108 THE ZOOLOGIST* 



Bittern in Sussex. — On January 9th a large male Bittern was shot 

 at Sompting, near Worthing, and was brought to us for preservation. Its 

 stomach contained a Thrush, which had been swallowed entire. A short 

 time previously we had an immature Heron, which had in its stomach a 

 full grown common rat. — J. Pratt (Brighton). 



Little Gull in Kent. — On January 19th I received a Little Gull, harm 

 minutus, from a fisherman who sends me anything he gets that he thinks 

 worth having. This species has occurred not unfrequeutly on this coast; 

 I have had four specimens within the last twenty years, and it is probably 

 hardly worth recording, unless it may be from the circumstance of its 

 having the beautiful roseate colour on the under parts, which I should 

 hardly have expected in mid-winter. The bird is, of course, au adult; it 

 looks like a bird in the summer dress, were it not for the head. This, of 

 course, has lost the black, and has only a dark grey patch on the occiput. — 

 W. Oxenden Hammond (St. Alban's Court, Wingham). 



Little Gull in Notts. — I saw a very pretty specimen of this gull at 

 Hose's, the birdstutfer in Nottingham. It was shot by a man on the Trent, 

 near the town of Nottingham, on the 29th of December last. It was a bird 

 of the year. — J. Whitaker (Kain worth, Notts). 



Iceland Gull at Harwich. — On Dec. 3rd 1 was fortunate enough to 

 secure, in the harbour here, a specimen of this rare Gull, in immature 

 plumage. The previous record of this bird having visited the Essex 

 shores is that in ' The Zoologist' for 1867 (p. 456), which Mr. Miller 

 Christy says, in his * Birds of Essex' (p. 262), is the only record for that 

 county. — F. Kerry (Harwich). 



Bewick's Swan at Annesley. — On Dec. 9th, during the sharp spell of 

 frost we had, sixty wild Swans new over the head of Mr. Musters, in 

 Annesley deer-park. They were so small that he had no doubt they were 

 of this species. This is the largest lot of wild Swans I have ever heard of 

 being seen in one flock in this county. — J. Whitaker (Rainworth, Nottsj. 



Serin in Ireland. — On the 2nd of January one of our local bird- 

 catchers brought rue a bird which he described as a " mule Siskin." I was 

 much pleased to identify it as a Serin, Serinus hortulanus, in adult winter 

 plumage, the first occurrence in Ireland. From the fact of never seeing a 

 caged bird of this species here, and the capture of upwards of a dozen in 

 England, I think there can be little doubt that this was a genuine wild 

 bird, and as such entitled to be added to our Irish list. — E. Williams 

 (2, Dame Street, Dublin). 



Lapland Buntings, Bernicle, and Spoonbill.— A good many Lapland 

 Buntings and large numbers of Snow Buntings have passed along the 

 downs during the last few weeks. We have also received a fine Bdruiole 

 Goose from Cumberland, and another on Jan. 19th, shot in Lincolnshire. 



