Page:The Zoologist, 4th series, vol 1 (1897).djvu/299

Rh least suspicion. In the opinion of Prof. Alfred Newton this beautiful bird has unquestionably occurred twice in Great Britain, and as it is a very vagrant species, it seems unreasonable to disallow its claim to be considered a wanderer to our shores. The species is a native of Tropical America, and the occurrence of individuals with us is perhaps mainly interesting as showing that "Transatlantic stragglers" are not wholly confined to natives of the northern half of that continent, though whether those stragglers cross by a different route, or in a different way, it is impossible to say. For a description of the species the reader may be referred to Dr. Coues's 'Key,' or to Mr. Ridgway's 'Manual.'— (St. Leonards-on-Sea).

Honey Buzzard in Staffordshire.—Mr. E. Baylis's record of this occurrence (p. 232) contains some errors which are well to be corrected. The date given (1894) is incorrect. I examined the bird some years since, and was informed by the gardener who killed it (not the keeper, as stated) that it was obtained June 16th, 1891; and the record has long since been saved from oblivion, having been recorded fully in the 'Journal' of the Birmingham Natural History Society. Moreover, if Mr. Baylis had referred to McAldowie's 'Birds of Staffordshire,' he would have found several other recorded occurrences; and again an additional specimen recorded by myself in Zool. 1888 (p. 394). As regards Warwickshire, several have occurred within the county.— (Dixon's Green, Dudley).

Breeding of the Common Snipe in Romney Marsh.—Towards the end of April, some three or four years ago, I flushed a Snipe in Romney Marsh; the question immediately occurred to me, does the Snipe breed here? There are many very suitable places, though none of large extent like there are in the fens. Being well acquainted with the bird during the nesting season in the fen country, I at once began to look for the nest, but could not find it. Every year since I have put up three or four in different parts of the marsh, in the month of April; but they always seemed to be only feeding, as the places were generally very wet, and no nest was to be found. On April 24th last, however, while hunting a small piece of rough sedge and rushes with my brother, I saw a Snipe get up right at his feet, and as usual, when there is a nest, fly away slowly and close to the ground. The nest was easily found, situated on the top of a tussock, and contained four typical eggs. We subsequently put up several more Snipe, but they were obviously only feeding, and we were unable to find a second nest. So far as I can make out, this is the first recorded instance of the breeding of this species in Kent; I can find records for all the other southern counties from Cornwall to Essex, and Borrer, in his 'Birds of Sussex,' mentions it as nesting on the Pevensey Levels, only some twenty-five miles from where I found