Page:The Zoologist, 3rd series, vol 2 (1878).djvu/239

Rh arrival in November—flying in a northerly direction, and evidently migrating. This total absence of the Fieldfare here during the winter is quite exceptional, if not unique, in my ornithological experience. I saw a Redstart on April 17th, and about a dozen Sand Martins on the 18th; and my brother saw a Swallow on the last-mentioned date. Two male Tree Pipits were observed, both singing, on the 19th April, and a Yellow Wagtail on the 21st. All the above-mentioned migrants, excepting the Swallow, are now (April 21st) generally distributed in suitable localities. The wind has veered into the east, and we are beginning to experience the truth of the old proverb, "One Swallow doth not make a summer."— (Wilsden).

—I forward to you the following list of summer migrants, with dates of arrival, as observed by members of our Field Club:— Wheatear, March 24th; Swallow, April 8th; Chiffchaff, 9th; Willow Warbler, 11th; Cuckoo, 16th; Swift and Corn Crake, 17th; Whitethroat, 18th; Sand Martin, 22nd; Flycatcher, May 12th.— (Rathmines School, Dublin).

—In a letter from my brother, Lieut. Gervase Mathew, R.N., dated on board H.M.S. 'Cygnet,' off Bulair Lines in the Sea of Marmora, on the 14th May last, are several ornithological notes which I think will be interesting to readers of 'The Zoologist,' and I accordingly forward them for publication. He says:—"During our passage from Malta to Besika Bay a number of birds, migrants, flew on hoard the ship—Swallows, Turtle Doves, Grey-headed Wagtails, &c. One of the first birds I noticed was a Little Bittern; it flew on board and settled in one of the big boats we were bringing out. I crept up alongside the boat, then suddenly jumped up and caught the bird as it flew up. It was a beautiful creature; I skinned it, and it proved to be a female. One day a violent thunder-storm broke over us and the rain came down very heavily and lasted for several hours. In about half an hour from the time it commenced the ship was crowded with birds, the greater number being Grey-headed Wagtails (of which there must have been several hundreds), Turtle Doves, Swallows, Whinchats, Titlarks, Cuckoo (one), Short-toed Lark (one), Striated Bunting, &c. In Besika Bay and up the Dardenelles there were many hundreds of Shearwaters; they are continually on the move, flying backwards and forwards, and the Turks say they are the spirits of the departed. They seem to be darker birds than our English Shearwater. The commonest gull about Gallipoli is the little black-headed Adriatic Gull, a very pretty bird with intense black head and bright coral red legs and beak. Its note is very different from that of Larus ridibundus, and it is, I fancy, a trifle larger. Herring, Lesser Black-backed