32 



ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES. 



Hawfinch in Cumberland.— Apropos of the Hawfinch breeding in 

 Durham and Nortliumberland, it may be worth while remarking that a single- 

 example was observed near Carlisle, on April 20th, and lingered for about a 

 fortnight. It seems probable that if it could have found a mate it might have 

 nested with us. The Hawfinch is a scarce, w/Vz/^r visitor to Cumberland, but I 

 know no other instance of its presence during the breeding season. — H. A. 

 Macpherson, Carlisle, August ist, 1884. 



— In my note last month I omitted to state that the Durham nest was found at 

 Winlaton.— W. E. C. 



Garganey in Cumberland.— On the 12th of March, 1884, an 



immature female, obtained on the Solway, near Carlisle, was sent to me in the 

 flesh. A fine drake was shot in the north-east of Cumberland in the spring of 

 1882. There are, however, no examples in any of the local collections that I 

 have examined, which is, perhaps, to be accounted for by the fact that the 

 Garganey visits us on passage, when the fowling season has nearly expired. I 

 should be glad if the readers of the Natin-alist can give me any further data as to 

 the distribution of this species in the north-west of England. — H. A. Macpherson. 



Nesting of the Quail in Wensleydale.— a few days ago a man 



brought me a Quail with its head cut off, and its body almost cut in two. He had 

 been mowing in a field just west of Carperby, and his scythe had struck the bird 

 while sitting on its nest. The nest contained lo eggs, four of which were given 

 to me, and two were broken by the scythe. The eggs were slightly sat. This is 

 the first occurrence which my father (Mr. Edward Chapman) remembers of the 

 Quail occurring in this dale. — ^John Percival, Carperby, Bedale, July 28th, 1884. 



Woodcock Breeding in Nidderdale.— During the evening of the 



1st of July, while passing through a wood near Pateley Bridge, I flushed a pair of 

 Woodcocks feeding in a marshy place ; I flrst thought them to be pheasants, but, 

 on close examination, I discovered some young ones, abont three in number, one 

 of which I took and forwai'ded alive to Mr. W. Eagle Clarke, F.L.S., as I had some 

 doubt as to the species breeding in Nidderdale. Late in the spring I flushed two 

 old birds about the same spot, probably the same birds. The young bird I took 

 is now stuffed and in my possession. — W. Storey, Pateley Bridge, August iith, 

 1884. 



Thick-knee and Temminck's Stint in Lincolnshire.— 



Among some birds lately received for preservation by Mr. Barber, of Sincil 

 Street, Lincoln, are two specimens of the Thick-Kneed Bustard or Thick-Knee 

 ( GLdicnenuis scoJopax), which were trapped a short while ago in a rabbit warren 

 near Gainsborough; also a specimen of Temminck's Stint {Tringa Tevimincki), 

 which was killed near Lincoln by flying against the telegraph wires ; these are 

 perhaps worth recording. — ^Y. AY, Fowler, Lincoln, July i8th, 1884. 



Smew in Cumberland. — A fine male Smew was shot on the river 

 Tyne in December, 1883. Examples have been repeatedly obtained in the 

 county, and on one occasion a pair were shot on the Eden at Carlisle; but I do not 

 know of any occurrence in recent years, except the one now chronicled. — H. A. 

 Macpherson, Carlisle, August ist, 1884. 



Little Gull at Whitby.— On July 15th, whilst boating on the River 

 Esk near Whitby, I noticed a specimen of the Little Gull fishing quite near to me 

 in company with Kittiwakes. Its extremely small size first struck me, though a 

 broad black band about half-an-inch from the end of the tail made the bird, even 

 at a considerable distance, quite conspicuous. 



The Little Gull is rare at Whitby, only one or two having been observed there, 

 so far as I can ascertain, though it appears periodically on the Yorkshire coast in 

 autumn and winter. The specimen above mentioned was, I believe, a bird of the 

 second year. — ^J. Backhouse, Jun., West Bank, Holgate, York. 



Naturalist, 



