434 



Miscellaneous. 



I ascertain that a shearwater was ever shot, but always taken with 

 a hook. As before mentioned, they are commonly known by the 

 name of Hag downs." 



Had I been aware, in accepting of Mr. Davis's kind offer to send 

 his second specimen of this bird for my examination, that the former 

 one was in England, and could be seen by my friend Mr. Yarrell, I 

 should have left it to him to notice the subject ; but having received 

 the specimen and found corrections on my former notice necessary, 

 they are here communicated. The same letter which announced that 

 the bird had been despatched to Belfast, informed me that Mr. Yarrell 

 had seen the former one, and was disposed to consider it Puffinus 

 major, Fab. 



So little is known respecting this species as an inhabitant of our 

 seas, that I am induced to add the following. Mr. R. Ball, when 

 dredging offBundoran, on the west coast of Ireland (in company with 

 Mr. E. Forbes and Mr. Hyndman), on the 16th of July, 1840, saw 

 three petrels on wing near to him which he believed to be of this 

 species. On my submitting Mr. Davis's specimen to Mr. Ball's 

 inspection, he stated, that " the Bundoran birds exhibited some 

 whiteness, which was confined to the ventral or rather anal portion, 

 and which the specimen does not present ; but such difference may 

 be consequent on age." Mr. Ball continues : " they appear to me 

 to be much more dusky than the Manks petrel, of which I have a 

 specimen, and have seen several on wing when crossing the sea from 

 Dublin to England. These were all, I think, smaller than the Bun- 

 doran birds, and the white part of their plumage was particularly 

 conspicuous." 



STERNA ARCTICA. 



To Richard Taylor, Esq. 



Sir, — In the Annals and Magazine of Natural History for the 

 present month, the unusual circumstance is noticed of considerable 

 numbers of Sterna arctica ?, a bird essentially aquatic in its habits, 

 having appeared at various places more or less remote from the sea, 

 more particularly in the southern and western parts of England. 



The account of the rarity of such an occurrence is accompanied 

 by observations on the probability of the birds having been driven in 

 from sea by the westerly gales which prevailed on the 7th and 8th 

 of May, when " on their return to the northern regions after a winter 

 sojourn in the south." 



These last observations have induced me to trouble you with this 

 communication, for the purpose of pointing out the improbability of 

 such conjecture, as far as relates to their return to the " northern 

 regions." 



That the birds were driven inland by stress of weather admits of 

 little doubt ; but there is no evidence of their flight having been di- 

 rected towards the polar regions, as suggested by your correspondent. 

 On the contrary, there is very great doubt as to the birds in ques- 

 tion being really the Sterna arctica, for all those specimens which 

 were captured here and came under my observation belong to a 



