Zo . 5, rey, tt rr els i, rat . ee ee a ET ree UM NTT Tar are) ly tise E: ; ; ra Be BRITDBABIRDS WITH WHICH WAS INCORPORATED IN JANUARY, 1917, “‘ THE ZOOLOGIST. AN ILLUSTRATED MAGAZINE DEVOTED CHIEFLY TO THE BIRDS ON THE BRITISH LIST EDITED BY H. F. WITHERBY MBE. F.Z.S. M.B.O.U. H.F.A.0.U ASSISTED BY Rev. F. C. R. JOURDAIN M.A. M.B.O.U. H.F.A.O.U- AND NORMAN F. TICEHURST O.B.E. M.A. F.R.C.S. M.B.O.U. Volume XXIII JUNE 1929— MAY 1930 H. F. & G. WITHERBY 326 HIGH HOLBORN LONDON LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE ‘NoTES ON ALBERTA WADERS INCLUDED ON THE BritisH List—Part VII. Attitudes of Yellowshank (Figs. 1-7) and Greater Yellowshank (Figs. 8 and 9). ia Sketches by W. Rowan). Plater... ... Frontispiece Fig. 1. Immature Yellowshank. (Photographed by Alex. G. Lawrence) ... PY _ nd “us 3 Fig. 2. Feeding Yellowshanks. (Photographed by W. Rowan) ... a iid e os 4 Fig. 3. Typical Nesting Grounds of Yellowshank in Alberta. (Photographed by W. Rowan) . Fic. 4.—Nest and eggs of Yellowshank. (Photographed by W. Rowan.) seen in the air enjoying the flight-song or sitting on the stumps preening and periodically “tu-tuing.”” They show annoyance rather than fear upon one’s intrusion, for there is no apparent exodus. The speediest way of finding the nest is to watch a bird that seems to be more or less attached to a given perch and hide. If it happens to be a sitting individual one’s luck is in, and probably within a very short time the bird will become less noisy, drop unostentatiously to a lower stump, “tu tu’ gently for a while, and then suddenly descend to the ground. If one gives it a few minutes to settle down and then British Birds, Vol. XXIII., Pl.. 2. (okey “a uyol jauo[oD JO worssassod oy} Ur UPMOY “A fq Suinvap piauad v UOT) ‘zis ‘yeu “ysnsny ‘soprueant yz ‘syUvYSMOT[AA assay] puv I9}yeII‘) , XII) ALBERTA WADERS. 11 sks over to where it disappeared, the chances are that it be “ jumped ” from eggs within forty or fifty yards of the ‘t it settled on. The final distance appears generally to be )versed on foot, the bird seldom, if ever, flying direct to the t, conduct that seems to be characteristic of waders erally. And so one gets the quite delusive impression lit there is nothing simpler in the world than to find eggs tthe Yellowshank. The first I ever saw 7m situ were found \ctly like this, the entire proceeding occupying less than an bur. One may try the same thing on a dozen further birds ht be no nearer locating the eggs than when one began. > trouble is, no doubt, that the majority of birds one selects probably only mates of others already snugly incubating baewhere and that themselves have no immediate intention heeturning to the nest. Yet they will be perched there as cugh the safety of the entire universe depended on the joount of noise they made, fanning the flame of the watcher’s }iimism for perhaps an hour or two and then suddenly ‘ttering his dreams by making a bee-line for a distant yagh. For a bird on a stump, whether within or without joown territory, seems to show the same reactions to human beuders, and it is only by constant visits to the grounds that can certainly connect individuals with specific areas. A fill is then worth while, but it may be a very long one, for bird on the stump may not be due to relieve its mate for psatter of hours and it may go off for a couple of feeds in the aantime. Until it finally goes to earth it gives no direct b2 as to the whereabouts of its nest. Then there is the other tvpe of Shank that proves shy and buses to return at all. This kind is hopeless and the most jasperating of all. Possibly both birds of a pair do not jvays share household duties. \\n idea of how close the birds may sit can be gained from following episode. One of our party had located the ereabouts of a nest, but could not actually find it. From > behaviour of the birds it was quite certain that there were ws somewhere in the immediate vicinity. He guessed at >: nearest spot and fired off half a dozen rounds of a 12-bore ot-gun, the idea arising from the accidental discovery of a “vious nest, the owner of which had been flushed on the eaking of a branch whilst the finder was climbing a tree a jy yards off. Each shot was fired from a slightly different ot and the area well covered. The bird did not stir. A few ‘nutes later she rose from the hunter’s feet as he all but : ; 12 BRITISH BIRDS. [VOL. XXIq], stepped on her! He was within twenty-five yards of the spot from which the nearest shot had been fired. | There seems little doubt that both sexes incubate, although, | as far as I know, no birds have ever been collected to verily the belief. The most convincing bit of circumstantial evidence within my experience is an incident that befell R. C. Harlow on a trip into the Belvedere country that I was privileged t enjoy with him. He had been watching a Yellowlegs on 4 stump for two-and-a-half hours before it finally went to earth After a few minutes he followed it. A Yellowshank, quite unalarmed, almost flew into his face as he pushed his wa through the scrub. However, knowing he was within a few yards of the nest, he proceeded, and a moment later flushed another bird off eggs which were thoroughly warm. Ther seems but little doubt that the bird on the stump had merely gone down to change places with the one on the nest and this was the one that almost hit Harlow as it flew out after being relieved. The Yellowshank habitually makes a number of superfluoug§ scrapes within a few feet of the one ultimately used. Whethe there is any courting ceremony connected with these, as if the case of the Peewit and some other shore-birds, appears t be unknown, but a pair of birds that I was watching for thre or four days before the first egg was laid were frequently o1 the ground together. Unfortunately, they were then out 0 sight on accouni of intervening scrub. The mere fact, however, is suggestive. Blades of grass placed across the additional scrapes remained undisturbed throughout the day on which thi first egg was laid, which suggests that they had then ceased t be of interest. The actual nest is generally lined with dee leaves and débris. Four eggs are the rule and extraordinarilj beautiful they are. One never ceases to get an exhilarating thrill on gazing at eggs of this bird, some so astoundingl easy to find, others so incredibly difficult, and many, alas quite impossible. The following account of the downy young is from a ski kindly loaned me by Major Allan Brooks, collected at Atlin B.C., on June 17th, 1924 (see Plate 3). Soft parts: Iris, sepia. Bill: ash-grey, terminal third black. Feet : dusky ochre, bright ochre on back of tarsus ant soles. Claws, blackish. Culmen,ig.5mm. Tarsus, 35.0 mm Down on forehead buff-grey, tipped black; a_ black median line from base of upper mandible to centre of crown, becoming confluent behind with another from above centre of eye encircling crown. From upper mandible above eye and British Birds, Vol. XXIII., Pl. 3. Jowny young of Yellowshank (Tringa flavipes) probably 8 or 9 days old. From Atlin, B.C. Collection of Major Allan Brooks. rds life size. From a pencil drawing by W. Rowan in the possession of Clifford Borrer, Esq.) ‘XX111.] ALBERTA WADERS. 13 | nape, a buff-grey band interrupted above eye by broken line ; a black line from sides of upper mandible through nd down sides of nape ; centre of nape black ; running }to base of neck an irregular broad black band; from Me of back almost to uropygial tuft a black median band ; line down sides of back ; black line down length of radial carpal portion of wing; irregular black tufts, thigh ; ygial tuft buff, with blackish streak each side of central remaining upper-parts buff-grey ; under-parts greyish- , suffused with buffish on breast, vent and sides, and itely tipped with blackish on chin and throat. fathers are appearing in quill over most of the body, most advanced on wings, flanks, breast, hinder-parts »roat, and back of neck and shoulders. e skin is strikingly like that of a nestling Redshank. Tringa melanoleuca, GREATER YELLOWSHANK 1\A.0.U. Check-list, Totanus melanoleucus, GREATER | YELLOW-LEGS). || bird is something of a mystery in many respects. At bike it is one of the rarest of waders. We have but a single eg record of it and barely a dozen in the late summer and ij On some of the other larger lakes it appears to be tr more plentiful, but is nowhere, as far as I can gather, kddant. Yet it is more or less of a common breeder in all wuitable treed muskegs of central Alberta, south to the lies. F. L. Farley, who has been familiar with prairie ‘for over thirty years, considers it a great event when he vanters this species. Harrold, who has had intensive rience of shore-birds for many years in the three prairie ‘inces, also looks upon it as a rarity. In parts of British mbia it is common—though always scarcer than its lesser ‘ve—and it is possible that it gets here to breed via the itains. But information on the movements of the bird, tir as the prairies are concerned, is deplorably scarce. \bly, like the Lesser, it also prefers the little sloughs while ing the plains, and so may come and go largely unob- red. But I hardly think this can be the explanation for one would surely have ascertained such a fact ere this. aeoretically the species should be easily distinguishable . the Lesser, but considerable familiarity with both is fred before this becomes the case. In the hand, of course, ' cannot be mistaken, but in life the larger Lessers look as big in the body as many Greaters, and the much longer ‘stouter bill of the latter (Plate 2) has to be seen squarely in ue before it can be fully evaluated. Neither body-size nor | 14 ' BRITISH BIRDS. [VOL. XxIn, billare good practical features except under favourable circum. stances. In my novice days I several times collected a $ are standing. Their legs are much the longer and it does not t matter if the bird is looking at or away from you so that you! cannot gauge the size of bill, or has its feathers compactly) pulled in, while the smaller birds are fluffed out and look jus as large, the Greaters will always be standing sufficiently higher to be picked out for certain. Once such a mixed flock gets a-wing identification is easy, for the wing-spread of the Greater exceeds that of the Lesser so conspicuously that no mistakes can be made. The presence of the larger bird ca always be detected by the call-notes, which are not only loude than those of the smaller, but much richer and fuller, although there are notes, like the short “ quip,” that can be mistaker The commonest notes of the Greater Yellowshank haye | already been referred to in the preceding section. They are, on the whole, very like those of the Lesser. On the breeding: grounds, the alarm-note is different either from the call-note or the corresponding cry of the Lesser. It sounds like “yup” and is repeated ad nauseam. The ordinary cal “tu tu tu,” is frequently heard in addition. There appe@ to be two distinct songs, both uttered in flight and occasioI ally as the bird sits on astump. Eggs were hatching withi few days of our arrival on the breeding-grounds, and the display flight was then not very frequent. The switchbae flight of the Lesser was never noted although I am told thé it exists. Both songs are loud and rolling but we nev heard them last for any length of time. The one may Ef rendered thus: =o ee 1S aN “i Sree te a aGtC epee) sleet ae -j- nae etc. The Greater Yellowshank is on the whole more electric 1 its movements than the Lesser and seems to nod mor vigorously. Perhaps it is only a nod on a larger scale, b there is a difference. The few birds we have seen on migratio have all been relatively approachable and tame. They af less noisy than the Lesser and seldom appear to call when om the ground. The “tu tu” note is frequently repeated three or four times, descending slightly in pitch, though one ind the other XXIII. ] ALBERTA WADERS. 15 jaal we had around us most of the day produced no more 1a single note at any time. Flight is strong and direct. ements on the ground are rapid and jerky. The species er probes and is frequently to be seen running through water and skimming the surface with its bill. The side side swing of the Avocet is not in vogue, the bill being hed along steadily forwards (Plate 1, fig. 8). As already -ed, we do not get the species in any numbers, but such as -e have been in the duck season have always shown great rest in our duck-decoys and, if the water is shallow enough oermit it, will settle right among them. a” |.s mysterious as its passage across the prairies is the ing of this bird. Its breeding distribution and favoured nts are perfectly well known, but the ultimate nesting- | in the west remains a complete enigma. All attempts hiliscover it have so far been completely abortive. Dyson’s sunt (‘Some Field Notes on the Nesting of the Yellow- nk” (7. melanoleuca), Bull. Brit. Ool. Ass., May, 1925) is excellent description of what is becoming quite a common erience—serious and painstaking effort to find eggs minating merely in the accumulation of observations, the Wngthening of pious faith in the next attempt or, if one is peicularly fortunate, in the finding of downy young any- here except where they were hatched, and hence not Witributing in the least towards future success. the main breeding-grounds of this species in Alberta are foubtedly the muskegs, the country frequented also by ~Dowitcher. Here the Solitary Sandpiper abounds and boys the company of the Bonaparte Gull, Waxwing lenbycilla garrulus), Ring-necked Duck (Nyroca collaris), oy-crowned Kinglet (Regzlus calendula) and other rarities. these, however, have weakened before the patient onslaught Rihe collector, but not so the Greater Yellowshank. Its de remains impregnable, its secret inviolate. m hunting for eggs of this species, previously published bounts are of but scanty assistance. Some of the few nests irc taken in the east have been in marshy ground, others on 1, dry ridges. Dyson evidently believes that the sitting fil leaves the eggs on the alarm of its mate. My own erience with the species has led me to the diametrically jeosite view, that the incubating bird probably sits closer ‘nm even the Lesser or the Dowitcher. If this were not case I do not believe that the many efforts made in erta in recent years to discover the nest of the Greater }lowshank would have been so completely hopeless. 16 BRITISH BIRDS. [VOL. XXIII, Numerous observers have attempted to watch the birds down, but without success. Theynevergodown. The conspicuous birds are the non-sitters, and one never sees the others. As to our experiences, there is little to relate. The species appears to be an earlier breeder than the Lesser, even as it ig an earlier migrant in the spring (and probably later in the fall). I secured a downy chick (Plate 4) a day or two old on May 31st, 1926, and within a week, judging from the change in the behaviour of the adults, numerous families must have been out. Assuming the period of incubation to be about twenty-four days, as with the Redshank, laying must have begun early in May and been general by the second q LS Po tene Fic. 5.—Breeding territory of Greater Yellowshank. The lake-like sheet in middle distance is grassy muskeg. Jack-pine ridge in background, (Photographed by W. Rowan.) week. A full set of eggs of the Lesser Yellowshank by May | 15th, on the other hand, is quite exceptional. When we arrived on the grounds at the close of the month —we had been unavoidably delayed by the procrastinations | of our Indian guide for more than a week—we found the Greater Yellowlegs evenly distributed throughout the | territory. This consisted of muskegs with small lakes and | sloughs scattered evenly throughout them. Practically every stretch of muskeg, sparsely sprinkled with tamaracg | and spruces (Fig. 5), had its pair, or so we assumed, for we © rarely saw but more than a single individual at a time. He © British Birds, Vo!. XXIII., Pl. 4. 2 * a ° - - 4 : t 7 r 7 Downy young of Greater Yellowshank (Tringa melanoleuca) probably two days old. From Klondike City, Alberta. 2rds life size. (From a pencil drawing by W. Rowan in the possession of H. F. Witherby, Esq.) hit. xxi] ALBERTA WADERS. 17 she) would be sitting quite regularly on some tall, dead Le and there would commence the monotonous alarm. kmetimes the birds would show real excitement and fly band us, but as a rule they were content to remain where *y were and vociferate. A number of these individuals Ite watched from complete seclusion and in a comparatively hort time would evidently be oblivious of one’s presence. }ey would sit and preen or periodically call or fly off to chivy crow or other intruder, immediately to return, but the ding was stereotyped—they would streak for the horizon disappear somewhere in the clouds. My longest watch ted for three hours and ten minutes. I must have had » bird in sight through the glasses for at least two miles er it left, but it was still going strong when it was finally -t to view, a dwindling speck somewhere in the vasty blue. hat was merely going off to feed it would obviously be policy prolong the watch and await developments upon its jeurn, but mosquitos set a limit to one’s patience, and in y case it is possible that in this species only one bird of a Mir incubates. Many of these muskeg lakes are certainly good whatever to a Shank as feeding-grounds, for they lyvve no muddy shores, the floating vegetation overlapping k= margins far beyond the solid limits underneath. The ds might therefore well have to travel a few miles for food kid it would matter nothing to them. But there is no doubt ait they were breeding on those very spots, for before we Itt two birds would be mostly in evidence—very much so ‘fact—in place of the former one, shrieking and swooping }:us and derisively proclaiming to us and the world at large pat the Yellowshank population had been successfully bereased in spite of us. \!Plate 4 is drawn from the skin of a downy Greater Yellow- ss procured in the Alberta muskegs (Klondike City) and mm sketches made from the living youngster on May 31st, 26. The bill and eyes of this chick were black and the legs 1 feet yellow-green. Mr. Witherby, in whose possession the jn now is, describes the nestling as follows: In general the trk markings are very similar to those of the downy Red- tank, but the black patch at the back of the crown is more pad than in the Redshank, and the black central lines down the hick are wider, while the uropygium is blacker. The ground- our of the upper-parts is markedly different from that in the tdshank, being greyish-white, in place of rufous or deep buff. e under-parts are greyish-white, tipped with dusky on the ~e-neck, while in the Redshank they are considerably buffer. 3 ————_— ——— SOME BIRDS OBSERVED ON THE ISLANDS OF SCHELY. WE visited the Isles of Scilly from March 8th to roth, 1929, | and were fortunate in seeing a large number of birds, some of © which are worth noting for various reasons detailed below. During the whole period moderate to strong east winds pre- vailed and the weather was cold till March 18th. No Kitti-~ wake was seen at sea or near the isles and no Puffins had _ arrived up to March roth. The Scillonians say they arrive | on March 28th. CHAFFINCH (Fvingilla c. celebs) —Numerous in small parties. Not one heardinsong. Although Clark and Rodd mention this © as an autumn to spring visitor and passage-migrant (Zoologist, 1906, p. 250) Mr. Wallis saw only one (Brit. Birds, Vol. AV TE: 735) BRAMBLING (Fringilla montifringilla).—A pair seen on March 12th and another on the 18th, while one or two birds were seen with Chaffinches on the 17th. This species is mentioned by Clark and Rodd as an occasional visitor in autumn and winter. HousE-Sparrow (Passer d. domesticus).—Numerous villages. Large flocks, apparently migrating, were seen 0 March 17th. They were chattering in the woods at Tresco, away from any house, and were apparently on the move. GREY WaGTAIL (Motacilla c. cinerea).—Three or four seen after March 15th. Clark and Rodd appear to have known of its occurrence in spring in only one year. PIED FLYCATCHER (Muscicapa h. hypoleuca).