2800 Birds. 



as well mention a circumstance which occurred within my own observation a short 

 time ago. In a small aviary I kept a magpie, two thrushes, some gold pheasants, a 

 blackbird, and other smaller birds ; the magpie had only been put in a few days, when 

 one morning I found one of my thrushes dead upon the ground, with nearly all its 

 entrails torn out, though not eaten : although I had no direct proof that the magpie 

 was the murderer, still as I knew that no rat or other vermin had found access to the 

 aviary, I fixed him with the crime ; I therefore separated him from the other birds, and 

 no more deaths occurred. I merely mention this incidentally, and of course not at all 

 to show or prove the naturally predatory habits of the magpie, for we well know that in 

 captivity, the habits of birds undergo a considerable change, and! have read that even 

 the squirrel, in a state of confinement, has been known even to prefer birds to other 

 food, and has, on that account, been said erroneously " sometimes to feed upon 

 birds." — M. Curtler ; Bevere House, Worcestershire, January 30, 1850. 



Early Appearance of the Martin (Hirundo urbica) near Hull. — Taking a walk 

 yesterday afternoon in company with some friends to Cottingham, I observed a pair of 

 martins flying overhead, which I pointed out to my companions, who also plainly saw 

 them, so that there cannot be any mistake as to their identity. Is not this very early 

 for their arrival ? — G. Norman ; Hull, April 8, 1850. 



On the Autumnal Stay of Martins. — Last year I recorded (Zool. 2391) a striking 

 instance of what not unfrequently occurs, viz., the reappearance of swallows rather 

 late in the autumn (of 1848) after the general flight had departed, and after an inter- 

 val during which none were to be seen. The autumn of 1849 afforded an instance of 

 a different kind : a pair of swallows (Hirundo rustica) remained with us during the 

 whole autumn without intermission till the 9th of November (rather a late period for 

 this part of the country), and a single bird till the 16th. The birds took up their prin- 

 cipal station on the top of one of the neighbour's chimneys, from which they frequently 

 made little excursions on the wing about the village, &c, returning to the chimney- 

 top at intervals, and remaining there for a considerable time, probably for the sake of 

 warmth. We watched them pretty narrowly ; the pair remained, as I have said, till 

 the 9th of November, and was then reduced to a single bird, which continued about 

 the chimney-top till the 16th, which was the last day we observed it. — W. T. JBree ; 

 Allesley Rectory, April 2, 1850. 



Occurrence of the Hoopoe (Upupa Epops) at Bern-bridge. — A hoopoe made its ap- 

 pearance here in the month of October last : it was seen on two occasions, and was 

 each time distinctly observed to erect the long feathers of its crest. In a few days it 

 had disappeared from the neighbourhood. — A. G. More ; Bembridge, Isle of Wight, 

 April 17, 1850. 



Occurrence of the Purple Heron (Ardea purpurea) near the Land's End. — I received 

 this morning a bird of this species, iu full adult plumage, which was shot in the parish 

 of St. Buryan. The occipital, frontal, and dorsal plumes are in perfect development, 

 and I cannot conceive a finer example. The length, from the tip of the bill to the end 

 of the tail, 3 feet If inches ; weight, 21bs. 14 oz. I have given the length, as it varies so 

 much from that given by Mr. Yarrell in his description, that the difference is remark- 

 able, showing that there must be an error in the latter's description, when he says, 

 " whole length, from the beak to the end of the tail, 29 inches." — Edward Hearle Rodd ; 

 Penzance, April 8, 1850. 



The Supposed New Snipe. — Whilst snipe-shooting yesterday at Auchengray 

 (about twenty miles from Edinbro', on the Lanark line), I was fortunate enough to 



