i88 THE BIRDS OF YORKSHIRE. 



the bills, and this in examples shot from the same flock, 

 indicating probably that the migration was made up of birds 

 coming from widely separated districts in Scandinavia. At 

 Redcar, on the 24th of October in the same year, five alighted 

 on the road opposite my window, at 10 a.m. ; two were seen 

 in a garden, and several others came on to the Tees Break- 

 water ; at Spurn in 1889 some arrived with Siskins from 

 October the 20th to the 24th ; they were also observed in 

 the autumn of 1891 ; at both Spurn and Flamborough in 

 1893, and a small flight appeared in 1895. 



NORTHERN MEALY REDPOLL. 

 Linota exilipes (Coues). 



An extremely rare winter visitant from northern Europe, Siberia, 

 and northern America. 



The breeding range of Coues' Redpoll, which is the second 

 of the three Yorkshire species, is confined to the north-eastern 

 parts of the Old World, including northern Scandinavia and 

 probably the Arctic parts of North America, so that the 

 bird may be termed circumpolar during the nesting season, 

 migrating south on the approach of winter. 



The first instance of its occurrence in this county was 

 made known by the late J. Cordeaux, who had an example 

 from the late H. B. Hewetson at Easington in the winter of 

 1893-4 (Nat. 1894, p. 84). Two others were obtained at 

 SkefHing on the 3oth of December 1898 (op. cit. 1899, p. 80). 



Mr. Cordeaux expressed his firm conviction that this bird 

 occurs much oftener than is supposed, and he has occasionally 

 obtained Redpolls which are referable neither to L. linaria 

 nor to L. rufescens, but which resemble the former so far 

 that they have the margin of the body feathers more or less 

 edged with a grey fringe, a seasonable change which is never 

 seen in the Redpoll of the British Isles. (See also Yarrell, 

 4th Ed., Vol. ii., pp. 5-7; Saunders' "Manual," 2nd Ed., p. 189; 

 and Harting's " Handbook," 2nd Ed., p. 376.) 



