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V 1926

The OOLOGISTS' RECORD

A Quarterly Magazine devoted to the advancement
of Oology in all parts of the World.

5q ^-"2 '. O'G (^:

EDITED BY KENNETH L. SKINNER.

VOLUME II

1922.

HARRISON & SONS, Limited. Printers in Ordinary to His Majesty,
45. St. Martin's Lane, London, W.C. 2.

M' foliio-iKi

INDEX TO VOLUME 11.

PAGE

South African Sand Plovers, Notes on the Breeding Habits

of, by H. W. James i- 6

American Peregrine Falcon, a Nest of the, by H. Arden

Edwards ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 7-10

Bird Life by Lake Ontario, by Rev. C. J. Young ... ... 10-15

Oological Research, by the Editor ... ... ... ... 15-17

Vultures, some notes on European and African, by Chas. B.

Horsbrugh 18-24

Nyasaland Notes, II {Fringillidae), by C. F. B. ... ... 25-32

III {Laniidae), by C, F. B. ... ... 32-41

Spizaetus hdlicosus^ Nest and Eggs of, by H. W. James ... 42

Stenostira scita. Nest and Eggs of, by H. W. James ... 42

" The Cuckoo's Secret," by Edgar Chance, review of ... 43-46

" Natureland," reviewed ... ... ... ... ... 46

Small Bird Sanctuaries, by the Editor ... ... ... 46-48

Oological Notes on some of the Breeding Birds of Palestine,

by Capt. C. R. S. Pitman (continued from Vol. I) ... 49-57
Civilization, Effect of, on Breeding Habits of Birds, by

Capt. C. R. S. Pitman ... ... ... ... ... 58-60

Hobby, The, Observations on, by Norman Gilroy ... ... 61-64

Cuckoo, The. Mr. Scholey's investigations, extracts from

the " Graphic " ... ... ... ... ... ... 64-65

Arctic Climatic Conditions. Extracts from the Journal of

the National Geographic Society... ... ... ... 66-72

Arctic Regions, Ornithological Work in, by the Rev. F. C. R.

Jourdain, M.A. ... ... ... ... ... ... 73-76

Crossbill, The Common, Observations on, by Norman Gilroy 76-80

Egg Cabinet, a Multiple- Unit, described and illustrated ... 80-83
Fringillidae, the Nucleus of a Collection of the Eggs of, by

the Editor ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 82-95

" Bird Haunts and Nature Memories," by T. A. Coward,

reviewed ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 95-96

THE OOLOGISTS' RECORD.

Edited by KENNETH L. SKINNER.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Vol. II— No. 1.] [March 1, 1922.

NOTES ON THE BREEDING HABITS OF SOUTH AFRICAN
SANDPLOVERS.

By H. W. James.

Only three species of the genus Charadrius are known to breed
in Cape Colony : these are C. tricollaris, Vieill, C. varius, Vieill,
and C. marginatus, Vieill. C. tricollaris is the commonest of the
three, and is abundant everywhere withthe exception of the seashore,
where it is rarely seen, but inland I do not suppose there is a
single river pool, dam or any inland piece of water without a few
of this plover. Most of the South African rivers are dry for the
best part of the year, with exception of pools here and there, and
it is on these pools that C. tricollaris is most abundant, for there
it finds a plentiful supply of the aquatic insects that form its
food.

The reverse is the case with C. varius, this plover being more
abundant at the coast than it is inland where, as far as my observa-
tions go, it is very local in its distribution. I found it very abundant
on Bird Island, Algoa Bay. Its haunts inland are confined to dams
and pans ; the pools in the rivers, so much favoured by C. tricollaris,
being entirely avoided by the present species. This is the only
one of the three species that congregates into small flocks when
not breeding, and these flocks are often met with feeding at a
considerable distance from water.

C. marginatus I have never met with anywhere but on the
seashore, although Layard states that it is met with on inland water.
If it does occur inland it must be very rare. Although plentiful
all along the mainland of Algoa Bay, I did not meet with a single
specimen on Bird Island.

My observations on the breeding habits of the three species are
detailed below : —

C. marginatus — White-fronted Sandplover. — The nest of this
species is generally placed on the beach just beyond high- water

The Oologists' Record, March i, 1922.

mark and consists of a hollow in the sand or shingle. This
is sometimes lined with small pebbles and, if placed amongst
dried sea grass or rubbish, with small chopped material. The
eggs are very difficult to discover as the bird usually leaves the
nest long before one has spotted it, its pale colour harmonising
so well with the sea sand that detection, as it slips off the nest,
is no easy matter. The clutch of eggs is invariably two, and in
shape they are pointed ovals, true pyriform eggs being rare.
The ground colour is pale creamy-buff, and this is marked with
delicate spots and scribblings of dark brown and lavender-grey.
The markings are very evenly dispersed over the whole shell and
in no eggs are the markings dense. The eggs on the whole are
very like delicately marked eggs of Aegialitis nivosa, Cass. The
average measurements of a small series is 1-28 inches X '93 inches.
The breeding season commences early in September and continues
to about the middle of December.

C. tricollaris— Three-handed Plover. — In the last four years it
has been my good fortune to have had exceptional opportunities
of studying the breeding habits of this plover. During that period
I have examined about 200 nests and 98 per cent, of those have
been on shingle beds. Very rarely indeed was a nest found away
from shingle. The principal breeding grounds are the beds and
banks of rivers such as the Tarka and Fish Rivers, which may be
taken as typical examples of South African rivers. They are
really nothing but huge sluits with banks 10 to 20 feet high.
In the beds are numerous water holes and shallow pools which
never dry up, being fed by small fountains. Along the banks and
in the beds one finds innumerable patches of shingle, and it is to
these patches that C. tricollaris resorts for breeding. A stony
patch near a dam will generally yield a nest or two, but I am quite
convinced that the majority of birds resort to the rivers for breeding.
A long series of records of nests found along the two rivers men-
tioned above show that 75 per cent, were found in the river bed.
It has always been a puzzle to me why the birds should so persistently
stick to the river bed, as a great number of nests get destroyed
annually when these rivers come down in flood. Each pair of
birds takes command of its own shingle bank, driving all others
away, so that it is a very rare occurrence to find two nests on the
same bank. I have frequently observed that only certain shingle
patches will contain nests and that year after year the nests will

The Oologists' Record, March i, 1922.

be in almost the same spot on those patches. I have further noticed
that the eggs from any particular shingle bed, when compared with
eggs from the same bed taken in any other 3^ear, prove to resemble
one another closely, and I think this supports my theory that the
bird^s remain and breed in the same spot for many years.

In choosing a site for the nest, the birds show a decided preference
for the edge of a shingle bed and more often than not a place where
there are a few biggish stones. The nest varies considerably ;
sometimes it is merely an unlined hollow, but as a rule the hollow
is lined with small stones, pieces of shell and small bits of debris.
In some nests the amount of material used is considerable. I
remember one such nest on a stony patch on the river bank. The
birds had carried together enough small stones and shell to make
a mound about 7 inches in diameter and 2 inches high. It was
quite easily seen at a distance, but such a large nest. is quite the
exception. The nests, on the average, are by no means easy to
find. The sitting bird is very wary, slipping off the nest on the
first sign of danger. It either runs a short distance before taking
to flight or flies straight from the eggs, requiring a keen eyesight
to catch a glimpse of it as it glides away. By the time one reaches
the spot it will be feeding in a water pool, showing no concern
whatever for its eggs, as if it realised their protective colouring.
The orJy way to find a nest is thoroughly to search a likely spot.
Once only did I come across a bird that behaved differently. I
was on horseback, riding along the river bank. On a patch of
stones I found a nest betrayed by the bird jumping up right under
my horse's feet. I dismounted and was surprised to find that the
bird remained close to its eggs. I sat down by the nest and
remained there five minutes. The whole of that time the bird
remained near the nest, often coming so close that I could almost
touch it.

Should this plover have young it becomes quite a different
bird, showing the greatest emotion and endeavouring to draw the
intruder away by the old rus^ of pretending to be disabled.

The nesting season is an extended one, March and May being
the only months of the year in which I have no records of nests.
The best time for eggs, however, is from August 6th to the end of
November. Right through August the birds breed freely, slackening
off somewhat in September but nesting very freely again in October
with a gradual slackening off in November, After November my

4 The Oologists Record, March i, 1922.

records for a number of years show, 3 nests in December, i in
January, 2 in February, 2 in April, i in June and i in July.

The number of eggs is normally two. I have never found less,
and only once three. In that instance there was little doubt that
the third egg had been laid by another bird. It differed in colour
to the other two and was quite fresh, whereas the other two were
in a very advanced stage of incubation.

In shape, the eggs are pyriform, but only slightly so, many
eggs being almost regular ovals. The ground colour varies little,
being either pale or dark cream. There are three distinct t5^pes
of markings : —

(i) Shell covered with an intricate and beautiful tracery
consisting of fine hair-like lines of dark brown and dark
greenish-brown with underlying conspicuous blotches of
light purplish-grey.

(2) Shell covered with similar tracery of fine and coarse lines

of several shades of brown, some almost black, with under-
lying markings of blotches of light purplish-grey.

(3) In this type the mai kings consist of coarse, short lines,

blotches and spots of dark brown to dark purplish-brown,

evenly, but not very densely, scattered over the v/hole

shell. The underlying markings, consisting of blotches

of purplish-grey, are very bold and distinct.

I have one egg which is marked, in addition to the lines, with

large confluent blotches of very dark brown, almost black, on the

broader end. In nearly all eggs of this species the markings are

crowded together at places forming a series of ill-defined zones

round the egg, generally the middle, but sometimes round the top.

Wlien round the top the zones are always very dark and conspicuous.

These zones are quite peculiar to the eggs of the present species,

and by them they can be easily distinguished from the eggs of

C. varius, which they resemble somewhat.

The average measurements of a large series is. i- 18 inches X
•85 inches.

