﻿266 
  THE 
  ZOOLOGIST. 
  

  

  edge 
  of 
  the 
  nest. 
  I 
  photographed 
  this 
  nest, 
  retired 
  some 
  distance, 
  and 
  

   lay 
  concealed. 
  Very 
  soon, 
  with 
  my 
  glasses, 
  I 
  observed 
  the 
  parent 
  run 
  

   back 
  to 
  the 
  nest, 
  and 
  settle 
  down 
  on 
  the 
  eggs. 
  I 
  let 
  her 
  sit 
  for 
  an 
  

   hour, 
  and 
  again 
  examined 
  the 
  nest, 
  and 
  found 
  the 
  eggs 
  still 
  in 
  the 
  

   same 
  position 
  described 
  above, 
  and 
  again 
  in 
  the 
  same 
  position 
  after 
  

   another 
  lapse 
  of 
  an 
  hour 
  or 
  two. 
  A 
  new 
  colony 
  of 
  Little 
  Terns 
  

   (Sterna 
  minuta) 
  established 
  itself 
  last 
  season 
  on 
  this 
  nesting-ground 
  of 
  

   the 
  Ringed 
  Plover, 
  and 
  successfully 
  reared 
  a 
  few 
  young. 
  This 
  year 
  

   they 
  have 
  returned. 
  I 
  found 
  some 
  of 
  their 
  nests, 
  with 
  eggs, 
  on 
  June 
  

   23rd, 
  and 
  watched 
  a 
  series 
  of 
  encounters 
  between 
  a 
  Ringed 
  Plover 
  and 
  

   Lesser 
  Tern 
  ; 
  the 
  latter 
  kept 
  again 
  and 
  again 
  alighting, 
  after 
  a 
  short 
  

   flight, 
  close 
  to 
  the 
  nest 
  of 
  the 
  former. 
  The 
  Tern 
  was 
  successful 
  in 
  

   driving 
  the 
  Plover 
  away 
  in 
  every 
  instance, 
  with 
  one 
  exception, 
  when 
  

   the 
  Plover 
  made 
  a 
  furious 
  run, 
  with 
  neck 
  drawn 
  in, 
  upon 
  its 
  graceful 
  

   opponent, 
  which, 
  taken 
  by 
  surprise, 
  flew 
  off 
  screaming. 
  — 
  J. 
  E. 
  H. 
  

   Kelso 
  (South 
  sea). 
  

  

  Buffon's 
  Skua 
  (Stercorarius 
  parasiticus) 
  at 
  Aberdeen. 
  — 
  A 
  pair 
  

   (male 
  and 
  female) 
  were 
  shot 
  near 
  New 
  Pitstigo 
  on 
  May 
  23rd, 
  by 
  Mr. 
  

   Campbell, 
  who 
  sent 
  them 
  to 
  me 
  for 
  identification. 
  This 
  is 
  the 
  fourth 
  

   time 
  I 
  have 
  seen 
  the 
  species 
  within 
  this 
  district 
  during 
  the 
  past 
  forty- 
  

   two 
  years. 
  — 
  Geo. 
  Sim 
  (52. 
  Castle 
  Street, 
  Aberdeen). 
  

  

  Erroneous 
  Record 
  of 
  the 
  Eared 
  Grebe 
  (Podicipes 
  nigricollis) 
  breed- 
  

   ing 
  in 
  Middlesex. 
  — 
  In 
  Mr. 
  Harting's 
  ' 
  Birds 
  of 
  Middlesex,' 
  p. 
  244, 
  it 
  is 
  

   stated 
  that 
  in 
  the 
  ' 
  British 
  Miscellany 
  ' 
  (p. 
  19, 
  t. 
  70) 
  there 
  is 
  a 
  repre- 
  

   sentation 
  of 
  a 
  male 
  and 
  female 
  of 
  the 
  Eared 
  Grebe, 
  accompanied 
  by 
  the 
  

   nest 
  and 
  eggs, 
  which 
  were 
  taken 
  in 
  pond 
  on 
  Chelsea 
  Common 
  in 
  June, 
  

   1805. 
  As 
  this 
  statement 
  is 
  referred 
  to 
  (in 
  an 
  editorial 
  note) 
  in 
  ' 
  The 
  

   Zoologist,' 
  1892, 
  p. 
  426, 
  and 
  again 
  more 
  recently 
  in 
  the 
  second 
  edition 
  

   of 
  this 
  author's 
  ' 
  Handbook 
  of 
  British 
  Birds,' 
  p. 
  269, 
  it 
  will 
  be 
  as 
  well 
  

   to 
  point 
  out 
  that 
  a 
  mistake 
  has 
  been 
  made 
  in 
  the 
  identification 
  of 
  the 
  

   birds 
  figured 
  by 
  Sowerby 
  in 
  the 
  ' 
  British 
  Miscellany.' 
  On 
  turning 
  to 
  

   this 
  work 
  (t. 
  70) 
  it 
  will 
  at 
  once 
  be 
  seen 
  that 
  the 
  birds 
  there 
  figured 
  are 
  

   not 
  Eared 
  Grebes, 
  but 
  merely 
  Little 
  Grebes 
  in 
  summer 
  plumage. 
  The 
  

   birds 
  in 
  question 
  are 
  called 
  by 
  Sowerby 
  " 
  the 
  Small 
  Black-chinned 
  

   Grebe 
  (Cohjmbus 
  hebridicus 
  ? 
  "). 
  And 
  in 
  his 
  description 
  of 
  the 
  examples 
  

   in 
  question 
  (after 
  quoting 
  Pennant's 
  description 
  of 
  the 
  Black-chinned 
  

   Grebe, 
  then 
  supposed 
  to 
  be 
  a 
  distinct 
  species 
  from 
  the 
  Little 
  Grebe), 
  

   Sowerby 
  says 
  that 
  they 
  are 
  rather 
  less 
  than 
  the 
  Dobchick 
  (sic), 
  being 
  

   only 
  eight 
  inches 
  in 
  length 
  ; 
  the 
  bill 
  not 
  quite 
  one 
  inch 
  ; 
  chin 
  black 
  

   or 
  dark 
  brown. 
  " 
  The 
  rest 
  is 
  pretty 
  well 
  expressed 
  in 
  the 
  figure," 
  in 
  

   which 
  the 
  neck 
  is 
  reddish, 
  and 
  not 
  black, 
  as 
  in 
  the 
  Eared 
  Grebe. 
  

  

  