 
  lold 
  of 
  the 
  

   crocodile 
  of 
  San 
  Domingo 
  [Crocodi/us 
  americanus) 
  by 
  Dcs- 
  

   courtilz 
  (Voy. 
  d'un 
  Nat. 
  iii. 
  p. 
  26, 
  1809). 
  

  

  In 
  a 
  subsequent 
  letter 
  Mr. 
  Cook 
  identifies 
  the 
  Crocodile- 
  

   bird 
  as 
  Hoplopterus 
  spinosus 
  (Shelley, 
  B. 
  Egypt, 
  p. 
  232), 
  not 
  

   as 
  Pluvianus 
  (eyijidias, 
  often 
  supposed 
  to 
  be 
  the 
  species 
  in 
  

   question. 
  I 
  have 
  applied 
  to 
  tiie 
  authorities 
  of 
  the 
  Leicester 
  

   Museum, 
  but 
  they 
  cannot 
  ascertain 
  that 
  any 
  " 
  Crocodile- 
  

   bird 
  " 
  presented 
  by 
  Mr. 
  Cook 
  is 
  now 
  in 
  that 
  collection. 
  — 
  

   Ed.] 
  

  

  Sir,— 
  In 
  the 
  last 
  part 
  of 
  'The 
  Ibis 
  ' 
  (1892, 
  p. 
  481), 
  Mr. 
  De 
  

   la 
  Touche 
  mentions, 
  in 
  his 
  list 
  of 
  Foochow 
  and 
  Swatow 
  

   birds, 
  that 
  Mr. 
  Baun 
  procured 
  a 
  specimen 
  of 
  a 
  Barbet, 
  said 
  

   to 
  have 
  been 
  shot 
  near 
  Foochow 
  (it 
  was 
  at 
  the 
  village 
  of 
  

   Puehing), 
  which 
  he 
  sent 
  to 
  mc 
  for 
  identification. 
  This 
  is 
  

   quite 
  correct. 
  In 
  December 
  1886 
  I 
  received 
  the 
  bird 
  in 
  a 
  

   parcel 
  from 
  Mr. 
  Baun, 
  and 
  I 
  immediately 
  replied, 
  telling 
  

   him 
  that 
  it 
  was 
  (as 
  Mr. 
  Sclater 
  also 
  suspected) 
  the 
  common 
  

   Malaccan 
  Megalcema 
  versicolor. 
  In 
  1890 
  I 
  showed 
  the 
  

   specimen 
  to 
  Mr. 
  Scebohm, 
  who 
  agreed 
  with 
  me 
  that 
  it 
  was 
  

   very 
  doubtful 
  whether 
  it 
  was 
  a 
  Foochow 
  bird. 
  

  

  I 
  am, 
  Sir, 
  

  

  Yours 
  &c., 
  

   Chmtiiuiia, 
  17th 
  Dec, 
  1892. 
  R. 
  Collett. 
  

  

  Sir,— 
  On 
  the 
  25th 
  and 
  26th 
  October, 
  1892, 
  I 
  visited 
  

   Dassen 
  Island, 
  about 
  33 
  miles 
  north 
  of 
  Cape 
  Town. 
  I 
  found 
  

  

  SEK. 
  VI. 
  VOL. 
  V. 
  u 
  

  

  