C. Varius. — Kittlitz Plover. — This bird has always been of
great interest to me, chiefly on account of its interesting breeding
habits, which are so different to the other two species. The
.sitting bird, when disturbed, invariably covers its eggs with the
loose material lying round the nest before leaving them. The
first nests I ever found were all in loose sandy soil, and for a long

The Oologists Record, March i, 1922.

time I was under the impression that such places were invariably
chosen, being in fact necessary to enable the bird to rapidly cover
its eggs when disturbed, but in the last two years I have found many
nests in hard ground, and it was quite evident from their appearance
that these nests had been carefully prepared, but it was not until
this year that I was fortunate enough to get an opportunity of
watching the birds at work. I was in my cattle kraal one evening
watching the natives milking. Looking over the wall, I noticed
two Kittlitz Plovers running about twenty yards from the kraal. I
stood watching them, and every now and then one would run to
a certain spotj sit down and commence turning round, at the same
time kicking with its leg. Something frightened the birds away
and I took the opportunity of quickly investigating. I found that
they had commenced to excavate a hollow. They kept at work
every morning and evening for three days each bird taking its
turn at excavating the hollow which, by the end of the third
day, measured 3I inches in diameter and ij inches deep. I never
saw them working during the heat of the day. On the morning
of the fourth day they commenced filling the hollow up with very
small pieces of earth and dry dung. Standing a little way from
the hollow, one bird would pick up the material required and with
a dexterous flick of its head throw it into the hollow. While doing
this it worked very rapidly. The other bird meanwhile was picking
small stones which it would bring and drop into the hollow. By
the evenmg of the fifth day the hollow was completely filled, and
a plentiful supply of earth, small pieces of dung, and very small
stones placed round its edge. On the morning of the eighth day
the nest contained its full complement of two eggs and the bird
commenced sitting. It ran off as I approached, leaving the eggs
completely covered. I was watching it one day with glasses, when
a donkey approached. It waited until the donkey was close to the
nest, then stood up, faced it with wings outstretched and hissed.
The donkey strolled away and the bird sat down again. Shortly
after this a calf came along. It spotted the sitting bird, and with
a mischievous look in its face walked straight up to it. The bird
jumped off the nest and ran a short distance,pretendingto be disabled,
the calf following. In this way it led the calf some distance from
its precious eggs. Suddenly it stood up, shook itself and ran back
to the eggs, leaving the calf bewildered. I got a native to approach
the nest, and it was quite evident that the bird did not trust a

A 2

The Oologists' Record, March i, 1922.

human being. As soon as it spotted the native it stood up and,
with legs wide apart over the eggs, commenced turning round rapidly,
scratching the loose material from all sides over the eggs. To
cover the eggs and run off was a matter of only a few seconds and
was accomplished long before the native was anj^where near the
nest. After the native went away the bird returned to its eggs.
It first uncovered them, scratching the material away with its
feet. It then sat on them, and for some time was employed re-
arranging the loose stuff round the hollow with its beak. The
eggs are always half buried in the loose material of the nest, so that
a few rapid kicks are sufficient to cover them completely over.
I once found a nest containing two young birds a few hours old.,
and these the old birds had covered, leaving only the heads exposed.

I have never found a nest anywhere but in the vicinity of
dams, generally about 50 to 100 yards from the water and never
in shingle.

M\' records for inland nests are from August 29th to November
5th, with one nest in January. At the coast it apparently breeds
much earlier, as there were a good many birds breeding on Bird
Island when I visited it on July loth. One nest found on that date
contained eggs in an advanced stage of incubation. The clutch
of eggs is invariably two. In shape they are usually pointed
ovals, pyriform eggs being rare. The ground colour varies from a
pale-creamy buff to a darkish-buff.. This is thickly marked with
streaks, short twisted lines and spots of very dark brown, evenlj'
scattered over the whole shell. The underlying markings consist
of small blotches of pale purple and are almost obsolete. The eggs
of this species resemble those of C. tricollaris somewhat but are
easily distinguished from them by the entire absence of zones and
the greenish colour of the skin lining the shell.

The measurements in inches of seven clutches in m}- collection
are as follows : — ■

Five clutches taken inland. — (i) 1-25 x -87, 1-25 x -89;
(2) 1-2 X -84, 1-15 X -81; (3) I-2I X -85, 1-2 X -89; (4)
1-2 X -86, 1-25 X 87 ; (5) 1-29 X -80, 1-27 X -9.

Two clutches taken on Bird Island, Algoa Bay : —

(i) 1-3 X -91, 1-3 X -9. (2) 1-3 X -9, 1-35 X -9.

It will be noticed that the Bird Island eggs are larger than the
inland eggs. The eggs of clutch 5 of the inland eggs are abnormally
large and the only eggs of this size I have ever taken. No others
have measured more than 1-25.

The Oologists' Record, March i, 1922.

A NEST OF THE AMERICAN PEREGRINE FALCON.

By H. Arden Edwards, C.O.C. M.C.O.

As an introduction I wish to say that while the Duck Hawk,
Falco peregrinus anaUim, as it is commonly called throughout the
United States, is nowhere common, it is even less so in Southern
California, so that collecting the eggs of this species is of sufficient
rarity to thrill even the most blase ef oologists.

Of the two sets of this noble species collected by me this past
season, the second was of unusual interest, both having regard
to the late nesting date, 23rd April, and to the site chosen for the
nest, which was among the wild semi-desert country of the San
Antonio Mountains, some 120 miles from the coast where, in Southern
California, these birds are usually found. Not always do they
nest upon the sea cliffs proper, except upon the coastal islands of
California and Mexico, but are quite frequently found to have made
their ej^rie in some wild caiion contiguous to the ocean.

The few sets taken are usually in one of the above-mentioned
localities, so it was with considerable surprise that I perused a
hastily written note from my friend and fellow-collector, Mr.
Pierce, informing me that a friend and he had seen one of these
birds in a lonely canon on the desert slope of the Coast Range. This
was just at dusk, and darkness prevented an extended search for
the nesting site, but as the bird was later joined by its mate
and both flew up and down the caiion screaming vociferously, it
seemed a certainty that they were nesting or about to nest there.

In company with my friend I had worked over this very wild
and extremely rugged section for a number of years, and had
found the Prairie Falcon, Falco mexicanus, nesting among the
rocky limestone cliffs in company with the American Raven,
but never once had we seen so much as a glimpse of a Duck Hawk.
Trusting fully in my friend's information, however, the following-
week-end I packed my kit and joined him at his home, where we
loaded his car and were soon started on our way.

If space permitted I should like to describe this beautiful Land
of the Golden West, as it unrolled itself before us that memorable
day. The purple ranges of the Sierra Madres Mountains, with
snow-capped Mt. San Antonio rearing its lofty head far above the
lesser peaks, formed a barrier between the fertile vallej's of the
coast and the desert wastes of the Moiave Desert, and it was th(

The Oologists' Record, March i, 1922.

easternmost point of these pine-clad mountains which we had to
round to get to our objective point. Mile after mile the groves of
golden oranges vied in colour with the more golden poppies,
those magnificent flowers which the Spaniards and Mexicans call
" Capa de Oro," or literally " Mantle of Gold." Fields and groves
were alive with various small birds, but we had eyes for only one
thing and that was the distant pass between the ranges where we
knew the road drew near to our desire.

All things come to an end sooner or later, and so this ride. We
drew away from the main travelled road and took the motor as
far in towards the hill as we were able, and parked it under the
scanty shade of a small sycamore tree. From here it was a case
of footing it, and this meant some real work as we were carrying
over three hundred feet of rope and chain. The Dotted Canon
Wrens were calling on all sides, and various Sparrows, Bush-tits
and Towhees were in evidence as we progressed. Ahead of us
through a cut in the low-lying foot-hills we could catch glimpses
of a mighty escarpment of white granite and limestone. These
immense cliffs stood out in bold relief against the back slopes of
the mountains behind, and looked like the creations of some past
dim and distant prehistoric age. Grease wood and grey sage
brush clothed the slopes at the base, interspersed here and there
with the mahogany coloured branches of the manzanita and
mountain holly. Closer approach showed the barren rocks to be
figured here and there with patterns of grey and yellow lichens ;
a crimson blossom of the Indian paint-brush peeped from a crevice
on the shaded side of a cliff, but beside this all was bare, hard
uncompromising rock, with scarcely a foothold anywhere for man
or beast. Now a patch of rubbish and sticks, high up in a pot-hole,
proclaims this a feudal stronghold of the Ravens. Yes, there sails
one of these sombre birds against the sky. Now he dips down behind
the nearest cliff and I wait for the sharp " chee," " hee," " hee '
of the Prairie Falcon, for these two are always at odds, but instead
here comes a dark, blue-black bird, a living bullet, the quick
wing beats almost defying the eye to follow them and with such
a screaming that all my doubts were dissipated at once : it was a
Duck Hawk.

M}^ friend had worked his way farther ahead, our plan being
for one man to watch the cliffs, while the other climbed a bit^
and vice versa, for in this way we would be able to spot the nest as

The Oologists' Record, March i, 1922.

the bird left it. Soon my companion shouted to me that he had
the nest located, and I scrambled on and up to him. Most collectors
will understand my feelings when I say they were of joy and fear.
Joy that the nest was really there, and fear that it was unapproach-
able, for the cliff in front of me towered a sheer four hundred feet
above me and the cranny from which the bird had flown was
midway, with a sheer wall above and below. Difficult, almost
impossible, as our task appeared, we gathered our traps and started
to work our wa}' round the cliffs arid get to the top by some xneans
or other. Before we left we saw a Barn Owl fly across the face
of the cliff, making for a small cleft below the Falcon's nest. It had
nearly gained the entrance when, with a rush of wings which was
clearly audible to us where we stood, one of the Falcons dropped
from out of the sk3^ like a flash of lightning and all but knocked
the bird of wisdom end over end. I think this was just pure spite
on our account for, under ordinary circumstances, I think these
birds do not particularly bother their immediate neighbours. This
I know to be true of the Prairie Falcon.

When we gained the top of the ridge, of which these cliffs
formed the face, we were amph^ repaid for the climb by the wonderful
panorama of mountains and desert country stretched out 'before
us. A stiff wind was blowing which was almost strong enough,
on the exposed top of the cliff, to carry us off our feet. A bit of
reconnoitring showed us there was only one half way practicable
as a means of approach. Growing in a cleft some twenty feet back
from the edge were several stunted and bushy trees, and we attached
our rope securely to these and I approached the edge and looked
over. I said the cliff was four hundred feet high but, looking
down, it seemed more than four times that. There seerhed a bare
possibility that I could reach a part of the cleft to the right of me
when I got to the level of the nest, but the main difficulty lay in
the fact that the only place where the ropes could be let down was
too far to one side.

