2 THE BIRDS OF NORTHAMPTONSHIRE 



in company with six or seven more, but what became 

 of it ultimately I cannot say. It is undoubtedly a 

 rare bird in this midland and much-frequented neigh- 

 bourhood, as I take it that few birds are disposed to 

 be less philanthropic." The second instance is that 

 recorded by Mr. W. Tomalin in the ' Field ' of 

 Nov. 19th, 1881, as having occurred at Gayton, near 

 Northampton, on October 28th of that year. Many 

 years ago I saw a bird near Achurch that I cannot 

 attribute to any species but this, with which I am 

 well acquainted, but as the bird in question passed 

 at a great height overhead, and did not call, I cannot 

 be certain of its identity. The Stone-Curlew arrives 

 in April at its breeding-localities in this country, I 

 have met with it during the summer and early autumn 

 in West Norfolk in some abundance, also on the 

 chalk downs in the neighbourhood of Winchester, 

 and on Salisbiu'y Plain, where we took several with 

 the Falcons of the Old Hawking Club. It is recorded 

 in Yarrell as breeding in Dorsetshire, Sussex, Kent, 

 Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Bucks, Beds, Herts, Cam- 

 bridgeshire, Suffolk, Worcestershire, Eutland, Not- 

 tingham, Lincoln, and the East Riding of York, 

 besides the counties above specified from my personal 

 observation. In Cornwall it seems to be a winter 

 visitor, and occasionally remains on the moors of that 

 county throughout the cold season. It is an ex- 

 ceedingly rare bird in Scotland and Ireland, and an 

 infrequent straggler to Wales and the northern 

 counties of England. In Spain the Stone-Curlew is 

 exceedingly common, and resident in all suitable 

 localities, I have also met with it in Algeria, Tunis, 

 Sicily, European Turkey, Crete, and Cyprus. The 

 favourite haunts of this species are open downs, 



