(379) REVIEWS. LOCAL REPORTS. [No reference is made in these notices to the Waxwing invasion of 1946-7 or inland occurrences of Curlew-Sandpipers and Little Stints in 1946, as these are covered by special reports in this and the following issues. Cornwall Bird-watching and Preservation Society : Sixteenth Annual Report 1946. The Cornwall Report again contains much useful and interesting informa­ tion, including a considerable amount of breeding data by Col. Ryves and a number of notes on habits, etc., as well as faunistic material. Three breeding pairs of Choughs are recorded, two of these evidently rearing young success­ fully, and it is gratifying to learn, after the onslaught on the Peregrines during the war, that pairs of these birds bred successfully at two sites and reared one and two young respectively. Short-eared Owls bred successfully for the fourth consecutive year and the nesting of a second pair is suspected. A pair of Blue-headed Wagtails bred in Marazion Marsh : coition and, later, a young bird accompanying the parents were seen. Fulmars are known to have bred at five sites on the north coast, including Trevone, where breeding took place in 1944, but not in 1945. Colonies appear to be forming, though breeding was not proved, at, several other points, including Land's End, and a pair probably bred on the west side of the Lizard peninsula, indicating an eastward extension along the south coast of the county. The Kittiwake colony found by Mr, Buxton on Gorregan in the Scillies in 1945 {antea, Vol. xxxix, p. 190) was again occupied, but none bred on Menavawr. Arctic Terns, whose breeding on Annet in 1945 was also recorded by Mr. Buxton (I.e.), apparently bred again in 1946, but there seems to be some conflict of evidence on the subject. Five pairs of Arctics and a young one just able to fly are recorded on Tean in August. One pair of Roseate Terns was identified on Annet. The continued increase of Great Black-backed Gulls (the astonishing number of approximately 100 breeding pairs is recorded on Annet alone) is stated "to threaten seriously-the continued existence of Puffins, and to a lesser extent Shearwater, on the Islands," and it seems a pity some judicious control measures cannot be adopted. Nevertheless, in spite of the destruction on Annet, Manx Shearwaters have "spread considerably to other islands." Of rare birds the most notable are : a male Woodchat at St. Helen's, Scilly, on May 12th, a Wryneck at Tintagel on October 3rd and 8th (the first record for the mainland), a Sooty Shearwater off Newquay on July 18th, and a Kentish Plover on September 4th. The last-mentioned record is presumably sound, as the observer was familiar with the species in Spain and the legs are stated to have been definitely black "and the other marks of identification seen"; all the same it would have strengthened the record to mention what these were. There are quite a number of Spoonbill records from five different areas. These are quoted in a most confusing way without any relation of locality or date, but boil down to: two on Marazion Marsh in April and one in November, one on Camel Estuary in June, three on Ruan Estuary (Fal) in September- October and four to five in December, one near Newquay in October, and one on the Helford River in December. There are also records of a drake Red- crested Pochard on the Ruan River on December 19th, an immature drake Eider off the entrance to the Fal on the same day, a Stone-Curlew on Burnt Island, St. Agnes, Scilly, on May 4th, and a Little Auk seen at close range off Newquay by two different observers on June 4th and July 10th, most exceptional dates. More Black Redstarts were recorded than usual and there are four phalarope records for the autumn. Two, off Par Beach on August 29th and at Looe on November 25th, were definitely identified as Grey Phalaropes, one (Par Marsh, December 2nd) is doubtful and a fourth (Marazion Marsh, September 23rd) had a very black crown and was believed to be a juvenile Red-neck, but the leg-colour suggests the Grey. An Iceland Gull reported near Porth- missen Farm on April 8th appears to have been satisfactorily identified, as 380 BRITISH BIRDS. [VOL. XL. Herring-Gulls were also present for comparison and the particularly long wings were noted. A record of a bird believed tb have been a female or juvenile Black Woodpecker is rightly given in square brackets with full details. Dr. Blair, who saw it and with whom we have corresponded on the subject, is fully convinced of. the correctness of the identification. Admittedly it is difficult to suggest an alternative, but unfortunately, no red was seen on the head (if confined to the back of the crown as in a female or juvenile it would apparently not have been visible in the position in which the bird was viewedj, but there are disconcerting