CORDEAUX : BIRD-NOTES FROM THE HUMBER DISTRICT. TO5 
Bernicla brenta. Brent Goose. Numerous at the entrance 
of the Humber since Christmas. On February 25th, I watched 
through the glass a ‘gaggle’ of about seventy feeding’ in shallow 
water, with an ebb tide, over a small bed of shore grass (Zos¢era), 
in the bay at Spurn; these were small and dark in appearance, 
and their distance from the shore was not over one hundred 
and fifty yards. Two-thirds of the flock had only their rumps 
above the water, the rest of the body below the surface, as they 
pulled and nibbled the grass ; the remainder swimming sentry 
till their turn came. These geese were feeding most greedily, 
and seemed little alarmed, although we stood in full view. All 
the time they kept up a continuous musical cry, like a pack of 
hounds. The eagerness with which the geese fed made me 
exclaim to Mr. Hewetson, ‘They must be expecting a storm,’ 
and in less than twelve hours it came from E. and N.E., with 
heavy driving snow and rain. Stubbs, of Tetney, shot three 
white-bellied Brent Geese from a flock of five, in January, and 
one of these was sent by Mr. Haigh to the Edinburgh Museum. 
Mr. Haigh says he has never seen more than five or six of them 
together, and then always by themselves. 
Fuligula ferina. Pochard. Stubbs shot four out of a bunch of 
five, on January gth, at Tetney ; three of them were beautifully 
plumaged males. 
Mareca penelope. Wigeon. Have been exceedingly plentiful 
during the winter on the Humber. February 25th, the males 
are now in perfect plumage. 
Turdus torquatus. Ring-Ousel. On Feb. 25th Mr. Hewetson 
and myself, when out for a walk, saw two Ring-Ousels, adult 
males, in a paddock, near the Coastguard station, at Kilnsea. 
I was anxious to make a nearer acquaintance with these, as, on 
the grass, and also in flight, they showed much more white on 
the wing than I recollect having seen on any of the Ring-Ousels 
obtained in the same locality in the autumn, several skins of 
which I have now before me. These may have been the 
I. alpestris (C. LL. Brehm) from central or southern Europe. 
We borrowed a gun at a neighbouring farm, but after following 
them from place to place, had to abandon the pursuit. The 
occurrence of Ring-Ousels in February is in itself an interesting 
fact, of which there is no previous record in the district. 
Sturnus vulgaris. Starling. On February 25th, Mr. oe etson 
shot eight from a large flock on grass-land close to the c 
at Kilnsea. They were all the so-called purglehieaded ra nine 
which comes to us on migration from the east in the autumn, and 
April 1893. 
