The Zoologist— June, 1869. 1723 



of February ; it weighed 3 tt»s. 6 oz. The stomach contained fragments of shells of 

 small whelks, including four nearly entire. — T. E. Gunn ; Norivick. 



The Seasonal Plumage of ike Divers {Colymbida). — I examined a very fine great 

 northern diver a few days since, which was captured in a net in Megavissey Bay, and 

 brought here alive: the nuptial plumage was very nearly perfected, but ihe head was 

 intermixed with gray feathers which were rapidly giving way to the black feathers, 

 on raising which the feathers were cropping up in every direction. There can be no 

 doubt that the speckled plumage and the throat marks of the Colymbidse are a 

 seasonal livery, although the fact of several examples being seen in the autumn every 

 now and then in ibis state of plumage, gives reason for thinking that after a certain 

 age the summer plumage is retained perennially by old birds. — Edward Hearle Rodd ; 

 Penzance, April 30, 1869. 



Dates of Arrival of Spring Visitors at or near Great Cotes, North Lincolnshire. — 

 March 6lh, Pied Wagtail. April 8lh, Wheatear; 10th, Chimney Swallow; 12th, 

 Yellow VVaglail, Tree Pipit and Willow Wren ; 14th, Cuckoo; 15th, Sand Martin; 

 21sl, Whinchat; 22iid, Whitethroat. May 2nd, Sedge Warbler; 4th, Swift; 7th, 

 Garden Warbler. House Martin and Spotted Flycatcher, none seen up to this date. 

 The Common Sandpiper arrived about the 22nd of April, but I failed to make a note 

 of the exact day. — John Cordeaux, Great Cotes, Ulceby. 



Curious position of Nest of Water Hen.— On April 23rd, as my brother and I were 

 walking through the stack-yard of Stoughton Grange, we saw, in a small horse-pond, a 

 male and female water hen and young silting on some wood in the water : as we were 

 watching the parent birds enticing their young out of sight under a stack of wood, and 

 seeing the tiny black chicks scrambling over the wood, a young one suddenly dropped 

 down violently from above with such force that it went several inches under water, 

 partly stunning itself; quickly recovering, it paddled merrily away towards its parents, 

 who were loudly calling : as we were extricating it from the wood, another dropped 

 from above in like manner; looking up, we saw the nest on a tree stump overgrown 

 with ivy, about twenty. five feet above the water, with three or four black little heads 

 peeping out, and one or two newly -hatched young scrambling about the trunk, and 

 presently another tumbled down: they could have been only a few hours hatched, and 

 were quite unsuspicious of danger, as they swam directly to us and let us catch them 

 without fear. 1 have known many of the nests built in trees, but none so high up; 

 and it is curious that the young tumbled into the water of their own accord, on hear- 

 ing the cry of their parents. Last year, in the planting just by, there was a nest of 

 water hens in an elder tree, at a considerable distance from any water. — Theodore 

 C. Walker; Woodside, Leicester. 



Anecdote of Oivls. — Last summer I got a young barn owl in the downy state 

 from a gamekeeper, and about the same time an adult brown or tawny owl, which was 

 winged, but injured so little that it coulil fly : T kept it to hear it hoot in the winter 

 nights, but not a hoot could I make it utter. The white owl was always very tame, 

 and as he got fledged he became a most eutertaining pet: his cry was at first a kind 

 of squeaking or wheezing noise, exactly like the noise of the stocking looms which are 

 used in this part : this noise was uttered occasionally all day when young and hungry, 

 but at night he was very clamorous : during the winter this noise ceased altogether, — 

 the only cry he then uttered was a pleasing and very low whimper when he flew to 

 meet me : he was exceediugly tame, in fact too tame, for on going to feed him at 



