144 THE ZOOLOGIST. 
A new Australian Mammal.—Allow me to offer a brief remark. I 
see in ‘ The Zoologist’ for March (p. 105) that you suppose Dactylopsila 
palpator (Milne-Edw.) to be from Australia, but on p. 176* ‘ Mémoires 
publiés par la Soc. Phil. Paris, 1888,’ I read,— Le Muséum ne posséde 
qu’un seul exemplaire de cette espéce : c'est un male trés adulte, venant de 
la cote sud de la Nouvelle-Guinée.—F. A. Jentnx (Leiden). 
Fawn-coloured Variety of Mus decumanus. — On January 14th a 
curious variety of the Brown Rat was trapped at Holbrook, near Ipswich. 
It was fawn-coloured above, white beneath, and had pink eyes.—E. W. 
Gunn (89, Princes Street, Ipswich). 
BIRDS. 
Lapland Bunting near Brighton—On February 24th I received a 
male Lapland Bunting, Calcarius Lapponicus, which was caught by a 
birdeatcher about a mile from this town. It is of rare occurrence here.— 
C. Brazenor (Brighton). 
Hen Harrier in Essex.—An adult female of this species was shot on 
December 20th, 1888, at Walton-on-the-Naze, Essex. The ovaries were 
very small, and in its crop I found a portion of a Thrush in a semi-digested 
condition.—E. W. Gunn (Ipswich). 
Red-breasted Merganser in Essex.—An adult male of this species 
was shot on the beach at Walton-on-the-Naze on January 16th last, and 
was sent to me for preservation. It was in good condition, and had recently 
fallen in with a shoal of Sprats, for its gullet contained no fewer than 
twenty-three (some half-digested), all averaging about three inches in 
length, and amongst them I found one small Whiting. They were all 
packed in close, like Sardines. The gizzard and intestines were full of the 
remains of fish.—E. W. Gunn (89, Princes Street, Ipswich). 
Great Grey Shrike near Ipswich.—A female specimen of this bird 
was brought to me on the evening of January 28th, having been caught by 
a birdcatcher earlier in the day at Whitton, near Ipswich. It had struck 
and instantly killed his call-bird, a Goldfinch. Upon dissecting it I found 
the gizzard quite empty and the bird in poor condition, evidently half- 
starved.—E. W. Gunn (89, Princes Street, Ipswich). 
Ornithological Notes from Wexford.—In view of the preparation of 
a new edition of Thompson’s ‘ Birds of Ireland’ the following notes may 
be useful to the Editors :—In the autumn of 1885 an Osprey was shot at 
Courtown, and sent to Mr. Williams, of 2, Dame Street, Dublin, for 
preservation. On March 1st, 1886, a Brambling was shot near Adamstown, 
by the Rey. T. Manning, after a fall of snow: the bird is a rare winter 
visitor to Co. Wexford. August 28th, 1886: Dr. Gibbons, of Rosslare, 
tells me that three Hoopoes were shot in his part of the county about this 
