Page:The Zoologist, 3rd series, vol 1 (1877).djvu/80

54 determine the sex, but believe it to be a female. The stomach contained the remains of numerous small beetles.— (Taxidermists, 2, Dame Street, Dublin).

[In Thompson's 'Natural History of Ireland' (i., p. 366), three instances of the reported occurrence of the Roller in Ireland are mentioned, but the author states that, at the date of the publication of his work, "no example of the bird, unquestionably killed in this island, had to his knowledge come under the inspection of the naturalist."—]

—The individuals of this species which occur on our east coast during the autumnal migration are invariably described as being immature birds only. I think it very likely that observers may have been mistaken in this matter, as at this season the sexes, both mature and immature, are scarcely distinguishable. In his 'Birds of Northumberland and Durham' (p. 79), Mr. Hancock has very clearly pointed out the close resemblance in the plumage of the sexes in both the young and old birds. "They are," he says, "after the autumnal moult, all of the same obscure brown tint above; the males, however, may be known by the white hand on the front of the head, by the white bar on the wing being broader than in the female, and by the basal portion of the tail being a little darker, and consequently by the white of this part being more conspicuous." The subject of the immigration of this species on the N.E. coast in the autumn is worth looking into by ornithologists and observers living in these districts.— (Great Cotes, Ulceby).

—Until the summer of 1874 I was quite unacquainted with the Pied Flycatcher, never having seen or heard of this bird in Airedale. In that year, however, I happened to go into Wharfedale, which is separated from Airedale by three or four miles only of hilly moorland, "wildly majestic," and there to my surprise I found it breeding plentifully. In fact, it was commoner there than the Spotted Flycatcher. I saw no less than six pairs. This local distribution of the species strikes me as being somewhat remarkable.— (Wilsden).

—The following note from a friend at West Hartlepool is dated November 15th, 1876:—"On Friday last a Golden Eagle was seen hovering about Seaton Carew, and was shot at by several persons. It afterwards went over in the direction of Throston Cars, and may have found its way to the Dene, as it was going in that direction." Now although the date is earlier, it is in all probability the same bird as that mentioned by Mr. Cordeaux (p. 9). I had almost resolved not to send you this note, for I am convinced that secondhand information is of very little value—at least, it will nearly always be found to be misleading. As an instance of this, I may mention that a young Eagle was said to have been shot at Seaton, near Seaham Harbour, about the 1st of November, and a paragraph relating the circumstance appeared