116 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



NOTES AND QUEKIES. 



MA MM ALIA. 



" Hardistrow," a Name for the Shrew. — I have recently noticed an 

 attempt to connect the name "Hardistrow" (a name given to the 

 Shrew) with " Harvest," through the name " Harvest-trow" given by 

 Jefferies. It may therefore be well to point out that there is no 

 connection between the two words. The form of this old name for 

 the Shrew in local use in Oxfordshire is "Hardy- Shrew," or more 

 commonly "Hardy-Mouse." It is a corruption of "Erdshrew" or 

 " Erdmouse," and would of course be written " Ardymouse," if it 

 were not for the English habit of putting in the letter "H" wherever 

 possible. "Erd" is derived by Professor Bell from the Anglo-Saxon 

 Eorth = Earth ; but we may get nearer the sound of our local name 

 by comparing the Dutch word for earth, aarde. Hardyshrew or 

 Hardymouse means simply Earthshrew or Earthmouse, and is a very 

 appropriate name. — 0. V. Aplin. 



AVE S. 



Irregular Appearance of Blackbird. — It may be interesting to 

 place on record the fourth annual visit of the White-headed Black- 

 bird (Tardus merula) mentioned in ' The Zoologist ' for 1908 (p. 312). 

 In July last I began to look out for him, but he did not arrive till 

 August 2nd. He remained as usual for a few days, and then dis- 

 appeared till the middle of September ; from that date he remained, 

 and could be seen daily till early in November. At the time of his 

 final departure he was really a remarkable-looking bird, his head and 

 shoulders being snow-white, and the rest of his body jet-black. I can 

 only hope that he will be as secure in his other places of resort as he 

 is here. — R. H. Ramsbotham (Elmhurst, Garstang). 



Black-tailed Godwits in Cork Harbour.— Early last month (Feb- 

 ruary) a flock of eleven Black-tailed Godwits revisited the mud-banks 

 near Blackrock (the feeding-ground where they were seen by Mr. 

 W. B. Barrington last October), and at my request a specimen was 

 shot some days afterwards near Rochestown, about February 15th. 

 This flock was evidently the same (the numbers being similar as those 

 of the flock seen in October), but had probably between dates changed 

 their haunts to some other part of the wide expanse of mud-banks of 



