The Zoologist— February, 1867. 605 



following particulars concerning its capture: — " The bird was shot at Billholm, near 

 Laugholm, Dumfriesshire, and is the property of Mr. Richard Bell, of Billholm. It 

 was shot by him on the 1st of December, whilst soaring over his head, and it fell, 

 bursting its gizzard, which was quite gorged with food." I regret I cannot send you 

 the measurements of this bird, as I believe they were not taken before its being 

 stuffed. — John A. Harvie Brown ; Dunipace House, Falkirk, January 15, 1867. 



Cornish Specimens of the Jerfalcon and Redfooted Falcon. — The specimen of the 

 jerfalcon which you have recorded in the pages of the ' Zoologist' as having been 

 'killed at Port Eliot, near St. Germans, has come into my possession, as well as of the 

 redfooted falcon, lulled on Wembury Cliff, in Plymouth Sound. The former is nearly 

 an adult male bird, with the head and throat entirely white, as well as the whole of the 

 tail-feathers, both upper and lower surfaces: from the lower part of the throat to the 

 whole of the belly are sparingly distributed drop-like spots pointing downwards; these 

 are largest on the flank above the thigh-feathers, which are also pure white ; the shape 

 of these spots underneath may be best described by likening their shape to the down- 

 stroke of a note of admiration. Mr. Vincombe, from whom I had the bird, assured me 

 that the cere and legs were blue: he had it alive for some time. The redfooted falcon 

 is a very good and adult male, in the dark slate plumage with tile-red thighs. — 

 Edward llearle Rodd ; Penzanee. 



Remarkable Shot. — On the 8th of the present month a somewhat remarkable shot 

 was made here by a bird-preserver, whilst out seeking specimens : he saw three black- 

 birds sitting on a bush, the weather being very warm and the sun shining brightly: 

 on the same bush, above the blackbirds, but in close quarters with them, sat another 

 larger bird quietly preening his feathers: he shot at the larger bird, and great was his 

 surprise to find that he had shot a beautiful male kestrel together with one of the 

 blackbirds. This fact, I think, does away with the supposed propensity of the kestrel 

 preying on birds, or at all events it shows that the blackbirds had no such fears in this 

 instance: I believe, in the many cases in which the kestrel has been detected feeding 

 on birds, they have found them dead. — Stephen Clogg ; Looe, Cornwall, January 10, 

 1867. 



Our Gray Shrikes. — Since writing last month on the subject of two kinds of gray 

 shrike, I have been able to refer to Wilson's ' American Ornithology.' I find he speaks 

 of two kinds, viz. — 



1. American Shrike (Lanius excubitor, Wilson; L. borealis, Vieillot). 



2. Loggerhead Shrike (L. carolinensis, Wilson ; L. ludovicianus, Linnaeus). 



The first seems to be the same bird as our L. excubitor, though he speaks of only one 

 white spot, and of crescentic marks on the under part of the male, which would only 

 apply to the immature bird. This, however, is not surprising, as no one seems to have 

 noticed the marked distinction which appears to exist between the male and female of 

 our L. excubitor, the former when adult having two spots, the latter one. The second 

 of the above-named species seems to me to be this species, of which Mr. Itodd's bird (de- 

 scribed before as No. 2) may prove to be a specimen ; the only noticeable difference being 

 that L. carolinensis has a line of black in front of the head over the beak, which No. 2 has 

 not ; but the absence of this may perhaps be conuected for by age and sex. The above 

 confirms my former remark that the various notices in the ' Zoologist' — with one excep- 

 tion (Zool. 2650), where the mistake is calling the smaller bird L. borealis — refer simply 

 to examples of L. excubitor. Still it appears probable that when the distinction is 



