Birds. 9121 
and is brought in contact with a greater surface of water and mud whilst feeding, so 
that the bird hunts its ground more rapidly than it could were the bill formed on any 
other plan. Again, how beautiful is the arrangement of that fringe or ciliated border 
which is spread around the outer and lower margin of the upper mandible, directed 
downwards along two-thirds of its extent, and inwards along the remaining third! By 
this arrangement nothing can be lost; every mouthful of water and mud being 
perfectly filtered, and the solid contents and inhabitants being thus retained or rejected 
subject to the will or instinct of the bird. The unusual length of the bill enables the 
bird to search a greater depth as well as expanse of mud in pursuit of its living prey. 
The stomach of the bird I dissected was nearly empty, and contained chiefly minute 
gravel and vegetable matters, most probably swallowed with the food, rather than as 
food, although it is not improbable that this duck may resort to the softer and less 
highly organized forms of vegetable life when its more natural sustenance is scarce. 
The shoveller is a rare duck in this neighbourhood. I possess the only pair that have 
been shot near Beverley to my knowledge or recollectiun.— W. W. Boulton; Beverley, 
April 21, 1864. 
Crested Grebe in the Humber.—Mr. Boulton will, I trust, pardon me for putting him 
on his guard when purchasing specimens in the Hull Market. Dealers in game here 
are by no means particular in giving a wrong history of any bird they may have for 
sale, and will frequently palm off a specimen as “ British killed,” if not closely ques- 
tioned. The specimen of the horned grebe alluded to by Mr. Boulton as having been 
killed in our river may certainly be British, although I have never heard of the bird 
‘being seen on the Humber. According to my opinion, it is far more likely to have 
eome with the large importations of birds we have lately received from Holland, Nor- 
way, &c. Only last week I examined a large number of ruffs and redshanks from 
Rotterdam, which would probably all have been described as home-killed bad the 
dealer suspected I examined them as a naturalist. During the winter months the 
impertation of game from Norway has been of a sadly miscellaneous character: as an 
instance I give a list of Norwegian birds offered as articles of fod in one dealer's 
shop: capercaillie, black cock, hazel hen (Tetrao bonasia), willow grouse, longtailed and 
pintailed ducks, redthroated diver, Eider duck, cormorant, gannet, guillemot, and a 
host of others rather too strong in flavour to be palatable, I should imagine.—George 
Norman; Hull, May 4, 1864. 
Doubts as to the Occurrence of the Ruddy Shieldrake and Spotted Sandpiper at 
Epworth.—In Mr. Hudson’s communication (Zovl. 9046) these two birds are recorded 
as having occurred at Epworth, and the record has induced several communications ex- 
pressing doubts. It has always been my endeavour to avoid the offence which is frequently 
given quite unintentionally by the mode in which such doubts have been expressed, 
and I will therefore, instead of printing the communications I have received on this 
subject, invite Mr. Hudson to give us further information on the two birds mentioned, 
first offering a few words on the species in question. The ruddy shieldrake (Anas 
rutila of Pallas) is one of the very rarest of our occasiunal visitors, and a specimen of 
the common shieldrake (Anas tadorna of Linneus) may possibly have been mistaken for 
it. The spotted sandpiper (Totanus macularius of Temminck) is an American bird, and 
has never been obtained in Great Britain at all, the figure in Mr. Yarrell’s work having 
been drawn from a skin which has been proved to be North American, and is now in 
the possession of Mr. Gurney. That two such birds should have occurred &t the same 
spot, and within a month of each other is very remarkable-—Hdward Newman. 
VOL. XXI1l.. 2L 
