Birds. 



8237 



And of this example, judging from the figure given of it, not only, as Pallas himself 

 says, " Cauda in specimine deerat," but it also appears to have lost the elongated por- 

 tion of the shafts of the outer remiges, which form so singular a feature in the species, 

 and which, as we see by the state of the birds in our Gardens, are no doubt easily 

 broken off. I must be allowed to add that I think this circumstance greatly favours 

 the supposition that the specimens which were obtained in Western Europe in July 

 and August, 1859, were not indebted to any human interference for their transport ; 

 for I have had the good fortune to examine all four of them, and each possessed these 

 extraordinary appendages in nearly perfect preservation. 



The Sandpiper a Diver. — In the ' Zoologist' for this month (Zool. 8195) there is 

 a communication concerning the fact of the common sandpiper being a diver. I 

 remember having taken a note some time back of an occurrence somewhat similar. I 

 had wounded a sandpiper, and it fell into the river. On wading in to secure it, to my 

 surprise it disappeared beneath the surface, and reappeared again at a considerable 

 distance from me. I again waded towards it, and this time came much nearer, when 

 again it repeated the manoeuvre, and I distinctly saw it, at about a foot below the sur- 

 face, making off as hard as it could by the united aid of two legs and one uninjured 

 wing. I never observed one doing the same either before or since, though 1 have 

 wounded several much in the same way. — John A. Harvie Brown; Dumpace House, 

 Falkirk, October 6, 1862. 



The Sandpiper a Diver. — I notice in the ' Zoologist ' for this month (Zool. 8195) 

 an article on 'The Sandpiper a Diver,' which it would appear is not generally known. 

 I have noticed it often when wounded, and on one or two occasions while the birds 

 were amusing themselves on the shore or bank of a stream : whether they were after 

 food or not I cannot say. The first time was in 1855, on the banks of the Jed, near 

 Jedburgh : I wounded a sandpiper which alighted on a stone in the middle of the 

 stream, and on my wading in for it, it jumped into the water and swam underneath to 

 the bank, where I secured it. I have seen them dive four or five feet deep, and that 

 not by plunging in, but from the surface. They swim well, carrying the head a little 

 back, and the legs rather higher than the breast: they use both wings and legs, are 

 quick in their motions, and appear to swim with great ease and comparatively swift. 

 The sandpiper is an elegant little bird in the water. I never saw one swimming on 

 the surface, unless wounded. — Robert W. Leven ; Kennaway Burns, Windygates, 

 Fifeshire, October 4, 1862. 



Occurrence of the Curlew Sandpiper at Rochester. — About a week ago I saw a fine 

 example of this species in the possession of a boy who had just before killed it with a 

 slick a little above Rochester Bridge. It was extremely fat, and the stomach was full 

 of sand and small worms. I afterwards observed eight more upon some marshy 

 ground near the same spot. — Henry L. Saxby ; H.M.S. ' Devonshire? Sheerness, Sep- 

 tember 24, 1862. 



Occurrence of the Common Skua near the Land's End. — The large skua (Lestris 

 catarractes) seldom makes its appearance on our coasts, but I have to record one that 

 was obtained a few days since near the "Wolf" Rock, off the Land's End. — Edward 

 Hearle Rodd ; Penzance, September 22, 1862. 



