132 



RILEY FORTUNE : ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES. 



years old, and the plumage seems to vary a little until the third or 

 fourth year. 



Yarrell says that this bird breeds in Sweden, Russia, and Siberia. 

 Another well-known breeding-place in Lancashire is Walney Island, 

 near Barrow-in-Furness. 



These Gulls have had to move their nesting-ground more than 

 once. Mitchell says that a colony once occupied the site of the 

 present town of Fleetwood. In recent times, also, they were driven 

 from Pilling Moss by its cultivation, to the locality they now occupy, 

 and which it may be hoped they will not be obliged to leave for a 

 long time to come. 



NOTES— ORNITHOLOG Y. 



Leach's Petrel in Lincolnshire.— On the 6th January I received a 

 male specimen of the above named bird {Prccellaria /tfjfcorrAoa)- which had been 

 captured near Skegness on the Lincolnshire ccast. Mr. Cordeaux, in his 'Birds 

 of the Humber District.' speaks of it as a rare bird. — F. B. Whitlock, Bank, 

 Nottingham. 



Barn Owl Feigning Death. — During the past winter I had a beautiful 

 live specimen of the Barn Owl {Strix f aininea) brought to me, which had been 

 captured in a hollow tree near Harrogate. For several days it refused food, and 

 being afraid of it dying. I forced some meat down its throat ; after swallowing 

 several pieces, its claws clenched together, the legs and body stiffened, the eyes- 

 closed, the head fell back, and to all appearance it had suddenly died. At 

 first I thought I had choked it, but upon giving a second glance at the stiff body in 

 my hands I observed the breast heaving up and down with the regularity of a very 

 much alive bird. It then struck me what the rogue was doing. I laid it down on 

 its back, side, and belly alternately, and even hung it up by the legs, without 

 making it move a muscle. I then put it down and made a pretence of departing. 

 I shut the door with a noise, and looked round, when I saw the rascal's eyes 

 gently opening ; as soon as he observed me watching him he closed them again. 

 I then went out altogether and returned in about three minutes, when Mr. Owl 

 was as lively as ever. Several friends have witnessed this trick since. Although 

 perfectly aware of the habit of Tits shamming death, I never yet heard of an Owl 

 performing the same trick. — Riley Fortune, Harrogate, April 5th, 1887. 



ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES PROM 

 NORTHUMBERLAND AND DURHAM DURING 1885. 



RILEY FORTUNE, 



AlsioJL Ho7ise, Harrogate. 



As a supplement to Mr. Alfred Chapman's note on the Pied Fly- 

 Catcher {Miiscicapa atricapilla) nesting in Northumberland, perhaps 

 a few instances of it nesting in Northumberland and Durham during 

 1885 will not be uninteresting. 



Natui^list, 



