ORNITHOLOGY OF CORNWALL. 353 



requested me to submit the two birds to his inspection, which I 

 accordingly did on his return to London ; and in a few days I 

 received the following remark from him : " Your Shrike is the 

 " Lcmius Minor, the first instance of its occurrence in the British 

 "Isles, as far as I know." — It may be well just to note here that 

 my specimen has not the black frontal band represented in the 

 figure in Gould's "Birds of Europe" ; but Temminck says, in his 

 Manual, that the young birds are without it ; and probably my 

 bird may be young, with its plumage much worn, as is often the 

 case with bush birds. We shall see what he says about this ap- 

 parently new British Bird in his forthcoming number ; but I have, 

 I think, sufficiently shown that the last year has afforded a point 

 of interest in the Natural History of Cornwall, by a record, on 

 the high authority of Mr. Gould, of what will probably prove to 

 be an indubitable specimen of the " Lesser Gray Shrike," and that 

 it has, in Cornwall, appeared for the first time in Britain. 



The islands of Scilly have, during the past year, contributed 

 some other valuable examples of rare British Birds. The " Little 

 Bittern " occurred, a short time after your last Si:)ring Meeting, at 

 Trescoe; and although the species has occasionally occurred in 

 Cornwall, this was the first that had come under my notice in 30 

 years. This specimen of our smallest Herons was in its perfect 

 adult plumage, with all the neck ruff feathers fully developed, 

 and the colours of the whole plumage in their brightest hues. It 

 was a male bird, in good condition ; its diminutive size may be 

 conceived when I mention that its weight did not exceed 3 ounces. 

 I have recently seen another specimen of this elegant little Heron, 

 pretty much in the same state of plumage, and which weighed 

 rather less than 3 ounces ; it was obtained last month, in the 

 parish of St. Hilary. The characteristics of this little Heron 

 seem to show an intermediate link between the Night Heron and 

 the Bittern ; the arrangement of the colours indicating alliance to 

 the former, whilst the absence of occipital plumes, and the ruffed 

 character of the neck feathers, point at once to the true Bitterns. 



Another rare British species occurred at Scilly in October, in 

 the " Glossy Ibis." It appeared to be a bird of the year. I re- 

 member having seen a specimen from Scilly about 1 2 years since, 

 which appeared to be two years old. In the bird now under 

 notice the whole of the under parts are of a dull smoke grey, 



