VOL. IX.] NOTES. ^ 273 



From August 26th to September 1st the most interesting 

 birds of the phase of migration then proceeding seemed to 

 be Pied Flycatchers {Muscica'pa hypolenca) in the bushes, 

 and Arctic Skuas {Stercorarius 'parasiticus) chasing the Terns 

 off the point. 



On the 30th I saw two unusual birds : in the bushes by the 

 Hoppen Pits an Aquatic Warbler {Acrocephalns aqvaticus) at 

 very close quarters, and ovit at sea, flying down Channel a 

 good way out, a Great Shearwater (Pvfpnvs gravis). With 

 regard to the former it may be well to add that on September 

 7th and subsequent days, in 1907, my brother, C. J. Alexander, 

 and I saw two or three Aquatic Warblers in Romney Marsh 

 (one of them at the Hoppen Pits) which, I believe, have not 

 been recorded. This strengthens the siiggestion of Dr. N. F. 

 Ticehm'st in the History of the Birds of Kent that the species 

 may occvir annually in the marsh ; and I may add that I have 

 not spent more than a single day there in late August or 

 September between 1907 and 1915. 



The day before I saAv the Yellow-browed Warbler, on 

 September 23rd, a flock of fourteen Sooty Shearwaters 

 (Pvffinis grisevs) flew close past the point, going down 

 Channel. This flock contained one more than the flock I saw 

 on October 20th, 1913 (Vol. VII., p. 226). From my own 

 observations it would therefore seem not improbable that 

 Shearwaters occur annually in these Avaters, possibly even in 

 fair numbers. On the other hand, neither Messrs. Austen 

 nor Tart, the watchers, seem familiar with these birds. 



On October 27th I saw three Rough-legged Buzzards (Bvtco 

 lagopKs) moving southward in circles ; I saw the pale bar 

 across the upper side of the tail of one of the three as it 

 turned. These birds at least met no untimeh^ end in their 

 passage across the country, for hj the time they were lost 

 to sight they were far away over the Channel. Two days 

 previously I found the remains of a Great Grey Shrike [Lanivs 

 excubitor) which had apparently been dead two or three weeks. 



H. G. Alexander. 



ROSE-COLOURED STARLING IN FLINTSHIRE. 



By chance I came across the following note in the London 

 Journal for September 21st, 1861 : " A Curious Bird. — Mr. L. 

 Hughes, principal keeper of the Air Lighthouse, Flintshire, 

 shot in his garden a few days ago a bird bearing evident 

 peculiarities of the blackbird species, and of the ordinary size, 

 but most curiously coloured. The bird bore a beautiful 

 plume, about three-quarters of an inch long ; the tail and 



