JOURDAIN I THE BREEDING OF THE HONEY BUZZARD. 239 
his father, Major Turle, of Newton Stacey, Hants. It came 
under the hammer at Stevens’ Rooms on 28 April 1908, when 
•this egg was catalogued as follows : “ Lot 157. — Honey Buzzard 
1 (Redway, June 1887).” The egg, which had lost much of 
its beauty through age and was erroneously described in the 
catalogue, attracted little attention. It was knocked down to 
the late Major F. \Y. Proctor, of Maidenhead, and remained 
in his possession till his death in June 1916. 
In 1917, I purchased this egg ; and, on examining Turle’s 
data ticket, I noticed at once that the error in the sale catalogue 
was due to the printer or compiler ; for on the egg itself is clearly 
Written, “ Little Baddow Rodney, Essex, June 1847, Rev. S. 
Pearson.” The set-mark, “ is 
also given and, in another hand, 
the words “ Honey Buzzard 
(see fig. i); 2 The data on the ticket 
agree exactly with those inscribed 
on the egg. It will be seen, there¬ 
fore, that the entry in Stevens’ sale 
catalogue of April 1908 contained 
two very misleading errors—“ Red¬ 
way ” for Rodney, 3 and “ 1887 ” for 
1847. The egg is blown with holes 
at each end, and the original deep 
rich reddish chocolate has faded to 
a dirty sepia tint ; so that, as a 
specimen, apart from its historical interest, the egg is almost 
valueless ; but these facts speak in favour of, rather than 
against, its authenticity. Moreover, the custom of blowing 
•eggs with one hole at the side has only gradually become 
general during the last sixty years, and was almost unknown 
before the days of Newton and Wolley. Personally, I am 
inclined to look with suspicion on fresh-looking eggs blown with 
neatly drilled holes at the side and bearing dates prior to 1850. 
It is interesting to note that the bird recorded by Mr. C. 
Smoothy in the Field for 2 June 1888 was shot in Little Baddow 
Woods a fortnight earlier in the year, when it might very well 
1 . •- - 1 
2 There is no"certainty as to the identity of this handwriting on the egg. It is worth 
noting, perhaps, that the place is still often called '* The Little Baddow Rodney,” to 
tiistinguish it from the many other inns named after Admiral Lord Rodney. 
3 There is no place in Britain known as ‘ Redway.” 
EGG OF HONEY BUZZARD TAKEN AT 
J. 1 TTLE BADDOW IN JUNE 1847. 
