and knocked about by the wind as to be scarcely able to struggle out of our path. Great Cotes, Ulceby, Lincolnshire, JOHN CORDEaux. Ornithological Notes from the East Coast of Yorkshire during the Summer of 1865. By W. W. BOULTON, Esq. Ruff-A specimen was shot by Mr. Kemp, of Skerne, near Driffield, on the River Hull, on the 10th of April. It was at the time in company with another of the same species, which escaped. The bird was sent for preservation to Mr. R. Richardson, of Beverley, at whose house I saw it in the flesh. Shoveller.-On the 14th of April a pair of these ducks, male and female, were shot by Mr. Holt, jun., farmer, of Brigham, near Beverley, on the West-beck, a tributary of the River Hull. They appeared unusually tame, when disturbed only flying about fifty yards before again alighting. These ducks are at all seasons of the year rare visitants in this locality, and generally occurring at wide intervals of time in midwinter. Ring Ouzel. This species occurs very sparingly in the neighbourhood of Beverley, a few stragglers being seen occasionally in the company of fieldfares, both on their arrival and departure. On the 25th of April three of these birds were seen by Mr. F. Boyes, of Beverley, near to the town: he succeeded in securing one of them, which I saw in the flesh. Common Shieldrake.-On the 1st of May a mature female of this species was trapped by Matthew Armstrong, of Beverley, on Sunk Island, River Humber. This beautiful duck breeds each year at Spurn and in the neighbourhood. Stock Dove. A flock of these birds frequented the Carrs around Beverley during the late winter and early spring of the present year. Mr. W. Holmes, farmer, of Arram, near Beverley, shot four of them whilst concealed in a ditch of one of the fields generally frequented by them he tells me that they were very shy and wary. Other specimens were subsequently shot and came under my observation; so that I could have no doubt as to the species, which is uncommon in this neighbourhood. Wryneck.-A most perfect female specimen of the wryneck was sent to me by Mr. M. Bailey, of Flamborough, about the middle of May. It had been caught in a garden at Flamborough, by a neighbour of Mr. Bailey's, on the 13th of May: the bird was in the flesh when sent to me. The wryneck is decidedly rare in this portion of East Yorkshire. I have only met with four or five specimens during the past five years, and I hear of most of the rare birds shot in this division of the county. Stone Curlew.-This fine plover still breeds on some of the wilder and least-cultivated lands of East Yorkshire. On the 28th of July a beautiful immature specimen of the thickknee was sent for preservation to R. Richardson, of Beverley: he showed it to me in the flesh, and I have since had it presented to me, most kindly, by Mr. T. Riley, of South Dalton, near Beverley. The bird had been shot near Holme, on Spalding Moor, the same locality from whence I obtained a fine mature female specimen on the 4th of June, 1864, and duly recorded in the Zoologist' (Zool. 9282). This immature specimen had doubtless been bred where it was shot, for several mature birds were seen but could not be approached within gun-range; moreover, several eggs of the stone curlew were found on this "moor." Riley possesses four eggs, found there this year, one of which he has kindly promised me. Mr. Variety of the Starling.-On the 1st of August a curious variety of the common starling was brought to me by a boy, who had knocked it down. It was an immature bird of a nearly uniform rusty, or chestnut-brown colour throughout. Richardson's Skua.-On the 15th of August Mr. M. Bailey, of Flamborough, sent me three specimens of this species, in various stages of plumage: on the 21st of August another, and on the 23rd of August four more of the same species. The group illustrated every change of plumage, from the first feathers to maturity. Mr. Bailey informed me that this skua had been very abundant off Flamborough during the present year up to that date, viz. the 23rd of August. Buffon's Skua.-Mr. M. Bailey, of Flamborough, also sent me a male specimen of Buffon's skua on the 23rd of August. It would be in the second year's plumage, the various measurements agreeing with those given by Yarrell. Zebra or Grass Parroquet.