478 Letters, Extracts from Correspondence, Notices, fyc. 
but that his “ pair of birds were shot on the Island of Arran 
and three eggs obtained June 10th, 1844;” that the “ Great 
Black-headed Gull ( Larus icthyaetus) was obtained by himself 
on the Island of Arran, June 5th, 1844,” and was “ a splendid 
acquisition to his cabinet; ” and, finally, that his last oological 
curiosity was “ that wild bird, the Eider-duck, nesting in a wash¬ 
ing-bowl close to an inhabited hut.” 
It is evident, therefore, we think, if this list is authentic, that 
the localities and dates attached to the specimens in the sale- 
list of Dr. Martin Barry's collections were not the invention of 
the person who drew up the catalogue, as our correspondent 
“ Oophilus’s ” letter seems to imply might have been the case, 
but were really taken from the deceased Doctor's printed list 
and note-books. We are not ourselves, however, of opinion 
that they are to be depended upon on this account. We do 
not believe that the Circaetus gallicus is to be met with nailed 
up on barn doors in Ireland, nor that the Chestnut-breasted 
Goose occurs either on the Gambia or in South America. 
Whether Dr. Martin Barry was the deceiver or the deceived in 
these and other cases we cannot say, but it is only fair to the 
compiler of the Sale-catalogue to acknowledge that he appears 
to have had Dr. Martin Barry's authority for many of the im¬ 
pugned dates and localities. 
In saying thus much, we assume that this printed list is really 
the production of Dr. Martin Barry himself, and not, as has been 
thought by some of our friends who have examined it, a forgery, 
manufactured for the purpose of selling Dr. Martin Barry's eggs 
to better advantage. 
In reference to “ Oophilus's ” letter, we have also received the 
subjoined communication from another correspondent who veils 
his name under the signature “ Oologicus ” :— 
To the Editor of c The Ibis .' 
Sir, — I am desirous of making a few remarks on the able 
letter of your correspondent “ Oophilus,” printed in your last 
Number (p. 372). With his regrets I entirely agree; but it 
seems to me that he, as is the wont of persons of a generous na- 
