Birds. 7385 



find perennial springs which prevent them freezing. — Jonathan Gruhh ; Sudbury, 

 January 8, 1861. 



Occurrence of the Little Bustard (Otis tetrax) in the Cotmty of Cork. — T have just 

 examined a stuffed specimen of the little bustard which was shot by a countryman on 

 the shore of Ballycotton Bay, in the county of Cork, on the 24th of December, 1860, 

 during the frost, and taken in a fresh state to the Hon. John Cole, M.P., from whom 

 I have obtained the foregoing particulars. The bird is of full-grown size, measuring 

 18 inches from the tip of the bill to the end of the tail, and from its plumage is pro- 

 bably a male of the year. Thompson, writing in 1850, gives only one well-authenti- 

 cated instance of its capture in Ireland. — Clermont; Ravemdale Park, Flurry Bridge, 

 Ireland, February 15, 1861. 



Occurrence of the Surf Scoter (Anas perspicillata) near Scarborough. — On Thurs- 

 day, the 25lh of November, I shot a fine mature specimen of that extremely rare 

 species, the surf scoter, on the rocks at Gristhorp, near Scarborough : it was swimming 

 in company with another duck of its own size and colour, and which doubtless was 

 the same species. Mr. Alfred Roberts, our talented taxidermist, has preserved it for 

 me in a very life-like manner. — Alwin S. Bell ; 11, Crown Terrace, Scarborough. 



Duck in the Plumage of the Drake. — In March, 1858, 1 was taken by Oswald 

 Simm, an intelligent observer, to the farm of Mr. Lowes, of Cramlington, to see a 

 duck in the perfect garb of the drake. It was swimming in a small pond with some 

 other ducks, and so completely did its plumage resemble that of the male that I should 

 never have thought of questioning its sex. On leaving the water, however, it com- 

 menced to quack, a cry peculiar to the female, and thus rendered any announcement 

 of the fact unnecessary : it had itself fully proclaimed its own sex. It had the curled 

 feathers in the tail, and in every respect resembled the drake, except in having a small 

 patch of brown on the cheek immediately below the eye. Mr. Lowes gave me the 

 following account of this remarkable duck : — She is fifteen or sixteen years old, and 

 for twelve years of her life she was in the plumage of her sex. Up to that time she 

 laid regularly, and hatched several broods. In fact, the ducks I had seen in her com- 

 pany were her own offspring. After the change of the plumage commenced, her eggs 

 were smaller than the usual size, and she never afterwards exhibited any inclination 

 to sit on them. She had laid one small egg this year (1858). — John Hancock, in 

 ' Transactions of the Tyneside Naturalists' Field Club,' iv. 58. 



Occurrence of the Egyptian Goose (Anser aegyptiacus) in Devon. — A fine specimen 

 of the Egyptian goose (a male) was shot at Laira, about two miles from Plymouth, 

 and is now in the possession of a collector in the neighbourhood. — '■Field ' Newspaper. 



Occurrence of the Redbreasted Merganser (Mergus serrator) at Northvick. — A 

 female specimen of the redbreasted merganser, answering to the description of that bird 

 given by Macgillivray in his excellent ornithological work, was shot on the Severn, at 

 Northwick, and may be seen at W. Brooks's, Tything, Worcester.— /d. 



Occurrence of the Hooper (Cygnus musicus) in Buckinghamshire. — On Thursday, 

 the 17lh of January, two very fine specimens (male and female) of the hooper, or wild 

 swan, were shot at Wragsbury, in the county of Bucks. They have since come into 

 my possession, and I have stufi"ed them and added them to my collection. The fol- 

 lowing is a statement of the dimensions, which on comparison will be found equal to 

 those of the mute or tame swan, and exceeding the general weight of the wild bird by 

 almost 3 lbs. : — Weight of male 20 fts. ; length from tip of bill to extremity of tail 

 56 inches; breadth, with wings expanded, 92 inches. The female is somewhat 

 VOL. XIX. N 



