ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES 71 



Fulmar Petrel, Procellaria glacialis (L.) 



A nice adult specimen was picked up dead, at sea, off Holy Island, 

 on 27th April 1903. It was quite fresh, of rather the pale variety, 

 and was very poor and thin in condition. 



Raven, Corvus corax L. 



One flew high over my head on the morning of 22nd October 1903, 

 as I stood on the bridge over the Till near Doddington. It was 

 going ill a northerly direction, and occasionally uttering a character- 

 istic croak. Curiously enough, just a few minutes before, I had 

 watched a Buzzard, referred to below, wing its way in the opposite 

 direction. It is seldom indeed that one sees two such interesting 

 birds at the same time. 



On the 17th April 1904 I saw a single Raven soaring above the 

 cliffs North of Burnmouth, and on the same afternoon heard another 

 croaking about two miles further South, but so far as I am aware 

 there was no nest hereabouts this year. 



Buzzard, Buteo vulgaris, Leach. 



As mentioned above, I saw a bird of this species winging its way 

 across the valley from Doddington Moor towards the Cheviots, on 

 22nd October 1903. It rose from the end of the hill, near the 

 "Cuddy's Cove," and mounting to a considerable height, sailed away 

 in gradually extending circles towards the South-west. As the 

 Buzzard passed over them, great though his altitude then was, all 

 the flocks of Rooks, Peewits, Gulls, and Starlings rose from the 

 haughs and turnip-fields, where they were feeding, and hastened to 

 get from beneath liini, rather as it were out of respect for his 

 presence than in actual fear, for they soon settled down again. One 

 or two noisy Hoodie Crows, and a Black-backed Gull, which chanced 

 to be passing, for a short time attempted to mount in pursuit; but 

 the graceful ease with which the Buzzard soared above and away 

 from them very quickly discouraged the attempt. 



Late in the spring of 1901, a Common Buzzard was taken on the 

 moors near Rothbury, and is preserved at Cragside. 



Rough-legged Buzzard, Archibuteo lagopics (Gmel.) 



There was quite a visitation of these fine birds to this country in 

 the autumn of 1903, and a considerable number were killed, or seen, 

 in our district. Early in November, four or five, or perhaps more 

 appeared on Holy Island, and remained a day or two, and one at 

 least of them fell a victim tg the gun of a visitor from Tyneside, 



