Redbreast. 89 



autumn migration, waiting for wildfowl on the sand hills near 

 Redcar, of a Robin, doubtless a migrant, perching on the end 

 of my gun barrels and remaining there for nearly a minute. 



Of interesting Yorkshire varieties the following may be 

 mentioned : — One, a bird of the year, shot on the 5th of October 

 1848, near Knaresborough, had the whole of the primaries and 

 secondaries white, and the whole of the tail feathers the same 

 with the exception of the tips, which were dirty grey or smoke 

 colour (Garth, Zool., 1848, p. 2298). Mr. F. Boyes records a 

 pale rufous example at Beverley (Zool., 1877, p. 256). Another, 

 a female, in the collection of Mr. P. W. Loten, which I have 

 seen, is of a light fawn colour, with the breast a shade lighter 

 than usual. It was shot near Patrington on the 27th of February, 

 1884. Other varieties in Yorkshire include a pied example at 

 Easington,at the latter end of 1884, also in Mr. Loten's collection; 

 and another at Harrogate (F. R. Fitzgerald, Naturalist, March, 

 1887, p. 78). One creamy white, with breast red, was shot in 

 the East Riding at Malton, on the 5th of January, 1885 (Field, 

 17th January, 1885). An albino specimen is mentioned in the 

 'Yorkshire Weekly Post' for the 6th of November, 1897, 

 captured by Mr. Morris at Sedbergh. 



Various superstitions are prevalent among country farm 

 folks in some parts of Yorkshire as regards this bird ; the 

 strangest being that if a Robin is killed one of the cows belong- 

 ing to the person guilty of the offence will give bloody milk. 

 At Staveley, near Knaresborough, a saying goes that ' when a 

 Robin sings on the ridge of a roof it foretells fine weather.' 



The earliest reference to the Redbreast as a county bird is, 

 perhaps, contained in the following interesting letter from Dr. 

 Martin Lister to the renowned John Ray. This epistle is 

 indited from York, and is dated 8th of February, 1675, running 

 as follows : — 'Dear Sir, . . . the Robin redbreast will not 

 touch a hairy caterpillar, but will gladly take and eat any sort of 

 smooth one that I have given to him, and there is no better way 



