Birds. 9456 



safely reckon that it is little short of 30 inches lengthwise, by about 21 inches in cir- 

 cumference breadthwise, and is probably little smaller than the egg of the ^pyornis, 

 coQsidering that the one referred to is the largest of the three extant. Though the 

 correspondent of the ' Times ' revives the old story of the discovery of the moa by the 

 " wandering miners," I will not discuss that subject ; but I think the writer wrong in 

 supposing that the finding of this egg tends to prove or bear out the statements 

 respecting the recent existence of the moa: we have yet to learn that it is not a fos- 

 silized egg that has been found ; for we are told that the shell of the egg of the 

 Dinornis, unlike that of the jEpyornis, is comparatively slight, therefore likely to be 

 shattered by the heavy blow of a pickaxe ; whereas this egg remains perfectly sound, 

 except on the side accidently chipped, which goes far to prove its opaqueness. This 

 precious and unique object should be secured, if possible, for the British Museum. 

 Though I find, on referring to a work on New Zealand, published thirty years ago, 

 that the Maovies bury their dead in a sitting posture (" the legs of the dead body 

 being tied up in such a position as to cause the knees nearly to touch the chin"), it 

 says nothing of their having anything placed in the hands ; possibly it was an 

 ancient custom, though long since fallen into disuse. Probably the egg was intended 

 as a provision for the journey to the realms above, or, as the Maories say, "possibly to 

 the regions below," or for an offering to propitiate Wiro, the evil spirit, as, during life, 

 they use incantations to propitiate the spirit Atua (the lizard). Probably the skeleton 

 was that of a chief, for it is unlikely that that of an inferior should have been thus 

 highly honoured. — Henry Hadfield ; Venlnor, Isle of Wight, December 16, 1864. 



Great Gray Shrike in Suffolk. — A fine mature male example of the great gray 

 shrike {Lanius excuhilor) was shot ou the 8th of November last, in Outton Wood, near 

 Beccles. It was in good condition, being exceeeiugly fat. On its dissection the 

 remains of an individual of Parus cseruleus were taken from its stomach. — T. E. 

 Gunn ; Norwich. 



The Stonechat and Whinchat Winter Residents in Norfolk.— Mr. Yarrell, in his 

 admirable work on British Birds, observes the stonechat {Sylvia ruhicola) to be a con- 

 stant winter resident in this country. I have not unfrequently watched for this lively 

 and interesting species myself during that season, but have hitherto failed to detect its 

 appearance in this county, although I have, in a few instances, heard of its occurring 

 here. This season, however, I have been fortunate enough to secure two nice adult 

 specimens, male and female, for myself. A friend who was out shooting two or three 

 days since on Ormesby Broad, near Yarmouth, shot the birds in question, and very 

 kindly presented them to me. 1 have since preserved them, and have them still in my 

 possession. In dissecting them I found their stomachs quite distended with beetle-grubs ; 

 in that of the female I counted as many as ten good sized ones; I also took a few 

 wing-cases of minute Coleoptera from the stomach of the male. They had apparently 

 fared well in their winter quarters, as both individuals were exceedingly fat. The 

 occurrence of the whinchat {Sylvia rubelra) in the winter season is recorded by 

 Mr. Yarrell to be of very rare occurrence; he mentions only two instances of its being 

 observed during that season; therefore I think it may interest some of the readers of 

 the ' Zoologist' to hear that I have observed this species on two separate occasions in 

 Norfolk. Once, during the month of January last, I saw an individual, a male, seated 

 on an outer sprig of an hawthorn hedge that divided two fields, which were partly 

 covered with patches of furze: this was in the parish of Hethersett, distant about five 

 miles south-west of this city. On the second occasion I was out boating on the 



