144, Letters, Announcements, &c. 
is a very fine example of Aquila rapax, Temm., otherwise 
called Aguila nevioides ; and in size I do not think it exceeds 
several others of that species that I have seen. 
Yours &c., 
E. CavenpisH Taytor. 
November 11, 1879. 
Sirs,—In ‘ The Ibis’ for 1875, at p. 518, I recorded the 
fact that Mr. Edward Fountaine, of Eastern Norfolk, possessed 
two young Snowy Owls (Nyctea scandiaca) bred in his aviary 
in July of that year. 
These young birds are still alive, and are a male and female ; 
the latter is paired with another male, and laid eggs during 
the present summer ; but they did not prove fertile. 
It is interesting to compare the difference of plumage in a 
male and female of this species, which are thus known to be 
of precisely the same age within three days. I visited Mr. 
Fountaine’s collection on 11th October 1879, and particularly 
observed these two Owls, which are both in excellent health 
and plumage. 
The dark spots both on the upper and under surface are 
much less numerous in the male than in the female, and are 
also smaller. The spots in the female are slaty black; but in 
the male they are paler and much tinged with brown, espe- 
cially on the underparts. 
In the female, the spots on the tail form three perfect 
transverse rows besides a small imperfect portion of a fourth 
row ; while in the male there is but one such row, formed by 
a single spot on each rectrice. 
I am, &c., 
J. H. Gurney. 
Srrs,—In the second part of Capt. Legge’s beautiful work 
on the Birds of Ceylon, p. 579, note, Lesson’s Prionochilus 
pipra (Cent. of Zool. pl. 26) is mentioned as an unknown bird. 
The author goes so far as to suggest that it may be a made-up 
bird. Ishould have thought that by this time it would be known 
