3466 The Zoologist— April, 1873. 



Ornithological Notes from Devon and Cornwall. 

 By J. Gatcombe, Esq. 



(Continued from Zool. S. S. 3446). 



February, 1873, 



Wigeon. — February 1st. Cold east wind, with sleet and snow. 

 Saw some wigeon on Weston Mill Lake. 



Fieldfare, Longtailed Tit and Merlin. — February 4th. At Com- 

 plin, near Plymouth, I observed many flocks of fieldfares and a party 

 of longtailed tits ; and examined a merlin which had been recently 

 killed, the stomach of which contained some feathers and the legs 

 of a sky lark and yellow bunting. 



Black Redstart, Green Woodpecker, S^c. — February 5lh. Walked 

 on the coast to Bovisand, where I observed a fine black redstart, 

 some blackheaded buntings and a green woodpecker, which latter 

 was busily searching for food along the face of the cliffs overhanging 

 the sea, some miles from any kind of wood. 1 have often observed 

 the green woodpecker on the bare coast before. On the shore 

 I found a dead puffin and razorbill. Sky larks were in full song 

 to-day. In a former note I gave a list of the birds I found feeding 

 on the decaying heaps of sea-weed along the sea-coast ; since then 

 I have been enabled to add three more species, viz., rook, jackdaw 

 and black redstart. Bullfinches have been rather plentiful during 

 the last few months. I generally meet with them in woods, hedge- 

 rows, lanes and orchards, but the other day I was rather surprised 

 at seeing some hopjMug about among the grass in an open field, 

 and not at all near the hedge. 



Linnet. — February 11th. Saw many fieldfares and some small 

 parlies of wood larks, and on the mud-banks of Weston Mill Lake 

 were congregated thousands of the common linnet feeding among 

 some green plants (I think a kind of Salicaria), with which the 

 mud-banks are covered: so numerous were they that they seemed 

 almost to perch on each other's backs, and wl)en they rose the 

 rushing noise made by their wings could be heard at a long 

 distance off. Although 1 got pretty close to this immense swarm, 

 and watched them closely with a pocket telescope, yet they ap- 

 peared to consist almost entirely of one species, nor could I detect 

 a single variety among them. When watching some ringed dotterel 

 near the same place, I was much interested in seeing one of the 

 parly draw a long worm from the mud and swallow it whole. I am 



