2992 Tue ZooLocist—Marca, 1872. 
there in great numbers, sometimes ten or twenty at a time, and are sup- 
posed to destroy the fish-spawn. The ospreys were circling over the water 
and constantly plunging for fish: he watched them dive over twenty times ; 
the effect he likened to a cannon-shot striking the water, but never saw 
them emerge with a fish. Ford has not seen an osprey at Fleet Pond for 
four years. Is not February early for them to be moving northward? 
Large flocks of wild ducks and wigeons frequent this pond in autumn and 
winter: they remain all day in the centre, well out of gun range, and never 
allow a boat to approach within a hundred yards of them. On this morning 
Ford says that all the ducks seemed perfectly terrified by the ospreys 
wheeling overhead, and, instead of taking flight from the pond, contented 
themselves with diving when he approached them in a punt. I got down 
about three in the afternoon, with a gun, not with a.desire to shoot the 
ospreys, but to try and immolate some of the ducks: however, the fish- 
hawks had gone, and the wild ducks had quite recovered their wits. I fired 
a long shot at three redbreasted mergansers, but did not kill. It is a fine 
sight to raise a flock of ten or a dozen noble swans from this pond. I get 
within eighty yards of them in a punt and fire a blank charge, then with 
tremendous flapping and commotion the flock rises; for about twenty 
strokes of the pinions the huge birds flap the water, and seem to derive an 
impetus from the contact ; then they lift themselves up and circle round the 
pond, at times in a Y/ figure, at other times in single file: after a few circles 
they head away to the valley of the Thames, or in a westerly direction 
towards Dagmersfield, where there is a large sheet of water. Is there any 
penalty attached to killing wandering swans on water where one has the 
right of shooting ? not that I have any murderous intention towards these 
poor birds, but I have an idea that they are protected. by some old Act.— 
H. W. Feilden ; Aldershot, February 15, 1872. 
Abundance of Shorteared Owls in Nottinghamshire—A great number 
of shorteared owls have been sent to be preserved this season: one man tells 
me that he has had about twenty: they have been generally sent in pairs.— 
J. Whitaker, jun. 
White’s Thrush.—The very valuable note of Mr. Gurney respecting this 
bird, in the last number of the ‘ Zoologist’ (S. 8. 2940), will, I hope, lead 
those gentlemen who are fortunately in possession of White’s thrushes to 
count the number of tail-feathers they contain. If each of them is found 
to have fourteen tail-feathers, then the question of variety is settled, as the 
missel thrush certainly has but twelve. JT myself think the bird a variety 
of the missel thrush, but, as I have not seen a White’s thrush, I ought not 
to be allowed to express any opinion, yet I think Mr. Gould’s figure in his 
magnificent work on the ‘ Birds of Great Britain,’ rather strengthens that 
opinion. Have two White’s thrushes ever been found together in any 
country ?—F’. Boyes; Beverley. 
