VOL. XIV.] LETTERS. 215 



The Naval Chronicle for 1799 (Vol. I., p. 127) contains the following 

 paragraph : — 



" The following is a copy of a letter found tied to the neck of a Hawk 

 caught on the 4th September, 1795, by Mr. Malcolm of Kinghorn, in 

 Scotland. It was picked up by him the day it was written, and had 

 come at least 50 leagues, the 'Texel'* being then about 70 leagues 

 distant. 



On board the 'Lion,' Sept. 4th, 1795. 

 I send this from on board the ' Lion ' of 64 guns, twenty-five 



leagues off the Texel, in chase of a frigate and sloop of war. He that 



gets this letter will put it in the newspaper. 



Richard Wilkinson, Midshipman." 



The foregoing is interesting as being an early example of marking 

 birds and noting their movements. Had the times of despatch and 

 capture been noted, the speed of flight might have been calculated. 

 The distance from Kinghorn, in the Firth of Forth, opposite Leith, 

 to the Texel is roughly 350 miles, so the Hawk must have flown 

 about 265 miles. C. Suffern. 



Fareham, Hants, November 20th, 1 920. 



UNACCEPTABLE RECORD OF LONG-TAILED DUCK 

 BREEDING IN IRELAND. 



To the Editors of British Birds. 



Sirs, — Amongst a collection of eggs, the property of an anonymous 

 vendor, advertised for sale at Stevens' on November 23rd, 1920, was a 

 clutch of four duck's eggs described in the catalogue as " Long-tailed 

 Duck c/4, with lining of nest ; Lough Neagh, Ireland, 3rd of June, 

 1914 ; very rare British eggs." I am not in the habit of buying eggs, 

 but I gave instructions to have these purchased for me, as in the interests 

 of Irish ornithology I considered the record should be either proved or 

 otherwise at once. 



Much encouraged by the statement in the catalogue that " all eggs 

 offered are guaranteed authentic by the Collector, who will be glad to 

 furnish further notes on request," I tried to trace these eggs from the 

 beginning, with the following result. They belonged to a collector 

 who died some years ago, and passed with other eggs to his brother. 

 The latter sold the collection to the vendor mentioned above, and then 

 destroyed all papers and records relating to it, so he has no idea from 

 whom this set originally came ! 



I have not had these eggs examined — they are accompanied, by the 

 way, with no down — as even should they belong to this species, we 

 cannot admit a new record for Ireland on the slender evidence of a 

 data ticket alone. C. J. Carroll. 



Fethard, CO. TipPERARY, Jan. 192 1. 



AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHERS FEEDING ON OYSTERS. 



To the Editors of British Birds. 



Sirs, — On looking over a paper by Mr. Edward Fleisher on the 

 " Birds of South-eastern North Carolina," published in the Auk for 

 October 1920, I came across a passage referring to the American 

 Oysterc3.tchev {Hesmatopus paUiatus) feeding upon the oyster. Catesby 

 appears to have been the first author to suspect the Oj'stercatcher 



* Sic. ? mi.stake for " Lion." 