To make a long story short, I tied the end of the rope to my belt
and, throwing the hand line down, I put my face to the wall and
began the descent. We had with us one span of braided cotton
Tope, one-half inch thick, and a hundred and ten feet long, another
of the same, one hundred and twenty feet long and, in addition,
fifty feet of half-inch wire chain. I had put the latter at the bottom
as it is the easiest to climb on. It needed the 230 feet to reach

10 The Oologists' Record, March i, 1922.

the narrow cleft above the nest. It needed an acrobatic feat to
swing myself over far enough to get my outstretched foot on the
ledge and so pull myself over, and before doing this I rested myself
for some minutes, keeping my eyes and my mind off the space
below. Then I had to fasten the chain to a point of the rock and
cast loose from- my safety line. I fastened the end of the chain to
my belt and, after a deep breath, threw it over the ledge and slid
down it. I swung free in the air but maintained my position by
keeping one foot against the wall as best I covild. One has not time
to be frightened on these occasions — that comes after — but I was
concerned about the swift swoops of the female falcon as she dashed
at my head. I was glad that I had my heavy sombrero on, but
I forgot bird, hat, cliff and all when, at the uttermost link of m}'
chain, I was able to barely touch the prize : three wonderful eggs
which lay on their bed of sandy rock in a small pot-hole in a sloping
hollow below the edge. I lifted the eggs very carefully and packed
them for the ascent. I took one quick glance below me before starting
back up the chain, and the memory of that sight haunts me yet.
When I had regained the edge I sat and rested for awhile and noted
the actions of the birds, and saw where they had eaten many a
meal,- for a small shrub growing in a cranny was covered with the
feathers of small birds, chiefly those of the Red-shafted Flicker,
Mountain Partridge, and others I could not identify for certain.
I gained the' top again without further incident, and now in my
cabinet these three eggs lie, mementoes of a great climb.

BIRD LIFE BY LAKE ONTARIO.

By Rev. C. J. Young, B.A., A.O.U.

I have lived for many years in Eastern Ontario ; up to 1914 in
the village of Madoc, Hastings County, since at Brighton in the
adjoining county, close to the shore of Lake Ontario. Since
childhood I have watched the birds, and year by year have taken
an interest in them and their surroundings. Now through advancing
years I cannot follow them as I used to, but am still anxious as
before to watch their returning flight each spring, and note their
departure as the summer closes.

Most of the birds we meet with in this locality are met with

The Oologists' Record, March i,- ig22. ii

in-Western Ontario, and New York State. Only occasionally 4o
we come across some straggler. Of these I will first mention the
Orange-crowned Wai'bler, a rare bird, whose breeding has not been
previously recorded in this district. Some of my friends seem
sceptical about this, but having watched the birds more persistentlj'
and for a longer period than most of them, I can certify the presence
of this rare species.

Near the road leading from Belleville through Madoc to North
Hastings lies a cedar and tamarac swamp, close beside a height of
land a thousand feet above the sea level. This is a unique spot
for warblers ; its centre being the dried or drained bed of a small
lake, grown up around its edges with cedar, black spruce, and
tamarac, and surrounded by a hardwood bush growing amongst
the granite rocks. I used to visit this spot several times each
spring, and noted the Nashville Warbler as quite common ; a
pair or two of the Orange-crowned Warbler seen in the year 1907,
a cold and backward season ; and, in 1908, the Bay-breasted
Warbler migrating as late as the loth June ; the Mourning,
Chestnut-sided. Black-throated Blue Warbler, and several others.

Besides the birds, the swamp is an interesting place for the
botanist, for some rare orchids flourish there. I found four of the
five varieties of the Ontario cypripediums, including the " Rams-
head," which few have found growing in its native habitat, among
the tamaracs ; also the Coral Root {Corallariza striala) ; Orchis
rotundifolia ; several Habenarias ; and others.

To return to the Orange-crowned Warbler. In 1907, on the
2nd of June, I was walking through the small tamaracs. The
ground there is damp and springy, with hummocks of moss and
marsh fern, and in places bunches of the Osmtmda, its new shoots
just showing. A small bird started up near me, and threshed
its way, mouse-like, amongst the undergrowth of ferns and moss-
After a brief search I found the nest well concealed in the side of
one of these hummocks. It contained four eggs, and incubation
had commenced. These eggs are quite distinguishable from those
of the Nashville Warbler. They are creamy white, with a wreath
of faint reddish specks around the larger end. The rest of the egg is
almost unmarked and is slightly larger than that of the Nashville
Warbler, though the nests of both birds have a similar appearance.
After a while the bird I flushed from its nest was joined by its
mate, and they hopped about in the tamaracs. In spite of mosquitoes

12 The Oelogists' Record, March i, 1922.

I watched these birds for nearly two hours so as to make sure of
the species.

The following year I visited the swamp at an earlier date — the
25th May. Within a few feet of the place where I had found the
nest the previous season, I flushed a bird that proved to be of the
same species,possibly one of the same pair, or maybe their descendant.
There was a nest in the same situation, the only difference being
that this nest, besides the dried grass, contained some rabbit's
fur for its lining, and there were five instead of four eggs as on the
previous occasion, at this date quite fresh. I found another nest
at the end of May with four eggs, which I fancied belonged to the
same species, but unfortunately I could not get a good view of
the bird. Since the year 1913, however, I have neither seen nor
found a nest of this warbler ; nor, for that matter, of any other
warbler within the limits of the swamp. They seem to have
abandoned it, or perchance have died out in the general diminution
of many of our Canadian birds. In the year 1914 there was not
a warbler of any kind to be seen, and when, in 1919, in company
with Mr. E. Beaupre, of Kingston — an ardent student of bird life —
I again visited the swamp, with the exception of a Mourning
Warbler, we failed to see any others.

The Nasb-"ille Warbler breeds commonly in this swamp. In the
year 1907 I found no less than four nests, not far from each other.
I had with me a small net — a kind of butterfly net — with which
to capture and have one of these birds in hand. I succeeded in
doing so, for it was not a difficult matter, and this device left no
possible doubt of the species. The bright yellow underparts, along
with the ashy-coloured head, at once identified the species. The
bird thus caught acted strangely ; I shall never forget the circum-
stance. When I released her she flew round and finally alighted
upon my shoulder. I held out my hand and presently she flew
on to it and remained there for a few seconds, ther she perched
upon my head, ultimately flying awa}^ into a near-by shrub. The
last time I visited the swamp in 1919 all we found was the nest
of a Blue Jay with well-fledged young.

Until recent years the Prairie Warbler had not been detected
as far east as Toronto. It is due to Mr. W. E. Saunders, of London,
Ontario, that a knowledge of its range has been extended. In
the year 1918, along with him and Mr. E. Beaupre, I visited the

The Oologists' Record, March i, 1922. 13

Georgian Bay of Lake Huron, and at Snug Island, where we stayed,
we saw several specimens and heard the cock bird singing. To
clear up all doubt one of these birds was secured. Mr. Saunders
is certain that they breed in South- West Ontario, but those we
saw appeared to be migrating.

The Orchard Oriole is a common bird in the fruit belt of the
Niagara Peninsula, but I had not heard of it east of Toronto until
we observed it twice in the vicinity of Trenton, at the head of the
Bay of Ouinte, frequenting an apple orchard,where a pair commenced
nesting in an apple-tree, 15th of June, 1915, but did not succeed in
raising a brood. Wilson's Phaiarope has been shot several times
at Weller's Bay, Lake Ontario, about five miles from Trenton.
Flocks of sandpipers and waders congregate there in late summer
and early fall, though I am sorry to say in decreasing numbers.

The Carolina Wren has only been recorded a few times from
Western Ontario. This bird has been seen at Point Pelee, Lake
Erie ; and a pair of them at St. Thomas, where they remained in
a ravine close to the city. The male was frequently heard singing
morning and evening. On the 9th of October, 1918, I chanced to
walk to a little swamp and shrubbery below the mill-pond at
Brighton, and there heard a strange note. Presently I sighted
the author of it, which happened to be a Carolina Wren. As
chance would have it I had with me my field-glasses, and so got a
good view of this bird. I at once identified it by the pronounced
sharp note ; more particularly by the white line over the eye—
this mark being very conspicuous. Its creamy white throat and
breast further impressed me, and though heretofore I had not been
familiar with this bird, such a rarity in our locality, there was no
mistaking its characteristic wren-like motions as it hopped about
amid a rank growth of wild asters and cat-tails, and finally made
off into an alder bush, keeping up its sharp " chick chick " and
jerking its tail with every movement of its body. Though I
visited the same spot during the next two days I caught no
further glimpse of the bird. But I believe the above incident to
be the most eastern record in Canada for this species.

The Short-billed Marsh Wren is another bird that has rarely
been recorded in Eastern Ontario. A pair were met with and
one captured at Mere Bleu, a large swampy tract near Ottawa, in
June, 1897. It has also been seen near Lancaster, Ontario, at
the extreme east end of the province. But I have not met with

14 The Oologists' Record, March i, 1922.

any other records except those of Mr. C. W. Nash from near Toronto.
I beUeve it is everywhere a rare bird, though of somewhat wide
distribution. In July, 1912, in company with Mr. W. E. Saunders,
I saw several of these birds in a damp meadow near London, Ontario.
Mr. Saunders had previously' observed them there, and I had the
pleasure of visiting the place with him. However, we found no signs
of any nest, though the birds were undoubtedly breeding. Since that
time I have not seen the species until the year 1919, coming across
it most unexpectedly. In company with Mr. W. H. Lunn, of
Trenton, this event happened. We were trying to locate the Field
Plover in the large pastures of the Mohawk Reserve, township of
Tyendinaga, adjacent to the Bay of Ouinte. It had bred there
two years before. Whilst trying to find the Field Plover again, we
saw the Short-billed Marsh Wren. The location was a dry corner
of a hay meadow overgi^own with coarse quack grass, with sweet
clover just coming up, and a number of last year's dry stalks
scattered about. Here we found the wren hopping about in these
stalks. We knew no House Wren could be in such a place and were
certain it was not the Long-billed Marsh Wren. So we were both
satisfied of its identity, although the bird was quite new to my
companion and almost so to myself. We were much interested,
yet in spite of diligent search we failed to find a nest on this
occasion. I again visited the place on the i6th, 23rd and 30th
June, and 12th July. On the first of these dates, the pair of birds
were hopping about in the sweet clover stalks, and repeatedly
dropping ' into the long grass. After searching for some time, I
found a nest commenced, but nothing further. The 23rd June
brought me better success, for I found three nests built in the long
grass, from four to six inches above the ground. Each pair of
birds builds several nests. In this case there was but one pair
of birds, so that the nests belonged to them. Only one of these
nests contained eggs, two in number, white in colour, and deserted.
The contents were dried up and the eggs more or less broken.
On the 30th June the birds were still there, but beyond finding
an empty nest I saw nothing further. On the 12th of July no
signs of the birds appeared. It is to be hoped they hatched in the
vicinity and departed to the adjoining marsh with their brood.

