Letters, Extracts from Correspondence, Notices, ^^c. 239 



or less kindred species. For instance, ' Chapungo ' the Zambe- 

 sian name for Helotarsiis ecaudatus, and ' Papango/ the Malagash 

 name for Milvus parasiticus ; ' Sungwe/ the Zambesian for 

 Nectarinia amethystina, and ' Schonwee/ the Malagash for Nec- 

 tarinia angladiana ; ' Khanga/ Zambesian for Numida mitrata, 

 and ' Akonga/ Malagash for Numida tiarata -, ' Soriri/ Zambe- 

 sian for Dendrocygna personata, and ' Chururu/ Malagash for 

 Dendrocygna viduata — the last, evidently, from its cry. It cer- 

 tainly shows the African descent of a portion of the population 

 of Madagascar ; and the language is probably kept up by occa- 

 sional fresh importations of slaves from the continent." 



It gives us sincere satisfaction to announce that Mr. Gould 

 has in preparation a ' Handbook of the Birds of Australia,' the 

 first volume, at least, of which we may hope to see published in 

 the course of a few months. As all our readers know — and 

 many of them from their own experience — it has long been a 

 matter of regret that no handy book on the ornithology of the 

 great island-continent existed; and the recent appearance of 

 Dr. Jerdon's work on the ' Birds of India ' has only made the 

 want of such a book more deeply felt. This want it is Mr. 

 Gould's intention to supply, and we need scarcely say that there 

 is no ornithologist living who is so competent to the task. The 

 new Handbook vdll not be merely a reprint of the letter-press 

 from the author's well-known and larger work on the 'Birds of 

 Australia' — but will contain much more original information on 

 the subject, which has been furnished him by his numerous cor- 

 respondents in that country, as well as a good deal of other 

 material from independent sources. We are sure that the 

 execution of this project will add largely to the obligations 

 under which naturalists lie to Mr. Gould ; while we think we 

 can as confidently rely on its success, in whatever aspect it be 

 regarded. 



Professor S. F. Baird informs us that Mr. R. Kennicott, 

 whose oological explorations in Arctic America have before been 

 noticed in the ' Ibis' (1860, p. 309 ; 1862, p. 307), is starting 

 on another enterprise. " He has always wished to make a 



