Birds. 5831 



The Locust at Hull. — For some short time past many specimens of the locust 

 {Gryllus migratorius) have been captured in this neighbourhood. One very fine spe- 

 cimen was caught by my gardener flying over a bed of Verbenas. In order to kill it I 

 tried the air-pump. After being under the exhauster for some few minutes, it fell on 

 its side, and appeared to be quite dead. It was left thus for nearly an hour, when, on 

 admitting air again, a slight motion of the legs and antennae showed that it was not 

 quite killed. A little cyanide of potassium was now introduced by puncturing the 

 thorax with a penknife, and letting a drop of the saturated solution of this salt fall on 

 the aperture. This plan seemed to work well, for it appeared to be dead immediately. 

 On the 28th instant I had another locust brought me by one of the sea pilots. It had 

 been captured at sea, the same day. On turning it out of the glass where it had been 

 kept, it turned out to be a specimen of death's-head hawk-moth (Acherontia Atropos). 

 When teased it became much irritated, and continually uttered its peculiar stridulant 

 cry. — George Norman ; Hull, September 30, 1857. 



Abundance of the Locust at Boulogne-sur-Mer. — Being at Boulogne from the 16th 

 to the 20lh of September, for the purpose of collecting Actiniae for my aquaria, I ob- 

 served hundreds of the migratory locust {Locusta migraloria) on the down above the 

 cliff in the vicinity of Boulogne. — Thomas Hall ; 75, London Wall , September 21, 

 1857. [Owing, doubtless, to the heat of the past summer, the north-westward migra- 

 tion of the locust has been more observable than for many years past. The Straits of 

 Dover have formed a natural barrier, preventing its coming to England in excessive 

 numbers. — E. iVVj 



Honey Buzzards in Norfolk. — No less than five of these occasional visitants 

 have been lately observed in this county. On the 25th of August two males in adult 

 plumage were shot at Northrepps, and another was seen but not obtained. These 

 birds exhibited, both on the upper part and sides of the head, the gray plumage of the 

 full adult, and are the more worthy of remark since I believe, out of the many speci- 

 mens that have occurred from time to time in this county, not more than one or two 

 have been met with in other than immature plumage. A young female was killed at 

 Salhouse on the 28th of the same month, and another, also immature, was taken at 

 Woodbastwick on the 7th of September. About the same time a sixth specimen was 

 shot at Flixlon, in Suffolk. — H. Stevenson; Norwich, September, 1857. 



Snowy Owls in the Western Islands. — No less than five specimens of the snowy 

 owl {Strix nyctea) have been shot this year in the Western Islands, all of them, I be- 

 lieve, by Mr. Millbank ; I am not certain whether in Lewis or Sky. — David Graham ; 

 Market Street, York, September 21, 1857. 



Nesting of the Lapland Owl (Strix lapponica, Temm.) and Tengmalm's Owl (S. 

 Tengmalmi, Gmel.) — Two nests of the Lap owl were found in Finnish Lapland in 

 1856. In one near Sodankyla there were two eggs, and when one of the birds was 

 shot a third egg was found ready for exclusion. They were placed on the jagged end 

 of the stump of a large Scotch fir, about twelve feet from the ground, at which spot the 

 tree had been snapped across by some storm, the upper part not yet entirely separated, 

 but sloping downwards till the greater part of its weight was supported by the ground. 

 The other nest was near the Aunasjoki, at the top of a lowish Scotch fir. Some time 



