638 ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES. 



to the keepers the flight had been going on regularly, both 

 morning and evening, for eight days, and they were more 

 plentiful than in most years. I often heard Woodcocks 

 later on, and on the 20th of April still found six of them on 

 passage at one place, while some were calling on the 25th, 

 even as early as half-past four. 



I fancy that this season these birds travelled quickly over 

 the dry deciduous woods, and instead of stopping in them for 

 some time, as they generally do in March, flew straight to 

 their breeding-places among the damp coniferous forests. 



From what the keepers told me, the Cormorant (Pliala- 

 crocorax carbo) appeared on the Danube below Vienna earlier 

 than usual. On March 14th I found all the paired birds at 

 their nests, to which they were busily giving the final touches, 

 and by the 10th of April the females were sitting hard. 



For several years past I had now and then noticed a white- 

 bellied bird among the crowd of Cormorants. This year I 

 again saw this singular individual, which seemed to have no 

 nest, and I managed to shoot it on one of the arms of the 

 river close by. The whole of the underparts, beginning from 

 the bill, were pure white, with the exception of a few black 

 spots, and the back, top of the head, and uppersides of the 

 wings were shot with silver-grey, the undersides of the wings 

 being reddish brown. Careful comparison showed that in all 

 the measurements length, breadth, wings, bill, tail, tarsus, 

 middle toe this singular bird was distinctly smaller than the 

 ordinary Cormorant. 



It is for experts to determine whether in the case of this 

 specimen we have to do with an abnormal bird or possibly 

 with one of the two closely allied species. 



The Grey Herons (Ardea cinerea) came this year to their 

 breeding-grounds in the auen of the Danube, near Vienna, 

 earlier than usual. On March 14th I found them already 

 busy with the building of their nests, and by April 10th 



