NOTES FROM NORTH LANCASHIRE. 241 
had an opportunity of examining the skins of Lincolnshire 
Martens they have belonged to the yellow-breasted species, 
Martes abietum. 
This, for the present, must close my notice of Lincolnshire 
Martens. 
(The colour of the breast, it would seem, cannot uow be relied upon 
as a mark of specific distinction, ef. ‘ Zoologist,’ 1879, p. 441. It is very 
desirable that wherever practicable the dental characters pointed out by 
Mr. Alston should be looked for and reported.—Eb. | 
ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES FROM NORTH LANCASHIRE. 
By W. A. DurwnForp. 
Tue following notes, made during the last twelve months, 
though they contain no startling announcements of the occurrence 
of new or rare species, and must, I fear, be termed rather common- 
place, may possibly prove of interest to some of the readers of 
‘The Zoologist.’ 
The year 1879, in this as in most other parts of England, was 
a most disastrous one for the birds, and we can only hope that it 
will be long before we experience a similar season. The intense 
severity of the winter of 1878-9, followed by a wet and inclement 
summer, told its tale even on the shore-birds and wildfowl, though 
these were naturally far less affected by the weather than the 
inland species ; and even if the winter we have just passed through 
cannot be said to have rivalled in severity its immediate prede- 
cessor, yet the average temperature was considerably below that 
of other seasons, and the mortality amongst the weaker varieties 
of birds has been very considerable. It is rather remarkable that 
the birds’ which seem to have suffered most are some of those 
which hail from more northern regions than our own, and might 
be expected to be able to withstand a large amount of cold, 
viz., Fieldfares and Redwings. The latter in particular were 
terribly affected by the frost, and during January and February 
I came across numbers either dead or so weak as to be scarcely 
able to fly. Blackbirds and Thrushes, as well as Finches and 
other small birds, also fell victims in large numbers to the 
inclemency of the season, and such was the devastation created 
21 
