Birds. 5321 



would find little or no foliage to screen their nests from observation or shelter them 

 from the storm."— Henry W. Hadfield; Ventnor, Isle of Wight, October 4, 1856. 



A young Spoonbill shot at Shoreham. — A young male specimen of the white 

 spoonbill (Platalea Leucorodia) was shot at Shoreham, Sussex, near the railway bridge 

 over the a 'Adur, on the 5th of last September. It appears to be a very young bird, the 

 length of the bill being only 4£ inches, while that of an adult bird is 8£ inches. The 

 occipital feathers are very short, there being no crest ; and there are none of the buff 

 markings about the breast and neck which are seen iu the adult bird ; there is also no 

 convolution of the trachea within the keel of the sternum. Its gizzard was filled with 

 shrimps and the roots of marine plants. — Arthur Woodroffe ; 125, Eastern Road, 

 Brighton, October 13, 1856. 



Pelican found dead on the Coast of Durham. — On the 25th of last month a lady 

 picked up, among some rocks on the shore at Castle Eden, a mutilated adult speci- 

 men of this bird, in full plumage. The carcase, which is now in my possession, had 

 been much eaten, and had apparently been tossing about for about a fortnight, and 

 the head was altogether destroyed; but enough remained to show it had been a very 

 fine bird. Whether it had wandered alone and perished at sea, or made its escape 

 from some passing vessel, T leave to others to conjecture. I am not aware that this 

 bird has ever been taken in any part of Northern Europe.— H. B. Tristram; Castle 

 Eden, Durham, September 10, 1856. 



Occurrence of the Eared Grebe in Flintshire.— On the 27th of September a young 

 male of this bird was shot at Bagillt, in Flintshire. I observed it swimming in a pool 

 by the side of the railway, during a perfect hurricane of wind and rain. It did not 

 attempt to fly away even when two trains passed it, having probably had a rough 

 night of it. Not having a gun at hand, I sent a man after it who had, and he very 

 soon brought it to me. It has a decided, though slight, upward curve in the beak 

 which marks it as the above species. I should mention that the railway here runs 

 along the shore of the estuary of the Dee. — Alfred O. Walker ; Chester, October 22, 

 1856. 



Do Cuckoos take the Eggs of other Birds as Food ? 

 By Wm. H. Slaney, Esq. 



The great quantity of these welcome birds which frequent this 

 place and breed here during the early summer months, and the obser- 

 vations I have been enabled to make on them, induce me to submit 

 the above question for the consideration of your numerous corre- 

 spondents, with the following remarks on the subject. 



In many counties it is become almost proverbial that cuckoos suck 

 and destroy other birds' eggs, although there appears no good reason 

 for imputing this fault to the pretty cuckoo, at least as far as I have 

 had opportunities of observing their habits. In Lancashire this pro- 

 pensity is firmly believed in by the lower class almost universally; 

 XIV. 3 E 



