22 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



Notes from Rutlandshire.— On Aug. 10;h 1888, 1 noticed a male Spar- 

 rowhawk soaring above the pinetum near the kitchen-garden at Ex ton Park. 

 This is a seluded spot, and, containing many evergreens, gives shelter to a 

 number of small birds. The hawk was no doubt attracted thither in search 

 of food. The pinetum, indeed, seems to be a favourite resort of these birds, 

 as I have frequently observed them in its vicinity ; and it was also close to 

 the same spot that I obtained, in 1886, a female bird of this species, 

 curiously enough in a sieve-trap, while endeavouring to re-capture the lost 

 hawk of a friend, a newly-trained Barbary Falcon, which had gone off in 

 pursuit of a Wood Pigeon on the previous day. The Kestrel, too, may 

 often be seen in this neighbourhood, and its larger and handsomer relative, 

 the Peregrine, has likewise been several times observed of late years at no 

 very great distance. This noble Falcon is, however, I fear, now only a 

 wanderer, though it would be warmly welcomed if it came to stay. 

 Partridges during the summer of 1888 bred fairly well, and there were 

 many coveys of " red-legs,' though not so many as in 1887, which appears 

 to have been a jubilee year for the latter species. On Sept. 17th a 

 Grey Wagtail was seen on the brook below the waterfall in the park at 

 Exton, and as I have never seen or heard of the nest of this bird in the 

 county, I always look upon it as a regular winter migrant in these parts. 

 On the 27th of the same month I noticed the hooting of the Wood Owl, 

 .which, as the days commence to shorten, is heard oftener and earlier 

 in the day. Both the Brown and the White Owls are, I am glad to 

 say, fairly common about Exton, and I have often heard several of these 

 birds at a time uttering their curious and varying cries together on an 

 autumn evening. The following day (Sept. 28th), while Partridge-shooting 

 near Cottesmore, I saw a Wheatear in a turnip-field near to that village. 

 The bird was shot by a friend who was with me, and is now preserved in 

 my collection. The first Fieldfare appeared on Sept. 29th (Michaelmas 

 Day) and the first Redwing a few days after, on Oct. 9th. On Oct. 2nd 

 there was a sharp white frost, followed by a fall of snow, which lasted 

 throughout the early morning, but afterwards melted away. This caused 

 the Swallows to congregate in large numbers on that day, aud a few days 

 afterwards there were none to be seen. The Hooded Crow appeared on 

 Oct. 15th, and the first Woodcock was seen, but not shot, on the 19th. 

 Three days afterwards (on the 22nd) there were some Tufted Ducks on the 

 ponds in Exton Park, and on Nov. 5th a single male Pochard at the same 

 place. On Oct. 16th some Golden Plovers were observed on the wing near 

 Empingham, and on the 18th, while shooting near Whitwell Village, I 

 flushed a Common Snipe in a field of turnips. This, though really a 

 common enough occurrence, is often looked upon as an unusual thing. A 

 " gaggle " of Wild Geese appeared flying southwards on Nov. 23rd near 

 Horn, but at too great a height for the species to be distinguished; 



