The Zoologist— July, 1867. 811 



there any well-authenticated instance of the scaup remaining and 

 breeding in Great Britain ? A labourer who is employed throughout 

 the year in the repairs of our embankments assures me that he has seen 

 a pair of scaups and their young about this same place every year 

 during the latter part of June, and he ought to know a scaup when he 

 sees it. I have, however, so frequently on investigation found infor- 

 mation of this description fail the test of practical inquiry, that I can 

 place little or no reliance upon it, unless afterwards verified by personal 

 observation. How often, after listening to some minute description of 

 a bird, have I been led a wild-goose chase to inspect the rare capture, 

 and in nine cases out of ten found some well-known species, for which 

 the owner generally asked an extravagant price. 



Redshank.— May 15th. Observed a pair of redshanks to-day, at the 

 fuot of the embankment, in full summer plumage. 



Swifts. — May 13th. First appearance ; several seen. 



John Cokdeaux. 



Great Cotes, Ulceby, Lincolnshire, 

 May 25, 1867. 



Ornithological Notes from West Sussex. 

 By W. Jeffery, jun., Esq. 



(Continued from S. S. 732). 



February— May, 1867. 



Common Skua.— February 6th. To-day a fine example of the 

 common skua was procured at Chichester Market, for the Museum of 

 that town, by the curator: I learned that it had been captured alive 

 at Littlehampton, whilst fighting with some other bird, in conflict with 

 which it had lost an eye; what the other bird was I could not 

 ascertain. 



Thrushes Singing at Night.— In the 'Field' newspaper, dated 

 February 23rd, 1867, a correspondent signing himself" Fagus" writes 

 that he heard several blackbirds singing on the night of February 17th, 

 and the editor states that he has received two other notes on the same 

 subject. Now I happened to be out walking about eleven o'clock that 

 night, and remarked that numbers of blackbirds and song thrushes 

 were singing continuously ; it was, in fact, quite a concert, and I made 

 a memorandum of it in my note-book before having seen mention of it 



