AVES.
Honey Buzzard in Staffordshire.—I have been fortunate enough to save from oblivion a beautiful specimen of Pernis apivorus. Acting on information received, I visited the cottage of a keeper, and induced him to sell me the bird for my collection. It was shot by this keeper at Little Aston, Staffordshire (within a few yards of the adjoining county of Warwickshire), on June 16th, 1894. It had been set up and made into one of those idiotic distortions which are so dear to the hearts of the old type of birdstuffer; but, thanks to the unrivalled taxidermic skill of Mr. F. Coburn, it has now been made into a specimen of rare grace and beauty. Judging by its large size, the specimen was evidently a female, and as there was a large patch on the abdomen denuded of feathers, it was probably breeding. The man said that the bird was on the topmost branch of a tall tree when he shot it, aud there were several large nests about, but they might have been Rooks' nests for all he knew. The bird is of the dark form, the whole of the upper and under parts being of a rich dark brown. I can only find one previous record for this bird in Staffordshire, and none for Warwickshire. Garner, in his 'Natural History of the County of Stafford,' page 271, says, "Shot this summer at Trentham," but gives no date; however, as the book was published in 1844, it may have been in 1843 or 1844. E. Baylis (Stafford Street, Birmingham).
Long-eared Owl breeding in Essex.—While walking through Pheasanthouse Wood, Little Baddow, with my boys, on April 15th, I noticed an Owl flit noiselessly out of a large Scotch fir; seeing a squirrel's drey or old crow's nest, one of my sons made an inspection, and soon disturbed the other Owl. The nest contained two eggs. We again saw the Owls in the same tree on April 23rd, so trust they may be successful in bringing off their brood. In Miller Christy's 'Birds of Essex' (p. 155) we read, "I never actually heard of its breeding in the county, except at Harwich, though it has probably done so elsewhere."—Edward A. Fitch (Maldon, Essex).
Food of the Knot.—In the early autumn the great stretches of sand which extend along the north Norfolk shore from Hunstanton to Blakeney are the resort of innumerable waders. Knots and Dunlins are perhaps the most abundant of these migratory hosts. The chief food of these two species is a little gasteropod, Paludestrina ulvæ (Pennant), which occurs in countless numbers on these sand-flats. I examined the contents of the stomachs of a large number of these birds last September, and in every instance the small mollusc above mentioned composed the principal food of the Knot. In order to render the identification complete of the Mollusca found in the Knots, I submitted the contents of the stomachs of five individuals killed in September to Mr. Edgar A. Smith, F.Z.S., of the British