points in the description, such as an apparent downward curvature of the beak, and we think the Editors' attitude of caution is correct. A most unsatisfactory record is the bald statement under Scandinavian Lesser Black-backed Gull that in a very large colony on St. Helens, Scihy, " a considerable proportion appeared to be of this species [sic], and that these were breeding birds." As it is quite incredible that birds of real Scandinavian origin should be breeding in Scilly, presumably all this statement can mean is that there was marked variation in the colony and that a number were unusually dark, but in the absence of any details what might have been an interesting observation is worthless. Of the many notes on bionomics may be mentioned : a record of Rooks repairing a nest of which the bottom fell out, by working underneath and outside it, display flight of Linnet, Chaffinch nesting at least 75 feet up in a pine, Blackbirds feeding on shore, subsong of Wren in nest and young return­ ing to nest after fledging, "injury-feigning" of Kestrel, a February record of Whimbrel, Herring-Gulls nesting on chimney-pots and other sites on buildings and on a flat beach, Guillemots nesting under boulders like Razorbills, and isolated nests of Common Terns on comparatively high ground in Scilly. An incubation-period of 20 days is recorded for the Tree-Creeper (14-15 days is usual, according to The Handbook) and for Goldcrest an incubation period of 14 days and fledging-period of 23 days (cf. "probably about 18-20 days" : Handbook). There are also special observations at a Raven roost in a wood, at which up to about 150 birds were counted, and on nest-construction by House-Martins, and some notes on heronries of the Fal and'Helford esturaries. Report on the Wild Birds of Leicestershire and Rutland, 1946. Edited by G. Harold Hunt. The titles of this report on the cover and title page are different, which should surely be corrected in future years. We have used the second, which is clearly preferable to the cumbersome Leicestershire and Rutland County Report of Wild Birds. And is not even "Wild" superfluous ? The Report is again a good one, nicely produced and with several photo­ graphs, and retains the form and style of earlier ones though appearing under new auspices, as what was originally the Ornithological Sub-section of the Leicester Literary and Philosophical Society has now been transformed into an entirely separate body, the Leicestershire and Rutland Ornithological Society. We wish the new organization every success. There are numerous notes on details of local distribution, which will all be valuable in working out the county fauna more precisely, and a good many on song-dates and other points. Special attention was paid to Great Crested Grebes during the year. Twenty pairs with nests are recorded and 33 young are known to have been hatched. At the Eye Valley Reservoir, where only three pairs nested, 35-40 non-breeding birds' were present in May, June and July, and as many as 150 on the autumn passage, in the first week of October. Curlew almost certainly bred or attempted to do so near Normanton-on- Soar. At least a hundred pairs of Black-headed Gulls nested in a colony near Ashby-de-la-7.ouch (first recorded in Brit. Birds, Vol. xxxix, p. 224), though few reared young, and details for previous years back to 1943 are given. Corncrakes were more widespread than for a number of years and a record of one calling on March 30th is unusually early. Amongst records of rarer occurrences the following may be noted : a male Blue-headed Wagtail at Swithland on May 18th, unusual numbers of Short- VOL. XL.] REVIEWS. 381 eared Owls (up to 24 were seen 011 the Leicester Sewage Farm in February), a Rough-legged Buzzard clearly identified at Swithland Reservoir on October 24th and one, probably the same, shot (to the discredit of those concerned) at Nanpatan, about five miles away, on the following day; eight Brent Geese at the Eye Valley Reservoir from February 25th to March 3rd (two were thought to be Light-breasted and six Dark-breasted, but it seems unlikely that both races would be included in such a party), remarkable number of Pintail at the same reservoir in January and December (already recorded in our pages), a Shag at Ibstock on September 5th, several records of Red-necked Grebes already published in British Birds, single Bar-tailed Godwits at the Eye Valley Reservoir on March 28th and May 3rd, a Sandwich Tern there on May 27th and two on July 10th, a first winter Little Gull at Belgrave on November 15th, and a Spotted Crake shot near Kilby Bridge on September 21st. There are also a number of records of the scarcer waterfowl and waders, including Whooper Swan, Red-breasted Merganser, Turnstone, Knot, Sanderling, Wood- Sandpiper, etc. A possible record of two