﻿NOTES 
  AND 
  QUERIES. 
  461 
  

  

  Red-necked 
  Phalarope 
  in 
  Shropshire 
  and 
  Merioneth. 
  — 
  I 
  recently 
  

   identified, 
  at 
  the 
  local 
  taxidermist's, 
  a 
  specimen 
  of 
  the 
  Red-necked 
  

   Phalarope 
  (PJialaropm 
  hyperboreus), 
  which 
  was 
  shot, 
  Nov. 
  1st, 
  on 
  a 
  

   small 
  pool 
  at 
  Boreton, 
  near 
  Condover, 
  about 
  five 
  miles 
  south 
  of 
  

   Shrewsbury. 
  It 
  is 
  an 
  adult 
  in 
  winter 
  plumage, 
  with 
  no 
  trace 
  of 
  red 
  

   on 
  the 
  neck, 
  and 
  was 
  taken 
  at 
  first 
  for 
  a 
  Grey 
  Phalarope. 
  The 
  small 
  

   size 
  and 
  slender 
  bill, 
  however, 
  prove 
  its 
  identity 
  beyond 
  a 
  doubt. 
  The 
  

   occurrence 
  is 
  of 
  interest 
  as 
  being 
  the 
  first 
  authentic 
  instance 
  in 
  

   Shropshire. 
  At 
  the 
  same 
  time 
  I 
  was 
  shown 
  another 
  specimen 
  — 
  an 
  

   immature 
  bird 
  — 
  of 
  the 
  same 
  species, 
  which 
  had 
  been 
  obtained 
  at 
  

   Towyn, 
  Merioneth, 
  in 
  the 
  autumn 
  of 
  1902, 
  just 
  about 
  a 
  year 
  later 
  tban 
  

   the 
  example 
  recorded 
  in 
  ' 
  The 
  Zoologist,' 
  1901, 
  from 
  the 
  same 
  locality. 
  

   H. 
  E. 
  Forrest 
  (Bayston 
  Hill, 
  Shrewsbury). 
  

  

  Terns 
  in 
  Orkney. 
  — 
  It 
  seems 
  that 
  naturalists 
  are 
  still 
  somewhat 
  

   doubtful 
  as 
  to 
  whether 
  the 
  range 
  of 
  the 
  Common 
  Tern 
  ( 
  Sterna 
  fluvia- 
  

   tilis) 
  in 
  Great 
  Britain 
  extends 
  so 
  far 
  north 
  as 
  the 
  Orkney 
  Islands 
  ; 
  

   many 
  assert 
  that 
  north 
  of 
  the 
  Pentland 
  Firth 
  it 
  is 
  entirely 
  replaced 
  

   by 
  the 
  Arctic 
  Tern 
  (S. 
  macrura). 
  In 
  reference 
  to 
  the 
  distribution 
  of 
  

   the 
  Common 
  Tern 
  in 
  the 
  British 
  Isles, 
  Mr. 
  Saunders 
  writes 
  — 
  I 
  quote 
  

   from 
  Dr. 
  Bowdler 
  Sharpe's 
  ' 
  Handbook 
  of 
  British 
  Birds,' 
  vol. 
  iv. 
  p. 
  19 
  : 
  

   " 
  Broadly 
  speaking, 
  I 
  believe 
  that 
  the 
  Common 
  Tern 
  is 
  the 
  pre- 
  

   dominant 
  species 
  along 
  the 
  shores 
  of 
  the 
  Channel, 
  and 
  on 
  the 
  west 
  

   side 
  of 
  Great 
  Britain 
  as 
  far 
  north 
  as 
  the 
  Isle 
  of 
  Skye 
  ; 
  while 
  on 
  the 
  

   east 
  it 
  is 
  found 
  from 
  Kent 
  to 
  the 
  Moray 
  Firth. 
  Continuing 
  north- 
  

   wards, 
  we 
  find 
  it 
  yielding 
  numerically 
  to 
  the 
  Arctic 
  Tern. 
  I 
  have 
  no 
  

   conclusive 
  evidence 
  of 
  the 
  occurrence 
  of 
  the 
  Common 
  Tern 
  in 
  the 
  

   Shetlands, 
  Orkneys, 
  or 
  Outer 
  Hebrides." 
  From 
  personal 
  observation 
  

   made 
  this 
  summer 
  while 
  on 
  a 
  visit 
  to 
  the 
  Orkney 
  Islands, 
  I 
  am 
  able 
  

   to 
  definitely 
  state 
  that 
  the 
  Common 
  Tern 
  is 
  distributed 
  in 
  large 
  

   numbers 
  among 
  these 
  islands, 
  being 
  almost 
  as 
  plentiful 
  as 
  the 
  Arctic 
  

   Tern. 
  On 
  Aug. 
  23rd 
  I 
  shot 
  a 
  single 
  adult 
  bird 
  from 
  a 
  large 
  colony 
  of 
  

   Terns 
  in 
  the 
  neighbourhood 
  of 
  Kirkwall, 
  and 
  again, 
  on 
  Aug. 
  29th, 
  I 
  

   shot 
  one 
  from 
  a 
  colony 
  at 
  sea, 
  some 
  twelve 
  miles 
  north 
  of 
  Kirkwall 
  ; 
  

   both 
  of 
  these 
  birds 
  I 
  identified 
  as 
  being 
  specimens 
  of 
  the 
  Common 
  

   Tern, 
  the 
  tarsus 
  being 
  longer 
  than 
  is 
  the 
  case 
  with 
  the 
  Arctic 
  Tern, 
  

   the 
  bill 
  also 
  being 
  longer 
  and 
  tipped 
  with 
  black. 
  The 
  skins 
  of 
  these 
  

   birds 
  are 
  now 
  in 
  my 
  collection. 
  — 
  J. 
  G. 
  Jeffreys 
  (Junior 
  Conservative 
  

   Club, 
  Albemarle 
  Street, 
  W.). 
  

  

  Buffon's 
  Skua 
  (Stercorarius 
  parasiticus) 
  in 
  Somerset. 
  — 
  A 
  Skua 
  

   was 
  shot 
  at 
  Axbridge 
  on 
  Oct. 
  19th, 
  1903, 
  and 
  sent 
  in 
  to 
  Wells 
  for 
  

   preservation. 
  I 
  examined 
  the 
  bird, 
  and 
  thought 
  it 
  was 
  Buffon's 
  Skua. 
  

  

  