432 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



of this bird have been taken. Probably numbers of others have been 

 overlooked, as amongst the large numbers of Meadow-Pipits {Anthus 

 pratensis) which appear on our south coast during September it is 

 quite likely there are many rare Pipits such as A. cervimis every year. 

 At the same meeting of the B. 0. C. I exhibited an adult male 

 Great Reed- Warbler (Acrocejtialus turdoides), which I shot on Sept. 

 25th on a disused brickfield close to the West St. Leonards Railway 

 Station. I first saw it feeding at the top of some sallow-bushes, but 

 on finding itself observed it became very skulking, and it was not till 

 an hour later that I rediscovered it in a bed of nettles, and shot it. The 

 tarsi and toes of this specimen were dark slate-grey, and its gizzard 

 contained earwigs. As Mr. Howard Saunders remarks (' Man. Brit. 

 Birds,' p. 83), it is curious that this species, which is so common on 

 the Continent, should so seldom visit our shores. Its size alone would 

 at once attract attention. The bird I shot uttered no note, but it was 

 plainly visible at a distance as it hopped about the bushes, and looks 

 like a very large Garden-Warbler. This is the fifth authentic record 

 of this bird in Britain, and the first in Sussex, for although Mr. Borrer 

 ('Birds of Sussex,' p. 64) mentions a bird having been seen which was 

 believed to be this species, it was not obtained. — M. J. Nicoll 

 (10, Charles Road, St. Leonards). 



Goldfinch (Carduelis elegans) in South Africa. — A few months ago 

 there appeared in our pages (ante, p. 227) a statement made by a Mr. 

 Barton, of the Suffolk Regiment, that Goldfinches were common half- 

 way up the hills at Heidelberg, in the Transvaal, and were breeding 

 there. I thought it best to add a qualifying note to this record, as it 

 was against my own experience in the Transvaal, and I stated that I 

 had written to that country, and to that locality, for further information 

 on the matter. Mr. F. G. Nicholson, who then resided at Standerton, 

 within easy distance of Heidelberg, replied: — "I have seen no Gold- 

 finches near Standerton or Heidelberg, and am of opinion that even 

 though the soldier mentioned did capture them, they must have but 

 recently escaped from confinement." He added he was making further 

 inquiries, and I have just received another letter from him on the sub- 

 ject, in which he says : — " I have done all I can, and have interviewed 

 Heidelbergians, but can find no confirmation of the story." Mr. A. 

 Ross, of Johannesburg, also gives me the same negative information. 

 I therefore think that the presence of the Goldfinch in a wild state 

 either at Heidelberg or any other district of the Transvaal can be 

 considered as a record probably based on hasty and inexperienced 

 observation. — W. L. Distant. 



