OCCASIONAL NOTES. 221 
lcrLAND GULL AND oTHER SEa-BiRDS IN West CumBERLAND.—An 
immature Iceland Gull was shot near the mouth of the River Calder on 
February 20th last. It was a male, in its second year. The storms at the 
end of the month were very destructive to the smaller sea-birds. I myself 
picked up twenty Razorbills, eight Guillemots, and a Manx Shearwater in 
the course of a three miles’ walk along the shore. I always find some of 
these birds dead in February ; probably they are overtaken and drowned by 
storms when fatigued on their journey northwards. —Cuaruus A. Parker 
(Gosforth, Carnforth). 
Brack Repstart in Co. WarerrorD.—On March 26th a specimen 
of the Black Redstart was captured here within one mile of Waterford city. 
It is a young male bird, not having yet attained the full plumage, and is 
now in the possession of Dr. Burkitt, of Waterford, who added a specimen 
of this bird to his collection about forty years ago. I believe the occurrence 
of the Black Redstart in Ireland has not been often noticed. E. A. Wut 
(Summerville, Waterford). 
{Several Irish specimens are mentioned by Thompson in his ‘ Birds of 
_ Ireland,’ including the one in Dr. Burkitt’s collection, which was shot near 
Wexford in February, 1836.—Ep.] 
Variety oF tHE Strartinc.—A hen Starling was shot in Gosforth 
parish on March 16th which had all the large tail-feathers and primaries 
of both wings of a dull white. The secondaries were tinged with very light 
brown and the whole body a dull brownish grey, the spots being very faint. 
The head was the darkest portion of the bird, but even that was much 
lighter-coloured than usual. Altogether it had quite a washed-out appear- 
ance.— Cuartys A. Parxur (Gosforth, Carnforth). 
Prrecringe Fatcon 1x Beprorpsuire. — I regret to say a female 
Peregrine was shot in the neighbourhood of Bedford on April 8rd. Mr. 
Covington, the birdstuffer, showed it to me the following day, and, on 
dissection, I found the ovaries to contain eggs about the size of hemp-seed. 
It was, strange to say, like most of the Peregrines shot lately, exceedingly 
fat.—C. Marrurw Prion (Bedford). 
GREEN WooprecKEeR In Somerset.—I cannot agree with the editorial 
remark on this subject in the April number of ‘ The Zoologist’ (p. 149), 
that the unusual number of Green Woodpeckers which have found their 
way into the shop of Mr. Petherick, the birdstuffer at Taunton, “seems to 
indicate a migratory movement towards the south-west on the part of this 
species.” It seems to me to be perfectly accounted for by the late 
unusually hard winter, when there was but little work to be done on the 
