108 THE AUSTRAL AVIAN RECORD [Vol. II. 



GEOPELIA SHORTRIDGEI Grant. 

 Bull. Brit. Orn. Club, Vol. XXIII., p. 73, 1909, Carnarvon. 



Tkrowley Road, 



Sutton, Surrey. 

 Aug. 31, 1914. 



Dear Mr. Mathews, — 



When I was being driven by Mr. Vaughan Foss 

 between Carnarvon and Point Cloates (West Austr.) on 

 August 20, 1913, he, knowing my interest in ornithology, 

 asked me if I was aware of the fact that the two species 

 of Doves (viz., Geopelia tranquilla and Geopelia cuneata) 

 that occur commonly about Carnarvon, and are parti- 

 cularly numerous in the scrub near pools of water in 

 the bed of the Gascoyne River, inter-.breed. I told 

 him that I was not aware of it, and if true, that it was 

 exceedingly interesting. He assured me that it was 

 true, according to his own observation, as he had an 

 aviary at his father's house in Carnarvon (C. D. 

 V. Foss, Resident Magistrate), and he had frequently 

 had many specimens of both the above species kept 

 in his aviary at the same time, and that they inter-bred 

 freely. Also that as the birds became too numerous 

 in his aviary, he had sometimes Mberated several of 

 the occupants, and occasionally some of them escaped. 

 This aviary was a short mile from the main bed of the 

 Gascoyne River. 



At the time of writing this, I have not my Hbrary 

 with me for reference, but I believe that in the Bull. 

 Brit. Ornith. Club, Vol. XXIIL, p. 73, 1909, Mr. Ogilvie- 

 Grant described a new " species " of Geopelia from a 

 single specimen obtained by Mr. Shortridge in the 

 Gascoyne River near Carnarvon, and that you expressed 

 the opinion that the bird in question was probably a 

 hybrid. It seems to me that you are correct in your 



