112 



In December, Mr. T. H. Nelson had the good fortune to 

 secure a thick knee, or Norfolk plover, {Oedicnemus crepitans), 

 and, as the incident is so uncommon for these parts, I give the 

 account of it which appeared in the " Field " of 10th March, 

 1900:— 



" On December 16th last, during stormy and wintry weather, 

 a live example of the stone curlew was brought me by a man 

 whose dog had caught it on the sand-hills, east of Redcar. I 

 endeavoured to keep it alive, but it was very poor in condition 

 and had evidently been shot at and slightly wounded. It only 

 lived a few hours after capture. The appearance of stone 

 curlew in Cleveland is, at any time, of rare occurrence, but to 

 find one in mid December is so unusual as to be worthy of 

 record." 



As a comment, I may say that I lately saw a communication 

 in one of the journals that a pair of these birds had been 

 observed two years in succession upon a Yorkshire moor, but I 

 cannot find the note. 



In February, 1900, a number of little auks put in an appear- 

 ance on the Coast, no doubt as a result of the exceptionally 

 severe weather and winter in the North of Europe. 



BIRD NOTES, 1899. 

 By R. Lofthouse. 



April 2nd. — Wheat-ear ISaxicola oenanthe) noticed in garden 

 at Linthorpe. 



April 20th. — Willow Wren (Phylloscopus trocMlus) appears. 



April 28rd. — Sand Martin (Cottle riparia) appears. 



April 29th, — Redstart (Ruticilla phoenicurus) appears. 

 Whitethroat {Sylvia cinerea) heard. 



April 30th. — Cuckoo (Cuculns canorus) heard. 



