NOTES AND QUERIES. 265 



in reaching a predominant abundance. At no time did these lands present 

 the same bare, verdureless, wind-blown aspect as did the Dumfriesshire 

 uplands. Very possibly the Short-eared Owls referred to may have 

 remained to prey upon a vole colony that still exists somewhere amongst 

 the glens betwixt Trool and Dee. — Robert Service (Maxwelltown, 

 Dumfries). 



Great Northern Diver choked by a Gurnard.— Early in April a Great 

 Northern Diver, Colymbus glacialis, was picked up on the shore opposite 

 Orchardton by one of the keepers there, and Mr. Robinson Douglas informs 

 me that on examination it was ascertained that it had been choked by a 

 Grey Gurnard, Trigla gurnardus, which was still sticking in the bird's 

 gullet. — Robert Service (Maxwelltown, Dumfries). 



[We have not unfrequently met with instances in which Kingfishers 

 and Little Grebes have been choked in their endeavour to swallow the River 

 Bull-head or " Miller's-thumb," Cottus gobio, but we never heard of a 

 Cormorant being choked by a fish, nor have we before heard of such an 

 accident happening to a Colymbus. The gullet in these birds is so dilatable 

 that such a mischance probably happens but rarely. In the instance now 

 reported the long humeral and opercular spines of the fish, and the strong 

 and rough dorsal fin-rays (the second of which exceeds in length the depth 

 of the body beneath), no doubt caused the terrible struggle which ended 

 fatally to both bird and fish. — Ed.] 



Lesser Redpoll breeding in Somersetshire. — I notice your remark 

 (p. 228) with regard to the Lesser Redpoll. I thought mine was the first 

 instance known of this bird nesting iu Somerset, but in the 'Proceedings' 

 of the Somersetshire Archaeological and Natural History Society for 1893, 

 which I have since seen, I find that the Rev. Murray A. Mathew, in his 

 "Revised List of the Birds of Somerset," remarks that it is a resident in 

 limited numbers, that he has seen it in the summer time near Frome, and 

 once had a brood of young birds in his garden at Buckland Dinham. — 

 H. St. B. Goldsmith (King Square, Bridgwater). 



Lesser Redpoll breeding in Somerset. — I have read with much 

 pleasure Mr. Goldsmith's remarks (p. 228) on the nesting of the Lesser 

 Redpoll in Somerset, and send you some notes I have collected on this 

 subject. I found a nest of this species in the Lansdown district, Bath, on 

 May 6th, 1893. It contained four eggs, and was placed about eight feet 

 from the ground, on the end of a fir-bough. The old bird (the only one 

 visible) flew round in a state of great excitement, calling continuously. 

 Having written to the Rev. R. Chichester, of Prior Park College, Bath, for 

 information about the nesting of the Lesser Redpoll in the district, he 

 replied : — " Until this season I had no idea the Redpoll (L. rufescens) built 

 here. I have found two nests, one on May 14th, the other on May 21st. 



