146 THE ZOOLOGIS‘. 
APPEARANCE OF THE Brackcap’ 1n Marcu.—On the morning of 
March 8th I saw a female Blackcap Warbler in my garden at Weston, 
Herts. As I was able to get within three paces of her, and the light was 
good, I identified her with certainty. This early appearance, after such 
severe weather is exceptionally difficult to account for.— M. R. Pryor 
(Weston Manor, Stevenage). 
SxorE Lark near ScarsoroucH.—On January 15th I shot a male 
specimen of the Shore Lark (Alauda alpestris), about a mile to the north of 
Scarborough. It is in almost mature plumage, having the black on the head 
interspersed with a few brown feathers. 1t was in company with two other 
Larks, but I could not be sure if they were of the same species.—R. P. 
Harper (2, Royal Crescent, Scarborough). 
OccuRRENCE OF THE Desert WHEATEAR IN ScoTLanp. — From a 
paper by Mr. J. J. Dalgleish, read before the Royal Physical Society 
of Edinburgh on the 19th January last (Proc. Roy. Phys. Soc. Edin., 
vol. vi., p. 64), it appears that a specimen of the Desert Wheatear (Saxicola 
deserti, Riippell), was killed on the 26th November, 1880, near Alloa, 
in Clackmannanshire. The specimen having been forwarded to Mr. 
Dalgleish, he compared it with skins from Egypt and India, and satisfied 
himself as to the identity of the species. This is the second addition to the 
Saxicole on the British list within a recent period, a specimen of the Russet 
Wheatear (S. rufa, Brisson), having been obtained for the first time in 
England at Bury, Lancashire, on the 8th May, 1875, as recorded in the 
Proc. Zool. Soc., 1878, pp. 881, 977.—J. E. Harrine. 
Errata.—Page 48, line 12, for “ Hoopoe,” read “ Hooper.” Page 103, 
line 29, for “‘ stems,” read “ stones.” 
Dogs THE FLyinG-risH Fry ?—From my own observations on species 
of Eaocetus, made during a voyage to the Cape of Good Hope in 1860, and 
on the return voyage to England in the following year, I should answer this 
question in the negative. Having read Mr. Whitman’s statements in 
‘The Zoologist’ for November last, and the observations of Mr. Moseley 
and Capt. Hadfield in subsequent numbers, I was induced to refer to the 
notes I made after frequent careful observations. The conclusion I arrived 
at was that the Flying-fish has no real power of flight, nor can it guide its 
course when in the air. Those I saw invariably rose from the sea against 
the wind, generally skimming low over the water for about fifty yards, when 
they plunged head-foremost into it. Sometimes, however, their aérial 
course was more prolonged, perhaps from one to two hundred yards. They 
were carried forward with great velocity by the initial spring they made from 
the water, but frequently the wind would drive them round, and if the vessel 
