VOL. IX. J NOTES. 128 



outer tail-feathers some black on lower portions, other poitions 

 white (it was not possible to see exactly the markings on 

 each tail-feather). Legs and beak. — Black. 



He was without doubt a more active and restless bird than 

 our Common Wheatear and more of a percher : he was 

 never on the ground for more than a second or two and 

 did not run on the ground like our bird. He twice rested for 

 a minute or inore on a large stone on the wall top, crouching 

 on his breast, not using his legs. I have never seen our bird 

 do this. (3nce or twice he sang a shorter, sweeter, more 

 guttural song than our bird. I had strong Ross binoculars 

 and could see his markings very clearly, though he would 

 not allow a closer approach than 15 yards or so. In reply 

 to an alarm note a second Wheatear appeared for a short 

 time on two occasions, the description of which is as 

 follows : — 



Crown, back of neck, back, very light stone-grey : r/ntip 

 M'hite ; wings brown, broad brown line over ears and through 

 and below eye to base of beak. Throat and breast very light 

 fawn. Under-parts w^hite. Tail, brown and white, lower 

 portion and centre brown, rest w^hite. Lecjs and beak nearly 

 black. 



This second Wheatear was possibly a rather light -coloured 

 male of the ordinary W^heatear. Although I visited the 

 ]ilace twice within a week, I never saw the birds again. 

 After examining the skins in the Natural History Museum, 

 I am convinced that the bird first seen was a male of the 

 Eastern race of the Black-throated Wheatear {(Enayithe 

 hispanica xanthonieloeim). Most of the skins showed some 

 fawn colour, but there are one or two exactly like the bird 

 seen by me. W. S. Medltcott. 



RECOVERY OF MARKED HOUSE-IVIARTIN. 



On June 29th, 1912, I marked an adult House-^Iartin 

 {Hirundo n. urbica) at W^aterside Farm, Ashton-with-Stodday, 

 near Lancaster, with Ring No. 21454. The nest from which 

 I then took it contained three adults with neither young nor 

 eggs. On September 2nd, 1915, I again caught this bird in 

 a nest at Tarnwater Farm, Ashton-wdth-Stodday. about one 

 third of a mile as the bird flies from where I marked it in 

 June. 1912. This nest contained four adults and one half- 

 grown young, the other three adults escaping. Towards 

 the end of the sunnner the parents of late broods of House- 

 Martins are assisted in the feeding of their young bj" numbers 

 of other adults (I have seen over a dozen assisting thus with 



