358 BRITISH BIRDS. 



INCREASE OF THE STARLING IN NORTHTOIBER- 



LAND. 



With regard to the notes on the increase and extension of 

 range of this bird {supra, p. 252) I may say that within the 

 last thirty years its increase in this county has been very 

 considerable, and during the greater part of the year large 

 flocks may continually be seen. Its breeding range is pretty 

 evenly distributed throughout the county, j g -p Walton. 



SHORT-EARED OWLS IN IRELAND. 



Ieeland has been visited during the past winter by an 

 enormous influx of Short-eared Owls {Asio accipiirinus). 

 They were fairly distributed all over the country. In a small 

 gorse covert in co. Tyrone over twenty birds were flushed by 

 a shooting party and were unmolested ; in co. Londonderry over 

 ten birds were seen on the wing at the same time in a small 

 bog. The chief flight seems to have taken place in November. 

 From October 1st to March 1st I examined in all eighty-eight 

 birds ; during October four specimens were sent for mounting, 

 in November forty, in December twenty, in January fifteen, 

 and in February nine. All the birds were in good condition, 

 some being very fat ; females were more numerous than males. 

 It will be interesting to find if any remain to breed, as this 

 species has not yet been recorded as nesting in Ireland, 

 although adult and immature birds have been shot in co. 

 Wicklow in August. ^_ j^ Williams. 



SMEW INLAND IN NORTHUIVIBERLAND. 



An adult female Smew (3Iergus albellus) in fine plumage was 

 shot in the neighbourhood of Colt Crag, North Tynedale, 

 Northumberland, in December, 1907. J S T Walton 



■3f -Sf -Sf 



Sale of a Great Auk's Egg. — It would seem that in a 

 note under this heading in our last number (page 328), some 

 confusion was made with reference to the identity of the 

 egg, although our information was obtained at first hand. 

 Mr. E. Bidwell kindly writes to us as follows : — 



The egg which was sold on January 29th, 1908, by Messrs. 

 Debenham, Storr & Son, Limited, of 26, King Street, Covent 

 Garden, at the disposal of the Middlebrook Museum, was 

 described in the sale catalogue as under : — 



" Lot 131. — This is one of the three eggs formerly in the 

 collection of Comte Raoul de Berace, and which afterwards 

 became the property of Baron d'Hamonville. It was offered 

 for sale by auction on July 19th, 1899, when it realised the 



