398 MR. A. NEWTON ON RARE BIRDS* EGGS. [DeC. 10, 



sent specimen as a genuine one of MacQueen's Bustard, though both 

 the Great andLittle Bustards {Otis tarda, Linn., and Tetrax campes- 

 tris, Leach) also occur in iVssyria. The present egg does not differ 

 much from that of the western form (Houbara undulata, Bp.) ; but, 

 as far as I know, it is the only one that has yet reached any Euro- 

 pean collector. 



Grey Plover. 



Squatarola helvetica, Brehm. PI. XXXIX. fig. 2. 



The egg of this cosmopolitan species has been confessedly one of 

 the rarest and most sought for by collectors. It is now well known 

 that Sir John Richardson must have been mistaken in his assertion 

 ('F. B.-A.' ii. p. 370) that the Grey Plover breeds in Pennsyl- 

 vania. 



The specimen which I now have the pleasure of exhibiting was 

 sent me a few months ago by my friend Dr. Baldamus, who re- 

 ceived it from Councillor von Middendorff. This intrepid traveller 

 states (' Sib. Reise,' II. ii. p. 290) that the bird breeds on the 

 Byrranga Mountains, in latitude 74° N., as well as on the Boganida, 

 in latitude 71° N., and that it is much less common there than 

 Charadrius pluvialis. He found a nest on June 26th, with four eggs, 

 which he describes with some minuteness, besides figuring an ex- 

 ample (t. 19. f. 1). They greatly resemble in character those of 

 the Lapwing {Vanellus cristatus) and Dotterel {Eudromias mori- 

 nellus), but are much larger. My specimen is, I believe, a good deal 

 under the average size, and yet it is more bulky than any Golden 

 Plover's that I have, thereby confirming Von Middendorlf's remark. 

 With it Dr. Baldamus sent me a memorandum, bearing the autograph 

 of the discoverer, as follows : — 



"Squatarola helvetica, 4-. '43, fluv. Taimyr, 74°.— Middff." 

 ■' vu 



Little Stint. 



Actodromas minuta, Kaup. 



For the knowledge of the egg of this species oologists are indebted 

 to the researches of Von Middendorff, and I for its possession to the 

 kindness of Dr. Baldamus, who received the specimen I am now able 

 to show from that distinguished Siberian explorer. He states (' Sib. 

 Reise,' II. ii. p. 221) that he found the bird breeding on the river 

 Taimyr, in latitude 74° N. ; but apparently only obtained a single 

 nest of four eggs, one of which is before you, taken, it would seem, 

 July 1st — the same day as the Grey Plover's egg I have just men- 

 tioned. As might be expected, the specimen agrees very much with 

 those of the kindred Limonites temmincki, which he states breeds in 

 the same locality, but is a much rarer bird there. 



Great White Heron. 



Egretta alba, Bonaparte. PI. XXXIX. fig. 6. 



In a former edition of his well-known work, Mr. Hewitson figured 



