Page:The Zoologist, 3rd series, vol 2 (1878).djvu/47

Rh "That's the bird—that's the bird I saw! I am certain of it!" Mr. Norwood could not, however, possibly leave that evening, and on Sunday they were nowhere to be seen, and I much regret that I cannot glean any further information concerning them; but I have no doubt in my own mind—neither has Mr. Norwood—that they were Hoopoes, and apparently they must have been bred somewhere in the neighbourhood, possibly in some of the osierstumps ou these little islands, which lie very quiet and undisturbed at that spot. It was on Saturday, either the 9th or 16th of June, that Holbeck saw the birds: but I was not informed of it until last month, otherwise T might have been able to glean some further information concerning them. I may add that the Hoopoe is not altogether an uncommon bird in this district. I have the following notices of its occurrence in our more immediate neighbourhood:—One shot at West Knoyle by Thomas Grey in 1865; a male bird shot at Breamore in May, 1869; one shot. on Mr. Crook's farm at Dean about 1871; one seen at West Knoyle by Mr. E. Baker in 1872; one shot at Upton Scudamore, and stuffed by King of Warminster, in 1873: one shot at Mere by Richard Brine on April 2nd, 1873; one picked up dead on Mr. Rawlence's farm at Wilton in 1874. This last bird being also one of a little party of these birds shot at on the race-course, just above his farm, some days previously.— (Britford Vicarage, Salisbury).

Cypselus pallidus (Shelley).—I am not aware that the egg of this species has ever been described, and as I have an undoubted specimen—one of the pair taken by Favier in 1861 at Tangier—I venture to give some particulars as to its measurement, &c. Favier says, in his MS. notes (vide Irby's 'Ornithology of the Straits of Gibraltar'), "This Swift is found near Tangier on passage, crossing to Europe in April and May. Some remain to breed; but it is the least common of the species, being seen alone or in pairs in company with C. apus, which circumstance makes it difficult to distinguish them. I found a pair in July, 1861, nesting in company with some House Martins, Chelidon urbica; the nest was simply an old nest of that Martin, which the Swifts had appropriated, and contained two eggs of the usual Cypselus shape, their longitudinal circumference being 64—66 millimetres." I obtained my specimen from Olcese, Faviers successor, while I was quartered at Gibraltar in 1873. It has a label, in Favier's indifferent hand-writing, "Cypselus murinus," that being the name (applied by Brehm in 1855 to a bird presumably of this species) by which he knew the bird. It agrees exactly with his measurement, and measures -92 X '61 inches, being, of course, pure white in colour and without any gloss. This is somewhat smaller than average eggs of C. apus, which measure ·94 X ·65 inches; but the total length of C. pallidus is only 6 inches, while that of C. apus is