388 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



a score of birds altogether, and these verged rapidly on extinction. 

 The last notes I have of Black Grouse being seen were a greyhen on 

 June 10th, 1893, flushed on the Shropshire portion, and a male bird 

 March 11th, 1894, on the Worcestershire part of the Forest, both 

 not far distant from Dowles Brook. — J. Steele Elliott (Dowles 

 Manor, Salop). 



Willow-Grouse in Northamptonshire. — A Willow-Grouse was shot 

 in the grazing country in South Northamptonshire on Sept. 1st, and 

 was brought to me for identification in the flesh. It was in summer 

 plumage, but was moulting into what is, I suppose, an autumn dress. 

 From the amount of bright bay feathers about the fore parts, I think 

 it must have been a male. It was in excellent condition. From this 

 occurrence it is evident that some misguided person has been intro- 

 ducing the Willow- Grouse into this country, and thus running a risk 

 of contaminating the blood of our own Bed Grouse — the pride of 

 every Briton who takes an interest in live things. The example in 

 question may have wandered for a long distance, for the nearest 

 moorlands (where alone an introduction is likely to be tried) are in 

 Derbyshire, Staffordshire, and Shropshire. But wherever it came 

 from, it evidently had had no difficulty in picking up a good living. 

 At all events, it is a good thing the bird was killed, and it is to be hoped 

 that all who have the interest of our native avifauna at heart will 

 lose no opportunity of destroying any Willow-Grouse that they may 

 meet with at large in this country. — 0. V. Aplin (Bloxham, Oxon). 



Great Black-backed Gull nesting inland in Ireland. — Three locah ties 

 have come under my personal observation where this Gull was nesting 

 inland. I have seen their nests on the islands of Lough Aderry and 

 Lough Derryduff, which are situated between Ardara and Naran, in 

 Donegal, and at least in one year on Lough Doon. On one small island 

 of the former some three pairs had eggs at one time in 1891. This 

 species was still there when I revisited this lough a few years ago. 

 There also I found a pair of Herring-Gulls with eggs on the large 

 island in Lough Kiltooris, some few miles distant. — J. Steele 

 Elliott (Dowles Manor, Salop). 



White and other Varieties of Birds. — A curious Jackdaw was shot 

 at Wroxton on Dec. 16th, 1910. Both wings are bright cinnamon- 

 brown, and the tail is slightly tinged with brown ; otherwise the 

 plumage is normal, and the sharp contrast of the blue-black of the 

 mantle and the light brown of the wings is very striking. It is, I 

 think, an old bird. In the same winter a very pale-coloured Green 



