218 SPOTTED EAGLE AT ELMSTEAD AND LEIGH.
Westleton Beds from Norfolk and Suffolk through Essex, Middlesex, Hertford-
shire, etc., into the West of England ; but there were several breaks in their
continuity, and one of the most serious was that between Broxted, near Braintree,
and Coopersale Common, near Epping, a distance of nineteen miles. The sections
described by Mr. French served to shorten this distance to about fifteen miles, and
were so far very satisfactory. It should be noted that Prof. Prestwich says of the
Westleton Beds, that they extend from Braintree, by Withersfield, to Dunmow
and Thaxted, but are rarely exposed" (Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc, vol. xlvi., p.
134).
SPOTTED EAGLE (AQUILA NAEVIA) AT ELM-
STEAD AND LEIGH ; AN ADDITION TO
THE ESSEX FAUNA.
SOME time since I recorded the fact of a Crane having been
shot in the parish of Elmstead near Colchester (see Essex
Naturalist, vol. ii., p. 271), and now I am very pleased to announce
the occurrence there of a Spotted Eagle—but with this welcome cir-
cumstance, that the bird was not killed, but is alive and apparently
healthy. If these captures continue Elmstead will become celebrated
in ornithological annals as the harbourage of rare birds. Mr. Pettitt,
our local taxidermist, purchased the specimen from a gipsy, who had
a few days before bought it of the captor, a farm-labourer of Elm-
stead. On October 29th, the man had noticed a strange bird, in an
apparently exhausted state, alight in a field in which he was working.
He immediately gave chase, and after the bird had taken a short
flight he came up with it and succeeded in taking it alive and
uninjured. The specimen appears to belong to the small race of the
species, its size and markings corresponding to Mr. Saunders' de-
scription of this variety.—Henry Laver, F.L.S., Colchester.
It was stated in the local papers that on Thursday, November
3rd, a "Golden Eagle" was shot at Leigh by the Rev. R. Stuart
King. Having some doubts as to the species, I wrote to Mr. King,
and he informs me that the bird he shot was the Spotted Eagle
(Aquila naevia). It was first seen on the ground in the Rectory
meadow at Leigh, and upon being alarmed by a lad, it flew up and
settled on a tree. The lad, thinking it was a goose, fetched Mr. King,
who, at once recognising it as an Eagle, procured a gun and shot it.
Mr. King describes it as a young bird, the spots being very plainly
marked. The measurements were: from tips of wings 5 feet, from
beak to tail 2 feet 1/2 inch. He adds : "The bird was evidently