—A pair seen March 12th on St. Agnes—also a pair seen by Dr. Thomas on Samson on the 14th. Only one spring occurrence is men ticned by Clark and Rodd. The earliest recorded date for the British Islands as given in the Practical Handbook is Mare 26th. RING-OUZEL (Turdus t. torquatus).—Two pairs seen at close quarters by Dr. Percy Thomas on March 15th. Clark and Rodd considered it probably a regular spring migrant. Wuincuat (Saxicola yr. rubetra).—One male on Tresco om March 17th. No spring records of this species are mentioned by Clark and Rodd. L, XXII1.] NOTES. 19 SBLAcK REDSTART (Pheenicurus o. gibraltariensis).—First +d seen by Dr. P. Thomas on March roth on Bryher. One ule observed on the 16th feeding a yard or two from the ndow of Tregarthen’s Hotel, St. Mary’s, very tame. A ,all party of five or six was seen by Dr. Thomas on the 15th St. Mary’s. On the 17th one pair was seen on St. Mary’s ‘don the 18th two pairs on Annet. Subsequently several en on St. Mary’s and also en St. Agnes. Hoopor (Upupa e. epops).—A pair on Tresco seen by a sident on March 13th. It usually does not appear until vil. ‘Buzzarv (Buteo b. buteo).—One seen by Dr. Thomas on irch roth. Clark and Rodd mention it as a passing migrant autumn. EIDER (Somateria m. mollissima).—Two ducks and a drake March 16th. There seem few records of this species for illy. Manx SHEARWATER (Puffinus p. puffinus)—Many on the \. They were already grunting in their holes on Annet on arch 18th. Hundreds were to be seen dead. (Cf. H. M. allis, Vol. XVII., p. 58; Vol. XVIII., p. 74.) LACK-THROATED DIVER (Colymbus a. arcticus).—One seen sea near Tresco. Not in quite full summer plumage. irk and Rodd give only one uncertain record of this species. GREENSHANK (Tringa nebularia).—One seen and heard on esco on March 17th. Clark and Rodd give only autumn currences. LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL (Larus f. affinis)—Very few id arrived on March 8th. A large flock was seen on a skerry March 17th, and they were numerous on Annet on srch 18th. As Clark and Redd describe the Lesser Black- tked Gull as abundant all the year, it is worth mentioning it the people of Scilly say these Gulls do not remain at the inds through the winter. SETON GORDON. AUDREY SETON GORDON. K.TRAORDINARY SEXUAL DISPLAY BY A PAIR OF , HEDGE-SPARROWS. April 4th, 1928, I saw a pair of Hedge-Sparrows (Prunella ‘dularis) bringing large pieces of moss into a thick box- sh in a garden at Jarnac, France. Both birds were busy ‘the task. On the roth, in a small paved yard adjoining » garden, I saw this pair of Hedge-Sparrows moving on the yund like mice. The first thing I noticed was that the hen ~one side to the other, about ten inches behind the hen. Some- 20 BRITISH BIRDS. [VOL. XXIII, bird had come to a standstill ; suddenly the male’s wings and tail began to quiver and he moved laterally, hopping from times he went in a full circle round her, his wings and tail quivering rapidly. The hen did not move, but there was also a constant quivering of her wings, which were held slightly apart from her body, and of her tail, which she lifted. The male, who went on dancing about ten inches behind her, from one side to the other, now got quite close to her, pointed his bill in the direction of the base of the lifted tail, and pecked several times. After each pecking, the hen, as a rule, hopped forward a little, and then placed herself in the same attitude as before. The display lasted several minutes, but no actual pairing took place during the observation. On May 15th, the young of the first brood of this pair having left the nest for some days, preparations were being made fo asecond nest. In the afternoon of this day the hen appeare in the garden, near a bush which presently hid her from view while the male “‘danced’”’ behind her, pointing his bea forward at intervals, as in the previous observation. Althoug the hen was invisible, the behaviour of the male showed tha she was just in front of him, and I feel convinced that thi time pairing took place. This pair succeeded in rearing a second brood. JACQuES DELAMAIN LARGE MOVEMENT OF MANX SHEARWATERS I CORNWALL. On April 14th, 1929, there was a large migratory movement of Manx Shearwaters (Puffinus p. puffinus) in Mount’s Bay, Cornwall. The weather was bright and sunny, with a strong south-easterly wind. I observed the movement from th western shore of the bay and saw that the birds were makin a broad sweep across the bay from east to west and passin along the coast at Mousehole Island. I was watching the between I1.30 a.m. and 12.30 p.m. and during that time ] walked from Mousehole to Newlyn—about a mile and a half The birds were moving parallel to the coast over that distanc and were passing in what was practically a constant stream I should say that 150 a minute was a conservative estimat G. H. Harve EIT, | NOTES. 21 bsREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKER AND BEETLES. E photograph here reproduced shows the work of the sat Spotted Woodpecker (Dryobates m. anglicus) on an 1 tree, which was attacked by the beetle (Sinodendron indricum Fabr.), locally called ‘“‘ The Rhinoceros Beetle. e tree, about 3 feet in diameter, eventually succumbe d to the ‘tle attack, as the Woodpecker’s tongue, some 4 to 5 inches Work of Great Spotted Woodpecker on an elm tree at Cheadle, Staffordshire. (Photographed by B. Lowndes.) ‘length, could only withdraw the larve of the beetle within ‘reach. When the tree eventually fell, in the centre of the nk were found large numbers of the beetle and its larve. A hole in this tree about fifteen feet from the ground had en occupied yearly (with about two exceptions) by Tawny 22 BRITISH BIRDS. [VOL. XXIII, Owls for some thirty-five years, while a pair of Starlings nested in an adjoining hole in 1928 (antea, Vol. XXII., p. 42). A pair of Spotted Flycatchers also nested on a small woode ledge on the opposite side of the tree to the Owls’ hole. JouN R. B. MASEFIELD GARGANEYS IN CUMBERLAND. In the afternoon of April 23rd, 1929, at Siddick Ponds Workington, I saw through x 12 binoculars at about 200 yard a duck and drake, the latter showing clearly a superciliary white stripe. A second drake exactly similar to the first then swam into view from behind the sedge. The dark crown was also noted at that range. I recognized them as Garganeys (Anas querquedula). I went round to the west shore opposite the ducks, thereb reducing the range by nearly half, and at the same time getting the sun behind me, and observed the ducks and the details of their plumage for about three-quarters of an hour from that place. Eventually I approached with a view to seeing the ducks in flight, when I was struck with the light colour of the wings, which were similar in duck and drake. I think I saw the duck on the following day, recognized by the wing in flight. On the 27th I visited the ponds but saw no Garganeys. M. McKERROw, [We believe that Sir Richard Graham has bred Garganeys for a number of years at Netherby and this fact must considered in connexion with the appearance of so rare 4 visitor to this area.—EDs. | WHITE WAGTAIL IN MIDDLESEX.—Mr. W. S. Taylof informs us that he and Mr. W. Kay Robinson sawa male White Wagtail (Motacilla a. alba) at Brent (Kingsbury) Reservoir on April 16th, 1929. EARLY SwIFT IN MIDDLESEX.—Mr. W. S. Taylor informs us that he saw a Swift (Apus a. apus) at Brent (Kingsbury) Reservoir on April 15th, 1929. This is a very early date. PINK-FOOTED GEESE IN MIDDLESEX.—Correction.—In line one of the note on this subject (antea, Vol. XXII., p. 374) January 13th should read January 18th, and in line twelve (the 13th) should read (the 18th). A TRANSATLANTIC PASSAGE OF LAPWINGS.—With reference to my notes on this subject (Vol.. XXII., pp. 6, 43, 68), Mr O. L. Austin, Jnr., now gives some further records of the eet.) NOTES. 23 earance of Lapwings in Labrador (Awk, 1929, pp. 207-210) . ese he obtained in the summer of 1928 during a trip up the st and he incorporates the information obtained by the »vson-MacMillan expedition. The records of the latter w that Lapwings extended up the Labrador coast as far ‘th as Hopedale, where two birds were obtained—December ‘h, 1927, and “late in December.”’ Mr. Austin obtained a 1 from an Eskimo at Makkovik, where the dead bird had »n found after the snow had partially melted in April, and ve bird, which Mr. R. Stevenson, the wireless operator at ady, had kept through the winter. Mr. Stevenson stated 't Lapwings were numerous in Sandwich Bay and Hamilton st and occurred in flocks of from ten to fifty individuals. Eskimos along the coast from Battle Harbour to Hamilton *t also told Mr. Austin of the Lapwings, but no one could ‘a more exact date of their arrival than “ during a spell *xceedingly mild weather during the week before Christmas”’ 27). Those who had killed some of the birds said they »e much too poor and thin to eat. n the same issue of The Auk (p. 231) Mr. P. A. Taverner es that he has received a skin of a Lapwing obtained at ‘Augustine (north side of Gulf of St. Lawrence, S.W. of our Pt.) ‘about December 15th, 1927.”—H.F.W. (OOT, COMMON AND JACK SNIPES IN LABRADOR.—In 1exion with the arrival of Lapwings in Newfoundland and mador, Mr. O. L. Austin, Jr., records (Auk, 1929, pp. -9) that he obtained a skin of a Coot which had been taken separation Point, Sandwich Bay (Labrador), in the week ore Christmas, 1927, while another was taken by the vson-MacMillan Expedition in Anatalak Bay “late in vember,” 1927. These two birds have been carefully jpared and found to be the European Fulica a. atra. nains of another specimen already mentioned by me !. XXII., p. 43) are now recorded more definitely by Mr. A. Taverner (Auk, 1929, p. 227), this bird having been *n in December, 1927,in Exploits Harbour (Newfoundland) 1 two others. fr. Austin also obtained a skin of C apella gallinago gallinago of Limnocryptes minimus trom an Eskimo woman, who ‘killed the birds on December 24th, 1927, in Jack Lane’s 7 (Labrador). Tone of these birds appears to have occurred before on the erican continent and these records, taken in conjunction 2 the great flight of Lapwings, show that the conditions 24 BRITISH BIRDS [VoL. XXII which I have described as prevailing at the time (Vol. XXII, pp. 8-12) must have been quite extraordinary.—H.F.W. COMMON SANDPIPER IN WINTER IN LANCASHIRE.—Mr. H. Robinson informs us that a Common Sandpiper (T7ingg hypoleucos) was on Skerton Weir, Lancaster, on February Is and 2nd, 1929. The bird frequented exactly the same place as an example recorded by Mr. Robinson in January, 1925 (antea, Vol. XVIII., p. 26). Mr. Robinson states that wher the hard frost set in this year the Sandpiper left, and ma have been the same bird as one reported by Mr. A. Astley or Lake Windermere, on February 13th. AVOCETS IN HAMPSHIRE.—Major Cecil Paddon informs wu that in the evening of April 25th, 1929, he saw three Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta) pass over Beaulieu and alight on t saltings, where they remained until dark. Major Paddo states that they appear to have left by the morning as h could then find no trace of them. Two Avocets were recorde in the same place by Major Paddon in May, 1927 (anted Vol. XX, p, 182). ICELAND GULL IN LANCASHIRE.—Mr. H. W. Robinso writes that as the Iceland Gull (Larus leucopterus) is no mentioned in Mitchell’s Birds of Lancashire, it may be @ interest to record that one frequented the quay at Lancaste from mid-February to mid-March, 1929. Mr. Robinso states that, judging by the plumage, the bird was apparent in its third winter. EASTERN LITTLE BuSTARDS IN NORFOLK AND SCOTLAND. It was pointed out in the Practical Handbook (Vol. II., p. 816) that the only three British specimens of the Little Bustard I had been able to examine were those in the British Museum and that these were all of the Eastern form, Olis tetra, orientalis. I have recently carefully compared, 1 company with Dr. B. B. Riviere, two Norfolk specimens female killed at Hillesdon in 1835, and a female killed a Trunch, some time prior to 1847, both of which are in th Norwich Museum, and these clearly also belong to the Easte form. Miss L. J. Rintoul and Miss E. V. Baxter state (Scot. Nat 1929, p. 26) that a specimen obtained in Kincardineshire January Ist, 1912, has been submitted to Dr. Hartert, wht states that it is typical of Otts t. orientalis —H.F.W. 7 pUGi929 LE GERFAUT REVUE BELGE D’ORNITHOLOGIE (Fondée en 1911.) 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WITHERBY, 326, High Holborn, London. W. F. H. ROSENBERG 57, Haverstock Hill, London, N.W.3, England Telephone: Primrose Hill 0660 Price List of Birds of the World, including over 4,000 species, post free to readers of “* British Birds.”’ Every description of collecting apparatus kept in stock. Also available: Price Lists of Eggs, Mammals, Reptiles, Lepidoptera, and books on Natural History. That Book you want! Foyles hold a considerable stock of Second-hand Books on ~ Ornithology, and can supply any Scientific Book that is in print and most of those that are cut of print. They have a Special Department for this class of literature under a Manager who has experience and knowledge of the Natural Sciences. Call and consult him, or write asking for Catalogue 637. Books sent on approval. Special Offer of a set of “BRITISH BIRDS,” Vols. 1 to 20, for the years 1907 to 1927, with index to first 12 Vols. Offered in good condition £15. Quote Offer 637. 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LONDON: TAYLOR & FRANCIS, Red Lion Court, Fleet Street, E.C.4. W. F. H. ROSENBERG 57, Haverstock Hill, London, N.W.3, England Telephone: Primrose Hill 0660 Price List of Birds of the World, including over 4,000 species, post free to readers of * British Birds.” Every description of collecting apparatus kept in stock. Also available: Price Lists of Eggs, Mammals, Reptiles, Lepidoptera, and books on Natural History. That Book you want! Foyles hold a considerable stock of Second-hand Books on Ornithology, and can supply any Scientific Book that is in print and most of those that are cut of print. They have a Special Department for this class of literature under a Manager who has experience and knowledge of the Natural Sciences. Call and consult him, or write asking for Catalogue 637. Books sent on approval. Special Offer of a set of “BRITISH BIRDS,” Vols. 1 to 20, for the years 1907 to 1927, with index to first 12 Vols. Offered in good condition £15. Quote Offer 637. j FOYLES, ! 19-125 Charing Cross Rd.,London,W.C.2 | SRITSHBIRDS =H WHICH WAS INCORPORATED IN JANUARY, 1917, ‘ THE ZOOLOGIST. <\8H MUs> EDITED BY aie BY, M.B.E.,F.Z.S. .M.B.O.U.,H.F.A.O.U. ASSISTED BY v. Rooks RDAIN, M.A., M.B.O.U., H.F.A.O.U., F.Z.S., AND ICEHURST, O.B.E., M.A., F.R.C.S., M.B.O.U. CONTENTS OF NUMBER 2, VOL. XXIII., JuLY 1, 1929. ——_ PAGE 25 on Breeding-Habits of the Eider in the Orkneys. By . J. Robertson ... wes cee a3 i 26 | Walking of the Fulmar “Petrel.. By C. Noble Rollin #e 31 paviour of Titmice under Artificial Conditions. By Alice pubbert-Ware, F.L.S., M.B.O.U. zat aor ae ee 34 } 4s: — hresent Status of the Yellow Wagtail on Loughs Mask and Carra (R. F. Ruttledge) ‘ies ; ee 36 obin Nesting on a Bed in an Occupied “Room “(H. ro Alexander) ; ine a 37 peed-Warbler in ‘Pembrokeshire (EAS Gilbert “and Te Walpole-Bond) ... ie ae he Be nie ae 38 eeron Swallowing a Snake (S. Lewis) “32 aa me 38 eeron Swimming (H. G. Alexander) ... he ene es 39 (ttle Bittern in Pintehire (Roger Charlton) = oes 39 ‘ey Lag-Geese in Kent (N. F. Ticehurst) ... ae a9 39 ‘ey Lag-Geese in Worcestershire (H. G. Alexander) ee 40 oveler Breeding in Carmarthenshire (J. F. Thomas) ... 40 wadeiran Little Shearwater in Norfolk (B. B. Riviere) ... 41 artle-Doves Return to Last Year’s Habitat (H. E. Forrest) 41 aff and Black Tern in Middlesex (T. H. Harrisson and P. A. D. Hollom) wee 5 nee 41 ack-tailed Godwit in Somerset (GC, R. Stonor) re ee 42 ‘ttle Tern Breeding in Somerset (S. Lewis) ies se 42 tt Notes :— ords in Yorkshire in 1928. Decrease of House-Sparrow in the Shetlands. Eversmann’s Warbler at Fair Isle. Spoonbill tim Hampshire. Tameness of Whooper Swans in Scotland. MEider Nesting in Bute. Late Brood of Great Crested (Grebe in Scotland. American Pectoral Sandpiper in (Caithness. Spotted Redshanks in Fifeshire. Roseate [Tern Breeding in Fifeshire ... eae “ey Das sen 42 er :— ae Diving of Scoters (G. Marples) ... ay ay ae 45 ‘ew -— History of the Birds .* Essex. — William E. Glegg, F.z.s., M.B.O.U. ... ~ vee ste ae es 46 s / AU i¢ } 9 PURCHASED ( 26 ) NOTES ON BREEDING-HABITS OF THE ue IN THE ORKNEYS. Bix, D. J. ROBERTSON. For some years I have, along with some members of m family, spent the nesting season upon an otherwise unin habited island in the Orkneys, and have thus been able te study the habits of the common Eider Duck (Somateria m, mollissima). My island, which is about 200 acres in exten is surrounded by very strong tideways or rosts. There are on it the ruins of a Cistercian Monastery and of the Monks barns dating back to the twelfth century. No part of it hag been cultivated for over seventy years and it is covered some parts with rough grass and in others with short heather All over the island the Eiders nest, among the grass, in th heather and among the dried sea-weed thrown up on th beaches by winter gales. At one time the nests were regularhj raided by people from the neighbouring islands, who took th eggs not only for their own consumption but for feedin their calves. Since I have tried to make a bird sanctuar of the isle the number of Eiders nesting there has increased and in the summer of 1928 I knew of 136 nests. The birds pairabout the beginning of May, and ducks an drakes together may be seen wandering over the islan looking for suitable nesting-sites. In 1928 the first brood ¢ ducklings was hatched on June 11th and the last on Jul 27th. The latter must, I think, have been a second clutch the first clutch or the young birds having been in some wa destroyed. I have only once seen a nest being formed and then all th work was done by the duck, no drake being near. She sé in a tuft of coarse grass and scraped as a Peewit does, b seemed rather to beat down the earth than to throw it out indeed, I have never found any soil lying round the deef hollow in which the nest is made. Grass or heather is plucke up by the beak and used to line the nest and to cover th first eggs. No down is added to the nest as a rule until tk third egg is laid, but so skilfully are the first eggs hidden t until one knows what to look for the nest is not easil discovered. The ducks as a rule begin to incubate onl after the full clutch is laid. I have found nests in which mor eggs have appeared after incubation has begun, but coul never be sure that such eggs might not have been laid b second duck. Normally all the eggs are hatched on the samey .xxim] BREEDING-HABITS OF THE EIDER. 