3174 Birds. 



ing a season of almost unparalleled mildness, and is strongly opposed to the notion 

 that any birds of this genus can pass that period in a torpid state. At the time of their 

 autumnal migration, these birds were unfortunately engaged in rearing a small family 

 of young, and while multitudes of their kindred were daily passing in search of more 

 sunny climes, the love of their offspring overcame their natural habits, and they re- 

 mained behind. Towards the end of October their strength visibly declined, from this 

 time they were less frequently seen, and at length disappeared and were forgotten. Of 

 their fate nothing more was known, until, in March last, a nest was removed from the 

 eaves of our stable, containing the skeletons of three half-fledged young, and over them 

 those of the two old birds. Thus faithful to the last, they had perished a voluntary sa- 

 crifice to parental affection. T feel convinced, that the most humane course to pursue 

 with regard to any such stragglers, would be at once to destroy them as soon as the 

 main body of their species has left our shores ; by any other treatment they are only 

 exposed to a more lingering, but no less certain, death. — A. Matthews; Weston-on- 

 the- Green, April, 1851. 



Occurrence of the Pled Flycatcher (Muscicapa atricapilla) at West Firle, near 

 Lewes, Sussex. — An adult male specimen of the pied flycatcher was shot at Firle 

 Place, the seat of Viscount Gage, on the 1st instant, and is now in my possession. 

 This, bird has only been recorded to have been obtained three times in this county. — 

 J. B. Ell man ; Lewes, May 4, 1851. 



Occurrence of the Gray-headed Wagtail (Motacilla neglecta) at Great Yarmouth. — 

 A fine male specimen of the gray-headed wagtail, which was shot here on the 18th of 

 last April, has been presented to me. I have preserved it, and it is now in my posses- 

 sion. — John Smith; Great Yarmouth, May 20, 1851. 



Occurrence of the Cirl Bunting near Bristol. — It may not perhaps be uninteresting 

 to some of the readers of the ' Zoologist/ to learn that the cirl bunting (Emberiza 

 Cirlus) has, within the last five or six years, become a constant resident in this part of 

 Gloucestershire ; and I have, during the present month, discovered the nest of a pair 

 of these birds, in a small cypress in one of my plantations. Only three eggs were de- 

 posited, the birds having probably been disturbed by my visits to the nest. Neither 

 Yarrell nor Montagu mentions the breeding of these birds in Gloucestershire, though 

 I have long known them to be abundant during the winter in the adjoining county of 

 Somerset, but until lately could never obtain a specimen from this neighbourhood. — 

 William Knapp ; Hart's Cottage, Alveston, Bristol, May 27, 1851. 



Occurrence of the Bohemian Waxwing in Shetland. — On the 1st of last month, I 

 had a fine specimen of the Bohemian waxwing (Bombycilla garrula) sent to me, taken 

 at Northmaven, in the north part of Shetland. About the same time there was one 

 obtained at Lerwick, and a third was seen at a place called Aithsting, about four miles 

 from here. — Robert Dunn ; Helister, near Weesdale, Shetland, N. B., May 19, 1851. 



Occurrence of the Hoopoe at Walmer. — A fine specimen of this beautiful bird was 

 shot a fortnight since, in Lower Walmer. It weighs about 12 ounces, and is nearly 

 12 inches in length. This, with the seven recorded in the 'Zoologist' for June, would 

 seem to evince that this " fair feathered one " is becoming yearly more partial to our 

 clime; but how annoying is it to the real lover of Nature, to learn that no sooner does 

 that occasional visitant take up its abode with us, than it is shot by the hand of some 

 one, whose heart wars with the outward world of beauty, and whose mind is too bloody 

 to appreciate the perfect form of the hoopoe, or any other created thing. Is it not a 

 disgrace to our naturalists, to our Magazines of Natural History, to every enlightened 



