COLLARED PRATINCOLE — CREAM-COLOURED COURSER. 
147 
Family GLAEEOLID^. 
COLLAEED PEATINCOLE. Glareola 'pratincola (Linnaeus), 
The only authority I have for including this bird in the present list is 
that contained in the MS. catalogue of the contents of the Museum when 
handed over to the Corporation on 19th June, 1849, wherein one is mentioned 
with the remark, “ shot near Leicester.” 
Family CHAEADEIID^. 
CEEAM-COLOUEED COUESEE. Gursorius gallicus (Gmelin). 
“ Cream-coloured Swiftfoot.” 
A very rare autumnal straggler to Britain. — This scarce bird is figured 
from Selby in Potter’s ‘History of Charnwood Forest,’ as a vignette to the 
Ornithology, at p. 65 of the Appendix, with the following remarks, at p. 69, by 
Mr. Babington ; — “ The third and last specimen found in Britain was killed near 
Timberwood Hill, October,* 1827. It is in the collection of the Eev. Thomas 
Gisborne, of Yoxall Lodge, and was lent by him to Mr. Selby, for whose splendid 
work it was engraved. The specimen which was first found in Britain was sold 
to Donovan for 83 guineas, and is now in the British Museum.” Mr. Gisborne’s 
specimen was also figured by Bewick. Anxious, if possible, to obtain some particu- 
lars of so rare a bird, Harley wrote to the late Mr. Gisborne, author of ‘ Walks 
in a Forest,’ in whose possession it was known to be, and received the following 
reply: — “Yoxall Lodge, Needwood Forest, July 4, 1840. The example of Gursorius 
isabellinus, respecting which you enquire, was shot on Charnwood Forest, near 
Timberwood Hill, in October, 1827, by a tenant of my eldest son. The tenant 
met my son incidentally directly afterward, and showed and gave the bird to him 
as an unknown curiosity ; and my son, who was on his way to this neighbour- 
hood, brought it forward to me. — Thomas Gisborne.” 
Dresser (‘ Birds of Europe ’) mentions the Leicestershire specimen as being the 
fourth obtained in Britain. According to Yarrell (4th Edition, Vol. III., p. 240) 
the present example is the sixth recorded for Britain, but the mistake has been 
made of placing the year 1828 before 1827, and we have to thank Mr. Harting’s 
‘ Handbook of British Birds,’ which shews it to be the fifth noted as occurring 
in Britain, the previous four being: — One near Wingham, Kent (see Latham, 
1787), in the British IMuseum. One, North Wales, 1793. One near Weatherby, 
April, 1816. One, Yorkshire, 1825. Since then some twenty or more examples 
have occurred. As neither the figure nor the description given by Selby is 
quite accurate, possibly the Plate (which I have copied, by kind permission 
of Mr. Dresser, from his beautiful work) may be of service. 
• The exact date was the 16th. 
