VOL. viii.J NOTES. 53 



LITTLE GULL IN STAFFORDSHIRE. 



It is onl}^ \\'ithin the last few weeks that I heard of the first 

 definite occurrence of a Little Gull {Larus minutus) in Staf- 

 fordshire, and last week I saw the bird itself in Birmingham. 

 It is an adult female in winter-plumage, and was shot near 

 Chaseto\ATi on December 2nd, 1911. Dr. MacAldowie, in 

 his Birds of Staffordshire, says, " has been shot on the Trent 

 in several places near Burton (Ed^^'in Bro\\'n)," but it is 

 doubtful if these occurrences Avere not in Derbyshire. 



John R. B. Masefield. 



ERYTHRISTIC EGGS OF BLACK-HEADED GULL. 



When looking over the notes on erythristic eggs of the 

 Black-headed Gull {antea, Vol. VII., p. 256), I was reminded 

 of a specimen in my collection taken some years ago in the 

 neighbourhood of Golspie, though the exact date was not 

 ascertained. 



It is similar to those in the Dunrobin Museum, which were 

 shown to me by the Rev. Dr. Joass. T. H. Nelson. 



ICELAND GULL IN KENT. 



On March 16th, 1914, whilst staying at Dungeness, Kent, I 

 had an excellent view of an Iceland Gull (Larus leucopterus) 

 in adult plumage. A violent gale A^as blowing all the morning, 

 and a great deal of refuse A\as thro ami ixp by the tide all along 

 the beach. When the tide turned soon after midday, great 

 numbers of Gulls came to feed, and whilst I was watching 

 them from the window of Mr. Austen's bungalow, I noticed 

 this beautiful white -winged Gull amongst the crowd of 

 Herring-, Black-headed and other species, not more than a 

 himdred yards away. I matched it feeding for half an hour 

 or so, but after that, the tide being lower, it went further 

 down the shingle and was no longer visible from the window. 

 About six o'clock, when the wind fell, I went out on to the 

 shore, but I could not see the Iceland Gull any more. Most 

 of the Gulls were then out on the water. Mr. Austen, the 

 A\'atcher, who saw the bird A\ith me, said it had been about 

 all the winter, and added that he had seen single birds in 

 other winters. Presumably this bird spent most of its time 

 out at sea, and was driven to land for shelter from the 

 storm. 



When Dr. N. F. Ticehurst published his History of the Birds 

 of Kent in 1909, he was imable to give any definite record of 

 this species in the coiuity. H. G. Alexander. 



