374 



NOTES — ORNITHOLOGY AND MOLLUSCA 



Fam. GALLEKL^. 

 APHOxMIA, Hiibn. 

 Aphomia sociella, L. Frequent. 

 Lane. — Banks of the Wyre. 



Ches. — Lanes about Wallasey (W.J.) ; comes to sugar in the 

 plantations at Wallasey (C.S.G.); Burton, Ness, and Puddington 

 (A.O.W.). 



ACHRCEA, Hiibn. 



Achroea grisella, Fab. ^ alvearia, Fab. Recorded only, as infrequent 

 where bees are kept in the Liverpool district, by Mr. Gregson. 



NOTES— ORNITHOLOG K 



Pied Wagtail sitting on Wrens' Eggs.— Whilst walking by a stream 

 in May 1886, I flushed a Pied Wagtail from off her nest. On peeping in I found 

 she had been sitting on five of her own eggs and five of what appeared to be 

 Wrens'. The first named eggs were remarkable for their size, the largest being 

 much above the average size of a Pied Wagtail's egg, whilst the smallest was less 

 than that of a Wren's. The remaining three were intermediate between the 

 largest and smallest. The ground colour of the smallest was a decided grey. 

 The Wrens' eggs were of the usual type. — F. B. Whitlock, Nottingham. 



Variety of the Grouse. — On the 9th of September a pale variety of the 

 Common Grouse [Lagopus scoticus), by dissection a female, was obtained by 

 Mr. S. G. Buxton at Bolsterstone, near Sheffield. The pale tint is chiefly on the 

 upj)er parts, and as if to make amends the breast is suffused with black. It was 

 exhibited at a meeting of the Norwich Naturalists' Society, and, in the opinion of 

 members present, is a partial melanism and not a hybrid, but all concurred in 

 thinking it a very curious variety. — J. H. Gurney, junr., Keswick Hall, Norwich, 

 November 3rd, 1887. 



NOTE— MOLL USCA. 

 Notes on Land and Freshwater Shells near Bridlington.— 



During a visit to Bridlington I have made a few observations and gathered a little 

 information about the Land and Freshwater Shells of that district, which is, perhaps, 

 partly new. Anodonta cygnea, Planorbis corneics, and Li77incea stagnalis occur in 

 Boynton Fish-pond. Some specimens of the last-named shell have a greatly 

 inflated lip. On the sandhills near Auburn, three miles south of Bridlington 

 Quay, Helix virgata occurs very fine, and in great variety, in company with 

 H. caperata. H. caperata var. ornata is very abundant near the North Shore 

 Pavilion. Pupa viarginata is plentiful near Bempton. Planorbis vortex and 

 Valvata piscinalis abound in the streams below Driffield. I never saw such 

 quantities of the last-named shell. Helix arbiistonim occurs on Sj^eeton Cliffs on 

 the slopes below the chalk. At the back of Bridlington Harbour are some fresh- 

 water marls. They comprise some inches of earthy marls at the top, and a foot 

 or more of blue marls below. In the upper stratum I found Liiiinaa stagnalis, 

 L, palustris, L. trnncatula, L. peregra, Planorbis spiro7'bis, P. carinatus, P. com- 

 planatns, Succinea piuris, and, most abundant of all, Bythinia tentacnlata. 

 SphcBrium corneiim and Pisidinni pusilhu)i occur sparingly. The blue marls 

 contain very few shells. I met with Pisidiuvi piisillnm, SphcBrium coriieum, and 

 Valvata piscinalis, also a single specimen of Cochlicopa lubrica. In an excavation 

 now being made at Sewerby, there occurs beneath the purple boulder clay, a 

 quantity of pre-glacial chalk wash, or perhaps rather inter-glacial. Mr. Lamplugh 

 showed me some fragments of shells found in it. The species are Ptipa inarginata, 

 Helix pnlchella, and H. hispida. I found these three species associated under a 

 railway-sleeper at Bempton Station the next day, and reflected that this, at any 

 rate, was a genuine case of eternal friendship-! — W. C. Hey, York, Oct. 20, 1887. 



_ . . , Naturalist, 



