Page:The Zoologist, 4th series, vol 1 (1897).djvu/361

Rh Still, the song I heard was certainly that of the Icterine Warbler. There can be no doubt that this bird is a regular summer visitor to this country, only requiring those acquainted with its song to identify its presence.— (Vicarage, Buckland Dinham, Frome).

Rare Warblers in Sussex.—On May 1st last two Warblers, male and female, were sent to Mr. Bristow, of St. Leonards, for preservation, from Burwash, in Sussex. The female, which turned out to be Hypolais icterina, I exhibited at the May Meeting of the British Ornithologists' Club. The male I did not have an opportunity of seeing till to-day (June 24th), and on comparing it with the female I was struck by its relative shortness of wing. I then examined them more closely, and found that in the female (H. icterina) the first primary was just shorter than the primary coverts, and the second intermediate in length between the fourth and fifth; whereas in the male the first primary was longer than the primary coverts, and the second intermediate in length between the sixth and seventh, the third, fourth, and fifth forming the tip of the wing. This, I see, is just the difference given by Herr Gätke between H. icterina and H. polyglotta. It is curious that these two birds, male and female, should have been shot on the same day and at the same place, and a pity that in May they should not be safe from persecution.— (Guy's Hospital, S.E.).

Variety of Grasshopper Warbler.—On July 10th, 1892, Daws, the taxidermist at Mansfield, and a friend, were seeking butterflies near Mansfield, and when beating some sedges on a brook-side a small bird flew up, which Daws caught in his net. This proved to be a variety of the Grasshopper Warbler, and as it is the only variety of which I have ever heard, think it, though so far back, as worth mentioning in 'The Zoologist.' The plumage is paler than usual; the first two flight-feathers in right wing are white, as are the first four in the left; there are also a few small white feathers over the flights. Daws most kindly gave me the specimen, which I value as a very rare variety.— (Rainsworth, Notts).

Variations of Habit in the Blue Titmouse.— In 'The Zoologist' for 1896 (p. 103), I recorded the unusual habit of a Blue Tit in soaring on motionless wings from perch to perch. I afterwards saw this bird often, and this year it exhibited exactly the same behaviour. On one occasion it rose from the top of an oak, and then sailed along, in the manner of a Tree Pipit, to the top of a lower tree. The best "sail" it executed was when passing over a road to the lamp-post in which its nest was afterwards built; it was going against the wind, and seemed to creep along the air in a charming manner, and was closely followed by another Tit, to which it had been addressing ardent call-notes. The Blue Tits here nest in the lamp-posts. The lamplighter tells me they all rear their young, and I