NOTES AND QUERIES. 351 
what Latin word would Linnmus have used if he had had the chance of 
describing the young of the Common Crossbill in the first plumage? Would 
it have been maculosus, lineatus, or striatus? It satisfies me to think that he 
would have used the first of these three words. A spot may be of any shape, 
longitudinal, triangular, square, or irregular as in the Spotted Woodpeckers. 
“Obsolete heresy” is something I cannot comprehend, but in the present 
state of our knowledge the word “heresy” is a term that ought not to be 
used by searchers after or lovers of truth. Let the word and its associations 
be “ obsolete.” —Ricuarp Howss (Museum, Neweastle-on-Tyne). 
Food of the Shearwater.—Some little time ago the writer described 
in ‘ The Zoologist’ (1888, p. 874), how he had seen Shearwaters, Puffinus 
anglorum, feeding on small fishes, in company with Herring Gulls, Larus 
argentatus, a circumstance in keeping with the fact that he had found the 
digested remains of fish in the stomachs of some of these birds killed on 
land. Mr. Gawen, however, expressed the opinion (tom. cit. p. 426) that 
the birds in question had swallowed “ fish offal.” Mr. R. Warren then 
(p. 470) added the weight of his experience to that of the writer, who, 
rather than press his views unduly, preferred to wait for further evidence. 
This has now been obtained. An example of P. anglorum, shot in his 
presence by Mr. F. P. Johnson, proved to contain only the remains of 
fishes, so small that they could not have been taken in any net but a 
muslin one. The bird in question was one of a flock which had been 
observed for some days, and the observers, both of whom have studied 
P. anglorum for eight or nine summers, felt satisfied that its companions 
were fishing in the same way. ‘There is no evidence, so far, that anyone 
has ever seen a Shearwater swallow a fish. Under ordinary circumstances, 
they certainly catch their prey on the wing, as Terns do, and their move- 
ments are too rapid to allow an observer to detect their seizing their prey, 
to say nothing of the fact that they almost always fish in a breeze where the 
water is a little ruffled. All through the long summer days their beautiful 
- evolutions may be studied within the Inner Hebrides, and at nightfall their 
weird cries resound across the water—H. A. Macpuerson (Carlisle). 
Sand Grouse in Nottinghamshire.—The flock of seventy or more 
Sand Grouse which arrived here during the last week in April, 1888, 
remained until the end of October, when they left, and have not returned. 
Every care was taken of them, and as the ground suited them in every 
way, one would have thought they would have remained here. One pair 
nested, and two eggs were taken. ‘Though this has been mentioned in 
‘The Field,’ I think a notice should appear in ‘The Zoologist.’ In 
addition to this flock, four other lots were seen in different parts of the 
county.—J. Wurraxer (Rainworth, Notts). 
Conviction under the Wild Birds Protection Act.— The Society 
for the Protection of Birds during the Close Season has made a start and 
