13 [Vol. xiii. 



wire. In three years they had dwindled to four birds, 

 which then came into the possession of Mr. Richard Mann, 

 of Aigle Gill, Cumberland (brother of Mr. Thomas Mann, 

 who obtained the only British Isabelline Wheatear). This 

 gentleman, who takes a keen interest in ornithology, has an 

 aviary through which a stream runs constantly, and in this 

 the remnants of the birds have lived for the last two years. 



"Some of the birds have changed more or less each 

 spring, but this year, probably owing to an increased 

 variety in their diet, the change in plumage was much 

 greater than in former years; and two of the birds paired. 

 About the end of the first week in June Mr. Mann observed 

 that the female was very restless and made constant attempts 

 to escape, and on the morning of June 8th an egg was found 

 in a depression scratched in the turf in the enclosure, and 

 on each of the three succeeding mornings another was laid. 

 The eggs were frequently displaced by the other inhabitants 

 of the aviary and the bird made no attempt to incubate, so 

 the eggs were removed. 



" The other birds in the enclosure were 3 Ruffs, 3 Reeves, 

 1 Bar-tailed Godwit, and some Teal Ducks. 



" The birds were fed on oatmeal, with worms and insects 

 occasionally." 



Mr. Bonhote exhibited a pair of Aquatic Warblers 

 {Acrocephalus aquaticus) which had been shot by a gardener's 

 boy among some reeds on the canal at Winchelsea, Sussex, 

 last August. These were the fifth and sixth examples of 

 this species which had been recorded from this country. 



Mr. Bonhote also made some remarks on the Great 

 Bustard which had recently been shot in Cambridgeshire, 

 and suggested that if it were desired to establish the species 

 once more among our fauna, further consignments of these 

 birds should be imported. Owing to the interest taken by 

 some local farmers, the present example had been permitted 

 to roam round the district in safety for nearly six months, 

 and local rustics were just beginning to realize that it was a 



