Birds, fyc. 



8333 



of the pomarine and Richardson's (Zestris Richardsoni). A gentleman with me 

 missed a splendid adult bird of L. eatarractes, a much rarer bird here than the poma- 

 rine. — ff. Blake-Knox ; November 7, 1862. 



The Pomarine Skua off Beachy Head. — I shot a fine specimen of the pomarine 

 skua off Beachy Head, in September last, which is now in my collection. — /. Dutton. 



Pomarine Skuas on the English Coast. — Anonymous writers, whose communica- 

 tions I cannot quote because anonymous, and therefore of no authority, have published, 

 in the ' Field ' and a variety of local papers, accounts of skuas having been killed on 

 our coast. These accounts are too numerous, and the character of the elongate tail- 

 feathers is too marked, for us to suppose them erroneous; and I cannot but feel regret 

 that occurrences of such interest should not be recorded in such a way as to insure 

 their preservation. — Edward Newman. 



The Land Tortoise Breeding in England. — T am not aware that there is any authen- 

 ticated instance on record of the land tortoise's eggs proving productive in Great 

 Britain, but having just returned from a visit at Tregullow, the seat of Mr. William 

 Williams, I was made acquainted with the fact of two eggs of the tortoise having 

 produced two young ones about five weeks since, and that they were alive and well 

 in one of the pine-houses in the gardens. The accompanying particulars, furnished 

 me by Mrs. Williams, will be read with interest, and I have much pleasure in forward- 

 ing them for insertion in the ' Zoologist.' I have only to add that I have, as a matter 

 of course, visited the nursery this morning, and seen and handled the babies. They 

 have the free use of their limbs, and move and walk exactly as full-grown tortoises do. 

 They are now about the size of a small palm of a hand, the shell fully developed and 

 indurated. — Edward Hearle Rodd ; Penzance, November 22, 1862. 



"Tregullow, November 13, 1862. — The female land tortoise came from the West 

 Indies, and was given to Mrs. Williams's mother upwards of fifty years ago ; it was 

 then about the size of a watch. It has been in the garden at Tregullow about thirty- 

 two years. Four years ago another tortoise was obtained, which turned out to be a 

 male : they were allowed to roam about the garden at their will. In I860 some eggs 

 were found, but from insufficient heat they were not hatched. About the 25th of July 

 last the gardener, on passing a south border, observed the female tortoise making a pit 

 with her hind legs in a very peculiar manner. On watching her, he found she had 

 made a hole of some four inches deep, quite flat at the bottom. On returning, in about 

 five minutes, he found she had deposited six eggs, and was in the act of covering them 

 with earth. He immediately removed them in a flower-pot stand about two inches 

 deep, filled with white sand, to a pine-pit, and placed them on a bed of tan. On the 

 19ih of October last he observed two of the eggs had been hatched, and on looking 

 around he found, much to his astonishment, two young live torioises. The eggs are 

 about the size and appearance of those of a pigeon. The young ones are kept in a 

 wooden box in a pine pit, with some earth and moss, under which they nestle. They 

 are fond of lettuces and strawberries, but do not eat much. They appear quite well 

 and lively, moving about briskly. They are iiow a little larger than a half-crown. 

 The eggs were not disturbed while in the pine-pit, the temperature of which during 



