464 Letters, Extracts from Correspondence, Notices, fyc. 
with only one, two, or three feathers to them. I have never met 
with birds in such bad plumage before; they look as if escaped 
from confinement. They tell me that some species breed in the 
rains, and others in the midst of the dry season, and that the latter 
will commence in about a month. Humming-birds are rare 
here, and of Tanagers I have as yet only one species.” 
We have received the following letter from Mr. Blyth :—- 
Calcutta, August 1st. 
My dear Sir, —It will interest you to learn of the capture 
of a fine adult Catarractes pomarinus in the vicinity of Moulmein 
during last July (lat. 16° 20' N.). This bird was procured by 
Major S. R. Tickell, who has presented it to the Asiatic Society's 
Museum, Calcutta. He writes—“ It was picked up, or rather, 
I should say, knocked down, by some village boys in a swampy 
meadow about five or six miles south of Moulmein. There had 
been very heavy weather in the bay for some days past; but the 
singular thing is, that this bird should have ranged so wide 
from its usual haunts as to come within the influence of our 
tropical monsoon.” 
Major Tickell adds, “Another singular occurrence is the breed¬ 
ing of the Garganey in this part of the country (Moulmein). I 
have a young one now alive, which was brought to me just 
fledged from a pond or small lake about twelve miles off.” 
Here, in Lower Bengal, the two commonest species of Ducks 
during the cold season are A. acuta and A. querquedula; but I 
have never heard before of either species staying to breed south 
of the Himalaya. 
On May 11th, 1846, I obtained, in the Calcutta Provision 
Bazaar, a Phalaropus lobatus in good winter dress, though so 
late in the season; but it was exceedingly lean and out of 
condition. 
The late Prince C. L. Bonaparte mentions this species from 
the great lake of Nicaragua, which is in latitude as low as 
about 10° (Compt. Rend, xxxviii. p. 663). A more remark¬ 
able occurrence, however, was that of Lobipes hyperboreus in the 
vicinity of Madras, where it was obtained by my friend Dr. L. C. 
Stewart, in winter dress, but in what month I know not exactly. 
