NOTES AND QUERIES. lfr 



a fine male Osprey which had been shot the previous day on the river at 

 Barnes, where it had been observed for some time before it could be 

 approached and secured. As may be supposed, the Osprey is not a common 

 bird in the metropolitan county ; but as an autumn migrant, going south 

 for the winter, it is occasionally observed at that season fishing in the 

 Thames, or iu some piece of water large enough to attract it. J have notes 

 of its appearance and capture at Maidenhead, Lalebam (twice), Uxbridge, 

 Ruislip Reservoir, Hendon, Southgate, Enfield, and now at Barnes, always 

 in September, October, and November. — J. E. Hasting. 



Osprey in Notts. — One of these fine, but now, alas! rare birds was shot 

 about the middle of November last by Mr. George Eddison at Shire Oaks 

 Hall, in this county. When he first noticed it, it was hovering over one of 

 the pieces of water near the house, but was being teased by a number of 

 Rooks, who drove it over him, when he shot it. I hear it was a very fine 

 bird, and in good condition. Shire Oaks is just the place to attract an 

 Osprey, having several beautiful sheets of water full of fish of good size, 

 and many species. — J. Whitaker (Rain worth, Notts). 



[What a pity that in a spot so well suited to its habits it could not be 

 allowed to remain unmolested. To see an Osprey catch a fish is one of 

 the finest sights in Nature. — Ed.] 



Little Gull on the Thames. — Mr. Cooper, of Radnor Street, kindly 

 showed me, while still unskinned, a nice specimen of the Little Gull, 

 Larus minutus, which his son had shot the previous day (Oct. 26th) from 

 the Essex shore below Tilbury, at a spot known as Mucking Bight. It 

 was a bird of the year, with the barred shoulders peculiar to its age in the 

 Little Gull, and even more conspicuous in the Kittiwake, Larus tridactylus. 

 The legs and feet were of a dull flesh-colour, as in Larus marinus and L. 

 argentatus. — J. E. Harting. 



Little Gull at Hastings.— Two specimens of the Little Gull (Larus 

 minutus) have been obtained recently at Hastings and Rye. One shot near 

 Rye was brought to Mr. Bristowe, naturalist, at St. Leonards-on-Sea, about 

 the last week in November, and the other shot close to Hastings early in 

 the month. — Thomas Parkin (Fairseat, High Wickham, Hastings). 



Little Gull at Harwich. — An immature specimen of Larus minutus 

 was shot in the harbour here on the 4th December. On dissection it 

 proved to be a female. It weighed but 3f oz. Length from tip of beak to 

 end of tail, 11 J in.; expanse of wing, 26f in. ; length of tail, 3-J in. ; length 

 of bill, | in. ; gape, If in.; length of tarsus, 1 iu. — F. Kerry (Harwich). 



White Variety of the Little Gull.— On Oct. 29th, 1889, a white 

 variety of the Little Gull (Larus minutus) was shot by a fisherman named 

 Leonard Mainprize, about five miles E.N.E. of Flamborough Head, and 



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