58 BRITISH BIRDS. 



five or six, but personally I think there were rather more. 

 I know I am making rather a startling assertion, but the 

 birds were all fairly close, and two that I observed on the 

 rough road in front of me, were not more than twenty-five 

 yards away. Through my glasses the yellow patch on the 

 rump, the yellow on the forehead and other parts of the 

 head and on the breast, were perfectly distinguishable, as 

 was also the streaky appearance on the back, which was 

 the first thing that drew my attention. I may say that 

 all my life I have studied birds in a wild state both in 

 England and Scotland, and should not make the statement 

 if I were not absolutely convinced of its truth. 



Herbert Langton. 



[It is always difficult to regard as authentic the identi- 

 fication of a rare visitor seen by an observer who has had 

 no previous knowledge of the bird in question. But there 

 is no great improbability in Mr. Langton's record, since 

 a fair number of examples of this species have been 

 caught from time to time near Brighton. The date is 

 rather late, but the bird has several times been recorded 

 at the end of April, and once as late as May 5th. — Eds.] 



MIGRATING BIRDS RETURNING TO THE 

 SAME PLACE. 



There have been many proofs that individual migrating 

 birds return to the same place year after year, but as every 

 well-proved instance of this habit is of value to the study 

 of migration, it may be well to record the following : — 



Among a large flock of Starlings which visits us every 

 3'ear in Cheshire there is a perfectly white bird. I have 

 noticed this bird now for three successive years. It appears 

 at the same time as the flock, and after careful inquiries I 

 cannot find that it is ever seen after the flock has left. 

 If ornithologists all around England would but trap birds 

 and mark them, by a metal ring or otherwise, and advertise 

 their having done so in this Magazine, how much we should 

 be able to learn of their movements which we do not at 

 present know. 



Victor Wilson. 



[The plan of marking birds by an aluminium ring round 

 the leg has often been tried, but never in a reall}^ sys- 

 tematic fashion. It would certainly teach us a great deal 



