OCCASIONAL NOTES. 257 
back in a fir-wood, and, as generally seems to be the case, could have shot 
them all; only one bird, however, was killed, being all that the shooter 
required for his collection.—C. Marrurew Prior (Bedford). 
Tue CurLew or THE WixtTsHtrE Downs.—Perhaps the remarks I am 
about to make have not much bearing upon the point at issue, as to the 
supposed nesting of the Common Curlew in Wiltshire (p. 183), but may 
serve as an illustration of how mistakes of the kind are made even by 
those whose knowledge naturally points to a different conclusion. Some 
few seasons ago an oologist—whose name I purposely reserve—paid me a 
visit, and having amongst other things looked over my small collection 
of eggs, I asked him if he saw any error in nomenclature; he 
replied, he had noticed one egg marked Numenius arquata, which certainly 
did not belong to the Curlew, it being much too large as well as of different 
markings; and he further added, that the eggs of the Curlew were taken 
not uncommonly on the downs in the neighbourhood of Winchester, &c. 
I suggested that he meant eggs of the Stone Curlew or Thick-knee; for 
Gilbert White, in his ‘ Natural History of Selborne,’ mentions the breeding 
of that species in his day not very many miles from the same place, but my 
friend still held to his opinion that my large egg was not that of a Curlew. 
If I mistake not the downs in question form a continuation of those in 
Wilts, and if this is the case it seems somewhat remarkable that the same 
error has been committed in two separate instances. Whether my friend 
has ever altered his opinion I am unable to say, yet, if this should meet his 
eye, no doubt he will remember the incident, and will perhaps give us a 
note on the subject.—G. B. Corgin (Ringwood, Hants). 
Rep-wincep Startine 1x YorxsatreE.—On March 31st last, while on 
an entomological tour between Askern and Barnsley, just after leaving 
Adwick-le-Street and crossing the Pontefract and Doncaster turnpike-road, 
I saw laying among the grass on the roadside what I took to be a dead 
Blackbird; but, on picking it up to examine it, I found it to be a fine 
male of the above species; it had apparently flown against the telegraph 
wires during the night. This rewarded me for the otherwise fruitless 
journey.—S. L. Mostery (Primrose Hill, Huddersfield). 
[This makes the tenth recorded instance of the occurrence of the 
American Red-winged Starling in the British Islands. For the other 
nine, see ‘ Hand-book of British Birds,’ p. 117.—Eb.]} 
Nore on tHE Wriitow Wren. — Notwithstanding the intensely cold 
weather which we had early in April, the willow warblers arrived here 
in their usual abundance. One was seen for the first time on April 12th, 
and by the 15th they were somewhat plentiful, although not generally 
distributed, owing no doubt to the cold wind, which induced them to 
affect such localities as were screened. It may be noted that I never heard 
their song from their arrival until the 19th April; on the 20th, however, 
aL 