Broad-billed Sandpipers at the Eye Valley Reservoir is rightly square-bracketed : it is possibly correct, but the apparently rather slight difference in size and colouring from accompanying Little Stints must raise doubts. There are special articles on the change in bird-life during the growth of a Charnwood conifer plantation and on Great Crested Grebes at Swithland Reservoir. Messrs Jolley and Storer give a brief interim report on their work on Sand-Martins : insects taken from the beak of a bird, captured when about to feed young, and subsequently identified at the British Museum are listed. Ornithological Report for Northumberland and Durham for 1946. Compiled by George W. Temperley (Reprinted from The Naturalist, July-September 1947)- The record of Black-necked Grebes breeding m Durham and of a Sabine's Gull on Holy Island have already been published in British Birds. Goosanders bred again in Coquetdale and breeding is also recorded in the Alwinton district, Northumberland, where apparently the species is well established, and on one of the tributaries of the North Tyne. Two pairs of Pochard reared young in Co. Durham (where the last case of nesting appears to have been in 1933), andtwopairsof Garganey seem to have attempted to breed in the north­ east of the county, though evidently without success. In the Fames, two pairs of Roseate Terns bred on the Brownsman, where Sandwich Terns also did well, though the number (now about 120 pairs) has greatly diminished compared with pre-war years. No Common Terns are known to have bred in the Fames, but Arctic Terns did well. An increase of Pied Flycatchers is recorded and the Little Owl is still spreading. Grey Lag Geese are now wintering regularly in Northumberland and up to 382 are recorded in the Fenham area. Black Grouse are " reported to be dying out or very scarce " in several districts of both counties. Some data on the local distribution of Marsh- and Willow-Tits are given. Corncrakes were more in evidence than for many years. There are almost certain records of a Little Shearwater off Alnmouth on September 15th and of three Great Shearwaters in Marsden Bay on September 8th. A Hoopoe (the first to be recorded in either county for many years) was seen on May 22nd near Shotley Bridge in the Derwent Valley and two Dotterel were seen on a fell in the area in mid-May, but evidently did not stay. Amongst other notes in this useful report may be mentioned : a bright red- billed Heron seen on March 16th (cf. antea, Vol. xxxviii, pp. 149 and 180), a case of an adult Mallard duck diving, and one of Woodcock carrying young. Yorkshire Naturalists' Union : Committee for Ornithology Report for 1946. Edited by Ralph Chislett. (Reprinted from The Naturalist, April- June, 1947). The Yorkshire Report as usual contains a large amount of data carefully digested and edited. Garganey were present at Swillington in summer, 382 BRITISH BIRDS. [VOL. XL. though definite nesting is not claimed. Black-necked Grebes nested in at least two localities, in one of which two pairs had eight well-grown young on September 8th. Breeding of Gannets was not proved at Bempton, though birds were present. An extension of breeding range of the Nuthatch to Thornton Dale is recorded, as is the spread of the Little Owl to the higher reaches of the Dales. A continued decrease of breeding Lapwings is noted. There are records of Corncrakes from several places. Of the more uncommon species may be mentioned : two examples of Carduelis hornemanni in a flock of 12 Mealy Redpolls near Kilnsea Beacon on November 2nd, a large pipit which appears to have been a Tawny, but might possibly have been a Richard's Pipit, at Spurn on September 23rd, a young Red-breasted Flycatcher ringed at Spurn on September 29th, an adult male Black Redstart feeding a recently fledged young one near Rotherham on June 23rd (this important record does not appear to have reached the organ­ izer of the Black Redstart Inquiry), an adult Wryneck with a family of 5 or 6 young near York in July (the Wryneck is rarely recorded breeding in York­ shire), two Marsh-Harriers at Cherry Cob Sands on May 10th, and a Little Crake seen at Spurn on December 28th. There are also two records of Hoopoes, two of Ospreys in addition to one already published in British Birds and a good many others of more or less scarce birds. Several other records are of more than passing interest. Magpies flourish in the suburbs of large Yorkshire towns and no less than 258 occupied nests were recorded in 1946 within roughly a five-mile radius from the city centre of Sheffield, about half of the area in question being "built-up." Jays are numerous in the gardens of residential areas of Harrogate and Sheffield, A male Pied Flycatcher at Goathland was without black except on the tail; a similar male occurred at Cropston and