400 
Letters , Extracts , Notices , fyc. 
mandible the olive-green extends about half as far as on the 
sides, and is smoother. It has the form of a triangle, with 
its base against the head. In front of this triangle is a light- 
orange space. The nail of the bill is whitish flesh-colour. 
The rest of the bill is bright flesh-colour. 
It is worthy of note that the above-described olive-greenisli- 
grey base of the bill looks bluish grey in the distance, so 
that, if not examined closely, the bill gives one the impression 
of being flesh-coloured, with a bluish-grey base. I was there¬ 
fore much surprised, when I took the bird up in my hands, 
to find that the base of the bill is olive-greenish-grey. 
The iris is dark brown. The legs and feet are flesh- 
colour. 
So far as I can judge from the voice, my bird is a female. 
Yours &c., 
F. E. Blaauw. 
Gooilust, s’Graveland, North Holland. 
February 1900. 
Destruction of Grebes in California. —In ( Science’ (n. s. 
xi. p. 188) we are told “ where the Grebe-skins come from,” 
and how the birds are killed by thousands among their nests 
on the lakes of Eastern Oregon and California. Three 
species—the Western, the Eared, and the Pied-billed Grebes 
-—are found breeding in the shallow waters of Tula Lake, 
California, and there the hunters are engaged during the 
breeding-season in shooting the old birds, stripping the skins 
from their breasts, and shipping them to San Francisco. 
From 20 to 50 cents are received for each skin, and a hunter 
makes from 20 to 30 dollars a day. At the present rate of 
destruction the birds will not last many years. 
Ornithophilous Plants .—In the ( American Naturalist 3 for 
December last (vol. xxxiii. p. 953), Mr. R. C. McGregor 
shows that cross-fertilization in a garden shrub of the genus 
Salvia (S. coccinea) is effected by the bill of a Humming¬ 
bird ( Calypte anna), which resorts to its flowers to obtain 
nectar. Dr. W. Trelease had previously described a similar 
