180 Proceedings of the Royal Physical Society. 



black ; nostrils, like male, covered with feathers. Yellowish 

 line of lighter colour over eyes and passing to behind ears. 

 Throat yellowish, with defined line of black below it. Top 

 of head and upper parts of body fawn-coloured, and feathers 

 more or less edged or barred with black, changing into 

 small round spots on sides of neck. Below, fawn-coloured, 

 no narrow bar of black across breast as in the male. 

 Across abdomen, in front of legs, a broad band of chest- 

 nut brown. Wing — smaller coverts fawn, with round spots 

 of black. Secondaries, under edge of small coverts, reddish 

 brown, forming a bar across wing. Bastard wing, with 

 black edges, same as male. Quills — first primary longest, 

 point slightly produced, second very slightly produced, 

 only pointed like others, which gradually diminish in 

 length. Outer web of first primary, black; others bluish 

 grey, and white at edge, the inner webs being dusky. 

 Greater coverts fawn, outer webs black, edged with light 

 fawn in male, in female almost white ; inner webs fawn 

 colour — axillaries white. Tail fawn, barred with brown. 

 Under tail coverts dirty white. Legs feathered like male. 

 Nails broad and dark brown. 



Sir William Jardine, in a note to the " Edinburgh Philo- 

 sophical Journal" for July 1863, quotes a letter in the 

 " Times" noticing a specimen in the Derby Museum, Liver- 

 pool, which had been sent from Perth, and gives a letter 

 from Professor Dickie of Aberdeen, stating that two birds 

 had been shot in the beginning of June out of a flock of 

 about fifteen, near Munchals, seven miles south of Aberdeen. 

 Their stomachs contained turnip and grass seeds. 



Mr H. Osborne sent me the following notice of one shot 

 from a small flock near Wick on the 8th of June 



" A fine specimen of this interesting and very rare 

 bird was shot in a field on the farm of Westerseat, near 

 Wick, on Monday last, the 8th inst. A small flock, num- 

 bering from ten to twelve individuals, had been observed in 

 the same locality a day or two before feeding among the 

 young braird. The birds were by no means shy when pur- 

 sued. The specimen referred to, which was the only one 

 that fell to the shot, was presented to Dr Sinclair, and is to 



