THE ZooLoGist—A PRIL, 1872. 3009 
upwards. It is rather a singular fact that on the 24th of Novem- 
ber, 1870, an immature night heron was shot in the immediate 
vicinity of the place where the little bittern was killed, the capture 
of which I recorded in the proceedings of the Berwickshire 
Naturalists’ Club for 1870. 
Raven.—Twenty years ago this bird was not altogether un- 
common in the hilly districts of our county, the Cheviots affording 
shelter to many pairs; but through the indiscriminate onslaught of 
gamekeepers they have become so rare that their destruction in 
Northumberland, like that of other rapacious birds, seems only a 
question of time. Happily, however, a pair bred last year in an 
old haunt in a secluded part of the Cheviot Hills. Most, if 
not all, of their young, were taken alive from the nest; one of them 
came into my possession, but owing to the mischievous and 
dangerous tricks in which he delighted to indulge, I had to send 
him away. 
Peregrine.—A mature male was captnred in the month of May 
on the Cheviot Hills. The peregrine is much less common now 
than it was in former years, many of the old breeding-places having 
been deserted for some years. An immature male was taken in a 
very curious manner near Alnwick a few years ago. A strange 
noise was heard by a country lad, who, on going to the place from 
whence the sound came, discovered two birds, a peregrine and 
a kestrel, fighting with so good an interest that he was enabled to 
approach near enough to strike them with a whip, killing the 
former on the spot, while the latter was so mauled by its more 
weighty antagonist that it expired shortly after having been 
taken up. 
Velvet Scoter.—In the month of August a male in very perfect 
plumage was captured alive, i in an exhausted condition, on a point 
of rocks on our sea-bord. It is the first I have seen in this 
locality, and it may be difficult perhaps to account for its appear- 
ance here at the above season of the year, as 1 am not aware it has 
been observed, except as a winter visitant. 
Purple Sandpiper.—This bird, a short time ago, was very 
numerous on some parts of the Northumberland coast. In December 
as many as five specimens were shot in one week. _ It is rather 
curious that they were never seen by themselves, but always in the 
company of the purre. Two of the five killed were females; these 
were much lighter in their plumage than the males, the purple- 