27 but there are exceptions to this rule. In 1925 I found 2st with two ducklings hatched and two eggs which were hatched a day later. I avoid, if possible, disturbing a ‘k while the eggs are being hatched, as the ducklings, as 1 as they are dry, are apt to scuttle away and will not irn to the nest. In June, 1928, a duck had her nest with “eggs on the beach quite near my house. On the morning une 25th we found the duck had gone, leaving three egg- ‘Is and one egg, just chipping, in the nest. She had . ) EIDER DUCKS AND DRAKES IN BREEDING PLUMAGE. : yently not been disturbed as the nest was carefully eed with down. That evening the fourth duckling Haed out, but the duck did not return. The presumption peat incubation must have begun before the fourth egg Waid. I cannot remember ever having found an infertile eft in a nest. The normal period of incubation appears }> four weeks, but this seems not to be invariable. } @ rule the ducks nest every year very near, but not > on, the sites of their former nests. I know only one ption, a duck which has for the last three years nested 28 BRITISH BIRDS. [VOL. XXIII in exactly the same place. I have also had only one experience —in 1928—of a duck nesting in another’s empty nest. The first brood were hatched and went off and four days later there were two new eggs, covered with grass, in the nest, | The full complement of four eggs was laid and duly hatched On June 8th, 1925, I found a nest with one egg among some flags. On coming to the place next day I saw from a distance the duck coming out of the flags. On seeing me she flew off to sea. There were then two eggs, one newly laid, in the nest. Up to the time when I left the island on June 15th this duck did not return to her nest, but when |] came back on the 29th I found her sitting on four eggs which were all hatched about the middle of July. During the earlier part of the incubation-period it is not unusual to see a drake sitting on the grass or heather clos¢ to his mate on her nest. Last season (1928) I have seen more of them near the nests than I ever did before, but ] have never seen one take a share in brooding the eggs. I alg observed last season that these drakes were not nearly ¢ easily scared as in former years. One drake, sitting on the grass near the nest, allowed a party of three of us to pass hin within ten yards and never moved. Whether the birds at learning that we will not harm them and are becoming mor trustful in consequence I cannot say, though I should lik to think so. The drakes begin to assume their eclipse plumag about the middle of June and I have never seen a drake 1 which this change has begun near a nest. It is quite common to see one, two or three ducks sittin on the ground near an incubating duck. I have found difficult to discover any reason for this habit. One of m sons suggested an explanation which may have somethin in it. We know that the young drakes do not come ft maturity in their first year and,if this applies to ducks als may not these attendants be last year’s ducks sitting neé their mother? These “ Aunts,” as'my family call thei frequently accompany the mother duck and her young brod when they take to the sea. The normal clutch of eggs la by one duck is four or five, but I have found six, seven, eigh nine and (in 1928) ten eggs in one nest. In some cases t¥ ducks use the same nest, but whether they take it in turnt brood the eggs I have not been able to find out. At om place on the south coast of the isle there are the remains 0 an old stone wall along the edge of the beach. On i landward side of this wall are several clumps of nettles among which there are generally two or three Eiders’ nests . xxl] BREEDING-HABITS OF THE EIDER. 29 one of these nests there were in 1925, and each of the two owing years, nine eggs. That there were two ducks ig the nest I suspected, but I made certain of this in 1927. May 31st of that year the nest contained two eggs. When ext visited it on June 2nd there were six, on the 3rd eight | on the 4th nine. These were all hatched on July Ist, , twenty-seven days after the last egg was laid. Between 1e 2nd and 6th the two ducks were generally both at the t, one sitting on the eggs and the other on the grass outside nettle clump. Though I watched them carefully I er saw them change places. I fancied that this might be ase of bigamy, but I experimented by driving both birds at one time. ‘hey flew down to the sea and I knew that »n a duck flies to the sea her mate almost invariably joins In this instance two drakes flew in from sea and ed beside the ducks and the birds swam away in pairs. sr June 6th another nest was made on the beach within sw yards of the wall and in it only one egg was laid. After - the second duck came no more to the original nest. \June 1st, 1928, I found a nest with two eggs in the same ap of nettles and in it eight eggs in all were laid. When eeighth had been laid, another nest was again made on tbeach in which only two eggs were laid. 1e ducks seem to like company as there are very often mests within a few feet, sometimes within a few inches, ich other. These nests are not made at the same time, have never known the two broods being hatched out iin less than two days of each other. aat the ducks leave their nests at times to go down to ssea I know, but though I have often seen them flying 1 I have never succeeded in seeing one leave the nest. mn a duck comes down to the sea she is almost always (d by one of the waiting drakes that are swimming the shores or resting on the rocks. When the duck ss her nest without being startled she carefully covers eggs with down. I have found nests so covered at all . of the day, so that the birds have no regular time for ag them. Every season I find one or two nests with eggs so covered to which the ducks have never returned. only explanation of this which I can think of is that the ‘must have been killed or injured in some way. I have ~ known of a nest left covered for a short time being d by gulls or crows, though that is often the fate of nests 'which the birds have been startled. Even the nests 30 BRITISH BIRDS. [vVoL. XXII which have been forsaken but covered are not touched for some days. If I raise a duck from her nest I always now make a point of covering up the eggs with down, except in | cases where the bird only flies a few yards and waits my | departure to return to her nest. The ducks vary very much in disposition. Some become very tame and will allow themselves to be stroked, while others fly from the nestif anyone comes within thirty yards One became so tame that I could handle her and put m hand under her and move her. To begin with she was not wild, and I came and sat near her daily and talked to her till I won her confidence. I never found this duck off her nest. Another has nested for the last two seasons within twenty yards of our house, and though I have visited the nest at all hours of the day and night I never found her off it. I do not think that the ducks ever eat during the incubatio period. I have very often watched those that flew down te the sea, but though they splashed and washed themselves I have never seen one dive or feed. I laid a lot of smal mussels—their favourite food—close to the nest of the very tame duck I have mentioned, but they were never touched I was able also to feel her breast and she seemed to me t grow lighter and thinner daily. That the ducks can, and do, distinguish between thet human friends and strangers Iam sure. One duck had he nest among some nettles in the ruins of one of the Monks barns. My little grandson and I used to visit her daily a she became very tame and would allow us to stroke he One day some visitors came to the island and the boy too two ladies up to see his friend. The moment the duck sa them she left her nest and made off. Only one duck amon the hundreds I have known was really bad-tempered. Ne only would she not leave her nest, but she struck and bi viciously at any one who came near her. The ducks vary much in colour, or, I should rather say, i shade. Some are very dark brown, others reddish, almo: chestnut, in colour and there are all shades between the extremes. One would think it impossible for such lar birds to hide themselves on the bare moor or on the beache where they nest, yet so perfectly do these colours blend wit their surroundings that even the trained eye looking fe them can easily pass them over. (31) THE WALKING OF THE FULMAR PETREL. BY C. NOBLE ROLLIN. ‘AN any of the Petrels walk on the toes? I think not, and ieve that all the pictures in Saunders’s Manual, with the seption of the one by Mr. G. E. Lodge, are incorrect, as uf -r are the pictures from Lilford of ... and the Fulmar the background... .” Thus Mr. T. A. Coward (1926) (+) ms up the question of the walking of Petrels, and on the ormation then available the conclusion was justified. ere are of course many set-up specimens in museums and dections whose accuracy is at stake as well. Last year (1928) I made a detailed study, which I hope to nplete this year, of the Fulmar Petrel (Fulmaris g. glacialis) cing the breeding season on the coast of Durham. In all, visited the Fulmars between 45 and 50 times during the son and have had them under observation at all hours of _day and night. I have therefore had many opportunities pwatching the method of walking of these Petrels. During | observations I have established that the Fulmar Petrel . and does—on occasion—walk on its toes. Yet, looking jough my notes, I find only five records where there was no ddow of doubt as to their being on the toes of both feet. will thus be seen that this walking on the toes is of rare ence, and unless a would-be verifier of my observations prrepared to undertake extended watching, he is as likely as } to return with negative evidence. In view of this, I feel ‘t more than mere mention of the occurrence is necessary. have therefore given my observations in full. I would like jmention here that I write all my records in full in the field }hhin a few minutes of making my observations. }the Fulmar’s normal and usual method of progression on Klis to walk on to the whole length of the tarsus and in this paner I have seen them attain a slow run on a level surface. een moving from one elevation to another they are rather mnsy and seem content to falla few inches from one ledge to | inext, sometimes using the wings as props. he following are the records of the occasions on which I Fulmars on their toes. All the dates refer to 1928. .. May 20th: Isaw both birds of a pair walking about their tye on their foes and in this manner change places. Later, ‘of them stood up on its toes and stretched one wing, after ‘ich it subsided again on to the tarsi. Afterwards nest- ding was started by this bird. ‘?) T. A. Coward, Birds of British Isles, III., p. 235, 32 BRITISH BIRDS. [VOL. XXIII, 2. May 22nd: I was watching a pair on the same ledge as above when a third Fulmar settled beside the other two, and in the excitement that followed one of the original pair walked about on its toes, though not very high. . 3. June 3rd: One of a pair on a different ledge from the above walked past in front of its mate on its toes, but again not very high up. Its gait seemed of a rather waddling nature. I could see no cause for excitement and this pair slept for the major portion of 14 hours after this incident. 4. June 3rd: Not far off I saw a single Fulmar making a tour of inspection of its ledge. Most of its walking was done on the toes, though it subsided into a resting position every few steps. I made a sketch of about the average number of degrees of the tarsi from the horizontal when the bird was walking on its toes. On measurement this gives an angle of 30°, but this is only very approximate. 5. July 8th: I was again watching a pair on the first mentioned ledge. They were calling a little to one anothe at intervals, when a third Fulmar settled beside them ; there was then much calling on the part of both of the pair, and one 0 the pair stood up with its tarsi at an angle nearing the perpe dicular, one tarsus being a Jitile nearer the perpendicular that the other. A little later the same bird stood up again just é before and in this position it called from side to side with it neck outstretched, apparently quite steadily and then, so fa as I could see, without subsiding at all it opened its wing: and flew off from this upright position. A sketch of the ang of the tarsus gives 83° from the horizontal. When watching a brooding Fulmar with a young one abou three days old, the brooding bird stood up with her tarsu almost perpendicular and her breast considerably highe than the horizontal. The young bird was brooded betwee the legs and when the parent settled down I saw that, thoug! the parent’s chest was resting on the ledge, the tarsus wa considerably above the horizontal (measurement of skete gives 50° from horizontal), and with the tarsus in this positio the brooding bird would doze, every now and again eith raising its body up and settling down again or just raising th tail end whilst the chest remained on the ledge. Four day later I was again watching this brooding bird. It was brooding with its bill under its scapulars and raised itself on to its toes and I noted that the young one—whose head was betwee the brooding bird’s tarsi—was preening itself. Though the brooding bird stocd up like this on its toes for a little while, . Xxi.] WALKING OF FULMAR PETREL 23 id not remove its bill from under its scapulars. In these ‘ances of the brooding bird standing on its toes I could 'y see the tarsus on the near side, the other being hidden by young bird, but the position of the brooding bird lett little »ibt that it was standing on the toes of both feet and not aing on anything on the far side. ‘Vhen the young Fulmar referred to above was about four ive weeks old, I noted that when it was moving about the ze its walking was strictly on the tarsus, its legs seeming to wweak. Its walking was sometimes aided by its wings. Un other occasions than those cited above I have seen what ; probably walking on the toes, but unless the conditions observation are favourable it is not easy to make absolutely tain that the Fulmar is standing on the toes of both feet. 2 instance where I made all but certain was rather interes- x in that it was an arriving bird instead of one of the pair ‘t stood on its toes. I was watching a pair from above at istance of about 4{t. Another Fulmar persistently landed ithe steep bank leading down from the ledge and sometimes ald come running up with its wings half open and apparently puts toes. Each time it was sent off by one of the pair. \Yhere is usually great excitement when a pair of Fulmars ined by a third Fulmar; they also become very excited ling nest building. he above observations show, firstly, that the Fulmar feel can and does walk on its toes though only infrequently, # secondly, that sexual excitement, 7.e., nest-building or fusion on a pair by an alien, is the most usual cause of irr so doing. jolt, G. Gillett,(1) when writing on the Fulmar says : ‘‘ When ced on deck is quite unable to rise or even to stand upright, |: shuffles along by the help of its wings.” This I take it ki Fulmar under stress of fear or bewilderment. Mr. prard(*) has noted a Manx Shearwater “confused ”’ in a cewhat similar manner. yn land, then, the Fulmar may be considered to have at yt three modes of progression: (a) Its normal method on j'tarsus ; (4) on its toes, usually due to sexual excitement } only infrequently used ; (c) a shuffle with the aid of its gs under stress ot fear or bewilderment. (?) G. Gillett, Ibis, 1870, p. 307. (?) T. A. Coward, Birds of British Isles, II1., p. 232. CONDITIONS. BY ALICE HIBBERT-WARE, F.L.S., M.B.O.U. THE writer has been watching closely and recording the behaviour of birds in artificial conditions of feeding during the last four years. Food is supplied in such a way that only one bird can seize it at a time. A small saucer containing nuts and seeds is placed on a window-sill or inside the room, or else the food is offered at the window on the human hand, In February, 1925, two Marsh-Tits (Parus palustris dresser) were attracted indoors by means of pea-nuts. They soon learnt to ask for food, when the saucer was empty, by flut tering down the lattice-windows with outspread wings. Much of the food, in those early days of tameness, they hid under dead leaves on the grass or elsewhere. Confidence in a constant supply seems to have made them give up this habit as it never comes before our notice now. Early in April we lost sight of the pair, but on October 13th a Marsh-Tit fluttered down the window. We placed some nuts on the table in the room and it took them at once, resuming the same behaviour as early in the year. Thisincident seems to indicate the possession of non-instinctive memory in this Marsh-Tit Its mate soon followed its example. Then in November the female began to feed from the hand. It had the necessary courage from the first—no gradual training was given—the very first time the nut was placed on the hand the Tit took it. By January, 1926, both sexes fed daily from the hand 0 anyone who offered them nuts. The tamer bird, the female habitually stows three or four fragments in her bill at a time Like all Tits she flies to a branch to eat them, but how sh manages to place them all under her foot we have never bee able to watch. No other Titmouse has been seen to carl more than one portion at a time, hence this personal tral has enabled us to recognise her individuality as the same bird year after year. She may still be seen, many times daily fearlessly exploring the floor or, by preference, feeding fron the hand whenever she has the chance. | The tameness of these Marsh-Tits was apparently spon taneous and inborn. With other Titmice it has been different for they have gained courage only by slow degrees. Daj after day, from September, 1926, till January, 1927, a Coal Tit (Parus ater britannicus) fluttered near and over the han@ without securing the nut, but it succeeded at last, though remains shy to this day. All Blue Tits (Parus caeruleus obscurus) that come to the window-sill seem to be mort EET, BRITISH BIRDS. 35 id of their fellows than of human beings. Clinging to the ser or the hand, they twist and turn their heads so long - frequently they do not secure the food. Like the Coal- ;, they had to learn to come to the hand, but they do so yy freely in cold weather. With the Great Tits (Parus or newtont) the process of learning by slow degrees was ~e marked still. During the early months of 1927, two at Tits were constantly to be seen on the tree outside the dow, waiting for a stray crumb of nut to fall their way. vy showed no signs of becoming tamer even during a spell rost and snow. In September, 1927, a pair began to visit food saucer. Though they were probably the same birds those of spring, we cannot be certain on the point. By «ember six Great Tits were coming readily to the hand into the room. The following entries from the writers’ yrds will show their rapid development since 1927. October, 1928: The Great Tits are quite out of hand. yy seem to think that every cushion and every newspaper |: produce nuts. A cushion on a garden chair was slit by pm, and the daily paper has twice been torn to pieces by akfast time. The reason would seem to be that there ‘cushions on the chair from which I feed them and the 3 are crushed on a newspaper.” January, 1929: This season is marked by the increase coreat Tits, both in numbers and tameness. There are m eight feeding at a time. They form a queue, each ting a nut from the saucer. They enter my bedroom ddow early each morning, hop up the eiderdown and carry sscraps of bread-and-butter. They explore the room and {| vigorously on palm-olive soap. They hammer the cover the milk-bottle left on an outside table. They intimate : the food saucer is empty by hopping on to the nut bottle, 1 when it is empty.” interesting feature in these experiences with both ssh- and Great Tits is that during the early stages of eeness both species seemed to ‘“‘run-a-muck.” The ssh-Tits in their first season would hop up a person’s leg fetch nuts from the knee. They would alight on a plate ming a meal and carry away the pips of a baked apple. yy would take food from the tea-table with six or more ple in the room. Though no less tame than they were, ‘y no longer do these things. The same is true with the at Tits. Happily, they have ceased to attack cushions, jyspapers, blankets and wallpapers as they did three aths ago. The first excitement of new conditions has sed and their actions have become more balanced. PRESENT STATUS OF THE YELLOW WAGTAIL ON LOUGHS MASK AND CARRA: As a result of information given them by the late Mr. Good of Westport, that the Yellow Wagtail (Motacilla f. rayi) nested extensively on Mask and Carra, the late Robert Warren and Mr. Williams of Dublin proceeded in 1893 to investigate, with the results recorded by Warren.