ftOTES AND QUERIES. 397 



removing the last piece of lucerne, the Wild Duck's nest was discovered, 

 from which the eggs had been removed. — W. Pkentis (Raiuham, Kent). 



Little Auk inland. — I have lately seen a Little Auk, Mergulus alle, 

 which was taken on a pond in the village of Godstone, Surrey, on the 2nd 

 of December last. The local birdstuffer, in whose possession the bird now 

 is, Mr. Reeves, of Reigate, tells me that when taken it was in a state of 

 extreme exhaustion, which is scarcely to be wondered at, as Godstone must 

 be at least twenty miles as the crow flies from the nearest sea. The weight 

 was 3£ozs.; sex unnoted. There is this peculiarity in the bird: the 

 breast, instead of being white, as one would expect to find it in mid-winter, 

 is distinctly mottled with black. — E. P. Laeken (Gatton Tower, Reigate). 



Supposed Occurrence of the Kentish Plover at Scarborough. — On 

 Saturday, Sept. 12th, I had two birds brought to me as the Kentish Plover 

 {Mgialitn cantiana), which had been shot during the afternoon at Cayton 

 Bay, about three miles to the south of Scarborough. They were both 

 immature, but were readily to be distinguished from jE. hiaticula by the 

 smaller size, and the interrupted pectoral baud. Unfortunately both birds 

 were very heavily shot, and no care having been taken of them at the time, 

 they were unfit for preservation. These are the first specimens of this 

 species which I have observed at Scarborough, and I am not aware that it 

 has been before recorded for the district. — W. J. Clarke (Scarborough). 



[The " smaller size and interrupted pectoral band " do not distinguish 

 this species from the young of the common Ringed Plover. Our corre- 

 spondent would have done well to have noted the appearance of the primaries 

 and the colour of the legs. — Ed.] 



The House Martin as a Cage Birti\— In the first week of July last my 

 friend Mr. W. R. O. Grant obtained for me a nest of four House Martins 

 about a week old. I fed them upon minced raw rump-steak, ants' eggs 

 carefully cleaned, and preserved yolk of egg ground up with maizina wafers 

 in a mortar, and then slightly damped. On this food they attained their 

 full size, and then began to show a decided dislike to the raw meat. Several 

 times a day the young birds were taken out of their basket of hay and 

 allowed to fly about the room. As the Martins now began to show an 

 objection to the confinement of the basket, I purchased for them a large 

 cage, in which I hung up a cocoa-nut nest, in which I placed a piece of 

 flannel. After a very short time they learned to retire to this snuggery 

 every evening to pass the night, or whenever they felt chilly. At the end 

 of about a month we persuaded the young birds to feed themselves, and 

 then the dangerous time began, since (like all the Swallow tribe when 

 brought up on soft food) they would eat more than was good for them. I 

 now altered their diet, giving "Abraham's food for Nightingales, &c," 

 moistened ants' eggs, flies and mealworms cut up ; nevertheless, three of 



