1256 The Zoologist— June, 1868. 



following note. As there are so very few authenticated instances of this bird refraining 

 here to breed, it may not be uninteresting to record that a few years ago (I cannot 

 ascertain the exact dale) a pair of bitterns stayed throughout the summer at one of the 

 large reservoirs in the vicinity of Drayloii-Beauchamp, in Buckinghamshire. Among 

 the extensive reed-beds which line the shores of this piece of water, the bitterns 

 Constructed their nest, which was composed of dry reeds, and, I believe, stalks of 

 various water-plants. In it the female bird deposited Several eggs, which were taken; 

 together with the nest itself, by Mr. Williaus, of Triog Park ; and the female bird was, 

 I legret to say, shot off the uest, and her male forthwith left the neighbourhood for a 

 more secluded retreat. For these particulars I am indebted to the Rev. H. Harpur 

 Crewe; so here is another authenticated instance to be added to the small list of 

 records of the bittern breeding in Great Britain. — Alexander Clark- Kennedy ; 4, Prime's 

 Gardens, W., May 5, 1H68. 



Early Breeding of t lie Common Snipe in Sussex in 1868. — Wanting a specimen of 

 the common snipe to settle a question on the breeding plumage, I requested a friend 

 to procure me a bird, if possible, from the nest: to my surprise he brought me a fine 

 female bird, shot from the nest on Saturday, April 4th, iu which were four eggs: on 

 dissection the bare state of the breast showed that the biid bad been sitting some days. 

 I have the eggs now in my collection, and they are the most beautiful set I ever saw. 

 —Frederick B,md ; 203, Adelaide Road, S.W. May 8, 1868. 



Occurrence of the Green shank and Rme at the Land's End — The greenshauk may 

 be regarded as a scarce bird at all times of the year on our estuaries aud marshes: 

 they mostly appear with us in the spring months, where they show a transition state of 

 plumage from the winter to the sti miner garb: the .specimen I saw which was killed 

 the last week in April near the Land's End, showed this change of plumage iu some 

 of the dorsal feathers having assumed the black centre, whilst the rest of the plumage 

 retained the hair-brown tone peculiar to winter. The interest which the elegance of 

 form of all the Totani affords, is in litis Specif enhanced by the intermediate link it 

 exhibits between the sandpipers and the godwils, in the upturned tendency of the 

 shape of the bill, which in all the true sandpipers is cylindrical, passing through this 

 species to the godwils and from thence iu the fully-developed form of the avocel (.4. 

 rtcurviroslru). I have never observed the ruff and reeve iu our western district, 

 except in the autumnal migration, or perhaps occasionally when the winter months have 

 begun : these have bceu apparently birds of the year. The two small reeves sent in at 

 the same time as the greenshauk appear to be aduli females : oue of the ebaracters of 

 ibis species, viz., iu the female being remarkably less than the male, is a good point 

 (inter alia) for the forming of a new genus for this bird and removing ii from the 

 Tringffi, where we see the opposite character prevail, viz. the larger size of the female 

 than the male. — Edward Hearle Jiudd ; Penzance, May 14, 1868. 



Blue Shark (Carcharias glaucus). — An example of the blue shark, measuring six 

 feet in length, was found dead iu Chichester Harbour, on the 3rd of November, 1867. 

 It had been left in only a few inches of water by the receding tide. I saw the skin d 

 few days after. — W. Jeffery,jun; Ratham, Chichester, May 9, 1868. 



Angler or Fishing Frog (Lophius piscalorius).— A specimeu of this extraordinary 

 fish was exhibited in Chichester on the 7th of March last; its leflgth was Saitf (WW? 



