OCCASIONAL NOTES. ‘111 
upon it was also mentioned that, as this species had seldom or never been 
observed on land, the actual sitting posture was uncertain. I should now 
like to say a few words concerning this matter. I recorded in ‘The 
Zoologist’ of November, 1878, that one of these birds had been shot by 
my father in August of that year, at North Berwick. When shot this 
bird was sitting upon a large piece of wreckage floating about half a mile 
out at sea, and as the boat approached my father had a good opportunity 
of observing its attitude while at rest, which was as nearly as possible 
that of the Herring Gull, or other allied species, but certainly had no 
resemblance to the sitting posture of the Alcide. I would refer to the 
beautiful illustration of this bird in the third volume of Yarrell’s ‘ British 
Birds.—C. Cuampxrs (339, High Street, Edinburgh). 
American Swan 1n ScornanD.—On the 26th December, 1879, I 
noticed three Swans hanging in a poulterer’s shop in Edinburgh. On 
going in I found there were five in all. Believing them to be Bewick’s 
Swans, I sent down Hope, the birdstuffer, who bought and preserved four 
of them. ‘Two were reserved for the Industrial Museum at Edinburgh, 
and the other two are in my possession. On dissection, however, they 
turned out to be adult specimens of Cygnus americanus—one male and 
three females. ‘The sternum is fully two inches longer than that of 
Bewick’s bird, and the formation of the windpipe also differs. The ribs 
were ten in number, and one specimen at least had twenty feathers in the 
tail. Three of them are to be exhibited at the next meeting of the Physical 
Society of Edinburgh, when a paper will be read on the subject. The 
fifth bird has been preserved in skeleton. Only one specimen of this 
species has been obtained previously in the British Isles to my knowledge. 
Three were shot in Argyleshire, and the other two at Tain, in Sutherland- 
shire.—Cuaries A. Parker (Gosforth, Carnforth). 
Corn CRAKE CARRYING ITs Younc.—The Landrail, or Corn Crake, 
usually frequents and makes its nest amongst long meadow-grass, generally 
depositing from four to six or seven eggs, sometimes as many as nine or ten. 
The broods are often too young to escape before the cutting begins, and the 
machine makes sad havoc among them; the bewildering sharp ‘“clack- 
clack” of the machinery seems to stupefy both mother and young ones, so 
that the poor things are often maimed or killed. In August last, while 
cutting-down a field of grass, a Corn Crake was observed to rise close in 
front of the machine and to flutter backwards and forwards, crying 
pitifully ; but, as it waa impossible to stop before the scythe had passed 
over the spot, it was concluded the young had been killed. On looking 
round at the spot, however, soon afterwards, the mother was noticed where 
the nest had been, and presently she came out to the open field, carrying 
in her beak a small dark object, which, on following her, was found to be a 
