Field Xoics. 29 



MAMl^^ALS and BIRDS. 



Gamekeeper's Hoard at Kirk Smeaton.— In iho ' Xaimalisi ' for 

 October 1901 was recorded a list of the ' \ennin ' suspeiuled on llie branch 

 of a tree at Kirk Stneaton, noticed in the precedintj June. On revisiting- 

 the place recently the size of the hoard had considerably increased. 

 A few of last year's stock still remained, thoug'h many had fallen to the 

 ground. This year the collection was as follows : — 48 Stoats {Putorius 

 ermineiis) and Weasels (P. vulgaris), 6 Sparrow-Hawks (Accipifer nisus), 

 2 Jays [Garnilus glnndariits), and 21 Maijpies [Pica pica), a total of 77. 

 The Hawks included a fine female, killed a few days previously, and a 

 ' Tom-Hawk,' as the small male is called. — T. S. 



BIRDS. 



Black Kite near Whitby. — .Mr. J. .V. Wilson, Baxterg-ate, informs me 

 that cX. Black Kite [Alilvus migrans) has been shot at Mulgrave, and is now 

 in his hands for preservation. — Thos. Stephenson, 1, Pier Lane, Whitby, 

 Yorks., 22nd October, 1902. 



Fork-tailed Petrel at Qrimsby. ^During- one of the winter g-ales a 

 specimen of the Fork-tailed Petrel [Oceanodroma leucorrhoa) was blown 

 ashore and picked up dead in a back-yard. The bird has been set up and 

 presented to the Grimsby Museum. — A. Smith, Grimsby Nat. Soc, 2nd 

 September, 1902. 



Crossbill at Horton-in-Ribblesdale.— On 6th July 1901, an adult 



female Crossbill [Loxia curvirostra] was captured alive by a workman at 

 the Foredale Quarries. Upon e.xamination a cicatrised wound showed that 

 the left scapula had been broken (probably by a falling: stone during the 

 course of blasting: operations). Near by the place of capture a small g^rove 

 of coniferous trees studs the hillside. The specimen (mounted) is now in 

 the possesion of Mr. R. Batty, an Austwick resident. — J. Walling Handby, 

 Austwick, iith November 1902. 



FISHES. 



Sticklebacks in Lincolnshire. — Fulfilling- a promise made at the Don- 

 caster u'lCeting- of the Lhiions I publish Arthur Young-'s note in full. See 

 'Lincolnshire Agriculture,' 1799, p. 259: — 'Sticklebacks in the East and 

 West Fens [are] so numerous, that a man has made 4s. a day bv selling- 

 them at a halfpenny a bushel. They come from the sea into Boston haven 

 also, and the use of them, whenever [they are] to be had, [is] immensely' 

 beneficial. They are the most powerful of all manures.' 



The species of Gasterosteits in the fen drains inland are the Ten-spined 

 (G. piingitius) and the Three-spined (G. aciileatus). We have them both 

 here, and my son and nieces had no difficulty in taking- a score of each 

 species in one drain on the 29th Aug-ust last. The Fifteen-spined Stickle- 

 back [G. spinachia) is the marine species which frequents Boston haven. — 

 E. Adrian Woodruffe Peacock, Cadnej-, Brig-g, 8th September 1902. 



CRUSTACEANS. 



Crayfish in Nottinghamshire.— In The Naturalist for February 

 1898, page 36, I stated that I had no knowledge of the Crayfish as 

 a Nottinghamshire crustacean. During the past summer, however, I have 

 received numerous specimens from Mansfield, where I am informed that it 

 occurs fairly commonly in the river Maun and the dams connected with it. — 

 J. W. Carr, University College, Nottingham, 3rd December 1902. 



•903 January 3. 



