1088 The Zoologist— February, 1868.. 



or from, as I said before, describing the adult from an immature bird. 

 It is with no disrespect 1 refer to these authors, or to correct errors 

 in their writings, which would occupy these pages for years, but only 

 to show the British zoologist that he need not yet go from home to do 

 a little good towards a true history of this particular branch of Ornith- 

 ology. The heading of this letter speaks my sentiments, my hopes. 

 It should be a comfort and a solace to the naturalist, tied down by 

 many a reason to his native land. It should be one matter, that one 

 confirmed or new fact in British Ornithology is worth a cabinet full of 

 foreign skins. Instead of egg taking and breaking,— the curse, I 

 emphatically state it, the curse against the progression and increase of 

 species, — the curse that has thinned our noble sea-fowl, — remorseless 

 slaughter of birds that a child could kill, either for pleasure or emolu- 

 ment, — the picking off of every poor stranger that storm or the 

 increasing design of Nature has driven to our shores, — which seem 

 now the most noble pursuit of the British ornithologist: — instead, I 

 say, of these, if a deeper attention was paid to the habits, the ways, 

 the secret life of birds, the result would be different: beautiful and 

 wonderful kuowledge versus egg-midwives, abortive bird-stuffers, and 

 accounts of butchery or the amount of feathers in the stomach of every 



poor grebe that is shot. 



IIa:.i;i Blake-Knox. 

 Dalkey, County Dublin. 



Errata.— Letter V., page 625, for "Kingston," read "Kingstown." Page 628, 

 first line, for " from slowly moving clouds of smoke," read " form slowly moving clouds 

 like smoke."—//. B.-K. 



Ornithological Notes from the Isle of Wight. 



By Captain Hadfield. 



(Contiuued from Zool. S. S. 987.) 



October, 1867. 



Sky Lark. — October 8. Larks observed in flocks. The thermo- 

 meter had fallen fifteen degrees between the 2nd and 4th. 



Grasshopper Warbler. — Has occasionally been met with. On the 

 11th one rose close to me in a turnip-field and alighted on a hedge, 

 into which it quickly crept out of sight. The elongated tail and 

 wavering flight reminded me of the Darlford warbler. 



Linnet. — October 11. First seen flocking together. 



