NOTES AND QUERIES. 471 



matter. It is enough for me that Ravens, Choughs, Peregrines, and 

 Common Buzzards still flourish in the district, and that they gladdened 

 my eye by occasionally ranging within view. And, again, not everywhere 

 in England are the Green Woodpecker, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Lesser 

 Spotted Woodpecker, Wryneck, Nuthatch, and Tree Creeper all to be met 

 with in the course of an hour's ramble ! No wonder Clovelly can add rare 

 birds to its other multitudinous attractions; little welcome there, be it 

 known, for collectors and exterminators. — H. S. Davenport (Ormandyne, 

 Melton Mowbray). 



Aquatic Warbler in Hampshire.— My neighbour, Mr. Richards, of 

 Farlington, sent me the other day a small bird that had been killed acci- 

 dentally by his fox-terrier in Farlington Marsh. Neither of us could 

 identify the species, so I sent it to Mr. Pratt, of Brighton, who pronounced 

 it a male specimen of the Aquatic Warbler, Acrocephalus aquaticus. It 

 agrees with the coloured plate in Borrer's ' Birds of Sussex.' Possibly 

 some of your readers have recently heard of other specimens. — S. G. Scott 

 (Havant Rectory). 



I should like to add, with regard to the above interesting note, that 

 although this appears to be the first Hampshire Aquatic Warbler mentioned 

 in your pages, there is also a specimen in Mr. Hart's well-known collection 

 at Christchurch, killed, like this one, by accident, and also on the coast, but 

 at the south-western extremity of the county. — J. E. Kelsall (East Boldre, 

 Southampton). 



The Alleged Summer Appearance of the Shore Lark in Devonshire. 

 — I notice a paragraph in ' The Zoologist' (p. 365) respecting the presumed 

 occurrence of the Shore Lark in Devonshire during summer. From Mr. 

 H. M. Evans's exact description of the locality and the birds, I have no 

 hesitation in identifying both. I think there can be no reasonable doubt 

 whatever that Mr. Evans has confused Otocoris alpestris with a pair of Red- 

 backed Shrikes that have frequented the spot in question all the summer, 

 and have reared a brood there. I have had this pair of birds uuder close 

 observation the whole season, and have several times pointed them out to 

 my wife, their haunt forming part of a favourite walk of ours. 0. alpestris 

 is an irregular visitor on migration (early spriug and late autumn) to the 

 shores of Tor Bay, occurring sometimes in small parties. Lanius colluris 

 is fairly common here in summer, from May up to the middle or end of 

 August. — Charles Dixon (Paignton, South Devon). 



The Autumn Song of Birds. — I am sincerely sorry to find that Mr. 

 Aplin thinks I misrepresented his meaning when criticisiog his notes on 

 the autumn song of birds (Zool. 1894, p. 410, and August and September 

 last) ; but, although having received from him a very kind letter on the 



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