OCCASIONAL NOTES. 267 



occurrence of the Curlew Sandpiper in its breeding plumage, on the south- 

 west coast. — Murray A. Mathew (Stone Hall, Haverfordwest). 



Mabsh Harrier in Herm. — As the Marsh Harrier does not very 

 frequently occur in the Channel Islands, I think it worth while to record 

 the occurrence of one in the Island of Herm, near Guernsey, on the 2nd 

 of May this year, when it was killed by the keeper in that island, and soon 

 afterwards forwarded to me by Mr. Jago, the bird-stuffer, in Guernsey. It 

 was in immature plumage, the Moor-Buzzard plumage of Bewick. May 

 seems an odd time for it to be found wandering about, but still that is the 

 month in which the more recent occurrences of this bird in Herm which I 

 have been able to record in the ' Birds of Guernsey ' have taken place. 

 Probably the young birds of the year before are driven away by the old 

 ones in the spring, and consequently have to wander about and pick up a 

 living on their own account, — Cecil Smith (Bishop's Lydeard). 



Turtle Dove in Co. Sligo. — On the 28th of May a specimen of 

 that rare visitant to the west of Ireland, the Turtle Dove, appeared here and 

 remained about the place until the 3rd of June, on which date I last saw 

 it. On several occasions I observed it picking on the roadway of the 

 avenue, and as it appeared to keep near one particular clump of trees, I 

 was in hopes of its finding a mate and building a nest. However, as I 

 have not seen or heard anything of it since the 3rd inst., I fear that it has 

 left the place, probably for the young larch plantations of Belleek, at the 

 other side of the Moy. The Turtle Dove is of such rare occurrence in this 

 part of Ireland, that it has come under my observation only twice previously. 

 So far back as the 27th of August and 3rd of October, 1862, I saw a 

 Turtle Dove (probably the same individual) feeding in a stubble field. On 

 the last-named date I had a very close view of the bird, and as I could not 

 see the marks on the sides of the neck, I considered it a young one, pro- 

 bably bred in the larch woods of Belleek. — Robert Warren (Moyview). 



Snipe perching. — When walking up the brookside here the other day 

 I flushed a Snipe, which after flying about a couple of hundred yards 

 settled on some posts and rails, where it remained about a minute before 

 taking flight again. This is the first time 1 have noticed a Snipe perch on 

 anything, but have, of course, read and heard of their doing so, though 

 1 believe the habit is far from common. — J. Whitaker (Raiuworth Lodge, 

 near Mansfield, Notts). 



Two Kestrels Laying in the same Nest. — When lately in North 

 Devon, my nephew came in one day with a Kestrel's nest, and said there 

 were three Kestrels in the tree from which he took it, a male bird and two 

 females. The nest contained six eggs ; four of them were fiue type, dark 

 and handsome varieties; the other two were of the ordinary character iu 



