SWALLOW-TAILED KITE. 29 



"Harum, 13th May 1872. In referring to my old book of 

 memoranda is the following: — May 25th 1859, Little George 

 (the name by which this keeper was always known at Buncombe 

 Park), brought me to-day a Swallow-tailed Kite, shot by himself 

 in the Quarry Bank, near Helmsley, on the estate of the Earl of 

 Feversham. [signed] Jonathan Taylor." Mr. Clapham had also 

 other letters from Mr. Taylor bearing out his statements, and 

 in one he greatly regrets having sold the bird to Mr. Graham for a 

 few shillings, not knowing its value at that time. Confirmatory 

 evidence bearing out this statement has reached me from a totally 

 independent source. Mr. Thomas Stephenson of Whitby, who has 

 kindly interested himself on my behalf in procuring information 

 relating to north-eastern Yorkshire, tells me that Mr. Wm. Lister 

 and his brother observed about this same year a Swallow-tailed 

 Kite at Glaisdale. Mr. Lister is an ornithologist and has no 

 hesitation as to the identification of the bird, which he thus 

 describes : " black and white and the tail much more forked than 

 that of the common Kite," which he knows well. 



The third example of this rare bird attributed to Yorkshire is 

 in the fine collection of Mr. Alfred Beaumont of Huddersfield, 

 and is supposed to have been shot in Bolton Woods some forty or 

 fifty years ago. For many years it formed part of the collection 

 of a Brighouse or Halifax gentleman, on whose death the collection 

 came under the hammer, when the bird passed into the possession 

 of its present owner ; the price paid for it being ;£n.. This is all 

 the information I have been able to obtain, but Mr. Beaumont 

 assures me that he is perfectly satisfied as to its validity as a 

 Yorkshire specimen ; a satisfaction in which the writer is unable to 

 participate, from the extremely vague character of the evidence 

 adduced. 



BUTEO VULGARIS Leach. 

 Common Buzzard. 



A doubtful resident ; a casual autumn and winter visitant. 



This species, formerly one of the most abundant of the larger 



