MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES. 283 



and under this was the fatty substance from which a considerable quantity 

 of oil would be obtained. The skin on the back was quite black, and 

 had the appearance, when wet, of polished leather; on the belly it was 

 of the purest white. This fish was, we believe, the largest that has ever 

 come ashore here, though many of the same kind, and much larger, are 

 frequently seen by the herring-fishermen when oflF at sea. Like the fisher- 

 men, they are probably in quest of the herring, which, with other small 

 fish and mollusca, constitutes the food of this species. The Rorqual is not 

 unfrequently taken on the most northerly coasts of our island, especially 

 in the inlets of the Scotch coast, where they are, indeed, frequently the 

 special objects of search and capture, their presence being indicated very 

 often a considerable time before they are taken. The present specimen 

 is supposed to have been dead some days previous to its being washed 

 up here. Its stomach contained a quantity of herrings." 



Ornithological Notes. — The mildness of the weather and the lateness of 

 some of the broods have caused many of the swallows and martins to remain 

 through the first week of October. Several Snipes, both the Common and 

 the Jack Snipe, have appeared in the Dearne valley, and on the 5th. of 

 September that rare bird, the Great or Solitary Snipe, was shot on the 

 Fleets, being the first instance recorded in this neighbourhood of its 

 being seen. It was taken to Mr. T. Lister, and its weight being twice 

 that of the common species, it was readily distinguished as the rarer 

 bird. A goatsucker or nightjar was twice seen near the same place and 

 time, and favoured by the screening trees, it fortunately escaped the gun- 

 ner. Less favoured than this rare bird, a much scarcer one, a male 

 Honey Buzzard, was shot by the keeper of Sir L. S. Pilkington, of Chevet 

 Hall, on the 9th. of September, while attacking a wasp's nest, its crop 

 being filled with grubs, young wasps, etc. This noble hawk was once as 

 useful in checking the increase of this noxious insect as Owls and Kestrels 

 have been for destroying vermin. But all are doomed alike to extermina- 

 tion. — Wakefield Express. 



Late Breeding of the Greenfinch. — On the 30th. of August last, in a 

 garden about six miles north of Patrington, I was shewn a Greenfinch's 

 nest containing four full-fledged young ones. Is not this an instance of 

 late breeding, as it is fully a month later than any case that I ever 

 observed in this neighbourhood? — R., Wortley, Leeds, October 10th., 1857. 



The Wryneck. — A fine specimen of the Wryneck, ( Yunx torquilla,) was 

 found a few days ago on the Glasgow and South- Western Railway, near 

 Thornhill, Dumfriesshire. It appears to have been killed by flying against 

 the telegraph wires, and has been stuffed for the Thornhill Museum. — 

 W. G. Gibson, 75, High Street, Dumfries, October 21st., 1857. 



