84 J. E. LITTLEBOY — NOTES OX BIEDS 



The first at "Wcstmill Rectory, near Buntingford, wliere it was 

 observed, by the Rev. J. A. Ewing, to alight on some palings 

 about twenty yards from the house. It is described by Mr. Ewing 

 as " a noble bird about two feet in length and four or thereabouts 

 in expanse of wing.'' The second was taken at Little Hadham, 

 near Bishop's Stoitford. Its capture is thus described by Mr. 

 Herbert Langton, in the 'Zoologist ' for IS'ovcmber, 1881 : — "On 

 September the 23rd, while shooting at Little Hadham, a honey- 

 buzzard, mobbed by some half a dozen rooks, flew over me, and I 

 was fortunate enough to secure it. It was a female in very dark 

 plumage, and measixred 53 J inches from tip to tip of wings." Honey- 

 buzzards have been fairly numerous in Jfortblk during the past 

 autumn, and it is probable that our two visitors may have reached 

 us from that county. It is believed that both were birds of the 

 year. 



The genus Pernis, represented in Europe by the honey- 

 buzzard, was instituted by Baron Cuvier to distinguish it from 

 true buzzards.* It is stated by Macgillivray f to be intermediate 

 between kites and buzzards. It is said to differ from the latter 

 in having a more elongated and less powerful beak, the wings 

 and tail being also much longer. It may be distinguished from 

 other raptorial birds by the plumage of its head. " There are 

 no bristles about the bill or on the e5-elids, but the loral spaces 

 and eyelids are covered with small compact imbricated feathers." 

 The honey-buzzard is rare in England ; it is a summer visitant, and 

 is most frequently met with in the Eastern counties. It is said to 

 derive its name from its reputed fondness for honey and the honey- 

 comb. "Instances are given," writes Yarrell,j "where honey- 

 buzzards have excavated and devoured a wasp's nest," and I find 

 that similar facts are recorded by other writers. It is probable 

 that it attacks a wasp's nest for the sake of the larva; or grubs that 

 it contains rather than for its honey. Like other hawks it preys 

 more or less upon reptiles, mice, and small birds, but it is, for the 

 most part, insectivorous, and greedily devours coleopterous insects, 

 caterpillars, butterflies, and moths. § It is said to be the most 

 gentle and docile of all birds of prey. 



4. The Glossy Ibis [Falcinellus iqneus). — On the 10th of Sep- 

 tember a glossy ibis was shot by Mr. Pantia Ralli on a lake in the 

 grounds of Balls Park. The glossy ibis is an important addition 

 to the birds of Hertfordshire. It has occasionally been met with 

 in Kent and Sussex, but very rarely, of late, in any of the midland 

 counties. It must not be confounded with its congener, the sacred 

 bird of the Egyptians, which is more generally known, but which 

 has only once been taken in this country. Mr. John H. Gurney, 

 jun., has been good enough to supply me with the following 

 notice: — "The glossy ibis is an inhabitant of Africa, and is rare 

 to the north of the Mediterranean : it cannot be very common in 

 Egypt, as in seven months' collecting there, I only saw otie, and 



* Yarrell, 'British Birds,' vol. i, p. 86. f 'Rapacious Bu'ds,' p. 257. 

 X 'British Birds,' vol. i, p. 80. § IL, p. 87. 



