less than the hens scale which are shot earlier in the season, a very substantial difference. These last stay till towards the pairing season, and then are seen no more till late autumn. Apart from the weights, which speak for themselves, the three types are distinguishable at a glance by their plumage.-HENRY H. SLATER.

Migration of Grouse in Winter.-In our last number (p. 69) we printed the reports of several correspondents, showing the severe straits to which the Red Grouse have been reduced upon the north country moors by reason of the severe cold and heavy snow, which have prevented them from getting their usual food, and driven them down to the valleys in search of sustenance. A correspondent of The Field,' writing from North Yorkshire on Feb. 12th, observes:-" In the North Riding the storm continues with unabated severity, and both winged and ground game are suffering. On the moor the snow lies very deep, many of the smaller ghylls' being completely overblown. The Grouse have forsaken the higher moors, where it is impossible for them to be artificially fed, and have congregated on the lower ground, where, by means of snow harrows, and holes dug through the snow, they are enabled to reach the heather. On most moors, where practicable, they have been and are daily fed with unthrashed corn. Numbers of Grouse, however, are scattered all over the lower valleys, and may be seen literally in hundreds perched in the hedgerows, feeding on the hawthorn berries and haws of the brier, and other wild seeds. It is a pitiable sight to see the straits to which these-our gamest of game-birds— are reduced; they are so tamed by want of food as to be heedless of the approach of man, and could easily be knocked down with a stick. Scores have succumbed, but in many cases these have been pricked' birds, and in some instances birds suffering from tapeworm. All the weakly birds must be killed by the intense cold and lack of food, and numbers will doubtless fall victims to unscrupulous persons. The partial thaw, succeeded by a severe frost, rendered it impossible for the birds to get through the frozen surface to reach their natural food, and this frost was followed by another thick covering of snow. Undoubtedly, good will ensue to a limited extent by the change of blood, and on the overstocked moors disease may be averted. Not within the memory of man have so many Grouse been seen feeding in hedgerows or amongst the sheep and in farmyards as at present. Partridges also have suffered, and whole coveys have been found frozen stiff where jugging. In most cases Partridges are able to eke out a subsistence by feeding in the hedge bottoms, roads, and farm or stackyards, but the bitter cold of the present storm has caused great destruction. Rooks and Carrion Crows have been seen feeding on emaciated, starved birds and rabbits. Pheasants are, as a rule, well looked after and hand-fed, but in distant and unpreserved coverts the wild birds are being exterminated. Foxes are plentiful, and their pad-marks can be seen in all directions in the

snow, and doubtless they also have proved destructive to game. Snipe have apparently deserted us, and comparatively few wildfowl have been seen inland. Hares and rabbits are perishing in scores, dead bodies, frozen stiff, being frequently seen. In the hedgerows and plantations most of the lower branches and stems of the trees have been peeled by the rabbits, which seem especially partial to holly, ash, and hazel, the blackthorn escaping to a great extent. The hill farmers are put to great straits for want of hay, and the difficulty of transporting it, many of the roads. being snow-blocked."

Brünnich's Guillemot in Cambridgeshire.-With reference to the Guillemot alluded to in your editorial note (p. 70) as announced by the Rev. Julian Tuck, I beg to inform you that this gentleman has been kind enough to send me the specimen in question, stuffed, for inspection. I had little doubt at first sight as to its species, but as I have a very slight acquaintance with this family of birds, I obtained Mr. Tuck's permission to send his bird for the opinion of Professor Alfred Newton, who, after comparing it with specimens in the Cambridge University Museum, wrote to me that (in his opinion) there could be no doubt that the bird is Brünnich's Guillemot. I may add that through the courtesy of Mr. W. J. Clarke and Mr. Oxley Grabham, I have also seen the Scarborough and Filey specimens, recorded loc. supra cit. and that an examination of these confirms (were any confirmation needed) Professor Newton's opinion with regard to the subject of this note.-LILFORD (Lilford Hall, Oundle).

[It is satisfactory to have all doubt removed by this communication, for which we are much obliged, and it only remains to add that the Cambridgeshire specimen of Brünnich's Guillemot here referred to was obtained at Guyhirne, on the Nene, Cambridgeshire, about the 12th January last. It was received in the flesh by Mr. Travis, taxidermist, of Bury, from whom it was subsequently purchased by Mr. Tuck.-ED.]

