﻿280 
  Letters, 
  Extracts, 
  Notices, 
  ^c. 
  

  

  I 
  immediately 
  noticed 
  that 
  the 
  skin 
  of 
  the 
  example 
  of 
  Citto- 
  

   cincla 
  tricolor 
  was 
  of 
  a 
  very 
  different 
  '^ 
  make 
  " 
  from 
  that 
  of 
  

   those 
  helonging 
  to 
  C. 
  melanura, 
  and 
  I 
  have 
  no 
  doubt 
  what- 
  

   ever 
  that 
  it 
  was 
  a 
  Sumatran 
  or 
  Malaccan 
  skin, 
  wliich 
  had 
  

   accidentally 
  become 
  mixed 
  with 
  the 
  Nias 
  birds. 
  The 
  series 
  

   C. 
  melanura 
  in 
  the 
  Paris 
  Museum 
  proves 
  in 
  the 
  most 
  evident 
  

   way 
  that 
  the 
  species 
  is 
  a 
  perfectly 
  distinct 
  one 
  ; 
  there 
  is 
  not 
  

   the 
  least 
  gradual 
  transition 
  from 
  C. 
  tricolor, 
  with 
  the 
  lateral 
  

   tail-feathers 
  broadly 
  white-tipped, 
  to 
  the 
  uniform 
  black-tailed 
  

   C. 
  melanura, 
  and 
  the 
  slight 
  whitish 
  edges 
  at 
  the 
  tip 
  of 
  the 
  

   tail-feathers 
  of 
  some 
  young 
  specimens 
  of 
  the 
  latter 
  evidently 
  

   disappear 
  by 
  abrasion. 
  

  

  I 
  am, 
  Sir, 
  

  

  Yours 
  &c., 
  

   Turin, 
  Zoological 
  Museum, 
  T. 
  Salvadori. 
  

  

  2oth 
  Jan., 
  1893. 
  

  

  Sir/ 
  — 
  On 
  page 
  133 
  of 
  'The 
  Ibis' 
  for 
  January 
  I 
  observe 
  a 
  

   short 
  critique 
  on 
  a 
  paper 
  by 
  me 
  on 
  Cyanorhamphus 
  erythrotis 
  

   from 
  Antipodes 
  Island, 
  which 
  appeared 
  in 
  the 
  last 
  volume 
  

   of 
  the 
  ' 
  Transactions 
  ' 
  of 
  the 
  New 
  Zealand 
  Institute. 
  " 
  Mr. 
  

   Forbes 
  is 
  not 
  correct, 
  we 
  believe/' 
  it 
  is 
  stated, 
  '' 
  in 
  his 
  iden- 
  

   tification 
  of 
  the 
  Cyanorhamphus 
  of 
  Antipodes 
  Island 
  belonging 
  

   to 
  the 
  group 
  of 
  C. 
  nova-zealandice." 
  I 
  am 
  quite 
  ready 
  

   to 
  agree 
  with 
  Count 
  Salvadori 
  that 
  the 
  Antipodes-Island 
  

   bird 
  is 
  the 
  same 
  as 
  that 
  described 
  by 
  Mr, 
  Reischek 
  as 
  

   C. 
  hochstetteri, 
  the 
  description 
  of 
  which 
  I 
  regret 
  I 
  had 
  over- 
  

   looked 
  when 
  writing 
  the 
  paper 
  referred 
  to. 
  I 
  am 
  not, 
  how- 
  

   ever, 
  prepared 
  to 
  admit 
  that 
  C. 
  hochstetteri 
  is 
  distinct 
  from 
  

   C. 
  erythrotis. 
  At 
  all 
  events, 
  though 
  Count 
  Salvadori 
  con- 
  

   siders 
  them 
  different 
  (and 
  his 
  opinion 
  is 
  one 
  to 
  be 
  dissented 
  

   from 
  only 
  with 
  the 
  greatest 
  caution), 
  he 
  could 
  not, 
  when 
  com- 
  

   paring 
  them 
  along 
  with 
  me, 
  point 
  out 
  any 
  I'eal 
  distinguishing 
  

   characters 
  beyond 
  a 
  slight 
  difference 
  in 
  the 
  shade 
  of 
  the 
  

   yellow, 
  and 
  the 
  fact 
  that 
  they 
  had 
  different 
  habitats. 
  I 
  feel 
  

   confident 
  that, 
  when 
  the 
  skeleton 
  of 
  C. 
  erythrotis 
  is 
  compared 
  

   with 
  that 
  of 
  the 
  Antipodes-Island 
  bird, 
  the 
  same 
  charac- 
  

   teristic 
  strength 
  in 
  the 
  wing- 
  and 
  leg-bones 
  seen 
  in 
  the 
  latter 
  

  

  