1865.] MR. A. NEWTON ON SOME DIDINE BONES. 717 
from most of its allies in a similar manner. Two, if not more, such 
instances will at once occur to every ornithologist. They are those 
of the Capercally (Tetrao urogallus) and the Great Bustard ( Otis 
tarda). In both these birds, I believe, the disproportion in size be- 
tween the sexes is not greater than is observable in the remains of 
the species now before the Society. But then another idea is called 
up: Teérao urogallus departs from the usual habits of the Tetrao- 
nine by being polygamous; and (though I am aware that the state- 
ment has been disputed) the same is said to be the case with Otis 
tarda. Indeed I am inclined to suppose that with all species of birds 
the practice of polygamy is accompanied by a more or less consider- 
able disproportion in the size of the sexes. Whether the converse 
proposition is true I am not ina position to declare. The account 
given of the ‘Solitaire’ (and that these are the bones of Solitaires 
there can be, I believe, no reasonable doubt) by Leguat, and quoted 
at length from the old translation by Strickland, leaves it, I think, 
an open question whether this bird was polygamous or not, though 
that able naturalist (p. 54) considers it to have had monogamous 
habits ; and certainly the statement of Leguat, that the male birds 
assisted in incubation, seems to confirm this view. The question is 
one which is not likely to meet with a solution now; but I would 
remark that it bears very little on the affinities of the bird, since a 
consideration of the cases I have cited of the Capercally and the 
Great Bustard shows that polygamous species may be very closely 
allied to others which are monogamous, and therefore, even if it 
could be proved that the Solitaire came under the former category, 
the fact would scarcely affect the theory of its Columbine affinities. 
The collection of bones I now exhibit consists of specimens which 
may thus be roughly enumerated :— 
Large Size. Small Size. 
Right. Left. Right. Left. 
Benin 4 22. bose os, 4 5 2 4 
Wilts Se et tai HA 7 8 9 7 
Fibule bas LANs 2 0 0 0 
Tarso-metatarsi.......... 5 5 0 6 
Median digital phalanx.... 1? 0 0 0 
Bummer ace tention Hn 2 1 2 1 
Wihtees ai. SSH ghey A: segeyh 0 0 1 
Rated Fdseads Bello Lega 0 1 0° 1 
Coracoid (anterior portion) . 0 0 1 0 
Portions of pelvis ........ l 3 
Some of the specimens, I must state, are not to be classed as above 
without hesitation, Though the difference of the extremes in size on 
either side is very great, there is a not inconsiderable number which 
are not so easily assigned ; and of these most appear, from unmistake- 
able characters, to be the bones of fully adult birds. But, again, in 
the case of Tetrao urogallus it is well known that the same thing is 
to be observed. The adult males of that species vary, even in the 
same locality, greatly in size, to whatever cause the fact be owing, 
