392 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



Norf. Nat. Soc. iii. p. 526 (1884)), gives the Twite (Linota flavirostris) , 

 and for authority refers to ' Trans. Cumberland Association,' pt. ii. 

 1876-77, p. 172, a publication I have as yet been unable to consult. 

 Mr. Bidwell also includes in his list the Linnet, Redpoll, Bullfinch, 

 and Greenfinch, birds whose nests Mr. Ellison has never known to 

 contain the egg of a Cuckoo, and are probably exceptional occurrences. 

 Ed.] 



Sounds produced by the Eagle Owl. — It is difficult to put the 

 notes of birds into words, and the sound syllabled " Kee-yak " by Mr. 

 Harvie-Brown (ante, p. 313) does not convey my recollection of an 

 Eagle Owl's hoot, but it may utter this note at times. Dresser 

 expresses the ordinary cry of this species as " Hu Hu," which is 

 better. My Eagle Owls, which are unfortunately no longer living, 

 used to begin to hoot in January. — J. H. Gurney (Keswick Hall, 

 Norwich). 



Early Arrival of Bernacle Geese (Bernicla leucopsis) on the 

 Solway. — On Sept. 16th I saw a party consisting of about thirty 

 birds on Newton Marsh. One of the local wildfowlers told me they 

 arrived on the 15th ; also a party of five Grey Geese, but he did not 

 approach them so as to distinguish the species. — T. L. Johnston 

 (Carlisle). 



Grey Geese near Carlisle. — On the afternoon of Sept. 16th a 

 party of about thirty birds were observed on the outskirts of the 

 town flying in a south-west direction. The observers were unable to 

 identify the species, but they were probably Pink-footed Geese (Anser 

 brachyrhynchus). — T. L. Johnston (Carlisle). 



Reappearance of the Quail (Coturnix communis). — While I was in 

 Ireland in the middle of July, my brother informed me that Quail 

 had appeared in considerable numbers in his neighbourhood, near 

 Enniscorthy, co. Wexford, this season. They had, in fact, been 

 widespread, and had been noticed by most of the country people about 

 there. It was therefore with great interest that I heard the liquid 

 triple call of this bird in my own neighbourhood here on July 30th, 

 directly after my return home. I heard several of them calling 

 together, first in a field of ripe wheat, and afterwards in a large field 

 of barley, at some little distance from the first locality. As these 

 birds have not been observed here for many years, and have been 

 considered almost extinct for the past twenty-five years in Ireland, 

 their reappearance this season in some numbers is worthy of being 

 recorded. — Allan Ellison (Watton at Stone, Herts). 



