3 o8 



NOTES — ORNITHOLOGY. 



As I noticed several other birds of more or less interest, with 

 descriptions as to locality where they occurred, &c., in our county, 

 I think it best to simply enumerate some of the more important ones 

 here, as I am not aware that they have previously been recorded. 

 Common Crossbills (Loxia curvirostra). Shot at Sand Hutton and 



Sledmere in 1866. 



I understand that great quantities were also observed at 



Stockton-on-Forest during the same summer ; sixty or seventy 



having been brought at one time to a York birdstuffer. 

 Red-backed Shrike (Lanius collurio). Obtained at Melbourne, 



near York. 



Rose-coloured Pastor (Pastor roseus). Shot at Dunnington in 1850. 



Hoopoe (Upupa epops). Shot near Selby in 1858. 



Spotted Crake (Porzana maruetta). Foss Islands, York, 1848. 



Sand Grouse (Syrrhaptes paradoxus). One shot out of a flock 

 of five at Stockton-on-Forest (about 1863?); another from the 

 same locality ; and a third killed on Haworth Moor, near Keighley. 



Norfolk Plover (CEdicnemus scolopax). Shot near York. 



Solitary Snipe (Gallinago major). Everingham Park, near York. 



Little Chill (Larus minutus). Shot at Bridlington in 1868. 



NOTES— ORNITHOLOG Y. 

 Little Gull in County Durham.— A specimen of the Little Gull 



{Larus minutus) was shot on Whitburn Sands, near Sunderland, on 28th August 

 last, and was brought to me the same morning. It is in immature plumage, much 

 like that of a young Kittiwake : eye and bill black, legs flesh-coloured, breast 

 faintly tinged with roseate. The tail is distinctly forked, showing an affinity, with 

 the Terns ; which latter birds were also numerous on this coast at the same date. 

 They appeared on August 25th, on their passage southwards. Dimensions of 

 Little Gull: length, 9% in.; expanse, 2 ft. 3 in.; weight, a trifle over 3% Qz. ; 

 sex, male; sent to Mr. Collingford, of Durham. — Abel Chapman, Silksworth 

 House, Sunderland, August 31st, 1886. 



Flamborough Bird !Notes. — Since Sunday (September 5th) I have 

 observed several migratory birds congregating on the headland. The strong 

 westerly breezes have brought them here in large numbers. Quantities of Swallows 

 {Hirundo rustica) perch on the telegraph wires, and Wheatears {Saxicola cenanthe) 

 on garden walls and about the lanes. Several Pied Wagtails {Motacilla lugubris) 

 are to be seen in the fields making ready for their departure. — Matthew Bailey, 

 Flamborough, September 9th, 1886. 



Duck Decoys. — There is, I believe, another decoy in Lincolnshire besides 

 those mentioned in the list on p. 281 of the ' Naturalist ' for September 1886 (unless 

 indeed it be included among the five at Deeping Fen). This is at Crowland, and 

 was said to be in use when I was in the neighbourhood in the autumn of 1881. 

 The mode of working was described to me, and I was told that a little dog was 

 trained to perform antics on the edge of the water, the ducks following him out 

 of curiosity, and being thus led On into the fatal tunnel. If this be so, the name 

 ' The Dog and Duck,' frequently borne by public-houses in the lowdying districts 

 of Eastern England, may be a relic of the former existence of decoys, and not 

 merely a reference to the use of sporting clogs in wild-duck shooting. — H. F. 

 Parsons, London, September 4th, 1S86. 



Naturalist, 



