490 THE ZOOLOGIST, 
any mixture of green or blue, as in the natural state of the bird; and, it is 
said, the yellow feather will ever after be reproduced without a new infusion 
of the milky secretion.—J. E. Hanrina. 
Late Nestine or tak YELLOwHAMMER.—On August 28th a friend 
of mine found a Yellowhammer’s nest containing two eggs. The bird 
subsequently laid two others, and sat upon three, one having been 
accidentally broken. Is not this unusually late, even allowing for the 
backwardness of the season ?—Arruur Brae (Chiddingstone). 
DorrereL 1x Norra Devoyn.—Towards the end of last May a trip of 
Dotterel visited the neighbourhood of Barnstaple. Three of the birds were 
shot and brought into the town. It is only at very long intervals that the 
Dotterel is seen in the West of England.—Murray A. Marsew (The 
Vicarage, Bishop’s Lydeard). 
Furmar Perren anp Terns at Repoar.— On October 16th two Fulmar 
Petrels were foundon the sands. One was taken alive opposite Coatham, and 
is now in my possession; the other was picked up east of Redear. Terns 
remained with us very late this year; on the 17th there was a large flock 
at the Tees-mouth, and a friend of mine shot two examples of the Arctic 
species. On the 23rd I walked close to a small flock of six sitting on 
the sands near Redcar, and two were seen fishing near Redcar Pier on 
the 24th.—T. H. Netson (Redcar). 
Extraorpinary AsseMBLAGe or SHort-EARED Owts.—On the 6th 
November, when shooting at the Romau encampment, commonly called the 
“Black Beacon,” near Cromer, I saw an extraordinary number of Short- 
eared Owls. First a pair got up, and then a single bird or two, but about 
2.30, out of a small valley on the heath, where there are some young larch 
trees, nine rose, and afterwards, from another part of the heath, where 
there are a great many thriving young Scotch firs from five to ten feet 
high, about twenty got up, not all at once, but by twos and threes in rapid 
succession, so that there was no doubt of their being all members of one 
flock. | We certainly did not see less than forty in the course of the afternoon, 
allowing for seeing some twice over; and J think, though it was impossible 
to count them, thatreckoning the single’ birds—there were nearer fifty. 
It'is very common at this time of year to see one or two, but T never 
saw anything approaching this before—J. H. Gurney, Jun. (Northrepps, 
Norwich). 
Skuas aND CorMOoRANT IN OxrorDsHIRE.— A fine specimen, of 
Richardson’s Skua was killed, at Milcombe, in this county, on October 1th ; 
and about the same time a Common Skua, at Eydon, Northamptonshire, 
about ten miles from here. On November 7th a Cormorant was procured, 
shot at Clattercut Reservoir—O. V. Artin (Bodicote, near Banbury). 
