184 THE ZOOLOGIST. 
Teesmouth from N. to S. in some numbers;_on the 4th, six; the 
8th, five (four old and one young); 14th, nine (eight old and one 
young); 15th, forty-three; 16th, three; 18th, two; the 20th, ten at 
10 a.m., and ninety-five at ll a.m. On the 18th a flock of thirty 
was seen near Spurn, one old white bird acting as pilot, the 
remainder all young, in the brown plumage. Two Bewick’s Swans 
were shot on the Humber on the 8th. Four passed the Kentish 
Knock, on Dee. 4th, 2.15 p.m., N.E.to 8.W. Two Swans, which 
may have been ‘‘ escaped birds” from some private waters, passed 
the Teesmouth on Sept. 80th, 10 am., flying 8.E. Geese were 
observed at several stations both north and south of the Humber, 
going south from Aug. 18th to Dec. 13th, the main body passing 
south during the last half of November and in December. Brent 
or ‘Black Geese” are noted at the Corton, going south, July 18th, 
twelve’; July 30th, two flocks of from thirty to forty ; on Sept. 17th, 
thirty. These are very early dates for Brent Geese.t Mr. Cotton, 
the observer, might have possibly been led into an error by passing 
flocks of black Scoters. As, however, “black ducks” are frequently 
mentioned in his return, this could hardly be the case, and he 
appears very well able to discriminate between the two. At the 
Corton, Dec. 4th, hundreds of black geese from N.E. to 8. W. from 
sunrise to noon—i. e., towards the mouth of the Thames or Essex 
coast. As might have been expected, large flocks of Ducks are 
constantly noted, so frequently, indeed, as to defy repetition ; this 
is more particularly the case in the returns from the lightships. 
They are noted sometimes flying S., from the land or to the land, 
and in fact in every direction. Many of these would be local flocks 
going to and from their feeding grounds. Immense numbers, how- 
ever, coming from the north, passed along the coast in November 
and December. At Coquet Island, on Dee. 14th, 8 a.m., N.W., 
blowing a gale, two Hider Ducks (spelt phonetically, “Ida” in 
the report) struck lantern and one was killed. 
ReED-THROATED Diver, Colymbus septentrionalis.—Red-throated 
Divers and Mergansers are mentioned in the report from Tees- 
mouth during November. With regard to the first of these, 
Mr. Giitke sends the following curious note, dated Dec. 22nd, 
1879 :— Colymbus septentrionalis, almost by the million. During 
+ Major C. Russell, writing from Mssex, says, “ The earliest occurrence of Brent 
Geese on our coast I ever remember hearing of was Sept. 29th, when many years 
ago one of our coast gunners, still living, killed ten at a shot.” 
