273
NOTES: ORIGINAL AND SELECTED.
Pied Flycatcher at Loughton.—On the morning of May 5th, 1932,
Miss Betty Playne watched a male Pied Flycatcher in the grounds of
Mr. Bernard Howard, Pollards, Loughton. She had a close view of the
bird for about five minutes, as it repeatedly flew from a wire, stretching
from a hut on a little island in a pond, to the mainland and back again.
Although she had not seen a pied flycatcher before, she could not doubt
its identity from the pied plumage and the flycatcher-like habits of the
bird. In Glegg's History of the Birds of Essex he refers to the Pied Fly-
catcher as having been recorded in the County in twenty-six different
years since it was first noted there in 1822, the last time it was observed
having been in Epping Forest on May 5th, 1926. He states that most
of the Essex records were made in the month of May, during the spring
migration. G. Lister.
Common Buzzards in Essex.—Several of these birds have been seen,
in various parts of the County, during the winter months of 1931-32.
Mr. Alfred Hills records a young male at Weeley (which was, of course,
killed !), a hen bird was shot at Gosfield, her mate, who was with her,
escaping, and a third bird was seen at Berechurch ; all these were in
November. Mr. H. Collar records a specimen as having been shot at
Saffron Walden, also in November. In early February an adult male
was shot at Little Baddow : after lying exposed to the elements for over
a month this specimen was seen, on March 16th, by Mr. F. J. Thorrington,
and was by him sent up to the Stratford Museum in a more or less
desiccated condition, where it was identified. Lastly, yet another Buzzard
was shot at Kelvedon in March by a young gamekeeper, who, when
summoned for the offence, pleaded that he "did not know he was doing
anything wrong." In view of these facts, one asks, of what use are the
various Orders issued under the Wild Birds' Protection Acts ?
Percy Thompson.
Parraquets at Loughton.—For nearly three years past, several
green parraquets have frequented gardens at Loughton bordering Epping
Forest, whether escapes from captivity or deliberately turned out is not
known. At least six in number at first, now only one survivor remains.
During the autumn of 1930 they were seen feeding on the seeds of Haw-
thorn, slitting open the nuts with their powerful beaks and soon stripping
a large bush of its fruit : during the winters they were fed by kindly-
disposed residents. The surviving specimen is evidently one of the True
Parraquets of the genus Palaeornis, probably P. torquatus, the ring-necked
parraquet, which ranges from India to Cochin-China. It is a male.
Its flight is straight and rapid, usually at about 30 feet above the ground :
the blunt beak and head tapering to the long thin tail streaming straight
behind, give a characteristic outline as it flies, screaming as it goes.
Percy Thompson, May, 1932.
Velvet Scoter in West Essex.—A young drake of this species
was seen on several occasions in the early spring of this year (1932) on
the Walthamstow Reservoirs, and is recorded by Mr. W. A. Wright in
British Birds for May. Editor.