Birds — Fishes » 



6271 



WINTER BIEDS LAST SEEN. 



April 1. Turnstone. May 4. Greensliank. 

 „ 13. Brent Goose. „ 12. Curlew. 



„ 17. Black Scoter. „ 1 I to 13. Bartailed Godvvit. 



„ 26. Tufted Duck. „ 15. Whimbrel. 



„ 27. Kedthroated Diver (several). „ 30. Gray Plover, Dunlin. 



„ 28. Great Northern Diver. 



The remarkable features of the above list seem to be the early date of the beginning 

 of the migratory movement, and the great numbers of certain species among these 

 early arrivals ; for instance, the swallow and sand martin were reported in the ' Times' 

 newspaper to have been seen at Dorchester on the 31st of March, and the 1st of April 

 is an equally unusual date in the Isle of Wight. At Berabridge, on tbe after noon of 

 tbe yth of April, the bushes along the sea-shore were literally swarming with small war- 

 blers, principally willow wrens; while redstarts, generally quite uncommon birds with 

 us, were so abundant for a week all over the island as to have attracted the notice of the 

 least observant. May not these birds have been driven from their intended course by 

 the severe weather which then prevailed in the interior part of the Continent? If at 

 least they were a detachment that should have dispersed itself over France and Ger- 

 many, but upon this occasion preferred a more westerly route, within the influence of 

 the milder temperature of the sea-coast, this might serve to account for the few days 

 difference in the date of their arrival with us. The pause which afterwards ensued 

 . before the coming of the main body of birds was equally striking. After the first 

 pioneers had left us (as they did within a week) it was long before their place was 

 filled by fresh arrivals, and swallows did not, in the Isle of Wight, become plentiful 

 until nearly the middle of May. Coincident with this unusual lateness of the main 

 body of swallows was the visit of a flock of bartailed godwiis that was first noticed on 

 the lllh of May, and remained on our mud flats for several days: as far as was ob- 

 served, only three of the number had yet assumed the bright bay colour; one of those 

 that I shot was in perfect summer plumage, and two or three stragglers met with in 

 Sandown Bay had also very nearly or quite completed their moult; these red birds 

 were all found to belong to the male sex. The gray plover seen on the 30th of May 

 was perfectly black beneath, being quite similar to another solitary individual of the 

 same species obtained last year, on the 8lh of May. — A. G. More ; October 5, 1858. 



Occurrence of the Short Sun-fish (Orthagoriscus Mola) n€ar Banff. — A specimen of 

 this rather rare and somewhat singular-looking creature was captured, on Monday last, 

 by a boat's crew belonging to Whitehills, one of our fishing villages : it was found 

 floating on the surface, seemingly in a state of repose, and sufl'ered itself to be taken 

 on board in that condition. After it was in the boat, however, it began to show life, 

 and floundered about dreadfully, much to the annoyance of the fishermen, who were 

 somewhat afraid of it, on account of its odd appearance, never having seen anything 

 of the kind before. Amongst several parasites (Crustaceous) found upon it, are three 

 specimens of Tristoma coccineum ; and, from the gills, no fewer than nineteen female 

 Cecrops Lalreillii were taken, and each, except three, had a male attached; some of 

 the females were more than an inch in length, whilst some of the males were not above 

 an eighth of that length: so peculiarly and firmly attached are the males of this 



