222 THE ZOOLOGIST. 
farm, or elsewhere out of doors, and no hunting; in fact, there was no out- 
door work, and little or no outdoor amusement but skating or shooting. 
Consequently, many of those who did not skate wandered about with a gun, 
looking for snipe, or duck, or anything that might turn up; and the Green 
Woodpecker, being a fine, handsome, conspicuous bird, and easily shot, 
fell a victim to the numerous shooters, and, owing to its beauty, found its 
way to the birdstuffers in greater numbers than other less conspicuous 
victims. Had there been any large migration as suggested, more would 
have been seen about than has been the case. But the fact is, as might be 
supposed from the slaughter, I have seen fewer about than usual, and the 
numbers in the bird-shops seem greatly to have diminished the usual 
numbers of these handsome birds about us. I have not seen a single Green 
Woodpecker about my own place or in the neighbourhood during the whole 
of this winter and spring, and they are generally tolerably common just 
about here. ‘There was a considerable destruction of these birds the winter 
before last, but not so great as during the past winter, when, as I have 
elsewhere remarked, this wholesale destruction of Green Woodpeckers 
almost threatened the extermination of the species, and made one wish that 
the provisions of the Bird Act might be extended to this particular bird 
throughout the whole year instead of during the close season only.—CxrciL 
Smiru (Bishop's Lydeard, Taunton). 
Brrrern 1x West Cumpertanp.—A Bittern was shot in the winter 
of 1873 on Sellafield Tarn, in Beckermet parish. It had alighted amongst 
the bulrushes, and had it not been wantonly destroyed would probably have 
remained about the tarn, which is exactly the kind of place it would 
naturally haunt in company with the Coots and Mallards. Another was 
shot the following winter on the River Calder, about a quarter of a mile 
from the tarn. In 1876 a third was killed close to Wreay Castle, 
Windermere, by Mr. D. Ainsworth. A fourth, in 1879, was shot at 
Braystones Tarn, about a mile and a half from Sellafield. Some years ago 
a fifth was shot by Mr. Vickers, of Birkby Crag, as it flew over his yard in 
the dusk. It is a great pity that this beautiful and interesting bird is 
never allowed a chance of remaining where it would probably breed, were it 
not so uniformly persecuted.— Cuar.es A. Parker (Gosforth, Carnforth). 
TrESTACELLA HALIOTIDEA 1N Sussex.—In his “ Catalogue of the Land 
and Fresh-water Mollusca of Sussex” (Zool. 1878, p. 87), the Editor 
remarks :—‘ It is somewhat curious that none of the Sussex conchologists 
have included in their lists the Shell Slug, Testacella haliotidea, which is 
apparently not found on the chalk soil, or sand, although it is not very 
