5028 Tue ZooLocist—A ucust, 1876. 
black; the rest generally had larger markings, not quite so dark ; 
in most cases these markings were gathered round the larger end. 
Besides the gulls there were a few oystercatchers and a large 
colony of puffins breeding. The puffins must have led the rabbits 
rather a life of it, as they had taken possession both of the burrows 
and of the crevices of the rock. The puffins seem to have been 
rather irregular in their proceedings, for some had hatched, and the 
young were nearly ready to quit their holes, and some of the eggs 
were quite fresh. None of the gulls or oystercatchers had hatched, 
though the eggs of some were all but ready to hatch. I did not see 
any razorbills or guillemots breeding at Barhoe, or indeed at any 
of the islands: I only saw a few scattered birds on the passage to 
Alderney, and was told they bred on a small steep rock called 
Ortack, between Alderney and the Caskets. I also saw one great 
blackback on the passage to Alderney: he looked a tremendous 
size through the thick fog. There were no great blackbacks 
breeding at Barhoe, but this one might have had a nest either at ~ 
Ortack or on the rocks to the north of Herm. 
Before concluding, I may remark that I believe the Iceland 
falcon.to be quite a fresh addition to the list of Channel Island birds. 
Professor Ansted, I know, mentions a gyr falcon, but gives no date 
or particulars, so there may be some mistake about it, or it may 
have been a Greenland falcon, in which case the islands would 
be able to claim two of the northern falcons as occasional 
stragglers. 
CeciL SMITH. 
Bishop’s Lydeard, July 10, 1876. 
Ornithological Notes from Devon and Cornwall. 
By J. GaTcomBE, Esq. 
(Continued from Zool. 8. S. 4993.) 
JuNE, 1876. 
Herring Gulls and Peregrine Falcon at Wembury.—On the 
12th of June I was at length able to visit the breeding-place of 
the herring gulls at Wembury, near Plymouth, and found them 
nesting as usual, but not in such large numbers: notwithstanding 
which I think there were as many, if not more, young birds to be 
seen than I had observed on any previous occasion during the last 
