The Zoologist — Octobei;, 1871. 2805 



Two very handsome immature sanderlings were shot to-day at Thorpe, one 

 of which I procured: there were no more seen. — T. G. Tuck; Tostock 

 House, Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, September 23, 1871. 



lloncy Bnizartl iu Bedfordshire. — Mr. Covington, a birdstuffer at 

 Bedford, received in June last a fine female speciraan of the honey 

 buzzard, which was taken at Silsoe, and sent to him for preservation. 

 When he first had it, it was alive, and would readily take and eat pieces of 

 raw meat which he offered it. He took from it some eggs as large as sloes. 

 Its crop contained a few grasshoppers and other insects. The scale-like 

 feathers on the cheeks of the bird, which are numerous and well defined, 

 conclusively indicate the species. The breast is spotted and blotched with 

 white. Its dimensions were unfortunately not taken. — W.J. Chalk; 

 Wilden Rectory, September 15, 1871. 



Redbacked Shrike breeding near Wastwater. — I should be glad to know 

 whether it is a usual thing to find the redbacked shrike in the Lake 

 District, as I found two nests of these birds near Wastwater in the 

 beginning of last June. — S. E. Robsoii; 2, Esplanade, Sunderland, 

 September 11, 1871. 



[The nesting of the redbacked shrike as far north as Wastwater is 

 unusual, but I cannot say it is a sohtary instance, for Yarrell mentions 

 Northumberland and Durham as counties where it has been met with, and 

 as this must have been in the breeding season, the probability is in favour 

 of its breeding in those counties. — E. Newman.] 



Pied Ring Onzcls. — It appears to be the rule, rather than the exception, 

 for the ring ouzel to have a few white feathers cropping out on the head. 

 Since my last note on the subject I have seen many, though by no means 

 so much pied as those T saw on the Continent. This morning (September 

 19th) I saw three in the flesh, and two of them were thus marked. — J. H. 

 Gumey, jun. ; 2, Beta Place, Alj^ha Road, N.W. 



late Nesting of the Yellow Bunting. — There is at the present time a 

 yellowhammer's nest here containing three young ones nearly ready to leave 

 the nest. Is it not very late in the season ? I have not noticed an instance 

 of this bird breeding so late in the summer. — James Murton ; Silverdale, 

 Carnforth, Sep>tember 5, 1871. 



Waxwings at West Hartlepool. — On going at noon to-day into my garden 

 — the only place in this district where trees and shrubs abound — I was 

 attracted by a strange twittering sound proceeding from the centre thereof. 

 Cautiously approaching the spot, judge of my surprise at seeing eight 

 (evidently two old and six young) Bohemian waxwings rise and fly off. 

 I am confident I am not mistaken in the birds, as I know them well, having 

 repeatedly seen and shot them ; moreover, I was not more than ten yards 

 distant at the time they rose, and the crest of one was plainly visible. Is 

 this not an unusual time of the year for them to appear in England ? Is it 



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