SKETCHES OF EUROPEAN ORNITHOLOGY. 479 
and their larve. West: constructed amid long herbage or low bushes, 
of moss, fibrous roots, and withered grasses. Eggs: 4—5, greyish- 
white, speckled with brownish-purple. Sexesalike. Fig. one adult 
male. 
Prate VII. Ruddy Shieldrake,— Tadorna rutila ( Anas Casar- 
ka, Linn.),—le Canard Kasarka, F’r.,—die gelbrothe Ente,G. A 
rare European and still rarer British species, provisionally placed un- 
der Tadorna ; but destined, we sagely predict, ere long, to constitute, 
with Anas tadornoides, a new genus, Casarka? One specimen only 
yet killed in Britain. Food: grasses, aquatic Insects and larve, 
Breeds on borders of large rivers. Eggs: 8—10, white. Female 
distinguished from male by absence of black collar ; less brilliant co- 
louring of plumage ; and grey speckling of back. Fig. adult male. 
Prate VIII. Brake Locustelle (Grasshopper Lark and Warbler, 
of olden time),—Zocustella avicula,—le Bec-fin locustelle, /’r.,— 
Heuschrekensanger, G. A common British species, especially in 
the south. Food: small Mollusca, Insects. Nest: concealed 
among brambles or furze ; formed of moss and dried stems of Gali- 
um. Eggs: 4—5, pinkish-grey, with numerous specks of deeper 
tint. Fig. male and female: dark spots on throat of former, most 
conspicuously marked. 
PrateE IX. Cinereous Shearwater,—Puffinus cinereus,—le Petrel 
Puffin, F’7.,—der Wasserscherer, G. A species lately transferred 
from Procellaria ; widely diffused over Europe; but rare in Bri- 
tain. P. fuliginosus, of Strickland, probably only a young bird of 
present subject. Food, and habits: those of P. Anglorum. Nidi- 
fication unknown. Fig. two adult birds. 
Prate X. Purple Sandpiper,—Tringa maritima,—le Becasseau 
violet, #7.,—Migratory. Winter-visitant in Britain, October— 
April. Distinguished from congeners by rich-violet tint of plumage, 
deeper in summer. Food: small testaceous Mollusca, Crustacea, 
marine plants. Nidification unknown. Fig. an adult male. 
Prate XI. Sky-Lark,—Alauda arvensis,—l’ Alouette des champs, 
Fr.,—Allodola, Jt.—die gemeine oder Feld-Lerche, G.,—de ge- 
meene Leeurik, D. Food: grain, Insects. Nest: on the ground. 
Eggs: 4—5, greyish, spotted with brown. Jig. an adult male, and 
young bird. 
Pirate XII. Common Cuckoo,—Cuculus canorus,—le Coucou 
gris, /’r.,—Cucule cenerino, Jt..—Asch-grauer oder gemeiner Ku- 
kuk, G.,—de Koekoek, D. A bird too well known to require de- 
scription. The adult bird quits Britain on its migration southward, 
