30 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



Late stay of the Swift in Autumn. — I saw a Swift here, at Llatidaff, 

 on October 17th. Once it passed about twelve or fifteen feet above my 

 head, so there was no possibility of my mistaking the species. On the 

 following morning I again saw the bird, — no doubt the same one, — but flying 

 higher in the air than on the previous afternoon, probably finding food 

 abundant, as the day was bright and genial. To my surprise I saw it for 

 the third time on October 20th in the same locality, at a fair height in the 

 air, and concluded that it roosted in the cathedral spire, as 1 watched it till 

 nearly dusk, and it did not fly any great distance from the building. Since 

 writing the above I have seen this solitary bird twice more — on October 28th 

 (a wet, cold day) and on November 3rd, when it was flying about the same 

 place where I had previously seen it, skimming through the air as on a 

 summer's day. On this last occasion I was able to direct the attention of 

 others to it, who were equally surprised with myself to see this bird so late 

 in the autumn. I believe it is unusual for the Swift to stay with us after 

 the 11th or 12th August; this year, however, I counted fourteen on the 

 evening of August 24th, flying over the River Taff ; and I find there are 

 several instances of its being seen both in September and October. I have 

 seen it myself in September in the North of Scotland, where on the evening 

 of the 8th, about dusk, I counted upwards of fifty, flying along the line of 

 the sea-shore from east to west, evidently migrating ; I can, however, find 

 no instance of its having been observed to take up its abode for any length 

 of time in the same place at this period of the year, and considering the 

 weather that prevailed at that time, it is a marvel to me how the bird could 

 have existed. — C. Young (Llandaff). 



Lesser Redpoll breeding near Oxford. — Although, according to 

 Mr. A. G. More, Oxfordshire is one of the counties in which this species 

 occasionally breeds, the only nest that I have heard of was found near 

 Marston, in May, 1882. It was placed in a hedge and only contained two 

 eggs, one of which my informant took out to examine. Thereupon the old 

 birds Hew up, the male (in crimson dress) perching quite close to the nest. 

 Unluckily, they forsook the nest. It is possible that other pairs bred here 

 last summer, because Mr. S. Salter, who has until this year always resided 

 near Oxford, and is a very keen observer, recently wrote to me that on 

 visiting Oxford on and after July 20th he was much struck by the numbers 

 of Lesser Redpolls in the parks. — H. A. Macpiieuson (Oxford). 



Nightingale in Ireland. — There is a specimen of the Nightingale pre- 

 served in the Museum of Queen's College, Cork, of which no notice appears 

 to have been published. Mr. F. R. Rohu, taxidermist, Cork, in answer to 

 my inquiry, replies, " I shot it myself at the Old Head of Kinsale about the 

 10th September, 187G." When recently at Mr. Fennessy's nursery in 

 Waterford, he informed me that his foreman, Mr. Thomas Vobe, had seen 



