224 



found in its gizzard, grubs, beetles and small maggots, 

 adding "I believe it was a Cage-Bird, which had got loose." 

 The plate shews it to have been an adult male. 



This species is indeed so common a cage-bird, so patient 

 of captivity and so certain to find, at least for a time, its 

 living in this country (in the case of its escape from confine- 

 ment) that, setting aside the possibility (which is of course 

 not to be denied) of its crossing the Atlantic without human 

 aid, the wonder perhaps is that a far longer list of its 

 occurrences at large in Britain has not to be noticed. More 

 than a century, however, passed away between the time when 

 Albin painted its portrait and that of its being next observed 

 in this island. On June 2d, 1843, an example was shot 

 near Barton Broad in Norfolk, when another bird of the 

 species was said to have been in its company. While quite 

 fresh this specimen, which was a male in good condition, its 

 stomach filled with the remains of beetles, came into the 

 possession of Mr. Gurney, who kindly allowed the preceding 

 figure to be taken from it. In the autumn of 1844 another 

 example, as originally recorded in the ' Supplement ' to the 

 First Edition of this ' History ', was shot among reeds in a 

 brick-field at Shepherd's Bush near London ; and the speci- 

 men, which is now in Mr. Bond's collection, was also lent for 

 the use of this work. It was also a male, apparently older 

 than the Norfolk bird. Mr. Jeifery has recorded (Zool. p. 

 8951) the shooting of a male at Sidlesham in Sussex, Decem- 

 ber 25th, 1863. Mr. Harting mentions having been informed 

 by Mr. J. H. Gurney of another male, said to have been 

 killed near Eomney in Kent, which was seen by him in the 

 hands of a birdstuffer at Rye, in June 1864 or 1865, and in 

 May of the latter year, according to Mr. W. Jesse (Zool. p. 

 9782), a male was seen at Liphook in Hampshire, for about 

 a fortnight. A male, now in Mr. Monk's collection, is said 

 to have been caught near Brighton, March 21st, 1866 (Zool. 

 s.s. p. 229).* A young male, writes Mr. Edward (Zool. 



* Mr. Harting (Handbook, p. 117) speaks of "two others procured at the 

 same time " ; but these specimens, Mr. Rowley informs the Editor, were skins 

 sent to the same birdstuffer to be mounted. 



