461 
Mr. E. Newton's Second Visit to Madagascar. 
86. Halieus -? sp. indet. 
I saw a pair of Cormorants on the small river at Vodotra, 
about five or six miles to the northward of Tamatave, both on 
going to and returning from Fenerive. I did not get a shot at 
them. 
87. Plotus -— ? sp. indet. 
On a lake (an artificial one, I believe) near Fenerive I saw what 
I am certain was a Darter; he was generally perched on the top 
of a dead tree in the water, long out of shot. Unfortunately there 
was no canoe on the lake; and as I had not time to get one car¬ 
ried there, I had to leave him, sitting with his wings extended to 
catch the last rays of the setting sun, and his long, fine, snake-like 
neck and head stretched out; but I trust some day to become on 
closer terms of intimacy with him. 
I cannot conclude these notes without expressing my thanks 
to Mr. Ferdinand Fiche, of Soamandrikazay, not only for the 
hospitable reception he accorded us and the means he put at our 
disposal for furthering our wishes, but also for the valuable as¬ 
sistance he gave me in ascertaining the native names of various 
birds. No one who has not tried knows how difficult it is for 
one totally ignorant of such a language as Malagasy to render 
accurately in writing the sounds conveyed by a native, who is 
unable to read or write, and whose pronunciation is probably 
not pure, but only that of a patois. Mr. Fiche very kindly wrote 
in my note-book the native names of most of the birds obtained. 
[Note. —Mr. Hewitson has been so obliging as to execute, 
at considerable inconvenience to himself, the annexed plate 
(Plate XIII.), representing some of the eggs obtained by Mr. E. 
Newton on his second visit to Madagascar. The species thus 
figured, all it is believed for the first time, are—- 
Fig. 1. Nectarinia souimanga . 
Fig. 2. Pratincola sibylla. 
Fig. 3. Calamoherpe newtoni (sp. nov.). 
Fig. 4. Gervaisia albospecularis. 
Fig. 5. Hypsipetes ourovang. 
Fig. 6. Ellisia typica. 
Fig. 7. Dicrurus forficatus. 
Fig. 8. Caprimulgus madagascariensis .— Ed.] 
