3784 The Zoologist — December, 1873. 



hawking for insects between the showers and squalls, though it 

 seemed strange for insects to be abroad during such weather, and 

 so high too. The lofty flight of the swallow family during stormy 

 weather has often puzzled me. 



16lh. Visited the estuary of the Laira, and observed, with a 

 powerful telescope, the actions of many birds on the mud-flats ; 

 among them were gulls, herons, ring dotterels, dunlins, knots, red- 

 shanks and turnstones. Many of the dunlins still retained the 

 black patch on the breast, and two of the knots were perfectly red 

 underneath — a state of plumage rarely met with in this neighbour- 

 hood. All these birds were on the soft mud-banks, and it was 

 most interesting to observe their actions and diff"erent modes of 

 feeding: the ring dotterels running swiftly, and then suddenly 

 stopping to pick up their food ; the dunlins moving quickly about, 

 eagerly probing with their bills all the while; but I observed that 

 the turnstones would make for any stray substance they could see, 

 such as tufts of sea-weed, shells, &c., which they dexterously turned 

 over, and carefully examined. I observed two cormorants and a 

 heron perched side by side on a floating plank or log in the river, 

 where they remained for some hours. By the way, I should 

 mention that one of the cormorants had the whitest breast I ever 

 saw for a bird of that species. It is not uncommon to see cor- 

 morants with a tolerable amount of white on their bellies at this 

 time of the year; but the one above mentioned seemed to be 

 perfectly white from the gular sac to the vent, which, as the bird 

 was sitting or standing bolt upright, gave it a striking resemblance 

 to the great auk. I do not remember seeing this stage of plumage 

 described in works on Ornithology ; but I remember reading a 

 discussion in the ' Field,' some years ago, on the subject of white- 

 breasted cormorants. I found kingfishers and common sandpipers 

 very plentiful too; also^ pied wagtails and a few of the yellow. 

 Corn crakes have been very common in the Plymouth market 

 lately, indeed more so than I ever remember, and golden plovers 

 were there, still showing partially black breasts ; also a few teal. 

 A friend told me that he had bought a great northern diver, in the 

 flesh ; it had been killed at Weymouth on the 29th of August : 

 I mention this, as it is a most unusual time for such a bird to be 

 found on our coasts. From his description, it was not at all in 

 summer plumage : I imagine therefore it must have been an im- 

 mature bird, which perhaps had been injured in some way so as to 



