18 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



quarters of a mile from the town of Godalraing, on the north of it, at a 

 distance of some 300 yards from each other, on November 28th. The 

 former was shot by a gardener named Thomas Groundsell,. the latter by 

 James Chandler, he too a gardener; with the male was another bird 

 (possibly the female), which escaped ; with the latter was a female 

 Common Crossbill, which also was shot. The birds in both cases were 

 feeding on the seeds of the larch, above 900 of which were taken from the 

 crops of the three. They were by no means wild ; indeed, the gun aimed 

 at the two females missed fire three times, the birds scarcely changing 

 their position before the fatal discharge was effected. The comparatively 

 few instances in which this species has visited the British Isles will be 

 accepted as my apology for these particulars. The skins of the birds are in 

 my possession. I observe that ' The Field ' of Nov. 30th contains a notice 

 of a flock of White-winged Crossbills near Croydon, out of which two were 

 shot ; and that in the impression of the same paper of December 7th a 

 correspondent writes that an immature specimen was shot on August 12th 

 near Easington, in Holderness, Yorkshire. — H. Benson (Farncombe 

 Rectory, God aiming). 



Pied Blackbirds, Rooks, and Jackdaws.— A curiously pied Blackbird 

 was lately caught here. Four of the tail-feathers are white, there is a white 

 patch on each shoulder, and the breast, back, and head are freely spotted 

 with white ; the legs and feet of a mottled dirty white colour. Mr. Pratt, 

 of Brighton, tells me that an unusual number of pied and white varieties 

 of Blackbirds, Rooks, and Jackdaws have passed through his hands during 

 the past autumn. He mentioned one specially interesting specimen of a 

 white Jackdaw. — E. P. Larken (Gatton Tower, Reigate). 



Richards' Pipit and Spotted Redshank in Kent. — I obtained a speci- 

 men of Richards' Pipit about the middle of November last. It was caught 

 by a birdcatcher near Dover, but, in pulling the net over, one of the rods 

 struck and killed the bird. I observe that several Spotted Redshanks are 

 recorded in your last number as having been met with in the neighbour- 

 hood of Harwich during the autumn. One of the birds was killed near 

 Stourmouth, in this neighbourhood, about the same time, and perhaps was 

 one of the same flight. I saw this specimen, which retained much of the 

 dusky summer plumage. While shooting the woods here, at the end of 

 November, a Great Shrike came out close to one of the guns. My friend, 

 who knows the bird well, said, the day being a bright one, it looked like a 

 gleam of silver as it went past him. It went on to an adjoining cover, but 

 we did not meet with it again.— W. Oxenden Hammond (St. Alban's 

 Court, Wingham, Kent). 



Osprey in Middlesex. — Mr. Cooper, the well-known taxidermist, of 

 lienor Street, St. Luke's, kindly brought for my inspection, on Oct. 22nd, 



