4330 THE ZooLoGist—FEBRUARY, 1875. 
Barn Owl.—A fine female specimen was brought to me by the 
woodman, who shot it, not knowing it was in the preserved list, he 
said, and I am sorry for it, because they are now very scarce here, 
from what cause I know not: they were common amongst the high 
white rocks in the Dene, where it was well preserved, but now I do 
not know of any place it frequents, except the old church tower, 
near to which this bird was shot. 
AUGUST. 
Turnstone.—On the 8rd I obtained a fine adult male of this 
species. These birds are rarely met with on this part of the 
coast. 
Dunlin and Ring Plover.—Plentiful; mostly young birds. 
Whimbrel.—More common than I have known it here. 
Kitliwake.-—Abundant. On skinning an adult male, shot inland, 
I found it had swallowed a large piece of that lubricating compound 
used on the railways: I have often seen the sparrows eating it,*and 
the engine-drivers tell me that the rooks are so fond of it that when 
the mineral trains are stopped they will fearlessly alight on the 
wheels and help themselves from the boxes containing it above the 
axles: this is done by one rook thrusting its bill in under the lid, 
and holding it up while another rook pulls out the grease. 
Stonechat.—This species appears to have entirely abandoned 
this part of the coast. Four years ago a pair had a nest in an old 
tumbled-down garden wall: J found afterwards that it had been 
robbed, and since then I have only met with a single individual 
(an adult male) in September last. 
Common Heron.—On the 3lst a young female brought to me. 
Almost every year about this time a few stragglers visit a small 
trout-stream running into the Dene. There is no regular stream 
running through the Dene now; the channel is generally dry, 
except in rainy weather, and then the water flows down as black as 
ink, from the washing of coal-dust into it; indeed this dust and 
smoke changes the face of all nature here—“ nothing is hid from 
the dirt thereof:” the poor tree creeper, for instance, becomes as 
black as a little chimney sweep from contact with the smutty trees. 
The tits, too, may be said to have gone off with the swallows, and 
other little smutty gentlemen of the same dimensions and manners 
have taken their place. It is indeed to be lamented that spots like 
Castle Eden Dene should ever become subject to such a blackening 
