432 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



MAMMALIA. 



Leisler's Bat in Somerset. — On October 13th a Bat was brought 

 to me by my gardener, who caught it flying about in the kitchen of 

 his cottage, which a reference to Barrett-Hamilton's and Hinton's 

 excellent work on ' British Mammals ' showed to be an example of 

 Leisler's Bat (Nyctalus leisleri). In view of the comparative rarity 

 of this Bat in this country, I sent it up to Mr. Martin Hinton at the 

 British Museum, who has very kindly confirmed the identification. 

 As the Bat does not appear to have been recorded before from the 

 Mendip district of Somerset, I think its occurrence worth noting. — 

 J. Wiglesworth (Winscombe, Somerset). 



AVES. 



Mandarin Ducks at Woburn; Pheasants Feeding in Trees. — I 

 have not noticed Mandarin Ducks eating acorns, but of course they 

 sit a great deal in trees and breed in them. They are thoroughly 

 established at Woburn, and seem to stray very little. They did not 

 do at all well until we left them unpinioned. They have large broods, 

 and a large proportion of them seem to survive the perils that most 

 young ducks succumb to. We now reckon them one of our most 

 successful importations amongst birds. During the last few days I 

 have on three occasions seen Pheasants sitting in apple-trees eating 

 apples. I do not know whether this habit has been often observed. — 

 M. Bedford (Woburn Abbey). 



Late Nesting of Cirl-Bunting in Somerset. — On August 13th I 

 found a Cirl-Bunting's nest with five hard-set eggs. The usual 

 breeding-time here is the end of May or early June. The nest of this 

 species seems to contain five eggs more frequently than that of the 

 Yellowhammer, which seldom lays more than four in this district. — 

 Joseph H. Symes (Coat, Mastock, Somerset). 



Localized Occurrence of Black-backed Gulls. — Eeferring to Mr. 

 Patterson's interesting notes (p. 372) it seems curious that the Lesser 

 Black-backed Gull should be so uncommon at Yarmouth, while at 



