» ba Dee a ee Ae 
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Birds. 8875 
The Whitetailed Eagle at Shoreham.—lI have a beautiful specimen of the white- 
tailed eagle, which was brought to me on Friday, November 13th; it had been killed 
the day before at Shoreham, where it was first observed flying over the town, and was 
marked down near the edge of the water. A friend of mine having heard of it, im- 
mediately went in pursuit, but before he reached the spot it had been disturbed by a 
coast-guardsman: it then flew about half a mile, followed by a number of rooks and 
gulls, anxious to drive it from the neighbourhood. Before my friend came up with it, it 
again rose, and flew a long distance on towards Worthing: with the greatest haste, he 
again made towards it, and, creeping behind a ridge of the beach, got within forty-three 
yards of it; on his first looking over, it was feeding on a gull, but immediately the bird 
saw him, it rose with great difficulty, when he shot it, breaking the right wing, but even 
after this it was a very formidable creature to secure. -The bird proves to bea female, 
measuring in length 3 feet 4 inches, and in extent of wings 7 feet 11 inches. The 
plumage is very fine, having, I suppose, completed its moulting; the tail is about three 
parts white. It is very remarkable that the wing was broken with No. 6 shot.— 
H. Pratt ; 44, Ship Street, Brighton. 
Osprey near Preston—I purchased a fine osprey, shot close to this town, on our 
marsh: it was assailed by a number of crows, and fell a victim to another enemy 
whilst combating its courageous foes. It is quite astonishing to see with what daring 
the crows attack the hawk tribe: I have seen them several times this summer beat off 
hawks when they have ventured near their nests—J. B. Hodgkinson. 
A Jerfulcon shot in the South of Scotland.—Mr. W. Scott, gamekeeper to his grace 
the Duke of Buccleugh, has shot, at Tandlaw Moss, a fine specimen of the jerfalcon, 
which measures 49 inches between the tips of the wings and 20 inches from the point 
of the beak to the tip of the tail. When shot it fell into a loch, and, wounded as it 
was, darted so furiously at the dog that he could not bring the bird out, and Mr. Scott 
had to wade for it himself. He intends presenting it to the Museum; and when 
placed there it will complete the collection of the falcon tribe, as the other species are 
already represented.— Hawick Advertiser. 
Singular Capture of a Hawk.—A sparrow feeding at the bottom of a newly-made 
grave, in the cemetery in the parish of Deptford, attracted the attention of a hawk 
soaring above, who descended from its dizzy height “into the limits of the narrow 
grave.” ‘The narrowness of “the last mortal resting place” prevented the hawk from 
again rising, aud it was easily caught by Fletcher, the gravedigger. The bird is 
now in the possession of Mr. Hurlstone, of Ladywell, Lewisham.—‘ Field, 
Honey Buzzard at Goodwood.—In the first week of the present month a large bird 
was seen on Halnaker Common, near Goodwood, by one of the Duke of Richmond’s 
gamekeepers, in the act of scratching out a wasp’s nest. The mun, being without a 
gun, allowed the bird to escape, but, on returning to the place with a gun, found it 
enjoying its meal of wasps, and shot it. From the circumstance of the bird feeding on 
the contents of a wasp’s nest, I conclude there is no doubt of its being a honey 
buzzard. —W. Jeffrey, jun. ; Ratham, Chichester, November 27, 1863. 
Barn Owl’s Nest with Eight Eggs.—I do not know whether it is generally known 
that the barn owl lays eight eggs; I certainly had no idea myself, having consulted 
no works on the subject. During my stay at Witherslick I took a nest with eight 
eggs, and then again the old bird laid six more. I much wanted the eggs, and had 
very much difficulty in getting them, owing to the great store set upon the barn owl 
for its services in thinning the mice in the barns. It was the only instance in which 
