VOL. VIII.] NOTES. 77 



from June to August. Eggs of the Great ShearAvater were 

 obtained by Mr. P. C Keytel in the Tristan d'Acunlia group 

 of islands, and there is no doubt that the bird's breeding 

 quarters are in the islands of the South Atlantic, and that 

 it migrates northwards in our summer. — Eds.] 



EARLY NESTING OF TURTLE-DOVE. 



It may be of interest to record that I discovered a Turtle- 

 Dove [Streptopelia t. turtur) sitting on her eggs at Edenbridge, 

 Kent, on May 15th, 1914, which would appear to be a very 

 early date for this species. H. H. Earwig. 



[The date is decidedly early, but we have the following 

 records : Nest and one egg, Essex, May 1st (J. H. Owen) ; 

 nest and two eggs, Sussex, May 19tli [Bull. B.O.C., XXX., 

 pp. 144 and 147): nest and two eggs, Warwick, May 19tb ; 

 (t.c, XXXII. , p. 144), two nests with two eggs each, 

 Cambridgeshire, May 16th and 18th, 1893, and nest with 

 two young (two or three days old), May 22nd, 1893 

 (N.F.T.).— Eds.1 



ROSEATE TERNS IN IRELAND. 



On June 5th, 1914, when visiting the nesting site of 

 the Roseate Tern [Stetna d. dougallii) discovered in 1913 

 (c/. Vol. VII., p. 186), I identified only two pairs and an 

 odd bird of this species from amongst the other Terns. 

 By July 6tli, on which date a second visit was made to the 

 spot, not a single Roseate Tern was to be seen or heard. It 

 can be assumed, therefore, that the birds noted on June 5th 

 left the place during the interval of the t\\o visits, and did 

 not attempt to breed there. It is A\ell known that Terns 

 change their breeding-grounds from time to time for reasons 

 not yet explained, and possibly this habit predominates 

 to a greater extent in the Roseate Tern than it does in the 

 case of either the Common or Arctic Tern. 



G. R. Humphreys. 



LONG-TAILED SKUAS IN CUMBERLAND, 



YORKSHIRE AND IRELAND. 



While \\alking along the shore at Drigg, Cumberland, on 

 June nth, 1914, I picked up a dead Long-tailed Skua 

 (Stercorarius longicaudus) which had apparently been washed 

 ashore. The bird was in full plumage, and the two central 

 tail-feathers ^^•ere 9J ins. longer than the rest of the tail- 

 feathers. I forwarded it to Dr. Clubb, Director of the 



