Letters, Extracts, and Notes. 389 



Several years after I had identified this example I obtained 

 another from the same source, also brought to Dundee by an 

 Arctic whaler. This I did not record at the time, but 

 forwarded to the Museum at Edinburgh, where I thought 

 that it would be appreciated. Unfortunately, it has been 

 stored away, possibly as merely an Iceland Gull, and I have 

 not had an opportunity of examining it again. At the time 

 I felt pretty certain of my identification, which I still believe 

 to have been correct, as it was based on the same grounds as 

 in the case of the former specimen, accepted by our highest 

 authority on the Laridce, and among other indications on 

 the very pale but perfectly visible slate-coloured pattern on 

 the primaries — best seen when these were held up against the 

 light. It would be interesting to learn if further specimens 

 of this Gull have been received in Britain of late years. 



I am, Sirs, yours &c, 



Dunipace House, J- A. Harvie-Brown. 



Larbert. 



February 1906. 



Sirs, — Count Salvadori, our great authority on the 

 Chenomorphse, has, I am pleased to say, done me the honour 

 of publishing, in ' The Ibis J for 1905 (p. 528), some highly 

 valuable remarks on my book. I sincerely appreciate the 

 eminent ornithologist's opinions, and if I think it necessary 

 to give a few explanations respecting some of his remarks, it 

 is solely in the hope that these may prove of general interest 

 and that they may be useful to future students of this group 

 of Birds. 



Before, however, speaking of the scientific questions 

 touched upon by Count Salvadori, I wish to point out that the 

 lack of conciseness in parts of my work, justly noticed by the 

 writer, is partly due to the translation, which, faithful enough 

 as a whole, has beeu prepared by a non-ornithologist. In this 

 no doubt lies the chief cause of some expressions not render- 

 ing clearly enough what I wished to say. It is true that I 

 revised the English translation before sending it to press, 

 and compared it with my Russian text as well as I could, but 



