514 Letters, Announcements, ^c. 



wellj a gentleman who visits Leadenhall market regularly, to 

 pick up specimens of rare birds and eggs at the game-dealers' 

 shops, told me that he had seen an odd variety of the Golden 

 Plover. I immediately went to the market, and found 

 amongst a lot of Golden Plovers from Norfolk the specimen 

 in question. It was badly damaged, and having been kept 

 in the shop during mild weather for ten days, it had already 

 become tainted, so that it was only with the greatest difficulty 

 that it could be preserved ; but I have succeeded in getting it 

 made into a passable skin. It closely resembles examples of 

 Charadrius fulvus from Asia, and has most of the feathers on 

 the upper parts margined with yellow. It measures, cuhnen 

 1"1 inch, wing 6*0, tail 2*3, tarsus 1'6, middle toe and claw 

 1"05. I preserved the sternum, and gave it to Professor 

 Newton, of Cambridge, soon after I procured the bird ; but 

 having been so closely occupied during the last few months, 

 I have, up to the present time, omitted to place the occur- 

 rence of this rare European Plover on record. 



I am, dear Sir, 



Yours truly, 



H. E. Dresser. 

 The Firs, South Norwood, 

 June 1875. 



Sir, — Finding only, as far as I can discover, one weU- 

 authenticated instance of the Tufted Duck (F. cristata) breed- 

 ing in Great Britain (Yarrell, 3rd ed. vol. iii. p. 354), it will, 

 I am sure, interest many to know that last week I saw two 

 fine broods, eight young birds in each, on Butterston Loch, 

 one of the three lochs so well known in this neighbourhood. 

 They were just newly hatched ; and their diving was so in- 

 cessant that it was some time before I could count them. 

 For the last two seasons I have suspected them of breeding 

 here, having seen the old birds late on in the summer. There 

 are several other pairs of these Ducks on the loch now, and 

 I have no doulit most of them are breeding. The lochs are, 

 and most likely always will be, strictly preserved ; so I have 