* Ussher also found the bird plentiful on Mask in 1895.f As a result of their investigations, we find in Ussher and Warren’s Birds of Iveland, p. 39, para. 1, and also in the Zoologist and Ivish Naturalist, statements which cannot, I fear, be considered as accurate to-day. Colonel Lascelles, who for several years made careful study of the birds of these lakes, and made particular search for the Yellow Wagtail, met with only three pairs, all in 1917, on Philyour, Drineen and Corrigeendavoe respectively, but never found the nest. A boatman, taught by Colonel Lascelles to distinguish the Yellow Wagtail, considers them very rare on Lough Mask. He has ample opportunity for observation, and in 1924 told both Colonel Lascelles and myself that he had not seen Yellow Wagtails since 1922. He does not see them annually by any means, but in 1928 noticed two on Rialisk about mid- May and one on the shore near Cuslaugh about June 2oth. He did not think they looked like nesting. I have spent much time on both Loughs Mask and Carra since Ig15 and have never yet come across a Yellow Wagtail, though always on the look-out forthem. Thisled me to make particular search in 1924 0n several days, and I was many days near their haunts. In 1928 I made even more thorough search, visiting many of the most likely places early in the season when the birds would first be expected to be nesting, and again later in the hope of seeing them feeding or being with their broods, but was disappointed on both occasions. I cannot suggest any reason for the apparent almost complete disappearance of the bird from these lakes where, at one time, it was so well established, unless, indeed, it be the unfavourable seasons experienced in recent years. ROBERT F. RUTTLEDGE. * Ivish Naturalist, 1895, p. 118, and Zoologist, 1897, pp. 346-7. + Ussher in Ivish Naturalist, 1905, p. 128, IL. XXII] NOTES. oi ROBIN NESTING ON A BED IN AN OCCUPIED ROOM. in April 28th, 1929, in response to a letter from Mr. MM. P. ollack, of Kendal End, Barnt Green, near Birmingham, | rent to-see the nest of a Robin (Erithacus r. melophilus) built na bed in his house. The bird was sitting on the nest when saw it, and it was about four feet from the open window. Ir. Pollack has since kindly furnished me with full particulars f the occurrence. At the end of March, one morning, he noticed some leaves n the dressing-table ; they appeared to have been blown_in t the window, so they were swept away. Next day, more 38 BRITISH BIRDS. [VOL. XXIII. leaves were found on the end of the bed, in the “tunnel ”’ caused when the bed-clothes were thrown over the end of the bed in the early morning. These were also cleared away, but in a day or two a Robin was seen bringing them, and accor- dingly a cardboard box was supplied, and the nest was built in this. The nest was begun on April rst and completed on the 13th or 14th. The first egg was laid on April 16th, about 6.45 'a.m., the second on the 17th about 6.30, the third on the 18th about 7.30, the fourth on the tgth about 7, the fifth on the 20th about 7.30. The hen did not sit regularly till April 27th. The eggs were hatched on May 6th about 6 am. Both parents continually fed the young. The young left the nest at about 5 a.m. on May roth. During the day the young flew about the room, and then found their way out, with one or other of the parents. I understand that the bed was in regular use ; of course the window was kept open all the time. H. G. ALEXANDER. REED-WARBLER IN PEMBROKESHIRE. Wirth reference to the statement in the Practical Handbook that the Reed-Warbler (Acrocephalus s. scirpaceus) is not found in Pembrokeshire, we wish to record that a male was seen and heard by us in the reed-bed at Llanrhian, north of | St. Davids, on May 30th, 1929. H. A. GILBERT. J. WALPOLE-BonpD. HERON SWALLOWING SNAKE. ON May toth, whilst watching through my glasses the move- ments of a Heron (Ardea c. cinerea) as it stalked amongst the bog-myrtle and sedge near Shapwick, Somerset, it suddenly flopped along with one wing partly extended and then flew up, with a grass-snake, almost, or quite, two feet in length, dangling from its bill. It pitched again on a patch of grass, and after about a minute, during which time it was evidently engaged in killing the reptile, although I could not see this distinctly, I saw it swallow the snake, extending its head and neck in an almost erect position to do so. Isend this note in confirmation of my previous one (Vol. XXII., p. 65), for it proves that on the Somerset peat moors, grass-snakes are a more or less normal part of the Herons’ diet. STANLEY LEwIS. COL, XXIII] NOTES. 39 HERON SWIMMING. YN March 14th, 1929, as I was approaching the Upper 3ittell reservoir, north Worcestershire, I was astonished to ee a large grey bird swimming near the deep end of the reservoir. It proved to be a Heron (Ardea cinerea). Aftera =w moments a Hooded Crow (Corvus cornix)—a single bird rhich, for the first time in my experience, has spent the winter vy the reservoir—swooped at it; the Heron then rose from the water, but settled a few yards further away. Then the ‘row returned to the attack, the Heron rose again, and flew cross to the shore, where two others were standing. The eservoir had only just thawed after the long frost, but it oes not seem likely that this can have had any connection vith this curious behaviour. Some years ago I thought I ‘aw a Heron swimming on the reservoir, but I could not then ‘e absolutely certain that it was not wading in deep water. Yn this occasion there was no such possibility. Nor did it eem to settle on the water to escape the attacks of the Crow. ‘t looked more as if the Crow was outraged by its surprising ehaviour. H. G. ALEXANDER. LITTLE BITTERN IN FLINTSHIRE. Nn May 7th, 1929, a keeper, being attracted by the noise of 2veral small birds and thinking that a stoat or hawk was tbout, entered a wood, about a mile and a half from connah’s Quay. A bird got up which he did not recognize d he shot it. It proved to be a female Little Bittern Ixobrychus m. minutus). ROGER CHARLTON. GREY LAG-GEESE IN KENT. VuILE in Romney Marsh on April 17th, 1929, I put up a arty of four Grey Geese from behind a bank, which I was jpproaching. They rose from the side of a fleet about forty wards from me and flew in a file away to my left. In my llasses every feather was clear. Their plain pink bills and the ry pale grey wing-coverts strongly contrasting with the tker grey of the wing and back feathers left no doubt in my and that they were Grey Lags (Anser anser). I afterward vut them up again from a grass field, but at too great a sistance to see them well. They flew off, a long distance in ‘ne direction of the coast. Mr. H. G. Alexander’s observa- won (Vol. XIX., p. 26) was the first and only other certain 2cord of this species from Romney Marsh. N. F. TIcEHuRST. 40 BRITISH BIRDS. [voL. XXIII. GREY LAG-GEESE IN WORCESTERSHIRE. ON March 23rd, 1929, I saw six Grey Geese on the Upper Bittell reservoir. When first seen, they were swimming, but they soon left the water. I had only seen four birds on the water, and I managed to get quite near to them, and was just getting them in my glasses again when two others rose from even nearer, where I had not seen them, and the other four followed them out on to the water again. However, I got an excellent view of them as they swam on the water, and the size and shape of the bill were clearly visible ; I could even see that two or three of them had traces of white by the base of the bill. Their identity as Grey Lags (Anser anser) was thus unmistakable. The keeper told me he had seen them a few days before, and they remained for over a fortnight, never flying very far, and never seeming very shy. I saw them either feeding on the meadows or on the water on the 29th and 30th and on April 5th. The white edges of the wings showed very strikingly sometimes in flight, and in favourable light even the white nail was visible. Twice I watched them at a distance of under a hundred yards. From their behaviour I am inclined to think that they were three pairs. A number of other observers also saw them; they were last seen, I believe, by Mr. E. St. G. Betts on April 6th. H. G. ALEXANDER. SHOVELER BREEDING IN CARMARTHENSHIRE. As there appears to be no authentic record of the breeding of the Shoveler (Spatula clypeata) in Carmarthenshire, the following may be of interest. While walking near Laugharne on May 6th, 1929, through some rushy, low-lying grass-land, a duck got up about 70 yards off, to my left front ; as she turned to fly into the wind I clearly saw her blue-grey shoulders. On proceeding to the spot whence I judged she rose, I found an uncovered nest containing seven eggs with two more just outside. It was difficult to find feathers or down as the whole nest was water- logged, at least three eggs being half covered in water. Two days later there were eleven eggs, the nest was somewhat drier, and there were more feathers and down. The eggs on this occasion were practically hidden by grass which had been bent down to them. The eggs were of a buff colour, with perhaps the faintest tinge of green, and when compared with Mallard’s eggs (a nest close by) they were seen to be appreciably smaller. A sample of the down matches that of the Shoveler quite well. J. F. THOMAS. OL, XXIII. ] NOTES. 41 'MADEIRAN LITTLE SHEARWATER IN NORFOLK. ”N May 11th, 1929, a specimen of the Madeiran Little Shear- water (Puffinus assimilis baroli) was picked up dead on the each at Blakeney Point by R. Pinchen, the watcher. It was 1 perfect condition and proved on dissection to be a female. the measurements, which were taken while still in the flesh vy Mr. F. E. Gunn, to whom it was sent for preservation, were 83 follows: wing, 175 mm.; bill, 24 mm.; tarsus 35 mm. The only other Norfolk specimen, which is in the possession ‘{ Mrs. Meade at Earsham Hall, was picked up on the Earsham state on April roth, 1858. This bird is generally referred to in ae text books as found “near Bungay, Suffolk,’’ but Earsham on the Norfolk side of the river Waveney. B. B. RIvVIERE. URTLE-DOVES RETURN TO LAST YEAR’S HABITAT. N British Birds, Vol. XIX., p. 255, I gave an account of the urtle-Doves (Streptopelia t. turtur) which came regularly » be fed along with domestic Pigeons in the garden of Mrs. ¢eavenson, Bicton Heath, Shrewsbury. Each year the arent birds bring their young as soon as they can fly to feed ith the others. The birds return year after year to the tme place. At the end of last season they numbered twenty- ‘ur, including the young of the year. ‘Mrs. Steavenson tells me that this year two appeared on ypril 27th and two more on May Ist. The four fed together » to the gth. In the evening of the same day, about five ‘clock, 14 came together in a flock! Next day (10th) these }, with the four earlier arrivals, making a total of 18, all sme to be fed together. Apparently 18 out of the 24 that ft here last September have returned. But what strikes ee particularly is the fact that 14 of these returned together. looks as if they had kept together in their winter quarters, aerever these were. H. E. Forrest. RUFF AND BLACK TERN IN MIDDLESEX. W May Ist, 1929, at the Littleton Reservoir (Middlesex), a wiff (Philomachus pugnax) and a Reeve were feeding along e concrete bank in company with four Dunlins. The Ruft’s dy-buff frill was unmistakable, while his upper-parts were sack-purple and his legs orange-red. On the same day a Black Tern (Chlidonias niger) was flying ww Over the water for about half an hour. ‘Next day we saw neither species on the reservoir. T. H. Harrisson, P. A. D. Hottom. 42 BRITISH BIRDS [voL. XXIII. BLACK-TAILED GODWIT IN SOMERSET. On May 4th, 1929, I watched a Black-tailed Godwit (Limosa I. limosa) at Blagdon reservoir, north Somerset. There was very little red on the breast, so I conclude it was an immature bird. Though fairly tame, the bird seemed tired, and was rather restless. On May 5th an adult bird with a conspicuous red breast was seen at Blagdon by Mr. J. D’Eath. It is interesting to recall that two birds of this species were seen at the reservoir by Mr. B. W. Tucker in 1926 (Vol. XXL, Pp: 187). C. R. STONOR. LITTLE TERN BREEDING IN SOMERSET. Mr. B. W. TucKEr’s note (Vol. XXII., p. 376) may be the first recorded instance of the Little Tern (Sterna a. albifrons) breeding in Somerset, but it has been known to do so by myself and at least two others for several years. I refrained from publishing anything in the interests of the birds. It is well known that I am getting together as perfect a collection as possible of the eggs of Somerset breeding birds, and I thought that until the birds were better established one collector at a time would be sufficient. The breeding-place (not mentioned by Mr. Tucker) is the low-lying Stert or Steart Island in the estuary of the Brue and Parrett, close to Burnham-on-Sea, Birds were seen there, and probably bred, in 1923, the first nest, containing two eggs, was found by two friends of mine in May,1924. On June 11th, 1925, I found four nests ; three containing two eggs each, and one containing three. O June ist, 1926, I found two nests, and on the 14th three, containing from two to three eggs each. The nests wer fairly close to each other, as there was one small colony only There were two favourite sites, at the north-east and south west, which seemed to be used alternately. This makes total of ten nests containing eggs found on the island in th course of four years, prior to the one found by Mr. Tucker i 1928. The island is now a sanctuary under the care of th Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. I may also give the information, unknown I believe, t anyone else, that this is not the only place in Somerset wher the Little Tern has recently bred. STANLEY LEWIS BIRDS IN YORKSHIRE IN 1928.—The following items appea in the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union’s Annual Report fo 1928, printed in the Naturalist, February, 19209. BLUE-HEADED WaGTAIL (Motacilla f. flava)—A male examined a close quarters by Mr. F. Snowdon near Whitby High Light on May 5th 1928 (p. 78). DL, XXIII.J | NOTES. 43 YMarsu-WarBLER (Acrocephalus palustris)—One was seen and heard out The Mere at Scarborough on June 1oth by Messrs. A. T. Wallis d T. N. Roberts, the former of whom has had experience of the ecies on the Continent (p. 78). There appears to be no previous >ord for Yorkshire. re ; sStocK-Dove (Columba enas).—In the East Riding it 1s said that ese birds, owing to increasing numbers, have resorted more and more plantations, building nests like Wood-Pigeons. In one case, well mtified, the bird was sitting on a nest in a hawthorn hedge (p. 80). “GaNneEt (Sula bassana).—The pair at Bempton again failed to nest, > nesting material of two attempts being carried away by Kittiwakes before (p. 81). (DECREASE OF HousE-SPARROW IN THE SHETLANDS.—In »26 Surgeon Rear-Admiral J. H. Stenhouse remarked on the eat diminution of Passer domesticus in Fair Isle (Scot. Nat., 227, p. 54). In September, 1926, it was estimated that there ‘re not more than forty House-Sparrows on the island, nere formerly there were at least eight hundred. In May, 227, ten breeding pairs were counted, while in April, 1928, Jy four pairs could be seen. (t.c., 1928, p. 162). At emburgh, on the mainland of Shetland, there are said to be House-Sparrows and at Sandwick there are very few, ough they were formerly plentiful, and on Bressay they are appearing. Sparrows have been seen ill and crawling into les and are reported “to get a swelling in their heads and sir eyes enlarge to bursting point.”” As Admiral Stenhouse marks, pathological examination of the bodies of dead birds sabove all, desirable, and we hope this will be done. VERSMANN’S WARBLER AT Farr Is_E.—Mr. G. Stout cords (Scot. Nat., 1928, p. 164) that an example of Phyllo- ‘pus b. borealis was obtained at Fair Isle on July 30th, 28. This is the eighth recorded occurrence in Great Britain 1 the fifth for Fair Isle. The date is exceptionally early, ‘vious records having been for September and one October. XPOONBILL IN HAMpPSHIRE.—Sir Thomas H. C. Troubridge ttes that a Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia) visited the neigh- thood of Beaulieu for several days during the week vy 6th to rath, 1929. (AMENESS OF WHOOPER SWANS IN SCOTLAND.—Mr. T. blie Smith writes (Scot. Nat., 1929, pp. 26-7) of the tameness ssome Whoopers (Cygnus cygnus). Two of these birds, ‘ich arrived in January, 1928, at Broughty Ferry (Forfar), aed a flock of Mute Swans and, staying until the end of til, gradually became tamer and tamer and readily came 44 BRITISH BIRDS. [VOL. XXIII. for food. At the end of October, 1928, three Whoopers again appeared, and two of these joined the Mute Swans and regu- larly approached human beings for food and even at ‘times took food out of children’s hands. Mr. Smith’s photograph of one of these Swans, reproduced on page 27 of the Scottish Naturalist, was evidently taken at very close range. We also hear from Mr. D. J. Robertson that some Whoopers which were present from January to April in the neighbour- hood of Finstown (Orkney) became tame, though not so markedly as those recorded by Mr. T. L. Smith. Mr. A. Wood of Finstown writes that during the frost in February he passed within twenty feet of two of these birds without disturbing them. EIDER NESTING IN ButEe.—Mr. J. Robertson records (Scoé. Nat., 1928, p. 125) that he saw a female Eider (Somateria m. mollissima) with two half-grown young at St. Ninian’s Bay, Island of Bute, on June 23rd, 1928. In his Birds of the Island of Bute, published in 1927, the Rev. M‘William stated that probably the Eider would be found nesting in Bute and Arran before long, as it was extending its range in that area. LATE BROOD OF GREAT CRESTED GREBE IN SCOTLAND.— Mr. D. Hamilton states (Scot. Nat., 1929, p. 29) that he saw on a loch in West Lothian on October 2Ist, 1928, a Podiceps cristatus with two young, which, judging by size, could not have been more than a week old. On December goth they seemed almost full size, but still showed the striped plumage of the young. AMERICAN PECTORAL SANDPIPER IN CAITHNESS.—Dr. C. B. Ticehurst records (Scot. Nat., 1928, p. 168) that an adult female Calidris maculata, sent to him in the flesh, was shot by Mr. M. G. Wathen in a Snipe bog at Dunnet Head on September 3rd, 1928. This is the fourth Pectoral Sandpiper recorded from Scotland. The three previous examples were stated to be the American bird, but as the distinctions between C. maculata and C. acuminata were formerly not fully understood, it would seem advisable that all old speci- mens of Pectoral Sandpipers should be critically re-examined. The Orkney example, for instance, is stated by the late T. E. Gunn (Zool., 1889, p. 452) to have had ‘‘ arrow-pointed ” markings on the breast, which rather indicates the Siberian species. The shape of the tail, which is the most important character, is not, however, described in sufficient detail to make the identification clear, (OL. XXIII.] NOTES 45 SpoTTED REDSHANKS IN FIFESHIRE.—Mr. W. Berry reports ‘Scot. Nat., 1928, p. 133) that on August 14th, 1928, he saw two Tvinga erythropus at the Morton Lochs. The bird has occurred »reviously in Fifeshire, but must be regarded as a rare visitor .0 Scotland. ROSEATE TERN BREEDING IN FIFESHIRE.—Mr. E. Crapper, on a paper on some birds of Tentsmuir (Tvans. & Proc. Perth- thire Soc. Nat. Sci., Vol. VIII., pt. v., 1927-8, p. 251), describes the breeding of a pair of Roseate Terns (Sterna d. dougalli1) on “entsmuir in June, 1927. Mr. Crapper had seen one or two virds here in four previous years, but it was not until June ‘8th, 1927, that he found the nest, which was placed among . colony of Sandwich Terns (S. s. sandvicensis). Photographs ff the bird at the nest appear in Plate 37. It is many years “ince the Roseate Tern has definitely been reported as ereeding in Scotland, though it has several times recently een suspected of doing so. LETTER. THE DIVING OF SCOTERS. To the Editors of British Brirps. Srrs,—With reference to the discussion on the diving of Scoters Vol. XXIII., pp. 214, 378) may I contribute the following note: The iverpool Bay Scoters are, at times, driven by stress of weather to ike refuge behind the sandhills of the Lancashire coast. Here are eund pools, locally ‘‘ slacks,’’ on which the Scoters rest. For some sistance a yard-wide drain connects the slacks. One day I surprised imale Common Scoter, asleep, on the bank of the drain. He leaped ato the water and dived, swimming along the drain, submerged, but suite visible in the clear water. The wings were not used for swimming, ut were not entirely closed ; I was surprised to see that the ‘‘bastard ”’ “ings were completely extended during the swim. The impression I sceived was that the partly spread wings and the extended bastards vere being used to preserve the balance of the bird. GEORGE MARPLES. A History of the Birds of Essex. By William E. Glegg, F.Z.S., M.B.O.U. Demy 8vo. Pp. xxxv., 342, 20 Plates and a Map. (H. F. & G, Witherby.) 