OCCASIONAL NOTES. 2l 



slowly from us, till, on getting too close, they rose one by one,ionly to settle 

 down a little farther off. This was repeated several times with the same 

 result. On the other hand, some Albatross, that were also near, seemed 

 far more reluctant to rise, and did so only after great difficulty, striking the 

 water for several yards with feet and wings before they got fairly " under 

 weigh," and sometimes disgorging their finny prey to lighten them. It 

 was only in calm weather, though, that I ever noticed the Petrels alight ; at 

 other times they were always on the wing. — J. M. Campbell (Kelvingrove 

 Park, Glasgow). 



[It is not at all unlikely that the captive Storm Petrel referred to by 

 Mr. Mathew was in ill health, and the oil-gland affected ; hence the bird 

 was unable to keep its plumage waterproof. — Ed.] 



Fork-tailed Petrel. — Two specimens of this species were killed in 

 November in the West of Scotland, one at Oban, the other a day or two 

 after at Mearns, a village in Renfrewshire, a considerable distance from the 

 sea, where it had been driven by one of the recent gales. — J. M. Campbell 

 (Kelvingrove Park, Glasgow). 



European Birds observed in North America. — I shall be obliged 

 by the insertion of the following corrections in my article on this 

 subject, which appeared in 'The Zoologist' for September last: — Mr. 

 Ridgway informs me that Phylloscopus borealis (Bias.) has been found 

 breeding in the Yukon district, Alaska. Parus cinctus (Bodd.) breeds in 

 northern Alaska ; the eggs have been obtained lately from the Arctic coast 

 at either Fort Rae or Fort Anderson. Mareca penelopc (Linn.) breeds at 

 the Aleutian Islands. This is in accordance with what I stated in tha 

 introduction, when I said, " Of those species which I have retained, some 

 will, I believe, eventually be found breeding regularly in North America, 

 and will be included in its fauna." Mr. Dresser also informs me that he 

 has a specimen of an undoubted Iceland Falcon obtained from the Labrador 

 missionaries. — Percy E. Freke (Dundrum, Dublin). 



Errata. — P. 368, for Larus marinus read L. minutus. P. 376, for 

 Brewer read Brewster, as the authority for the occurrence of the Ruff in 

 Maine.— P. E. F. 



Spotted Crake on the Island op Fetlar, Shetland. — I have lately 

 received from Mr. Ritchie, of Unst (the northernmost of the Shetlands), a 

 specimen of the Spotted Crake, C. porzana, shot by him on the adjacent 

 island of Fetlar, on October 25th. This bird was killed among some long 

 reeds growing upon the excellent snipe-ground with which the island is for 

 a great part covered. Mr. Ritchie killed two Water Rails and a large bag 

 of Snipe the same day. As Dr. Saxby makes no mention of the Spotted 

 Crake in his ' Birds of Shetland,' this specimen, so far as I know, is the first 

 recorded example from the islands. — C. Chambers (High St., Edinburgh). 



