150 ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES FROM DERBYSHIRE. 



enormous spread of wing (about 12 ft.) in this species is taken 

 into consideration. It was stalked and shot by a local inn- 

 keeper, Mr. S. Stevens, and sent to Mr. Hutchinson for preserva- 

 tion. According to the local papers it weighed 50 lb., although 

 it had not fed recently. On inspecting it the plumage proved 

 to be in good order and clean, and the feathers showed no 

 signs of abrasion, such as one might expect to find in a caged 

 bird. It is quite evident also that it possessed considerable 

 powers of flight. Still so many of these fine birds are kept in 

 semi-confinement in Zoological Gardens and public parks, not 

 only in the British Isles, but also on the Continent, that one 

 hesitates without further evidence to regard it as anything more 

 than an escaped bird. Mr. Hutchinson informs me that' it was 

 wild and difficult to approach, and proved to be a male on 

 dissection. A herd of Wild Swans, nineteen in number, which 

 were seen flying over the Trent near Willington on the afternoon 

 of December 3rd, probably belonged to the species known as 

 Bewick's Swan, Cygnus bewicki (Yarr.), a still larger flock of 

 which visited us during the preceding winter. 



The weather during the latter part of the year was very open 

 and dr}', and hardly any rain fell in the month of December. On 

 the whole the breeding season has been a good one for most 

 birds ; game has been plentiful, and some of our rarer birds are 

 beginning to benefit by the partial protection extended to them. 

 It is, however, necessary once more to point out that to a large 

 proportion of gamekeepers and water-bailiffs the well-meant 

 protection orders of our County Council are still absolutely a 

 dead letter. 



