246 Mr. C. A. Wright's Third Appendix to a 



islands, that Parus cceruleus arrives in great numbers in Gozo 

 during the spring migration, and that individuals have been 

 taken in Malta; but he is evidently mistaken. 



263. Anthus obscurus. (Rock-Pipit.) 



A single specimen has come into my hands. Yarrell also 

 states that it has been met with in Malta. 



264. Emberiza MELANOCEPHAL.^ (Scopoli). (Black-headed 

 Bunting.) 



A specimen was obtained in 1867, and kept alive in a cage 

 for some months. Drs. Gulia and Delicata also mention having 

 observed it. 



265. HoPLoPTERus spiNosus (Linnseus). (Spur-winged 

 Plover.) 



Ornithologists will be interested to learn of the capture of 

 this bird in Malta. Common on the great river that flows from 

 the equatorial regions into the Mediterranean, and a visitor or 

 resident in Palestine, Turkey, Greece, and Southern Russia, the 

 presence of the Spur-winged Plover, with the exception of a 

 rare and occasional visit to Italy, is otherwise unknown in 

 Europe. Its appearance in this island is therefore an event 

 which, although not calculated to excite astonishment, is no 

 less unexpected and worthy of remark. The particulars rela- 

 tive to the subject of the present notice are few. 



On the morning of the 12th of October, 1865, I found my 

 birdstuflfer waiting for me with news that he had just received 

 a wounded bird of a kind he had not seen before, which he 

 wished me to identify. He said he thought it might turn out 

 to be a young Lapwing, We soon reached his dwelling; and I 

 was delighted to find at a glance that he was mistaken, and 

 that the bird was certainly no other than Hoplopterus spinosus. 

 I told him to look at the carpal joints; and on doing so, 

 he was much surprised to find the strong sharp spur with 

 which this species is there armed. He informed me that 

 the bird was given to him by a sportsman who, while Quail- 

 shooting the day before, had flushed it and another together 

 from a cotton-field. Its companion escaped. Of course, I 

 lost no time in securing the prize for my local collection ; 



