4560 Birds, %c. 



Occurrence of the Pigmy Curlew (Tringa subarquata) and Little Stint (T. minuta) 

 near Warrington. — Mr. Fletcher, Curator to the Warrington Museum, shot several 

 specimens of Tringa subarquata and T. minuta on the sands above Runcorn on the 

 6th ult., and more have been killed since by other parties. They are rarely met with 

 in the river Mersey.— Nicholas Cooke; Massey House, Penketh, November 6, 1854. 



Occurrence of the Ruff (Tringa pugnax) at Prestwick Carr, Northumberland. — 

 Perhaps it may interest some of the readers of the ' Zoologist' to know that the ruff is 

 occasionally procured so far north as Newcastle. Prestwick Carr, a tract of boggy 

 moor, some 1100 acres in extent, and about seven miles north-west, is annually 

 visited by immature specimens, or birds without the ruff; but this season several have 

 been seen in full breeding-plumage ; one or two of these were shot, and are now pre- 

 served in the neighbourhood. — Thomas John Bold; Angas' Court, Bigg Market, 

 Newcastle-on-Tyne, December 6, 1854. 



Occurrence of the Egyptian Goose (Anser iEgyptiacus) near Neivcastle. — A fine 

 specimen of the Egyptian goose was shot at Blaydon Flats, about three miles above 

 Newcastle, on the 16th of November last: it is in beautiful plumage, and has the 

 appearance of having been a wild bird. — Id. 



Occurrence of the Lesser White-winged Gull (Larus islandicus) near Scarborough. 

 — A specimen of this rare and valuable gull was obtained, under curious circumstances, 

 on the morning of the 8th of December. I was taking the temperature of the sea 

 from the outer pier, when I observed floating a gull which had been shot by some 

 sportsman ; at first I took it to be a young specimen of Larus canus, but, observing no 

 black on the tip of the wings, I felt satisfied it was a rarity, and when taken out of the 

 sea it proved to be an immature example of the lesser white-winged or glaucous gull : 

 it is not unfrequently met with at the Shetland Islands in the winter season, but, 

 taken on our coast, is a treasure for the ornithologist. My specimen measures in 

 length 21 inches; the wings, when closed, reaches 2 inches longer than the tail ; eyes 

 dark brown ; colour, dull white, very beautifully clouded with pale ash-brown. — Alfred 

 Roberts ; King Street, Scarborough, December 11, 1854. 



Occurrence of Richardson's Skua (Lestris Richardsoni) in Sussex. — In the last 

 week of September, during or just after a high wind, a skua gull, pronounced to be 

 Richardson's, was picked up in a dying condition by a shepherd upon the Downs 

 above this village. — Arthur Hussey ; Rottingdean, November 10, 1854. 



Occurrence of the Little Auk (Alca alle) in Northumberland. — During November, 

 two or three specimens of the little auk have been procured in Northumberland. One 

 of these was picked up alive, in an exhausted condition, near the village of Cram- 

 lington, which is several miles from the sea. — Thomas John Bold; Angas' Court, Bigg 

 Market, Newcastle-on-Tyne, December 6, 1854. 



Occurrence of Tetrodon Pennantii on the Coast of Ireland. — I have much pleasure 

 in recording the capture of another specimen of Tetrodon Pennantii, about fourteen 

 days since, at Ardmore, County Waterford; being washed ashore, like the individual 

 recorded by me in 1852, than which it is somewhat smaller. — E. H . Sargint ; 

 26, Dengille Street, Dublin, December, 1854. 



