290 BIRD-LIFE IN A SOUTHERN COUNTY. 



the Green-winged Teal, the Red-breasted Snipe, 

 the Buff-breasted Sandpiper, the American Stint, 

 Bonaparte's Sandpiper, the Pectoral Sandpiper, 

 the Spotted Sandpiper, the Killdeer Plover (seen 

 only, conf. p. 189), and the Surf Scoter. For 

 some unaccountable reason no mention is made 

 in Messrs. D'Urban and Mathews' Birds of Devon 

 of a fine male example of the Harlequin Duck, 

 presumably shot in Tor Bay, and now in the 

 Torquay ^useum. We say presumably, for, un- 

 fortunately, there is neither date nor locality 

 attached to the specimen. With the kind assist- 

 ance of Mr. Else, we were enabled to ascertain 

 that the bird was bought from Mr. Burt, a former 

 curator, by the Torquay Natural History Society, 

 for the sum of ten shillings, at a committee 

 meeting held on the 4th of July 1861. Burt, we 

 are assured, had no means of getting foreign skins, 

 and evidently was ignorant of the value of the 

 bird. He was a very keen collector, and either 

 sold, or more generally presented, great numbers 

 of birds (including many rarities) to the Society. 

 We are confident that the specimen bears every 

 appearance of being stuffed by him, and that 

 other rare birds, well known to be local, are 



