152 NATURAL HISTORY. 



Hoopoes have been observed at Scilly, and also in the Land's 

 End district, this spring ; and, amongst our rarer visitors, a female 

 "Koller" was captured in the parish of St. Levan a short time 

 since. 



In April last, at the parish of St. Michael Carhayes, a specimen 

 of the " Squacco Heron " was procured, which, for its minuteness 

 and its elegance of form and plumage, is sure to attract attention 

 and, I fear, as a matter of course, powder and shot. Nothing can 

 exceed the graceful elegance of this little Heron in its full adult 

 summer plumage, when adorned with occipital and dorsal plumes ; 

 but it is not easy, at least in our southern counties, to find speci- 

 mens in this state of plumage. 



The next rare bird that Cornwall can claim as deserving of 

 notice, is one which is seldom seen out of the Arctic Seas, viz : the 

 " Surf Scoter." It was obtained last autumn at Scilly, where a 

 boy had found it in an exhausted state and greatly emaciated. 

 The following Note of it was made by me on seeing the bird in 

 the flesh, when sent over from the Islands : — " Tlie body was much 

 " emaciated, and I examined it before the brilliant hues of its 

 " curiously constructed bill had apparently in the least faded. 

 " From the intense black of its plumage, its strongly developed 

 " tubercular enlargements on each side of the posterior part of the 

 " upper mandilile, the clearly defined division of white between 

 "these and the brilliant Seville-orange-coloured anterior portion 

 " of the upper mandible, ending in a pearly-grey nail, I should 

 " think it was a very adult bird." There are three British Scoters, 

 all of which have been captured on our coasts, viz : the Black 

 Scoter, Velvet Scoter, and Surf Scoter; but the last is an ex- 

 tremely rare British bird, and is well worthy of being recorded in 

 your Joiirnal as forming one of the long list of Cornish birds. 



After the tremendous tempests which visited our shores during 

 the past winter, a very general distribution took place of Leach's 

 Fork-tailed Petrel, a species which has occurred at distant intervals 

 in Cornwall. It is rather larger than our well known Storm 

 Petrel, and may always be distinguished by its well defined fork- 

 tail. 



I have only to remark further on the occurrence, during the 

 winter months, of the Stone or Norfolk Plover, and also of the 

 Black Redstart ; both of which appear almost every year in vary- 



