List of Birds observed in Malta and Gozo. 465 



authority for this statement ; for all my endeavours to find it, 

 during many years' observations, have proved unavailing. 

 Year after year I have examined hundreds of Skylarks brought 

 for sale to the market, in the hope of detecting a Crested Lark 

 amongst them, but invariably with a negative result. Another 

 writer on the natural history of Malta says it is common in 

 spring and autumn ; but he must have been mistaken. The 

 bird- dealers, to whom I have shown preserved skins, and offered 

 rewards should they bring me a Crested Lark captured here, all 

 agree in declaring they have never met with it. From this I 

 conclude that it is not a regular migrant across the Mediter- 

 ranean j for, abundantly spread as it is both on the southern 

 shores of Europe and the northern shores of Africa, we should 

 certainly often observe it in Malta were its habits migratory. 



Charadrius hiaticula? (No. 151, Ibis, 1864, p. 141). In 

 my first list I have included C. hiaticula, believing that the 

 large kind of Ringed Dotterell found here belonged to this 

 species. Since then my attention has been drawn to the ob- 

 servations of the Brighton naturalists (Ibis, 1860, p. 101). 

 It appears that there are two races in England confounded 

 under one name, one of which had been overlooked. The 

 gunners on the coast of Sussex are familiar with this fact, 

 and have noticed that the smaller and darker race arrives 

 about a fortnight later than the larger one, and when this 

 last already possesses eggs or young, whilst the smaller race 

 apparently continues its migration further northward to bi'eed. 

 I am not aware if the larger one is found in southern Europe ; 

 but now -that the existence of two kinds is known, light will 

 doubtless be thrown on the matter. I have a specimen of each 

 from Brighton for comparison, and hitherto all the Malta 

 specimens agree with the smaller and darker race. Within 

 the last month I have shot two of these here, agreeing with the 

 smaller Brighton bird in every particular of size and colour. 

 Which is the true hiaticula of authors it is at present difficult to 

 determine *. 



* [We have been for some time at a loss how to regard the smaller 

 Ringed Plover which yearly makes its appearance on the south coast of 

 England. It probably bears the same relation to ^gialites hiaticula that 

 Tringa schinzi does to T. alpina. In some respects it answers to the de- 

 scription of Charadrius intermedins of Menetries {Cat. Voy. au Caucase, 



