1060 The Zoologist — January, 1868. 



Rednecked Grebe near Nottingham. — A specimen of the rednecked greb (Podicept 

 rubricollis) was shot on the River Trent, at Shelford, about six miles from Nottingham, 

 ou the 17lh of October, and came into my possession the same evening: it is in adult 

 plumage, having the red neck and white throat. Although well acquainted with tbe 

 Ornithology of this district for twenty-five years past, this bird is tbe first of the species 

 I have met with. — John S. Hedderly ; Sneinlon, Nottingham, November 15, 1867. 



Gannel on the Kentish Coast. — At the end of September a man found a gannet, in 

 the plumage of the first year, behind the sea-wall on Wbilstable Flats. The bird, 

 although apparently unwounded, was stupid enougb to allow himself lo be knocked on 

 the head with a slick. — John Hunter. 



Storm Petrels and other Birds in the Firth of Forth. — On the 13th of November a 

 friend and myself took a boat at Grangemouth, and went down tbe Firth as far as 

 Queensferry, for the purpose of seeing what wild fowl were yet making their appear- 

 ance. Amongst the common ducks we observed one pintail drake pass overhead : saw 

 large flocks of scaups and pochards, about a dozen red throated divers (two of which 

 we wounded and lost, owing to their making lo windward, and there being a fresh 

 breeze blowing at the time), one great northern diver, eight Richardson's skuas, which 

 were following the large companies of gulls, which, in their turn, were feeding on the 

 sprats which bad lately made their appearance. Besides the above we saw some 

 eight storm petrels, three of which we shot: some of these were close to Grange- 

 mouth. The weather was fine, with a little wind from the south-west. The petrels 

 were in poor condition, as were several others killed near Aberdeen, which I saw two 

 days ago in the shop of Mr. Small, birdstuffer, Edinburgh. A blacklailed god wit was 

 also obtained near Leith lately. Dunlins seem this season to be unusually abundant 

 on this coast. Al a right and left discharge of a 15-guage shoulder-gun I killed 

 one day some sixty dunlins on the breakwater at Grangemouth. The flocks are very 

 large and numerous. Out of seventy dunlins, killed one day in October, only one had 

 a huffish breast and a longer bill and louger legs than the rest: it elosely resembled 

 the curlew sandpipers which I before gave you nolice of. The disparity in length of 

 bill of many of the dunlins I have shot this season, and the unusual length of it in 

 others, is very remarkable. Is this occasioned by age, sex, or h cal difference in breeding 

 stations, or to what other cause, if any, can it be assigned ? There is every appearance 

 here of an early winter. Teal are coming inland in greater numbers and earlier than 

 I have hitherto observed them ; but as yet I have killed but few mallard at flight time. 

 Woodcocks, as usual, arrived with the first hard frost, about a week ago. Fieldfares 

 are arriving iu large flocks. At the beginning of the frost large flocks of golden 

 plovers came far inland, but were very wild and difficult of approach. — John A. 

 Harvie Brown; Dunipaee, Falkirk, November 23, 1867. 



Storm Petrel at Bridlington Quay.— Mr. J. H. Gurney very kindly forwarded me 

 a fine specimen of this little petrel yesterday : it was shot, on the 12lh of November, 

 at Bridlington Quay, Yorkshire. Mr. Gurney does not state whether there were more 

 birds in company with this one, nor does he give further particulars. — A. Clark- 

 Kennedy ; Eton College, November 15, 1867. 



Forktailed Petrel at Colchester. — On or about Thursday, the 5th of December, a 

 boy connected with the Great Eastern Railway was rubbing up one of the engines, at 

 fi?e o'clock in the morning, at the Colchester station, when a bird flew against his 

 lantern with great force, and, being stunned, was of course easily captured. It was 



