9684 Birds. 



Magazine of Natural History.' Excellent and comprehensive as that 

 account was, at that time, 1 believe now, from the very great interest 

 taken in everything that relates to Natural History, and from the 

 increasing number of collectors, few rare birds escape ; and therefore 

 I trust to be able to lay before the readers of the ' Zoologist' a far 

 larger catalogue of rarities, obtained in this countj^ than has ever been 

 submitted to them before. Of course I do not flatter myself that this 

 short statement of facts can be complete, from the difficulty of obtaining 

 correct information. Many of our occasional visitants fall into the 

 hands of persons entirely ignorant of their value, or even of their 

 names, and are either thrown away or perhaps eaten, or at best con- 

 signed to the skill of some local taxidermist, where they probably 

 remain, distorted and uncared for. As it has been my object for some 

 time past to possess the best collection of our British birds that could 

 be obtained by an individual, I have particularly directed my attention 

 to the birds of this county, and I am happy to say that my museum is 

 enriched by many specimens of our rarer birds, killed in Shropshire. 

 Living as I do almost on the borders of Herefordshire and Radnor- 

 shire, 1 shall include in this account any specimens of interest that 

 may have been captured within a i'ew miles of this place, though not 

 strictly " Shropshire-killed ;" and I believe the best and simplest way 

 will be to follow the arrangement and nomenclature adopted in the 

 third edition of Mr. Yarrell's ' British Birds.' 



Whitelailed Eagle (Haliaietus albicilla). — Three examples of this 

 fine eagle have been obtained in this county within the last few years, 

 all of them, 1 believe, in immature plumage; one at Halslon, in the 

 possession of Mr. Edmund Wright; another belonging to Mr. Henry 

 Cavendish Taylor, of Chyknell ; and a third to Mr. Robert Henry 

 Cheney, of Badger Hall. I may also mention that a fourth was killed 

 last jear at Croggen, in Merionethshire, at present in the occupation 

 of Mr. Henry Robertson, C.E. : this was a fine and well-marked 

 example of an immature bird. 



Osprey (Pandion halia;etus). — A fine specimen was killed at Chet- 

 wynd, near Newport, belonging to Mr. Burton Borough, mentioned by 

 Mr. Eyton. In October, 18-11, another bird was seen for some days 

 frequenting Clun Pool, a piece of water belonging to Earl Powis : 

 after some unsuccessful attempts to shoot it, old Wright, the keeper, 

 succeeded in wounding the bird ; it flew off, and, strange to say, fell 

 dead in the stable-yard at Walcot, the Shropshire residence of Lord 

 Powis: the distance traversed must liave been at least three miles. 



