

VOL. XI.] NOTES. 191 
_ Arotic Sxvua In NorRTHAMPTONSHIRE.—Mr. O. V. Aplin 
(Field, Nov. 17, 1917) states that he has recently examined 
a specimen of the Arctic or Richardson’s Skua (Stercorarius 
parasiticus) which was sent to be stuffed from Daventry 
~ on October 13th, 1917, and which he believes to be a bird 
_ of the year. 
was ers 
CiuTcHEes oF Dwarr Eacs oF BLACK-HEADED GULL.— 
Mr. P. F. Bunyard sends us particulars of two more clutches 
- of dwarf eggs of this species : one belonging to Mr. Van Pelt 
Lechner (presumably from Holland), which measures 36 x 27, 
» 34 x 25, and 33 x 25:°5mm., while the other, in his own 
collection, is considerably larger, the eggs averaging 
44-6 x 32mm., thoug! still much below the average size 
of normal eggs, which measure 52°6 x 37:1 mm. 
+ 
REMARKABLE NESTING OF TREE CREEPER.——The Hon. G. E. 
Graham Murray (Scot. Nat. 1917, p. 293) states that. this 
summer no fewer than four pairs of Tree Creepers (Certhia f. 
britannies) nested simultaneously in a _ small toolshed, 
measuring 10 ft. by 8 ft., at Stenton, near Dunkeld, placing 
their nests between the boards and the corner posts of the 
building. Evidently the birds are still common here and 
apparently nesting sites are scarce. 
SPOONBILL IN OUTER HeBRiIDES.—Mr. D. Mackenzie records 
(Scot. Nat. 1917, :p. 293) a Spoonbill (Platalea 1. leucorodia), 
apparently a bird of the year, which was shot on the shore 
of Broadbay, near Stornoway, on October 6th. This is 
believed to be the first known occurrence of the Spoonbill 
in the Outer Hebrides. 
SHEDDING OF STOMACH-LINING By Birps.-—Mr. W. L. 
McAtee contributes an important paper to the Auk (1917, 
pp. 415-421) on this subject. Our readers wili probably 
remember that in Brit. Birds (VI.. pp. 334-336) Mr. Hammond 
Smith described the ejection of the gizzard lining in the 
Curlew. Mr. McAtee now produces strong evidence that 
among the Anatidz the gizzard-lining is: periodically shed, 
ground up and passed out through the intestines. This is 
apparently also the case in many other groups, and probably 
is the usual process by which the stomach-lining is renewed 
when worn out, ejection being comparatively rare except 
in the case of the Hornhills. 
