Birds. 2923 



Occurrence of the Snowy Owl (Strix nyctea) in the North of Scotland. — William 

 Fowler, a friend of mine, who resides at Southwell, near here, shot a snowy owl last 

 January, near Caithness, in the North of Scotland. He was out shooting one very 

 windy, snowy day, last January, and having shot a mallard, a snowy owl made its ap- 

 pearance and pounced upon the duck and carried it off. He fired to make it drop the 

 duck, but it took no notice, and flew away with the duck. He marked it down as well 

 as he could and followed. After searching for some time, the owl rose within forty 

 yards of him with the duck in its talons, when he shot it. I have seen the owl in his 

 possession. — W. F. Footit ; Neivark, Notts, August 30, 1850. 



Occurrence of the Pied Flycatcher (Muscicapa atricapilla) and Baillon's Crake 

 (Crex Baillonii) in the Marshes near Deal. — On the 17th inst. I observed a curious 

 little bird engaged in catching flies near some bushes ; on shooting it, it proved to be 

 the pied flycatcher. I also, on the 19th inst., obtained a beautiful specimen of Bail- 

 Ion's crake. — C. A. Delmar; Deal, September 20, 1850. 



Note on a Variety of the Whealear (Sylvia QZnanthe). — I have lately seen a 

 female wheatear, killed at Thetford in July last, which presents a curious, and, as far 

 as I know, very unusual variation from the usual colouring of the species. The colour 

 on the head, neck, wing-covers, back, rump, tail, throat, breast, and belly, are distri- 

 buted as usual, but are severally much lighter than the ordinary colouring of these 

 parts. The most singular thing about this specimen is, however, the circumstance of 

 the wings being of a pure white, with the exception of a few feathers on the shoulders, 

 and two or three adjoining primaries in the centre of each wing, which are of a pale 

 buff colour. — J. H. Gurney ; Easlon, near Norwich, September 23, 1850. 



Occurrence of the Rose-coloured Pastor (Pastor roseus) at Lowestoft. — A very fine 

 adult male specimen of the rose-coloured pastor was shot at Lowestoft, on the 7th. inst. 

 It had been seen in the neighbourhood for about a week previously, generally in com- 

 pany with a flock of sparrows. — Id. 



Occurrence of the Redwing (Turdus Iliacus) at Abbotsbury on the 24th of August. 

 — The Norway nightingale, as it is called, was killed at Abbotsbury, on the 24th of 

 August. I believe this bird is very rarely caught so late in the summer on our coast. 

 It was so tame as to allow itself to be knocked down with a stick, and from the ap- 

 pearance of the breast, I imagine it must have bred here, the feathers being ruffled as 

 if from sitting on the nest. — R. Roe; Leigh, near Sherborne, September, 1850. 



Discoloured Eggs of the Green Woodpecker. — I have again this year obtained some 

 eggs of the green woodpecker, coloured like those, of which I sent you an account two 

 years since (Zool. 2229 and 2301): they were taken from a nest in an elm-tree, 

 and the hole being quite dry and no fungus of any sort growing in it, there can be no 

 reason to doubt that they were laid by the bird the same colour that they now are. 

 From their having been taken near the place where the coloured eggs were found in 

 1848, they are all, probably, the produce of the same bird. — Alfred Newton ; Elveden 

 Hall, Thetford, September 13, 1850. 



Occurrence of the Curlew Sandpiper (Tringa subarquata) and Temminck's Stint 

 (Tringa Temminckii), Sf-c, at Shingle End, near Deal. — On the 16lh of last month I had 

 the good fortune to shoot the curlew sandpiper in its rich summer plumage : it was asso- 

 ciated with a large flock of dunlins. On the 6th of this month I shot a fine specimen of 

 Temminck's stint, which was running about with a wagtail in a small splash near the 

 beach. The following birds are now rather common: — the knot, sanderling, ring 



