MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES. 33 



"storm," snow-blast, and frost, that we have, as it were, bad two^winters 

 in one year. It "came in like a lion and went out like a lamb," having 

 lasted eight days, beginning on November 28th., and ending on December 

 6th., I think. I never remember harder frosts, both black and white. 

 The latter, as usual at this season of the year, were precursors of rain, 

 and the last continuing for a whole day, the trees were singularly beautiful, 

 every spray of every bough being silvered over with the hoar-frost, as if 

 all had come out into winter leaf, the verdure, so to speak, being of 

 dazzling whiteness, glittering and sparkling in the sun. But the birds, as 

 seems to be their wont now-a-days, almost one and all vanished — scarce a 

 feather was to be seen. One used to think that hard weather drove the 

 birds to us; now it seems to drive them away. — "The why and the 

 wherefore?"— F. O. Morris, December 11th, 1856. 



On the 28th. of November last, duriug snow and hard frost, I shot a 

 Knot at Nunburuholme, on the edge of the stream by the village green. 

 It was extremely tame. I put it up several times, and it alighted each 

 time only a few yards off, while I went into a neighbouring cottage for 

 a gun. I never before knew one myself so far inland — some five-and- 

 twenty miles from the sea. — F. 0. Morris. 



Land Mail. — A fine one was taken alive by a woman at Shelf, near 

 Halifax, late one evening in the beginning of November last. She had a 

 lantern, and the bird followed her into a little walled enclosure near her 

 cottage door, called a fold. — J. Walsh, Hipperholme, near Halifax, 

 December 2nd., 1856. 



Skylarks. — On the morning of Wednesday, November 26th., the] neigh- 

 bourhood of Halifax was visited by vast flocks of Larks. Many hundreds 

 have been shot. They were so numerous that the air was partially darkened 

 with them, and they were between one and two hours in passing over. 

 Those killed were nearly all very fat. — Idem. 



The Starling and Blue Tit. — In a garden in Church-road, Edgbaston, 

 there are many trees of the mountain ash, well berried; on them I saw, 

 November 2&th., a large muster of Starlings — nearly thirty; and on 

 Monday, December 1st., I observed the Blue Tit, in several instances, 

 very near town, also feeding on the red berries of the mountain ash. I 

 think it right to record these instances, simple as they are, that my paper 

 on "Bird-retreating" may not be without a slight counterbalance. These 

 are my first notices of these birds within five minutes walk of the busy 

 workshops of our town. Nothing would be more gratifying than an oppor- 

 tunity of recording the appearance of many other birds, even though stray 

 and occasional visitors. — G. R. Twinn, December 4th., 1856. 



