310 
DISPOSAL OF OUR GRALLJ5. 
two other British Birds belonging to that division of 
the Grallrn which we may term inland and fluviatile 
Waders,—Sabine’s Snipe and the Courser which 
have been seen in England but twice or thrice. The 
Thick* kneed, Plover however, which in our culti¬ 
vated districts is scarce, is in Oxfordshire common, 
though probably this depends on that county pos¬ 
sessing such a noble and extensive forest and other 
uncultivated tracts. In Oxfordshire the Golden 
Plover appears only in winter, whereas here it 
breeds on our moors and appears in the southern 
parts afterwards. Considering the very confined 
limits usually observed by the Ruff, it is surprising 
that any of them should have been noticed in Devon 
however rarely. One Devon specimen was shot in 
December, 1808, on that fertile source of aquatic 
birds, Slapton Ley, which may serve perhaps in 
some degree to illustrate the eligibility of our county 
for such birds ; and species from every class of birds 
are known occasionally to remain in England 
through the winter, whilst the main body observe 
the accustomed migration ; on the other hand 
some also remain to breed if the position is found 
eligible, whilst the bulk of such species retire to 
other counties or other countries, where the rearing 
of young is conducted with certain concealment. 
These may possibly be cases of altered character of 
species, but in respect of the rarity of the Ruff in 
this county, it should be taken into consideration 
that though it is now restricted to certain of the 
eastern counties, it may possibly in former years 
when cultivation had made no great advances, have 
extended generally over a much greater number, our 
own included. Slapton Ley is a lake of rather large 
size, situated towards the verge of the southern 
coast of Devon. By a wise ordination of Nature, 
the birds peculiarly termed marine, or rather some 
of the species, upon the occasion of want in the 
