ping and counting, and, I will not say dropping a tear, yet in something akin to pity, wondering how many of the fine fellows before me would fall to the gun next day. It so happened that I did not walk in that direction for three or four days subsequently; but, on my next appearance, the instant I was seen every cock pheasant disappeared, while the hen birds continued their breakfast, as unconcerned at my presence as they were wont to be in September. Had not the cocks learned from the experience of the two or three days preceding, that they were the objects of pursuit to the proprietor and his friends; and therefore learned to regard man somewhat differently than they regarded him previously to October 1st? I am at a loss otherwise to account for the alarm of the cocks, and the equanimity of the hens. The one inferred danger in

the presence of man, though incorrectly so far as I was concerned; the other might feel for the cocks, but did not fear for themselves. So may it have been with the Spanish snipes. They may not have heard of the introduction into Spain of the percussion cap; nor have learned that with its aid the Spanish sportsman can occasionally knock down a snipe on the wing; and moreover that said sportsman was acquir. ing a taste for such little exhibitions of skill. And, it may be, that their unwillingness to allow me to approach them, originated in the association of ideas: they connected an English shooting-jacket with an English gun-barrel, and perhaps inferred greater danger than was wont to attend the explosion of a Spanish piece. I might remark on the differences observed in some other species; but my "tailing off" has already extended to an unconscionable length.

Cheshunt, Dec. 4th, 1847.

CHARLES A. BURY.

Ornithological and other Observations in Norfolk for the month of October, 1847.— The red-necked phalarope was taken at Weybourn about the 3rd instant; and on the 9th the ringed or bridled guillemot (Uria lacrymans) occurred at Yarmouth. This species is, we believe, new to the Norfolk list. It was observed that the white mark on each cheek which forms the "bridle," is not merely a line, but an indentation or groove in the feathers throughout its length. We have lately seen an egg, taken at Bridlington, which is said, on good authority, to belong to this species. It is white, with a few minute spots of dark brown irregularly disposed over its surface, and is much about the size of the eggs of the common guillemot. This bird is said to breed regularly on the rocks at Bridlington, but in a different and less accessible situation than that chosen by the latter species. An example of the American bittern (Botaurus lentiginosus), another interesting addition to the birds of Norfolk, has also been killed at Yarmouth; but not having seen the bird, we are not at present able to add anything to the bare mention of its occurrence. Coveys of the common partridge have, on one occasion to the number of seven, and on another of ten, been lately found among the boats on Yarmouth beach; and the same species has been killed in various parts of that town. Mr. Yarrell remarks that this bird is said to be migratory at the limits of its geographical range, although stationary in central Europe; and quotes M. Malherbe's Fauna of Sicily, to show that it visits that island every spring and autumn, on its passage from North Africa to Italy and back. This being the case, we have little doubt from the circumstance related above, that the common partridge is also occasionally migratory with us; and the supposition is strengthened by the facts

which we have elsewhere noticed, (Zool. 1317) that its congener, the red-legged partridge, sometimes exhibits the same propensity. We are assured by an intelligent and highly respectable correspondent at Yarmouth, that late on the evening preceding the day on which the locusts were found in considerable numbers about that place, he heard a kind of confused humming in the air, which he afterwards confidently attributed to the noise made by the passage of the flight of those insects, then passing overhead. An example of the peregrine falcon (the young female of the year) has been taken near Yarmouth.-J. H. Gurney, W. R. Fisher; October, 1847.

Ornithological Notices in Norfolk for November, 1847.-Towards the end of last month a female spoonbill was killed at Salthouse; this bird is said to have resorted, at intervals, to a marsh at that place for nearly four months previous to its capture. An immature male specimen of the white-headed eagle was shot at Westwick on the 10th instant; in its stomach were found the remains of a herring. About the same time a pair of waxen chatterers were killed at Runton, near Cromer; and another pair of the same species were killed at Horsea about the end of the month. Shortly after the middle of the month a gray lag goose (male) was also killed at Horsea, being the first Norfolk specimen of that species which has come under our notice in a recent state. And about the same time an immature glaucous gull occurred at Horsea.-J. H. Gurney, William R. Fisher; November, 1847.

Rare Birds in Derbyshire. — In February, 1845, I saw the following individuals at Mr. Cook's Museum, Derby :- a dotterell, killed near Twyford; a rose-colored pastor, shot near Matlock; a great northern diver, shot off the Derwent near Derby; and a fire-crested Regulus that had been killed some years ago in the vicinity of Derby.— J. J. Briggs; Derby.

nest.

Habit of the Young Cuckow.-The following anecdote communicated to me by Mr. Dunn, the intelligent steward of James Clayfield Ireland, Esq., Brislington Hall, will probably interest many of your readers. In the nest of a hedge-sparrow, some years ago, was deposited an unusual egg. In process of time this was hatched, and, by some means, before the bird's own eggs. The stranger was of a singular form "exactly like a toad, with a deep cavity in its back." One morning, while looking into the nest, he was struck by observing this unfledged creature wriggling about until it had got one of the eggs into the hollow in the back, when, by a sudden jerk, it threw it out of the The egg was repeatedly replaced, when the same means were had recourse to for its ejectment. I am indebted for this fact to the circumstance of an egg of the cuckow having been deposited this year in the nest of a robin, built in a hole of a wall near Rose Cottage, Brislington, the residence of the Rev. R. Astley. This had also ejected the natural possessors, possibly by the same means: the bird was carefully watched until fully fledged, when it was for some time secured by a sort of cage: the robin continuing to feed it with maternal care. It made its escape towards the end of June, remaining for a day or two in one of the high trees near the cottage. — John Sircom, Jun.; Brislington, October 4th, 1847.

