92 Mr. Bree's ' Birds of Europe 



are not sure that this bird {Circaetus gallicus, Gmel.) has not 

 been killed in England. It certainly has occurred as far north 

 on the Continent, according to Dr. Kjoerboelling (Danmark's 

 Fugle). We do not think that M. Temminck's meaning (Man. 

 d'Orn. pt. iii. p, 25) is, as Mr. Bree interprets it, that ft is be- 

 coming rare in Belgium and in Italy. It was probably never 

 anything but a straggler in the former country, M. de Selys- 

 Longchamps (Faune Beige, p. 53) mentioning but two instances 

 of its occurrence there, and most likely it was never more fre- 

 quently met with in the latter country than at the present day. 

 We have Mr. Robert Birkbeck's authority (Zool. 1854, p. 4249), 

 it is " common in Liguria in the spring ; " and that gentleman 

 met with examples in the markets at Rome and Genoa, besides 

 seeing " several soaring over the Campagna.^^ 



It is unfortunate that our author has overlooked the very in- 

 teresting communications in ' Naumannia ' for 1853 (pp. 256 

 and 296), by Dr. J. Fr. Naumann and Herr H. F. Moeschler, 

 respecting the Long-legged Buzzard {Buteo rufinus, Kaup), 

 under the synonym of Buteo leucurus of the former writer ; for 

 they would have enabled him to have added much to the meagre 

 account he has given of this bird's habits in Europe, of which 

 he states " nothing is known.'' In the neighbourhood of the 

 lower part of the Volga, it seems to be far from uncommon, and to 

 breed. The late Mr. Strickland (Orn. Syn. p. 35) identifies this 

 species with the Buteo jjectoralis of Vieillot. If he be right, that 

 name has the priority of rufinus ; but one of the German writers 

 above cited thinks it probable that it is the bird described by 

 Pallas (Zoogr. Rosso-Asiat. i. p. 354, sp. 27) as Accipiter hypo- 

 leucus, in which case this specific name, as being the oldest, 

 ought to be used*. 



two described species in the genus Circaetus, namely C gallicus and C. 

 pectoralis. Mr. G. R. Gray has as yet only published the name of his 

 Circaetus fasciolatus. — Ed. 



* Mr. G. R.Gray (List B. Brit. Mus. 2nd cd. i. p. 1") refers the hypoleucus 

 of Pallas, with an expression of doubt, to Circaetus gallicus. We have 

 not now the means of determining whether the Anglo-Saxon or the Teu- 

 tonic suggestion be right, but we hope our calling the attention of natural- 

 ists to the question may be the means of settling the point. [It is stated 

 by Prince Bonaparte (Rev. Zool. Feb. 1855), that Pallas's hypoleucus 



