140 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



College, Cambridge, a learned naturalist, and a dependable clever man, who 

 resided in the adjacent parish of Haddiscoe, I was informed that, " without 

 doubt, Jack Snipe had been bred in these marshes, and that he had known 

 instances of this fact upon more than one occasion. My gamekeeper swears 

 to having often flushed the Jack from the nest during the season." I wonder 

 whether Col. Leathes had any of these Jack Snipe stuffed, and if so, by 

 whom. If Mr. Gunn had handled them, I fancy he would have discovered 

 their being birds of the year, and we should have heard something more of 

 this exceptional occurrence through the Natural-History journals. Just 

 fancy, seven and a half couple of Jack ! Three nests, at least, must 

 have contributed their quota towards the bag. — M. C. H. Bird. 



[On the other hand, we have repeatedly known the Dunlin, Tringa 

 alpina, to be mistaken for a Jack Snipe, even by men who have been 

 shooting for many years. The book to which our correspondent refers, 

 and which contains some very pleasant reading, was printed by Clowes and 

 Sons, London and Beccles, 1884. — Ed.] 



Grey Shrike and Peregrine in Lincolnshire. — With reference to 

 Mr. Allison's letter, at p. 106, on this subject, the following notes may be of 

 interest : — I first met with the Grey Shrike in 1889, on Oct. 31st, on 

 which date I saw two on a poplar tree near North Cotes sluice. The wind 

 was blowing fresh from the S., and there had been a gale from the same 

 quarter during the previous night. Both birds flew inland, and I did not 

 see them again. On Nov. 16th I put up a Grey Shrike far out on Tetney 

 " fitties." It also flew inland in the direction of a Plover decoy belonging 

 to Henry Stubbs, the well-known wild-fowler, and was seen on a hedge 

 there by young Stubbs the same day. Wind N., light, with rain and fog. 

 These three birds showed very little white on the wing during flight and 

 perhaps belonged to the race Lanius major. On Dec. 4th a fine adult bird, 

 having the two wing-bars of typical L. excubitor, was found dead in a 

 stack-yard near the coast, in the parish of North Cotes. It had been 

 somewhat disfigured by mice, but I succeeded in making a good skin of it. 

 The farmer who found it told me that he had seen this bird, or another like 

 it, on the farm a few days before. The weather had been very severe since 

 the snow-storm of Nov. 27th, and much snow still lay in the marsh country. 

 The next Grey Shrike I met with was on Jan. 1st, 1890. It was also of 

 the double-barred form. I saw it at a very short distance on a thorn-hedge 

 at North Cotes. Light S. wind, with fog and rime frost. Lastly, one was 

 seen on a willow tree at Marsh Chapel, by John Stubbs, on January 3rd. 

 Wind S., light, sharp frost with fog. Stubbs shot at this bird at short 

 range, but missed it. In addition to these, two birds were seen by separate 

 persons, — one at Tetney, the other at Grainsby, — both about Christmas, 

 which, from the description I received, were doubtless of this species. The 

 only Peregrine I saw during the winter was on Jan. 0th. It was perched 



