NOTES AND QUERIES. 185 



I have long been well aware that Magpies are in the habit of frequenting 

 the backs of cattle in search of the grubs known as " bots," and thus 

 acquire a taste for beef, occasionally making hideous sores ; but the above 

 is the first well-authenticated instance that has come to my knowledge of 

 the actual murder by these birds of any mammal larger than a weakly 

 Rabbit. — Lilford (Bournemouth). 



Grey Shrike in Cumberland. — The example of Lanius excubitor 

 recorded from Cumberland (p. 147) by my neighbour Mr. Tandy, is the 

 second obtained in the county during the winter 1887-8. The first was 

 killed near Carlisle on Nov. 29th, and is a mature bird, having two wing- 

 bars and pure white under parts. I recently took the trouble to extract all 

 the records of this bird from ' The Zoologist,' 1843 — 1887, and an analysis 

 of the results throws some light on the migration of the species to and 

 from the British Isles. — H. A. Macpheeson (20, Cecil Street, Carlisle). 



The Nutcracker in Kent. — The accompanying cutting from ' The 

 Standard ' of Jan. 28th, 1886, speaks for itself: — " In one of your admirable 

 articles in 'The Standard' of to-day you refer to a great band of Nut- 

 crackers, Nucifraga caryocatactes, which invaded Western and Central 

 Europe forty-two years ago. It may interest you to learn that I obtained 

 a fine specimen of this bird on the 17th of November last (1885) in Strode 

 Park, Heme, the seat of Mr. Prescott-Westcar, and that on examination it 

 was found that, although the bird is called a Nutcracker, and presumably 

 is a nut-eater, its stomach contained more specimens of small Coleoptera 

 than vegetable or other matter. — Colonel Willmott (Eddington Cottage, 

 Canterbury, Jan. 26, 1886).' I do not know whether the occurrence of 

 this specimen of the Nutcracker was recorded in any Natural-History 

 journal at the time; if not, it might be as well to record it now in ' The 

 Zoologist.' — Diqby S. W. Nicholl (The Ham, Cowbridge, Glamorgan). 



Albino Sky Lark and Starling. — I am informed by Mr. J. Cording, 

 bird-preserver, of Cardiff, that he has recently received, for preservation, a 

 cream-coloured Sky Lark, and also a white Starling, both of which were 

 obtained in the neighbourhood. — Digby S. W. Nicholl (The Ham, 

 Cowbridge, Glamorgan). 



Probable Occurrence of the Chough in Suffolk. — In a migration 

 schedule received this morning (April 14th) from Mr. Owen Boyle, of the 

 Landguard Lighthouse, is the following entry: — "April 2nd, 1888. Two 

 crows put in an appearance, 7.30 a.m., larger than jackdaws ; they had red 

 beaks and legs, and went north-west." — John Cobdeaux (Great Cotes, 

 Ulceby). 



Wildfowl at Ringwood, Hants. — Although the past winter has been 

 somewhat severe, yet the weather has been comparatively open, and 



