4382 THE ZOOLOGIST. 
On July 26th, Herring Gulls were still at Wembury, and Curlews 
were plentiful on the mud-banks of our rivers and estuaries. A 
friend told me that when fishing on Dartmoor he had found several 
nests of the Common Sandpiper this summer, one of which was 
close under the shelter of a furze-bush. 
An adult Peregrine Falcon was taken in the neighbourhood of 
Plymouth. It was a small male, and beautifully marked, with the 
white extending further down on the breast, and purer than 
I remember to have observed in any previous specimen. The 
spots and bars, too, were unusually small. Its stomach was 
supposed by the birdstuffer to contain some remains of a 
pheasant. 
In August, the first young Herring Gulls were to be seen in the 
Sound; but many, [ am sorry to say, were being daily shot. 
A few Wheatears appeared on the coast from their inland quarters, 
and [ also heard a few Whimbrels which appeared to have returned 
from their breeding-haunts rather earlier than usual. 
I think the past summer must have been a good season for young 
Kingfishers, for I saw many on the estuary of the Laira at the 
entrance of the River Plym. By the middle of the month Cor- 
morants were to be seen daily ascending our rivers and estuaries 
of a morning to fish, returning at eve in small flocks like wild geese, 
most of them showing the white belly peculiar to this time of 
the year. 
On August 22nd our harbours were full of both old and young 
Herring Gulls, and I observed some Black-headed Gulls just 
returned from their breeding quarters and many Whimbrels. A 
Manx Shearwater was brought to one of our birdstuffers about 
this date. Common Redshanks and a few young Sanderlings, 
with their prettily mottled backs, were to be met with on the 
coast. 
A short time since my attention was called to a case which, 
I fear, is but too frequent, of young Sparrows and other small 
birds being dragged out of their nests and being killed by Jack- 
daws. I recollect having recorded similar instances in ‘The 
Zoologist’ a few years ago. 
On the Ist September there were several flocks of old Ring 
Dotterels with very black collars on the mud-banks of the Laira; 
but, strange to say, I did not detect any young ones amongst them, 
although I examined them carefully with a powerful telescope. 
