412 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



nest without the use of a boat. I have had opportunities of observing the 

 nesting habits of this bird in the North of Ireland. When approached with 

 a boat it would disappear into the water as quietly as a Dabchick. It rarely 

 takes flight at the time, except when hard pressed by a dog. Owing to 

 this circumstance, Grebes in general are considered much rarer than they 

 really are. In the bays and land-locked waters of Anglesea, during winter 

 and early spring, I see the Eared Grebe very frequently. About two years 

 ago, during the month of January, I shot one in mistake for a Mallard. 

 It was moonlight at the time, and the bird was flying with great velocity. — 

 Wm. Banks (Holyhead, Anglesea). 



Uncommon Birds in Somersetshire.— I drove recently to Stogursey, 

 a village near the sea, to see a small but interesting collection of local 

 birds, belonging to a wheelwright who has stuffed birds for people in the 

 neighbourhood. Unfortunately he had not kept any memoranda, and so 

 could only give me approximate dates. Among other birds in the collection, 

 I found Baillon's Crake, Porzana bailloni, which was brought to him 

 wounded, having been shot about a mile from the village in 1887 ; a 

 female Crossbill, Loxia curvirostra, shot by himself in the village in 1877 ; 

 Richardson's Skua, Stercorarius crepidatus, three specimens, one adult and 

 two young birds, shot at Stolford ; Gannet, Sula bassana, young, washed 

 ashore at Stolford in 1880; and one or two birds whose occurrence has only 

 been recorded a few times before in Somersetshire. Last winter, a Manx 

 Shearwater, Puffinus anglorum, was blown by a storm into the rigging of a 

 vessel at the mouth of the river, and was brought alive into Bridgwater, 

 but died the following night ; it was preserved, and is in the collection 

 of Mr. Tucker, of this town. — H. St. B. Goldsmith (King's Square, 

 Bridgwater). 



Iceland Gull on Lough Swilly, Co. Donegal. — One of these hand- 

 some birds has just appeared on the Lough, with a northerly gale, and has 

 been disporting himself in front of this bay lor an hour or two. This is 

 the second I have seen here this autumn. Wigeon have arrived to the 

 upland lakes already in considerable numbers, and the signs of winter are 

 increasing. — H. C. Hart (Carrablagh, Port Salon, Letterkeuny). 



Woodchat in South Devon. — On the 2nd September last, whilst 

 driving in the village of Bautham, situated at the mouth of the river 

 Avon, I noticed a bird of this species flitting from bush to bush in front of 

 me. I quickly got out my gun and secured the stranger, which proved to 

 be a female, in immature plumage. According to the authors of ' The 

 Birds of Devon,' the evidence relating to the recorded instances of this 

 species in Devonshire is not satisfactory. — E. A. S. Elliot (Kingsbridge, 

 South Devon). 



