2930 THE ZooLoGist—FEBRUARY, 1872. 
exclusively the seeds of Schoberia maritima, one of the Cheno- 
podiacee. 
Shorteared Owl.— These owls have been rather common during 
the autumn. I have sometimes in the evening seen them beating 
round the ricks in my marsh stack-yard, for mice and the sparrows 
roosting beneath the eaves. The good they do in this way can 
scarcely be exaggerated, and we take care they are never molested. 
Last winter an owl of this species remained in the vicinity of the 
farm for some months, living from the stacks. When a mouse or 
bird was taken it was carried to the projecting stone sill of one of 
the “ picking holes,” at the north end of the barn, overlooking the 
Humber, and there quietly devoured. From the number of mice 
heads so near this place these destructive vermin must have had a 
bad time of it. 
Twite.—Along with the common linnets and other small birds 
on the stubbles are a few twites, distinguishable by their note. 
There are also some flocks of the hen chaffinch and mixed flocks of 
the greenfinch. The flock-note of the latter very closely resembles 
that of the common linnet, and J have frequently mistaken it for 
that of the latter: hence probably their well-known provincial name 
of “ green linnet.” 
Redwing and Thrush.— November 13th. Redwings first ob- 
served, but some distance inland: there was a second and rather 
large arrival about the third week in December. On the 18th and 
following days I saw many hundreds together, foraging like 
starlings in one of the marsh pasture-fields. Early on the 
morning of the 8th of this month | disturbed about a score of 
thrushes which were nesting amongst some rough grass on the 
bank of a drain close to the coast, and very far from either trees or 
hedgerows: they were! evidently new arrivals, having probably 
come in during the night. These all belonged to that dark 
northern race or variety which, as | have previously remarked in 
the ‘ Zoologist,’ visit us in the autumn.* 
* Since writing the above I have been reading Mr. R. Gray’s most interesting and 
admirable notice of the ‘ Birds of the West of Scotland.’ At page 75, article “Song 
Thrush,” he says:—‘In August and September of this year [1868] I observed 
numbers of thrushes in North Uist taking shelter in dry stone dykes, and hopping 
from one crevice to another like disconsolate wrens. I remarked particularly the 
unusually dark colour of their plumage, the birds being very unlike those brought 
up in cultivated districts, where gardens, trees and hedgerows attract this familiar 
songster and its allies."—J. C. 
