Page:The Zoologist, 4th series, vol 3 (1899).djvu/293

Rh E.N. Bloomfield some months ago he informed me that a number of these Bats have established themselves under the eaves of his residence (Guestling Rectory, near Hastings). Since then I have had two opportunities of satisfying myself that the species is rightly identified. I am happy to add that Mr. Bloomfield and his sisters take great interest in the little animals, and will not have them disturbed.—

Albino of the Beaver.—With reference to the communication of Mr. Service in 'The Zoologist' (ante, p. 220) concerning a white Beaver (Castor canadensis), I should like to record a specimen of a skin exhibiting this abnormality which came under my own notice. In 1893 or 1894 a taxidermist and dealer in Manchester showed me a beautiful albinic skin of this animal. This taxidermist, who was a Canadian, had been a trapper, and himself obtained the animal the pelt of which he showed me.— (H.M.S. 'Repulse,' Channel Squadron).

Blackbird and Ivy-seeds.—With regard to the note on a male Blackbird (Turdus merula) storing seeds at the nest (ante, p. 181), I do not think it is at all likely that a male Blackbird would try to feed his mate on the seeds of the ivy. The berries of the ivy are eaten by Blackbirds and Thrushes in considerable quantities at the end of winter and in early spring. But the seeds are not digested by the birds; they are voided whole, and may be seen at that season piled up in small heaps all about my shrubbery and elsewhere. May I suggest the possibility of the seeds seen by Mr. Lewis piled on the side of the nest having been deposited in this manner?— (Bloxham, Oxon).

Is the Whinchat a Mimic?—To this question, propounded by Mr. H.S. Davenport in 'The Zoologist' (ante, p. 208) as to whether Pratincola rubetra is a mimic, I unhesitatingly answer, Yes. On May 20th, 1897, I was attracted by two Whinchats singing very diverse songs in a thin wood on the Pentlands; one of them was perched on the very summit of a Scotch fir, and began its song with the alarm-cry of the Redshank twice repeated, whilst the other had no such note in its song. I have also noted the Whinchat imitating the Sand Martin, the Sandpiper, and the Yellowhammer; and I believe that the great variations noticeable in the songs of individual birds of this species are the direct result of imitation.— (46, Cumberland Street, Edinburgh).

Blue-headed Wagtail in Cumberland.—After waiting upwards of seventeen years, I have at last detected Motacilla flava in Lakeland. On