240 NOTES ORNITHOLOGY. 



NO TES— ORNITHOL G V. 



Sea Gulls and Moths. — I was unaware until the other day that sea gulls 

 would catch insects on the wing. On June iSth, I was walking, about 9.45 p.m.* 

 in the neighbourhood of Ulverston, North Lancashire, and to my surprise saw 

 a number of seagulls flitting to and fro in the twilight over a field of standing hay 

 grass. They flew close to the tops of the grass, and were obviously catching the 

 moths and other insects as they emerged from the stalks. It is possible that 

 the continuous dry weather has had some effect on the sea birds' natural supplies 

 of food. — E. T. Baldwin, London, July 10th, 1896. 



Alleged Breeding of the Dartford Warbler in North Yorkshire—In 



'The Ornithologist ' for April last, p. 35, is an account signed by Mr. H. Kirke 

 Swann of the breeding of what purports to be the Dartford Warbler (Melizof hilus 

 iindatits), near Middlesbrough. The particulars therein given are as follows : — 

 On the 1st of June, 1895, Mr. Charles Milburn, of the town above mentioned, 

 found a nest in the neighbourhood built 'in a large furze brake.' The nest 

 contained three eggs, and of these the finder took one. He ' recognised the 

 birds to be Dartford Warblers' from specimens in the Museum, but 'they 

 seemed to be brighter coloured than the Museum ones.' The egg was afterwards 

 submitted to Mr. Jeffreys, a taxidermist, of Tenby, and its identification was 

 agreed to by him ; it is now in the possession of Mr. P. V. Ford, an egg-dealer, 

 of Sudbury, Suffolk. I have made application for further details, but the replies 

 received have not contained any of importance. I have also without avail invited 

 Mr. Ford to allow me to submit the egg to some competent authority for examina- 

 tion. The record, as will shortly appear, is an important one, but at present it is 

 impossible not to entertain doubt as to the proper authentication of the occurrence. 



The recognition of the Dartford Warbler in Britain was first made known by 

 Dr. Latham in a communication to Pennant in 1773 (see ' British Zoology/ 17765 

 8vo, \. p. 389). It is a resident species, breeding probably in every English 

 county bordering on the Channel, and also 'sparingly in the valley of the 

 Thames; perhaps in some of the Midland counties, aW, on the sole authority of 

 Mr. C. Dixon [Seebohm, Brit. B., i., p. 415] in the Rivelin valLy, in the extreme 

 south of Yorkshire.' (Saunders. — the italics are the present writer's.) Mr. Howard 

 Saunders is of opinion that the species has extended its northern range, but he 

 has not, perhaps, sufficiently allowed for the increased attention paid to British 

 ornithology since the discovery of the bird, and it seems not improbable that it 

 has been overlooked on account of its skulking habits. Mr. Dresser (' Birds of 

 Europe,' ii., p. 441) does not think it breeds north of the Thames except in 

 Middlesex. — W. Ruskix Butter field, St. Leonard's-on-Sea. 



We entirely concur with Mr. Butterrield's remarks. As yet there is no- 

 satisfactory evidence that this bird has occurred in Yorkshire. — Eds. 



NOTES AND NEWS. 



The paper on ' Limnaea peregra ' which was read before the Leeds Branch 

 of the Conchological Society last October, has been printed in the Journal of 

 Microscopy and Natural Science for April 1S96, and a reprint lies before us- 

 Mr. Nelson gives a well-rounded off account of the species, and the numerous 

 practical notes he includes show the work of a keen and experienced field- 

 naturalist. The illustrations consist of a series of figures of some leading varieties, 

 lent by Mr. John W, Taylor. 



— • >€:><— ■ 



■ 



Further evidence of the activity with which Mr. Edgar R. Waite, F.L.S., is 

 throwing himself into the investigation of the zoology of Australia 13 (forded by 

 a reprint of an article by him on the ' Murid; or Mice of the McDonnell Ranges 

 in Central Australia, which originally appeared in the Report of the Horn 

 Expedition to Central Australia, Part 2, Zoology, Feb. 1S96, pp. 393-409, with 

 plates 25 and 26 from Mr. Waite's pencil. Half a dozen species are noted, 

 mostly new, but one is a familiar friend, the common house mouse {if** 

 musadus), which has managed somehow to reach Central Australia and there 

 spread. 



Naturaiis 



