338 BRITISH BIRDS. 



the distance between the tip of the longest primary-covert 

 and the tip of the first primary. In six specimens each of 

 the two races D. major major and D. major anglicus, I found 

 this measurement to be as follows ;— 



I must here note that these specimens were easily dis- 

 tinguishable, apart from this characteristic, by the characters 

 defined by Dr. Hartert. I found the length of the wings to 

 vary in the British race from 126-5 mm. to 132 mm., and in 

 the northern race from 132 to 142. The difference in the 

 bills in the two races is seen best by putting the two together 

 and looking down from above, when the narrowness of the 

 bill of the British bird is most striking ; this difference can 

 even be seen in birds of the two races just out of the nest. 



Claud B. Ticehurst. 



HOOPOE IN CHESHIRE IN WINTER. 



I THINK it will interest the readers of British Birds to hear 

 that a Hoojioe (Upupa epops) has been located on some 

 private grounds near Macclesfield, Cheshire, recently. It 

 was first observed on December 20th, 1910, and was continually 

 viewed from the house, generally feeding on the ground, 

 turning over leaves or small dead branches broken off by the 

 winds, until January 28th, 1911. 



As the bird is such a rare visitor to Cheshire and is some- 

 times caged, I have been waiting for news of one having been 

 lost, but with no results, and I have enquired from the keeper 

 of Lord Newton's aviaries, a few miles away, but no such bird 

 has escaped from there. 



It is possible that the cold snap of weather about the date 

 January 28th made the bird move on. I do not think it was 

 shot, at all events in this neighbourhood. The land surround- 

 ing the wooded grounds where it took up its temporary 

 residence is farmed by an intelHgent man who was keen on 

 its preservation. Richard E. Knowles. 



[The Hoopoe is a very rare visitor to Cheshire, ha\ing been 

 recorded four times only ( Vert. Fauna of Cheshire, Vol. I., p 267). 

 Its occurrence anywhere in the British Islands in winter is 

 exceptional, but not unprecedented, examples having been 