Sea Gulls in London:-During the continuance of the severe frost in January and February hundreds of Sea Gulls frequented the Thames in the very heart of London, attracted apparently by the open water which was kept from freezing by the tide. Here they remained for many weeks, hovering round the bridges, from which the bystanders threw them pieces of bread, biscuit, and other food, or resting on the moored barges and blocks of floating ice. At Blackfriars Bridge they were especially numerous, and between that and Westminster Bridge they were daily to be seen in hundreds. From Westminster some of them made daily excursions to the water in St. James's Park, where they would alight to share the food thrown to the Ducks and semi-domesticated pinioned Gulls, which perhaps served as decoys. Amongst the flocks which visited the metropolis, by far the greater number were Black-headed Gulls in the ordinary winter plumage,

that is without black heads, and many of them immature, as might be seen by their mottled backs and the broad dark bar across the extremity of the tail. But in addition to these were many Kittiwakes, a few Common Gulls, Herring Gulls, and now and then an immature Black-backed Gull. On one occasion (Feb. 15th) I had a close view of a Little Gull, Larus minutus, as it passed along the Thames Embankment at Charing Cross, within a yard or two of where I stood feeding some of the Black-headed species. Londoners are accustomed to see a few Gulls on the river from time to time, as well as on the water in the parks during the period of migration in spring and autumn, but the unusual numbers of these birds which made their appearance in the middle of January was so extraordinary as to attract universal attention.-J. E. HARTING.

Hybrid Finches at the Crystal Palace Bird Show.-The most interesting hybrid exhibited at the late Crystal Palace Bird Show was a cross between the Greenfinch and Bullfinch—a large handsome bird with a greyish back and dull reddish yellow breast and upper tail coverts. In the same class was a Siskin and Redpoll hybrid, and several examples of the commoner crosses between the Goldfinch and Linnet and the Bullfinch and Goldfinch; one variety with a white head, which was undescribed in the catalogue, was evidently an example of the latter. Altogether eleven birds were exhibited in this class, exclusive of a Reed Bunting, which for some unknown reason was allowed a place in it. Two very nice Redstarts and some beautiful Bearded Tits were on view, and the variety class included a Goldfinch with a black instead of a crimson face.-A. HOLTE MACPHERSON.

Two-barred Crossbill in the West of England and Ireland.-A letter from Mr. Maxwell, of Keynsham, Somerset, announces the fact of his having shot a red Crossbill with two white bars across the wing, one of a little flock that visited a wood in his neighbourhood during the last week of February. Another is reported from the Co. Fermanagh, by Mr. Charles Langham, of Tempo Manor, Enniskillen, who writes on Feb. 23rd :-" I have had a stroke of luck since I last wrote to you. Wishing to obtain some Crossbills for my collection, I shot a few, one of which is Loxia bifasciata. My bird-stuffer, who has had over sixty years' experience, is positive that it is the European Two-barred Crossbill, and not the American white-winged species." We have no reason to doubt the correctness of the identification, and those of our correspondents who are being visited by Crossbills this winter would do well to keep a look-out for the rarer twobarred species that may be in their company.-ED.

Shearwaters in Carnarvonshire.-It is not at all unlikely that the dead Shearwaters found in Carnarvonshire by Mr. T. A. Coward (p. 72) may have been dashed by the force of the wind against the cliffs, on misty nights, and killed. When at the Scilly Islands, I found a good many of

these birds which had evidently met their death in this way, and I think most of them had broken necks like those found by Mr. Coward.-J. H. GURNEY (Keswick, Norwich).

Stone Curlew in Lincolnshire in Winter.-A specimen of the Stone Curlew (Edicnemus) was shot by a labourer in the parish of Marsh Chapel, on the 30th January last. It was in good condition, in spite of the extreme severity of the weather.-G. H. CATON HAIGH (Grainsby Hall, Great Grimsby, Lincolnshire).

