428 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



than once been recorded as visiting Fleet Pond, in quite another part 

 of the county. What a study is the short plated leg, file-like toes, and 

 long and powerful claws, &c., belonging to this bird — all so nicely 

 adapted to secure and retain its slippery and finny prey ; whilst the 

 very short thigh-feathers, so unusual in the Falcons, at once attract 

 attention. — G. B. Corbin (Eingwood, Hants), 



Little Bustard in Sussex. — On Dec. 23rd, 1900, a Little Bustard 

 {Otis tetrax) was shot at Kitsheuham Farm, Ashburnham, near 

 Hastings, Sussex, by the Hon. John Ashburnham. Mr. Borrer, in 

 his ' Birds of Sussex,' describes it as a very rare straggler. He only 

 mentions four instances of its occurrence, the two last in 1879. — 

 George W. Bradshaw (54, London Koad, Beading). 



Red-necked Phalarope (Phalaropus hyperboreus) in North Wales. 



On Sept. 27th I was shown, at a local taxidermist's, a Ked-necked 

 Phalarope, which had been found a day or two before at Towyn. Mr. 

 Howard Saunders happened to be in Sbrewsbury that day, and kindly 

 examined the specimen. The toes being only slightly lobed, he judged 

 it to be rather a young bird. It was in autumnal plumage, with no 

 trace of red. With the exception of a specimen shot in Anglesey 

 (Zool. 1893, p. 428) this seems to be the only example ever recorded 

 on the west side of North Wales. — H. E. Forrest (Shrewsbury). 



Great Snipe and Variety of Swallow in Hampshire. — On Oct. 12th 

 a specimen of the Great or Solitary Snipe [GalUnarjo major) was shot 

 in this neighbourhood, but, having been killed with " duck-shot," it 

 was very much mutilated, part of the tail having been carried away, 

 and the dark barred under parts of the body were very torn. It weighed 

 exactly 8 oz., and under the broken skin appeared to be a mass of oily 

 fat. The whole plumage was much darker than the Common Snipe, 

 the length of beaks being about equal ; but in the larger species the 

 legs were of a greener hue, and much more robust, and from the toes 

 to the first joint measured three-eighths of an inch more than in the 

 commoner bird. The outer tail-feathers were not wholly white, but 

 had indications of dark bars across their entire width, an indication, 

 as described, of immaturity. 



Several times in the summer I was told that a so-called " white 

 Swallow" {Hirundo rustica) had been seen about the river here, and I 

 trust its life was spared ; but at the eud of August the remains of a 

 peculiar variety of this summer-loving bird was sent to me from the 

 neighbourhood of Lymiugton. It appeared to be a uniform pink 

 chocolate brown upon the back and greater wing-coverts, the head 

 and breast being a lighter grey ; the larger quills both of wings and 



