112 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



during the present winter, six having been seen at Yarmouth, four in 

 the adjoining parish of Caister, and several others in the neighbour- 

 hood. I received three examples from Eunham, about four miles from 

 here, one on December 20th and two on the 24th. The first of these 

 was a very fine specimen, having wax-like appendages on the tail, 

 besides seven on each wing. These appendages are very rarely seen 

 on the tail; this circumstance probably not occurring more than 

 once out of twenty examples. On the wings the red tips vary in 

 number from three to seven, according to sex and age. One bird 

 taken at Yarmouth had no sign of red on its wings, and the band 

 across the tail was a greyish white instead of yellow. I should think 

 this is the record season for this species. — B. Dye (Yarmouth). 



Waxwings (Ampelis garrulus) in Bedfordshire. — The first reported 

 occurrence of the Wax wing in Bedfordshire during the past winter 

 is given in the ' Bedfordshire Times and Independent ' in its issue of 

 December 19th, wherein one is mentioned as having been shot near 

 the Biver Ivel at Biggleswade. On January 20th one of two was 

 killed in a garden along the Clapham Boad, in the borough of Bed- 

 ford ; the other that was in its company has been seen in the same 

 grounds several times since. Another was obtained at Colworth 

 House, Sharnbrook, on January 22nd. The previous known occur- 

 rence of Waxwings in this county was one obtained early in 1904, 

 killed in the Bedford Cemetery. Earlier records were in the winters 

 1882-83, 1884-85, 1889-1890, 1892-93, 189i-95.— J. Steele Elliott 

 (Dowles Manor, Shropshire). 



The Little Owl Breeding in Somerset. — On May 24th of last 

 year I had a set of five eggs brought to me taken the same day by a 

 farm labourer at Doulting ; he said they were Owl's eggs, and that 

 he had taken them from the decayed head of a pollard elm tree. The 

 eggs puzzled me, for although they were almost identical with some 

 eggs of the Little Owl in my possession, I could not say with cer- 

 tainty they belonged to that species : I mentioned the matter to a few 

 friends in the locality who promised to keep a look-out for any 

 strange Owls. During the past autumn Mr. Arthur Elton saw a 

 small spotted Owl flying about the fields close to the ground, pitching 

 here and there on low branches of trees, and on February 3rd last he 

 shot one close to his farmyard at Bodden, a mile or so from Doulting, 

 and brought the bird to me on February 4th ; it was without doubt 

 Athenenoctua. I sent it to Mr. W. J. Clarke, of Scarborough, to be 

 set up, and the following are his notes taken on dissection : — Adult 

 female, eight and three-quarters of an inch in length and six inches 