Some other species, fast disappearing, that I am able to report
from this neighbourhood are the Hudsonian God wit, which was

TJte Oologists Record, March i, 1922. 15

shot in November, 1918, near Presqu'ile Point, Lake Ontario. This
bird I saw shortly after it was shot, and at once recognised the
species from its resemblance to the European Black-tailed Godwit.
It is now extremeh' rare and, like the Esquimaux Curlew, in danger
of becoming altogether extinct. Other records for the east of
Lake Ontario are one shot by Mr. E. Beaupre, of Kingston, October,
1895, and another in 1898.

The Rough-winged Swallow is a bird that is extending its range
eastwards. There are but few records of its appearance east of
Toronto, although recently it has been met with as far as Ottawa.
I first noticed two pairs breeding in a sandy bank at Weller's
Bay in the summer of 1916. The following year I found a pair
breeding in an abandoned Kingfisher's hole in the bank of the creek
at Brighton. The habits of this bird are dissimilar to those of the
Sand Swallow. They mostly keep in pairs, and here at any rate
they are not gregarious. The nest is lined not with feathers, but
with dried grass, dead as well as green leaves, and small t^vigs are
present. In the nest I examined in 1917 was a dead bird which
I forwarded to Mr. Saunders, knowing he was perfectly familiar
with the species. The indentification was complete. Since the
above date I have failed to identify any Rough-winged Swallows
in this neighbourhood ; and for that matter even the Sand Swallows
have been scarcer than formerlv.

OOLOGICAL RESEARCH.

By The Editor.

We are so familiar with all the facts and data that have been
recorded abovtt the common, and even the rare, birds of our own
countryside that we take them for granted. To those oologists,
however, who find themselves in a country of which the oology is
a closed book, a very wide field of research is open. Random notes
are of little use, and in order to aid and direct attention to the points
that should be noted we have thought it worth while to prepare
a schedule of these points in such a form as to be readily available
for the use of working oologists everywhere. Our printers will
have a number of these schedules printed on good quality paper,
and they will be available for the use of our readers at the prices
printed on the inside of the back cover. We do not propose to

i6 The Oologists' Record, March i, 1922.

- — — - . . _ . . _

print too many as there can be no doubt but that improvements
will be made in the form from time to time. We would like to
say at the start that we do not consider the scope of the form nearly
complete, but further information can always be noted on the back
of the sheets, or follow-on sheets can be used. The forms will
be punched for filing in a foolscap loose-leaf binding case, and the
prices of the binding cases will also be found on the inside of the
back cover. We would add that the form is copyright.

Works on oology are far too few and frequently omit mention
of the chief points in regard to some of the most interesting species.
vSpeaking for ourselves, we shall be almost as pleased to receive
one of these forms fully, or partially, filled up with regard to species
in which we are particularly interested, as to receive a set of the
eggs with data. The system opens up a new era in nature study —
the collection of oological notes. Had such a system existed in the
past, very much valuable autographic material would now be
available to the present generation. Oologists who had ample
opportunity to record all there was to record about a few rare
species, might have been induced to set them down. They could
have waited till they had enough for publication or, if they decided
not to publish them, they could have handed them over to some
institution or society of standing so that they should not be lost.

It is suggested that all sheets should be filled in in the handwriting
of the investigator, who should also sign and date them, but the
date might be altered from time to time, thus : " revised, or added
to, 27th June, 1923," In making a reference by date, the name of
the month should always be given, as in the U.S.A. they put things
differently. In the States, 5/6, 1921, very often means
not 5th June, but 6th May. Nothing should be left ambiguous,
and if a matter is recorded that the investigator has not himself
seen or observed, he should state whence comes the information.
Many old errors in natural history were passed on from one to
another without the last man taking the trouble to investigate
for himself. In the future, let us know who started them. -

Mr. Chance's wonderful investigations into the life-historj' of the
Cuckoo have shown what a tissue of fables did duty for recorded
fact and, if we were all to start filling in these forms about the
birds that we have round us, we should soon see how little we knew
from our own observation and to what an extent we relied upon
facts recorded by others.

The Oologists' Record, March i, 1922. 17

OOLOGICAL RESEARCH FORM.

Original notes and observations made by

of

regarding the

Copyright.

Locality or localities

Is it resident, a summer visitor or a winter visitor ?

Is it gregarious ? How abundant ?

Type of country it frequents Altitude

It s chief food ;

How man}' nests have come under your observation and form the
basis of information now given ?

Do they rear 2 broods in a season? If so, on what

evidence ?

Breeding period : Earliest date of laying

Latest date of laying Average date of laying

Usual site of nest ■

If above ground — height

Description of nest : —

Shape

Materials used

External diameter inches. Internal diameter inches.

Depth of cup, if any, ..inches. Diameter of entrance, if an}',

inches.

Most usual number of eggs in a clutch

Maximum number Minimum number

At what intervals does the bird lay ? hours.

Eggs :—

Average dimensions* of eggs = x

My smallest egg is x and my largest x

Shape Texture Weight

Colour (describe, if possible, b}' comparison with some other
well-known egg, if it resembles any other).

Signature

Date completed

or date of last observation recorded herein.

* Dimensions of eggs should be in millimetres wherever possible.

This form is issued by the Oologists' Record, and published by
Haxrison and Sons, Ltd., 45, St. Martin's Lane, London, W.C. 2.

Note. — It is impossible to show here the space provided for
the variojs items. The forms will be foolscap in size and spaced
out to the best advantage.

i8 The Oologists' Record, March i, 1922.

SOME NOTES ON EUROPEAN AND AFRICAN VULTURES.

By Charles B. Horsbrugh.

To many people the word " vulture " conveys the idea da huge
carrion-feeding loathsome bird, unworthy of close study. Yet there
are many interesting details to be discovered concerning it. Those
who condemn these valuable scavengers are apt to ignore the useful
services they perform in the rapid clearance of'rotting animal flesh..
It is a wise provision of Nature which permits many species of birds,
as well as of animals and insects, to carry out the duties of under-
takers, consequently mitigating the spread of noxious diseases,
which would undoubtedly increase were carrion and rubbish not so
disposed of. This fact is nowadays becoming more generally
recognised, and many countries have legislated for the protection
of such Scavengers — particularly the various species of vultures and
their relations — the larger and even smaller eagles and hawks.

The examination of a vulture's nest and the possession cf an
egg for scientific purposes, if possible secured b}^ myself, had long
been one of my cherished desires, which was fulfilled during a
residence of over five years in South Africa. I visited many out-
of-the-way places in various parts of that country, where human
habitations are rare, and succeeded in obtaining a single egg of two
\'arieties of vulture.

The Common or Kolb's Vulture {Gyps kolbi) is by no m'eans
scarce in South Africa and may be observed, more usually in flight,
any day and at an}^ season of the year, but its nest is generally built
in inaccessible situations such as difficult precipices, or high, very
thorny and often ant-haunted trees.

The chance I had long been awaiting occurred unexpectedly
whilst driving over the veldt on a fine June afternoon in 1906,
changing from one shooting ground to another, some thirty odd
miles outside Potchefstroom. Three of us in a Cape cart saw at a
considerable distance what we at once suspected were vultures,
nests crowning the upper branches of some low, but fairlj-^ substan-
tial, mimosa trees. These latter consisted of a small group, scattered
about within a few yards of one another on slightly elevated ground.
The presence of some half-dozen vultures, circling high above the
trees, added certainty to our suspicions. On lessening our distance
a few others, perched close to their nests, were also observed. We
found these nests numbered about five bulky, evil smelling structures.

The Oologists' Record, March i, 1922. 19

The conglomeration of sticks~of different sizes and smalt twigs rested
securely amongst the flat-topped branches, forming a nest not too
plentifully lined with coarse dry grass, with a cast feather or two,
which the builders evidently deemed sufficiently comfortable for
nidification purposes. These details I discovered after slowly and
painfully climbing the lowest tree, all the vultures meanwhile
being mere specks in the sky or on the far horizon. The nest con-
tained no prize, being unready for. the dull, dirty white egg laid by
this species. My brother, encouraging my progress from below,
strolled across to another tree, the nest in which seemed to contain
what he took to be a well-fledged youngster, and was rather aston-
ished when an adult bird rose reluctantly and suddenly hurled itself
with much flapping of huge wings into the air. A charge of buck-
shot from his 12-bGre speedily ended its career, and I straightway
emphatically remarked that I had no hankering for any work
regarding the removal and preservation of its skin. The mules,
scenting the presence of the bird near the Cape cart, towards which
we dragged it, almost stampeded when the body, enveloped in a
sack, was placed therein. On our return to Potchefstroom, the
vulture was at once despatched by train to the Director of the
Pretoria Museum, together with the hope that the gift might
prove of value to that Institution. His delight on emptying
the sack was keen, as this specimen was the first he had ever
seen, and he at once wrote to inform us it was the White-backed
Vulture {Pseiidogyps africamts), a sub-species of the Kolb's
Vulture lately determined by Mr. W. L. Sclater, at that time
Director of the Cape Town Museum, whose authority on South
African ornithology and mammalia is well known and widely
acknowledged. The principal difference between the two birds
exists in the number of tail-feathers, which ia the former numbers
twelve, whereas the latter possesses fourteen, and various other
points may be observed which justify the constitution of a valid
sub-species.

