OTE5 



UNCOMMON BIRDS IN STAFFORDSHIRE. 



A YOUNG drake Gadwall {Anas stre2:)era) was shot on 

 January 14th, 1913, at Stretton. 



I saw two Knots {Canutus canutus) on October 12th, 1913,. 

 at Bellfields Reservoir. I watched them for some thne 

 through powerful glasses, and when one flew close j)ast 

 me I could distinctly see the grey rump. I believe the 

 only previous satisfactory record of the Knot for Stafford- 

 shire is one shot at Tittensor, near Trentham, in December, 

 1892. 



On the night of November 6-7tli, 1913, there was a 

 large immigration of many different species, and I saw 

 three Ruffs {Machetes pugnax) at Bellfields on the 7th. 

 These birds seem to have stayed there till the end of the 

 month, as I saw them again on the 9th, 16th, 20th, and 

 29th, after which date I did not go there. I believe there 

 are only two previous records of the Ruff for Staffordshire — 

 one which I saw at Bellfields in 1911 or 1912, and one which 

 was shot at Norton Pool, near Chasetown. 



Francis A. Monckton. 



[The record of the Gadwall is interesting, as there appears- 

 to be only one previous occurrence in the county. The Knot 

 has also been recorded from Burton on more than one 

 occasion, and the Ruff has also been shot at Burton (1857) 

 and near Stafford (August 29th, 1910).— F. C. R. Jourdain.] 



SLENDER-BILLED NUTCRACKERS IN 



KENT AND SUSSEX. 



In the last issued report of the Migration Committee of 

 the British Ornithologists' Club {Bull. B.O.C., XXXIL, 

 p. 251) the occurrences of Nutcrackers in the autumn of 

 1911 were briefly summarized. Amongst them is included a 

 record of a bird that was obtained at Broome in Kent, in 

 October, and which had not been previously recorded. I 

 first heard of the bird in the following December, and on 

 making inquiries ascertained that it had been picked up 

 in a .dying condition, having obviously been shot, at 

 Broome, near Canterbury, and was seen in the flesh by 

 Mr. H. Mead Briggs of that town on October 20th, so 

 that it had most probably been shot a day or two before 



