136 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



male, was very wild wheu first taken, and remained so for quite a year after 

 capture, and was then much yellower in colour than it is now. It used to 

 sing the Greenfinch's note, but louder. Since being placed by the side of 

 Goldfinches and Linnets, however, it has taken almost entirely to the notes 

 of the Goldfiuch. The owner states that it will eat " almost anything in 

 the shape of seed — including oats." As to its description : in its general 

 appearance it resembles a Greenfinch in shape, but is too finely built for a 

 bird of that species, has a less distinctly forked tail, and appeared to me to 

 have a somewhat narrower skull ; while in colour it gives one the impression 

 of a Goldfinch with a wash of yellowish green over it. The feathers at 

 the base of the bill are black. The face of this bird has the part which is 

 crimson in the Goldfinch coloured bronze. The other markings on the 

 head correspond to those of the Goldfinch, substituting pale greenish grey 

 for white, and dark greenish grey for black. The back of the neck and 

 back are greenish brown, inclining to yellow on the upper tail coverts. The 

 tail has the two outer feathers white with black margins ; the rest are black 

 with " a slight fringe of yellow." The under tail-coverts are white. Belly 

 yellowish green ; throat greyish. The wings are " similar to those of the 

 Goldfinch:" the colours, however, are not so bright, but "otherwise the 

 three colours found in the one are also shown in the other, and in exactly 

 the same order." Legs pale in colour; and the beak is pale flesh-colour, 

 tipped with black. I have not yet been able to trace the two other birds 

 caught at the same time. The bird in question shows such obvious simi- 

 larities to both Goldfinch and Greenfinch that there can be no doubt of its 

 parentage. Its present owner has caught Greenfinches and Goldfinches at 

 the place where it was captured. Moreover, the Greenfinch pairs so readily 

 with other birds that there is hardly one of our common British Finches with 

 which it has not mated in captivity ; and breeds when wild not infrequently 

 with the Linnet (' Zoologist,' 1883, p. 379 ; 1887, p. 303), and perhaps 

 also occasionally with the Siskin (' Zoologist,' 1887, p. 266). — Arthur H. 

 Macpherson (51, Gloucester Place, Hyde Park). 



Lapwing's Nest made of Rush.— On June 8th, 1889, I found in 

 Jutland a nest of the Lapwing, made solidly of pieces of dead rush-stems, 

 exactly like Black Terns' nests found in the same neighbourhood, but 

 larger, and not so deep in proportion. The four eggs were those of the 

 Lapwing, and one of the birds was wheeling about overhead. — John P. 

 Thomasson (Woodside, Bolton). 



Ornithological Notes from Redcar. — The following notes relate to the 

 capture or occurrence of uncommon birds in the neighbourhood of Redcar 

 during the past year of 1889 : — On Jan. 3rd eight Swans were noticed, at 

 10 a.m., about a mile out at sea, flying to the N.W. On the 30th great 

 numbers of shore birds were on the Tees sands, but quite unapproachable 





