108 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



Hairy-plumaged Moor«hens. — During the last three years I have seen 

 and examined five specimens of a singular variety of the Moor-hen [Galli- 

 nula chloropus). Two were caught on night-lines in the Severn, close to 

 Shrewsbury ; one shot at Wera, ten miles north of Shrewsbury ; a fourth 

 at Onslow, six miles west ; the fifth in February last, at Plowden, twelve 

 miles south. These localities are so far apart that the birds could hardly 

 belong to one family ; their exact similarity is therefore all the more 

 remarkable. The back and all the upper parts are of a light yellowish 

 brown, the under parts of a very light grey ; the beak and legs of the 

 normal colours, but slightly paler than usual. They are ugly birds — not 

 nearly so pretty as ordinary Moor-hens. The most curious feature of the 

 plumage is, however, the texture of the feathers. These, instead of having 

 the pinnae united into a compact web, have them all separate, especially on 

 the exposed portion of each feather. The effect of this is that the bird 

 looks as though it were clothed with hair rather than with feathers, just as 

 in such flightless birds as the Emu and Apteryx. This defect — for it is a 

 defect — extends even to the flight-feathers, so that the birds could not fly ; 

 the air would pass through the feathers as through a sieve. On examining 

 the feathers by the microscope, I found that the barbs and booklets which 

 in ordinary feathers cause the pinnae to cling together into a compact web 

 are almost entirely absent on the body feathers ; whilst in the quill-feathers 

 many of the pinnae have barbs on one side, but no booklets to hold them 

 together. The light colour of the birds is probably owing to the absence 

 of the dark parts of the webs of the feathers — only the light-coloured shafts 

 are present. The entire phenomenon strikes me as morbid and retrograde, 

 yet all the specimens seemed healthy and in good condition. I had no 

 opportunity of examining the viscera. — H. E. Forrest (Shrewsbury). 



Early Jack-Snipe (Gallinago gallinula). — In support of Mr. H. S. 

 Davenport's statement (ante, p. 31) thai the Jack-Snipe, on first arriving, 

 may be found in unlikely places, I write to say that towards the end of 

 September or beginning of October, 1896 (I think), I flushed two birds of 

 this species on the links here, and about that time I saw another which a 

 local gunner had shot near the same place. I regret the present in- 

 accessibility of my notes prevents me from giving the exact dates, but on 

 my return to Kent these will be forthcoming if necessary. — A. H. Meikle- 

 JOHN (Kinloch House, St. Andrews). 



Notes on Bird-Life from Redcar and District. — On Jan. 10th, 1901, 

 a fine adult female example of the Stone Curlew ((Edicnemus crepitans) was 

 shot on the beach here. On the 12th of the same month I procured an 

 adult female Great Crested Grebe {Podiceps cristatus) in winter dress on the 

 river Tees. In January I had an adult male Bittern [Botaurus stellaris) 



