EDITORIAL GLEANINGS.
A considerable amount of interest attached to the sale by auction, on April 13th, at Messrs. J. C. Stevens's Rooms, in King Street, Covent Garden, of a very fine and perfect specimen of an egg of the Great Auk. There was a large attendance, and after a spirited competition, the bidding starting at 100 guineas, quickly rose by five and ten-guinea bids until the sum of 280 guineas was reached, at which price it was knocked down to Mr. T.G. Middlebrook. During the last twenty years the pages of this Journal have recorded the sales of several of these high-priced eggs, in the same well-known sale-rooms:—
| 'Zoologist,' vol. iv. | p. 365 | ... July 2nd,1880 | ... 2 eggs... | ₤100 and £105 2s. |
| 'Zoologist,'„ vol.„xii. | p.28 | ... Dec. 13th, 1887 | ... 1 egg... | £168. |
| 'Zoologist,'„ vol.„xii.„ | p. 143 | ... Mar. 12th, 1888 | ... 1 egg„ | £225. |
| 'Zoologist,'„ vol.„xviii. | p. 108 | ... Feb. 22nd, 1894 | ... 1 egg„ | £315. |
| 'Zoologist,'„ vol.„xix. | p. 193 | ... April 23rd, 1895 | ... 1 egg„ | £189. |
| 'Zoologist,'„ vol.„xii.„ | p. 269 | ... June 25th, 1895 | ... 1 egg„ | £173 5s. |
| 'Zoologist,'„ vol.„xx. | p. 192 | ... April 20th, 1896 | ... 1 egg„ | £168. |
Mr. Thomas Thompson writes ('Newcastle Daily Journal,' April 28th), that "on the 20th March he noticed a Thrush's nest in a yew tree in his orchard at Winlaton, and on the 27th it contained Blackbird's eggs, the old female Blackbird flying off. He also saw the male Thrush at different dates sitting very close in the nest on the young birds, but on Friday, the 23rd inst., on examining the nest, he was grieved to see that it had been interfered with by some small animal, most likely a Mouse, as a hole had been made through the side. This work must have alarmed the parent birds. The nest contained one young bird only, and though warm it was dead. Mr. Duncan, of Newcastle, received it the same day for preservation. Mr. Thompson adds that in over fifty years' experience he never came across a like instance or yet ever heard of such."
In the 'Annals of Scottish Natural History' for April, Mr. William Eagle Clarke records the occurrence of the Frigate Petrel, Pelagodroma marina, on the west coast of Scotland. It was captured alive on the margin of a stream on the west side of the island of Colonsay, on Jan. 1st of the
