142 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS. 



during the vernal and autumnal migrations : it usually 

 arrives at the end of April or early in May. George 

 Hall, of Eton, has often shot this bird near Windsor, 

 and it is not unfrequently brought to the Eton and 

 Windsor birdstufifers for preservation. It has been 

 observed near Wantage and in the vicinity of Reading, 

 and I believe on the Chiltern Hills. Specimens have 

 been obtained near Aylesbury, and in open fields near 

 the large reservoirs at Drayton Beauchamp. It has 

 been observed also at Datchet and near Maidenhead. 



One was killed by Mr. H. Daly, about the year 

 1848, in a field called the ' Brocas,' on the banks of 

 the river near Eton. 



I am indebted to Mr. Sharpe for a notice of a 

 Ringed Plover which was shot by Mr. J. Ford, of Cook- 

 ham, on Cockmarsh Common about five years ago. 



Family — SCOLOPACID^. 



Common Curlew {Numenms arqtiata). Provin- 

 cial, WJiaiip. Visits the banks of the Thames and 

 the large sheets of water near Drayton Beauchamp 

 while on its annual migration in the spring and 

 autumn ; and occasionally a few are observed in 

 the -f inter months. This bird has been shot near 

 Chesham, Cookham, Maidenhead, Surley, Windsor, 

 and Datchet, and from other localities along the 

 river I have received notices of its occurrence. Mr. 

 Howard has occasionally shot Curlews near Woburn, 

 and on the Chiltern Hills. 



