•2440 The Zoologist— January, 1871. 



two pairs of rooks have built their nests, aud arc now (October Gtli) sitting 

 on their eggs : one nest is in the rookery adjoining the Hall, the other near 

 the Vicarage. — {Rev.) W. J. Kerr; IVelton, Nortlicunptonsluie. 



[There are numerous well-authenticated instances of rooks building, 

 laj'iug, sitting, hatching and rearing their young in October, and even in 

 November. Such instances are recorded repeatedly in Loudon's ' Magazine 

 of Natural History,' ' Zoologist,' ' Naturalist,' Yarrell's ' British Birds,' and 

 the ' Field ' newspaper. It is difficult to explain why such a phenomenon 

 should occur year after year, totally irrespective of temperature ; aud the 

 fact can only be placed on record for the instruction of those naturalists 

 who stay at home and have not our facilities for observation. — EJaard 

 Newman.] 



Late-stayiug llirnndines. — I send you an extract from a letter received 

 this day from Brighton: — "I yesterday (November 17th) took a walk on 

 the Shoreham Koad, and there, to my surprise, I saw not one but thirty 

 swallows and martuis Hying about under the low clifls, as strong and hearty 

 as if it was midsummer; snow from the full on Tuesday morning was still 

 lying on the hills, but the sun was sinning beautifully, and was so powerful 

 that walking, with the very light wind, was downright hot woi'k. In this 

 merry group of birds, martins were decidedly in the majority, but there 

 were at least ten or twelve swallows, aud some of both birds were in such 

 capital plumage that I really think they must have been old birds. 

 I watched the group for half an hour, and was really sorry to leave them. 

 I afterwards saw single birds of both species." — Frederick Bond; 203, 

 Adelaide Road, S. Hawpstead, NAV., Noveinber 19, 1870. 



Late Sflallows. — On the l"2th of November, 1870, I saw two swallows 

 flying about in Foxhall, near Ipswich. — (Rev.) E. C. Moor. 



White Sand Martiu. — On the 18th of July I shot a beautiful white 

 variety of the common sand martin (Hirundo rijmrici) at Abelour, on the 

 Spey, in Morayshire. The bird was a delicate pure white all over, but not 

 a true albino : as the eyes were of the usual hazel colour, most probably it 

 would have assumed the natural plumage alter the next moult. A'arieties 

 of the sand martin do not seem extremely uncommon, as I remember 

 shooting a cream-coloured one a few years ago, aud Mr. Glennpn, of Dublin, 

 tells me hardly a summer passes that he does not receive one or two 

 specimens. — A. B. Brooke ; C'olclrooke, Ireland. 



Abundance of Uuails. — Having read Mr. Dix's extraordinary account of 

 the number of quails killed this last autumn in Pembrokeshire (Zool. S. S. 

 2394), and having myself collected similar statistics for Norfolk, where, if 

 not quite so abundant, they have still appeared in unprecedented numbers, 

 I would suggest the im])ortauce of getting returns from all parts of the 

 United Kingdom, which the numerous readers of the 'Zoologist' might 

 easily supply. From these some idea might be formed (as in the case of 



