1190 Birds. 



The grasshopper warbler is very rare ; I am not aware of more than two being killed 

 in the neighbourhood for many years. — Wm. Harris Row ; 33, Fore St., Devonport, 

 September 23, 1845. 



Occurrence of the smaller Eagle (Aquila naevia) in Ireland. An eagle new to these 

 countries having been killed in this (the southern) quarter of our island, T thought a 

 notice of its occurrence would be interesting to the readers of ' The Zoologist.' The 

 bird in question is an immature specimen of " the smaller eagle" {Aquila ncevia, Linn.), 

 and was shot some time in 1st month of the present year, on the estate of the Earl of 

 Shannon, near Youghal, Co. Cork, by one of the gamekeepers, who gave it to a friend 

 of mine, Samuel Moss, of Youghal, by whom it was set up, and whose it now is. It 

 is stated that another bird, similarly marked, but of a lighter shade of brown, was 

 killed in the same place a few days previously, but was unfortunately not preserved : 

 both had been observed for several weeks, frequenting the neighbourhood in which 

 they were killed, and were generally noticed sweeping over the low grounds there. 

 This one was shot in a fallow field, in the act of feeding on a rabbit it had just killed. 

 I should state that the bird is in that state of plumage in which it is called " the spot- 

 ted eagle," which was, I believe, until lately, considered to be a distinct species, as in 

 the case of our own ring-tailed eagle. — Robert Davis, jun. ; Clonmel, October 7, 1 845. 



Occurrence of the Osprey in Devonshire. Ospreys are frequently seen on the Exe, 

 and have been taken in large gins. One has been observed for the last month, but 

 has hitherto escaped being captured. — F. W. L. Ross ; Broadway House, Topsham, 

 Devon. 



Supposed occurrence of the Dartford Warbler at Lytham, Lancashire. From some 

 remarks in a letter containing notices of the occurrence of rare birds in Leicestershire, 

 given in YarrelPs British Birds, I find that the Dartford warbler has occurred in this 

 county within the last two years ; but this is the most northern locality in which it has 

 been obtained. In Provence, it is observed to frequent cabbage-gardens, whence pro- 

 bably its name of pitte-chou or pit-chou. On or about the 27th of August, in such a 

 locality, namely, a half-grubbed-up potato and cabbage garden at Lytham, on the 

 Kibble, did I see three or four young birds, in company with the old ones, very active- 

 ly feeding on the ground which had been cleared from the vegetables. They are of a 

 slender elegant form, very active and restless. I should not have known what they 

 were, if I had not noticed the chesnut colour on the back and sides of the male bird, 

 all the others being much lighter in colour, and without the chesnut marks about the 

 breast and neck. I mention this circumstance, because of its more northern latitude, 

 about 53§ degrees. — Thos. Webster ; 96, Ormond St., Manchester. 



[I have headed this ' supposed occurrence, &c.' because I think the evidence that 

 the birds in question were of the species named is not quite satisfactory. — E. N.~\ 



Occurrence of the White-winged Crossbill at Exmouth. As I was walking along 

 the coast at Exmouth, on the afternoon of the 17th instant, during a strong wind from 

 the south-west, which had continued for several days, I picked up a dead bird, which 

 had apparently just been washed ashore. It was covered with sand and dirt, but after 

 washing out the salt water, and cleaning it, it proved to be but little injured. On my 

 arrival in town, I took it to Mr. Yarrell, and found that it was a white-winged cross- 

 bill. It is a male bird, and has not completed its autumnal moult. The plumage 

 agrees with that of the male in his second plumage (Yarrell, Brit. Birds, ii. 43), but 

 has a few of the greenish yellow feathers of the younger bird mixed with the crimson 

 on the back. — E. B. Fitton ; 53, Upper Harley St., Cavendish Square, Sept. 20, 1845. 



