110 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



own course. Immediately after the breeding-season Rooks, with their 

 newly-fledged young, fly off to the woods, where they remain for several 

 weeks, where amongst these caterpillars they obtain an abundance of food 

 without any trouble. All day long these birds may be seen, in company with 

 large flocks of Jackdaws and Starlings, busily engaged on the tops of the 

 trees devouring the grubs. Last year a visible decrease was made in their 

 numbers, judging from the decrease in the number of moths that emerged 

 in the autumn. This year the caterpillars have been much less plentiful; 

 but some allowance must be made for the numbers destroyed during the 

 wet which was experienced in the early spring. — W. Harcodrt Bath (The 

 Limes, Sutton Coldfield, near Birmingham). 



Albino Birds observed in the Harrogate District. — During the last 

 few years albino specimens of some of the commoner birds have been of 

 frequent occurrence. Those which have come under my notice in this 

 district are the following: — An albino Blackbird for the last three years 

 frequented Harlow Moor, and a perfectly white specimen was obtained at 

 Harewood. A pied House Sparrow for some months frequented Parliament 

 Street, one of our main thoroughfares. Li the summer of 1884 Mr. J. 

 Simpson shot a pure white albino Sky Lark at Birk Crag. Mr. J. Heaton, 

 also during the same year, shot in the fields adjoining the Hydropathic 

 Establishment a smoky white Starling, the bill and legs of which were of 

 the same colour. On the 3rd of January last Mr. R. Wood (Oatlands, 

 Harrogate) informed me that he had on the previous day observed in his 

 stackyard a pied Robin, the back and tail of which were perfectly white, 

 the remaining parts being of the usual colour. — J. R. Fitzgerald 

 (Harrogate). 



Habits of the Green Sandpiper. — That the Green Sandpiper, Totanus 

 ochropus, occasionally winters in this country is well known to most 

 ornithologists. The reason for its not doing so more frequently seems 

 in no way connected with the severity of our climate or the scarcity of 

 food, as the following notes will show. In December, 1885, the Green 

 Sandpiper was quite plentiful on most of our " becks " and drains, though 

 we had several days of severe frost early in the month. Throughout the 

 great snow storm which commenced on March 1st, 1886, a few remained in 

 the district up to the middle of the mouth. Last summer they arrived 

 rather later than usual, — I saw the first on July 27th, — but were very 

 abundant about the middle of August. On the 23rd of that month 

 I flushed over a dozen from our stream in a distance of less than a mile, 

 and they have been by no means uncommon up to the present time. On 

 the night of December 1st a thermometer placed on the ground showed 

 twelve degrees of frost; on December 2nd, twenty-one degrees; and on 

 December 3rd, nine degrees; yet the Green Sandpipers remained, and 