25s. So many changes have taken place in the thirty-nine years that have elapsed since the publication of Miller Christy’s well-known Birds of Essex, that the time was ripe for a more up-to-date account of the birds of that county. In undertaking this task Mr. Glegg has been very fortunate in having the help of an actively interested county Natural History Society and for the greater part of the period of his work the approval and support of the author of the earlier work. It is much to be regretted that the latter did not live and see the completion of the new one. In his preface Mr. Glegg explains how he preferred to produce a totally new book on his own lines rather than a revised edition of the earlier one. In this we think he was right, for, though no doubt this entailed a great deal more work, he was able to trace each record and statement back to its original source and form his own judgment upon them, and judgments change with the passage of years and in the light of new knowledge. The arrangement of a new book, too, could be brought into uniformity with the other more recent county faunas. In any case, much of what Mr. Christy wrote would necessarily have been rewritten, for, as in many of the older faunas, he had included a good deal that was really unnecessary and had depended too much upon long verbatim quotations. Mr. Glegg has rightly replaced most of this by short summaries, but we cannot help feeling that he has carried this somewhat too far. There is thus a great deal of interesting information in the earlier work that is not to be found in the later. One may mention as instances the chapter on former Essex Decoys, which Mr. Glegg dismisses in half a page, though it is clear he has spent considerable time and trouble in fixing their sites. There are also Harting’s contribution on early Hawking, which Mr. Glegg omits to mention, and several other items of pre-nineteenth century history. Future workers on the Birds of Essex will therefore have to remember that these two county histories to some extent supplement one another and that the newer one cannot in every respect replace the earlier. In the Introduction will be found a quite sufficient account of the geology of the county and the bearing of this on its natural features, while in a succeeding section the effect of these on the local distribution of species is summarized in a series of tables. This subject of Ecology, long neglected by British ornithologists, is becoming more and more important with the progressive changes in our countryside. In the present case the establishment of the Lea Valley Reservoirs occurs to one at once as an example of how such changes can affect the distribution of the species, and Mr. Glegg is to be congratulated in setting the example by including a section on this subject, which future county historians will be unable to ignore. As regards the body of the work, the nomenclature is up-to-date and the treatment of each species is quite what it should be for a county fauna; the status, distribution and migrations of the common ones are WWOL, XXIII.] REVIEWS. 47 shortly summarized and defined so far as they are known, while the eit of the rarer ones are for the most part adequately dealt with. Free use is made of square brackets on the lines advocated by Harvie- Brown, but there appear to be one or two Cases of unexplained in- squality of treatment. Thus the Alpine Swift is accepted on a sight ‘ecord alone, while the Northern Long-tailed Tit, also a sight record, ss square-bracketed. There may be perfectly good grounds for this, ASSISTED BY Rev. F.C. R. JouRDAIN, M.A., M.B.O.U., H.F.A.O.U., F.Z.S. , AND NORMAN F. TICEHURST, O.B.E., M.A., F.R.C.S., M.B.O.U. CONTENTS OF NUMBER 4, VOL. XXIII, SEPTEMBER 2, 1929. The Migrations of British and Irish Woodcock : Results of the Marking Method. By A. Landsborough Thomson, OBE. Bs. 5. Notes :— “ British Birds’’ Marking Scheme ... ert “ae Ki Golden Oriole in Yorkshire (H. A. A. Dombrain) ... ay Incubation- and Fledging-Periods of Linnet (J. F. Thomas) Grey Wagtail’s Nest in a Drain Pipe (M. V. Wenner) ... bes Incubation- and Fledging-Periods of Tree-Creeper (T. Ge Longstaff) ts bbe Bad e's a os ie Disposal of Addled Eggs by Great and Blue Tits (Col. B. H. Ryves) Blue Tit taking Dead Young Bird from Nest (H. G. Alexander) Food of the Red-backed Shrike (J. H. Owen) Larder of Red-backed Shrike (H. E. Donovan) ee Female Blackbird’s Attachment to Territory (Col. B. H. Ryves) ae me Na , Ne da as Hedge-Sparrow Hatching Another's Eggs without Laying (J. H. Owen) AS ee oe te Montagu’s Harrier in Bucks (R. H. Deane) ... Heron Swimming (A. W. Boyd) ane <2 Grey Lag-Geese in Shropshire (H. E. Forrest) oy Breeding of Garganey in Dorset (Rev. F.C. R. Jourdain) Little Grebes Diving with their Young (G. F. M.Swiny) ... Common Gull Breeding in Rook’s Nest in Scotland (R. W. Davies) Short Notes :— Immigration of Crossbills. Abundance of Black-necked Grebes in Essex. Status of the Great Northern Diver in Essex. Status of the Sanderling and Turnstone in Essex. Redshank at High Altitude in Scotland. Roseate Tern Breeding in Scotland ... Letters :— Extraordinary Sexual Display by a Pair of Hedge-Sparrows (C. N. Rollin) ae avs tee mee Ed Three Redshanks at One Nest (Col. B. H. Ryves) Reviews :— Report on Scottish Ornithology in 1927, including Migration. By E. V. Baxter and L. J. Rintoul , ins aes De Vogels van Nederland. Vol. If. By Prof. Dr. E. D. van Oort. nae ev ees Rice, Paes “es as PAGE Ior 103 103 103 104 (74) THE MIGRATIONS OF BRITISH AND IRISH WOODCOCK: RESULTS OF THE MARKING METHOD. BY A, LANDSBOROUGH THOMSON, 0.B:z., D.Sc. J.—INTRODUCTION. THE migrations of the Woodcock (Scolopax rusticola) in Europe have been discussed by Schenk in a voluminous paper (1924), of which an abstract in English appeared in these pages (1925). This reviewed the available data resulting both from observational studies and from marking ; it also discussed at length verious theoretical questions which consideration of the facts suggested. It is not the purpose of the present paper to traverse all the ground thus covered by Schenk, but only to present a fuller account of the data derived from the marking method which relate to the British Isles. Schenk’s paper, in its original form, gave a list of most of the marking records for the Woodcock then available, but dealt chiefly with the interest of the individual cases which showed considerable movement ; a comprehensive review of all the data {rom this source, of which data from the British Isles form much the larger part, was thus still required. In the case of the Woodcock there are not only the records obtained by the “ British Birds’’ and former Aberdeen University marking schemes, but many records from private merking schemes which the owners of various estates have undertaken. Two of these schemes have contributed impor- tant series of records, and, as these have fortunately been published in detail, summaries of the results are included below. The other private schemes have either produced fewer records, or these have not been fully published; no attempt is made here to deal with most of these, beyond making mention of the existence of the schemcs and of any striking individual records known to have been obtained. In view of the fact that the conditions of the private schemes are not entirely comparable with those of the two larger inquiries, and that the results are not available in quite the same form, the various series of records have been kept apart, only those of the “ British Birds ” and Aberdeen University schemes being combined. The private schemes differ, as a rule, in that the rings used bear less adequate addresses and year marks instead of individual numbers ; they also yield a high proportion of local recoveries, a point to which further reference will be made later. VoL. xx11.] MIGRATIONS OF WOODCOCK. 75 The writer is indebted to Mr. H. F. Witherby, who indeed suggested this paper, for access to the “‘ British Birds ”’ records and for information about some of the private schemes. He is also indebted to Captain S. R. Douglas, F.R.S., for having prepared and published the second of the papers mentioned below with a view to facilitating reference here, in a more general way, to the whole series of records of the Classiebawn scheme. II.—RESULTS OF THE NORTHUMBERLAND SCHEME. This is the earliest known scheme for marking wild birds on any considerable scale with a view to studying their migrations. In r8g9r Lord William Percy began marking young Woodcock on the Duke of Northumberland’s estate at Alnwick, Northumberland. The rings bore the symbol ““N’”’ and the date (year). Table A gives an analysis of the list of records published in 1909, showing 58 recoveries out of a total of about 375 marked. TABLE A. ANALYSIS OF RECOVERY RECORDS OF WoopcockK MARKED AS YOUNG Brrps IN NORTHUMBERLAND (PERCY). Recovered Recovered Recovered at elsewhere in outside Month of or near place northern general recovery. of marking. Great Britain. area. First season, September 2 October .. =e 2 November aes ste) December ke 5 ‘January 7 February... — March — Subsequent seasons, October ... I November 4 December ae 8 5 I rr — I I I I | January February... March Total 45 lo | | Jew | ltd edad {Notes.—Throughout this Paper seasons are reckoned, as usual, from the Ist April in the year of marking. At or near place of marking ’’ means in Northumberland. For purposes of comparison with subsequent series of records, the general area is taken as being Scotland and the north of England.] 76 BRITISH BIRDS. [VOL. XXIII. The records of the individual birds recovered otherwise than at or near the place of marking are shown in detail in a supplementary table (AA). In the case of recovery localities within the general area the distance is added in parenthesis. TABLE AA. PARTICULARS OF Woopcock MARKED As YOUNG BIRDS IN NORTHUMBERLAND AND RECOVERED AT A DISTANCE. (Details of Table A, Columns 3 and 4). Year of marking at Date and Place of Recovery. Alnwick. 1906 Ate Sept., 1906 Mid-Lothian, Scotland (55 miles). 1903 eee Nov., 1903 Angus*, Scotland (ca. 95 miles). 1903 ae Nov., 1903 Somerset. 1897 sae Dec., 1897 Co. Wexford, Ireland. 1908 ae Dec., 1908 Argyllshire, Scotland (ca. 140 miles). 1903 ahs Mar., 1903 Co. Cork, Ireland. 1905 ahs Nov., 1906 Co. Limerick, Ireland. 1905 sere Dec., 1906 Co. Antrim, Ireland. IQOI ioe Dec., 1903 Wigtownshire, Scotland (ca. 120 miles). 1905 See Dec., 1907. Cétes-du-Nord, France. 1894 Bae Jan., 1897 Suffolk. 1903 ae Jan., 1907 Co. Cork, Ireland: 1904 ee Jan., 1908 Co. Cork, Ireland. III.—RESULTS OF THE CLASSIEBAWN, SLIGO, SCHEME. In rgro Colonel W. W. Ashley began marking young Woodcock at Classiebawn, co. Sligo, Ireland, and the results have been published by Douglas in two papers (1917, 1929). The rimgs used im x0nO were auarked ~ ACio, im agit “WA Sligo Torr,” and m 101g “ WA Sligo 1." In more two rings were used for each bird, one marked ‘“‘ W Ashley ’” and the other “‘Shgo 13’’; this practice was continued in subsequent years with the necessary change in the date figure. During the nineteen seasons 658 young birds were marked in all. Of these 92 were recorded (one twice), excluding a few doubtful records. The records, as published in detail by Douglas, are analysed in Table B. TABLE B: ANALYSIS OF RECOVERY RECORDS OF Woopcock MARKED AS YOUNG Birps IN Co. Siico, IRELAND (DOUGLAS). Nominee Recovered at Recovered Recovered Reeve or near place elsewhere in outside ny of marking. Ireland. Ireland. First season, November Bae 8 I 2 December = 8 2 —- January ... ee 26 =< == February... a 2 ime — *Formerly known as Forfarshire. VOL. xx1.] MIGRATIONS OF WOODCOCK. 77 Recovered at Recovered Recovered Month: of or near place elsewhere in outside Searreny of marking. Ireland. Ireland. Subsequent seasons. April 2 — I May 5 = I June 5 —_— = July 3 = — August 2 = =r September I — — October ... — — —_ November 2 3 = December 2 _ — January ... 15 — — February — — Sa March 2 — Total 83 6 4 The recoveries of the birds represented in columns 3 and 4 are shown in detail in a supplementary table (BB). In the case of recovery localities within the general area the distance is added in parenthesis. TABLE BB. PARTICULARS OF WoopcocK MARKED AS YOUNG IN Co. SLiGco, IRELAND, Year ot marking at Classiebawn. 1914 1919 1918 IQT4 IQI7 I9gI9 ? 1915 1915 1913 AND RECOVERED AT A DISTANCE (DOUGLAS). (Details of Table B, Columns 3 and 4.) Date and Place of Recovery. —.1I.14 Vizcaya, N. Spain. r6,12.19 Landes, France. ANIL IS Co. Fermanagh (31 miles). —.12.14 Co. Mayo (ca. 40 miles). E5.12.17 Co. Antrim (ca. Too miles). Ca.20.4.21 Fredrikstad, Norway (50 miles S. of Oslo). C4.23.5.21 Mid-Lothian, Scotland. : bite tp egy Co. Leitrim (ca. 40 miles). CA. TL.LF Co. Leitrim (ca. 40 miles). —.11.16 Co. Donegal (ca. 60 miles). Several of the records are of interest from the point of view of longevity. A bird marked in Igro was recovered within the county at the end of November, r9g18. One bird, which appears twice in Table B, was originally marked as a chick in rg1I ; it was caught, on the estate, as an adult with {Notres.—" At or near place of marking ’’ means in co. Sligo or adjacent parts of neighbouring counties, the greatest distance being about 25 miles. Ireland is taken as the general area. Three records undated as to year are included under subsequent seasons. One record dated ‘“‘summer”’ is included under July. In one case two recordsare provided by a single bird.] 78 BRITISH BIRDS. [VOL. XXIII. young on June 21st, I915, marked with an extra ring, and released ; it was caught again, still on the estate, on July 11th, 1922. A still longer span of life is recorded in the case of a bird marked as a chick in 1912 and killed by barbed wire on the estate on March 18th, 1924. IV.—OTHER PRIVATE SCHEMES. The following list of other private schemes, and the informa- tion given about them, does not pretend to be exhaustive. It will be noted that the first three on the list refer to localities in the same county as Classiebawn, the site of the marking dealt with in the preceding section. (3) Temple House, Ballymote, co. Sigo.—Major A. A. Percival has for several years marked young Woodcock with rings in- scribed “‘T. H. Sligo’ and with serial numbers. According to personal information received from him, one of his birds was recovered in co. Wicklow, on the other side of Ireland, and one in Spain,in addition to a number shot locally. One marked at Temple House on May 12th, 1914, was recovered at Shellisatir, Nesting, Shetland, on July 7th, 1917 (fide Clarke, 1917-18). (4) Hazlewood, co. Sligo.—It is understood that a number of young Woodcock were marked by Captain P. D. Percival, with rings inscribed “‘ H. W. Sligo,’’ some years ago. (5) Lissadell, co. Sigo.—Ilt is understood that a number were marked by Sir Josslyn Gore-Booth, Bt., mostly with rings inscribed “‘ Lissadell’’? and with serial numbers. The writer is informed that 78 were marked in the years Ig11-18, of which 9 were recovered at the place of marking. (6) Baronscourt, co. Tyrone.—In 1905 the late Lord John Hamilton began marking young Woodcock at Baronscourt, co. Tyrone, Ireland, using rings marked ‘“‘ B.C.05”’ (and so on according to date) and he has published (1908) the results of marking 211 birds in the four seasons 1905-08. The analysis is as follows, the published data not including the months of recovery :— Recovered Recovered ’ at home. away. Birst SeasOm) eae ee sits D I Second season 6 2 8 3 The recovery localities of the birds noted in the second column were Inverness-shire, Scotland (October of first year), Cornwall (second year) and Middlesex (second year). (7) Cong, co. Galway.—A number of Woodcock were marked by the late Lord Ardilaun with rings inscribed vot. xxi.) MIGRATIONS OF WOODCOCK. 79 “A. Cong ’”’ and with the date (year). One marked as a young bird at Cong in 1910 was recovered on December 28th of that year at Covide, forty miles north of Oporto, Portugal (fide Witherby, IgII). ; (8) Brookeborough, co. Fermanagh.—Some W oodcock have been marked since 1924 by Sir Basil Brooke, both as young birds and as trapped adults, with rings inscribed “ Brooke and with serial numbers. The more recent of two published notes (1929) gives particulars of the recoveries to date, ten in all. One young bird was recovered in its first winter fifty miles away in co. Donegal. The others, including two marked as adults, were all recovered locally ; one young bird, marked in May, 1926, was caught and released in April, 1927, and finally recovered at the same place on January 2nd, 1928. (9) Swynnerton Park, Staffordshire.—lIt is understood that some Woodcock have recently been marked by Lord Stafford with private rings, and that a few have been recovered locally. V.—RESULTS OF THE ‘ BRITISH BIRDS”? AND ABERDEEN UNIVERSITY SCHEMES. The records included under this head are those which have so far been obtained under the ‘‘ British Birds ’”’ scheme and those which were obtained during the former Aberdeen University inquiry. Most of the “ British Birds ”’ records have already appeared in scattered form in these pages, and some of the earlier ones also in summary form (Witherby, IgI0, et seg ; and 1917). The Aberdeen University records were all included in the present writer’s final report on that inquiry (1921), fuller details of some of the cases being given in an earlier publication (1912). Under the “‘ British Birds’’ scheme 1,68r Woodcock were marked up to the end of 19g28,and 116 have been recovered to the date of writing, or 6.9 per cent.; the number of recoveries 1s obviously still incomplete. Under the Aberdeen University scheme 156 were marked and 21 recovered, 13.5 per cent. The data of the two inquiries are so similar in nature, being obtained under strictly comparable conditions and relating to the same geographical area, and it is therefcre obviously convenient and useful to analyse them in combined form. With one exception all the birds were marked as young. With five other exceptions they were all marked as young in the geo- graphical area which has on previous occasions been arbitrarily but conveniently defined as Scotland and the North of England (including the six English counties north of the Humber). Table C is therefore restricted to the 131 records which fall in this category, the exceptions being separately mentioned later on. 80 BRITISH BIRDS. [VOL. KXIII, TABLE -C, ANALYSIS OF RECOVERY RECORDS OF WoopcocK MARKED AS YOUNG IN SCOTLAND AND THE NORTH OF ENGLAND. (“ British Bivds’’ and Aberdeen University Records.) Recovered at Recovered Month of or near elsewhere in Recovered outside Recovery. respective places general area general area. of marking. of marking. First season. JATAUISE nA as it = =a September ies 12 I = @ctober .:: v3 9 I I November bo 12 2 a December as 16 — 5 January .. 8 I 5 February... 2 = 4 Subsequent seasons. April aa I — —_ May I — — June I — — July I — = August I I = September oe — — @ctober =. I 2 == November 8 — I December 9 — 3 January ... a — 3 February I -— 3 cop 8 32 The records included in columns 3 and 4 of the table deserve to be given in detail. In Table CC those recovered within the general area of marking are distinguished by having the approximate distance added after the recovery locality. TABLE (CG; PARTICULARS OF Woopcock MARKED AS YOUNG IN SCOTLAND AND THE NORTH OF ENGLAND AND RECOVERED AT A DISTANCE. (Details of Table C, Columns 3 and 4.) Ring Date of Place of Date of Place of Number. Marking. Marking. Recovery. Recovery. B.B.42029 19.5.13 Dumfries-shire 12.9.13 Moray(ca.17omiles). B.B.19440 —-19.5.13. Cumberland 27.10.13 Northumberland (35 miles). Bab 26mm 15.5.1 Cumberland 31.10.11 Co.Galway, Ireland. B.B.18404 14.5.12 Cumberland’ early 11.12 Co. Kerty, Ireland. B.B.48061 11.5.14 Dumfries-shire 2.11.14 Co. Clare, Ireland. B.B.Z.611I 27.4.25 Stirlingshire 10.11.25 Peebles-shire (50 miles). B.B.16949 ~=28.7.14 Dumfries-shire 13.11.14 Northumberland (55 miles). A.U.28052 17.6.12 Cumberland Tgetle2 (Co, (Conkalinelanads 417) [Nore.