Page:The Zoologist, 3rd series, vol 2 (1878).djvu/48

26 7½ inches. C. pallidus breeds at Gibraltar, where Colonel Irby observed it nesting in the "weep" holes of the masonry of a portion of the old seadefences this last spring. Attempts were forthwith made by an energetic officer of the Rifle Brigade to get at the eggs; but these were unfortunately found to be at a great distance from the mouth of the holes, in some cases as much as 10 feet, and, though various contrivances were resorted to, all that could be reached were broken in the attempt.— R.E.

—The following circumstance has been communicated to me, as having recently occurred in this neighbourhood, and is, I think, worthy of record:—A Rough-legged Buzzard pounced on a good-sized rabbit, and, flying off with it in its talons, settled on the top of a pole where a pole-trap happened to be set for hawks. In this trap the Buzzard was caught by one leg. It did not, however, relinquish its prey, but breaking the fastening of the trap it Hew to a distance of about fifty yards with the trap hanging to one foot and the rabbit grasped in the other. It then alighted, and when found was in the act of devouring the rabbit, notwithstanding its being itself held captive by one leg in the' gripe of the pole-trap.— (Northrepps, Norwich).

—On the 11th May Common Terns appeared in the Estuary in their usual numbers, and by the 20th and 21st an unusually large flight arrived, comprising both the Common and Arctic species, but in what proportion the two arrived I could form no opinion, though I shot a few of both for comparison. They remained in the Bay and Estuary for about a week, and then disappeared, leaving only the usual stock of Common Terns that breed in the neighbourhood. This flight was accompanied by six Richardson's Skuas, three of which were in dark and three in light-coloured plumage. As they all had long tails, no doubt they were all old birds. I was very much interested in watching their habits, and perceived that, although they all consorted together when resting on the water or the sands, they generally kept in pairs, a light and a dark bird resting quite close together. Forgetting that Saxby, in his 'Birds of Shetland,' states that he has had birds of both sexes and all ages in both plumages as well as in an intermediate stage, and also that he has taken a light and a dark-coloured nestling from the same nest, I imagined that each couple might be male and female, the former being the light and the latter the dark-coloured bird, and in order to ascertain the fact I shot three of them. One of these had a pure white throat and breast, the white extending completely round the back of the neck, with a faint tint of straw-colour at the sides of it. The second had only the white breast, with a faint tinge of the straw-colour also on the sides of the neck: and the third was dark all over, having a lew traces of a lighter brown colour on the breast and sides of the neck.