—Mr. Bailey also sent me one of these exquisite little birds, which had been shot in a wild state near to Flamborough, on the 19th of August of the present year. It was doubtless an escaped specimen; but, judging from the lovely emeraldgreen and general lively tints of its plumage, the bird must have been at large for a considerable time. It was a male, and the stomach contained some half-digested seeds, but in such a state of trituration as to render them impossible of identification. Variety of the Hedgesparrow.-A cream-coloured variety of the common "dunuoch was sent to me by Mr. Kemp, of Skerne. It had been shot by himself on the 20th of August near to Skerne, the same locality from whence he obtained for me two very similar specimens during the two preceding years. Greenshank.-A very fine male of this species was shot on the River Hull by Mr. Kemp, on the 26th of August. It was sent to me in the flesh, and is the second example only I have met with in this neighbourhood. Rosecoloured Pastor.-I obtained a splendid mature male of this rare bird, in the flesh, on the 30th of August of the present year. It had been shot on the 26th on Cottingham Common, about five miles from Beverley, by Robert Duncum, farmer and publican, of the village of Cottingham. Spotted Crake.-Several of these birds, in various stages of maturity, have been shot on the River Hull during the summer of 1865. The first I saw were shot on the 30th of August, by Mr. F. Boyes, of Beverley, and Mr. T. Buckley. Numbers have been seen by Mr. Boyes, who frequently beats the sedgy margins of our River Hull, but they are so difficult to "flush" that few are brought to bay. Water Rail.-Mr. F. Boyes has also shot several of these birds, which, although comparatively plentiful on the River Hull, appear to be becoming less abundant in many other districts. Arctic and Lesser Tern.—Mr. Joseph Owen, of Beverley, shot several of the arctic tern and also of the lesser tern, at Spurn, during the months of July and August. He also sent me a basket of their eggs, which had been gathered at Spurn, mixed up with those of the ringed plover. Black Tern.-Was seen by Mr. M. Bailey, on the 16th of August. Mr. Bailey informs me that on that day he saw a pair of the black tern, off Flamborough, but he failed in endeavouring to secure them for me. Great Shearwater.—A most perfect specimen of this bird, so very rare on the east coast of Yorkshire, was sent to me in the flesh by Mr. Bailey. It had been shot off that coast on the 13th of September, and was in the uniform dark plumage of immaturity. It was a male, and has been added to my collection. Sandwich Tern. -No less than three of these birds, one mature and two birds of the year, had been reported to me up to the 21st of September, as having been shot off Bridlington Quay, by Mr. T. Jones, of that town. Shag. An immature female of this species was sent me, in the flesh, on the 23rd of September, by Mr. Bailey. It had been shot on the same day at Flamborough Head. This is the only specimen I have seen of the shag occurring on our portion of the Yorkshire coast; the cormorant is, on the other hand, frequently met with. Little Gull.—Mr. Bailey sent me, a very fine specimen, in the flesh, of this gull that had been shot off Flamborough, on the 16th of August. It proved to be a female in the plumage of the second year. Roughlegged Buzzard.—I received a beautiful specimen of this fine buzzard the other day, which had been shot by John Clubley, keeper, at Spurn, on the 24th of October. Dissection proved it to be a young male. Beverley, November 7, 1865. W. W. BOULTON. Osprey at Rostherne Mere.—About the end of April, a large bird was seen hovering over Rostherne Mere, a sheet of water a mile in length, and about two miles distant in a direct line from here, by the fisherman who was engaged in capturing pike. The peculiar habits of the bird, as well as its size, attracted the man's attention, and he found in it not only a rival but a very skilful piscator, who each morning, after performing many gyrations, suddenly plunged into the water and rose with a fish in his talons, and flew with it to a solitary tree on the margin of the mere to break his fast. This was related to a keeper, who laid in ambush for it the next morning, and shot it in the act of making its repast off a bream weighing two pounds. This rare, and I believe unique, visitor in this locality, was brought to me a few hours afterwards, and proved to be an adult osprey, in very fine and perfect plumage, and it now adorns my collection. Expanse of wings from tip to tip 5 feet 6 inches.