Birds. 2601 



ground, were about to leave the place, when our attention was sud- 

 denly arrested by an exclamation from the hindmost of the party, Mr. 

 Bertie Matthews : on looking back we observed him advancing cau- 

 tiously towards a small tuft of sedge, into which he soon thrust his 

 hand, and, to our surprise, drew from thence — firmly grasped by the 

 neck — a very large bittern. A few days after this a female was killed 

 in the adjoining parish of Bletchington, and given to us by the Hon. 

 Charles Annesley. The stomachs of both these birds were filled 

 with young pike, which seem to be their favourite food : in the male 

 we found six of these fish, one measuring nine inches in length, the 

 others from three to six inches : there were in the stomach of this 

 bird, besides the pike, a bull-head, a minnow and a water-eft. The 

 stomach of the female contained three pike, but no other fish. 



Little Bittern (Botaurus minutus). A specimen of the little bittern, 

 a female, was shot on Otmoor, in 1827. It has also been met with on 

 the river Cherwell, and in 1847 a fine specimen was killed near 

 Bampton. 



White Stork (Ciconia alba). In the spring of 1828 four storks were 

 seen on Otmoor : one of the party was killed, and taken to Mr. J. 

 Forrest, of Oxford; the other three effected their escape. 



Glossy Ibis (Ibis falcinellus). In the collection of the late Dr. 

 Lamb, of Newbury, now in the possession of Dr. Tomkins, there is a 

 specimen of this rare bird, which was killed near Reading, in 1793, — 

 perhaps one of the first recorded instances of its capture in Great 

 Britain. The following notice of its occurrence is copied from the 

 MSS. of Dr. Lamb, referred to in the beginning of this list : "A pair 

 of these birds were seen flying over the Thames, near Reading, Berk- 

 shire, in September, 1793. One of them, the male, was shot, and is 

 now in my collection." 



Curlew (Numenius arquatus). Not an uncommon visitor on Ot- 

 moor, and in other parts of this county. 



Whimbrel (Numenius phceopus). Like its congener, the whimbrel 

 has often been killed in this neighbourhood. " Near Sunning (Berks), 

 January, 1794."— Dr. T. 



Avocet (Recurvirostra Avocetta). " Six of these birds were killed 

 whilst swimming on a pond near Sunning, in April, 1794." This, the 

 only instance of the occurrence of the avocet in this part of the king- 

 dom which we have met with, is again transcribed from the MSS. of 

 Dr. Lamb. 



Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus melanopterus). A specimen of 

 this rare and very curious bird was killed at Shipley, near Henley, in 



