Bink. 5363 



considered myself very fortunate when she fell to my shot (for it proved to he a very 

 fine female specimen). — John J. Wilson; Ronnahay, near Leeds, November 13, 1856. 



The Hooded Crow (Corvus comix). — A specimen of this bird, in fine plumage, 

 was shot by Mr. Matthews, gamekeeper on the Melbourne estate, near the High 

 Wood, Melbourne, on the 9th of November last: there was a pair, but the second 

 bird escaped: they had been drawn to the spot by the smell of a dead cat, over which 

 they sat, on a tree, uttering their coarse, loud notes. This bird is rarely killed in 

 Derbyshire. — John Joseph Briggs ; King's Newton, Derbyshire. 



The Black Redstart (Sylvia tithys). — On the 3rd of November last a man named 

 Joseph Thompson, an under-keeper on the Melbourne estate, brought me a small bird 

 which he had accidentally caught in a vermin -trap set in a dry ditch. Never having 

 seen an example in the flesh of the black redstart, at first sight I mistook it for a 

 female redstart; but recollecting that the redstart usually leaves us in August, and 

 that this was caught on the 3rd of November, some eight or ten weeks after the red- 

 starts' departure, I was induced to examine it more closely, and I have no doubt of its 

 being a female of the black redstart. The plumage is darker than that of the female 

 redstart, with which it has been compared, and it is distinguished from it by some 

 small spots on the throat, and in appearance it precisely agrees with the coloured 

 figure of the female black redstart figured in the Rev. F. O. Morris's ' British Birds : f 

 these circumstances warrant me in concluding that it is a bird of this rare species, the 

 first, I believe, ever taken in Derbyshire. Another bird, wbich, from the description 

 I received, I have no doubt of being a male of this species, was seen a few days after- 

 wards near the spot where the female was taken. — Id. 



Great abundance of the Pied Wagtail (Motacilla Yarrellii), $-c. — Extracts from note- 

 book : — " Ventnor, Isle of Wight, October 8, 1856. I this afternoon observed a number 

 of these common, but most elegant birds, in a meadow near Steephill, following the 

 cattle : they were by no means shy, allowing my approach within a few yards, and it 

 was interesting to remark their manner of taking the flies, with which the animals 

 were surrounded; so long as they continued quietly grazing the wagtails would run 

 to and fro, darting after the flies in all directions, and even occasionally taking them 

 from off the sides and legs of the cows, and one or two I saw settle, for an instant 

 only, on their tails ; but, when the cattle moved, they would all rise at once and 

 follow them, each animal having a bevy of wagtails in attendance. Towards sunset, 

 after gathering together in large flocks, I noticed them taking an easterly direction, 

 which I have for some days perceived to be their usual course. Although not (in the 

 common acceptation of the term) a migratory race, they are doubtless instinctively 

 seeking out the most sheltered localities wherein to pass the cold and dreary winter 

 months, and where the presence of cattle ensures them, if not a constant, at least a 

 more plentiful supply of food than could possibly be met with in their more exposed 

 summer haunts. It has been remarked by one of our most celebrated naturalists 

 (Professor Macgillivray), that ' they very rarely perch on a tree or bush ;' but I have 

 frequently seen them, when disturbed, alight on willows and other aquatic trees, and 

 even on the occasion referred to I observed one not only fly into a large plane-tree, 



but remain perched on one of the branches for a considerable time October 11, 



1856. Last willow wrens seen by me October 12, 1856. Saw a perfectly white 



swallow."—//. W. Hadjield; Tunbridge, November 4, 1856. 



House Sparrow. — Probably it may have been observed, but I am not aware that I 

 have seen it remarked on, — the somewhat peculiar habit that the house sparrow has, 



