Vol. xix.] 80 



Committee by making any suggestions which might tend to 

 improve it. 



On behalf of the Committee he thanked those who by 

 their generosity had enabled the observations to be carried 

 outj and he was glad to be able to state that^ after paying all 

 expenses in connection with this Report, a small balance 

 still remained in hand. 



He added that Mr. Bonhote, 3 Hanover Square, W., Avould 

 be glad to receive subscriptions towards the work of next 

 year, and that each observer bad already received a copy of 

 the Report, which might be obtained from Mr. Witherby, 

 326 High Holborn, W.C, at 6*. each. 



On behalf of Mr. Fred Smalley, of Silverdale, Lancashire, 

 Mr. J. L. BoNHOTE exhibited a specimen of the Common 

 Eider (^Somaferia mollissima) showing a V-shaped mark 

 under the chin. Mr. Smalley had communicated the following 

 note : — " During the past two years there have been procured 

 in Orkney at least six specimens of the Common Eider, 

 showing, to a greater or less extent, the dark V-shaped mark 

 which is characteristic of some of the American Eiders. All 

 those I have examined have proved to be examples of the 

 Common Eider. Attention was first drawn to the matter at the 

 British Ornithologists' Club on the 18th January, 1905 {cf. Bull. 

 B. O. C. XV. no. cxii. p. 32), when an example was exhibited 

 and pronounced to be the true Pacific Eider (S. v-nigrum). 

 As additional specimens were obtained and proved to be 

 merely varieties of the Common Eider, I made a special 

 journey to Oldham to examine the above-mentioned specimen, 

 and satisfied myself that, like the others, this was merely a 

 variety of the Common Eider. The larger size and the 

 yellow bill of S. v-n'ujrum should pi event any confusion 

 between the two species. As the Oldham bird is the only 

 recorded occurrence of the Pacific Eider in the British Isles, 

 1 think it desirable that this mistake should be corrected 

 in the same publication in which it first appeared." 



Mr. Bonhote made some further remarks on the V-shaped 

 mark in Eider-Ducks, and pointed out that, in his opinion, it 



