Birds. 4995 



1855. November 24. Saw last swallows. 

 „ December 2, 4 o'clock p.m. Observed eight martins flying round the 

 garden, and occasionally alighting on the perpendicular face of the wall of a house 

 near my garden-gate, to which they would cling for a few seconds, and then, dropping 

 off, whirl round, returning to the same spot, seemingly quite unconscious of my pre- 

 sence and that of several others: they seemed bent on effecting an entrance under the 

 eaves of the house, by a small opening they had discovered near a water-pipe that had 

 been carried through the wall : they were, I believe, all young birds of the season, as 

 they appeared small, their tails being also shorter than in the adults ; they were weak 

 on the wing, but that may have arisen from their being benumbed by the cold, the 

 thermometer standing at 44 Q only at the above hour. There had been a bright sun 

 during the greater part of the day, but I had observed a white frost in the morning. 

 I conclude that these late birds were merely seeking a roosting-place for the night, 

 and not a place of concealment for the winter, although I might have been excused, 

 according to Cuvier,* White,f &c, had I thought they were taking up their winter 

 quarters; but I have not sufficient faith in the theory to induce me to unslate a part 

 of the, roof to seek for them, which might be done, however, at a trifling cost, pro- 

 vided permission were obtained. — H. W. Hadfield ; High Cliff, Ventnor, Isle of 

 Wight, January 18, 1856. 



[Captaiu Had field's proposed notes on the migration of swallows will be very 

 acceptable.— Z?. N.] 



Anecdote of the Turtle Dove (Columba turtur). — Early in August of this year 

 (1855), an adult specimen of the Columba turtur appeared among my pigeons, feeding 

 with them by day and retiring with them to their house at night. This continued for 

 about three weeks, during which time it showed no greater disinclination to domesticity 

 than the fantails and other pigeons with whom it had associated. After this, however, 

 it began to absent itself, at first for a day or so, then returning, but these periodical 

 departures were gradually extended in duration, till at length, merely reappearing at 

 intervals for a few hours, it finally disappeared late in September. — W. W. Wingfield; 

 Gulval Vicarage, near Penzance. Communicated by Edward Hearle Rodd, Esq. 



Recent occurrence of the Great Bustard in Berkshire. — On Thursday, January 3, 

 1856, as a boy about nine years of age was on his way from Hungerford to a lone 

 farm about a mile off, on the road towards Salisbury, with his brother's dinner, at 

 twelve o'clock, he saw a large red bird on the ground, fluttering about, near the edge 

 of a piece of turnips. He went close up to the bird, and observed that it had a broken 

 leg: he tried to take hold of it, but the bird "pecked at him, bit his fingers and put 

 out his great wings." He caught hold of one of them, and dragged the bird along 



* 'Le Regne Animal,' p. 374 (Hirundo riparia), "II paroit constant quelle 

 s'engourdit pendant l'hiver, et meme qu'elle passe cet saison au fond de l'eau des 

 marais.'' 



f 'Natural History of Selborne,' p. 107 (Letter to Hon. D. Barrington, ' Migra- 

 tion of Swallows'), " .... seem to justify you in your suspicions that at least many of 

 the swallow kind do not leave us in the winter, but lay themselves up in a torpid 



state.'' Page 302 (' Sand Martins')," and gives great reason to suppose that 



they do not leave their wild haunts at all, but are secreted amidst the clefts and 

 caverns of those abrupt cliffs." 



