The Zoologist — September, 1874. 4159 



Green Sandpiper.— On the 3rd instant, while travelling by rail between 

 Instow and Fremiugton, I noticed three of these birds rise from a swampy 

 piece of ground near the latter place. Two of these seemed to possess 

 much lighter plumage than the third, so were probably young birds of the 

 year, and I have no doubt were bred somewhere in the neighbourhood. — 

 Gervase F. Mathew; Axigust 16, 1874. 



Rednecked Phalarope at Salthonse^ Norfolk.— You may be glad to hear 

 that on the 4th of July a female rednecked phalarope, in splendid plumage, 

 was caught by a boy in the neighbourhood of Salthouse, in this county. It 

 was unable to fly and could hardly stand, but swam beautifully in a basin of 

 water, into which I put it, constantly dipping its beak and eating flies which 

 I dropped near it. Its legs, toes, and their membranes were of a bluish 

 gray colour, not green. It died in the evening; it was very thin. I could 

 not see any wound, external or internal. — Franfc Norgate ; Sparham, 

 Norwich. 



Baillon's Crake near Huddersfield.— On the 29th of May a specimen of 

 Baillon's crake was shot near Horn's Dam, Kirkheaton, near Huddersfield. 

 — J. E. Palmer. 



Baillon's Crake near Eastbourne.— An adult female was captured in this 

 neighbourhood, on the 6th of August, in a very exhausted and emaciated 

 condition. It contained in its ovary eggs about the size of pins' heads. 

 This, I believe, is the only specimen ever found in Sussex.— Arthur J. 

 Clark-Kennedy ; Eastbourne, Sussex, August 15, 1874. 



Shieldrakes breeding in Merionethshire.— On the 9th of July, when 

 saiUng on the estuary at Barmoutli, Merionethshire, I saw several young 

 broods of shieldrakes. This handsome duck is not uncommon in North 

 Wales, sometimes inland, but more generally on the sea-shore ; the exten- 

 sive tracts of sand-hills (in some places honeycombed by rabbits) which run 

 along the coast seem peculiarlv adapted to its habits in the breeding season. 

 — W. J. Kerr. 



Dncks Breeding on the Rainworth Water.— The following ducks have 

 bred on the Rainworth Water this year (1874), viz. :— several lots of common 

 wild ducks, six or seven tufted ducks, four pairs of teal, and one pair of 

 shoveller ducks, beside great numbers of coots and waterhens, and a couple 

 or two of snipe. I saw a very curious piece of behaviour on the part of a 

 pair of common sandpipers on the 3rd of this month (August). When 

 walking round the lake with two friends we put a pair of sandpipers off a 

 small piece of sand which had been washed out of the field into the lake by 

 the heavy rains of 1872. The remainder of the lake has banks about a foot 

 above the water, fringed with small rushes, so that there is no landing-place 

 for small birds except this bank of sand. The sandpipers, after flying round 

 and looking for a place to settle, made straight for four or five tufted ducks 

 which were sitting on the water, rather widely spread, and attempted to 