The apparent reluctance of this bird to quit the nest was due
to the presence of an egg, which, after casting lots as to who should
secure it, fell to the third member of our party. This was success-
fully secured, but it was not a very easy undertaking, owing to the
crowded growth of the upper branches, though the use of a small
hand-axe eased matters considerably. After carefully packing the
egg, and when about to proceed on our way, we viewed another nest

20 The Oologists' Record, March i, 1922.

far away across the open veldt, the tree containing it standing on
the edge of some sparsely growing low scrub. This tree offered no
difficulty in climbing, a slow " leg up " being sufficient — as it was an
ancient and stunted one, having few branches to impede my ascent •

The nest was similar to those previously examined, though not
quite so bulky, and contained a single white egg, but this without
doubt belonged to the common Kolb's Vulture. Why this particular
pair of birds chose such an extraordinarily low situation I find it
hard to conceive, and can but presume that they were young and
inexperienced in site-selecting.

The larger raptores, as remarked above, usually evince great care
as to the safet}^ of their nesting-sites, and several members of this
group of birds are gregarious in their habits. This is also the case
with certain of the lesser members, which usually, Uke their larger
relatives, nest within the circumscribed area of a precipice, ruined
building or group of kopjes. The remainder of this family prefer
the solitude of mountain, plain, marsh or forest, and hustle off avian
intruders, such as crows, etc., from within a considerable distance
of their nesting quarters. Many birds, including the above species,
frequently show a decided preference for certain localities or rather
nesting sites which, after being plundered or disturbed, are deserted
for safer ones, although they may return should persecution cease.
A similar colony of Common Vultures to that which I have already
described existed, and may perhaps still continue to do so, within
no great distance from Pretoria, and one enormous nest with the
bough containing it is exhibited in the Museum there, together with
its tenant — a well-fledged young vulture almost ready to fiy.

Natives find no great difficulty in capturing them alive should
any carrion, in the shape of a dead mule or ox, etc., be lying about
not too close to a kraal or village. These great birds, so ungainly-
looking on the ground, will unsuspectingly place their feet within
the noose of a stout cord cunningly fixed close to, or even inside,
the carcase.

They may be captured, also, after a heavy gorge of offal, when
many find it impossible to rise from the earth.

In captivity they do well, but are undoubtedly more interesting
to the ordinary bird-observer or naturalist to observe in a wild state
than as savage pets. Anyone who carefully notes the flight of a
vulture, as it sails round in wide circles high in the air, will observe
that the first two primaries of each wing act slightly and indepen-

The Oologists Record, March i, 1922. 21

dently of the remainder, and it is possible that the attachment of
these feathers to the bone permits of their use as a brake against the
wind. It appears to me that these birds, by elevation of these
feathers above the plane of the rest of the primaries, avoid too much
pressure against the wind, which might otherwise upset their balance.

My surmise may be open to argument, hut I do not know how
otherwise to account for this peculiarity. I have many times
watched the soaring and also straight flight of eagles, buzzards,
ravens and other large birds, and frequently seen the slight but
distinctly upward curve of all the main primaries, but none of the
above species betrayed the independent action of two first primaries
which the vulture possesses..

The South African vultures lay their eggs in late May or early
June, which is of course winter-time in that part of the continent, and
after a period of about thirty days' incubation the young are hatched.
Both parents attend the wants of their offspring, which remains
under their care for several weeks before flying is attempted. It is
a common sight to see numbers of vultures tearing up and hastily
disposing of carrion, and this disgusting spectacle has presented
itself to me many times. They squabble and fight over the remains
with beak and wing, emitting a curious hissing sound, and a noise
which is strangel}' similar to the yapping of a small puppy. Suddenly
in the midst of an orgie all noise and scufflings cease, as a huge
Black Vulture {Otogyps auric itlaris) descends towards the struggling
group, and, until he has completed his fill, the others remain almost
silent and motionless spectators only.

In the Island of Cyprus, where I have lately lived, I found two
types of vultures ; also a third which, until my arrival, had been
unrecorded. As in South Africa the Eared Vulture was accustomed
to spoil the feasts of its relatives, the Kolb's, so in Cyprus, did the
Black Vulture {Vultur monachus) cause the Common or Griffon
Vulture {Gyps fulvus) to " come to attention " when any spoil fell
to the latter.

An animal about to die, or recentl}' defunct, is usually discovered
in the first instance by the ravens, crows and magpies, to be shortly
followed by the larger scavengers. These latter quickly disperse the
lesser robbers, which, when opportunity offers, actively dodge
round about snatching what morsels they can. I found that the
vultures did not come immediately to fresh carcases, as these,
provided they are untouched by the pariah dogs, are hard to tear up.

22 The Oologists' Record, March i, 1922.

A day or two's exposure in the sun causes the body to become soft,
and after receiving attention from a flock of hungry vultures very
Httle remains, except well-picked bones, hoofs and other hard parts.
I remember on one occasion, in the interior of the 'sland, being much
amused at the antics and pluck of a magpie, which persisted in
hopping on to the broad back of a vulture and attempting to snatch
pieces of flesh the creature was bolting with unseemly haste. No
civilised person would readily destroy a vulture, except occasionally
for scfentific purposes, but natives in many countries find their long
flight-feathers useful for a variety of purposes. Cypriote villagers
utilise these feathers, dipped in water, for brushing off bees from their
faces and hands, when collecting honey from the hives, and also
play their guitars with the quill-shaft as a plectrum. West African
natives, I believe, carry gold-dust within the interior of the quill,
and others make use of vulture feathers in various and curious
ways.

After leaving South Africa I did not meet with any vultures,
although I travelled widely, until I visited Cyprus, where I was
greatly interested to find the European species, but I did not dis-
cover any striking differences in their life-history between the birds
of the two continents. The Common or Griffon Vulture exists in
considerable numbers in the island, and the Black Vulture, although
far less abundant, is not a rare species there. I often wondered
how they secured sufficient food, as much of the carrion is consumed
by the native dogs. On a certain day, about the middle of March,
a party of friends took me with them to visit an ancient castle
perched on one of the highest peaks of the northern range of
mountains, which is named Buffavento (the wind defter), and informed
me that there might be a chance of finding a Griffon's nest. After
a few miles' ride on mules we came to the picturesque monastery
of Chrisostomos, where we were most hospitably entertained by the
newly arrived Abbot, who, however, was no naturalist and could
give us no information about any birds, beyond the fact, which we
already knew, that vultures frequented the height. Fortunately,
we procured a guide, reputed to be one of the finest climbers in the
district, and leaving our animals at the monastery, we shortly after-
wards reached the highest ridge of the mountains. From this alti-
tude, about 2,600 feet, a magnificent panorama spread itself before
us. Far away to the north; across a glassy sea, we could just discern
the Anatolian coast, with the snow-crowned summits of the Taurus

The Oologists' Record, March i, 1922.

range well behind it. South, stretched the Messouria, a wide plain
intersecting the island, whilst east and west the numerous spurs of
the range on which we stood showed clear and distinct for many miles.

Our guide, having had our mission explained to him, left us
admiring the wonders surrounding us and disappeared over a
precipice near by, when, after half-an-hour's absence, he returned
with a vulture's &^^. This, he informed us, had been difficult to
obtain and dissuaded me from accompanying him, as the climb
could not be attempted in boots, his own being slung around his
neck. It happened a yeox afterwards that I met this same man and
made him take me to the vulture's eyrie from which he had got his
egg and, except for a nasty bit of rock about 40 feet high, I found
the climb a very simple one, but I attacked it from below.

The nest was composed of a few small twigs, also a single fir-
branch with cone attached and lined with a little coarse grass. This
latter we watched the birds bringing in, which they did with their
feet only, on a previous occasion when we misjudged the date for
the nest being ready for the egg. Lying quietly below the eyrie,
we had a splendid opportunity to witness the behaviour of the
vultures circling above the mountain and constantly descending
with long vol-planes, bringing small quantities of nesting material.
After depositing it in the nest they would stand close together and
rub noses, or rather beaks, at the same time gurgling and chattering
in a very weird manner.

I photographed a generaT"view of the mountain, the eyrie lying
within the huge cleft shghtly to the right of the monastery below.
I was lately shown two eggs of this vulture, taken in season 1913,
from one nest on the same range of mountains, and did not doubt
the accuracy of this statement. I have seen as many as three eggs
from a nest of the White-tailed Eagle, Haliaetus albicilla, more
than once, and am aware that many other species of birds often add
to the number of eggs usually laid in a normal sitting. On another
day, whilst in the same locality but a few miles further westwards,
I had a close view of a Bearded Vulture or Lammergeier, Ossifragus
barbatiis, as it flew over a pass to a valley below, and was thus
enabled to record an interesting species, new to the Ornithology of
Cyprus. Although I subsequently searched for this bird in other
likel)' parts of the island I did not succeed in finding it again, and I
conclude this specimen must have returned to the Taurus mountains
from whence it probably came, I hope I may meet with this

24 The Oologisis' Record, March i, 1922.

handsome vulture again in the wild state, as I have only had a
fleeting view so far, and can add no original observations concerning
it, but it is being rapidly extermina*",d by means of poison through-
out Europe, and its African prototype is exceedingly scarce.

Having succeeded in my quest for a Griffon's nest, I next turned
my attention towards finding that of its near relative, the Black
Vulture, Vultiir monachus, and during the montli of early June,
whilst travelling through numerous hills and valleys in the southern
part of the island, I obtained another guide who took me to a nest of
which he knew. This was built close to an asbestos mine in full
working progress and placed in a pine-tree at about thirty-five feet
from the ground and something like five thousand feet above sea
level. Great numbers of the pine-trees on these mountains are flat-
topped, due to the weight of snow during the winter months. Un-
fortunately, the egg had hatched, and the young one taken by some of
the mine's employees, but its ultimate fate I was unable to discover.
Another nest we found within a mile of the first was also empty,
but I fancy this had not lately been used. The egg of this species
is often remarkably handsome, the white ground colour being hidden
by minute and also heavy dullish red spots, or else heavily smudged
by slate)^ or brownish blotches, and certain types bear a resemblance
to the egg of the Bearded Vulture.

