182 THR ZOOLOGIST. 
digested food—which is often caught before it reaches the surface of the 
water. The Skuas also plunder other sea-birds of their eggs, and destroy 
numbers of young birds, eggs, &e., in the hills, the Arctic Skua having 
been shot in this county while in the act of killing and devouring a brood 
of young grouse.—W. Rerp (Wick). 
Hybrid Finches.—In reference to the Editor’s note on this subject 
(p. 109), [ may mention that at the Canary and Cage-Bird Show at the 
Westminster Aquarium, in January last, the following hybrid finches were 
exhibited :—Two Goldfinch and Greenfinch males, six months and one year 
old respectively, by Mr. E. Hopton and Mr. W. Veale. Linnet and Green- 
finch male, by Mr. J. Leslie. Two Bullfinch and Goldfinch males, by 
Mr. George Fowler, jun., and Mr. J. H. Scothern; one of these, exhibited 
by the latter, having the general shape of the Bullfinch, but somewhat 
modified, with a beautiful orange blaze. The last-named exhibitor also 
showed a Goldfinch and Redpoll male, six months old, and Mr. S. Hayward 
a Greenfinch and Goldfinch male of one year. Messrs. Welham and Hunt 
had a bird in this class catalogued as a Chaffinch mule, two years old.— 
O. V. ApLin (Great Bourton, near Banbury). 
Nutcracker in Hampshire.—On February 8th at Exbury, in Hamp- 
shire, on the skirts of the New Forest, | saw a Nutcracker, Nucifraga 
caryocatactes. It was close to the house where I was staying, and I 
recognised the note (with which one gets very familiar in Switzerland and 
the Alps generally) as I laid in bed. I got up at once, and saw my friend 
busy amongst the cones of a large fir tree near the windows of my room. 
Perhaps the bird is commoner in this country than I suppose, but I never 
saw or heard one here before.—A. G. RENSHAW (2, Suffolk Lane, E.C.). 
[The last we heard of was one shot near Eddington, Kent, on the 17th 
November last. See Zool. 1885, p. 480.—Ep.] 
Velvet Scoter in Nottinghamshire.—On looking through the collection 
at Welbeck Abbey I came across a duck of this species labelled “ shot on 
the lake here, Nov. 6th, 1884.” As this is the first and only occurrence of 
this duck in Nottinghamshire, so far as 1am aware, I think it worthy of 
record in ‘The Zoologist.’—J. Wu1rakkr (Itainworth Lodge, Notts). 
Varieties of Common Birds.—Two Jays were shot at Clumber in July 
last; one was quite white (though not an albino); the other was white, with 
dark grey markings on wing-coverts and back. ‘The following varieties have 
come under my uotice:--A pale cream Snipe with markings in brown, shot 
in Eastern Counties, given me by Mr. Edward Bidwell; a white Wood- 
cock with faint grey markings on back, shot in Notts a few years back, 
given me by Mr. Jones, of Retford ; a Razorbill with back of sandy colour, 
wings and tail cream, shot in Ireland, given me by Mr. Seebohm ; a light 
chocolate-coloured Blackbird, also one of a pale slate-colour; several varieties 
