15 [Vol. xliii. 



exhibited at the same time. I wrote Mr. Bristow, and 

 received his reply on Sept. 5th ; he says : 



" I shot the cock first, and laid up not far from the nest, 

 from which the hen had flown, and waited nearly an hour, 

 and shot her just as it was going into the nest. I do not 

 remember seeing wa.j fiava, but, of course, rayi are numerous 

 every year. Since then 1 know of one other pair with the 

 nest and eggs that have been taken." 



Mr. Bristow's letter, in my opinion, disposes of any sug- 

 gestion of error on his part. 



Mr. H. KiRKE SwANN exhibited two Honey-Buzzard's 

 from East Asia, and made the following remarks : — 



Examples of Honey-Buzzards from Japan and China are 

 so scarce in collections that the two skins I am showing- 

 will probably be of interest. The immature c? from Japan, 

 although rather small (wing 420 mm.), I assign to Pernis 

 orientalis. Being a September bird, it is probably an im- 

 migrant in Japan. I differ, I believe, from most other 

 ornithologists in calling P. orientalis a species, but 1 do so 

 on good grounds. It is not only a much larger bird, dif- 

 fering in plumage, but has very different feet, these being 

 large with long, powerful, and much curved claws, while 

 P. apivor^us has smaller feet with smaller claws, very little 

 curved — in fact, just like the other darker bird shown from 

 China. This second skin, a ^ taken at Minshan, West 

 Kansu province, Sept. 28lh, 1921, was sent me for examina- 

 tion by Dr. Lonnberg, of the Stockholm Museum. It has 

 the wing 402 mm., practically the size of the European 

 P. apivorus, the dark examples of which it resembles -itt' 

 plumage as well as structure. It is rather larger than 

 P. cristatus ruficollis, the Indian Crested Honey-Buzzard,- 

 but smaller than the northern P. orientalis, and with quite 

 distinct feet. From the date it may be a migrant and not 

 a breeding bird, but, if so, where from ? 



■I should remark that the few other Chinese winter birds 

 I have seen are undoubtedly P. orientalis from Siberia. 



