'The two tapering central tail-feathers in Richardson's Skua project about three inches, those in the Pomatorhine about four inches, and those in Buffon's about seven or eight inches, but in Richardson's we find them rarely, if ever, broken, seldom in Buffon's, and I have since heard of so many instances in the case of the Pomatorhine, that it may be said they are frequently broken in this species, and until someone actually sees the tail-feather either falling after it has been snipped off, or being carried away by the chasing Skua, I shall not consider'In 1911 some Bearded Tits, imported from Holland, were liberated at Hornsea Mere, and at the time we strongly deprecated this interference with Nature . . . The experiment was at first apparently successful, but we are glad to learn from the latest report (Naturalist, 1915, p. 82) that it is now deemed a failure, and presumably the birds have disappeared.' (Brit. Birds 8: 270-271, April 1915)