Birds. 6925 



clihle 3 inclies 4-tenlhs; bare extent of skin from top of eye to end towards 



nostril 2 inches 3-tenllis, fine bright yellow, deeper than lemon ; this colour 



also stains the naked skin that encircles the eye. Bill black, as also are the 



legs. Naked portion of tibia 1 inch 1-tenth ; tarsus 4 inches; mid-toe 



5 inches 2-tenths, its claw 7-tenths. Plumage white, with orange-brown 



speckles on the head and neck. 



This bird was in every way superior in size to the female, and its sternum was 



vastly more developed. The trachea runs the whole prescribed length, nearly 6 inches, 



between the bone-plates of the sternum, and makes the horizontal loop described by 



Yarrell. The cceca were given off at about 6^ inches from the anus, and measured, 



the right one 1 1 inches, the left 12 inches : they were enlarged into leech-like ends. 



CVGNaS MINOR, 5 . 



Length 3 feet 3^ inches. Wing 1 foot 7 inches. Bill along the culraen 3^ inches, 

 from the angle of the eye 4^ inches, depth 1 inch 8-lenlhs, black ; skin at the 

 base over the ridge, round the eye, but not reaching the nostril by Jth of an 

 inch, fine deep lemon-yellow. Inside of mouth purplish. Legs black ; tarsus 

 3 inches 5-tenths ; mid-toe 4 inches 3-tenths, its claw 7-tenths. 

 The trachea, instead of as in the male, enters the crest of the sternum, and pro- 

 gresses only a distance of 2 inches 2-tenths, leaving a cavity of 2^ inches, with a small 

 up-turned plate inside at the end of the keel. The loop therefore is vertical, the 

 trachea so soon bending on itself and making its exit to enter the thorax. Now, 

 Yarrell and Macgillivray both distinctly state that the female, in points of anatomy, 

 is similar to the male. We must therefore conclude thai the lady was the second or 

 third wife of the gentleman ; but there is nothing in their external appearance to war- 

 rant this belief, excepting size, for both are equally white, and the superior osseous 

 development of the male's body, which appears on dissection, might easily be attri- 

 butable to sexual difference. 



It will be seen, however, that C. Bewickii, instead of being limited to Iceland and 

 other places on the western side of the old hemisphere, is equally found on the eastern 

 side. It is known in Chinese works as the Hai (sea) Yen, but is a stranger to the 

 natives of this part. — Robert Swinhoe ; Amoy, December 23, 1859. 



Notes on the Mountain Birds of Jamaica. 

 By W. OsBURN, Esq.* 



" Agualta Vale, Metcalfe, Jamaica, 

 January 20, 1860. 

 "My dear Sir, — By far the most considerable of the 'rivers' I 

 alluded to in ray last as forming so remarkable a feature in the scenery 

 of Metcalfe is the one which reaches the sea through this beautiful 

 little valley. A good many Spanish names still adhere to their old 

 localities hereabouts, but I never heard the name ' Agua Alta' applied 

 to it, except in maps; and it does not seem very clear why the old 

 colonists should have chosen it for a stream two or three feet deep, 



* Communicated by P. H. Gosse, Esq., F.R.S. 



