Birds. 9285 
scarcely vary ; at all events they would not vary in the same propor- 
tion as the weight. If one may draw conclusions from a single spe- 
cimen, the food of the two species would appear to be very similar ; 
for I found the stomach of C. hiaticula contained the remains of 
worms, beetles, and numerous small pebbles; while that of C. minor 
was filled with small beetles and a single caddis-worm, but contained 
no sand or pebbles of any sort. I carefully prepared the sternum of 
each, and found a considerable difference in the measurement of the 
corresponding parts, thus :— 
Common Ringed Plover. _Little Ringed Plover, 
Total length of keel . : : ; 1 inch 6 lines. 1 inch 4 lines. 
Length of keel from base of coracoids 1 inch 5 lines. 1 inch 3 lines. 
Greatest depth of keel : . A 7% lines. 5% lines. 
Length ofcoracocid . . . . lines. 6 lines. 
Length of clavicle. : : : 10 lines. 8 lines. 
Length of scapular. : “ ° 1 inch | line. 11 lines. 
Greatest width of furcal bone. 5 4 lines. 3 lines. 
I may add, for the information of Mr. Rodd and other naturalists 
who may have seen his specimen of the little ringed plover, which 
was killed at Scilly in October last, that his bird and mine appear to 
be identical in size, age and markings. 
J. Epmunp Hartine. 
Kingsbury, Middlesex, 
September 10, 1864. 
Sternum of Little Crake shot in Cambridgeshire. 
By W. W. Bourton, Esq., M.R.C.S. 
AT page 9118 of the ‘ Zoologist’ Mr. Saville records a rare and 
interesting capture of the littlescrake in Cambridgeshire. 
In detail Mr. Saville describes this elegant and rare visitant, which 
appears to be only the seventh really well-authenticated specimen 
that has occurred in Britain. 
Mr. Saville has most kindly forwarded for my inspection the ster- 
num of this interesting specimen, which he had already presented to 
the Oxford Museum. 
Feeling sure that a detailed description of this bone, so rarely seen 
by British naturalists, will prove equally interesting to many of your 
ornithological readers as it has to myself, 1 will, with your permission, 
do my humble best to reproduce its measurements and form on paper. 
