■The Zoologist— December, 1867. 1017 



tlieir plumage rather shabby. The weather at the time was comparatively mild, with 

 a fresh breeze and rain from the south-west. — W. H. Power ; Victoria Park Hospital, 

 October 21, 1867. 



Great Snipe and other Rare Birds near Brighton.— A fine specimen of the solitary 

 or great snipe (Scolopax major), which was shot near Lewes, was brought me on 

 Wednesday, October 16th: I took the bird on the following day to Mr. Swaysland, of 

 Brighton. On dissection it proved to be a female, we believe an adult, extremely fat, 

 and weighing nearly seven ounces and three-quarters. The following rare birds have 

 reached Mr. Swaysland for preservation:— "Richard's pipit on the 9th of October; 

 two examples of Richardson's skua on the 7th and 14lh of October: all obtained near 

 Brighton; a spotted crake, at Pevensey, on the 15th of October. — T. J. Monk; 

 Mountfield House, Lewes, October 22, 1867. 



Spotted Crake on Longridge. — I saw to-day, in the possession of Mr. W. Naylor, of 

 Whalley, a spotted crake (Crex porzana). This specimen, a female, was shot on 

 Longridge, Lancashire, on the 17th of October. The spotted crake is a rare visitant 

 to this part of the country. — H. W. Feilden ; Pleasinglon, Blackburn, Lancashire, 

 October, 31, 1867. 



Spoonbill on Northam Burrows and Black Redstart at Barnstaple.~~t beg to record 

 the occurrence of a specimen of the white spoonbill in North Devon. It was shot one 

 day last week on the Northam Burrows, near Bideford. I saw it in the shop of Mr. 

 Rowe, gunsmith, of Barnstaple. As the bird had no occipital plumes I judged it to 

 be a young bird of the year. A black redstart has been frequenting our premises here 

 for some days. Tt appears occasionally on the top of the house, and sometimes in the 

 garden, and is every now and then noticed flitiing before the windows on the look out 

 for flies, after the manner of a flycatcher or wagtail. — Murray A. Mathew ; Barnstaple, 

 November 8, 1867. 



Surf Scoter and Firecresled Regulus (Birds of the Year) at Scilly. — The packet has 

 brought over the above specimens for preservation to Mr. Vingoe. The surf scoter 

 shows its character in the form of the bill, which is very decided when compared with 

 the others. There is another character, apparently specific, which is well shown in 

 Varrell's figure, and that is the extension of the frontal feathers half an iuch down the 

 centre of the ridge of the upper mandible : the other two species have not this character. 

 I see that the description of the young surf scoter is very meagrely given by our 

 authors: this specimen has a very well-defined white spot between the eye and the bill, 

 and a similar one just behind the eye; the upper part of the head is of a very deep 

 brown, almost black by lamp-light. The other bird is, without doubt, an immature fire- 

 crest from the well-defined white mark over the eye, which the goldcrest never has. — 

 Edward Hearle Rodd ; Penzance, October 28, 1867. 



Arctic Tern near Gravesend. —On the 3rd of October, whilst our yacht was brought 

 up in the Lower Hope, I bad the good fortune to obtain a fine specimen of this tern, 

 a young male in immature plumage. It was flying at the time in company with four 

 or five others of the common variety. I had seen them playing abont the yacht for 

 more than half an hour before they came within shot. — A. H. Smee; 7, Finsbwy 

 Oircus. 



Skua on the Thames.— On the same day (October 3) I saw two specimens of the 

 common skua; the first just opposite Greenhithe, the other by the Chapman 

 Light ; the latter when observed was chasing a common gull, which it soon 

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