276 MR. HEPBURN ON THE 



peatedly endeavoured to obtain more specimens, but witbout 

 success, and not having visited the Isle of May, I cannot ve- 

 rify the boatmen's report ; however, its occurrence there is by 

 no means improbable, seeing that it ha? been found on the 

 coasts of Yorkshire and Durham. Mr. YaiTell does not state 

 that the bird has been found breeding there, nor am I entitled 

 to assert that my specimen had resorted to the Bass for that 

 purpose ; the evidence then is merely conjectural as to this 

 beingthe first instance of this species havingbeen found breeds 

 ing in Great Britain, and, not having seen the second edition 

 of Yarrell's work, it is very possible that this discovery, if, 

 indeed, it is entitled to rank as such, has been anticipated. 



I prepared the skin, and ascertained that the bird was a 

 female. On examining the digestive organs, the a3sophagus 

 was found to be very wide, thin, its lower portion and the 

 proventiculus considerably dilated ; stomach moderately 

 muscular, its epithelium dense and plicate ; intestine iong^ 

 rather wide ; cceca of moderate size. 



Bill shorter than the head, straight, stout, compressed, ta^ 

 pering, and acute ; the upper mandible with the dorsal out- 

 line slightly arched, the sides sloping, the lip decurved with 

 a slight notch ; the lower mandible with a long and narrow 

 angle, the dorsal line ascending and straight, the sides almost 

 flat, the tip acute ; the edges of both mandibles are sharp and 

 inflected ; the nasal groove broad, and feathered ; nostrils 

 sub-basal, longitudinal, and linear. 



The eyes of moderate size ; apertures of the ears very small ; 

 head large, and somewhat ovate ; body depressed, and rather 

 full ; feet short, placed far behind ; tarsus short, strong, sou- 

 tilate in front ; wings small, narrow and acute ; primary 

 quills curved ; first and second longest ; tail of twelve feathers. 



Bill black, around the eye a narrow ring about 1-1 2th 

 broad, of pure white, and a line, slightly decurved, of the 

 game colour, about lli-12ths in length, passing from the eye 

 backwards and downwards on the neck ; head, throat, and 

 upper part of the neck, and lower portion of the neck be- 

 hind, and back, dull greyish black ; wings and tail of the same 

 colour ; tips of the secondaries and all the under parts of the 

 body white ; tarsi and feet brownish black ; nails black. 



