Page:The Zoologist, 4th series, vol 5 (1901).djvu/294

268 finch has occurred in England, I hope they may find mates if they remain in the country. At all events, those who make a practice of destroying rare birds will hereby be warned to be suspicious of the Rosefinch in Devon at present, for such of these specimens as get successfully through the moult will, of course, be undistinguishable from wild arrivals. One bird's leg has been broken above the hock, and has healed again; so this individual may be recognized if procured.— (c/o Zoological Society, 3, Hanover Square, London).

A Stronghold of the Chough.—There is as much, if not more, satisfaction in recording the prosperity of a rare resident British bird as in announcing the capture of the most extraordinary stragglers to our shores. Pyrrhocorax graculus is a species whose distribution, on the sea-cliffs of our islands, has been steadily narrowed; and, as it is a very sedentary bird, there is no probability that once exterminated it will ever re-establish itself. I have within the last few years paid three visits to a spot on the western coast of Scotland, where the Choughs, if not abundant, are at least firmly established and prosperous. They suffered very severely during the hard weather at the beginning of 1895, but since then I am assured they have increased. They nest in three spots on this island—all very inaccessible cliffs on the seashore—and very likely these three colonies keep more or less distinct. I was anxious to ascertain how many pairs there were, which is obviously difficult to determine; and the gamekeeper assured me that there were "several hundred pairs," and that there was not the slightest danger of their becoming extinct. According to my observation, the birds hardly ever leave the sea-coast. I have seen small parties flying perhaps half a mile inland: their calls as they pass over immediately attract the attention of an ornithologist, and much resemble those of a small party of Jackdaws, but are rather shriller. I have also watched them on the rocks at low tide, apparently searching for food. The position of their nesting-places makes it practically impossible to rob them, and I do not think the birds are persecuted by anyone. The gamekeeper took some young ones, but failed to rear them; they make very engaging pets, I believe. A nest with eggs was also recently taken by the keeper for an American museum. The birds may be identified at a great distance with a glass, both when flying and perching, by their long red bill. As far as I can discover, the west coast of Scotland is now the chief stronghold of the Chough, though it has become extinct in some of the islands within comparatively recent years. There are still some in Ireland, in Wales, in Devon, and in Cornwall. Mr. Harting, in his admirable 'Handbook of British Birds' (p. 93, new and revised edition), mentions Dorsetshire. Without making public the exact locality (as I have purposely refrained from doing), I should be interested if some Dorsetshire correspondent would