2l8 SPOTTED EAGLE AT ELMSTEAD AND I.EIGH. 



Westleton Beds from Norfolk and Suffolk through Essex, Middlesex, Hertford- 

 shire, etc., into the West of England ; but there were several breaks in their 

 continuity, and one of the most serious was that between Broxted, near Braintree, 

 and Coopersale Common, near Epping, a distance of nineteen miles. The sections 

 described by Mr. French served to shorten this distance to about fifteen miles, and 

 were so far very satisfactory. It should be noted that Prof. Prestwich says of the 

 Westleton Beds, that they extend from Braintree, by Withersfield, to Dunmow 

 and Thaxted, but are rarely exposed " (Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc, vol. xlvi., p- 

 134)- 



SPOTTED EAGLE {AQUILA N.^VIA) AT ELM- 

 STEAD AND LEIGH ; AN ADDITION TO 

 THE ESSEX FAUNA. 



OOME time since I recorded the fact of a Crane having been 

 ^^ shot in the parish of Ehnstead near Colchester {see Essex 

 Naturalist, vol. ii., p. 271), and now I am very pleased to announce 

 the occurrence there of a Spotted Eagle — but with this welcome cir- 

 cumstance, that the bird was not killed, but is alive and apparently 

 healthy. If these captures continue Elmstead will become celebrated 

 in ornithological annals as the harbourage of rare birds. Mr. Pettitt, 

 our local taxidermist, purchased the specimen from a gipsy, who had 

 a few days before bought it of the captor, a farm-labourer of Elm- 

 stead. On October 29th, the man had noticed a strange bird, in an 

 apparently exhausted state, alight in a field in which he was working. 

 He immediately gave chase, and after the bird had taken a short 

 flight he came up with it and succeeded in taking it alive and 

 uninjured. The specimen appears to belong to the small race of the 

 species, its size and markings corresponding to Mr. Saunders' de- 

 scription of this variety. — Henry Layer, F.L.S., Colchester. 



It was stated in the local papers that on Thursday, November 

 3rd, a " Golden Eagle " was shot at Leigh by the Rev. R. Stuart 

 King. Having some doubts as to the species, I wrote to Mr. King, 

 and he informs me that the bird he shot was the Spotted Eagle 

 {Aquila mevid). It was first seen on the ground in the Rectory 

 meadow at Leigh, and upon being alarmed by a lad, it flew up and 

 settled on a tree. The lad, thinking it was a goose, fetched Mr. King, 

 who, at once recognising it as an Eagle, procured a gun and shot it. 

 Mr. King describes it as a young bird, the spots being very plainly 

 marked. The measurements were : from tips of wings 5 feet, from 

 beak to tail 2 feet \ inch. He adds : " The bird was evidently 



