384 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



about three weeks. .1 fed it chiefly on caterpillars, which it always killed 

 by crushing them in its beak gradually from head to tail, then catching 

 them by the middle again, with a backward jerk of the head, it swallowed 

 them. This is a habit of which I have not found mention in any of the 

 works on Ornithology that I am acquainted with. — J. R. Denwood (Cocker- 

 mouth). 



Great Snipe in Essex and Reeve in Hants. — On Sept. 3rd, when at 

 Horham Hall, Thaxted, I secured a specimen of the Great Snipe (Gallinago 

 major). It was flushed in a field of clover, and weighed precisely seven 

 ounces. It is in the hands of Messrs. Williams, of Dublin, for preservation. 

 They have informed me that the bird is an adult, and one of the most 

 perfect specimens that has come under their observation. On Sept. 5th, 

 at Hayling Island, I shot two Reeves from a flight of five, one adult and 

 one bird of the year. The sex of the adult bird was unfortunately not 

 ascertained, but in the opinion of Messrs. Williams (to whom I sent the 

 skins only) the specimen is a male. — G. A. Templer (Eldon Club, Lonsdale 

 Chambers, Chancery Lane). 



Ruff in Co. Sligo. — On Sept. 4th my friend Mr. C. Gallagher gave 

 me a nice specimen of a male Ruff in the first year's plumage, which he 

 had shot on a grouse-bog, a few miles from the town of Easky, Co. Sligo. It 

 was a solitary bird, and so tame as to allow him to walk up within shot as 

 it was standing on a little hillock in the bog. This is only the second 

 specimen that I know of occurring in the county ; the first (also a solitary 

 bird) was shot by Mr. C. A. Little on his grouse-bog, five or six miles from 

 the above-mentioned locality, and about the same date, in September, 1884. 

 There appears to have been a small flight of Ruffs to Ireland this autumn, 

 for Mr. E. Williams, of Dublin, had three specimens sent to him for 

 preservation, and Mr. R. J. Ussher had two sent to him from Belmullet, 

 Co. Mayo. — Robert Warren (Moyview, Ballina). 



Flight of Peewits. — On Sept. 29th I saw a congregation of Peewits 

 that must have mustered quite 500 individuals. Their manoeuvres were 

 very interesting to watch ; the flock divided into two parties, one flying 

 south towards Southampton and the sea, the other alighting in a dense 

 mass in a ploughed field. Once, without being disturbed, the whole of this 

 party flew up a few feet into the air, wheeled and settled again in exactly 

 the same spot. After watching them for half an hour, during which time 

 they werejoined by several birds from all quarters, I walked towards them, 

 and it was not until I was within thirty or forty yards that they all arose 

 screeching and followed the first party towards the sea. See " Notes from 

 Hants," Zool. 1894, p. 296.— G. W. Smith (College, Winchester). 



Labrador Duck. — In the Museum at Amiens, in France, which at 

 present is located in a temporary building, and visible only by ticket from 





