9726 Birds. 



season, and with little of the yellowish tinge about the plumage. 

 I am not aware of their breeding in the neighbourhood, and believe 

 they retire inland soon after their arrival in April. They generally 

 congregate on this coast before their autumnal migration. 



Henrv Hadfield. 

 Ventnor, Isle of Wiglit, August 1, 1865. 



Ornithological Ramble over Bodmin Moors to Dosmartj Pool, ^-c. — I went out to 

 Jamaica Inn on Monday last, tbe lOlh iuslant, and had a long ratable on the moors. 

 It was almost too late for the birds wliicli breed there, and tlie great movement of 

 curlews, sandpipers, &c., from their inland breeding-places to the sea-shoie must take 

 place about the 1st of July: of the former there was not a single bird where, ten days 

 ago, there were several pairs; and the Fowey River was without any old sandpipers, 

 and there was only one brood of young ones able to fly well and take care of them- 

 selves. The rushes by the river were alive with reed buntings, titlarks and sedge 

 warblers. My setter pointed where snipes had been lately boring, and we then had 

 an unsuccessful chase after a young dipper. We looked in vain for any traces of 

 otters, which had been reported as doing much damage by killing the geese. Saw one 

 pair of sand martins, and then turned up over the hill to D.>smary Pool, tiuding every 

 stone fence with its pair of wheatears, and their young just able to fly. There was a 

 flock of seven or eight sandpipers by the pool, and a brown bird among them, which 

 when captured turned out to be a fully-grown young dunlin in very good plumage. 

 Among the stones and shingle at the east end of the pool there was a pair of sand- 

 pipers, which appeared to have small young ones, one of which was discovered 

 scuttling across the sand till it came to a tuft of rushos, where it squatted so closely 

 that my dog had lo be called to find it, and a queer little creature it looked, with great 

 lags of down adhering to its tail and body: on being put into the water, it dived well, 

 as young sandpipers are said to do. After this pretty little exhibition it was allowed to 

 escape without further molestation. At this time I heard a whistle which was not 

 unfamiliar, and a grayish looking bird rose rather wild : visions of every Tringa and 

 Totanus in Yarrell passed before my eyes as an ounce of No. 8 went into its unlucky 

 carcase; " partiiriunt monies," it turned out to be nothing in the world but a poor old 

 ringed plover, which, however, I never expected to find so far from sea-beaches. 

 This finished Dosmary Pool, and we then turned down to the big marshes between the 

 pool and Temple Moor, where there were signs of flappers in a marsh, which was too 

 deep lo get into. My setter found several dunlins, working them in the same way as 

 be does a jack snipe among the turf-piis; they were perfectly lame, running about 

 very quickly, and scarcely taking flight when I went after them ; of course they were 

 not shot at: all I saw were birds of the year. There were also plenty of snipe*, old 

 and young, in all stages of growth ; they appeared to puzzle old " Don," and what 

 with my not shooting at some, and others allowing themselves lo be cau;;ht by hand, 

 be evidently thought a snipe marsh in summer a slow game. We killed two full- 

 grown young snipes, which rose together, (lew for about a hundred yards with their 

 legs hanging down and short tails, looking like small moorhens, and then allowed 

 themselves to be caught by hand without making further attempt at escape. — 

 F. R. R.; Trebarlho, July 14, 1865. [Communicated by Mr. E. Hearle Rodd.] 



