Birds. 2983 



at the bottom loudly vociferating his harsh cry : the noise soon at- 

 tracted the attention of a labourer, by whom, after a sharp struggle, 

 he was captured, and carried to the gamekeeper of Lady Frankland 

 Russell, of the Chequers Court. Here he lived for some time tethered 

 by the leg to a stake on the margin of a fish-pond, to the great annoy- 

 ance of its scaly inhabitants, until he was removed by her ladyship's 

 orders to the garden of the Zoological Society. I regret to add that 

 he died soon after his arrival in the Regent's Park. 



A pair of the lesser tern {Sterna minuta), and also of the black 

 tern (Sterna nigra), in the adult plumage, were killed on Port Mea- 

 dow, near Oxford, in the beginning of May. And about the same 

 time a specimen of the gray wagtail (Motacilla boarula) occurred in 

 the full summer dress. 



A. Matthews. 



Weston-on-the-Green, 

 November, 1850. 



Occurrence of the Goshawk (Falco palumbarius) in Norfolk. — Whilst shooting at 

 Frimlingham, on the coast of Norfolk, on the 17th ult., several gentlemen and myself, 

 saw a gyrfalcon. He must have been an old bird, as he seemed to us to be almost 

 of a snowy whiteness. This is the second that has been seen in that neighbourhood 

 within the last three years ; the other was killed at Beeston, on the 24th of February, 

 1848, and is now in the possession of Mr. J. Gurney Hoare of Hampstead. A few 

 days after we had seen the gyrfalcon, two ospreys were seen at Frimlingham, one of 

 which, a very fine bird of this year, was shot and is now in my possession. — T. FoweU 

 Buxton; Truman s Brewery, Brick Lane, November 19, 1850. 



Eggs of the Rediving. — There are inquiries on this subject in the ' Zoologist' 

 for 1848 and 1850 (Zool. 2141 and 2948), the former of which I might have answered 

 through its pages, had I not hoped that some one would have done so who had more 

 conclusive evidence than I had to offer. I have in my own collection, eggs of the 

 redwing from three or four distinct sources. Two of the earlier sets came from Scan- 

 dinavia, and one is of the same lot as those figured by Mr. Hewitson, having been 

 brought over by Mr. Dann. Others which I have, Mr. Procter has received from 

 Iceland since his visit to that country. Besides these, I have from Iceland, eggs 

 brought over three years ago by a much valued correspondent of the ' Zoologist ;' and 

 though, I believe, he did not take them himself, he had not the shadow of a doubt of 

 their genuineness. All these eggs agreed, in being less than the ordinary eggs of the 

 blackbird, but in other respects being just like them, and subject to similar variations. I 

 have within the last few days, seen eggs from two nests of the redwing, taken by a 

 friend of mine in Sweden, last June or July, and these too have a similar appearance 

 to the rest. One of the nests was placed amongst the roots of an overthrown tree, 

 and the other was in a low bush. I trust this weight of evidence, all from sources 



