332 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES FROM ST. LEONARDS. 

 By J. H. Gurney, Jun., F.Z.S. 



I have the pleasure to send you a few notes from the 

 neighbourhood of St. Leonards-by-tbe-Sea. 



On May 7th a male Golden Oriole was shot at Battle, and 

 sent to Mr. G. Bristow, the taxidermist, when tbe following 

 mems. were taken : — Bill brownish red, mouth and tongue 

 pale flesh-colour ; length from tip of beak, 8 in. (Yarrell gives 

 9j in.) ; expanse, 14 in. ; contents of stomach one large beetle. 

 It is to be presumed the shooter was unaware that he is liable 

 to a penalty under the Wild Birds Protection Act. Another 

 " protected bird " — a Hoopoe — was shot at Bexhill. It seems 

 from the ' Field ' that Hoopoes and Orioles appeared about this 

 time in several parts of England, and that the law was not so 

 often kept as broken, a result which might have been safely 

 foretold in respect of these foreign birds. On the 8th a Grass- 

 hopper Warbler was shot as it was uttering its cricket-like note 

 about 6 o'clock on a sunny morning, and a Common Sandpiper 

 was taken in a fishing-net, called a "kettle-net," at Camber. 

 On the 11th another Grasshopper Warbler was shot, which, 

 though a male by dissection, was, strange to say, in immature 

 plumage ; that is, it was very light on the breast, and the throat 

 was very slightly spotted, with no tint of yellow about it. It 

 does not seem to be a rare species at St. Leonards, the locality 

 in question being very near the town ; but, though I went there 

 several times, I only once caught the faint, trilling sound. 



There are some birds which are curiously rare at St. 

 Leonards : in the course of four springs I do not think I have 

 ever seen the Bedstart or heard the Corncrake. On the other 

 hand, the Black Redstart has often occurred, and almost all our 

 other spring migrants are common ; so abundant is Bay's 

 Wagtail, that fifteen pairs, settled down to breed, may be seen 

 in a morning's walk ; yet the Grey-headed, though diligently 

 searched for, was not discovered. 



On the 26th Mr. Bristow received a Sand Grouse from 

 Appledore, shot on the previous evening ; I had this bird served 

 with morrels, and found it very good, the inner pectoral muscle 

 in particular being very tender. The keel of the sternum is 