I possess a photograph of a mounted specimen of the former
which well shows the great expanse of wing these birds have,
and it was obtained by my, friend, Mr. F. R. S. Baxendale.
Commissioner of the Famagusta district, who, for the sum of half-
a-crown, persuaded a Greek cook to undertake the disgusting and
troublesone task of skinning it. The Neophron, or Egyptian Vulture
Neophron percnopterus, is a smaller type than the above species,
and differing in colour, which is white with black primaries. It has
not yet been recorded from Cyprus, but I fully expect to hear of its
presence there, as an accidental visitor — like the Bearded Vulture, —
at any date.

I have seen many Neophrons at Aden and in Somaliland, but
my time was too limited to permit of close and easy study. When
in the latter country I found several bulky nests, situated in
unclimbable trees and precipices, and I much regretted these
circumstances prevented fuller investigations on my part.

Harrison & Sons, Ltd., Printers in Ordinary to His Majesty, St. Martin's Lane, W.C. 2

THE OOLOGISTS' RECORD.

Edited by KENNETH L. SKINNER.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Vol. II— No. 2.] [June 1, 1922.

NYASALAND NOTES II.

In the issue of this journal for December, 1921, I tried to give
a general idea of how Nyasaland strikes the ornithological observer :
the present notes, and those which I hope will follow, will deal with
the nidification of particular species. The nomenclature used is
that of Reichenow's " Birds of Africa." It would be more syste-
matic to take the families in order as he gives them, but on
reflection I recognised that my experiences of many groups, and
those, too, coming at the head of the hst, have been so limited
as to be hardly worth recording, though I hope to fill up such
lacunae later : on the other hand, ten months' residence near
Blant\Te has given me a very fair acquaintance with the nesting
of the Passerines and other land-birds inhabiting the better-
wooded parts of the Shire Highlands. I begin, therefore, with some
of these families at once : for to wait till knowledge is complete
is a counsel of perfection, and in tropical Africa one does not lay
personal plans far ahead. Priority is given in these notes to those
families in respect to which, relatively, fortune has chiefly favoured
me. The Editor, I feel sure, will raise no objection if I begin with
the Fringillidae.

Family Fringillidae.

Of the true Finches, ten species have been recorded for the
Protectorate. Two of these, Poliospiza ivhytei (Shell.) and P.
reichardi (Rchw.), occur only on the Nyika plateau, which it has
not been my good fortune to visit, but the other eight all breed in
the Highlands.

Passer grisetis (Vieill.). — ^The Grey-headed Sparrow, which
closely resembles P. domesticus in general habits and in its chirping
notes, is nowhere common. In neither Zomba nor Blantyre are
there more than a few pairs, but it is not so rare on the Lake Nyasa
stations, especiallv Karonga. I never saw any in the bush proper.
r)n February 13th, 1921, 1 was staying with a planter at Mpiml)i on

A

26 The Oohgists' Record, June i, 1922.

the Shire River, and, noticing a pair chattering about the roof, I
presently found the nest between the galvanized iron of the roof
and the boards on which.it rested. The nest was a lot of loose grass
and feathers, out of which, with some difficulty, owing to the
confined position, we extracted four beautifulh- fresh eggs. So far
as my recollection serves, these are larger than Uganda specimens
(P. griseits itgandae). An average one measures 22 mm. x 16 mm.
Three have the ground colour obscured by a heavy uniform
mottling of dark brown ; the fourth, which is 17 mm. broad, is
entirely different, showing a greenish-white ground with markings,
chiefly longitudinal, of grey, lavender, and light brown.

The Nyasaland race of this Sparrow appears to be the typical
P. griseiis griscifs.

Petronia superciliaris ([Hay] Blyth). — The Diamond Sparrow
defeated me, so far as the taking of its eggs was concerned. The
bird was rare at Zomba, but in the Masuku Woods which lie at the
base of Nyambadwe, near Blantyre, it was very numerous, and its
sharp call-note, sometimes double, sometimes triple, became a
very familiar element in the waxing spring chorus of October.
At that time of 3'ear everything seems to be nesting at once, and
in a new country the excitement of a "general search " is apt to
seize one to the exclusion of more concentrated and sustained efforts
directed to one species. How, I ask, are you to watch indefinitely
what seem to be a mated pair of Sparrows which refuse to move
from their respective positions in the top of a tall bare tree, when
at oiie moment Ercmomela flaviventris ahdominalis raises hopes of
a type clutch by flitting past with obvious nest-material in her
tiny bill, and at the next an Augur Buzzard sails screaming from
the top of a wooded gully ? Be the excuses good or bad, all I found
of Petronia was a " building nest " on October 9th, and one with
young a few weeks later. The former was in a small dead bough
about 15 feet from the ground. I saw the birds at it a week before,
but cut it down too soon. There was the pad of grass and feathers,
but they had not laid, and if this pair built again I did not find
the place. The second nest was in the main stem, at about the
same height as the first. The parents were feeding the young,
but I had to move nearly a hundred yards away before they would
go to the nest. The entrance to this second nest was an accidental
break in the wood : I think a barbet was responsible for the first-
The countrv inhabited by this species is what would be called

The Oologisis' Record, June i, 1922. 27

in Australia open bushland. I never saw them in primeval forest
or in very lightly timbered areas.

Sennits sharpei (Neum.). — Sharpe's Serin was observed at
Zomba, Luchenza, and Blantja'e. It is a bird of fairly open country,
and 3-ou are most likely to meet with it in small plantations of
conifers, such as the Mlanje cedar, about European homesteads.
I could see no difference in appearance, song, or nidification between
these birds and those of the Uganda and East African form 5.
shelleyi : but 5. sulphuraiiis of the Cape is much larger and differs
also in its nesting. The first nests I found in Nyasaland were
two empty ones in low bushes in grassy country at Luchenza :
like Uganda nests, they were loosely-built of rootlets and lined
or rather padded with fids of raw cotton. This was on May 7th, and
on the 30th of the same month 1 took a clutch of three fresh eggs in
a small cv'press near my house at Nyambadwe. The nest was at
about 9 feet easily \'isible, and placed where a bough joined the
main stem. On the e\'ening of the day on which I took the eggs
the nest had disappeared. Another clutch of two was found on
August 13th. This nest was built near the end of an upward-
projecting branch of a Mlanje cedar, at about 25 feet. This nest,
outwardl}' composed as usual of rootlets, was lined with soft, dead,
downy seedheads of some plant I did not recognise, with one piece
of medicated cotton-wool from the house. I have never seen nests
during the summer months, October — April, when most birds are
breeding. An average egg measures 20 mm. x 13-5 mm. The
ground colour is very pale green ; a few small roundish, dark brown,
almost black, spots and freckles are disposed irregularly about
the larger end. They are so much larger than eggs of 5. ictems,
and so unlike any other local bird's egg that there would be no
difficulty in identifying them, even apart from the nest. I have
never seen more than three eggs, which I think is the normal clutch.

Serimis icterus. — From Reichenow it would appear that the
local race of the Mozambique Serin is 5. i. madaraszi. It is
plentifully distributed all over the Protectorate, inhabiting for
])reference open c(nnitry with a good growth of small bushes.
Natives often catch these birds to sell to Indians and others : they
are excellent songsters. The Chinyanja name is Kansire, which is
probably generic and applied to .S. sharpei as well. I find that
natives rarely distinguish between species of the same genus ; it
is well also to remember that the European habit of needless inquiry

28 The Oologists' Record, June i, 1922.

into the names of things which are not obviously good to eat, bores
Africans almost to tears, and leads to their saying the first name
that comes into their heads. I well remember the smprise of a
man, who gave me as the name of a kite what I knew to be the
])roper appellation of Neophron monachus, when I corrected him.
I am sure he thought it was not playing the game. That by the
way : revenons a nos serins. I have taken perhaps half a dozen
clutches. The nests are usually built in a slender fork of a small
shrub near the extremity of a bough and well hidden by leaves, at
not more than five or six feet from the ground ; they are compactly
made of plant stems with generally some cocoon binding, and look
much neater than those of 5. sharpei. The lining is always fine
grass or shredded vegetable fibres ; I have never seen feathers or
hair. Three is here the normal clutch : in Uganda, I found four
on several occasions, but that was the northern form, 5. i. barbaius.
The eggs are darker green in ground colour than those of S. sharpei,
and much more profusely spotted, though the spots are smaller.
There are usually present sub-surface markings also, and quite
frequently the distribution takes the form of a regular cap, less
often that of a ring. i6| mm. x I2| mm. are average measure-
ments. Dates I have noted are April 25th, May 7th. December
26th and 28th. They are late breeders : I do not remember ever
finding eggs before Christmas ; and they do not finish before the
rains are well over in May.

Spinns citrinclloides (Riipp.). — ^The Black-faced Siskin, in
the form S. c. hyposticius (Rchw.), is not at all uncommon on the
higher levels, particularly on "Zomba Mountain. One is likely to
confuse this bird at first with the Mozambique Serin, but the dusky
face is soon made out as a distinguishing mark, and if the bird is
flying away it may be noted that the rump of this species is much
duller than the bright patch of \'ellow displayed by the Serin. The
note of the Siskin is entirely different from the Serin's song, being a
clear low whistle of three or four notes. This is often heard about
Zomba township in January and February, which I have no doubt
is the breeding season, though so far I have not found a nest. Eggs
shown me in 1921 were almost spotless pale green and rather larger
than the Serins', and were said to have been taken from a nest
built in an ear of maize on a tall standing stalk.

