REPORT ON SCOTTISH ORNITHOLOGY IN 1919 in 



place on the same date as these Cormorants were reported 

 at South Uist and Stornovvay on 23rd October 1919 and 

 26th November 1919. A very interesting return is that of 

 a Lapwing ringed at Torrance, Stirlingshire, as a nestling, 

 19th August 1918, reported near Coruna, north-west Spain, 

 19th November 1919; another Lapwing ringed at Kinnel- 

 head, Dumfries, 27th May 1917 was recovered at Summerhill, 

 Co. Meath, 20th January 1919. A Black-headed Gull ringed 

 at Ravenglass, Cumberland, as a young bird on 31st May 

 191 3 was caught after a severe frost at Portobello 14th 

 November 1919 and released three days later. There are, 

 as usual, a good many birds reported which were recovered 

 at or near the place where they were ringed. 



In addition to these papers a very interesting series of 

 articles has recently appeared in British Birds summarising 

 the results of the ringing scheme in the case of certain 

 species of birds (2. xiii. 269, 292, and 307). 



Plumage. 



We have a good many records of varieties of plumage 

 this year. The two Rooks with white feathers recorded in 

 191 8 from the Meadows (Edinburgh), were seen there at 

 intervals between January and April, and in autumn several 

 birds with white feathers frequented this locality. Two 

 Jackdaws were noticed at Invergowrie with symmetrical 

 white primaries, one on 8th March, the other on 21st 

 September. A cinnamon Starling was seen near Cullen in 

 a flock of normally coloured birds ; this seems to be an 

 uncommon form of colour variation. During August a 

 House-sparrow was frequently seen near Dundee whose 

 plumage was in tones of grey, rather darker on the head. 

 A young Spotted Flycatcher, pure white, is recorded from 

 Dumfries on 17th July (i. 1919, 195), while on 7th and 23rd 

 March a male Blackbird is recorded at Paisley, all white, 

 " but not so pure as the snow among which it was seen " ; and 

 a bird of the same species, with a conspicuous white patch on 

 the right wing, was seen at Lerwick on several dates between 

 19th October and ist December. Two cases of melanism 