-Hugh Harrison ; Bowdon, Cheshire, December 11, 1865. Jerfalcon at Crosby Ravensworth.-In February a fine specimen of the jerfalcon was shot, in the act of devouring a grouse, at Crosby Ravensworth, near Appleby, Westmoreland. I made application for it, and found it had already been placed in the collection of Sir George Musgrave, of Eden Hall.—Id. Jerfalcons near Biddulph.—In my absence on a trip to Appleby, in the middle of October, my friend Mr. R. S. Edleston, his wife and son, saw two large white hawks about a mile from here, sporting with a flock of starlings (redwings?), and on my return, the day after, he named this to me, and suggested jerfalcons. I was incredulous, and said sparrowhawks or kestrels, but his belief was firm; and my incredulity was much shaken some ten days after, on reading a paragraph in the Manchester Courier,' which stated that a fine jerfalcon was shot a few days ago on a farm near Biddulph, Cheshire (eighteen miles from here). I have, therefore, great reason for believing that my friend had the good fortune to see a couple of those rare and beautiful birds.-Hugh Harrison. Merlin at Erdington.—On the 11th of November a fine merlin (Falco œsalon) was taken alive at Erdington, in the net of a bird-catcher.-S. Jephcott, jun.; Ballsall Heath, Birmingham. Curious Capture of a Kestrel by a Cat.-A curious fact occurred here last week. A cat belonging to a neighbour was lying concealed in a drain in a meadow, watching her opportunity to seize a field mouse, when a kestrel swooped upon a mouse so close to her that with a sudden spring she caught the bird, and eventually killed it, a termination to her hunt as unlooked for by her as it was unexpected by the kestrel, who had probably been so intent upon the moving mouse as to overlook the motionless cat. This was related to me by the owner of the cat, who took the bird from her a few minutes after the event.-J. Edmund Harting; Kingsbury, Middlesex, November, 1865. 66 Roughlegged Buzzard in South Yorkshire.-From the Doncaster Gazette' of the 10th of November I quote the following :—“ A splendid female specimen of the roughlegged buzzard (Buteo lagopus) was shot a few days ago by Mr. W. M. Darley, of Thorne, at Woagill, near Middlesmore. It measured 4 feet 2 inches in the expansion of the wings, and 2 feet 1 inch from the beak to the tip of the tail."—H. Ecroyd Smith; Aldbro' House, Egremont, Birkenhead. Great Gray Shrike near Rochdale.—I have recently seen a very fine and perfect specimen of the great gray shrike, in the hands of Mr. Harrop, the taxidermist, Manchester, shot near Rochdale last month, and it is now in the collection of my friend Mr. Richard Gorton.-Hugh Harrison, Third Occurrence of the Redbreasted Flycatcher in Cornwall.—I have much pleasure in recording, in the 'Zoologist,' a third example of this little flycatcher, which was obtained this week from the Scilly Isles, after having been carefully observed and its predatory habits watched by Mr. Augustus Pechell and the Rev. John Jenkinson, who were on a visit to their friend the Lord Proprieter of the Isles. The specimen is very much like the first specimen which was obtained, and which I have in my museum, with the exception that the secondaries and wing-coverts are rather more deeply bordered with rufous, which I think indicates a bird of the year, as I observe in specimens of the adult birds the upper plumage is quite plain. The present specimen was observed in a tree, flitting about and darting after flies, much in the same way as our common species, returning to the same branch after each capture. The gizzard, on dissection, contained a mass of little black flies. I regret I cannot pronounce on the sex of the bird, as the mutilation from shot prevented the discovery. It appears now probable that the accidental occurrence of this little warbler is inclined to give way to denizenship, and I cannot help thinking that the species breeds in our islands. The bird uttered a note much louder than the suppressed "cheet" of the spotted flycatcher, and resembled the "chat" of the Saxicola; its supposed alliance to this genus is |