—The birds included in column 2 of Table C were recovered at or quite near the respective places of marking—within about 30 miles. ] VoL. xx.) MIGRATIONS OF WOODCOCK. Ring Date of Number. Marking. B.B.25547 27.4.13 A.U.24201 325.02 (416) B.B.18409 =—-:115.5.12 B.B.17541 1.5.12 B.B.12602 LI.§. 0% A.U.24206 =10.5.12 (418) B.D. Ui1753 1719.28 A.U.28060 = 17.6.12 (419) B.B.16967 8.5.13 A.U.13475 13.6.11 (292) BB: ¥.2304 7.5.25 B.B.12610 2.5515 B,.B.12624 21.5.11 B.B. Y.5755 30.4.25 B.B.15743 6.5.12 IS Bi W.7232 (0.5.27 B.B. Y.3621 -.6.26 B.B.U.1781 5.5.28 BB. W.1282 20:4.27 B.B.41806 7.5.13 B.B. X.9204 11.6.26 Sr ZAI233 "2.7:25 B.B.1730I 23.4.14 B.B.Z.1583 2E.5.24 B.B.6952 10.6.26 B.B.16931 1.5.12 IB.B22613 89 -£5.5. 0 B.B.2881 7.6.18 B.B.16929 1.5.12 B.B.25358 2.5.12 B.B.12398 22.5.11 A.U.25276 26.6.12 (426) Place of Marking. Yorkshire Stirlingshire Cumberland Cumberland Cumberland Stirlingshire Perthshire Cumberland Dumfries-shire ca. Kincardineshire Perthshire Cumberland Northumberland Dumfries-shire Cumberland Perthshire Lancashire Perthshire Perthshire Wigtownshire Perthshire Perthshire Kirkcudbright- . shire Perthshire Perthshire Dumfries-shire Cumberland Kirkcudbright- shire Dumfries-shire Dumfries-shire Nairnshire Argyllshire Date of Recovery. £O.2T1g E7.1L.12 28.11.12 29.11.52 26.12.11 26.12.12 27.12.28 28.12.12 30.12.13 4.1. 28.8.14 14.10.27 17.10.25 24.11.15 21.2. 23.2.14 81 Place of Recovery. Landes, France. Cétes-du-Nord, France. Cornwall. Co. Mayo, Ireland. Essex. Co. Cork, Ireland. Cornwall. Co. Cork, Ireland. Co. Cork, Ireland. Asturias, Spain. Co. Dublin,Ireland. Co. Cork, Ireland. Co. Wexford, Ire- land. Northumberland (ca. 35 miles). Co. Kerry, Ireland. Co. Sligo, Ireland. Co. Clare, Ireland. Co. Antrim, Treland. Co. Cork, Ireland. Dumfries-shire (ca. 55 miles). Ayrshire (85 miles). Ayrshire (ca. 70 miles). Co. Down, Ireland. Co. Cork, Ireland. Co. Cavan, Ireland. Co. Antrim, Ireland. Co. Kerry, Ireland. Co. Westmeath, Ireland. Co. Galway, Ire- land. Co. Tipperary, Ire- land. Co. Londonderry, Ireland. Co. Antrim, Ire- land. A bird recovered in its thirteenth year also calls for particu- lar mention. It (B.B., 2854) was marked as a chick in the summer of I914 in Kirkcudbrightshire, and recovered on November 30th, 1926, a few miles away in Dumfries-shire. 82 BRITISH BIRDS. [VOL. XXIII. There remain a few records obtained under these schemes which do not fall in the category which has so far been considered. These may now be mentioned separately. Marked as young in Wales and the south of England.—One bird (B.B. 334) marked in Kent was recovered at the same place in January of its first year. One (B.B. U. 1562) marked in Glamorgan was recovered in Westmorland (215 miles) in October of its first year. Marked as young in Iveland.—Three birds marked in various parts of Ireland were recovered at or near the places of marking in November of the first year(B.B.524 and A.U. 12393: 108) and December of the second year (B.B. 23740.). Marked as an adult.—One bird (B.B. Z.3537) was marked as an adult caught on its nest on July 8th, 1924, at Clitheroe, Lancashire; it was recovered on January 23rd, 1925, at Ashburton, Devon. VI.—DiscussIon OF BRITISH AND IRISH RESULTS. As a first step in summarizing the data of which an account has been given, the series which has been treated in detail may be analyzed ina consolidated table(D). Itisimpossible to include in this any of the records mentioned in Section IV., as complete figures for the minor schemes are lacking. The table is therefore a combination of Tables A, B and C, with the addi- ticn of five other records mentioned in Section V. (The British Birds record of a Woodcock marked as an adult is excluded.) TABLE Ds ANALYSIS OF RECOVERY RECORDS OF WoopcocK MARKED AS YOuNG IN THE BriTIsH ISLEs. (Northumberland, Classiebawn, “‘ British Bivds”’ and Aberdeen University Schemes.) Recovered Recovered elsewhere at or near within Recovered Month of respective respective outside Total. Recovery. places of general areas respective marking. of marking. general areas. April 3 — I 4 May 6 — i Gi June 6 — — 6 July 4 a = 4 August 4 I — 5 September 15 2 — 7 October 13 3 2 18 November 46 y 1 65 December 49 4 II 64 January 69 = II 81 February 6 I 7 13 March ... 2 = I 3 Total 228 18 46 287 VOL. XxuI.] MIGRATIONS OF WOODCOCK. 83 This consolidated table, analyzing 287 records, ignores the distinction between birds recovered in their first season and birds recovered at greater ages, and that between birds marked in one part of the British Isles and birds marked in another. These points, however, may be ascertained by an examination of the separate tables already given. The differences are, in fact, not very great, but a few points will be mentioned later. THE PROPORTION OF MARKED BIRDS RECOVERED. A comparison between the figures for the different schemes reveals some differences which would probably be misleading if treated as important. The Northumberland and Classie- bawn schemes have yielded approximately double the number of recoveries, in proportion to the numbers of birds marked, obtained in the more general schemes. This is entirely due to recoveries at the places of marking, and.can doubtless be attributed to the fact that the birds were marked on shooting estates with the full interest of the proprietors. Under the other schemes the marking has been much more scattered and often under much less favourable circumstances for obtaining the maximum number of local recovery records. As regards other local records, the Northumberland scheme shows a slight advantage over the general schemes, which is surprising in view of the absence of a good address upon the rings. The difference, however, may be fortuitous owing to the unrelia- bility of percentages calculated from small figures ; this point is emphasized by the fact that if the small Aberdeen series is taken alone it gives the highest figure of all (3.8 per cent.) for distant recoveries. The Classicbawn scheme shows a very small proportion of distant recoveries, but it must be remem- bered that in the case of birds marked in Ireland there can be nothing corresponding to the migration to that country from Great Britain which swells the figures for the other schemes. An illustration may be given of the way in which the recovery figures depend upon shooting on the home estate. Douglas (1929) points out that if the Classiebawn records for the separate periods covered by his two papers be compared, the proportion of marked birds recovered is noticeably smaller in the second period. Further examination shows that this is due to a decrease in the number of birds shot, mainly on the home estate, and that the small percentage recovered by other means than shooting remains about the same. This is no doubt related to the fact that, owing to the war and the subsequently disturbed conditions, the shooting was much less regular than during most of the earlier period. 84 BRITISH BIRDS. [VOL. XXIII. AGES AT RECOVERY. The figures in Table E showing the ages at which the birds were recovered may be of interest. The records dealt with are the same as those covered by Table D, except that three Classiebawn records are necessarily excluded because the date ring was missing and only the address ring on the other foot established the record. The years are, as usual, reckoned from the rst April in the year of marking. TABLE E. AGE ANALYSIS OF RECOVERY RECORDS OF Woopcock MARKED AS YOUNG IN THE BRITISH ISLES. wn . © Years of Life. eR gy ay etek a 3 rs ce Es) . H OA nm +MHO RO OH HH HH Northumber- land scheme 32, to O° 6 -= 1 = = S = = = = 58 Classiebawn scheme Oy ur ime a 7 Os GMa ee a I I — 90 “ British Birds ” and Aberdeen University or 28 7 6 3 == += 422. 2 = f 136 Total I72° 82 28.19 55 2 2a tL = Ee 1 wer It will be seen that 95 per cent. of the recovery records fall in the first four years of life, and that the first year alone accounts for just over 60 per cent. Details of some of the records showing very long life have already been givenin Sections III. and V. (It should be observed that a recovery record does not necessarily mean the end of the bird’s life. In the Classiebawn scheme, especially, several have been caught and released, and one bird indeed appears twice in the above table.) . YOUNG AND OLD BIRDS COMPARED. In the case of birds recovered away from the place of marking, the question of age has to be considered, because with an old bird there is always the possibility that a new breeding area has been found in an intervening summer. Any journeys performed by birds recovered in their first winter have obviously been made more or less directly from the place of marking. As regards winter records, however, no difference between young and old birds is in this case discernible. Summer records for old birds are discussed in a later sub- section. As regards the seasonal incidence of recoveries, it is of course obvious why there are no summer records in the first season: the birds are in these months mostly either unborn VOL. Xx.) MIGRATIONS OF WOODCOCK. 85 or unmarked, and any recoveries within the flightless period are not recorded. Apart from this, there is one difference which has some interest. There is a fair proportion of recoveries of birds of the year in September, mainly from the place of marking and none from a great distance. In contrast, there 1s a conspicuous dearth of September records for older birds, for which it is indeed the poorest month in the year ; the single record is from the place of marking. This fact may be related to the well-known observation as to the scarcity of Woodcock at that season. The probable explanation is that the birds adopt skulking habits owing to their moult (which does not affect the chief flight-feathers in the case of the young of the year). It is conceivable that they change their ground locally, but highly improbable that they travel far; there are equally no distant records for the month, and the records for later months show that a great many of the birds spend the winter on the native ground. STATIONARY AND MIGRATORY BIRDS. Irrespective of the ages of the birds at recovery or of the parts of the British Isles where they were marked, it is obvious that a great many Woodcock remain in their native districts throughout the winter. There are numerous home records for every month. On the other hand, some of the birds migrate to a greater or less extent. The records showing this are certainly numerous enough for movement to be considered as not exceptional, but it is only in a very tentative manner that one can venture to make any deduction as to the proportion of birds leaving the native locality. Taking only birds marked in Scotland and the north of England, it is found that of the recovery records for the period from October to February, inclusively, about 25 per cent. are from a distance and a further 6 per cent. from localities within the general area but considerably removed from the particular places of marking. This suggests that from a quarter to a third of the birds are migratory, and on the assumption that the chances of recoveries being reported tend to be diminished in the case of birds going to a distance, especially abroad, this is probably an under-statement. In the case of Irish birds the proportion of distant records is much smaller. A further point emerges from the figures just quoted, or indeed from even a cursory inspection of Tables A, C or D. but does not apply to the records of birds marked in Ireland, 86 BRITISH BIRDS. [VOL. XXIII. This is that among the records showing movement those from moderate distances, t.e., within the general area of marking, are heavily outnumbered by those from greater distances. If any allowance could be made for the varying chances of recoveries being reported, it would presumably be in the direction of increasing this difference. It may also be argued that at least some of the birds recovered at moderate distances were not at the limit of their journeys. This all goes to suggest that if the birds migrate at all they tend to perform considerable journeys, or, in other words, that the individuals tend to be either truly stationary or definitely migratory. Were there merely a wandering tendency, one would expect to find, as in the case of certain other species, that the number of recoveries fell off gradually with distance instead of, as here, dropping rapidly at first and then rising again further away. No light is thrown on the question as to whether an indivi- dual bird which migrates in one season tends to do so in another, or whether the same individual may vary in this respect from year to year. The question is indeed practically insoluble by the marking method ; only in rare instances has the same Woodcock provided two recovery records. THE DIRECTIONS OF MIGRATION. In considering this question, account may be taken of individual records mentioned in Section IV. as well as of those in the series which have been presented in detail. Stress is laid chiefly on records for the first winter, as in that case the presence of the bird at the place of marking immediately prior to the migration season is known with certainty. Movement within Great Britain.—Several records show movement in the first autumn in a northward direction, suggesting a tendency on the part of some of the young birds to an erratic dispersal. The noteworthy cases show move- ment from Northumberland to Mid-Lothian, Angus and Argyll, respectively, from Dumfries-shire to Moray, and from South Wales to Westmorland, distances ranging from about 55 to about 215 miles. The case of a Northumberland bird recovered in Wigtownshire in its third winter may indicate a similar tendency on the part of older birds, but is capable also of a different interpretation. Records showing southward movement within the general area of marking, Scotland and the north of England, call for no special remark. They are not numerous, a point which has already been discussed. voL. xxut.} MIGRATIONS OF WOODCOCK. 87 Records showing movement to the more southerly portion of Great Britain are of interest in that they indicate a different route from that next to be discussed. They are few in number, however, and must not be given undue importance. The journeys recorded for the first winter are from Perthshire to Cornwall, from Northumberland to Somerset, and from Cumberland to Essex and to Cornwall. A Northumberland bird, too, was recovered in Suffolk in its third winter. There is also the case of a bird marked as an adult in Lancashire and recovered in Devon in the same year. Migration from Great Britain to I veland.—A regular migra- tion from Scotland and the north of England to Ireland is indi- cated by eighteen records for first-year birds and fourteen for older birds. The native localities range from Perthshire to Lancashire, The Irish localities are distributed over most of the country except the extreme north-west, but the western and south-western regions account for about two- thirds of the records, Cork easily heading the list of counties. Movement within Ireland.—Birds marked in Ireland give no evidence of a definite migration within the country. There is, for instance, no hint of any movement to the south-western region which yields so many records for birds marked in Great Britain. In fact, the longest journey recorded, from co. Sligo to co. Antrim, is one of 100 miles in a north-easterly direction ; this was a first-year bird. Taken together with the cases to be mentioned under the next sub-head, the records suggest an erratic dispersal rather than true migration in the case of Irish birds. Movement from Ireland to Great Britain.—A bird marked in co. Tyrone was recovered in Inverness-shire in its first season and two others reached the south of England (Cornwall and Middlesex) in their second season, but as the time of year is not stated interpretation is ambiguous. Two birds from co. Sligo were recovered in Scotland, but these were summer records and will be discussed later. Migration to the Continent.—There are a few winter records showing migration to the Continent, both from northern Great Britain and from Ireland, and, owing to the presumably inferior chances of such cases being reported, they should probably be given more weight than their mere numbers suggest. The actual journeys recorded are from Stirling and from Northumberland to Brittany, from Yorkshire and from co. Sligo to south-western France, from Kincardineshire and from co, Sligo (2) to Spain, and from co. Galway to Portugal. Most of these records relate to birds of the year. 88 BRITISH BIRDS. [VOL, XXIII. There is nothing to show whether birds native to northern Great Britain reach the Continent by way of Ireland or by way of southern Great Britain. The unique case of an Irish bird being recovered in Norway in summer is dealt with below. RETURN TO SUMMER QUARTERS. The data provide no direct evidence that Woodcock which migrate return to their native localities. Most of the summer records are indeed from the places of marking, but these might be for birds which had not been away during the winter. The paucity of distant records for the summer months might be taken as indirect evidence that the migrants do return, but it must be remembered that the total number of summer records is itself small. One may be somewhat more confident in basing a conclusion on the fact that there are no summer records from moderate distances. All the recoveries included in Table D for the period from April to August, with one unimportant exception for the last-named month, were either in the locality of marking or right out of the area. This suggests that any return to the native locality is either quite accurate or very wide of the mark ; also that, apart from migration, there is no noticeable tendency to spread to neighbouring districts for breeding purposes. Coming to the few summer recoveries at a distance, it will be seen that Table D includes two records of birds being recovered in summer in quite different areas from those in which they were marked, and a third instance can be added from Section IV. In these cases birds native to the west of Ireland were recovered respectively in the east of Scotland (May, age unknown), the Shetland Isles (July, three years old) and Norway (April, two years old). These cases are probably to be regarded as exceptional. They may be due to the birds having lost their way on return from distant winter-quarters. Or they may be due to ‘‘abmigration,”’ 7.e., to birds which have remained in the native area making a spring migration in company with returning winter visitors. In the case of a species of which some individuals are migratory and some are stationary it is impossible to decide between these explanations. SEASONS OF MIGRATION. As regards birds marked in Scotland and the north of England, there are a few early autumn records from places VoL. xxi.) MIGRATIONS OF WOODCOCK. 89 within that general area, i.e., from moderate distances. The earliest date on which a bird is recorded outside the area 1s October 31st. With that negligible exception and one case in which a Northumberland bird was recovered in Ireland as late as March, all the really distant records refer to the period November to February inclusive. There are half-a-dozen or more recoveries in Ireland for each of these four months. Recoveries from southern Great Britain and from the Conti- nent are in the period November to January inclusive. As regards birds marked in Ireland, the few records of Classiebawn birds which show appreciable movement are, with the exception of two summer records, for November and December. VII.