NOTES. 183 



birds in the bushes, scattered about singly, not in parties. 

 From all I could gather there were nearly as many adults 

 as there were immatures. They were accompanied by various 

 other small birds, mostly Wheatears. Garden-Warblers 

 were, however, unusually numerous, and there were also 

 many Redstarts, with a sprinkling of Robins, Pied Flycatchers, 

 Goldcrests, Willow -Wrens, Chift'chaffs and Lesser White- 

 throats, but no Common Whitethroats. On the 15th the 

 ^^'ind was again N.E., and all these birds were still about in 

 lesser numbers, together with two Blackbirds, two Song- 

 Thrushes, two Tree-Pipits and one Merlin. On the 16th 

 there were still a few, and a new arrival was a Red-backed 

 Shrike. On the 17th, the wind being still N.E., the rush was 

 over — I only saw one Bluethroat at the most westerly point 

 of the sandhills. A Snow-Bunting arrived that day. The 

 migration, as someone put it, was short and sweet, for the 

 bushes were practically empty both before and after it. 



E. C. Arnold. 



BLUE-HEADED WAGTAIL IN CARNARVONSHIRE. 



In May, 1910, I was camping in a field which faces Llandudno 

 Bay, and on the morning of the IStli I found that a small 

 party of migratory birds had arrived during the night, and 

 were feedmg close to my tent. This party consisted of three 

 Greenland Wlieatears, a Whinchat, a Pied and three White 

 Wagtails, and a female Blue-headed Wagtail {Motacilla flava 

 flava). The birds were tame, and fed together in this and the 

 next field until the evening of the 18th, but they were not 

 visible on the 19th or later. In the early mornings, before 

 anyone was stirring on the field, they frequently came to within 

 a few feet of my tent, and I was able to watch them, unobserved, 

 from behind the curtains. I was at once struck by the white 

 eyestripe and chin of the Blue-headed Wagtail, but never 

 having seen the bird alive before I did not feel satisfied until, 

 on my return to Cheshire, I had carefully watched many 

 female Yellow Wagtails. 



The Blue-headed Wagtail has not, I believe, been previously 

 observed in Carnarvonshire, but it has been taken in the 

 neighbouring county of Merioneth (Saunders' Manual, 2nd 

 edition, p. 127; Forrest, Fauna of North Wales, p. 116). 

 It is interesting to note that the Yellow Wagtail [Motacilla 

 rail) is only known as a bird of passage in the immediate 

 neighbourhood of Llandudno, and that the Whinchat is rare 

 as a nesting-species. 



T. A. Coward. 



