. British birds. Birds. OTES. RAVEN WITH ONLY ONE EYE. In July, 1917, Mr. George Bolam sent me from Alston, Cumberland, a Raven {Gorvus c. corax) which was moulting from the juvenile to the first winter plumage. The bird was considerably emaciated and the under mandible was twisted from right to left. On skinning the bird I found that the right orbit was contracted by the bone of the skull to about half its normal size : it contained no trace of an eye, and the skin covering this orbit was entirely closed and appeared never to have had an opening. The left eye was normal. Such a case must, I t
. British birds. Birds. OTES. RAVEN WITH ONLY ONE EYE. In July, 1917, Mr. George Bolam sent me from Alston, Cumberland, a Raven {Gorvus c. corax) which was moulting from the juvenile to the first winter plumage. The bird was considerably emaciated and the under mandible was twisted from right to left. On skinning the bird I found that the right orbit was contracted by the bone of the skull to about half its normal size : it contained no trace of an eye, and the skin covering this orbit was entirely closed and appeared never to have had an opening. The left eye was normal. Such a case must, I think, be rare in a wild bird, and seems worth putting on record. Dr. N. F. Ticehurst thinlcs that the congenital absence of the eye was the cause of the contracted orbit, as there would be nothing to keep it expanded during ossification. He also suggests that unilateral vision, leading to one-sided movements during feeding, may have influenced the deviation of the bill by causing unequal development or rate of growth. H. F. WlTHERBY. CROSSBILL BREEDING IN KENT. On July 8th, 1917, I saw, near Hever, three young Crossbills {Loxia c. curvirostra) being fed by their parents. The young ones were quite small and could only just fly, so that they must have been bred in the near neighbovirhood. The date is also exceptionally late and perhaps worthy of note. E. G. B. Meade-Waldo. CROSSBILLS IN CO. ANTRIM. Last year I recorded Crossbills {Loxia curvirostra) in County Antrim (Vol. X., p. 116). This year (1917) I have pleasure again in recording them from Fenihill, Belfast. On Juno 27th I first saw a flock of about a score feeding on the Scotch firs, the next day I saw them again, but this flock went north and was not succeeded till July 20th and this time by only haK a dozen birds. They then stayed tiU July 27th and I have not seen any since. They were always on the Scotch fixs and seem to have had plenty to eat. There were very few adult males amongst them, in fact I only saw one and tha
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