NOTES. 311 



killed some ten days earlier on or near Callanish Light, 

 Flannan Isles, by Stornoway, Lewis, N.B. 



Fred. Sm alley. 



FOOD OF THE RED-BREASTED MERGANSER. 



On November 27th, 1908, on dissecting a Red-breasted 

 Merganser drake [Mergus serrator) I found in the crop a small 

 round crab a little larger than a shilling, and in the gizzard 

 two more crabs of the same size, one whole and the other 

 slightly digested. Besides these there were two or three claws, 

 one being that of a much larger crab, and the ground-up 

 remains of a number of crab-shells. There was also some 

 flesh in all stages of digestion, most of which was that of crab, 

 but the more digested pieces were difficult to determine, 

 although I think they were crab, as there was no trace of 

 fish-bones whatever. The absence of fish remains was all 

 the more interesting as the bird was shot off a shore s^^■arming 

 v^'ith coal-fish fry. 



H. W. Robinson. 



SMEW IN MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 



On January 1st I received for identification from Churchstoke 

 a young male Smew, which had been shot there the previous 

 day. It is the first ever recorded in the county of Montgomery. 

 A similar bird was shot near Shrewsbury just a week earlier. 

 As the Smew has occurred over a dozen times in Shropshire, 

 it must almost certainly have visited the neighbouring county 

 of Montgomery, but has hitherto apparently escaped notice. 



H. E. Forrest, 



RED VARIETY {P. MONTANA) OF THE COMMON 

 PARTRIDGE. 



With reference to Mr. W. P. Pycraft's description of the 

 remarkable variety of Red-legged Partridge {Caccahis rufa) 

 killed this season in Essex (c/. antea, p. 240), it is perhaps in- 

 teresting to record the two somewhat similarly marked 

 varieties of the Common Partridge {Perdix cinerea) in the 

 possession of Lord Forester. These birds were killed a 

 number of years ago on the Willey Park Estate, near Broseley, 

 Salop, and it is believed that they were both shot from the 

 same covey. The two birds are very much alike, and a des- 

 cription of one will perhaps suffice. The lower neck, breast 

 and flanks — indeed all the underparts save the centre of the 

 belly — are of a uniform chestnut-brown ; the back and wing- 

 coverts are also abnormal, these parts being profusely, and 



