52 



NOTE— FISHES. 



Burbot off the Cleveland Coast.— On the 26th December, 1888, Mr.T. H. 

 Nelson sent me a fish which he stated to be very rare at Redcar, and not known 

 to the fishermen. I saw at once it was a Burbot {Lota vulgaris), and in this deter- 

 mination I was confirmed by Mr. Edward E. Prince, B.A., who has paid much 

 attention to the British food-fishes, and to whom I showed it the same day. 

 Mr. Nelson has since informed me that it was caught on the day he sent it off, at 

 sea, about a mile off the Point of Huntcliff. The fishermen at Redcar told him 

 they had never seen a fish like it before. It was caught on a mussel-bait. Being 

 the first time I have heard of this— a river-fish — being caught at sea, I should be 

 glad to learn if similar instances are known. — W. Denison Roebuck, Sunny 

 Bank, Leeds, January 1st, 18S9. 



NO TES— ORNITHOL OGY. 



Little Gull and Sclavonian Grebe near Scarborough. — I have had sent 

 to me a Little Gull {Lams minutus) in immature plumage, shot at Gristhorpe Bay 

 on December iSth last. It was killed during very thick fog. A Sclavonian Grebe 

 (Podiceps auritus) was obtained on the shore near Scarborough on December 6th. 

 It was killed by some boys in a pool. — Riley Fortune, Harrogate, Jan. 10th. 



Pallas' Sand-Grouse in Cleveland. — Two very fine examples of Sand- 

 Grouse {Syrrliaptes paradoxus), male and female, were shot on the Kirkleatham 

 Estate, near Redcar, about the 13th Nov. Both birds were in good condition and 

 weighed a little over 10 oz. each. Their crops contained wheat and buckwheat. 

 — T. H. Nelson, Apsley House, Redcar, 31st Dec. 1888. 



Crossbills in Nidderdale. — Mr. J. Charlton, Pateley Bridge, told me that he 

 saw six Crossbills (Loxia curvirostra) in Harerield Wood, the second week in 

 July. A few days after he saw a number more. This, I think, is the first record 

 for summer. They are seen almost every winter in Nidderdale, flying from one side 

 of the valley to the other, to the larch woods. — James Ingleby, Eavestone, 

 near Ripon, Sep. 15th, 188S. 



Notes on Nesting-Sites of the Missel Thrush. — In reference to Messrs. 

 Butterfield's and Lees' notes on the unusual nesting-site of the Missel Thrush 

 ( Turdus viscivorus), I think it is a not uncommon habit and does not arise from 

 the superabundance of birds. They are not numerous in this part, but last year I 

 found a Missel Thrush's nest on the ledge of a rock on Brimham Moor, with four 

 eggs in, and there is no lack of trees around Brimham Rocks. I have seen Missel 

 Thrushes' nests on the top of walls, one within 200 yds. off a clump of trees. 

 I do not know where the protection is to a nest on the top of a wall or the face of 

 rock. — James Ingleby, Eavestone, Sep. 15th, 1888. 



Crossbills in the Lake Counties. — I was pleased to see the note of my 

 friend Mr. Slater, on the Crossbill. If I infer the locality correctly, it is one 

 in which Crossbills nested many years ago. I do not think that Crossbills are 

 ever entirely absent from the fir-woods of the North-West of England, but their 

 appearances in large numbers occur only at considerable intervals. Thus, the 

 seasons 1838-9 and 1855-6 were remarkable for the abundance of Loxia czirvirostra 

 in the Lake counties ; and the year 1887-8 inclusive has proved prolific in the 

 same way. From Grange, Barrow, Millom, Kendal, Milnthorpe, Appleby, and 

 Penrith the same reports reached me; had I cared to make special inquiries, 

 I should have heard of them in many other places. The most interesting fact in 

 this visitation is that brought to light by my young friend, Mr. Edward Tandy, of 

 Penrith, who dissected a number of these finches, and obtained an adult female 

 in red plumage, the red being as bright as in an ordinary male. Mr. Tandy also 

 examined the mandibles, and came to the same conclusion as Mr. Slater, which 

 I can thoroughly endorse from my own experience. — H. A. Macpherson, 

 Carlisle, 2nd January, 1S89. 



Naturalist, 



