14 



KNOWLEDGE. 



[Janitabt 2, 1899. 



Conducted by Hakry F. Witherby, f.z.s., m.b.o.u. 



Common Buzzakd ajtd Domestic Fo^^x. — -The Buzzard 

 on the right-hand side of the accompanying illustration 

 was taken about seven years ago in Wales. In 1896, the 

 bird laid a couple of eggs, which I took away and replaced 

 by two fowl's eggs. She sat on these for a time and then 

 eat them. In 1898 she again evinced a desire to nest, and 

 I supplied her with materials as on the former occasion. 

 She built a nest in a corner of the cage, which is about 



twenty feet by eight feet by eight feet, and laid two eggs. 

 I again substituted two fowl's eggs, one of which she 

 hatched out, but the chick disappeared, and whether she 

 eat it or not I do not know. As the bird still seemed 

 inclined to sit, 1 put three fowl's eggs in the nest. Two 

 of these were hatched, but one chicken died. The other 

 is the one shown on the left of the Buzzard in the illus- 

 tration. I fed the chickens on hard-boiled eggs, chopped 

 small, and the Buzzard used also to eat this food. Gradu- 

 ally the Buzzard fed the chicken on meat, and now the 

 latter feeds on both meat and corn ; it will not, however, 

 eat maize. The chicken and Buzzard roost side by side 

 on the perch at night, and are most friendly. The chicken 

 is fond of birds and has even tried to help the Buzzard to 

 kill them. It is now large, and appears to have thriven 

 well on meat. — Alan F. Crossmax, St. Cuthberts, Berk- 

 hamsted, Herts. 



Honey Buzzard at Peterhead. — There was shot at 

 Kinmundy, on September 19th, an immature specimen of 

 the Honey Buzzard. The plumage was dark brown, with 

 a slightly lighter shade on the cheeks, throat, and belly ; 

 there were three bars of a slightly darker colour on the 

 under side of the tail feathers ; these feathers were like- 

 wise tipped with grey. The plumage was very close, and 

 when separated showed abundance of white. There was 

 one shot at Pitfour, in the same neighbourhood — probably 

 a young male — seven or eight years ago, and is in the 

 possession of the gamekeeper there. — William Serle, 

 Musselburgh. 



Wood-Sandpiper in Co. Mayo. — At a meeting of the 

 British Ornithological Club held on November 16th, 1898, 

 ■Mr. Howard Saunders exhibited, on behalf of Mr. W. 

 Drury, a specimen of the Wood-Sandpiper {Totanus 



qlareola), shot by the latter near Lough Cullin, in Co. 

 Mayo, Ireland, on September 5th last. Only three ex- 

 amples of this species have previously been recorded from 

 Ireland, and all of them from one locality, viz., in Co. 

 Wicklow. 



Greater Spotted Woodpecker at Peterhead. — On the 

 30th October I was shown two woodpeckers that were 

 shot the previous day at Grange Gardens, behind the 

 town. They were both young males ; on the one the 

 cardinal colour was developing on the head, and showed 

 fully on the vent, but the white on the upper lesser wing 

 coverts did not show largely. The head of the other 

 showed the cardinal colour fully, as likewise the white on 

 the lesser wing coverts, but the cardinal colour on the 

 vent only slightly. — Willlu^i Serle, Musselburgh. 



Spvfffd CraVe In County Down (The Field, Xoveml)er 19tli, 1898).— 

 " J. R." reports that lie shot a Spotted Crake, whicli is rare in Ireland, 

 at Seaforde, County Down, on Norember oth, and that the specimen 

 is now in the hands of Messrs. Slieals, taxidermists, of Belfast. 



Vernacular Xames of Birds (The Safuralist. December, 1898). — 

 Interesting lists of vernacular names of birds, by Oiley Grabham, 

 F R. Collins, and Max Peacock, appear in this number. 



Ospret/s near London {The Field, December 3rd. 1898). — Mr. J. E. 

 Harting gives here an account of the various visits of the Osprey to 

 the neighbourhood of London. " Best," in a letter to the Standard, 

 of September 20tli last, described the actions of an Osprey, which he 

 watched at the Penn Ponds, Richmond Park, on September 16th. 

 Dr. Albert Giinther saw an Osprey soaring over Kew Gardens on 

 September 15th, 1898. Mr. Harting gives many records of Ospreys 

 shot or seen near London since 1855, and considers that " these 

 instances serve to show that Ospreys may be annually looked for near 

 Loudon during the autumn months." 



Additional Xotes on the Great Auh- or Garefowl. By Symington 

 Grieve (Transactions of the Edinburgh Field Naturalists' and 

 Microscopical Society, Vol. II [..Part 7). — These notes are additional 

 to a paper printed in Part 6 of the Transactions of this Society. One 

 newly recorded skin, belonging to M. Le Baron de Yilmarest, of 

 Nielles-les-Ardres, is specially dealt with. 



A Pet Cuckoo. By Charles Campbell (Transactions of the 

 Edinburgh Field Naturalists' and Microscopical Society, Vol. III., 

 Part. 7). — We have here an accoimt of a cuckoo which has been in 

 captivity for over two years. 



AU contributions to tlte column, either in the way of notes 

 or photographs, should be fonvarded to Habry F. Witherby, 

 at 1, Eliot Place, Blackheath, Kent. 



flotircs of Boolis. 



« 



Birds of the British Empire. By Dr. W. T. Greene, F.Z.S. 

 (The Imperial Press.) Illustrated, os. net. It has never been 

 our misfortune to criticise a more inaccurate book than the one 

 before us. Where the author has obtained his information we 

 know not, but, with so many standard works on ornithology at 

 command to refer, it is most astonishing how Dr. Greene could 

 have filled his book with such startling errors. The following 

 •are two samples of the author's ornithology : — Page 23, '' The 

 Pied Wagtail is only found, out of Britain, in the Scandinavian 

 peninsula." The Pied Wagtail is found in Denmark, Holland, 

 Belgium, France, Portugal, and other countries. Page 154, 

 speaking of the Knot, the author says : " Some, however, 

 remain to breed." The first and only authenticated eggs of the 

 Knot were only lately discovered in the Arctic regions. Besides 

 containing a number of glaring errors like the above, the book 

 is very carelessly constructed. For instance, descriptions of 

 many birds which should have been included are omitted, and 

 many which are included should have been omitted. Long and 

 often most inaccurate descriptions of the plumage of each bird 

 are inserted, whereas it is only necessary in many cases to 

 say how one bird difiers from another. In most cases the 

 author describes the summer plumage, but this is only to be 

 guessed, for no mention is made either of summer or winter. 



Eclipses of the Moon in India. By Robert Sewell. Con- 

 tinuation of the " Indian Calendar." About a year ago we 

 noticed the appearance of the "Indian Calendar," a volume of 

 the utmost importance to those engaged in the decipherment 

 of Indian inscriptions and the compilation of Indian history, 



