Birds. 1259 



Cataractes, L. pomarinus, and L. Richardsonii. Seen after severe 

 storms, generally in autumn. 



Manx Shearwater, Puffinus Anglorum. On the coast. 



Storm Petrel, Thalassidroma pelagica. Rather common after 

 severe gales from sea. 



The following birds are added to the list of occasional visitants, 

 but I have never noticed them personally : — Long-tailed Duck {Full- 

 gula glacialis), Roseate tern {Sterna Dougallii), Iceland Gull (Larus 

 leucopterus), Buffon's Skua {Lestris parasiticus), and Forked-tail 

 Petrel {Thalassidroma Leachii). 



Supplement to the Water Birds and Rasores. 



Little Bustard and Great Bustard, Otis tetrax and Otis tarda. 

 Both uncommon, and seen during the winter months on sandy heaths 

 and in wild rocky spots. Scarcely ever in the centre of Belgium. 



Lesser tern, Sterna minuta. Scarce. Only seen during the sum- 

 mer months. 



Kittiwake Gull, Larus tridactylus. This species is not scarce on 

 our sea-shores in winter ; it never nestles here. In summer after 

 severe storms and gales, young birds are seen many miles inland on 

 rivers and ponds, even in Brabant in the neighbourhood of Brussels. 



Concluding Observations. 



I have now terminated my notes on the Birds of Belgium, and I 

 may observe that not many kingdoms of so small an extent can boast 

 of a Fauna so varied as ours. 



Belgium is so situated as to lie on the way of the numerous 

 migrants which annually leave their breeding stations in the North to 

 seek a more genial climate where no snow falls and food is plentiful, 

 and its surface is so diversified, that nearly every species of bird (ex- 

 cept such as frequent rocky shores) may find localities suited to their 

 habits. 



If we begin from our low and sandy shore, we meet first extensive 

 and flat plains, of which some are highly cultivated, and some (espe- 

 cially in the province of Antwerp) present nothing else to the eye but 

 a vast extent of sand and heath, which stretches all round as far as 

 the horizon, being only relieved here and there by a solitary pine or 

 larch. 