— ForEIGN RESULTS. Under this head only individual records of special interest need be mentioned. Marked abroad and recovered in the British Isles —A Wood- cock marked on July 16th, 1913, with a German ring (‘‘ Rossitten 4629”) as a young bird, at Gatschina, near Petrograd, Russia, was recovered on November 15th, 1913, in Kent (Thienemann, 1915). One marked as a chick near Jénképing, Sweden (‘‘ Stock- holm A.589”’) on May 25th, 1925, was recovered in Warwick- shire in December, 1927 (Lénnberg, 1927). One marked as an adult on Heligoland (‘‘ Helgoland 24311’) on April 29th, 1923, was recovered in co. Tyrone, Ireland, on December 31st, 1923 (Weigold, 1925). Other records of birds marked abroad.—Other Woodcock marked at Gatschina, near Petrograd, were recovered during the first winter near Trieste, in south-western France, and at Ostend ; and another in the following spring in the Pfaz (Thienemann, Igri, 1913 and 1914). Woodcock marked as young at Jénkdéping, Sweden, have been recovered in their fifth year in southern Norway and (December) in Coétes-du-Nord, France (Lénnberg, 1928). One marked in Vastergétland, Sweden, was recovered in southern Portugal at the end of December in the same year (Jagerskidld, 1929). A Woodcock marked, with a Hungarian ring, as a young bird in Bohemia was recovered in its first winter in Corsica (Schenk, 1915). Woodcock caught and marked on passage at Heligoland in autumn have been recovered in the following August in southern Sweden ; in the following October in Oldenburg, northern Germany ; and in March of the second subsequent H 90 BRITISH BIRDS. [VOL, XXIII. spring in Haut Saone, France (Weigold, 1g1z and 1912 ; Krtiss, 1918). VIII—SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS. An analysis is presented of the records for the Woodcock (Scolopax rusticola) obtained in the British Birds and the former Aberdeen University bird-marking inquiries. Analyses are also given of the records obtained in two private schemes for marking Woodcock (Northumberland, and Classiebawn, co. Sligo) of which full details have been published. From these sources there are in all available 287 recovery records of Woodcock marked as young in the British Isles: in 96 cases the native area was Ireland, and in 189g cases Scotland and the north of England. Some particulars are also given of minor private schemes for marking Woodcock: while full information is not available, they provide some additional records of individual interest in respect of Irish birds. Foreign records of special interest are also mentioned. These data are discussed, and the following general conclusions with regard to British and Irish Woodcock emerge :— (x) Many of the birds are stationary, and records from the place of marking or its near vicinity are common throughout the winter. The number of birds shot on their native ground, often after a lapse of several years, is indeed a striking feature of the data. (2) Other birds are migratory. The proportion in Scotland and the north of England may be a third; in Ireland it is probably much less. (3) In the case of birds marked in Scotland and the north of England, the proportion of records from moderate distances is relatively small, suggesting that the birds tend to be either truly stationary or definitely migratory. (4) Among the records irom moderate distances ere several indicating some degree of erratic movement in the autumn, at least in the case of young of the year, taking birds in northerly directions from the places of marking. (5) There is a regular autumn movement from northern Great Britain to Ireland, the recoveries in the latter country falling mainly in the period from November to February inclusive. (6) There are a few records suggesting a slighter autumn movement from northern Great Britain to the south of England. , VOL, xx1u.] MIGRATIONS OF WOODCOCK. Ot (7) There is no evidence of any regular movement of Irish birds within that country. (8) Some birds, not improbably a greater proportion than the records indicate, reach the Continent in winter, the recoveries falling in the months ot November, December and January. The journeys recorded are {trom Scotland to north-western France and to Spain, {rom the north of Eng- land to north-western and south-western France, and from Ireland to-south-western France, to Spain and to Pertugal. (9) There is no positive evidence of the return of migrants to their native localities, but the summer records {rom other localities are perhaps few enough to be regarded as excep- tional. They include the remarkable case of an Insh bird being recovered in southern Norway when two years old. (10) There is a curious lack of September records, eithcr at home or away, for other than young birds ; but it seems unlikely that this is related to any fact of migration. (rr) About 95 per cent. of recovery records relate to the first four years of life. Some birds, however, live con- siderably beyond this, the greatest ages recorded being 84, Ir, nearly 12, and 124 years respectively. (12) The proportion of marked birds recovered is obviously influenced to a great extent by various artificial factors, notably shooting on the home estate, thus illustra- ting the danger of attempting to treat the data statistically. Two Woodcock marked as young in Russia and in Sweden respectively have been recovered in England in winter. A bird recovered in Ireland in winter had been marked on Heligoland on the previous spring passage, presumably when on its way to some breeding-ground in northern Europe. Extensive journeys have also been recorded in the case of several birds marked and recovered on the Continent. REFERENCES. Brooke, B. we (toz9) Field, Feb. 14th, 1929 (p. 263). CLARKE, W. EAGLE (1917-18) Notes in Ivish Naturalist, 26, 139; 27, 15. HMouenas, S. R.... (1927) “An experimental investigation of the migration of Woodcock breed- ing in the west of Ireland.”’ Pyo- ceedings of the Zoological Society of London, 1917, 159. — (1929) “Further results of Col. Wilfred Ashley’s experiment on marking Woodcock breeding in the west of Ireland.” Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, 1929, ye 92 Hamitton, J. JAGERSKIOLD, L. A. Kriiss, P. LONNBERG, E. Percy, W. SCHENK, J. THIENEMANN, J.... Tuomson, A. L.... WEIGOLD, H. WITHERBY, H. F. BRITISH BIRDS. [VOL. XXIII. REFERENCES, (1908) Note in Field, Oct. 17th, 1908 (p. 717); (see also Oct, zach, P. 745): ; ee: (1929) “Goteborgs Biologiska Férenings Flyttfagel-markningar.”’ Goteborgs Biologiska Févening 1904-1929, 26. (1918) “ Berichte iiber die Vogelberingungs- versuche in den Jahren 1913 bis 1916 und tiber den Vogelzug auf Helgoland in den Jahren 1914 b's 1917. Journal fiiy Ornithologie, 66, Sonderheft, I. (1927-28) ‘“‘Aterfunna ringmarkta foglar.” Fauna och Flora, 1927, 282; 1928, 61 and 214. (1909) Note in Country Life, Feb. 27th, 1909 (p. 323). _ (1915) “ Bericht iiber die Vogelmarkierun- gen der Kgl. Ung. Ornith. Central in Jahre 1914.” Aquila, 22, 270. (1924) “Der Zug der Waldschnepfe in Europa.” Aquila, 30-31, 75. (1927) “ The Migration of the Woodcock in Europe.’ British Birds, 79, 34. (1904 “III Jahresbericht der Vogelwarte et seq.) Rossitten der Deutschen Ornitho- logischen Gesellschaft.” Journal fiiy Ornithologie, 52, 245 (and subsequent annual reports: re- ference is to those for Ig1I, 1913, 1914 and 1915). (1912-13) ‘“‘The Aberdeen University Bird- Migration Inquiry: first interim report.” Scottish Naturalist, 1912, 145. Results of a study of bird-migra- tion by the marking method.” Ibis, XI. Series, 3, 466. (1911 “TI Jahresbericht der Vogelwarte et seq.) der Kgl. Biologischen Anstalt auf Helgoland 1910.” Journal fiir Ornithologie, 59, Sonderheft (and subsequent annual reports: re: ference is to those for I9II, I9I2 and 1925). Recovery of Marked Birds.” et seq.) British Birds, 3, 251 (and subse- quent periodical lists). (1917) “On some Results of Ringing Song-Thrushes, Blackbirds, Lap- wings and Woodcock: Recovery of Marked Birds.’ British Birds, TO), DU. ce “ BRITISH BIRDS” MARKING SCHEME. ‘RINGERS ” are requested to send in to the Editor, not later than October 1st, their schedules, together with a list showing the number of each species ringed. GOLDEN ORIOLE IN YORKSHIRE. Mr. T. Patron informs me that on May 8th, 1929, a lady who rented a cottage at Runswick Bay, near W hitby, left it empty for the day, having closed all doors and windows. On her return she found in one of the rooms a bird which must have come down the chimney. In capturing the bird to liberate it some of the tail-feathers were pulled out. Mr. Witherby has identified them as belonging to a female Golden Oriole (Oriolus 0. oriolus), which is only a casual visitor to Yorkshire. H. A. A. DOMBRAIN. INCUBATION- AND FLEDGING-PERIODS OF LINNET. Tue fledging-period of the Linnet (Carduelis c. cannabina) has been variously given in British Birds as 10-14 days (mostly thirteen). Here is a case (which I noted at Seaford, Sussex, during 1929) that extended to the 17th day. May 20th, 3 eggs; 22nd, 5 eggs (sitting); 26th, ditto. June 2nd (3 p.m.), 2 eggs, 3 young (incubation-period 114 days) ; 10th, 4 young, I addled egg ; 12th, 4 young ringed ; 13(h-17th, at least 3 young in nest ; 18th (8.30 p.m.), ditto ; roth, nest empty. The nest was in gorse and could be examined without touching the bush. There is not the least doubt that the birds were alive and well, as on the last few days their eyes could be seen by the observer. J. F. THomas. GREY WAGTAIL’S NEST IN A DRAIN PIPE, - In April, 1929, I found a pair of Grey Wagtails (Motactlla c. cinerea) nesting four feet up a horizontal drain pipe in a railway culvert overlooking the river Conway at Bettws-y- Coed, Carnarvonshire. M. V. WENNER. INCUBATION- AND FLEDGING-PERIODS OF TREE- CREEPER. Cot. J. E. H. SAwyer, at Burwash, Sussex, records of the Tree-Creeper (Certhia f. britannica): Incubation-pericd, fourteen days and fledging-period fifteen days, while I have noted the fledging-period at filteen days in the New Forest. Both cases appear free from any possible error. Tom G. LONGSTAFF. 94 BRITISH BIRDS. [voL, XXIT, DISPOSAL OF ADDLED EGGS BY GREAT AND BLUE TITS: ON May roth, 1929, in a nesting-log in my garden in Mawgen- in-Pydar, north Cornwall, a Great Tit (Parus m. newtont) hatched three of her seven eggs. On May aist the nest contained two living nestlings, one dead nestling and four addled eggs. On May 22nd two living nestlings only were visible. On June 5th the two nestlings left the nest, which I removed and examined carefully and found no traces of the four eggs or of the dead nestling. It seems certain that the eggs and the dead bird had been disposed of or ejected by the parents. On June Ist, 1929, a Blue Tit (Parus c. obscurus), also in a nesting-log in my garden, hatched three of her seven eggs. On June 4th the three nestlings were present, but I could see nothing of the four addled eggs. On June 20th the three nestlings left the nest, which I removed and examined. I found the four addled eggs securely woven into the wool lining about a quarter of an inch below the surface, each egg being as far removed from any of the others as space would permit. B, He RYVES: BLUE TIT TAKING DEAD YOUNG BIRD FROM NEST. ON June 21st, 1929, I was standing a few yards from a nest- box in my garden at Birmingham, watching a pair of Blue Tits (Parus c. obscurus) feeding their family in the box. I wes puzzled to observe one parent bird go several times to the nesting-hole with food, and then fly off again to a perch near without feeding the young. At the third or fourth visit to the box, it was met at the hole by the other parent, emerging from the box, pulling with it a large object, which it evi- dently had difficulty in pulling up to and out of the hole. It carried this object as far as it could, about four or five yards, and left it on the ground under scme plants, and flew off. I found that this heavy object was a dead young bird, already partly feathered. As far as I was able to observe, the parent bird used both beak and feet to carry the dead fledgling. The rest of the family did not leave the nest till the early morning of the 26th, nearly five days later. i have not had much acquaintance with the nesting-habits of Tits, but I understand from other observers that Blue Tits normally leave their nesting-hole clean and fresh, whereas VOL. XXIII] _ NOTES. 95 Great Tits (P. major) sometimes lose their whole brood by the poison arising from a dead young bird at the bottom of the nest. If this is so, it suggests that Blue Tits usually remove any of their young that die in the nest ; but I suppose it must be a rare chance actually to witness the removal of the dead bird. H. G. ALEXANDER. FOOD OF THE RED-BACKED SHRIKE. Tue food of the Red-backed Shrike (Lanius c. collurio) is extremely varied. At one time or another I have found in their “larders’”’ many kinds of beetles, bees, wasps and mcths. Also they are responsible for the deaths of many small birds, of which the Willow-Wren (Phylloscopus trochilus) and Whitethroat (Sylvia communis) seem to occur most frequently ; and they will kill birds up to the size of young fully-fledged Blackbirds (Turdus merula) and Thrushes (T. ph. clarket), I have also seen in the “larders”’ long-tailed and short-tailed field-mice and shrews frequently ; more rarely, small frogs and occasionally portions (usually about an inch and a half long) of large earthworms. Once on examining a Red-backed Shrike’s nest from which the brood had just flown I found a freshly dead young one in the nest. I hung this up in the “larder ”’ and lay down not many yards away, to watch. In about ten minutes the hen made an effort to carve it up and tried again and again. However, I had hung the young one on a thorn so placed that there was no perch from which she could work at it to advan- tage. The cock bird also made a vain attempt and then promptly tore the body off the thorn and impaled it on another about three yards away. Both old birds then visited it and in a very few minutes the carcass was unrecognizable. I had learned that Shrikes would utilize carrion, such as small rabbits and birds that they cannot lift, by tearing off portions which are fed directly to the young or, if too large, are transferred to the “‘larder’’ for future use, and this summer I had an exceedingly interesting case of this habit. For three consecutive years Shrikes had reared young in a solitary bush at the end of a cottage garden on Stebbing Green, Essex. Last winter, however, the bush was so damaged that when the birds returned in the summer they nested in a blackthorn some fifty yards away. The cottagers had become interested in the birds and used to watch their doings very keenly. This year I did not show them the new nesting-site, but they found it, after the young had hatched, 96 BRITISH BIRDS [vVoL. XXIII. in a very curious manner. Their dog waked them up by furious barking at two o’clock one morning. The man went down and found a large hedgehog in the chicken run. He killed it and laid it on its back on the garden fence, intending to bury it later. When he came down in the morning both Shrikes were busy on the hedgehog. They had torn a hole in the belly and were carrying pieces of flesh and intestine to the nest. The man followed the birds and thus found the nest and used to visit it frequently until the young left. It may be mentioned that this nesting-site was unusual in that the Shrikes’ main “larder ’’ had been for the previous three years and still was in this particular blackthorn, but on tne side opposite to that from which the birds entered to reach the nest. The habit of putting food in a “ larder ”’ is not confined to the old birds, the young also hang up food they do not require at the time of catching. J. H. Owen. LARDER OF RED-BACKED SHRIKE. A PAIR of Red-backed Shrikes (Lamius c. collurio) have for the third year in succession built a nest in the hedge of our small paddock of about two acres at Bourton-on-the-Water, Gloucestershire. This year, however, has been the first in which we have observed the male bird make a larder. In one afternoon we discovered seven humble-bees impaled on blunt spurs, from half to an inch in length, of alder, birch and hazel. The hedge in which the nest is built is largely of hawthorn, but the bird seems to have deliberately chosen thornless trees for his victims. The humble-bees, all queens, were impaled through the thorax, at all angles, one being upside down, and were of the following species:—Bombus ruderatus (typical and var. harrisellus, Kirby), B. jonellus, B. helferanus, B. lucorum, Psithyrus distinctus and P. barbutellus. After we had removed and examined the bees, the Shrike later the same evening captured a dor-beetle and impaled it on one of the alders. The next day three more humble-bees were added. As soon as the nest contained the full complement of eggs the male bird ceased making a larder. As bees of the genus Psithyrus are deadly parasites of the true humble-bee or Bombus, the fact that a number of Psithyrus queens were included in the larder is worthy of note. HELEN E. Donovan. VOL, XXIII] NOTES. 97 FEMALE BLACKBIRD’S ATTACHMENT TO TERRITORY Wiru reference to my previous note (Vol. XXII., p. 87), it may be of interest to learn that the Blackbird (Lurdus m. merula), widowed on July 6th, 1928, maintained possession of her territory throughout the remainder of the year and the recent winter. Early in February of this year (1929) she appeared to be mated to one of two rival cocks, which soon took the place of her late partner. On March 12th she commenced to build in the branch of an insignis pine about 15 feet distant from the nest which she had occupied during 1926 and 1927. Eleven days were occupied in its construction. Her nest of 1928 had been blown down by winter gales. The branch is about 30 feet above the ground and the site is precisely the same as that in which she commenced to construct a nest in 1928, but which she was forced to abandon, because her late mate, undoubtedly disapproving of the position, attacked her in mid-air, while carrying materials, and prevented her frcm taking them to it. This year, incubation of the first clutch was commenced on March 26th. On April 3rd, with the ground parched by protracted drought, the sky was overcast and a cutting N.E. wind was blowing. About g a.m. I saw the hen leave her nest and fly to her mate, screeching at and attacking him with beak and wings, until she succeeded in driving him to the nest, which he entered, proceeding to brood the eggs until her return fifteen minutes later. In the afternoon I saw a similar attack, with the same result. On April 4th the cock, only on a call from the hen, brooded the eggs during her absences for food. On April 5th the weather changed to comparative mildness and the cock altogether ceased going to the nest. On April gth the eggs were hatched, and on the 22nd the young left the nest. On May 3rd, in the same nest, incubation of the second clutch was commenced. On May 16th the eggs were hatched, but the young died during the day. The weather was severe, with drenching rain and a strong gale, to the full force of which the nest was exposed. On May 17th a new nest was rapidly constructed in a thick thorn bush some 20 yards distant, and was completed on May 18th. On May 22nd the hen began incubation of her third clutch, which she hatched on June 4th. The brood left the nest on June 17th, after which nesting operations ceased. 