mo 



TH E YOUNG XAT! 1 klA LIST 



NOTES, CAPTURES, ScC. 



A. alni bred. — I bred a glorious afon from, 

 larvae found in the New Forest, on the 15th, j 

 and another on the rSth. a pretty specimen 

 but small. Five V. ocularis were in my ■ 

 breeding cage at the same time. Very few 

 Butterflies have hitherto been on the wing, j 

 doubtless owing to the cold weather which i 

 has prevailed so long. — - Joseph Anderson, \ 

 jnr. , Chichester. May, 19th. 



Rearing O. potatoria. — In answer to ! 

 Mr. R. Brown's enquiry in the Y. N. of April j 

 16th, as to what plant T mean by the common j 

 Reed, I mean Arundo Phragmites. If Mr ; 

 Brown will turn to Newman's History of 

 British Moths, he will see the common Reed I 

 is mentioned there several times see, M. 

 Anmd/nis, S. Marithna, C. Phragmitidis, and j 

 others. I thought every one knew the plant, j 

 or I would have given the Latin name in the 

 first instance. I shall be pleased to send j 

 some cocoons of 0. potatoria fed and spun on 

 the common Reed when the proper time j 

 arrives. The males are usually darker than j 

 those taken at large, --F. Kerry. Harwich. 



Larv.e of Orgyia fascelina.- -The larvas ! 

 of this species seems to be more than usually 

 abundant with us this spring. On the 

 afternoon of the 19th inst., I took about 30 

 specimens most of them nearly full fed, on 1 

 the Crosby sandhills, on the contrary the j 

 larva of A rctia caja, which generally swarm j 

 in the same place, seem to be rare. — Dr. John j 

 W. Ellis, ior, Everton Road, Liverpool. 



The Kite in Worcestershire. — We j 

 think it may interest some of your readers to j 

 know-, that a Kite was seen here on May 6th, 

 about 5.30 p.m. It has nor been seen I 

 again. — R. Prescott Decie, Brockleton ! 

 Court, Tenbury, Worcestershire. 



Varieties of the Puimkose. — One of 

 jour correspondents asks if white and pink | 

 primroses are common varieties, and if there j 

 are names for them. There is a plant of i 

 white primroses growing in one of our ash- j 

 beds, amongst a lot of the common yellow j 



ones, and we have also found pink ones at 

 different times, both on red clay, Most 

 flowers vary their colour according to any 

 slight peculiarity of the soil in which they 

 grow. Sowerby gives only the Common 

 Primrose. — R. Prescott Decie. 



OSPREY AT HUDDERSFIELD. — 1 have just 



seen a fine male Osprey, recently killed in 

 this neighbourhood by a game keeper. The 

 bird is in the possesion of Mr. James Varley, 

 and measured five feet from tip to tip of 

 wings. --8. L. M os ley, Huddersfield. 



Ornithological Notes from Harwich.-— 

 On the [4th inst. I obtained a Magpie's 

 Nest containing six eggs, I also saw two pairs 

 of Tree Sparrows building their nests. On 

 the 13th inst., whilst walking up the Dover- 

 court Shore. I saw seven Brent Geese, these 

 birds always stay very late with us.. I have 

 seen them here in June, and 1 am credibly 

 informed their eggs have occasionally 

 been found dropped on the Sands, where; 

 they sit the greater part of the day. 

 I also saw ten Turnstones in their breeding 

 plumage, with them were a flock of about 30 

 Sanderlings in their breeding plamage. 

 How many times does a Sanderling Moult in 

 a year ? as there are four distinct changes of 

 plumage. In winter their upper portions are 

 two shades of grey, with the lower portion 

 white, in spring they gradually become black 

 and brown with only the lower part of the 

 breast and vent white, in which plumage they 

 again visit us in August, except young birds, 

 their Autumn plumage is black and greyish 

 white above, white below ; they then change 

 again to their winter plumage, and ar*3 

 locally the "Silver Sandpiper." I also saw lots 

 of Reed Wrens, they breed by hundreds in 

 the big reed beds here; on one occasion, a 

 young Cuckoo was found in one of their nests, 

 this nest was built to four reed stems, and 

 was standing some seven or eight, yards from 

 the edge of the water, — F. Kerry, Harwich. 



Variety of the Rook. — I have lately had 

 submitted for my opinion a pair of young 

 Rooks in a very interesting state of plumage. 



