The Zoologist— Jult, 1867. • 813 



of the earlier birds were here in good lime. The chiffchaff arrived in 

 tolerable plenty on the 21st of March, and several were seen each 

 succeeding day. Wheatears made their appearance in goodly numbers 

 on the 24th; perhaps even before this, but I had no opportunity of 

 visiting the coast, near which these birds usually take up their quarters 

 on their first arrival. On the 2nd of April I heard a wryneck, and on 

 the 5th shot a male blackcap and a willow warbler. With regard to 

 some of the later birdsj it is perhaps difficult to chronicle their dates 

 of arrival correctly ; the weather, in the first place, not being very 

 inducing to one to spend much time in out-of-door observation, and, 

 secondly, not likely to tempt them either to show themselves or make 

 themselves heard. On the 7lh of April I first saw the swallow, and 

 the next day two others. Two specimens of Ray's wagtail seen on the 

 8th, and on the 13th flights of from ten to twenty seen passing N.W., 

 at intervals from eight to half-past eight p.m. ; wind moderate from 

 S.W. A male redstart seen on the 9th : it is remarkable that the 

 female redstart is scarcely ever seeu passing this way during the vernal 

 migration. The nightingale, true to its time, on the 12th. Female 

 blackcap on the same day. House martin on the 16th. Tree pipit 

 on the 17th. Whitethroat on the 19th. Sedge warbler on the 20th. 

 Lesser whitethroat on the 2lst. Cuckoo and sandpiper on the 23rd. 

 Grasshopper warbler and nightjar on the 24th. Landrail on the 26th. 

 Dove on the 27th. Wood warbler on the 28th. Swift on the 6th of 

 May. Redbacked shrike on the 9th of May. 



Woodpeckers.— Woodpeckers, as a rule, are a scarce bird here, and 

 It is not often that we get an opportunity of observing their habits, but 

 to-day (April 28th) I observed two species in close proximity; a greeri 

 woodpecker hopping on the ground exactly after the manner of a 

 missel thrush, three hops and then the head jerked up : the food of 

 this bird consists principally of the large wood ant. The other was an 

 example of the lesser spotted woodpecker : this bird has a habit of 

 making a singular vibrating noisej by tapping its bill against a dead 

 branch of a tree about eight or ten times in rapid succession. 



Dunlin: Variation in Length of Bill.— May 13th. Examined 

 thirteen dunlins, with a view of ascertaining, if possible, whether the 

 length of the bill, which varies greatly in many of the waders, be in 

 any way dependent on the sex. For this purpose I divided the 

 thirteen into two lots, six with longer bills and seven with shorter, and, 

 with the exception of one individual with bill of moderate length, this 

 division proved correct as to sex. Seven were females, with the bills 



