6(3 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE BERMUDAS. 



this evening dead. It was a young bird, the bill in the 

 intermediate state between black and yellowish green, and 

 the tail feathers beginning to change their barred for the 

 pure white state. 



The late gales appear to have driven a sprinkling of 

 these Gulls upon our shores. 



February 20th, 1848. — Mr. Wedderburn came over from 

 Ireland Island to-day, and showed me the set-up specimen 

 of the Snow Bunting (Plectropkanes nivalis), of Audubon, 

 killed by him on the 18th instant. This is the first Snow 

 Bunting I have known to be found in the Bermudas. Mr. 

 Wedderburn tells me there were four of these birds 

 together when he first saw them ; two of which he shot 

 though he only recovered one. The other two escaped 

 him. They were very shy. 



February 2\th, 1848. — Mr. Wedderburn called on me 

 this evening, and showed me a fine specimen of the Larus 

 argentatus, Herring, or Silvery Gull of Audubon. It 

 measured rather more than twenty-four inches in length 

 and differed from Audubon's description only in the colour 

 of the ires, which was light yellow. Mr. Wedderburn tells 

 me he killed three of these birds, out of four, and that one 

 of the specimens differed from the above, in having a dark 

 patch upon the bill, and being more speckled with brown. 



Mr. Wedderburn also showed me a beautiful specimen of 

 the Kildeer Plover (Charadrius vociferus), shot and set up 

 by Captain Drummond a few weeks since. Several flocks 

 of these birds have been observed in the neighbourhood of 

 St. George's lately, which are said to be very shy and 



