PREFACE. IX 



coast. The stomach contained the legs of the common dunsf 

 beetle. I am indebted for this communication to the kind- 

 ness of R. T. Abraham, Esq., of Heavitree, near Exeter. 



The American Purple Martin. Hirundo purpurea. 

 Three examples of this bird have now come under notice ; 

 one killed in Ireland, and tAvo in England. A figure and 

 particulars are given on a single leaf, to be inserted in the 

 second volume after page 232. 



The Alpine Swift. Cj/pselus alpinus, vol. ii. p. 239. 

 A fine specimen of this bird was killed at Oakingham on the 

 8th of October, 1841. I saw it before it was skinned, Mr. 

 Gould having brought the bird to London to preserve it for 

 his friend, who shot it. 



The Barbary Partridge. Perdix petrosa, GouWs 

 Birds of Europe, Part I. A bird of this species was picked 

 up dead by a man that was hedging near Melton Mowbray, 

 in the spring of 1842. The plumage did not exhibit the 

 slightest indication that the bird had been in confinement, 

 the ends of the wings and tail being clean and quite perfect. 

 It was a female, and the eggs inside were as large as sloes. 

 I received this information from Mr. Robert Widdowson of 

 Melton Mowbray, who possesses this specimen, and who 

 sent me up a coloured drawing, taken from the bird, by 

 which the species was immediately recognised. Two or three 

 years ago, a bird of this same species was shot by a gentle- 

 man during the sporting season on the estate of the Mar- 

 quis of Hertford, at Sudbourn in Suffolk. The Barbary 

 Partridge, a red-legged species, inhabits North Africa, the 

 Islands of the Mediterranean, the South of Europe, and the 

 rocky mountainous parts of Spain. A few have probably 

 been introduced to this country with the other more common 

 red-legged species. 



The Great Bustard. Otis tarda, vol. ii. p. 362. 

 Early in February last, 1843, E. H. Rodd, Esq. of Pen- 



