NOTES ON THE BIRDS OF CUMBERLAND. 331 



on the Solway in the winters 1886-7, 1887-8. It is a rare bird, 

 however, with us, and a very wary one, difficult to secure even 

 when hard hit. 



Syrrhaptcs paradoxus, Pallas's Sand Grouse. — Two specimens 

 stand recorded as obtained in Cumberland in 186:{. Mr. J. H. 

 Gurney, jun., has most kindly brought to my notice a third, pre- 

 served in the collection of the late Mr. Dawson Rowley. In 1888, 

 from eighty to a hundred birds — perhaps more — visited Cumber- 

 Lmd between May and August. Twenty-one were shot before 

 June 10th, after which our small influence began to tell in favour 

 of preservation. 



Porzana parva, Little Crake. — Mr. Heysham had a sketch 

 taken from the county specimen, as I learn from a letter lent 

 me by my friend Mr. H. P. Senhouse, of the Fitz, Cockermouth. 

 This letter was sent by Mr. Heysham to Mr. Senhouse, senior. 

 He borrowed the bird for the use of the artist he employed. 



Scolopax rusticola, Woodcock. — Mr. T. C. Heysham examined 

 a nest with eggs near Carlisle in 1837. It then rarely bred in 

 Cumberland. 



Sterna dougalli, Roseate Tern. — The bird alluded to as " shot 

 many years since on Burgh Marsh," was killed in August, 1834. 



Lams minutus. — A fine adult with black hood was shot in the 

 neighbourhood of the Solway in the summer of 1886. Another, 

 in winter dress, was seen in the spring of 1888. It is no doubt a 

 much rarer bird with us than on the east coast of England. 



Uria grylle, Black Guillemot. — Mr. Duckworth observed a 

 single bird on the Solway in 1886. [When this species used to 

 breed in the Isle of Man it was doubtless more often to be met 

 with in the Solway ; but a correspondent in the Island has recently 

 informed us that it is no longer to be found there in the nesting 

 season. — Ed.] 



In concluding these brief notes, let me express regret that so 

 few trustworthy notices of birds appear in the public prints 

 from the Lake District. Many counties furnish a number of 

 observers ; in Cumberland the task of scrutiny is almost entirely 

 left to one, and information can only be collected by constant 

 vigilance. It would be pleasant if visitors to our mountains 

 would favour us, from time to time, with the results of their 

 observations. Reliable statistics regarding birds, mammals, 

 and marine fishes are especially desired. 



