Birds. 2591 



the party within the carriage, and a lady said, she " thought it was about as large as 

 a turkey." I then told them the bird was no other than the great bustard. The bird 

 was evidently very shy, and I should say it would be very difficult to approach 

 within gun-shot of it. Once when it settled (which it did two or three times before 

 we ultimately lost sight of it), although at a great distance from the road — I should 

 think full a quarter of a mile — it soon rose again when the distance was but little 

 shortened, it having settled a little in advance of us. It then took a long flight, and 

 again settled, almost directly ahead of us, close to the edge of a corn-field, and at a 

 still greater distance ; I then saw the bird for the first time on the ground, its pale co- 

 louring rendering it visible, still the distance was so great that I could not have felt 

 certain that the pale object I saw was really the bird (for it did not run) had it not got 

 up again whilst I was looking at it ; it then flew over the brow of a hill and was seen 

 no more. On other occasions when it went down, I only concluded it had settled, from 

 its getting up again from the same spot. Even when the bird was nearest to us, I 

 could see neither its head nor its feet, and this somewhat surprised me, for T fully ex- 

 pected the neck would be outstretched when the bird was on the wing, and that perhaps, 

 the feet would hang down. Judging from the size, I suspect the bird was a female. 

 — G. R. Waterhouse ; 4, Campden Hill Terrace, Bayswater, September 8, 1849. 



Occurrence of the Purple Heron (Ardea purpurea) near Driffield. — A remarkably 

 fine specimen of the purple heron was recently shot by the stream at Lowthorpe, near 

 here ; and is now in the collection of Mr. Thompson, farmer, of Harpham, in the ad- 

 joining parish of Burton Agnes. — F. O. Morris ; Nafferton Vicarage, near Driffield, 

 September 20, 1849. 



Colour of the Eyes in the Night Heron (Ardea Nycticorax). — In the 'Zoologist' 

 for this month I see an adult specimen of the night heron has been taken at Wis- 

 beach, and it seems to be considered a curiosity from having red eyes. I have often 

 shot these birds abroad, and have always found the adult birds to have red eyes. — J. 

 N. Wedderburn ; Auchter House, Dundee, September 10, 1849. 



Occurrence of the Avocet (Recurvirostra avocetta) at the Tees Mouth. — During the 

 last spring a specimen of this bird was shot at the Tees Mouth, by a person who 

 roasted it for supper : the head and legs are in the possession of Mr. Green, of Stock- 

 ton. — Joseph Duff; Bishop's Auckland, September 18, 1849. 



Occurrence of Temminck's Stint (Tringa Temminckii) near Penzance. — I had an 

 opportunity of seeing an interesting specimen of this diminutive Tringa a day or two 

 since in the hands of Mr. Vingoe, our zealous naturalist : it was associated with some 

 little stints, one or two of which were secured. The plumage of Temminck's stint, in 

 immaturity and previous to the first autumnal moult, is glossy olive-brown on the 

 back ; the edges of the feathers being fringed with a narrow border of white. The 

 comparative shortness of the tarsus is one of its best distinctions from its congener, 

 Tringa minuta. — Edward Hearle Rodd ; Penzance, September 17, 1849. 



Occurrence of the Landrail (Crex pratensis) in Bermuda. — When out in quest of 

 ornithological specimens, on the 25th of October, 1847, I was much surprised by start- 

 ing a bird with whose flight I was quite familiar. I shot it, and it proved to be a land- 

 rail, a male bird of the year. This bird was very fat. What could have driven it so 

 far west? — J. N. Wedderburn, Auchter House, Dundee, September 10, 1849. 



The Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus) roosting in Willow-trees. — The other evening, 

 when passing a pool at Burton Agnes, I observed several moorhens roosting on wil- 

 low-trees, fifteen and twenty feet from the ground. Is this their usual habit ? I sup- 



