THE ZooLoGist—JANUARY, 1872. 2913 
that missel thrushes, birds of the year, have the appearance of belonging to 
the rarer species. I trust ornithologists will look carefully at specimens, 
with a view to ascertaining whether this is the case, before they announce 
other occurrences of this bird.— EH. Newman.] 
Great Black Woodpecker near Oxford.—Many of our ornithologists affect 
a scepticism concerning the occurrence of the black woodpecker in England. 
There appears nothing improbable in so near a neighbour paying usa visit. I 
observe in the official Report of Entomological Society of London, held on the 
6th of November, 1871; published in the ‘ Zoologist’ for December (S. S. 
2875), that an additional instance of this kind is incidentally mentioned in con- 
nection with Formica herculeana. Perhaps somebody can throw a little 
more light upon this black woodpecker. It is not said whether the bird 
was exhibited at the meeting of the Entomological Society, so that we 
cannot be sure that there has not been a confusion between the greater 
spotted woodpecker (Picus major) and the black woodpecker (Picus martius) 
To this confusion many of the recorded instances of the latter must be 
assigned, the greater spotted having often been mistaken for its black 
Norwegian brother., There is something also which seems to call for 
explanation in a “labouring man” having a bird on sale shot in 
Lord Abingdon’s preserves. If it had been one of his Lordship’s keepers 
who had had the bird to dispose of there would be an air of greater 
probability about the story. It would be very interesting to secure an 
undoubted English-killed Picus martius for our British list. So it is to be 
hoped that something more may be heard about this one reported from 
Oxford.— Murray A. Mathew ; Bishop’s Lydeard, December 2, 1871. 
Quails Breeding in Nottinghamshire.—In June last I turned down six 
pairs of quail; it was towards the end of the month, and I thought it would 
be too late for them to breed. When cutting a field of barley, the one next 
to that in which I turned them out, the men found a nest with thirteen 
eggs in it; they broke one and found it near hatching. The young ones 
all ran in a few days after. We had two more bevies, one of five and the 
other three: these were often seen by the men working in the field. I only 
shot three during September, but they were seen up to the end of October. 
They did not stray far from the field I turned them outin. I think if they 
had been turned out sooner every pair would have bred. They were con- 
stantly to be heard ealling in the evenings of July and August. I mean 
to turn down a good many next year, about the beginning of May, and 
hope to have some good shooting. During the first week in December, 
large flocks of green plovers were constantly passing over from north to 
south: they continued passing for three days; there must have been 
thousands. A good many wild geese have gone over in the same direction. 
I have also seen two large flocks of bramblings—J. Whitaker, Jun.; 
Ramsdale House, Notts. 
