28 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



Anatomy and Physiology' for April, 1882 (pp. 471 — 484). Tlie skeleton 

 of this specimen is preserved in the Anatomical Museum of the University 

 of Edinburgh. — J. E. Hakting. 



BIEDS. 



Records of the Hoopoe in Hampshire. — In most works on British 

 Birds mention is made of two instances of the Hoopoe attempting to breed 

 in Hampshire. One of these rests upon the well-known statement of 

 Gilbert White in his eleventh letter to Pennant, dated 9th September, 1767, 

 that a pair came, "several years ago in the summer," and frequented an 

 ornamental piece of ground joining his garden (Selborne, Hampshire), 

 " and seemed disposed to breed" in his outlet, " but were frightened by idle 

 boys." The second is from Dr. Latham, who states, in his ' Supplement to 

 the General Synopsis of Birds,' 1787 (or in the second Supplement, 1801), 

 that a pair began a nest in Hampshire, but being disturbed forsook it, and 

 went elsewhere. Latham's authority seems to have been Marmaduke 

 Tunstall. Fox states {vide ' Synopsis of the Newcastle Museum,' 1827, 

 Preface, p. ix.) that "an original MS. of Mr. Tunstall's, consisting of 

 remarks on Dr. Latham's ' Synopsis of Birds,' apparently addressed to him 

 soon after the publication of his earlier voUrne, about the year 1783, with 

 additional remarks and corrections in 1784," had come into his hands, and 

 that " Dr. Latham made use of part of his remarks in the first Supplement 

 to his work." Many extracts from this MS. are inserted in the ' Catalogue 

 of the Allan Museum,' and in one of these (p. 01) occurs the note to the 

 entry " The Hoopoe": — " Was informed a pair once began a nest in Hamp- 

 shire, in the hedge of a garden, but being disturbed they forsook it. 

 Tunst. MS." It does not appear that Tunstall was in communication with 

 White, but he was a friend of his correspondent Daines Barriiigton, to whom 

 White wrote first in 17'JU, and through whom the fact of tlie Hoopoes 

 attempting to nest in White's outlet may have been communicated to 

 Tunstall. The slight discrepancy in the two instances may be readily 

 accounted for by the loose statement of Tunstall, as evinced by his men- 

 tioning the Inrds as having begun their nest " in a liedge." White does 

 not mention their beginning a nest at all, and probably Tunstall did not 

 either, by his speaking of them as attempting to nest in this unlikely 

 situation. May not these two Hampshire records be referable to one and 

 the same case? — Oliver V. Aplin (Great Bourton, Oxon). 



Snipe perching. — Whilst at Easterside, Ryerdale, North Yorkshire, 

 last June, I took a walk one evening with the keeper, through some 

 " sievey " fields, where a number of Snipe were breeding, several of which 

 we flushed. One rose in the air, over our heads, emitting the peculiar 

 bleating sound so often noticed, and flew ofi" to a dead ash tree close by, 



