268 SKETCHES OF EUROPEAN ORNITHOLOGY. 



he assigns this bird to the genus Curruca ; influenced in so doing 

 by the consideration that, of all the then established genera among 

 the Sylviadce, it is to this that it approaches the nearest. The 

 Prince of Musignano has recently established a new genus for its 

 reception, under the title of Nisoria, of which it stands as the type. 

 Its peculiar features consist in its lengthened elegant form and its 

 gray tone of colouring, relieved by numerous transverse bars of black 

 and white. 



Sabine's Snipe, Scolopax Sabini, Vigors. This rare bird is figur- 

 ed in company with the 



Common Snipe, Scolopax Gallinago, Linn. — Becassine ordinaire, 

 Fr. — Heerschnepfe, G. — Beccacino reale, //. Both birds are well 

 drawn, but the Sabine's Snipe stands on a ground out of all per- 

 spective. — Of the Common Snipe nothing need be said. The Scolo- 

 pax Sabini is to be distinguished by the total absence of white from 

 its plumage, or any of those tints of ferruginous yellow which 

 extend more or less in stripes along the head and back of the Com- 

 mon and others of the genus. The occurrence of this bird in the 

 British Islands is very rare. " The first example was killed in 

 Queen's County, Ireland, in August, 1822, and was sent to Mr. 

 Vigors the same day : it was described by him under the above 

 title in Vol. XIV. of the Trans. Linn. Soc, and is now contained 

 in the museum of the Zoological Society. * * A second exam- 

 ple was shot on the banks of the Medway, near Rochester, 1824. 

 Besides these, Mr. Selby informs us that he has received a fresh 

 specimen of this rare Snipe from Morpeth ; and we ourselves know 

 of another example killed in Ireland. * * In the number of its 

 tail feathers, which are twelve, it differs from the Scolopax major, 

 which has sixteen, and from Scolopax gallinago, which has four- 

 teen. It agrees, however, in this point with Scolopax gallinula, 

 which has also but twelve : but it can never be confounded with 

 that bird, from the great disproportion between the essential cha- 

 racters of both ; the bill alone of Scolopax Sabini exceeding that of 

 the latter species by one third of its length." — Of the native regions 

 of this Snipe and of ics habits nothing is known. 



The Lanner Falcon, Falco lanarius, Linn. — Faucon lanier, Fr. 

 — Le Vrai Lanier, Buffi, Ois. V. I, p. 243. Eastern Europe, Asia, 

 and Africa, are the portions of the globe over which the range of 

 this fine Falcon extends. Its visits to Western Europe, are only 

 occasional : it has never occurred in our Islands. The Lanner occu- 

 pies an intermediate place between the Peregrine Falcon and the 

 Cyrfalcon, but approximates nearer to the former, from which, how- 



