438 Rev. F. R. Simpson's Zoological Jottings. 



September. The Redwing {Tardus iliacufi), was seen on 

 21st ; and four Woodcocks were shot at Beadnell on the 

 22nd A specimen of the Thresher, or the Fox, or Long- 

 tailed Shark {Carcharias Vulpes, Cuv.), taken, on the 29th, 

 in herring nets, measured as follows : — Length of body, 5 ft. 

 9 in., of tail, which was imperfect, 5 ft. 2 in. ; pectoral fin, 

 21 inches long, and 10 inches at the base ; ventral fin 9 

 inches long, and 7 inches broad at the base; dorsal fin 11 

 inches long, and 10 inches broad at the base ; the girth 

 behind the pectoral fins was 47i inches in circumference ; the 

 estimated weight was between 25 and 26 stones. On the 

 30th the first Wild Geese {Anser palustris) were seen fly- 

 ing southward. 



October. On the 14th the Jaoksnipe (Scolopax Gallinula) 

 was seen ; and on the 20th three pied Partridges were shot 

 out of a covey on the Glebe farm. — The herring fishery has 

 not been up to the average this year. 



On November 11th and 12th, there were very heavy takes 

 of White Fish — Cods, Haddocks, and Whitings — the heaviest 

 ever known at Sunderland Sea Houses. Several boats had 

 from 70 to 90 stones of fish each. 



On December 26, a Wild Swan {Cygnus musicus) was 

 shot at Beadnell. 



The Swallows {Hirundo rustled) were first seen this year 

 on April 25th ; they began flocking on July 30th ; and most 

 of them left on September 5th — only a few stragglers 

 remaining. 



The Mountain Sparrow {Passer montand) is not, I am 

 inclined to think, so rare in the district as has been supposed. 

 This is the fourth year in which I have observed this bird ; 

 and this year I have taken three specimens — one on January 

 26, one on March 10th, and the third on December 26 — all 

 roosting in the ivy On the south front of the Vicarage house. 



Osmunda regalis. This Royal JFern still flourishes in 

 Rothbury Forest, northward of the Coquet, an unrecorded 

 station, where it is indigenous. Ruthless collectors have 

 helped to eradicate it from Chevington and Roughting 

 Linn, where it formerly grew. — George Tate. 



