944 THE NATUEALIST. 



wings three feet; the plumage of its. head, neck, and throat is of a dull 

 greyish brown ; its back, wing and tail coverts are brown, feathers edged 

 with dull white, those on the rump and the extremities of the upper wing 

 coverts, assuming a broader margin ; wings black, the shafts of the three 

 longest quill feathers are white ; under wing coverts, white intercepted 

 with transverse bars of a pale brownish grey ; under surface of the quill 

 feathers white, attaining a pale brownish hue at the points ; breast and 

 abdomen of a pale greyish, intermixed with dull white, feathers towards 

 the sides barred with pale greyish brown. Its tail is six and a quarter 

 inches inlength, and contains twelve feathers, the two central ones projecting 

 three-quarters of an inch beyond the others, both the upper and under 

 surface of its tail feathers are black, with the exception of the base which 

 is white ; beak and cere, pale brown ; irides, hazel ; legs and base of toes 

 of a yellowish hue, the ends of the toes and the anterior portion of the 

 intervening membranes, black. 

 Norwich, October 31st, 1864. 



EAEE BIEDS IN NORTHUMBERLAND. 



By. T. H. Gibb. 



OspRET — (Falco hallceetus) — A few weeks ago I had the pleasure 

 of preserving a very beautiful specimen of this bird captured on the con- 

 fines of the Cheviot Hills. It proved to be an immature female, measur- 

 ing 26 inches in length and 65 inches in extent of wings. I found the 

 oesophagus and crop much dilated with the remains of a large trout, the 

 pectoral fin and eye of which were in a good state of preservation, and 

 judging from their size I should say the fish could not have been less 

 than two-and-a-half pounds in weight. 



This noble bird is of rare occurrence in Northumberland, and but few 

 persons have been so fortunate as to see him in all his native majesty. 

 Last year, however, two individuals took up their abode on the banks of 

 the river Aln, and afforded the " lucky few " many opportunities of ob- 

 serving them in their piscatorial expeditions. These birds were bold and 

 fearless — caring very little for the presence of man, but eventually one of 

 them (a male) fell a victim to his temerity, as he was shot whilst hawking 

 in too close proximity to a mill. 



