THE ZooLoGist—FEBRUARY, 1876. 4803 
indeed constantly kill shoyellers, but we hardly regarded them as worth the 
plucking.—J. H. Gurney, jun. 
Wigeon.—There is a pale variety of the female wigeon, which I fancy has 
been occasionally taken for the American wigeon. I have had two from 
Leadenhall. When I received the first one I supposed it to be the American 
wigeon, and, on comparing it with a brace of skins in my collection, the 
“mistake is very excusable. My father possesses Mr. Bartlett’s specimen of 
the American wigeon, which is the individual figured in Yarrell’s ‘ British 
Birds.’ It was the first which was obtained, and it is very doubtful if any 
others have been got since.—TJd. 
King Duck in Leadenhall Narket.—In writing to you that the female king 
duck was a redder bird than the female eider (S. S. 2443), I omitted to add 
that my specimen was an unusually brown one. There is not, however, the 
least doubt that Mr. Gatcombe and I correctly named it; and it was so 
very fresh—for a market bird unusually so—that we were clearly of opinion 
it could only have been shot in one or other of “the four seas which girt 
Great Britain.” I noted down the following measurements, &c., before it 
was skinned. Length twenty-one inches and a half; expanse thirty-seven 
inches; webs of feet black; axillaries eight; rectrices fourteen. Let me 
here add that I learn from Mr. Gatcombe that a king duck was killed at 
Plymouth some years ago, and seen in the flesh by him at a birdstuffer’s 
named Mutton.—ZId. 
Smew at Slapton Ley.—On the 30th of December a female specimen 
of the smew was shot on Slapton Ley.—R. P. Nicholls; January 6, 
1876. 
Goosander at Slapton Ley.—A young male, a solitary bird, was shot at 
Slapton Ley on the 8rd of December, and another (also a young male) on 
the 28rd. On the 7th a female was procured out of a flock of seven, near 
Avetongifford, on the river Avon; they all appeared to have the female or 
young dress. The same person saw three male birds together a few days 
afterwards.—Id. 
Tropic Bird.—Mr. Gurney, jun., has misread the heading of the Sup- 
plementary Birds at the end of my “ List of the Birds of Europe,” which 
says :— The following list comprises those birds which have been observed 
occasionally in Europe, but which have no real claim to a permanent 
position in its Avifauna.” I never said or thought that the tropic-bird 
(Phaéton ethereus) was a “ doubtful species.” In the new edition of my work, 
just published, I have only one “ List of Kuropean Birds."—C. R. Bree ; 
Colchester, January 7, 1876. 
Errata.—In my note, ‘* Waxwings without Wax,” in the January number 
of the ‘ Zoologist’ (S. S. 4762), nine lines from bottom, for is dressed read 
is sexed ; and seven lines from bottom, for pale-plumaged read full-plumaged. 
—C. lap B. 
