350 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



greatest breadth -86 in. I believe this egg from the Skelligs to be of the 

 Fork-tailed Petrel, though the bird was not found with it, as in the former 

 case. These are the first authentic records of this bird breeding on the 

 Irish coast. It appears to do so in very small numbers, and only on the 

 most outlying islands, for the three or four instances I have given are the 

 results of careful and repeated searches which were entirely unproductive 

 in a locality nearer the coast where the Storm Petrel breeds in large 

 numbers. — R. J. Ussher (Cappagh, Co. Waterford). 



Honey Buzzard in Dorset. — About June 2nd or 3rd a fine bird of this 

 species was killed not very far from Wimborne, and I had the pleasure of 

 examining it shortly afterwards. It is a very dark, rich-coloured specimen, 

 weighed 1 lb. 10 ozs., and measured 25| in. from beak to tip of tail. Its 

 muscular feet and claws were very dirty, and it must have been scratching 

 in the vicinity of cow-dung, as portions were attached to its otherwise dirty 

 legs; in fact, the natural colour of both feet and legs was entirely hidden 

 by the dirt. On dissection it proved to be female, as I had anticipated, 

 and in the ovary I counted seventeen eggs, ranging from the size of a 

 pin's-head to a hazel-nut. The two largest were about equal in size, and 

 would have been, I supposed, the produce of the present season had the 

 bird escaped destruction. Its crop contained very little, except two small 

 grubs of some dipterous insects, — probably from the cow-dung, which it 

 had been undoubtedly investigating, — but in its gizzard I found the 

 remains of individuals of several orders of insects, amongst which the 

 horny tail of the cockchafer and the pincer-like tail of the earwig were very 

 conspicuous ; beside this was a small quantity of vegetable matter, arising 

 no doubt from the empty skins of three full-grown larvae of Plusia gamma 

 (silver-Y moth), the specific distinctness of which could be easily made out, 

 although the caterpillar-skins were as empty and flaccid as if they had 

 suffered great pressure. The action of the gizzard seemed to have had no 

 more power over the skin of these caterpillars and the markings thereon 

 than it had upon the horny appendages of the other insects, but probably 

 time would have effected a change in both. It thus seems that the Honey 

 Buzzard is an indiscriminate insect-feeder, taking the insect in every stage 

 of its existence ; and, since wasps and their grubs, together with dragon- 

 flies, is a well-known food of this bird, it seems a great pity that amongst 

 many of the game-preserving coumiunity it should be classed as "'vermin," 

 and killed as soon as discovered. I have been particular in describing what 

 I found in the stomach, for the man who killed it wished me to understand 

 that it was very destructive to his Partridges. It is interesting to note also 

 that this bird did not reject caterpillars bearing short hair-like spines upon 

 their bodies, as gamma does, for it is well known that some birds refuse 

 lavvse unless smooth-skiimed, whilst others, as the Cuckoo, are said to 

 prefer those that are comparatively spinous. — G. B. Corbin (Ringwood). 