98 BRITISH BIRDS. YoL. xxi This hen Blackbird is quite unique in any experiences which I have had of the species, for in 1927, while rearing her second brood, she acquired precisely the same beautiful bar of song that was usually uttered by the cock when approaching the nestlings with food. This particular low, sweet and flute-like song is common with most cocks when nearing the nest, but never before nor since have I heard it emanate from any other hen. The notes of the two birds were so identical that it was impossible for me to say, without identification, which of them was the musician. She continued the habit until the brood was fledged, and again throughout the rearing of the third brood, and also when she was rearing her three broods in 1928. This year, I heard no song uttered by her with the first nest, but I heard it frequently during her second and third nestings. B. H. Ryvrs. HEDGE-SPARROW HATCHING ANOTHER’S EGGS WITHOUT LAYING. Tue Hedge-Sparrow (Prunella m. occidentalis) is very prone to desert if it has even a faint suspicion that the nest is known or has been interfered with in any way before eggs have been laid. A nest which I found this year at Felsted, Essex, was quite finished and ready for eggs. Four days later I revisited it, as it was in an ideal situation for a Cuckoo to utilize. There were no eggs in it, and it appeared to be deserted like so many others I had found and revisited. I took two eggs from another Hedge-Sparrow’s nest and placed them in it. A few days later I revisited it and thought I saw a bird leave the nest, but there were still only the two eggs I had placed in it. Another visit proved that the Hedge-Sparrow was actually sitting on the two eggs and she finally hatched them without laying any in the nest herself. J. H. OWEN. MONTAGU’S HARRIER IN BUCKS. As only four occurrences of this species are recorded in Hartert and Jourdain’s Birds of Buckinghamshire and the Tring Reservoirs and some of these are very indefinite, it seems worth recording that a Harrier was trapped by means of a lure (a Linnet in a cage) either on one of the last days of April or May Ist, 1929, near Slough, by a gamekeeper. I did not see the bird till considerably later, when it was hanging on a pole with other victims in a somewhat advanced state of decomposition, but I sent a wing and some tail- feathers to the Rev. F. C. R. Jourdain for verification and he had no hesitation in identifying them as those of an immature male Montagu’s Harrier (Circus pygargus). Rost. H. DEANE. VOL. XXIII] NOTES. 99 HERON SWIMMING. Mr. ALEXANDER’s note on this subject (antea, p. 39) reminds me that I saw a Heron swimming in Witton Flashes, near Northwich, Cheshire, on May 17th, 1922. When first I saw the bird it was flying heavily across the countryside and it dropped down to the water, which is of great depth, apparently in difficulties with something it was carrying—an eel, so fer as I could see. After a short time it rose and, after flying two or three hundred yards further, again dropped down to the water and swam there for some time until it had overcome its difficulties. It then flew off again quite strongly. A. W. Boyp. GREY LAG-GEESE IN SHROPSHIRE. I recently examined in the shop of Mr. Shelbrooke, taxi- dermist, Bridgnorth, an adult Grey Lag-Goose (Anser anser) shot in March, 1929, at Eardington. Five of these geese had been seen on the Severn there throughout the frosty weather of February-March. The Grey Lag is by far the rarest of the wild geese in Shropshire, and I have no record (prior to this) during the thirty-four years that I have kept notes. During the frost, especially towards the end, large numbers of dead wild fowl came down the Severn at Bridgnorth ; either shot or perished of cold and starvation. People waited by the riverside trying to get some of them. Amongst specimens brought in to Mr. Shelbrooke were two Common Gulls, three Pocherds and a Red-throated Diver. H. E. FORREST. BREEDING OF GARGANEY IN DORSET. DurinG the present season, drake Garganeys (Anas quer- quedula) have been observed under circumstances which indicated probable breeding in at least three different locali- ties in Dorset. At Lodmoor, near Weymouth, a male was repeatedly seen during the latter half of May, 1929, and was identified by the Rev. F. L. Blathwayt, the Rev. C. J. Pring, myself and other observers, but the nest was not discovered till June 6th, when Mr. A. Blinn flushed the duck from a well- concealed nest with nine eggs—in grass and sedge. The nest wes freely lined with down and incubation had evidently been in progress for some days. A sample of the down and feathers showed all the characteristics of this species, and the eggs were also typical. 100 BRITISH BIRDS. [OL s exe. Although Mr. T. M. Pike (Zoologist, 1878, p. 130) stated that he believed that a brood or two of this species were usually hatched off in the neighbourhood of Poole Harbour, there seems to be no previous definite record of nesting in the county. F.C, K. Jourpain: LITTLE GREBES DIVING WITH THEIR YOUNG. In his Birds of the British Isles (Second Series, page 319), Mr. T. A. Coward states that there is no proof that the young are carried down under the old bird’s wing when the Little Grebe (Podiceps ruficollis) dives. He says (p. 318) that “‘ the old birds dive when the young are on their backs, but the little ones rise like corks ’”? and await the reappearance of the old. It may, therefore, be worth recording that on July roth, 1929, a chick Little Grebe a few days old, which I had caught and let go again, scrambled up on to the back of its mother when she approached and crept under her arched wings. I then clapped my hands and the parent bird dived quickly and came up two or three yards away with the chick still on her back. I saw this happen several times and though the dive was often sudden the chick stayed on its mother’s beck. It was all the time covered by her arched wings, which must have pressed it down close to her body when she dived. The birds were within a few yards of my boat during all these dives. G. F. M. Swiny. COMMON GULL BREEDING IN ROOK’S NEST IN SCOTLAND. On May 25th, 1929, Mr. S. Taylor and I visited the Green- haugh rookery, which it must be stated is partially deserted. Mr. Taylor, while climbing a scots pine, knocked over a Rook’s nest which contained three Gull’s eggs. The eggs, which were somewhat incubated, were broken, but I took the shells to the Elgin Museum and with the assistance of the Curator identified them as those of the Common Gull (Larus c. canus). aa On June 4th I again visited the rookery, being accom- panied on this occasion by Messrs. F. McHardy and J. Nicholson, who were removing the Rooks’ nests. In one of the nests in a scots pine a Gull was sitting on three eggs. The bird allowed Mr. McHardy to chmb a ladder and almost touch the nest before she flew off. An excellent view was thus obtained and she was certainly a Commen Gull. After flying off she was joined by her mate and the two circled over us for the rest of the time we were there. One cf these eggs VOL. «XXIII. | NOTES. 101 was sent to the Rev. F. C. R. Jourdain, who states that it is typical of L. canus. These eggs were fresh, and it seems probable were a second laying by the bird whose eggs were broken on May 25th. The nests occupied by the Gull were in different trees and one was at least sixteen and the other quite twenty feet from the ground. It may be remarked that Common Gulls nest in ordinary sites on the ground in the neighbourhood, and while their nests are sometimes harried, this is not done to such an extent as to account for such an unusual nesting-site as that adopted by this pair. R. W. Davies. IMMIGRATION OF CROSSBILLS.—Further reports on the movements of Crossbills (vide antea, p. 69) have reached us and are as follows :— SHETLAND.—Mr. C. Oldham adds details to his first brief report and states that in Foula he was told that a Crossbill was brought in by a boy on June 26th, while a small flock was seen in the last week of the month. Mr. Oldham himself saw two Crossbills there on July 3rd and a party of eight on the 4th. In the Mainland he heard of one on July 3rd, saw one on the 9th, three on the 11th, one on the 14th and three and fourteen on the 15th. OrKNEY.—Mr. J. V. Stephens saw a party of six in Hoy on July oth. The birds were feeding on seeds of heather. Mr. Stephens sent us the head of an adult male which had been killed by a Kestrel, and the rest of the party consisted of an adult female, an immature male and four younger birds. Mr. C. Oldham heard of one killed by a cat at Stromness on July 5th,and that others, including a flock of fourteen, were seen during the fortnight following. ABERDEENSHIRE.—Mr. C. Oldham saw four fly across the Dee at Aboyne on July 20th. MONTGOMERYSHIRE.—Mr. H. E. Forrest writes that Dr. F. Penrose saw a small flock by Lake Vyrnwy on July 13th, 14th and 21st. SHROPSHIRE and WoRCESTERSHIRE.—Mr. H. E. Forrest informs us that Mrs. Hanbury Sparrow saw between forty and fifty at Church Stretton on July 5th. Most of these were immature birds and they have remained in the neighbourhood. Mr. W. A. Cadman also reports numerous small flocks from the last week of July to August 13th at Church Stretton. Mr. J. Steele Elliott saw a party of ten at Bewdley on July 7th, small parties frequently up to August 4th and a scattered party at Burnt Green on August 6th. HERTFORDSHIRE and BUCKINGHAMSHIRE.—Mr. C. Oldham reports many in the woods on the county boundary between Berkhamsted and Chesham on July 29th and six near Tring on August 2nd. PEMBROKESHIRE.—Mr. R. M. Lockley writes that a solitary female visited Skokholm on July 5th. DEVONSHIRE.—Mr. W. Walmsley White informs us that in the neighbourhood of Budleigh Salterton he has seen Crossbills on most days since July 12th up to the time of writing (August 4th). They were usually in the twos or threes, the largest party seen consisted of twelve. SOMERSETSHIRE.—Mr. S. Lewis writes that he is informed by Mr. F. H. L. Whish that Crossbills appeared at Lympsham on July 16th and 17th and by Mr. D. B. Grubb that six were seen near Winscombe from July 18th to 20th and on the same dates some near Shapwick. 102 BRITISH BIRDS. [VOL. XXIII. IsL—E oF WicuHt.—Mr. J. F. Wynne informs us that a flock of about twenty appeared at Shanklin on June 28th and about half of these were still present (August 1st). Mr. Wynne had not seen Crossbills here since the autumn of 1927. IRELAND, Co. Down.—The Honble. C. Mulholland is informed by Mr. C. B. Horsbrugh that about forty were seen at Hillsborough on July 5th. These were feeding on grass seeds and thistles. Mr. Horsbrugh saw a flock about the middle of July, but has not seen nor heard of any others since. ABUNDANCE OF BLACK-NECKED GREBES IN ESSEX—Mr. J.W. Campbell informs us that Podiceps n. nigricollis was more than usually abundant in the Blackwater Estuary during the winter of 1928-29, and that on December 2oth, 1928, he sailed clece to two parties, one of ten and the other of twenty-five birds. STATUS OF THE GREAT NORTHERN DIVER IN EssEx.—With reference to Mr. Glegg’s remarks on Colymbus immer in his History of the Birds of Essex (p. 206) where he describes it as the scarcest of the Divers 2s winter visitors and has only been able to collect eight or nine occurrences during a century, Mr. J. W. Campbell writes that it is the only species of Diver he has met with on acertain stretch of the Blackwater at this season and quotes six observations relating to eleven indi- viduals, made during December and January in the last three winters. STATUS OF THE SANDERLING AND TURNSTONE IN ESSEX.— With reference to our remarks (antea, p. 47) on the status of uncommon passage migrants assigned to the Sanderling (Crocethia alba) and to the Turnstone (Arenaria 1. interpres) in A History of the Birds of Essex, Mr. J. W. Campbell writes that he saw a party of twelve of the former at Colne Point on June oth, 1929, and that the latter occurs regularly in parties of from twelve to twenty or more birds during both spring and autumn passages at West Mersea and Bradwell, while it was reported from Mersea Flats in December, 1928. REDSHANK AT HIGH ALTITUDE IN SCOTLAND.—Mr. Seton Gordon informs us that on June 27th, 1929, he put up a Tringa totanus at 3,000 feet above sea-level on the western Cairngorms. The bird did not appear to have a nest, though it may have had a mate sitting. ROSEATE TERN BREEDING IN SCOTLAND.—With reference to the note concerning the breeding of a pair of Sterna d. dougallit in Fifeshire in 1927 (antea, p. 45), Mr. J. S. Reeve writes that in June, 1927, he found two clutches, one egg each, of the Roseate Tern on the east coast of Scotland. He watched the birds down to the nest in each case. They were in a colony of Common Terns in the middle of which was also a colony of Sandwich Terns. EXTRAORDINARY SEXUAL DISPLAY BY A PAIR OF HEDGE-SPARROWS. To the Editors of BriTisH Birps. Srtrs,—May I confirm M. Jacques Delamain’s observation of Hedge- Sparrows (antea, p. 19). I saw a similar “ display ”’ take place on April 9th, 1928, in north Northumberland. The courtship took place on a country road and was in progress when I arrived. The attitudes of the male and female were essentially as described by M. Delamain, as were the frequent pecks by the male at the female’s vent. The male, however, was not observed to go right round the female, but kept behind as described. This courtship was terminated by coition. So quickly did the latter take place that I decided that confirmation by further observation would be desirable, but so far I have seen no more of this Hedge-Sparrow courtship. What I saw was as follows : Suddenly the cock leapt into the air, behind the hen, appeared to effect coition, and then dropped back on to the road and uttered a few soft notes of song. The birds then followed one another across the road into the hedge. The performance took place so quickly that the male must barely have had time to settle on the female’s back before once more alighting on the road. C. NoBLE ROLLIN. THREE REDSHANKS AT ONE NEST. To the Editors of BririsH Brirps. Srirs,—The incident recorded (antea, p. 68) by Mr. W. A. S. Lewis of three Redshanks seen at one nest is, I believe, but another example of the ‘‘ visiting habit ’’ which occurs with other species. In April, 1929, while observing a pair of Ravens (Corvus corax) feeding nestlings, the two birds settled on a crag just above the nest and were joined by two other Ravens. The four birds remained together for about ten minutes and appeared to be on perfectly friendly terms. On several occasions I have seen a male Buzzard (Buteo buteo) approach his mate, sitting on their nest, in company with another bird. The same thing may be seen with Goldfinches and other birds. Once an “‘ individual territory *’ has been definitely secured by a pair of virds and approved by other pairs of the same species, a distinct mutual understanding, if not friendship, seems to develop among them. 5. B Kyvzs.. MAWGAN-IN-PypDarR, N. CORNWALL, August 5th, 1929. REVIEWS. Report on Scottish Ornithology in 1927, including Migration. By Evelyn V. Baxter and Leonora Jeffrey Rintoul. Reprinted from The Scottish Naturalist, 1928, pp. 105-121 and 135-162. Tuis excellent annual summary of Scottish ornithological events appears to have been compiled with the authors’ usual care and centains many interesting items. Among these, the following, which have not previously been mentioned in our pages, may be referred to :— MaGPIE (Pica p. pica)—One trapped on Islay in early summer appears to be the first recorded for the Inner Hebrides. 104 BRITISH BIRDS. [VOL. XXIII. NORTHERN BULLFINCH (Pyrrhula p. pyvrhula).—Several at Fair Isle from October 24th to November 2nd. SCARLET GROSBEAK (Carpodacus e. erythrinus)—At Fair Isle on September 3rd, 23rd and 24th. TWo-BARRED CrossBILL (Lovia l. bifasciata)—One at Fair Isle on September 2nd and 5th. LittLe Buntine (Emberiza pusilla)—One at Fair Isle on October Ist and another on the 20th. LAPLAND BuntTING (Calcarius |. labponicus),—Besides usual autumn occurrences at Fair Isle, one appeared on May 18th. ICTERINE WARBLER (Hippolais icterina).—At Fair Isle on June 2nd and August 2Ist. SIBERIAN LESSER WHITETHROAT (Sylvia c. affinis)—One at Fair Isle on September 8th. GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKER (Dryobates m. anglicus).—In connexion with the spreading of this species in Scotland, nesting is now reported from Nairnshire and Ross-shire. SHELD-Duck (Tadorna tadorna).—A first record of breeding in Caithness is provided by Mr. C. Oldham, who saw a pair with small young in Dunnet Bay on July 14th, and a pair with eight young near Wick on July 15th. GARGANEY (Anas querquedula)—Four were seen at Morton Loch (Fife) on April 16th and a pair on the roth. KKING-EIDER (Somateria spectabilis)—Five were observed off Terts- muir Point (Fife) on December 29th. FULMAR PETREL (Fulmarus g. glacialis)—Found nesting in the Treshnish Islands and Bulgach Island by Mr. Bryce Duncan. Woopb-SANpPIPER (Tvinga glareola).—One at Fair Isle on May 11th. De Vogels van Nederland. Door Prof. Dr. E.D. van Oort. Vol. III. In this third volume of his important work on the Dutch avifauna, Dr. van Oort completes the Waders (part of which are to be found in Volume II.) and discusses the Skuas, Gulls and Terns, as well as the Auks; he then proceeds with the Pigeons, includes the common Cuckoo (the only species of the family occurring in Holland) and finishes with the Owls. As we have remarked in previous notices of this work, the plates form a very valuable feature. Regarded as pictures, only a few can be said to have much merit, but as figures showing the various plumages of each species they are unsurpassed. For instance, in this volume, the Arctic, Long-tailed and Pomatorhine Skuas and most of the Gulls and Terns have from six to eight or more figures each, showing various plumages of the adults and young. The Black-tailed Godwit has six figures (one in flight would have been useful) and even a rare straggler like the Cream-coloured Courser is given two life-sized figures. In nomenclature Dr. van Oort frequently breaks away from now generally accepted standards. He does not, use, for instance, Pallas’s names in Vroeg’s Catalogue ; he calls the Glaucous Gull Larus glaucus of Brunnich (although it is preoccupied) and the Guillemot Uria troille, notwithstanding Mr. Jourdain’s arguments in Vol. XVI. of this journal. AANSH MUS gl < SR px ~. 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REPORT ON THE ‘‘BRITISH BIRDS ”’ CENSUS OF HERONRIES, 1928. By E. M. NICHOLSON. Arranged in Counties. Demy 8vo 3s. 6d. net. Reprinted from “ British Birds” H. F. & G. WITHERBY, 326, High Holborn, London. W. F. H. ROSENBERG 57, Haverstock Hill, London, N.W.3, England Telephone: Primrose Hill 0660 7 Price List of Birds of the World, including over 4,000 species, post free to readers of “ British Birds.” Every description of collecting apparatus kept in stock. Also available: Price Lists of Eggs, Mammals, Reptiles, Lepidoptera, and books on Natural History. That Book you want! Foyles hold a considerable stock of Second-hand Books on Ornithology, and can supply any Scientific Book that is in print and most of those that are cut of print. They have a Special Department for this class of literature under a Manager who has experience and knowledge of the Natural Sciences. Call and consult him, or write asking for Catalogue 637. Books sent on approval. Special Offer of a set of “BRITISH BIRDS,”’ Vols. 1 to 20, for the years 1907 to 1927, with index to first 12 Vols. Offered in good condition £15. Quote Offer 637. FOYLES, ! 19-125 Charing Cross Rd.,London,W.C.2 BRITSIBIRDS WITH WHICH WAS INCORPORATED IN JANUARY, 1917, ‘¢ THE ZOOLOGIST.’ EDITED BY H. F. WITHERBY, M.B.E., F.Z.S.,M. B.O.U.,H.F.A.O.U. ASSISTED BY Rev. F.C. R. JourRDAIN, M.A., M.B.O.U., H.F.A.0.U., F.2.5., AND NORMAN F. TIGBEURET;: O.B.E., M.A., F.R.C.S., M.B.O.U. —- CONTENTS OF NUMBER 5, VOL. XXIIL OcTOBER I, 1929. ae PAGE Montagu’s Harrier at the Nest. By J. C. Harrison ... 106 Recovery of Marked Birds 108 Notes :— Raven Breeding in a Tree in Devon (Capt. G. Corlett, R.N.) 126 Incubation-Period of Sky-Lark (Mrs. A. Seton Gordon) ... 126 Two Pied Wagtails Using Same Nest and Causes of Decrease (J. H. Owen) ... ee ey: re as as ae 127 Blue Tit Breeding in Wren’s Nest (Capt. G. Corlett, RN.) ... 137 Disposal of Addled Eggs by Tits (L.H. Dagley) ... sites 128 Two Red-backed Shrikes Laying in Same Nest (A. L. W. Mayo) ... aes gut ae 2a ant Ey fae 128 Abnormal Clutches of Blackbird and Reed-Bunting (T. H. and W. R. Harrisson) ane aan own Sua Ree 129 Great Spotted Woodpecker Destroying Nests and Eating Young of House-Martins (Rev. C. J. Pring) wwe ny 129 Spanish Great Spotted Woodpecker Eating Young Blue Titmice (Rev. F. C. R. Jourdain) ud ~~ aa 131 Wrynecks Rearing Two Broods (A. Mayall)... ne te 131 American Bittern in Somerset (S. Lewis) ... — =< 132 Nesting of Red-breasted Merganser in Dumfries-shire (B. Blezard) ... aie oe ses 132 Little Grebes Diving with their Young (r. . A. Cea and C. Oldham) eae ve