males in dark grey-brown plumage are stated to be not rare in the county. Some ten years ago Dr. R. Drost, of the Heligo­ land Bird Observatory, showed that a large proportion of breeding male Pied Flycatchers in middle Europe have little or no black (in other words they reach maturity without acquiring what must be regarded as the full adult plumage), whereas in Scandinavian birds black predominates. Information with regard to the British population is extraordinarily inadequate in this connexion, and precise observations on the proportions of black-, partly black- and brown-backed birds in different areas would be well worth obtaining. There are also records of courtship flight of a pair of Green Sandpipers observed at Osset Spa on April 14th (unfortunately no details are given), unusually large inland gatherings of 300 and 600 Curlew, and a case of Wood­ cock carrying young. Birmingham and West Midland Bird Club : Thirteenth Annual Report on the Birds of Warwickshire, Worcestershire and South Staffordshire, 1946. The Birmingham Bird Club has broadened its title as above and the report is also enlarged. A pair of Crossbills was observed at Sherriff's Lench, Worcestershire, on April 3rd, but no evidence of breeding was obtained. The breeding of Pochard at Chesterton, Warwickshire has already been recorded in British Birds. An extension of the breeding-range of Curlew for six to seven miles up the Avon valley in Warwickshire is recorded. As usual there is a fair crop of records of the scarcer waterfowl and waders from the reservoirs, amongst which may be mentioned Whooper and Bewick's Swans, Turnstone (including two at Shustoke Reservoir, Warwickshire, December 15th, which appear to provide the first fully authenticated record for the county), Tem- minck's Stint (one, Lower Bittell, Warwickshire, October nth to 15th), Wood-Sandpiper, Sanderling, Oystercatcher, Grey Plover, etc. A record of a flock of 30 Common Scoters (29 females and one immature) at Bartley Reservoir, Warwickshire on November 7th-8th, is remarkable. There are several records of Corncrakes. Some special notes on the birds of Bartley Reservoir, 1931 to 1946, and a migrant table are included. The erroneous record of a Golden Eagle in the previous report has already been corrected in British Birds, and we note that VOL. XL.] REVIEWS. 383 the flock of 13 Common Scoters seen at Bittell on May-26th, 1945, were all adult drakes and that the October party consisted of one adult drake and 12 " juveniles." But how were the juveniles distinguished from the females?

Report of the Cambridge Bird Club, 1946. Editor R. A. Hinde. As in previous years notes of passage birds at the Sewage Farm are given in a separate section from the rest and the Sewage Farm bulks largely in the Report. The extraordinary event of the breeding of a pair of Moustached Warblers has been fully recorded in British Birds. Short-eared Owls were particularly numerous on the marshes in November and December. An Arctic Skua found dead at Wicken has already been recorded in our pages. Two immature Long-tailed Ducks which were present at the gravel pits near the Sewage Farm from November 8th to 16th represent the third record for Cambridgeshire. A Snow-Bunting was seen there in November. There are various records of the scarcer waders (we have published a note on the unusual number of Knot) and one of a probable Broad-billed Sandpiper. A description is given of this last and there are considerable grounds for think­ ing that the identification is correct, including the references to the bill being " decurved fairly sharply towards the tip " and the pale longitudinal lines on the very dark crown.. On the other hand the description of the back as very similar to that of a Little Stint in colour and appearing "dark chestnut-brown with feathers edged golden buff " and with two broad black lines along the sides does not tally well with this species, in which, although the feathers are buff-edged, their more central parts are nearly black and the effect of lines on the back is of light on a dark ground, not the reverse. It is possible that these discrepancies, as they strike us, can be explained away; they are not fatal to the identification, but they are bound to raise some element of doubt, even although the other characteristics fit well and although the record receives a certain circumstantial backing from at least two definite Broad- billed Sandpipers having occurred in Great Britain in the autumn of 1946. Unfortunately it appears that the note, which is very distinct, was not heard. An example of the arctic race of the Ringed Plover was shot at North Wootton on November 1st, and records of a Blackbird vigorously attacking a Cuckoo and of a melanistie Black-headed Gull may be maintained. Black- headed Gulls bred on the Sewage Farm.

