16 ANNALS OF SCOTTISH NATURAL HISTORY 



Bond's oft-quoted statement as published by More. Should 

 they meet the eye of any one in possession of information 

 calculated to still further elucidate the subject, I trust he 

 will not fail to make it known through the pages of this 

 journal. 



Since writing the above and sending it to the " Annals," 

 I have received a piece of valuable information from Mr. 

 Edward Bidvvell, London, which practically sets the matter 

 at rest. Mr. Bidwell writes me that in an old list of British 

 Birds in which Bond made notes of his collection of eggs, 

 the following entries occur under the head of Wood Sand- 

 piper, namely : 



2, Scotland, C. Thurnall. 

 i, Tristram's sale, 1854. 



3, Wolley's sale, 1855. 

 6, Holland, J. Baker. 



" You may be sure," adds Mr. Bidwell, " that the eggs 

 were those of the Wood Sandpiper, for Bond had a marvel- 

 lous knowledge of eggs." 



A NOTE UPON THE CHANGES OF PLUMAGE OF 

 THE LITTLE GULL (LARUS MINUTUS]. 



By Rev. H. A. MACPHERSON, M.A., M.B.O.U. 



ALTHOUGH the Little Gull does not seem to have been 

 found breeding west of the Baltic, it is a curious fact that 

 individuals occur in the British Islands in almost every 

 month in the year, and in nearly every stage of plumage ; 

 from the nestling which has only left the breeding-grounds 

 of the species a few weeks, to the adult bird in full nuptial 

 or complete winter dress. So far as my experience goes, 

 the great majority of the specimens of Larus minntus that 

 have been procured in this country were killed in the dress 

 of the first winter, a phase bearing a certain resemblance to 

 the coloration of the immature Kittiwake (Rissa tridactyld). 



