1893.] DATES OF DELIVERY OF THE ' PKOCEEDIXGS.' 435 



May 2, 1893. 

 Sir W. H. Flower, K C.B., LL.D., F.E.S., President, in the 



Chair. 



The Secretar}^ read the followiug report ou the additions to the 

 Society's Menagerie during the month of April 1893 : — 



The total number of registered additions to the Society's Mena- 

 gerie during the month of April was 130, of which 58 were by 

 presentation, 18 by birth, 24 by purchase, 18 were received in 

 exchange, and 12 ou deposit. The total number of departures 

 during the same period, by death and removals, was 99. 



Amongst these special attention may be called to : — 



1. A young male Orang (Simui satr/ms) brought home from 

 Singapore, and presented April 19th by Thomas Workman, Esq., 

 of Belfast and Singapore. 



2. A White-bellied Hedgehog (Erinaceus alliventer), from Somali- 

 land, presented by II. W. Seton-Kerr, Esq., F.Z.S., April 241h. 

 This species is new to the Collection. 



3. A female Gibbon, brought home from North Borneo, and 

 presented by Leicester P. Beaufort, Esq., April 25tb. This Gibbon 

 is generally of a dark ashy colour with a black patch on the crown, 

 and blackish on the lower surface and inner sides of the limbs. 1 

 am inclined to reft^r it to one of the varieties of Hylohates muelleri, 

 Martin. It has been placed along with the male Hainan Gibbon 

 {Hylohates hainamis), received Nov. 1st, 1892 (see P. Z. S. 1892, 

 p. 541), and they agree well together. 



Mr. Sclater called attention to the protrusion of a fleshy mass 

 from the cloaca occasionally exhibited by the Greater Vasa Parrot 

 (Coracopsis vasa), as recorded by him, P. Z. S. 1884, pp. 410, 5G2 ; 

 and stated that, owing to the kindness of tlie Hon. Henry S. 

 Littleton, of 22 Eutland Gate, he had himself lately had an 

 opportunity of observing another case of this curious phenomenon. 



A bird of this species, for several years in that gentleman's 

 possession, was stated to be in the habit of exhibiting this appear- 

 ance every spring, and did so for some time in Mr. Sclater's 

 presence on the 28th iilt. Mr. Sclater was able to make a careful 

 examination of the bird, and had convinced himself that the 

 strange appearance was caused by the protrusion of the inner 

 membrane of the lower portion of the. cloaca, which was abnormally 

 swollen at this time of year, and could be protruded and withdrawn 

 at the will of the bird. Mr. Sclater was able to effect its partial 

 protrusion after withdrawal by pressure on the cloaca. He had 

 no doubt the bird was a female, as in the other cases previously 

 observed. The extraordinary point was that no exactly similar 

 phenomenon was known to occur in any other species of bird. 



Mr. Sclater laid on the table the following List of the dates of 

 the receipt from the printers of the sheets of the Society's ' Pro- 

 ceedings ' from 1831 to ] 859 inclusive, which had been drawn up 



