396 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



nevertheless, that it will escape destruction. — J. Steele Elliott (Dixons 

 Green, Dudley). 



Hybrid Mallard and Sheldrake.— You may be interested to hear that 

 a man in this county has this summer reared some young hybrids between 

 the Sheldrake and Mallard. I hope to send you some further notes thereon 

 by and by. — H. A. Macpherson (11, Victoria Place, Carlisle). 



Occurrence of the " Cape Pigeon " at Bournemouth. — I was in- 

 formed that a strange Petrel, pied all over, had been shot near the Old 

 Harry Rocks, at Bournemouth, while it was following a foreign steamer. 

 This was at the beginning of the present month. I have since received a 

 photograph of the bird from Mr. Thomas Cooper, the birdstuffer of Poole, 

 who had it to mount, and the bird is what I surmised it to be at the first, 

 a " Cape Pigeon," Daption capensis. Pelagic birds, from all parts of the 

 world, are liable to find themselves brought by accident to our shores, and 

 the " Cape Pigeon," a well-known bird, is abundant in both the Pacific and 

 Atlantic Oceans, and cannot be considered very extraordinary as a chance 

 visitor.— Murray A. Mathew (The Vicarage, Buckland Dinham, Frome). 



American Goldfinch on Achill Island, Co. Mayo. — On Sept. 6th, 

 while in Keem Bay, in company with some visitors to this island, I observed 

 a small bird feeding on a thistle by the sandy beach. Its yellow colour and 

 black head and wings made me think it might be an American wanderer, 

 and, having my 12-bore with me, I easily secured it with a charge of No. 8 

 shot. It was in company with Linnets, Stonechats, and Meadow Pipits, 

 and seemed quite at home, flitting about, and uttering a soft mellow note. 

 After I had shot it, I was satisfied that I had one like it in my collection, 

 namely, one that I shot in America in 1873. I immediately sent it to 

 Mr. A. G. More, of Dublin, who identified it as the American Goldfinch, 

 Astragalinus tristis. The migration of North American birds to Achill 

 Head deserves attention, and on some future occasion I hope to deal 

 with the subject more fully, as I consider Achill Head and Crougham 

 great landmarks for migratory birds, as also the Blackrock Lighthouse, 

 which throws its revolving light seawards for miles. I am convinced that 

 many of the North American migrants visit our bold headlands, from the 

 fact that I have observed and secured many of them in Achill. I should 

 be glad to learn from any American naturalist how far north on the 

 American continent the bird in question has been observed. So far as I 

 know, this is the first example which has been taken in the British Islands. 

 J. R. Sheridan (Dugort, Achill Island). 



[Through the kindness of Mr. A. G. More, we have had an opportunity 

 of examining the bird above referred to, which he has correctly named, and 

 from the much worn appearance of the wing and tail-feathers— the latter 

 especially being much abraded — we are decidedly of opinion that it had 

 been not long previously in captivity. It is not unlikely that it may have 