Eniberiza major (Cab.). — ^The Greater Bunting inhabits scrubby
country at about 3,000-4,000 feet and spends a good deal of its

The Oologists' Record, June i, 1922. 29

time on the ground, where I at first sought dihgently for its nest.
This bird, though larger, has a strong general likeness to the Golden-
breasted Bunting, and one must be close at hand to distinguish the
single white superciliary stripe of the Greater Bunting from the double
streaks of the smaller bird. The call, I find I have recorded as
a " pleasant low trill ending on a rather, higher note." My first
nest was on the side of Zomba Moun,tain, on November 14th, 1920.
I blundered accidentally on the nest, on which the ? was sitting.
It was in a small stunted tree about 8 feet high, with a few leaves
about the bottom and top in tufts, one of a belt of similar dwarf
trees and scrub, interspersed with rocks, sloping to the south :
and the nest-tree was 30 yards from the high bank of a stream.
Exteriorly it measured 3I inches across, and was in form a deep
cup (nearly 2 inches). It was built outwardly of dead grasses (the
outermost ones being whole lengths) and strips of grass sheathing :
there was a distinct inner lining of a much finer, yellower grass
(the outer being grey). The nest was at 5^ feet from the ground
and looked very like a large rough nest of Serinus icterus. The
three eggs (a selected one measures 20 1 mm. x 15 mm.) are
t3^ical and very beautiful examples of those of the genus Emberiza.
They are of a light-green ground colour, with a ring of greyish-lilac
subsurface markings on which are superimposed scrawls of umber
and blackish -brown. The cap is free from markings, but there are
isolated marks towards the smaller end away from the zone.
Subsequent experience proved that in all respects this nest and
eggs were normal, though I never afterwards took quite such a
beautiful clutch. The next season (1921) I took, at Blantyre, where
the birds were more numerous, six sets, three of three and three of
two. Two of these sets were of a totally different type of marking,
and had I not seen the bird building the nest from which I took
one of them, I should never have believed them to be Buntings"
eggs. One of these abnormal sets (of two) is clouded equally all
over with a very light brownish-grey mottling, without scrawls or
other marks; these are small eggs, measuring 20 mm. x. 14^ mm.
(I had taken previously a similar set of three, too hard-set to blow.)
The other set (of three), while exhibiting the same cloudy ground,
shows some superimposed darker spots but no scrawls. The eggs
of this set are large, measuring 22 mm. X i6| mm. Almost all
nests were within reach, the highest being at about 11 feet. Dates
of the sets now in my collection are 6th, 14th, and 28th November,

.\ 2

30 The Oologists' Record, June i, 1922.

and 6th, 8th, nth, and 15th December: this period coinciding with
that of the advanced growth of new leaves on the scrub alter the
fires had passed through it. It will be seen that these birds begin
nesting later than E. Jiaviventris. Three is clearly the normal
clutch.

Emberiza Jiaviventris (Steph.). — ^The Golden-breasted Bunting is
distinctly a commoner bird than its larger congener, and inhabits
the same class of scrubby country, but I have seen it at lower
levels than the Greater Bunting is ever found at, particularly at the
foot of Zomba Mountain, which is well below 3,000 feet. The
bright colours of both these Buntings render them very conspicuous
when the earth is blackened from the " fires of spring," and at that
time there is no more pleasing sight in the Masuku Woods than this
really beautiful little bird, as it picks about on a charred patch
of soil or flies up at one's approach to a low branch of which the
extremities are bursting into shoots of red and green. I doubt
whether there is any migratioii, even local, of this species, and it
is probably the absence of cover and the fact that they are pairing
that brings them so much in evidence in early October. Dates of
sets in my collection, usually of the normal three eggs, are : —
October 26th and 28th, November 3rd and 7th, December 5th,
9th and 12th, and January 13th. The last-mentioned was the
first nest I found. A lad from Rhodesia was spending his school
holidays in Zomba, and as we were exploring together an old Ceara
plantation for Sunbirds' nests I noticed what seemed like the very
ragged remains of an old Weaver- finch's nest, quite exposed in
a leafless fork at about 14 feet from the ground. I should not have
given it any further thought, but the boy insisted on climbing to
it, and to my amazement came down with a pair of very obvious
Bunting's eggs. We waited a long time, but no bird came near the
nest, and at last we left without being sure of what they were.
However, this wood was full of Golden-breasted Buntings, and such
little doubts as I had of the identity of the eggs were dispelled in
the following spring, when I found a number of nests near Blantyre.
The nest is smaller than that of E. major and of darker-coloured
materials. It is a frail, loose cup of dead grasses or fine twigs,
with many projecting ends, and is lined either with rootlets or, more
commonly, ox-hair. The usual site is at about 6 feet from the
ground, in a fork of a particular kind of straggly shrub which grows
among the Masuku trees. Nests found in October and early

The Oologists' Record, June i, 1922. 31

November, are quite exposed, but later I found them better hidden
among tufts of leaves, and at greater heights. One or two were
at nearly 20 feet. Nineteen eggs in my collection exhibit very little
difference in type. They are of a lighter green ground colour than
those of E. major. All exhibit near the larger end a well-defined
zone of -almost black hieroglyphic markings above greyish sub-
surface ones, and on many there are rounded black spots as well.
The small end is freer of markings than the corresponding part
in eggs of the Greater Bunting. An egg, selected at random,
measures 19 J mm. x 14 mm., but the eggs appear, in comparison
with those of E. major, smaller than these measurements suggest,
and there is no likelihood of confusion between them.

Fringillaria tahapisi (A. Sm.). — ^The African Rock Bunting is
plentiful, at least in the winter, in the hilly broken country just
north of Blantyre, but in Zomba I only saw it once. Whether
there is any local mo\'ement I am uncertain ; however, I went to
Blantyre earh^ in March and do not remember seeing these Buntings
till the middle of April, when the males were already beginning to
sing. On April 19th, I watched one pair for over an hour without
result. The male had two stations, on trees about 60 yards apart,
one on top of a small stony " bult," the other near the bottom of a
similar hillock. He called, with exactly the same strain of seven
or eight notes, every ten seconds, and the female answered him
each time with a shorter strophe from flatter ground 100 yards
away. My observation post was a small bush half-wa}^ between
the bults. The male would sometimes fly down to earth and seemed
very busy there, but always returned to one or the other tree.
When I changed my position to the second bult both birds came quite
close to me, and made themselves very bus\' on the ground,
singing all the time. I found nothing, however, and it was not
till a month later that, chancing to re-pass the spot, I put up the
female from her nest containing three newly hatched young. It
was built just where I had seen both birds on the ground together,
a few yards away from the bottom of the hill, at the side of a big
stone. Afterwards, I found that at least twenty pairs were breeding
in this area (Chirimba, old coffee fields), which covers perhaps 500
acres, and contains several small dry streambeds with rocky sides,
and, away from these, many knolls where large boulders lie embedded
and piled up. In the winter few birds are singing, and the notes
of these little Buntings fill the windless air. I found altogether

A 3

32 The Oologisis' Record, June i, 1922.

four nests containing each three eggs, on June iSth, July 3rd and 9th,
and August ist, and three or four with young. The nests with eggs
were all found by happening to see the bird as she flew off, generally
twenty yards or more ahead of one. I tried many times without
success to watch the birds to their nests. When eggs or young are
in the nest, and danger threatens, one or both birds utter a harsh
alarm note which I thought sounded rather like " be-ware."

By the middle of August the birds are silent, and in October
there seems a tendency for old and young to form flocks. I should
say that two broods were ordinarily hatched, one early in May and
one in July, but this is conjecture. At all events the breeding
season falls entirely in the cold dry months when the grass is dry.
Two nests I saw were at the foot of tufts of vegetation, the rest
were sheltered by stones. They are small frail structures of grass,
lined with rootlets, and there is often something in the nature of
a small " ramp " of twigs on the front lip. The birds apparently
scrape a shallow hole before building. The largest of twelve eggs
measures 19I mm. x 14 mm., the smallest 17 mm. x 13I mm.,
so there is a good deal of variation in size, as also is there in marking?.
The ground colour is a very pale bluish-white, thickly covered, in
some cases with fine spots, in others with larger blotches, of various
shades of brown. It is noteworthy that no species of Fringillaria
lays Bunting-like eggs, in spite of the fact that the only generic
character rehed upon to mark this genus from Emberiza is the
absence of white outermost tail-feathers. One is aware that, accord-
ing to the highest journalistic authority, the markings on birds'
eggs have no teleological significance, so I dare not suggest that the
circumstance referred to is anything more than another addition
to the phenomenally long list of similar coincidences due (as a
corollary) solely to chance.

C. F. B.

NOTES FROM NYASALAND— III.

Family Laniidae.

Reichenow gives no fewer than one hundred and forty-one
Shrikes for Africa, a figure which, however, includes, as units, many
more geographical variations within a species. Of this total, there
are found in Nyasaland sixteen good species, comprising one

The Oologists' Record, June i, 1922. 33

migrant (the Red-backed Shrike) and fifteen residents. Those
of which I have, as yet, no information as to their breeding are
Nilaus nigrifemporalis , Rchw., Tschagra anchietae, Boc, Nicator
gularis, Finsch. Hart!., Chlorophoneiis bertrandi, Shell., and Laniarius
fulleborni, Rchw. I proceed to deal with the other ten, as to some
of which, however, I do not yet know quite as much as I hope to
one day.

