58 THE ZOOLOGIST. 
well as in winter, and we have several adult specimens. My nephew, John 
Tyrwhitt Drake, shot a young male Red-necked Grebe in the “ Bight” off 
Starcross, in the estuary of the Exe, on the 8th January, 1881, and has 
presented it to this Museum. It has two longitudinal black stripes on the 
sides of the head, and the sides of the neck and upper part of the breast are 
light red. The iris was very narrow, and of a light colour; it was not 
visible unless the skin round the eye was lifted. I have never seen a 
specimen in this state of plumage before. I obtained an immature example 
in December, 1852, being one of two which frequented a flooded marsh 
near Topsham for a week. They were very shy and swam about in 
company, keeping well in the centre of the sheet of water, so that it was not 
until after many attempts that one was at last killed. We have another 
immature specimen from the collection of the late Mr. Ross, which was 
obtained near Topsham in 1850. Neither of these have any red on the 
neck, nor black stripes on the head. Immature specimens were obtained on 
the Teign in February, 1870, and in Torbay in 1871.—W.S. M. D’UrBan 
(Albert Memorial Museum, Exeter). 
Lirrte Busrarp 1x Norra Drvon.—On the 17th December I was in 
Barnstaple, and, according to my usual custom, went into the shop of 
Rowe, the gunmaker and birdstuffer, to enquire if any uncommon birds 
had been brought to him lately. He told me he had just stuffed a Little 
Bustard, which had been shot on the 6th December near North Tawton, 
by Mr. W. D. Salter. I went up to the workshop, and was there pleased 
to see a very fine and well-stuffed female specimen of this scarce bird. 
Mr. Rowe was unable to give me any information as to how it was obtained, 
so the next day I wrote to Mr. Salter, and asked him if he would kindly 
furnish me with the particulars of its capture, and the following is an 
extract from the letter I received from him in reply :—I was riding 
through my turnip-field, looking at my sheep, when I flushed the bird. 
I did not see it until it was on the wing. It flew three or four gun-shots 
and then pitched again in the same field. I was leaving the field when a 
foxhound puppy, which was in the next field with one of my men, caught 
sight of me and came galloping through the turnips towards me and put up 
the bird again, and it flew back to about the same spot from whence it first 
rose. I then trotted home, a distance of about a mile, where I was detained 
some twenty minutes, got my gun, and returned to the turnip-field. The 
bird was then sitting down, apparently resting; it was very tame, and let 
me get within very easy shot without moving. I had not the least idea 
what it was, but from a description in a book I concluded it was a female 
Little Bustard or a young male. I should like to know which, if you will 
kindly tell me. Some men who were ploughing, a field or two off due east, 
saw it fly over a short time before I first flushed it. It was then about half 
—_—— 
