tJOTES AND QUERIES. 25 



Little Walsingham ; the day was bright and warm. Miss Hamond informs 

 me that she saw a Swallow at Twyford Hall on the 17th November. — 

 H. W. Feilden (Wells, Norfolk). 



Albinos and White Varieties. — The following extract may satisfy Mr. 

 J. Jenner Weir with refereuce to the albino Twite (Zool. 1891, p. 358) : — 

 " Ballymena, 9 Oct., 1891. . . . You asked the question when I brought 

 the bird under your notice, and after I had the conversation with you I saw 

 the bird alive, and had it out of the cage in my hand. Its eyes were pink. 

 . . . Robert A. Simms." Respecting the phrase "as in all albinos,"I 

 hold (with I believe naturalists in general) that unless a white animal or 

 bird has the eyes (iris) pink, it is to be regarded as a white variety, and not 

 as an albino. I wrote to Mr. A. D. Bartlett, Superintendent of the 

 Zoological Gardens, Loudon, on this subject, and his reply is embodied in 

 an interesting note which he has since sent to ' The Field ' (Oct. 17, p. 581), 

 and from which I extract the following: — "A perfect albino is an animal 

 entirely destitute of colouring pigment : in fact, the only colour in its com- 

 position is flesh and blood ; consequently animals thus composed, if covered 

 with hair or feathers, are white, their skin flesh-coloured, and their eyes pink." 

 I also wrote to the Directors of various Continental Zoological Gardens which 

 I recently visited, and have received some interesting information. Herr 

 Adolf Schoepf, of the Dresden Gardens, has sent me an account of an 

 albino Halsbandbar (Ursus malayanus), and from his remarks it is evident 

 that he also is of the opinion that a white animal is not an albino unless its 

 eyes are pink. He writes : — " On the 21st February the little white Bear 

 opened its eyes for the first time ; it was then apparent that it was an 

 albino, for it had pink eyes." In my note (Zool. 1891, p. 31 7) I mentioned 

 that three albino Twites were produced from one nest. Herr Schoepf tells 

 me that he has at present, living in the Gardens at Dresden, four creamy- 

 white Blackbirds obtained from one nest, all having pink eyes. In addition 

 to these he has (with pink eyes) Ruticilla tithys, Sturnus vulgaris, Pica 

 rustica, Corvus monedula, aud one white example of the latter without pink 

 eyes. The following embraces the information received from other Gardens 

 with regard to white specimens : — Rotterdam : with pink eyes, Cavia 

 cutleri, Mus musculus ; without pink eyes, Sturnus vulgaris, Pica rustica, 

 Corvus monedula. Hamburg and Berlin : without pink eyes, Corvus mo- 

 nedula. — Edgar R. Waite (The Museum, Leeds). 



Spotted Eagle in Suffolk. — We have recently (Nov. 21st) set up a 

 specimen of the Spotted Eagle which was shot at the Sudbourne Hall 

 Estate, Wickham Market, Suffolk, and has been sent to us for preserva- 

 tion by Mr. J. J. Hornby. It proved on dissection to be a male, and its 

 stomach contained the remains of a water rat and a partridge. It was 

 killed on Nov. 4th. Another bird had been seen in its company, and is 



