282 BRITISH BIRDS. [vol. xv. 



few miles of the sea, or on the shore, but these waifs have 

 become too common to excite much curiosity. 



Classified Notes. 

 Rook {Corvns f. frugilegits) . 



Rooks eating dead Rabbits and Potatoes. — On May 5th 1 

 was surprised to see sonie Rooks feeding on two half-grown 

 Rabbits which they had found dead, and on July 29th the 

 hungry birds were again consuming quite a large Rabbit at 

 the same place. No doubt they were hard put to it, for their 

 beaks could make no impression on the earth ; the surface- 

 worms were all dead, so that they had not this, their natural 

 food, to feed on, wire-worms and grubs of all kind being equally 

 scarce. Besides being carnivorous during this exceptionally 

 dry year, the Rooks took a liberal toll of field-grown potatoes, 

 not getting much for their pains however, for most of them 

 were little bigger than walnuts for want of rain. 



Migration. — In October migrator}^ Rooks came over, 

 though I heard of none being washed up, and there was no 

 particular inrush, but this was far from being the case in 

 North Lincolnshire where Mr. Caton Haigh watched the 

 greatest and most continuous flight he had ever seen on 

 November 4th. The Rooks were going north-west, and so 

 were sundr}^ little parties which I saw at Keswick on the 

 same day, all flying against the wind, which was not strong. 



Golden Oriole [Oriolus oriolus). 



About the ist of May a cock Oriole, a species which has not 

 to my knowledge visited the county since 1909, was reported 

 to be at West Winch and Runcton. Again on the 28th the 

 loud and unmistakable flute call was recognised at Calthorpe 

 by Mr. Robert Gurney, and on two subsequent days it was 

 heard, but the bird was not seen. 



Skylark [Alaiida a. arvcnsis). 



A Great Autumn Migration. — On Tuesday, October 25th, 

 Dr. Long observed numbers of Larks ffying west over Norwich, 

 and on the same day the immigration of this abundant species 

 reached its maximum at Southwold, where Mr. Doughty, 

 who was sea-fishing, notes that they were coming over all day, 

 while at Yarmouth, Mr. Patterson and Mr. Dye reported 

 " extraordinarily large numbers," the latter adding that they 

 were " flying close to the water to avoid the pressure of the 

 wind, which was westerly." This assumption has been made 

 before, and not unnaturally, but if it be the right one, why do 



