424 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



of the ship's skylights. It appeared in no way exhausted — in fact, it 

 was as lively as if it was on land. After remaining fifteen minutes on 

 board it rose to about eighty feet above the water, and disappeared in 

 an easterly direction. The Goldcrest is the smallest bird in Great 

 Britain, and it seems strange that it should be capable of such powers 

 of flight, as the nearest laud — Belmullet, Co. Mayo — was about seven 

 hundred and twenty nautical miles distant, and only fifty-six miles 

 short of half the distance across the Atlantic to Belle Isle. In this 

 case the wind was not favourable to westerly migration, and the bird 

 must have been engaged some time on its return journey. Cattle-ships 

 afford food and a resting place to many migrants, more particularly 

 those from America, in their attempts to cross the ocean, and if a 

 record was kept of them it should prove to be both valuable and inter- 

 esting. — J. Teumbull (Malahide, Co. Dublin). 



Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus rufus) singing in Autumn. — With reference 

 to Mr. A. H. Meiklejohn's note on this subject {ante, p. 388), I may 

 mention that on the morning of Sept. 25th one was singing loudly in 

 the garden here. I heard it first about 8 a.m., and saw it several times 

 at close quarters, until it ceased singing about one o'clock. I had not 

 before heard the Chiffchaff in this locality. On Aug. 31st, 1899, I 

 heard one singing in a lime-tree at Wellingborough, and on Sept. 7th, 

 1900, I heard one singing in the gardens close to Belvoir Castle. — 

 G. TowNSEND (Polefield, Prestwich, near Manchester). 



It is by no means an unusual occurrence to hear the Chiffchaff 

 singing in the autumn mouths. On one occasion I heard an individual 

 merrily chirping away in a small coppice so late as Oct. 9th. This I 

 believe to be a record (at least for this district) ; but I have many times 

 heard the note of this cheerful little warbler daring the month of 

 September. — W. H. Warner (Fyfield, near Abingdon, Berks). 



The song of the Chiffchaff in autumn, to which a correspondent 

 calls attention (p. 388 1, is nothing unusual. I have frequently heard 

 this bird singing in September, but the song at that season seems to 

 lack the spirit with which it is uttered in the spring. Far more 

 remarkable than the mere occurrence of the bird singing in the autumn 

 is the fact that its song may then be heard in the most unexpected 

 places. For instance, this last September I heard the song and saw 

 the bird on several different days among some trees in Summerfield 

 Park, within a stone's throw of one of the noisiest and most crowded 

 streets of Birmingham ; and I also heard it among some small trees in 

 the grounds of Birmingham Workhouse Infirmary, where most trees 

 will refuse to grow, on account of the smoke from adjacent factories. 



