144 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



hood, and were seen repeatedly throughout the summer. — H. E. Forrest 

 (Bayston Hill, near Shrewsbury). 



The Great Lapwing Year. A Correction.— I beg to correct an error 

 in my notes on Golden Plover and Lapwings {ante, p. 40), in eleventh line 

 from top. The words " more numerous than in any year since 1878 (the 

 great Lapwing year") ; it should be 1879. — Robert Warren (Moyview, 

 Ballina). 



Land Birds at Sea. — With reference to the interesting communication 

 on this subject by Surgeon Hurlestone Jones {ante, p. 51), I am able to add 

 two species to his list of land birds observed straggling out to sea. On 

 February 24ih, 1891, on S.S. ' Wordsworth,' bound for Brazil and the 

 Plate River, a small unfamiliar Warbler settled upon the deck, and was 

 seen several times during the day. We had last sighted land at Cape 

 Finisterre, and the observations for noon of that day (24th) showed that 

 our position was lat. 40° 12' N. by long. 12° 48' W., so that at the time 

 we were a considerable distance from the coast of Portugal. The little 

 bird followed the vessel the whole day, but was not seen the following 

 morning when we arrived at Madeira about six o'clock. I was unable to 

 identify the species, but a conspicuous yellowish stripe over the eye led me 

 to believe it was Phylloscopus super ciliosus. Whether our little visitor 

 reached land in safety or was drowned J am unable to say. Upon the 

 previous day, in lat. 44° 23' by long. 10° 24', a Sky-Lark (Alauda arvensis) 

 flew close to the ship, but was not observed to settle, and soon disappeared. 

 At about the same position, on April 29th, in the middle of the Bay of 

 Biscay, two others accompanied the vessel for some distance. Another 

 species which I have observed under similar conditions is the Wheatear 

 {Saxicola amanthe), which flew on board the Orient steamer ' Garonne ' on 

 Aug. 27th. 1892, off the coast of Norway, long out of sight of land, but un- 

 fortunately my notes do not give the exact position. We were, however, 

 about a day's journey from the land. A Turtle-Dove {Turtur communis), 

 Starling {Sturnus vulgaris), and House-Sparrow {Passer domesticus) accom- 

 panied us for nearly a day between Harwich and Hamburg on Oct. 1st, 

 1899. At the time the birds were observed we must have been nearest to 

 the coast of Holland or Friesland, and T have no doubt that they all reached 

 the land in safety.— Malcolm Burr (New College, Oxford). 



PISCES. 

 Sea-Lamprey at Shrewsbury.— On June 13th a boy caught a Sea- 

 Lamprey {Petromyzon marinus), thirty inches long, in the Severn, below 

 the Welsh Bridge, at Shrewsbury. It rarely occurs so high up the river, 

 though formerly common in the estuary. — H. E. Forrest (Bayston Hill, 

 near Shrewsbury). 



