Short Notes and Queries. 



147 



OuNiTHOLOGiCAL NoTES. — I was in the Goit Stock valley last week, 

 when a person told me he had been to a song-thrush's nest on the 4th of 

 March, which contained two young ones and two eggs. T may add that 

 this species was one of our commonest resident birds previous to the 

 remarkably severe winter of 1878-79 ; since then, however, it has been 

 very scarce, notably so last year, when not half-a-dozen individuals 

 visited this district. I am glad to have to record an increase in their 

 numbers this year, although they are not nearly so abundant as they 

 were prior to the above date. The last two or three years of cold 

 weather must have compelled them to breed in lower latitudes. — A good 



. deal might be written of the changes observable within the last few years 

 in the distribution of some of our birds, particularly of the thrush genus. 

 A few years ago the fieldfare was exceedingly abundant every winter in 

 this locality. I used to see them in thousands when they were migrating 

 at the end of April and beginning of May. I did not see a single indi- 

 vidual last winter, and I have only seen one flock this winter, and these 

 were evidently in migration. Redwings suffered terribly in the winter of 

 1878-79 ; immense numbers died of starvation, yet of late years it has 

 been commoner in this district than the fieldfare, this being the reverse of 

 what was formerly the case. The missel-thrush was very scarce in the 

 years 1880 and 1881, but is quite common again this year. The black- 

 bird seems to have been the only species in this genus that has kept to 

 the " even tenour of its way " through a succession of winters of almost 

 arctic severity ; it would appear, however, to be a partial migrant, as the 

 majority of those about here in the winter are undoubtedly male birds. A 

 gamekeeper brought me, the other day, an old male blackbird which had 

 the head and neck snow-white, except a semicular band of black 

 extending from each eye round the occiput. The feet and legs were also 



. white, with a few white feathers, giving it a dappled appearance about 

 the scapulars. I should very much like to know whether observers in 

 other parts of the country have noticed any changes within the last few 

 years in the distribution of their local avifauna. It is only by bringing 

 together such like cumulative observations of naturalists from different 

 parts of the country, that a satisfactory answer can be given as to whether 

 such phenemena are merely local in their extent or of general application. 

 — A flock of about fifty snow buntings have been about this district all 

 winter. — E. P. P, Butterfield, Wilsden, Bingley, March 16th. 



Notes on the " Transactions of Y.N.U. for 1880.'' — After a perusal 

 of the " Transactions for 1880 " which have recently been published, I 

 venture a few brief remarks on the macro-lepidoptera, which chiefly 

 interest me. Amongst " noticeable " records is 0. fascelina at Spurn ; 

 this is always common there. T. derasa and A. lierhida, as well as 

 T. piniperda, both in the red and greenish-grey variety, are of regular, not 

 "noticeable" occurrence around Beverley. C. hitosa is one of 

 common insects in certain favourable spots near Hull and Beverley. Of 



