114 Letters, Ext?'acts from Correspondence, Notices, ^c. 



interest I felt in the subject, most kindly gave me the skin, 

 which is now in the hands of Mr. Cooke, of Derby, who will, I 

 hope, be able to repair the damage. The specimen is otherwise 

 a very fine one, and seems to be a last year's bird. 



The male bird continued in the neighbourhood for a short 

 time after the female was shot, but then disappeared. Mr. Gould 

 informs me that about this time a male Osprey was killed on the 

 Thames, near Maidenhead, which, I think with him, must have 

 been the mate of my bird. In 1863 another specimen was killed 

 at Halton, a small village about three miles hence. It was 

 sitting on the towing-path of the canal, engaged in devouring 

 the body of a pigeon which had been thrown out of an adjoining 

 dove-cote. It was stuffed, and is in the possession of Sir Anthony 

 de Rothschild. 



On the 4th of June, as my sisters and myself were walking 

 on a rough hilly down in this parish, we disturbed a Cirl Bunt- 

 ing {Emberiza cirlus) from her nest, containing three eggs, in a 

 wild juniper-bush. I have several times seen the male of this 

 species in this parish, and I have twice had specimens brought 

 me from the adjoining parish of Pitstone, Bucks. I am inclined 

 to think it breeds here regularly, and is far more common than 

 is generally supposed. I am, &c., 



H, Harpub Crewe. 



The Rectory, Drayton-Beauchamp, Tring, 

 Nov. 28, 1864. 



26 Charlotte Street, Bedford Square, 

 December 1864. 



Sir, — The Messrs. Pratt, taxidermists, of 44 Ship Street, 

 Brighton, have kindly forwarded for my inspection a very fine 

 example of a Rock-Pipit, which differs so remarkably from our 

 well-known species, Anthus obscu7'us, that I have but little hesi- 

 tation in considering it distinct, and still less in referring it to 

 the Anthus spinoletta of Continental authors, of which A. mon- 

 tanus is regarded as a synonym. Independently of the example 

 mentioned, the Bishop of Oxford has submitted to me a second 

 specimen from the same source. Both these individuals were 

 doubtless mounted from the flesh of birds recently killed on our 