The Hastings and East Sussex Naturalist: Notes on the Local Fauna and Flora for 1946. By N. F. Ticehurst (Recorder). There are again a number of interesting records from this area. One, or possibly two, Little Buntings in September have already been recorded in British Birds, as has a party of Dotterel in the same month. A Lesser Grey Shrike was clearly identified on Pett Level on August 1st and an Alpine Swift there on July 8th. Other noteworthy records are : a male Ortolan at Fair­ field on May 10th, up to five Tawny Pipits on Pett Level in early April and others recorded in August and October, a pair of Ferruginous Ducks at Rye Harbour Gravel Pits from November 17th to December 8th, a Kentish Plover satisfactorily identified on Nook Beach sands on September 9th, and an Avocet on the Rother estuary on the late date of November 10th. There are also several records of Marsh-Harriers and others of Firecrest, Hoopoe, Spoonbill and other more or less scarce species. Common Scoters were present all the year in Rye Bay. Several cases of the breeding of Garganey on Pett Level in past years from 1908 to 1932 are placed on record, as is a thirty- year old occurrence of Barnacle Geese, seven of which were seen on Pett Level on February nth, 1917, constituting only the fifth record for the area. Marsh- Warblers bred in the Rother Valley, and five or six, presumably a brood, were seen on Pett Level on August 10th. These last are recorded by a careful observer, but as the identification of this species when not breeding is not easy some details might have been given. 384 BRITISH BIRDS. [VOL. XL.

A remarkable movement of Goldcrests is recorded at Dungeness on October nth, when hundreds were " running about at the foot of the bushes like mice." An undomed Magpie's nest and two instances of Linnets nesting in purslane on a mud-flat may also be mentioned. Wild Bird Protection in Norfolk, 1946. The position of the Norfolk report is somewhat peculiar. It is primarily a report of the Council of the Norfolk Naturalists' Trust on the important protected areas of the Broads and coast, and since the regrettable cessation of Mr. Riviere's annual reports in British Birds there has been no general county bird report in the ordinary sense. Recently, however, the present report has tended to include more notes from the county outside the pro­ tected areas and we hope this tendency will increase and extend, although the main emphasis must naturally continue to be on the areas directly controlled by the Trust. About 1,900 pairs of Sandwich Terns bred at Scolt, but only an abortive attempt at nesting was made at Blakeney and none bred at Salthouse. One pair of Roseate Terns bred at Scolt and reared young and at least three pairs of Arctic Terns nested amongst the numerous Commons. Three pairs of Marsh-Harriers bred in the Horsey area. In spite of careful watching a clutch of six was robbed. It is difficult to speak strongly enough of the mentality of persons responsible for this sort of thing. Fortunately the pair bred again and hatched five eggs, but two of the young ones were killed by the bigger chicks. The other two pairs reared four and two young res­ pectively. There is reason to believe that another pair bred on the North coast. Two pairs of Montagu's Harriers bred in the HicWing area and reared eight young. Seven pairs of Bitterns are believed to have bred at HicWing. There were six booming birds in the Somerton-Horsey area and four nests were found, in which from two to five young were reared. At least three pairs nested at Cley and in September eleven were seen there in the air at once. Bearded Tits were absent from Horsey in the summer. At Hickling the species did well : twelve nests, in which young were reared, were actually located, and there were certainly others. We fear the news for 1947 will be much less happy. A pair was present at Cley in November. A pair of Quail also bred at Cley. There are several records of Orioles, and there is reason to think that a pair bred near Horsey. The astonishing case of a Kittiwake nesting on the shore at Scolt has already been recorded in our pages. We note that about a hundred Kittiwakes, consisting of eight adults and the rest in first summer plumage, were present on the beach at Scolt on June 30th, an unusual occurrence. Black Terns were numerous in the spring ; fuller details will be found on p. 378. Fulmars were present about the cliffs at Sheringham and west of Cromer, but still do not appear to have bred, although at the latter site they have been observed since 1939. Of rarer visitors, a juvenile Long-tailed Skua picked up dead at Scolt on October 5th, a Temminck's Stint at Cley on September 10th and two on the nth, two Kentish Plovers at Breydon on May 12th and one on September 2nd may be mentioned. The identification of the Kentish Plovers is presumably considered satisfactory, but it would have been better if some details had been given. A possible Yellowshank was seen at Salthouse on October 2nd, but the evidence is not conclusive. The important record of an Eastern Rufous Turtle-Dove has already been published in British Birds. Other points which might be mentioned are the increase of the Magpie in Norfolk, where formerly it was quite an uncommon bird over the greater part of the county, an early record of Purple Sandpipers (three) at Blakeney on August 2nd, and an interesting case of a Lapwing seen to pick up and carry away a young one in its feet, A fairly certain case of this is recorded in the Zoologist, 1892, p. 350, but we know of no other. A Scandinavian Lesser Black-backed Gull ringed near Gothenburg, Sweden, in 1945 was picked up dead at Breydon on September 5th.