430 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



seems worthy of note. As a rule the Grey Plover passes through this 

 country early in May on its way north to breed, returning early in October. 

 —J. Percival (Carperby, Aysgarth, R.S.O.). 



Woodcocks nesting in Co. Wicklow. — The following extract is taken 

 from my diary, dated " Ballvarthur, Co. Wicklow," August 3rd, 1866 : — 

 " When walking on a path in the wood with two of my brothers, in the 

 afternoon, five Woodcocks got up close to us, two old and three young birds ; 

 they only flew a short distance, when they again alighted. The young birds 

 were able to fly pretty well, owing to their apparent unwillingness to leave 

 the locality. I think they must have been hatched close by." Old birds 

 have occasionally been seen at Ballyarthur during the summer months. — 

 H. L. Bayly (Portland House, Ryde, Isle of Wight). 



Albino Swallow. — At Winchelsea, last month, I saw what I had never 

 before seen, though it may not be uncommon, possibly — an albino Swallow. 

 It was pure white, without a spot of colour ; the body snowy white, the 

 wings a little less pure in tint. I watched it a long time flying around, and 

 was much struck with its apparent size ; it looked much larger than its 

 dark-coloured companions. This note may interest you if — as I suspect it 

 is not — a very common occurrence in the Swallow tribe. — John Lowe 

 (4, Gloucester Place, W.). 



[White or nearly white varieties of the Swallow are not very uncommon. 

 They are generally obtained in autumn, and are almost invariably young 

 birds. See 'Zoologist,' 1880, p. 24; 1882, p. 372; 1885, p. 461; 

 1889, p. 418; 1892, p. 423; and 1894, p. 59. Many years ago (Sept. 

 1871), when in a gunning punt in Pagham Harbour, we shot a white 

 Swallow as it crossed the bows in company with a flock of migrating 

 Sand Martins, and, having skinned it, presented it to the Natural History 

 Collection in the British Museum, where it is preserved. In October, 

 1892, a correspondent of ' The Times ' gave an account of a white Swallow 

 which had been captured near Westgate-on-Sea, and became tame enough 

 to feed from the hand. The following summer we received a photograph 

 of another, which was taken alive at York, and on two occasions we have 

 noted cases in which the entire brood was white (Zool. 1880, p. 24; 1894, 

 p. 59).— Ed.] 



FISHES. 



Scorpaena dactyloptera on the Norfolk Coast.— In the Supplementary 

 List of Norfolk Fishes, published in the 5th vol. of the ' Transactions ' of 

 the Norfolk and Norwich Naturalists' Society, at p. 635, Dr. Lowe, on my 

 authority, includes Sebastes norwegica as a species new to the county of 

 Norfolk. It is with great regret that I now find I was in error in deter- 

 mining the species of this fish, and that it is in reality an example of 

 Scorpana dactyloptera, Delaroche. I may mention that this latter fish was 



