234 GLAREOLID^l. 



ments on the sand very much resembled those of the Ringed 

 Plover (Zool. p. 3710); and the late Mr. Ross informed 

 Mr. Gatcombe that he once saw two on the Warren Sands, 

 near Exmouth (Rowe's B. of Devon, p. 32). Mr. J. C. 

 Mansell-Pleydell states (B. of Dorset, p. 25) that one which 

 is in the collection of Viscount Portman was shot at Bryan- 

 ston, on the banks of the Stour, some years ago ; and he 

 mentions two others as having been seen in the county. 



In October, 1864, a maimed or weary bird was knocked 

 over with shingle on the beach of Stokes Bay, near Gosport 

 (Zool. s.s. p. 2944). In June, 1874, the late E. H. Rodd 

 obtained a male Pratincole in the flesh, which had been shot 

 when apparently hawking for insects over a pool on the 

 Lizard downs (Zool. s.s. p. 4077) ; and Mr. E. C. Phillips 

 states that one was observed some time since by two com- 

 petent observers near Hay, in Breconshire (Zool. 1882, 

 p. 213). An example is cited by the Rev. M. A. Mathew 

 (Zool. 1881, p. 309) as having been killed on the Mendips, 

 in Somersetshire ; and there are probably several unrecorded 

 specimens in existence. 



In Ireland a Pratincole is stated to have been shot by the 

 Rev. Joseph Stopford, at Castlefreke, Co. Cork, in the 

 month of October, a few years previous to 1843, but the 

 specimen was not preserved.* 



The Pratincole is only a straggler to Denmark, Germany, 

 Belgium, and the northern portion of France, but in the 

 south-eastern districts of the latter country it breeds, 

 especially in the Gard. In Savoy and Switzerland it is only 

 a rare visitant, but along the coast of Italy, where it is 

 known as the Pernice di mare, it is a tolerably regular 

 migrant of short stay ; and in Sicily it is to a certain extent 

 resident, breeding abundantly in the southern districts. In 

 the Spanish Peninsula it is very numerous in suitable locali- 

 ties, such as are afforded by the great plains or marisma 

 along the Guadalquivir, where it breeds in hundreds. It 

 also breeds in the Balearic Islands, but in Sardinia it 

 appears to be a somewhat irregular visitant, and in Malta 



* J. R. Harvey, 'Fauna of Cork,' p. 11 (1843). 