Waxwing in Leicestershire.-A specimen of this bird was shot near the village of Laughton, in this county, on Feb. 13th. I did not hear of its occurrence before the bird had been sent for preservation to a birdstuffer in Leicester, and am therefore unable to state any particulars as to its sex, or food.-A. MATTHEWS (Gumley, Market Harborough).

Blackbird marked like Ring Ouzel.-In 'The Zoologist' for 1893, p. 189, is a notice of an old male Blackbird marked with a well-defined crescent-shaped patch at the upper part of the breast near the throat. I have seen this bird constantly here ever since, until the beginning of the present year 1895, and the pale marking had increased in distinctness. I fear that some mischance has happened to this bird, as it has not been visible among the numerous birds of many kinds coming daily to be fed on my lawn during the long severe past frost; there is, however, in its place, a hen Blackbird marked exactly in the same way. She has been about here since last summer.-O. P. CAMBRIDGE (Bloxworth Rectory, Dorset).

-The Grey-lag

Gray-lag Geese breeding in Nottinghamshire. Geese, Anser ferus, come to our shooting-quarters in Norway on or about April 1st, and generally speaking have laid and are sitting by May 1st. The eggs from which my geese at Annesley were reared were taken during the last week in April, 1889, and I myself set them under hens. They took twenty-eight days hatching, and the young were very easily reared. In March, 1894, they all took their departure, and when I returned from Scotland I discovered two of them sitting on the island in the pond, about half-amile away. They each in due time hatched four young ones, and they are all now well and strong. I have never got them to cross with the tame geese, although they are always together. I have seen them crossed in Scotland, but mine never do so, although they have every opportunity, as for some years I had a wild gander alone with tame geese, and I also had a wild goose for several years alone with my tame geese. I consider that the Scotch wild Gray-lag differs somewhat from the Norwegian bird, though not to any great extent. Two facts strike me as curious, namely, that they laid their eggs and were sitting a month earlier than they would have done

in Norway, and also that one gander paired with two geese, which is quite opposed to what happens in a wild state, for they then pair and the gander keeps with the goose the whole time she is sitting, and guards the brood until they all take their departure at the end of September. Another fact I should like to mention, and that is, Grey-lag Geese do not lay the number of eggs that is commonly supposed. Six is the largest number that I have ever seen; four and five the usual number. I have heard of seven, but have never seen so many, and I have had considerable experience in this respect.-P. MUSTERS (Annesley Park, Notts).

REPTILIA.

On the Habits of Macropisthodon rhodomelas.-The little harmless Macropisthodon rhodomelas, Boulenger, is one of the commonest Snakes in Singapore, and may often be seen creeping about in the grass in the Botanic Gardens, in the early morning and evening. It is very conspicuous with its brick-red head and body and slaty-blue belly. On the nape is a black V-shaped mark, edged with blue, and a black line runs down the back. When attacked, and unable to escape, it sits up like a Cobra, spreading out the skin on either side of its neck, and arching forwards its head. This imitation of a Cobra might of itself deter enemies from approaching it, but the reptile has a further protection, which I think has not been hitherto recorded. When sitting up, Cobra-wise, it exudes from a point on its neck just above the black mark, a number of drops of a thick white liquid, in the position of the skull-like markings of the Cobra. A Terrier attacking this Snake naturally bit and shook it by the most prominent portion, namely, the arched neck; and though he killed it, the glandular exudation made him foam at the mouth for a considerable time, and he was evidently very uncomfortable. The action on the mucous membrane of the mouth was exactly like that produced by the acrid secretion of a common Toad here, Bufo melanostictus, which no dog will touch twice. I captured one of these Snakes and tasted the milky exudation, but though it was bitter and unpleasant, it did not produce the action on my salivary glands that it does on those of the dog. I do not remember to have heard of any other Snake which repels its enemies by its distastefulness; and the boldness with which this Snake moves about in open, exposed spots, is probably due to the possession of this form of defence. I should add, that as all the Cobras in the south of the Malay Peninsula are entirely black, and the only other hooded Snake, Ophiophagus, does not much resemble Macropisthodon in colouring, so that though the latter may be taken for a poisonous hooded Snake under some circumstances, the resemblance is probably hardly sufficiently close to deceive the sharp-eyed Serpent-Eagles which are always on the watch for prey.H. N. RIDLEY (Singapore).