28 THE ZOOLOGIST 



the 20th several Black Redstarts, both male and female, were met with, 

 and one was shot near Freshwater Bay. A Grey Phalarope was procured 

 on the 3rd November. Though the Chough has been twice seen during 

 the summer, it does not breed in the island, but there is reason to believe 

 that it would do so, as of yore, if protected. It is much to be regretted 

 that a strict watch is not kept at Freshwater during the nesting season : 

 only a year or two ago I saw a pair of Peregrines, in perfect plumage, that 

 had been trapped and the eggs taken. I am informed by Mr. Dimmick, 

 of Ryde, that on the 7th November he had an adult Richardson's Skua 

 brought to him.— Hknby Hadtield (High Cliff, Ventnor). 



Ornithological Notes from Devon. — A remarkably coloured young 

 Rook was shot near Crediton on July 13th, and brought to me The quill- 

 feathers were pure white, and the legs and feet were mottled with white. 

 A Hoopoe was shot on Dawlish Warren on August 19th. I know of only 

 four previous occurrences of this bird in the Exeter district since 1820. 

 In this county Hoopoes nearly always occur on or near the coast. The 

 last date at which a Swift was Been by me near Exeter was August 17th, 

 but there were very few about after the 10th. On August 20th, the weather 

 being cold and stormy, a flight of Missel Thrushes passed over Exeter 

 from the north-east at 4.20 p.m. A Red-legged Partridge was shot near 

 Okehampton on October 3rd ; this is not a common bird in Devon. 

 A Woodcock was seen on October 10th, at Whitstone, near Exeter. It 

 may have been bred in the neighbourhood, as a nest was found in that 

 parish in 1853, the .young being hatched on April 23rd. Another Wood- 

 cock occurred near Moretonhampstead on the 15th and two others at the 

 Grange, near Honiton, on the 2Jst October. A female Black Redstart was 

 captured alive near Exeter, and was shown to me in a cage on October 7th. 

 This is an early date for this species to arrive; they are seldom met with 

 before November, though they have occurred as early as September. 

 Swallows and House Martins were very numerous up to October 14th, about 

 Lidford, but since that date I have not seen any. At the beginning of 

 September there were several Landrails in a poulterer's shop in Exeter; 

 and on October 13th one was put up on the moor near Lidford, and I also 

 saw one which had been shot the previous day on Blackdown, near Lidford 

 railway -station. On October 13th I also saw two Jack Snipe on Dartmoor. 

 Bullfinches were very numerous in the oak-copses in Lydford Gorge in 

 October; and I noticed a Cirl Bunting amongst a lot of small birds in that 

 neighbourhood. On November 14th Rooks were very busy carrying off 

 acorns from some evergreen oaks in front of my window. They pitch 

 on the topmost sprays and pick off the acorns with much difficulty. — 

 W. S. M. D'Urban (Albuera, St. Leonard's, Exeter). 



The Note of the Manx Shearwater. — As a member of the Committee 

 appointed by the British Association to collect observations on the migration 



