194 .THE ZOOLOGIST. 



1885, an instance is recorded of a Bean Goose which lived for twenty-six 

 years in semi-captivity. — T. H. Nelson (Redcar). 



Black Guillemot in Breeding Plumage in February.— On the 25th 

 of February last there were three specimens of Uria grylle hanging up in 

 Leadeuhall Market, and said to have come from the North of Scotland. 

 They were all in full summer plumage, with brilliant vermilion-coloured 

 legs and feet, and showed no signs of having been in any other dress 

 during the winter. — Arthur H. Macpherson (51, Gloucester Place, Hyde 

 Park, W.). 



Little Auk inland in Notts. — I have lately purchased, from the 

 taxidermist of Retford, a specimen of the Little Auk, Mergulus alle, which 

 was shot on Sherwood Forest, within a few miles of Retford, on or about 

 Jan. 12th last. — L. Buttress (Grove, near Retford, Notts). 



The former value of Sea Gulls in Sussex.— During the first half of 

 the 17th century a member of the Wilson family — William Wilson, Master 

 of the Horse to the Earl of Suffolk — married a Mistress Mary Haddon, 

 daughter of a London merchant, and went to reside at Eastbourne Place, 

 in Sussex, which he afterwards purchased from his wife's stepfather. An 

 old account-book, belonging to the family, states that the rental was £ 999 

 a year, and that " there belongeth to the sayd manor one warren of Conyes 

 worth £40 a year, and the royalty of hawking, hunting, fishing, and 

 fowling." It is added, " We take yearly within the sayd manor ten dozen 

 or twelve dozen of Sea Gulls, worth 30s. a dozen, £18; besides Puetts 

 and Sea Pyes " (' Sussex Archaeological Collections,' vol. xi. p. 27). — 

 J. E. Harting. 



Black Redstart in Hants. — On the 16th November last my 

 brother sent me a specimen of the Black Redstart, Ruticilla tithys, 

 from Hampshire. It was a young male, and of a uniform dark grey 

 plumage, with the white just appearing on the wings, and the tail a dull 

 red. — P. T. Lathy (Warren Road, Bexley Heath, Kent). 



Destruction of Kingfishers. — Paying regular visits to a taxidermist in 

 this town, I have often seen, during the late severe winter, the pitiable 

 sight of sometimes half-a-dozen of these beautiful birds awaiting their turn 

 to be skinned. And a desire to learn more about the capture of these 

 particularly shy birds — for they are not common in the district — prompted 

 me to make enquiries, the result of which may be interesting to your 

 correspondent, Mr. Cocks. From the information supplied to me it appears 

 that the men about here resort to two simple methods of capture, namely, 

 with the net and with the gun. Obviously the most profitable time is when 

 the frost has driven the birds from the higher reaches down to the larger 

 streams of lower altitude ! The birds are consequently more together ; 



