Page:The Zoologist, 4th series, vol 5 (1901).djvu/456

428 than once been recorded as visiting Fleet Pond, in quite another part of the county. What a study is the short plated leg, file-like toes, and long and powerful claws, &c., belonging to this bird—all so nicely adapted to secure and retain its slippery and finny prey; whilst the very short thigh-feathers, so unusual in the Falcons, at once attract attention.— (Ringwood, Hants).

Little Bustard in Sussex.—On Dec. 23rd, 1900, a Little Bustard (Otis tetrax) was shot at Kitchenham Farm, Ashburnham, near Hastings, Sussex, by the Hon. John Ashburnham. Mr. Borrer, in his 'Birds of Sussex,' describes it as a very rare straggler. He only mentions four instances of its occurrence, the two last in 1879.— (54, London Road, Reading).

Red-necked Phalarope (Phalaropus hyperboreus) in North Wales.—On Sept. 27th I was shown, at a local taxidermist's, a Red-necked Phalarope, which had been found a day or two before at Towyn. Mr. Howard Saunders happened to be in Shrewsbury that day, and kindly examined the specimen. The toes being only slightly lobed, he judged it to be rather a young bird. It was in autumnal plumage, with no trace of red. With the exception of a specimen shot in Anglesey (Zool. 1893, p. 428) this seems to be the only example ever recorded on the west side of North Wales.— (Shrewsbury).

Great Snipe and Variety of Swallow in Hampshire.—On Oct. 12th a specimen of the Great or Solitary Snipe (Gallinago major) was shot in this neighbourhood, but, having been killed with "duck-shot," it was very much mutilated, part of the tail having been carried away, and the dark barred under parts of the body were very torn. It weighed exactly 8 oz., and under the broken skin appeared to be a mass of oily fat. The whole plumage was much darker than the Common Snipe, the length of beaks being about equal; but in the larger species the legs were of a greener hue, and much more robust, and from the toes to the first joint measured three-eighths of an inch more than in the commoner bird. The outer tail-feathers were not wholly white, but had indications of dark bars across their entire width, an indication, as described, of immaturity.

Several times in the summer I was told that a so-called "white Swallow" (Hirundo rustica) had been seen about the river here, and I trust its life was spared; but at the end of August the remains of a peculiar variety of this summer-loving bird was sent to me from the neighbourhood of Lymington. It appeared to be a uniform pink chocolate brown upon the back and greater wing-coverts, the head and breast being a lighter grey; the larger quills both of wings and