NOTES AND QUERIES. 303 



to the letter. Lord Ormathwaite also tells me that he once asked 

 his old stalker, Donald Fraser, at Fannick, Ross-shire, how long ago 

 he had first known the Grouse to die of disease in any large numbers. 

 His answer was that ' he well remembered when he first knew it. He 

 was herding cows in the Reay country, and saw packs (probably meaning 

 large numbers) of Grouse all lying dead ; and when he came home and 

 told the people what he had seen, the same day the news of the battle 

 of Waterloo arrived.' So here is pretty good evidence that the disease, or 

 at least some very destructive epidemic, is no new thing. Moreover, this 

 fixes the time of year as the same in which the present modified outbreak 

 commenced." — F. Jeffrey Bell. [See Dr. Klein's Report on the Grouse 

 Disease, in ' The Field ' of July 23rd ult.— Ed.] 



Hybrid Greenfinch and Linnet. — The interesting notes on hybrid 

 Greenfinches furnished to ' The Zoologist,' by my friend Mr. J. H. Gurney, 

 jun., tempt me to record the fact that such a hybrid was interviewed by 

 myself and two ornithological friends, while nesting on a moor near 

 Aberdeen on June 29th. The bird in question was feeding, when first 

 observed, upon a patch of growing turnips, of which some trusses bore 

 yellow flowers, while others had run to seed. This hybrid was feeding so 

 greedily upon the green seeds that we approached witliin a couple of yards 

 before he took wing. He was solitary, and had probably been hatched 

 the previous year. We revisited the spot the following day, but he had 

 departed. — H. A. Macphekson. 



Redstart laying spotted Eggs.— Never having seen, or heard of, 

 a spotted egg of the Redstart, I was very much surprised last summer at 

 taking a distinctly spotted variety of the egg of this bird. The hen 

 Redstart was seen leaving the nest, which was built in a stone wall. This 

 summer I have again taken a spotted egg ; both cock and hen Redstart seen 

 continually. In both cases the greater number of the eggs in the set were 

 quite spotless. The markings are sparsely distributed over the broad end, 

 as in eggs of the Wren. The two localities in which the nests were found 

 are over four miles distant from one another, so I do not think it likely 

 that the eggs were laid by the same bird. — E. W. H. Blagg (Cheadle, 

 Staffordshire). 



[Eggs of the Redstart " with a few faint reddish specks " are noticed 

 in the fourth edition of Yarrell's ' British Birds,' vol. i. p. 331.— Ed.] 



Hawfinch nesting in Kent.— Several young Hawfinches were seen 

 flying about in the Cemetery here in June. One of the old birds was with 

 them. — Henry Lamb (Maidstone). 



Girl Bunting breeding near Godalming.— It will perhaps interest 

 your readers to know of the breeding of the Girl Bunting in this locality. 

 About the middle of May a nest was shown me by the caretaker of the 



