2898 THE ZooLoGist—JANUARY, 1872. 
of numbers, and expend at least a quarter of an hour in finding it. 
This might have been remedied by printing the first three or four 
letters of the generic immediately after the specific name, when the 
latter occurred more than once, ¢hus—Boisduvalii, Eup. 16; Leux, 
116; Eub. 55; Hipp. 82; Opsi. 126; and so on: at present one 
flounders in a quagmire of names, from which escape is impossible. 
I regret to pen these observations, but 1 have been solicited by 
Mr. Kirby himself to undertake the task of reviewing his labours ; 
the request implies some confidence in my judgment as well as in 
my fairness, for he would never prefer such a request to one whom 
he considered unable or unwilling to do him justice. I took up 
the volume without the slightest bias, unless in its favour, and have 
only invited attention to those supposed errors which have forced 
themselves on my notice during a protracted investigation,— 
errors which Mr. Kirby has not fallen into by neglect or inadver- 
tence, but errors which he has considered well, adopted advisedly 
and intentionally, and would fain introduce to the little world of 
entomologists as advantageous reforms. 
EpWARD NEWMAN. 
The Scilly Isles—Migratory Birds—Notes on Shooting, §c., 
during the Autumn and Winter of 1870-71. 
By F. R. Ropp, Esq. 
I venture to send you a few notes lately put together on the 
migrants observed at Scilly during the autumn of 1870 and the 
severe frosts which followed in November and December, remarking 
generally that the early autumn was characterised by the arrival of 
larger numbers than usual of the rarer Totani and Tringe, and of 
the small hard-billed birds which do not breed at the Islands, 
Snow buntings, however, which often appear in considerable flocks. 
were very scarce, and hawfinches were represented by one individual 
only. Snipes and woodcocks appeared in about the usual numbers, 
except that in the earlier flights jack snipes outnumbered the full 
by two to one, and bartailed godwits were more common than 
usual. I observed no merlins; buzzards, usually arriving in 
autumn, did not appear till January. Shorteared owls, usually 
plentiful, seem to have missed the islands altogether; I picked up 
one early in September, which appeared to have been dead some 
time, their place was, however, taken by the longeared species, 
