The Zoologist — October, 1868. 1421 



smaller birds being cased in classes, 1 have placed the common and this doubtful 

 species in close proximity, and shall have much pleasure any time after October, when I 

 am again settled at home, in giving any ornithologist who may think it worth coming as 

 far as Harapslead an opportunity of comparing them together. Mr. Crewe adds that 

 Mr. Gould saw his specimen, but ignored it as a distinct species. Mr. Gould also saw 

 my earliest specimens, which were, I confess, in had plumage, as they were killed after 

 the breeding season, but still they had such a distinctive appearance that, on his very 

 kindly giving me his box of skins of Arundinacea to examine, I was able at once to 

 pick out one, and only one, similar bird to mine, from his series: I remember it was 

 ticketed, but I forget the locality.— Robert H. Mitford ; Hampstead, N.W., Sept. 17, 

 1868. 



Isles of Scilly : Autumnal Migration.— It is a curious fact, and one which I have 

 noticed for several years, that a great number of the British summer visitants, which 

 are almost, and some entirely, unknown iu West Cornwall in the spring and summer 

 months, are every autumn in the migratory season to be found at the Scilly Isles, with 

 the exception of the nightingale. Amongst the common warblers I may instance the 

 garden warbler, lesser whitethroat, common redstart, reed warbler, wood warbler, pied 

 flycatcher, and also species of other families, which, for some hidden cause, scarcely 

 ever are seen in this neighbourhood, have repeatedly been observed in the Scilly Isles 

 in the great southern movement season. I have just had word that whitethroats (a 

 common species with us all the summer), redstarts, redbacked shrikes, whinchats, 

 reeves, &c, have made their appearance at Scilly. I may add that a swift and sand 

 martins were observed at the same time, and also two crossbills: a late date for the 

 swift. Temminck's stint was shot at Scilly last week. A large flight of yellow (Ray's) 

 wagtails arrived with the other birds, all in pale buff plumage, without much tone of 

 yellow: these, and I expect a large proportion of the first flight of other migrants, are 

 birds of the year. I have remarked for several years that the species of Tringa, Limosa, 

 and other waders in the early autumn, exhibit immature plumage, from the borders of 

 the dorsal plumage being margined with buff-yellow, such as the knot, godwits, curlew, 

 Tringa, &c, Sec— Edward Hearle Rodd ; Penzance, September 15, 1868. 



Crossbills at Leicester.— O a the 12th of July a flock of eight crossbills visited our 

 garden, attracted by a pair of tame caged crossbills which were hung on a tree. They 

 were very clamorous on observing the caged birds, and flew round several limes before 

 alighting on the fir trees. There were two richly-coloured red birds, and the rest 

 greenish. They stayed for three or four days, scattered about the gardens and plantings 

 in the neighbourhood. They generally fed in silence, and were not easily alarmed: 

 in feeding they clung to the branch or to a fir-cone, and wrenched the scales of the 

 cones asunder, pecking out the seed and dropping the empty cone. Quantities of open 

 cones were scattered under the trees : cones which have been opened by crossbills 

 generally have a ragged look. In the pine wood of Ben's Cliff, in this county, -I have 

 noticed great quantities of these ragged or frayed cones, and am convinced they were 

 eaten by crossbills, as coues from which the seeds have been extracted by our tame 

 crossbills have the same appearance. I have never observed crossbills in this county 

 before, and was on the point of shooting several, to make assurance doubly sure, but 

 forbore doing so. Macgillivray, in vol. iii., mentions a pair breeding on the borders 

 of Bradgate Park ; and I think some visit the large fir woods in winter. But this is 

 also interesting, as they occurred so near a large town— within half a mile. A pair 