Note on the occurrence of Turdus minor of Latham, in Belgium.— Having received a few days since from Namur a present of several dozen thrushes and fieldfares destined for the table, I had the curiosity to inspect the parcel before passing it to the cook. One of the birds, by its small size, immediately attracted my attention. A nearer investigation showed me that it was very distinct from all our other indigenous species of the genus Turdus, so that I took a description of it, after which I had it carefully stuffed. Being desirous to discover its name, I perused attentively all the

works on the birds of the northern hemisphere which I could consult, and have come to the conclusion that it is no other than Turdus minor of Latham. This bird has been a great puzzle to ornithologists in general, and that for two principal reasons; firstly, because Latham's description is not quite characteristic; and secondly, because the species is so rare, that Brehm is the only author who mentions it as a European bird.* This bird differs at first sight from Turdus viscivorus, Linn., by its three outer tail quills which are not tipped with white; from Turdus pilaris, Linn. and Turdus migratorius, Liun. by its head, which is neither ash-colored nor gray; from Turdus musicus, Linn. by its wing-coverts, which are not terminated by a whitish band, and by its breast, which is not brightly tinted with yellow; from Turdus iliacus, Linn. by the absence of the rufous stain on the flanks, and by the triangular shape of the dusky spots on the breast; from Turdus torquatus, Linn., T. merula, Linn., T. atrogularis, Temm., T. Naumannii, Temm., T. Sibiricus, Pall., T. solitarius, Swain., and T. aureus, Hol., by the general colour of the plumage; from Turdus pallidus, Pall. by the absence of a band on the wing-coverts as well as of white tips to the tail-quills; from Turdus auroreus, Pall. by the inferior wing-coverts, which are not brown; from Turdus dubius, Brehm. and T. ruficollis, Pall. by the breast, which is not tan-colored; from Turdus minor, Richardson, by its back, which is not "yellowishbrown, verging to orange-brown," and by the spots on its breast, which are clearly defined; from Turdus Wilsoni, Bonap., by the second wing-quill, which is not equal to the fourth, and by its back, which is not brown; from Turdus silens, Swain., by the second wing-quill not being equal to the sixth, and by the quills, which are not tipped with white. It is, besides, much smaller than any of these birds, the Turdus minor of the 'Fauna Boreali-Americana' excepted. This very rare thrush was unknown to Temminck. The head, nape, back, and rump are oil-green, of an uniform tint; the upper wing-coverts are of the same colour, and do not present the slightest traces of transverse bands as in Turdus musicus; the cheeks are yellowish, sprinkled with small dusky spots; the chin and throat are white, slightly tinted with yellow and spotless; the breast is white, inclining a little to very pale yellowish, and covered with numerous small dark triangular spots; these spots are smaller towards the throat, but become larger towards the lower parts, where their form becomes transversely oval; they cease along the middle of the abdomen, but extend some way along the flanks, where they soon verge into a large dusky-gray cloud which occupies the posterior portion of the flanks. The abdomen and under tail-coverts are pure white; the wingquills are blackish, their exterior edge being very slightly bordered by a brownish line as in Turdus iliacus; the rectrices are brown above, grayish-black beneath; the under wing-coverts are white, with a few ashy spots; a black line preceded by a narrow yellow one descends from the angle of the bill, and extends along the sides of the throat; the upper mandible is blackish, the lower one yellow at the base; the rictus bears three or four stiff hairs; the legs, which are remarkably slight, are pale brownish. There exists no white supra-ocular band. The first wing-quill is rudimentary; the second is longer than the fourth; the third is the longest; the fifth is much shorter than the fourth; the sixth is much shorter than the fifth. The size of its body does not appear to be more than half that of Turdus musicus when they are laid side by side, and the bill is proportionally shorter than in that species. Latham's

* From a specimen killed in 1829 in the duchy of Anhalt Cöthn near the Elbe.

description of this bird says that it has dusky spots on a white ground on the breast; that the remainder of the under parts are white; that the back is olive brown; that the tail and wing-quills are brownish; and that the length is about seven inches. This answers to my bird, but these words might be applied to at least twenty different sorts of thrushes, were it not for the small size indicated.

Comparative dimensions of T. iliacus, T. musicus, and T. minor.

05/0

0

446

5

100000

...

Length of middle toe with the nail

Length of bill from angle

...

Length of bill along the upper ridge

-Julian Deby; Laeken, October 20th, 1847.

