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- NOTES AND QUERIES. 33 
forwarded from Portumna along with a lot of Snipe. It was extremely fat, 
and in regard to weight differed considerably from that given in the last 
edition of Yarrell’s ‘ British Birds,’ for it almost turned the scales at 8 oz. 
It proved on dissection to be a male-—Epwarp Wittiams (2, Dame Street, 
Dublin). 
The Smew in Perthshire.—On the 20th November last a female 
Smew, Mergus albellus, was shot on one of the salmon-breeding ponds 
at Stormontfield, feasting on the young Salmon. It disgorged four 
about two inches long, and had in its stomach a number more or less 
digested. It is a rare bird in Perthshire, and its occurrence is therefore 
worth recording. I may also mention that a few Razorbills and Guillemots 
have made their appearance on the Tay in this neighbourhood; they are 
common on the estuary of the Tay, but seldom find their way so far 
inland.—Tuomas Marsaatt (The Store, Stanley). 
Roller at Rainham.—The recent occurrence of the Roller, Coracias 
garrula, one of our rarest continental visitors, is I think worth reporting. 
When first seen, on Nov. 8th, it was sitting upon the end of a mangold- 
wurzel clump, where my labourers were at work. As it appeared to be very 
weak, they gave chase over the hedge, and finally captured the bird alive 
on our Rainham Marsh. It was very thin in condition, dying soon after 
being caught, its death being probably hastened by the effects of a very cold 
day.— W. Prentis (Rainham), 
Solitary Snipe and Sabine’s Snipe in Ireland.—The second specimen 
of the Solitary Snipe, Gallinago major, which has come under my notice 
was shot by Mr. W. H. Reese, of Glenerd, Co. Galway, on October 12th. 
The so-called “ Solitary Snipes” that sportsmen meet with in Ireland are 
generally very large individuals of the common bird. I have received at 
least a dozen, forwarded for preservation under the belief that they were 
the rarer species. A good specimen of Sabine’s Snipe—now generally 
regarded as a variety of the Common Snipe —was obtained by Mr. J. Law, 
of Burt House, Londonderry, in September last. In this bird, as in several 
others of the same variety which have passed through my hands, the dark 
marks are continued right across the under parts, which are always white 
in the Common Snipe.—Epwarp Wituiams (2, Dame Street, Dublin). 
Night Heron in Lincolnshire.—A specimen of the Night Heron, 
Nycticorax griseus, in immature plumage, was shot on November 26th on 
the foreshore at Tetney, by one of the wild-fowlers who was engaged in 
plover-netting. The bird measured twenty-four inches in length; wing, 
twelve inches. The irides were bright red, bare skin round the eyes 
_ greenish yellow, and legs and feet green, with a shade of yellow. When 
first flushed it only flew a short distance and settled again.—G. H. Caron 
- Hatcn (Grainsby Hall, Great Grimsby). 
ZOOLOGIST.—JAN. 1889, D 
