336 Proceedings of the Royal Physical Society. 



give the details and date of the capture of many of them. 

 Of these, by far the most interesting is the little bustard, 

 very few specimens of which have been obtained even in 

 England, where the only authentic instances of its capture 

 in Britain have been recorded. Montagu s harrier, a species 

 but lately discriminated from the common harrier, is a rare 

 bird in the southern division of the kingdom, where its 

 peculiarities and appearance first attracted the attention of 

 the observant naturalist whose name it bears. The stock- 

 dove, the ortolan bunting, the reed warbler, and the poma- 

 rine skua, although not exactly rare in the southern counties 

 of England, have never, according to Mr Selby, been dis- 

 covered by him north of the Tweed. Baillon's crake, the 

 red-breasted goose, the ruddy sheldrake, and the hooded 

 merganser, are among the very rarest British visitants, only 

 one or two individuals of each species having been obtained, 

 as recorded by the same authority in his u Illustrations." 

 The additions made since 1840, distinguished by an asterisk, 

 demand a passing remark. In the first order, the jer-falcon 

 is added on the authority of the Kev. F. 0. Morris, who re- 

 lates in his " British Birds" that one was observed near 

 Thurso, by W. M. E. Milner, Esq., M.P. The snowy owl 

 has lately been pretty frequently found. The first notice 

 of it was given by Dr Sinclair, who possesses three indi- 

 viduals, one of which, a mature bird, is perhaps the finest 

 specimen in any collection in Britain. In the second order, 

 the parrot crossbill was obtained by Mr G. Auld of Wick 

 from some fishermen, in whose boat it alighted whilst at 

 sea, and was kept in confinement for a considerable time. 

 A single specimen of the lesser spotted woodpecker has been 

 found by Dr Sinclair. The wryneck has been twice ob- 

 tained, once by the gentleman mentioned above and once 

 by myself. The European roller I saw at Ulbster in 1857. 

 In the third order, Dr Sinclair has added the little bustard, 

 which, considering how few are the species of the family 

 Struthionidce found in Britain, is a particularly interesting 

 addition. In the fourth order, I have found the common 

 godwit. In this order Dr Sinclair has included the dotterel 

 (Charadrius morinellus), a very rare bird ; while, undoubt- 