Occurrence of the Roller near Shelton Castle (Redcar ?).—Last July a pair of rollers were seen in a plantation called " Forty Pence," belonging to John Thomas Wharton, Esq., of Shelton Castle. One of which was shot by Mr. Rickaby, who farms the land adjoining the said plantation, and is now in the possession of Mr. Lawrence Wetherell, of Guisboro'. This proved, on dissection, to be a female having eggs in it, consequently we may infer that the other seen was a male, and that they would have bred in that locality if they had not been disturbed.-T. S. Rudd; Redcar, November 4th, 1847.

Disappearance of Swallows at Penmanshiel, Berwickshire.—The swallows left us about the 9th of September, immediately after their last broods had become fledged, and the martins disappeared from the coast a day or two after. I was much surprised, however, on the morning of the 3rd instant (October) to see five or six of the swallows glide rapidly past, uttering their usual sharp note, and disappear to the south. This, doubtless, was a party of loiterers, on their way to overtake our departed summer friends.—James Hardy; Penmanshiel, by Cockburnspath, Berwickshire, October 5th, 1847.

Female Bullfinch in Plumage of Male.-A few months back I wrote to Mr. Waterton to ask him to have the goodness to explain to me the following fact: I have in my possession a bullfinch which I always thought was a cock, but one morning, on looking into the cage, I saw an egg in it. Great was my surprise; I took out the egg and examined it; it was not a perfect egg, it was soft. The bird has never been, as far as I know, with any other bird: I inquired of the man who used to have charge of him, if it had ever been with another bird, and he answered negatively. A few mornings after that, I found another egg like the other, not perfect. I wrote to Mr. Waterton twice, and mentioned in one of my letters, that perhaps lime was the cause of an imperfect egg; he said he did not think that quite the case. I must make a great many excuses to you for not writing sooner, as Mr. Waterton said the fact was most worthy of investigation. I should not myself have thought it anything worthy of looking into if he had not said so. Perhaps you might be so kind as to give me some information

on the subject.—Bertram Talbot; Alton Towers, near Cheadle, Staffordshire, October 22nd, 1847.

Female Fowl in Plumage of Male.-Last autumn I saw at the house of Mr. Partington, gamekeeper to Lord Lilford, a domestic fowl in male plumage, which Mrs. Partington assured me had laid several eggs. It had the appearance of a young game cock after the first moult, but the colour of the feathers was not quite so rich. Its spurs and wattles were fully developed, but the comb not so much so in proportion. There are two facts with regard to this bird which I think worth recording in the 'Zoologist.' The one is, that it assumed the male plumage so early in the second moult; the other is, that it did not commence laying until after it had completed that moult. I have lately ascertained that this bird has been killed, and that upon opening it, a cluster of eggs in embryo was found. In White's 'Natural History of Selborne' (pages 93 and 94) some instances similar to the above are given, with this exception, that the youngest age named at which the hen changed her plumage for that of the cock is thirteen years. The passage commences thus : "There is a remarkable physiological fact in the animal economy,- that of the species assuming somewhat of the character of the male when they become aged."Nicholas Cooke, Hope Mills, Warrington, November 25th, 1847.

females of many

Occurrence of the Little Bustard at Kirton Lindsey, Lincolnshire.- A most beautiful male specimen of the little bustard (Otis tetrax) was shot at Kirton Lindsey on the 7th of October last: its length from the tip of the back to the end of the tail was twenty-three inches; the expansion of its wings forty-four inches; its weight two pounds and a quarter: it has a splendid row of feathers down each side of the neck: its craw was filled with caterpillars of the common yellow underwing moth, small shelled snails, &c.— Alfred Roberts; Brigg, Lincolnshire, Dec. 7th, 1847.

Occurrence of Temminck's Stint near Oxford.-I beg to forward a notice of the occurrence of Temminck's stint (Tringa Temminckii) near Oxford. A pair of adult birds were killed upon the banks of the river Isis in Port Meadow, August 24th. They were shot by a lock-keeper named Bossom, and have been set up by Mr. Orman, St. Aldates, Oxford.-H. Roundell; Christ Church, Oxford, Oct. 27th, 1847.

Occurrence of the young of the Little Bittern near Enfield.—I have lately received a specimen of the little bittern (Ardea minor, Linn.); killed September 18th, 1847, on the river Lea, near Enfield, by a bargeman. It is a young bird of the year, and I think has been bred in the neighbourhood, as there is some remains of the nestling down, and it is not fully fledged.—Fredk. Bond; Kingsbury, Oct. 11th, 1847. Occurrence of the Speckled Diver at Worcester. - A specimen of the speckled diver was shot about a fortnight ago in the Severn, just opposite the Deanery, Worcester. It is now in the possession of a gentleman residing in this parish.-W. W. Cooper; Claines, near Worcester, Dec. 15th, 1847.

Anecdote of a Snake. — I have recently been told the following anecdote by a gentleman, for whose veracity I can vouch, which I think is strongly illustrative of the sagacity of the snake. If you think it worthy of a corner in the ' Zoologist,' you will oblige by giving it one. Some time since, as the servant men belonging to my friend were coming in to dinner, they had to pass through a small plantation, about one hundred paces from the house, in which they saw two young snakes and an old one; they