301 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



Osprey may be called an irregular and somewhat rare visitant to Barbados. 

 I have a specimen of Circus hudsonicus (Linn.), given me by Dr. Charles 

 Manning, who obtained it in St. Philip's parish, September, 1886, in the 

 vicinity of a dovecot. It is a young bird, and the first recorded from this 

 island. — H. W. Feilden (Barbados, June 25). 



Great Crested Grebe in Yorkshire. — The Crested Grebe, Podiceps 

 cristatus, has for some years made its home on the Mere at Hornsea. A 

 few years ago a pair or two settled down on its sheltered waters, and now 

 we have quite a little colony of these graceful birds as tenants of our Mere. 

 On May 24th I visited their nesting-place, under escort of the keeper. 

 Half-a-dozen nests, within a radius of as many yards, soon revealed a 

 parent-bird or two sitting on their eggs. As the boat neared the tall reeds 

 the bird plunged quietly under water, after rapidly covering up her eggs, 

 stained by the dark water-weeds. The eggs of this Grebe vary from four 

 to five. — Peter Lnchbald (Grosvenor Terrace, Hornsea, Hull). 



Notes from Rutlandshire. — While walking through the meadows 

 bordering the Welland river, in this county, on Jan. 28th last, I observed 

 ten wild geese flying overhead in a south-easterly direction. From 

 information subsequently received, I believe these to have been White- 

 fronted Geese, two of which species were obtained on the river near 

 Uppingham about the same time, aud have already been recorded in ' The 

 Field.' I first noticed Partridges in pairs on Feb. 3rd, but from the 

 prolonged and severe wintry weather which followed this date, nesting 

 has been unusually late this spring. On March 1 3th, during the very 

 considerable flood caused in the lower parts of the Welland valley, 

 I noticed two gulls fly up from the edge of the flood-water near Tin well 

 village, aud again on the following day there were four gulls standing on 

 a portion of meadow near Ketton from which the flood had just receded. 

 I note this circumstance as gulls are not often observed in this entirely 

 inland county. The birds being seen only from a passing train, I was 

 unable to distinguish the species, but from their size, and not having black 

 heads, imagine them to have been either Common Gulls or Kitti wakes. 

 On March 24th I was pleased to see on the lake iu the park a single 

 specimen of the Great Crested Grebe, which the park-keeper informed me 

 had been there for some days. I made no attempt to obtain it, hoping it 

 might be joined by another, and that the pair would remain there to nest ; 

 but unfortunately it disappeared shortly afterwards, and did not return again. 

 The Swallows did not arrive this year till April 15th, and the Cuckoo on the 

 21st. On April 19th I flushed a Green Sandpiper on the banks of the 

 Welland near Tinwell ; this bird is occasionally seen on the small rivers 

 and brooks of this county, but is not common, and appears chiefly in spring 

 and autumn. The Swans in Exton Park were busy with their nest on 

 March 24th, though there was much cold weather and snow after that date; 



