THE ZooLocist—APRIL, 1876. 4881 
volume of eight hundred closely-printed pages in 1874. Professor Blasius 
groups his European species in seven Orders—1, Accipitres; 2, Clamatores; 
3, Oscines; 4, Columbe ; 5, Galline; 6, Gralle; and 7, Anseres. In the 
second of these appear the Cypselide or Swifts, and in the third the 
Hirundinide or Swallows. Captain Coues begins with the Order Passeres, 
adopting the grcups Oscines and Clamatores as Suborders; he then places 
the Family Hirundinide in the former, and the Family Cypselide dn 
the latter. The species Hirundo pelasgia (or more correctly Chetura 
pelasgica), which he calls by the English name of “ Chimney Swift,” is of 
course ranged with the swifts. Blasius places the Cypselide and Hirundinide 
as following Families, the one at the end and the other at the beginning of 
their respective Orders. -Coues places many other Families between them ; 
his sequence of Families shows that the Swifts naturally intervene between 
the Goatsuckers (Caprimulgida) and the Humming Birds (Trochilida). No 
notice is taken of the superficial resemblance of Swallows and Swifts— 
a resemblance which I have ventured to call “ extomeous” as distinguished 
from the intrinsic resemblance between Hirundo urbica and H. rustica, 
which I have denominated “endomeous.” I am sure Captain Hadfield 
will excuse these hastily-written remarks, penned on the spur of the moment, 
in the hope they may be of some service to young readers.—Kdward 
Newman ; March 7, 1876.] 
Stock Dove breeding in October.—On the 2nd of October, 1875, I found 
in a hollow ash tree a stock dove’s nest containing two newly-laid eggs.— 
C. Matthew Prior. 
Loss and Reproduction of a Pigeon’s Beak.—In the May number of 
the ‘ Zoologist’ for 1874 I described and figured the head of a shortfaced 
tumbler (S. S. 3999), to which the character of “shortfaced” could not be 
applied. It was lucus a non lucendo ;-it was the play of ‘Hamlet’ with the 
character of Hamlet left out. The upper mandible was exactly an inch in 
length, the lower fully three quarters of an inch; the two crossed like those 
of a crossbill, and as the extremities were sharp as needles the poor bird 
could not feed on peas or grain, and as he appeared in imminent danger of 
starvation I had both mandibles cut to a becoming length, or rather short- 
ness; and then the bird managed his peas and wheat almost as well as 
ever, and soon recovered its usual plumpness, together with sundry love- 
making propensities at which he had formerly been proficient. During the 
autumn of the same year the upper mandible again exhibited a disposition 
to elongate, and before October was out had acquired a length which 
rendered the picking up of peas impossible; so he was provided with bread 
soaked in milk, which he ate ravenously, and which seemed to agree with 
his constitution admirably ; but before Christmas the upper mandible, which 
grew excessively slender, gave way. I can give no other account of the 
calamity, but that the beak broke off. I never found it—perhaps never 
