The Zoologist— July, 1870. 2221 



22iid, cuckoo heard; 24th, whinchat seen; 26ih, saw swallow; 30lh, heard lesser 

 whitetbroal and sedge warbler. May 2nd, heard fieldfares (I perceive in the number 

 of the ' Zoologist' for June, that fieldfares were seen near Oxford up to the 6th of May); 

 15lh, corn crake heard, and flycatcher seen (corn crakes are not numerous); 16th, 

 heard garden warbler; 20th, heard wood warbler; 22iid, saw a small flock of gray- 

 backed crows in Stapleton Park, four miles east of Pontefract. Redstart not seen. 

 Swift not seen. Common martin not seen till about the 20th of May. A pair of 

 swallows that nest in a shed here annually did not appear till the 29th of May. The 

 house martin is again very thinly distributed in this neighbourhood. — George 

 Roberts ; Lofthouse, near Wakefield, June 5, 1870. 



On the Southern Range of the European Merlin. — The European merlin visits 

 Egypt in winter, but I know of no authentic instance of its occurrence further south, 

 and venture to doubt the accuracy of the southern range attributed to this species in 

 the ' Zoologist' (S. S. 2177).— J. H. Gurney ; Marldon, Totnes, June 1, 1870. 



Goshawk in Norfolk. — A fine immature male specimen of the goshawk was shot 

 on the 27th of December, 1869, at Beeston Regis, and sent me for preservation. 

 This is the second instance of the occurrence of the goshawk in Norfolk in December, 

 the first, an immature bird, having been killed, near Yarmouth, on the 3rd of that 

 month. The first-named example weighed two pounds and a quarter in full, and the 

 principal measurements were — total length, beak to tail inclusive, 23 inches; tip to 

 tip of fully extended wings 43 inches, and of the wing from carpal joint 12f inches. 

 Eyes of a lemon-yellow colour; cere greenish yellow; legs and toes the same. The 

 bird was in good condition and very fat. — T. E. Gunn; 5, Upper St. Giles, 

 Norwich. 



Supposed Occurrence of the American Mottled Owl in Kent. — With reference to 

 Captain Hadfield's remarks on the above occurrence, in the 'Zoologist' (S. S. 2181), 

 it should be recollected that many specimens of Scops Asio are very rufous. This 

 stage of plumage is thus described by Baird, Cassin and Laurence, in their work on 

 the ' Birds of North America' (Philadelphia, I860), p. 52 : — " Younger.— Entire uppei 

 parts pale brownish red, with longitudinal lines of brownish black, especially on the 

 head and scapulars ; face, throat, under wing^coverts and tarsi reddish white; quills 

 reddish brown ; tail rufous, with bands of brown, darker on the inner webs." The 

 same authors add, " This bird pairs and rears young while in the red plumage, and it 

 is not unusual to find a mottled male and red female associated, or the reverse." — 

 J. H. Gurney; May 31, 1870. 



Late Stay of the Fieldfares. — In my note in last month's 'Zoologist' (S. S. 2181), 

 in the sentence, " I had constantly watched a flock of about twenty for some years," 

 for years read weeks. — Edward Sweetapple. 



Golden Oriole in Norfolk. — A fine female golden oriole was shot on the 16th of 

 May, at Stalham, and was forwarded to me for preservation. This is the second 

 specimen I have had the opportunity of examining in the flesh : the former one, also 

 a female, was shot in the adjoining county of Suffolk (see Zool. S. S. 308). This 

 specimen weighed nearly two ounces and a quarter, and measured in total length 

 lOi inches; extent of wings 18i inches; wing from carpal joint 6 inches; bill 1^^ inch. 

 Bill of a reddish brown ; eyes dark red ; legs and toes slate-colour. Some of the eggs 

 in ovary were as large as rape-seed. The stomach was filled with the remains of 

 three or four species of Coleoptera. — T. E. Gunn; June 18, 1870. 



