3718 The Zoologist — October, 1873. 



woodchat shrike brought to hitii, caught by a birdcatcher, but in that 

 instance the shrike dashed down at a " call-bird," and was captured 

 in the net. 



August, 1873. 



1st. Starlings, both young and old, assembled in large flocks to 

 roost in some shrubs and trees at Stonehouse this evening. 



4th. Visited the river Tavy on a fishing excursion, and found 

 swifts very plentiful in the vicinity. 



5th. A large number of herring gulls in the Sound, both young 

 and old, the latter in severe moult, looking very ragged, which has 

 been the case for some time past. 



8th. Saw two more young redbacked shrikes, which had been 

 caught with bird-lime, kept in a cage, and fed with meal-worms, 

 small birds and raw meat. Mr. Rogers told me that they actually 

 ate several ripe gooseberries which he threw into the cage. 



11th. A great many curlews, ring dotterel and dunlins on the 

 niud-banks of our rivers. From this date until the 16lh swifts 

 plentiful in the neighbourhood of Plymouth, chasing each other 

 and screaming in the early morning and evening. Sparrows are 

 now assembling in vast flocks in the stubble-fields. This afternoon 

 1 saw a family of redbacked shrikes on a hedgerow, the old birds 

 at times feeding the young ones. Lesser blackbacked gulls have 

 now returned to our harbours, but I cannot find out where they 

 have nested on this part of the coast. 



18lh. Observed a flock of linnets, some of the old males among 

 which had still magnificent rose breasts, as bright as in spring. 



24lh. Remarked the first kingfisher among the rocks on the sea 

 coast, where they make their appearance every autumn, but not 

 generally so early. 



25th. Observed my l^st swift, but a friend tells me that he 

 thought he saw one a few days later. We have been having some 

 severe gales lately, and it was blowing very hard when I saw the 

 swift. I read in the ' Field' newspaper accounts of large flocks of 

 swifts having been observed flying west over London and Brighton 

 in June last, which may perhaps in some measure account for their 

 being so plentiful with us in Devon and Cornwall this summer. 

 A few weeks since I had a beautiful young swift brought to me 

 which had been picked up from the ground stunned, having no 

 doubt flown against something : it was kept in a cage all night, 



