2928 THE ZooLocist—FEBRUARY, 1872. 
be. This Sea-bird Act is, I believe, to be passed as a permanent 
Act at the next Chief Pleas, which will be soon after Christmas, 
when in all probability a few modifications will be made. A 
definite fixture for the close-time to begin will have to be 
made, also its present extent: as late as to the 15th of October 
seems to require some reconsideration, as, long before that time, 
the young birds have left the breeding-stations, and are perfectly 
well able to take care of themselves; so that the destructive practice 
of shooting the young birds on the nest, and when standing on 
the rocks, before they are fully fledged, and the cruelty of killing 
the old birds when engaged in feeding their young, and thereby 
leaving the young ones to starve, would be entirely prevented by 
a much less extended close-time, say, instead of to the 15th of 
October, to the Ist of September, or, as in our own Act, to the 
Ist of August, a time which I believe to have been found to work 
very well; at least very few, if any, applications to Quarter 
Sessions for its extension have been made. I hope also, as 
in the English Act, the name of the chough may be added, 
for this interesting and beautiful bird seems, as in our own 
parts, to be on the decrease; it cannot perhaps be said to be 
“utile aux pécheurs,” but that small objection would, as before 
observed, apply to many of the birds mentioned in Sec. 4. The 
constant and dangerous shooting at small birds in gardens and 
hedgerows close to the road, which is certainly a nuisance, but 
is alleged to be necessary, might probably be obviated by a short 
close-time to the Hawks, and as there is no gamekeeper, except 
in the very small island of Herm, to raise objections, there 
would probably be little or no difficulty in getting such an ad- 
dition made. 
CreciL SMITH. 
December 5, 1871. ; 
Ornithological Notes from North Lincolnshire. 
By Joun CorpeEavx, Esq. 
(Continued from Zool. 8. S. 2861.) 
NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER, 1871. 
THE weather during the latter half of October and the first 
fortnight of November has been generally mild and open, with 
little wind, and an entire absence of those heavy storms and gales 
