474 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



rust-colour spots near the eyes very plain and bright, and the feathers 

 forming the facial disk were tipped with a very dark brown, especially 

 below the ears.— G. B. Corbin (Ringwood, Hants). 



Sea Eagle in Notts.— On Nov. 8th ray brother, Mr. George Musters, 

 shot a specimen of this Eagle (Haliceetus albicilla) on the Park Farm 

 here. It measured 7 ft. 1 in. across the wings, and weighed 9£ lb. It 

 was in immature plumage, but not a bird of the year, probably three or 

 four years old. It was feeding on a dead rabbit, and was first seen on 

 Nov. 5th. — J. P. Chaworth Musters (Annesley Park, Notts). 



Unusual Abundance of Larus canus in Hampshire.— The Common 

 Gull has visited us this year in such unusual numbers, and with such 

 regularity, that a short note on the point may be worth insertion, Strong 

 winds do not necessarily bring these birds ; but on still, foggy, close days 

 they stream down into the water-meads like leaves in autumn, utteriug 

 their curious sharp cries, and performing the most curious antics on the 

 wing, irresistibly reminding me of Swallows darting hither and thither in 

 pursuit of flies. On Nov. 22nd the weather was very close, with a heavy 

 mist obscuring sun and landscape, and I observed three separate flights of 

 Gulls. The first I computed at fifteen, the second at thirty or forty, and 

 the last at quite fifty individuals ; these arrived between ten and one o'clock. 

 The first company joined some of their fellows in the water-meads that 

 have been here since Nov. 17th. They were scattered among a flock of 

 feeding Rooks when I came up with them ; but a Herring Gull {Larus 

 argentatus) — I have seen seven of this species here this autumn — disturbed 

 them, and singled out one of them and chased it out of sight. There has 

 been a continual stream of Gulls flying inland from almost due east 

 until to-day, when the mist having cleared and a cold north wind blowing 

 (Nov. 24th), a large migration has taken place of birds flying due south, 

 towards Southampton and the sea. Of these flights I have kept a record : 

 between 12 and 1 o'clock a flock of some eighty or ninety birds flying 

 high ; between 2 and 4 o'clock, six large flights, numbering fifty, thirty, 

 forty, eighty, sixty, and forty respectively. There are still some Gulls left 

 in water-meads which have not joined the seaward migratiou ; these birds 

 must have been with us for the last seven nights ; they choose for their 

 resting-place a wooden bridge that has a convenient kind of banister on 

 which they perch. I have never seen these birds feeding, although I have 

 observed them at almost all hours of the day ; I hope, however, to have an 

 opportunity of examining the crop of one of these birds. Some of your 

 readers may have noticed an article in the 'Standard' on Gulls on the 

 Thames. They are certainly far more abundant this year than hitherto as 

 remarked by Mr. Chalkley, who has lived here over thirty years. 

 Dec. 3rd, the Gulls are still with us, and will probably remain permanently 

 throughout the winter. A flock of some hundred individuals was feeding 



