178 



name, one of which had been overlooked. The gunners on the 

 coast of Sussex are lamiliar with this faet and have noticed that 

 the smaller and darker race arrives about a fortnight later than 

 the larger one and when this last already possesses eggs or 

 young, whilst the smaller race apparently continues its migra- 

 tion further northward to breed. I am not aware if the larger 

 one is found in southern Europe; but now that the existence 

 of two kinds is known, light will doubtless be thrown on the 

 matter. I have a specimen of each from Brighton for comparison, 

 and hitherto all the Malta specimens agree vsåth the smaller and 

 darker race. Within the last month I have shot two of these 

 here, agreeing with the smaller Brighton bird in every particular 

 of size and colour. Which is the true hiaticula of authors it is 

 at present difficult to determine.« Hertil føjer Prof. Newton i en 

 Fodnote følgende: »We have been for some time at a loss how 

 to regard the smaller Ringed Plover which yearly makes its 

 appearance on the south coast of England. It probably bears 

 the same relation to Aegialites hiaticula that Tringa schinzi does 

 to T. alpina. In some respects it answers to the description of 

 Charadrius intermedius of Ménétries (Cat, Voy. au Caucase, p. 53); 

 but that bird should have only the base of the under man- 

 dible orange and the feet ash-colour, whereas the specimens we 

 have seen of the smaller race of A. hiaticula have always the 

 base of the upper mandible orange al so, and the feet yellow. 

 Notwithstanding these discrepancies and a few others, we are 

 almost inclined to think this was the bird M. Ménétries had 

 before him when describing his Charadrius intermedius, which 

 he found to be not rare on the river Lenkoranko, near the 

 Caspian. 



In the last line of his description, where he says, »il a du 

 reste la taille beaucoup plus svelte que le C. minor«, there is a 

 manifest misprint, C. hiaticula being doubtless the bird intended 

 to be referred lo. We are indebted to Mr. Gurney for a speci- 

 men of a Ringed Plover from Natal, which seems to agree in 

 every essential respect with those of the small race killed at 

 Brighton, or rather Slioreham«. 



Endelig henleder Mr. J. H. Gurney i »Notes on Mr. Layard's 

 Birds of South Africa«, ibid. 1868 Side 255, Opmærksomheden 

 paa Newtons her anførte Fodnote og anvender Ménétries's Navn 

 paa den af ham trufne og i Ibis 1860 Side 218 omtalte Præste- 



