Birds. 



7845 



instance in which I have seen them frequenting a building. House martins, on the 

 other hand, I have more than once found breeding at a distance from any human 

 habitation, e.g., on the chalk cliffs of the coast at Ramsgate and in a large stone quarry 

 on the moor between Kirkby-in-Cleveland and Bilsdale. — J. Dallon; Church Broughton. 



White Variety of the Blackhearted Bunting. — This unique all>ino was sbot on 

 Burwell Fen, in this county (Cambridgeshire), on the 3rd of October, 1861. It has 

 passed from the hands of the man who sbot it to those of Mr. F. Barlow, of Cam- 

 bridge, in whose museum it forms a decided ornament. Its entire plumage is of an 

 uniform white, with the slight exception of a few minute dashes of black, almost im- 

 perceptible unless closely inspected. The second quill in the tail is of the ordinary 

 colour. Eyes li<:ht hazel ; upper and lower mandibles light flesh-colour ; tarsi, feet 

 and toes whitish flesh-colour. I think I am not erring when I state that it is at least 

 a decidedly rare occurrence to come across a variety in any form of the blackheaded 

 species. — S. P. Saville ; Dover House, Cambridge. 



Occurrence of Shore Larks, Little Auks, Gray Phalarope, Src, in Norfolk. — 

 During the last ten days three specimens of the shore lark have been killed on dif- 

 ferent parts of the coast, whilst hitherto only three other examples are known to have 

 visited this county — one at Sherringham, in 1830; one at Yarmouth, in 1850; and 

 one at Holkham, in 1855. Of these recent specimens the first was killed at Yar- 

 mouth, on the 7th of this month; the second at Sherringham, on the 9th ; and the 

 3rd near Yarmouth, on the 12th. All three proved on dissection to be males, aud are 

 apparently adult birds in a state of change between the summer and winter plumage. 

 The bands of black and yellow on the throat are very bright, more especially in the 

 one from Sherringham, which has also a richer vinous tint on the wings, but in each 

 the band on the crown of the head is but slightly traceable. As usual after such 

 sudden and violent storms as have recently prevailed, many specimens of that irre- 

 gular and probably most unwilling visitant to our shores, the little auk, have occurred 

 in various parts of the county, in some instances driven far inland by the force of the 

 gales. On Monday, the 12ih, after the high wind of the previous night, one was shot 

 near Yarmouth, one at Hevingham, another at Scotton, and a fourth in the river at 

 Eaton, about a mile from this city, and upwards of twenty miles from the sea. I have 

 since heard of one or two others which appeared about a fortnight previous, and this 

 morning (Nov. 20th) 1 received two more from Salthouse, a village on the coast, pro- 

 bably killed yesterday, and was shown a third picked up near Norwich. All these 

 birds exhibit more or less distinct traces of the black band on the throat peculiar to 

 their summer plumage. A fine gray phalarope, in part change to winter plumage, 

 was also sent me from Salthouse on the 9th, and an equally good specimen was killed 

 in this county about the 17th. During the last two or three weeks an unusual num- 

 ber of great spotted woodpeckers have been killed in various parts of the county, and 

 for the most part near the coast. One birdstuffer in Norwich has had six or seven, all 

 young, from different localities ; another man has had four, two old and two young 

 birds. There can be but little doubt that these are migratory specimens from the 

 north, thuogh more numerous at the present time than in most seasons. — H. Stevenson. 



Cuckoo's Egg in Reed Warbler's Nest. — The mention of cuckoos' eggs having been 

 found in reed warblers' nests (Zool. 7818), reminds me that, in the spring of 1854, I 

 saw two nests of the latter bird by the side of the river Isis above Godstow, each of 

 which contained a cuckoo's egg in addition to its own. These nests were suspended 

 in a large bed of nettles, and were within ten yards of each other. Both the cuckoo's 



