Vol. XXX vi,] 64 



Hon. Lady Members of the B.O.U. : — Miss Dorothy M. A. 

 Bate; Miss M. D. Haviland ; Miss Annie C. Jackson; 

 Miss E. L. Turner. 



The Chairman, at the conclusion of the dinner, having 

 proposed the health of His Majesty the King, said that 

 as this was not an ordinary occasion he would, substitute 

 for the usual toast of "Absent Ibises" that of ''Absent 

 Friends." 



Dr. Ernst Hartert exhibited and described a new form 

 of Woodcock as follows : — 



Scolopax rusticola mira, subsp. n. 

 Differs from /S. rusticola rusticola in its darker, less 

 rufous, more olivaceous upperside, darker under wing- 

 coverts, less rufescent underside, and larger dimensions, 

 especially a stronger and wider bill. All portions of the 

 upper surface, except the black patches, are more olivaceous 

 and darker, which is especially noticeable on the forehead, 

 neck, and. rump ; the sincipital black bar is narrower, the 

 black' patches on the back and. scapulars more elongate ; 

 on the rump, as well as on the upper tail-coverts, the dark 

 markings are finer vermiculations, and the tips are hardly 

 lighter, though nearly or quite uniform ; in fact, a single 

 feather from these parts would show this bird to be different 

 from our Woodcock. The wing-coverts are very much 

 darker. The outer primaries have smaller rufous spots on 

 the outer webs, and the innei' ones are almost uniform, 

 having no semi-bars or notches, but only a few dirty white 

 specks or tiny vermiculations along the inner edge. The 

 underside is more whitish, while the sides are brownish 

 and tiiickly freckled with blackish. The bill is generally 

 longer, but more conspicuous in its thickness and width, 

 it being at least one millimetre wider before the tip. The 

 bill is 75-83 mm. long, the wing 200-215 mm., i. e. 

 5-7 mm. longer than in European examples ; the tarsus 

 47-49 mm., i.e. about 10 mm. longer; middle toe 48-50 mm. 

 The tip of the wing is much shorter, the distance from the 



