458 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



Serotine in Sussex. — On October 5th I obtained two specimens, male 

 and female, of the Serotine, Vesperugo serotinus. They were taken in the 

 old roof of our parish church at Arundel, now under repair, and were 

 extremely fat. On the 6th I had another male, killed some four miles 

 away, also very fat. The Great Bat, V. noctula, is very common here. 

 The specimens of V, serotinus I have are of a greyish brown colour, and 

 the hair very long and silky. — W. B. Ellis (Arundel). 



BIRDS. 



Food of the Eider. — An Eider Duck examined on October 26th 

 had in its gullet a Great Spider-crab, Hyas araneus, with a carapace, 

 unbroken, of two inches and a quarter long. This is the second large crab 

 I have taken out of an Eider, and on another occasion several cockles and 

 a periwinkle, showing what large crustaceans and mollusks they eat, but 

 probably never fish. — J. H. Gurney (Keswick Hall, Norwich). 



Black Tern in South Lancashire. — On November 3rd I saw a Black 

 Tern, in immature plumage, which was picked up beneath the telegraph- 

 wires, on the railway line between Stretford and Old Trafford, about the 

 middle of September last. (At p. 436, sixth line from bottom, for " Rhos- 

 treigir," read " Rhos Neigir.") — Chas. Oldham (Ashton-on-Mersey). 



Woodchat in Worcestershire.— On the 14th May last I saw a Wood- 

 chat, Lanius pomeranus, on a holly-bush at Weatheroak Hill, Alvechurch, 

 Worcestershire. It was at first remarkably tame, allowing me to scan it 

 carefully, and flew to the top of a tall ash tree, where it perched on a dead 

 twig. It looked down at me inquisitively, showing clearly its beautiful 

 chestnut neck. On being again disturbed, it flew away, uttering a loud 

 metallic note like " clank, clank, clank," and I then remarked that it was 

 accompanied by a mate. I searched the district many times afterwards 

 without again seeing either of the pair, but they were reported from King's 

 Norton and King's Heath. From the descriptions given, there is no doubt 

 that they were the same pair. — F. Coburn (Hollovvay Road, Birmingham). 



Female Merganser assuming Male plumage.— On the 7th March 

 last I received, from County Galway, a Merganser, Mergus serrator, which 

 I at first mistook for a young male assuming adult plumage, but upon 

 dissection I was surprised to find that it was an adult female, and from the 

 condition of the ovary I think a very old, barren bird. Mr. H. E. Dresser, 

 who has examined the bird, writes : — " The Merganser is a very interesting 

 specimen, and is, I should say, an old female partially assuming male 

 plumage. It is the first one in that stage of plumage 1 have seen." — 

 F. Coburn (Holloway Head, Birmingham). 



Curious nesting-place of Pied Wagtail. — In May last a Pied Wagtail 

 built her nest in the top of a potato in a field near here. At that time the 



