ZOOLOGICAL NOTES 117 



ZOOLOGICAL NOTES. 



Albino Shrew in Banffshire. A specimen of an Albino Shrew 

 (Sorex vulgaris, Linn.) from Kirkmichael, Ballindalloch, was pre- 

 sented to the Edinburgh Museum on yth January 1902. The 

 specimen, which is nearly 3 inches in length from the point of the 

 snout to the tip of the tail, is almost pure white, only the top of 

 the head and the back having a slight ashy tinge, while the tip of 

 the tail is distinctly brown, the colour becoming paler as we proceed 

 forwards towards the body. Albinism, though common in the mole, 

 does not seem to be frequent among the shrews, as we in the 

 Museum have never before seen a specimen showing that condition, 

 nor do we know of any previous record. R. H. TRAQUAIR. 



Hedgehog 1 in Argyllshire. In connection with recent notes on 

 this subject, I may say that I found a half-grown hedgehog in a 

 wood adjoining the reservoir at the head of Glen Crutten on i8th 

 July 1901, and that my brother Alexander, some weeks before, 

 observed one in Glen More, close to Oban, and practically in the 

 same locality as that mentioned by Mr. Watt. ROBERT GODFREY, 

 Edinburgh. 



Occurrence of the Harp Seal in the north of Shetland. The 



following observation was made by Thos. Anderson, Esq., of Hills- 

 wick, who relates it in a letter to me : 



"When on an excursion to the cliffs of Roeness Hill on igth 

 August 1901, I saw a Harp Seal in Langclodies Gio, lying on the rocks 

 on the south side of the Gio. There were a large number of the 

 ordinary seals, but this one took my notice by being lighter in colour, 

 and when I looked at it with my glass, I could see the dark circular 

 mark on its back quite clearly. Another seal was on the same rock 

 but much darker in colour, a bluish-grey, and speckled, or dappled. 

 The cliffs are 400 feet and the sea very heavy, so there was no 

 chance of getting it. It is the first I have seen." 



This note by Mr. Thomas Anderson, who is a very competent 

 observer, adds another to the scanty records of the occasional 

 occurrence of the Harp Seal (Phoca grcenlandica) in Scottish waters. 

 The late Dr. Saxby stated that this seal is not very rare in Shetland 

 during bad weather, and Mr. Harvie-Brown saw what he regarded 

 as specimens in the Sound of Harris. No Scottish example seems to 

 have been shot and preserved in any of our Museums. In the 

 Museum in the town of Kendal, however, is a specimen captured 

 in 1868 in Morecambe Bay, Lancashire, which was identified by Mr. 

 Thomas Gough and myself as undoubtedly a specimen of the Harp 

 Seal. WM. TURNER, Edinburgh. 



Goldfinch in King's Park, Edinburgh. A Goldfinch (Corduelis 

 elegans], in beautiful plumage, evidently an old <$ , was "trapped" 



