2 BIRDS OF MIDDLESEX. 



moutli. Yarrell records several instances in which 

 the Whitetailecl Eagle has been killed tvitliin a 

 few miles of London, and mentions, amongst other 

 l^laces, Henley, Epping, Coombe Wood, and Wim- 

 bledon Common. It is more than probable, there- 

 fore, especially when we consider the great height 

 at which an Eagle soars, that this bird has unper- 

 ceivedly visited the comity much oftener than has 

 been stated. 



OsPEEY, Falco haliceetus. Although the Osprey 

 has several times been killed in the adjoining 

 counties of Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire, 

 and has been shot on the Thames at Maidenhead, 

 I am at present aware of one specimen only which 

 has been actually obtained in Middlesex, though 

 I have no doubt that this species, like the last- 

 named, has frequently paid us a visit without being 

 noticed. 



On the 1st October, 1863, an Osprey was shot 

 near Uxbridge, and on the following day I h d 

 an opportunity of examining it. It proved on 

 dissection to be a male, and was probably in its 

 third year. The stomach w^as empty, with the 

 exception of a small quantity of coarse sand, but 

 the bird was nevertheless in good condition. It 

 had been observed in the neighbourhood of Ux- 

 bridge for some days before it was killed, and many 

 attempts were made to secure it before it was finally 

 shot. 



