VOL. VI.] NOTES. 159 



course lying towards the eastern coast of Anglesey. Between 

 4.30 and 6 p.m. on the 29th similar flocks, the largest of which 

 contained upwards of eighty birds, were again observed passing 

 westward. On thirteen different afternoons and evenings in 

 July, and on the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 7th and 8th of August, the 

 same diurnal movement was observed, but despite continual 

 vigilance nothing was seen of it after the latter date, for the 

 four birds which I saw on the wing in the Conway estuary on 

 August 18th were quite five miles south of the route. The 

 abnormally low barometric pressure which prevailed in the 

 early part of August may have contributed to the cause of 

 the disappearance from the north coast of those birds which 

 thought well to summer off its shores. 



The ducks were never observed to alight on the sea off the 

 promontory of Gogarth, but passed, as was generally the case 

 in the late afternoon and evening, westward, whilst as a rule 

 they travelled eastward in the early morning. 



The movement appears to have been one from feeding- 

 grounds to some convenient locality off the Anglesey coast 

 where the birds could assemble to spend the short summer 

 nights ; and it would be interesting to know whether they 

 were observed during the day-time by other ornithologists 

 in the neighbourhood of Liverpool Bay, where it is thought 

 they obtained their food. Richard W. Jones. 



SOOTY SHEARWATER OFF KENT. 

 In crossing the Channel from Calais on August 28th, 1912, 

 I saw a Sooty Shearwater {Puffinus griseus) several miles 

 out from Dover. It was skimming over the water in typical 

 Shearwater manner, thus showing the upper and under sur- 

 face alternately, and it crossed in front of the boat near 

 enough for me to see its colours quite satisfactorily. It was 

 flying down Channel. 



I may add that I also saw several Arctic Skuas {Stereo - 

 rarius parasiticus), all of them quite dark birds. It was a 

 very fortunate day for observation of such birds, as it was 

 very fine and fairly smooth after weeks of stormy weather. 

 It seems a pity that there is no one to make proper ornith- 

 ological observations out at sea in the early autumn. 



H. G. Alexander. 



STOCK-DOVE LAYING AGAIN WITH YOUNG 



STILL IN THE NEST. 



It is well known that domestic pigeons will lay again before 



the young have left the nest, but it may be worth while putting 



on record that the Stock-Dove {Columba cenas) will do the 



