234 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



the first week in January, 1852, while I lived in Oxfordshire, I shot two, 

 a male and female, from a small flock which visited our garden. The 

 plumage of the male differed very much from the bright tints of its 

 summer dress; it was of an almost uniform pale red, with darker 

 markings on the side of the head and on the wings; the plumage of the 

 female did not show any marked change. — A. Matthews (Gumley 

 Leicestershire). 



Albino and Pied Varieties.— In February last I had a lovely white 

 Wood Pigeon brought to me, I think the prettiest I have ever seen. There 

 are a few dark feathers in its plumage, but they are hardly visible, and so 

 far as they are noticeable they only serve to accentuate the general appear- 

 ance of the bird, which is set off to great advantage by its purplish-red feet. 

 It is a welcome addition to our local museum. In the spring of 1894 an 

 albino of the common Whitethroat was brought in, a nestling and a dainty 

 little bird, with pink irides. Mr. Whitaker's note on the pied Hawfinch 

 (p. 72) reminds me that the Italian collection of birds at Florence contains 

 a white Hawfinch. If I remember right, it is of a uniform dull white, with 

 a pale grey chin-spot. Several pied Hawfinches are mentioned in the 

 4 Avifauna Italica' of Professor Giglioli, who has procured many pretty 

 varieties of birds for the Italian collection. The most noteworthy variety 

 that I have seen of late is an example of the common Crossbill, Loxia 

 curvirostra, preserved in the public museum at Bergamo. This bird has 

 the head, neck, and breast of a pure yellowish white ; the remainder of the 

 plumage is brown and green. I never before heard of a pied Crossbill. — 

 H. A. Macpherson (11, Victoria Place, Carlisle). 



Ornithological Notes from Yorkshire. — On Feb. 1st several Whooper 

 Swans were observed in this locality. On Feb. 2nd, when driving between 

 Fewston and Darley, I observed three large birds on the moors near to a 

 plantation. Getting within a short distance of them, they proved to be 

 Black Grouse, a male and two females. I was shown, on Feb. llth, a dead 

 female specimen of the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker which had been found 

 in Dob Park wood. This species is rare in the Washburn Valley. I have 

 only known one instance of its nesting here — viz. in Lindley Wood in 

 1888. On Feb. 25th an old male Great Spotted Woodpecker was caught 

 in Folly Hall wood. It breeds sparingly in this valley. Mr. J. Yorke, of 

 Bewerley Hall, Pateley Bridge, informed me that, on Feb. 14th, he saw a 

 Waxwing, Ampelis garrulus, in a thorn bush on the bank of the Nidd, about 

 a mile above Pateley. It seemed to be in good plumage, and was eating 

 berries greedily ; it took no notice of him, though he watched it from a 

 distance of only a few feet. I have never seen or heard of one here in 

 recent years, though we have two in our collection which were killed here 

 many years ago.— Wm. Storey (Fewston Lodge, near Otley). 