Prionops talacoma (A. Sm.). — ^The South African Helmet Shrike
I first met with in comparatively low country — about 2,000 feet —
ten miles east of Zomba, but later on I found it quite common in
the second-growth woods (Masuku) near Blantyre, at 3,500 feet.
In other parts of the Highlands it is rare. I have seen it in Angoni-
land, but never in the Shire Valley. This is one of the birds (there
are many in different parts of the world) whose fate it is to be called
by English people " Seven Sisters " or " Happy Family." The
natives of Chiromo call them Alendo (the travellers), and in the
Highlands they are known to the Anyanja as Menyamenya. In
small flocks of, say, from five to fifteen, they move ceaselessly
through the scrubby trees, descending often to the ground and
chattering in an undertone. They get really noisy as the breeding
season approaches, but even then the flock never quite breaks up,
as one soon learns when a nest is discovered. On September 4th,
192 1, I found my first. I had gone to a recently discovered and
very likely looking patch of scrub about a mile from my house,
growing on rocky hills and shallow intervening valleys, the timber
being chiefl}^ original Albizzia (not second growth), and I was watching
the very trying performances of a pair of Falkenstein's Chats, when
two Prionops flew towards and past me, the foremost with something
in its beak. The\^ went into a tree about 30 yards behind me in
which I could just make out what looked like a grey lump in the
fork about which they settled. When they departed I went up
and saw the nest, a compact close woven cup, rather like that of
Bias musicus, grey in colour and so harmonising with the tree as
to be very difficult to find, did not one know just where to look.
The birds visited the nest three times in half an hour, both together
each time, and it was clear from the actions of one which settled
in the nest and worked its breast round it that they had not finished
it. However a week or so later it had disappeared, as so often is
one's disappointing experience with a building nest in Africa. On
October 4th I was more lucky. Returning from an early morning

34 The Oologists' Record, June i, 1922.

stroll, through a wood of small trees, I saw a bird fly out just over
my head, and I was able by pulling down the bough to reach the
nest from the ground. It rested on a double horizontal fork at about
ten feet, and was quite exposed. It proved to be a compact,
well-finished cup, whitish-grey in colour from the external binding
of insect webs. Composed of long fine shreds of smooth bark, the
fabric was lined with what were either finer bits of the same, or
perhaps split lengths of broad dead grass. The internal measure-
ments are 2| inches diameter and about | inch depth. I found many
nests afterwards, and there was never any variation worth men-
tioning. I wrote above of a likeness to the nest of Bias musicus,
but what struck me on further acquaintance was the resemblance
to the nest of the Australian Black-and- White Flycatcher [Saulo-
proda motacilloides) , except that there is never any hair or feathers
in the lining. Full clutches of eggs I took were 3, 4, and 5. Nests
with eggs were found on October 4th, gth, 14th, 19th, 23rd and
29th ; December loth and 15th. I was away during most of
November. The size, shape, colour and markings of the eggs vary
very little : they are of a fairly deep blue-green ground colour, with
a ring of reddish brown and lilac (subsurface) spots towards the
larger end. Sometimes the spots are larger and blotchy, and
sometimes they extend over the lower part of the egg, which, however,
is far more usually free of markings. I select an average-looking
egg for measurement and find it gives 22 mm. x i6| mm. One
which appears conspicuously smaller than the rest measures 21 mm.
X 16 mm. In .the case of one clutch of five, it seemed from the
types of egg that two females had laid in the nest, and one always
finds that half a dozen birds at least come round the nest to scold
a human intruder.

Sigmodus retzii (Wahlb.). — In the form tricolor {G.R. Gr.)
which is that distributed over East Africa, the Black Helmet Shrike
is occasionally met with in the Highlands : I have seen small flocks
three or four times, on each occasion on the lower slopes of Zomba
Mountain. Their habits seem to be the same as those of Prionops,
both species haunting well-wooded areas away from dense waterside
vegetation, but the present bird affects higher timber than its grey
relative. Against the light, it is hard to tell one from the other ;
but otherAvise the black-and-white of this species is readily enough
distinguishable from the grey-and-white of Prionops. I never
found a nest myself, but I recently saw a set of three egg?, which were

The Oologists' Record, June i, 1922.

taken near Zomba on December 12th, 1921. They were larger,
and blunter at the small end, than those of Prionops, and were very
pale blue with a quantity of small dark spots chiefly disposed about
the middle. The nest seemed larger and shallower and less neat
than that of Prionops : there was some greyish web around the
sides. It had been badly collected and I have no details of site.
I should put the eggs of this bird as among the rarest of our Nyasa-
land Shrikes'. •

Tschagra australis (Smith). — The local form of the Three-
streaked Bush-shrike' is congener (Rchw.), which is found from the
Zambezi north to Iringa in Tanganyika. I found it rare about
Blantyre, but it seems commoner near Zomba. It is not at all
easy, despite its smaller size, to distinguish without glasses from
the next species ; and the clear whistling notes are much alike.
Both species love the ground and bushes with long grass growing
about them. The native name at Chiromo on the Shire is Nkudan-
choncho : what the Anyanja call it I never found out, as I had no
boy with me the only time I saw one close at hand. This was on
November 5th, 1921, and I saw, as sometimes happens, the sitting
bird before I noticed the nest. This was set in a fork of a prickly
acacia at about five feet from the ground, just outside a belt of
dense scrub fringing a small stream. The two eggs were noticeably
less in size than those. of T. senegalus, but otherwise like those of
that bird. They are roundish, white, with a quantity of streaky
Bunting-like markings of pinkish-brown on the top half of the
egg. One measures 20 mm. x 16 mm. The nest was also very
like a small one of the Senegal Shrike, being a small shallow saucer
of twigs with a little web-binding on the edge I should be disposed
to say, from the fact that I never saw it away from stream-valleys,
that those are its natural habitat in these parts. In Uganda
it was not so with T. australis minor, which bred plentifulh" in the
dry scrub in the high country above the Victoria Hill near Jinja,

Tschagra senegalus (Linn.). — I wrote a note in Vol. I, at p. 6, on
the Black-crowned Bush Shrike at Mombasa. Since then I have
seen much of this species and its nidification about Blantyre.
Comparing three East African sets of eggs with over a dozen from
Nyasaland, I find that, contrary to the general rule, the Northern
eggs are slightly larger, in one instance considerably so. Every
Nyasaland egg exhibits in greater or less degree the Bunting-scrawls
which are conspicuoush- absent from Mombasa eggs. In no case

36 The Oologists' Record, June i, 1922.

in Nyasaland have I found more than two eggs in a nest : a clutch
of three was quite usual in East Africa. For the rest, the song,
general habits, and nidification do not differ. The birds inhabit
well-grassed and wooded country, but not forest. A favourite
nesting locality is a clump of bushes by the dry bed of a stream.
The nest is seldom hidden, and may be placed at any height from
the ground between two feet and twenty, but more often than not
it is well within reach. It is a broad but deepish cup, and " trans-
parent," always with some insect-cocoon binding round the rim.
On more than one occasion, I noticed that if'a nest was looked at
and the eggs left, they were gone the next day. This is a common
African experience with many birds, my own view being that the
birds themselves do it, though' there are lizards and other marauders
enough which may be culpable. I find that my dates for- nests of
this species range from October 17th to December 23rd, but the
height of the season undoubtedly fell in 192 1 during the last week
in October and the first in November. The nests are not unlike
those of the Bulbul Pycnonotus layardi ; and, like those, one finds
them rather accidentally than by particular search, though in
the right country, at the right season, there is no difficulty in coming
across them. I consider this by far the commonest, though not the
most conspicuous, local Shrike. Selecting three eggs of different
appearance, I find they measure 25^ mm. x i8| mm., 24 mm. X
18 mm., 22\ mm. X 18 mm. respectively. They are very like those of
T. ausf rails, but the greater size distinguishes them at once, and
they are not like the eggs of an}^ other genus that I am acquainted
with. The\' are well splashed and streaked with light reddish-
brown on a pure white ground. There is sometimes a well-defined
cap (never a central zone) , and quite a frequent feature is a broad
smear as of dried blood.

Clilorophoneus sulfureopectns (Less.). — ^The Nyasaland form of
the Yellow-breasted Bush Shrike, a small but beautiful bird with
green back, grey head, and bright yellow underparts, is chrysogaster
(Sw.), which extends on the Eastern side of Africa from Abyssinia
to the Shire Highlands. I have not yet taken the nest in Nyasaland
but have seen two clutches each of two eggs taken at Zomba and
Chiromo respectively. The eggs are small, ovate in shape, and
resemble those of an Australian Cuckoo-shrike, Lalage tricolor,
having the whitish ground colour nearly obscured by heavy olive-
brown streaks and blotches; 21 mm. X 16 mm. would appear

The Oologists' Record, June i, 1922. 37

to be an average measurement. The nest, as I met with it several
times in Uganda, is a frail shallow cup, built entirely of dry tendrils
and placed in an exposed fork, usually of an acacia, at about
ten feet from the ground. The bird itself haunts dense thickets,
but, as with Tschagra, the nest is always in a more open site in the
\'icinity. This is a bird which is far more often heard than seen,
and it may be, therefore, worth recording that familiar as I was
in Uganda with its thin mournful whistle of four or five notes, the
.last lower than the rest, it was not till I came to Nyasaland that
one morning, in my compound, I succeeded in tracing it to its source.
Before that I imagined it came from some much smaller bird, a
warbler perhaps. In Nyasaland this species is, as one would
expect, of a bush-loving bird, commoner in the Shire Valley than
in the Highlands proper, where indeed I have only met with it
close to Zomba.

Laniarius major (Hartl.). — The local form of the Large Puff-back
Shrike) (I never saw one puff its back yet) is mossambicus (Rchw.). It
is a little -difficult to know what Reichenow considers a sufficient
basis for a species, and it is my personal opinion that as further
material is available we shall see L. suhlacteus (Cass.), L. ttiratii
(Verr.), L. aethiopicus (Gm.), L. a. bicolor ([Verr.] Hartl.), and the
three subspecies of L. major (Hartl.) which Reichenow enumerates,
all lumped into one as subspecies of L. aethiopicus (Gm.), the first
one to be named. WTierever you go in the central and northern
parts of the Ethiopian region you will meet -with this black-backed,
white-breasted Shrike, with more or less white in the wings ;
provided the locality be suitable, that is to say, well-watered and
scrubby. The note is always the same, a fluty whistle of volume
and sweetness, with sometimes an interpolated harsh scold, and
one bird of a pair seems to answer the other. It is very seldom seen
in the open, preferring to watch a stranger from the recesses of
a bush in which it hops from bough to bough, showing but rarely
the gleaming white of its under-parts. I know no Shrike whose
nest involves more labour in the finding. It is not much use
looking for it except when the birds are in very good voice, and
then it takes time and determination to locate the pair, while the
nest is more often than not in the midst of a thorny patch of
bramble-like shrub on the steep side of a wooded gully. I saw
one last Nov'ember at Deep Bay, Lake Nyasa, which was so thorn-
protected as to be absolutel)' impossible to get at without an axe

38 T-he Oologists' Record, June i, 1922.

(which I had not), though it was only ten feet from the ground
and the pair of eggs showed clearly and provokingly through the
loosely woven cup of tendrils. The ' birds are common enough
throughout Nyasaland, but I have only taken here one clutch,
a pair found in a nest sheltered by a mass of creepers growing over
the top of a small tree, one of a cluster about a spring, on the lower
slopes of Ndirande. That was on November 6th, 1921. The
e^^ measures 22J mm. x 17 mm., and ovate in shape, bluish-green
in ground-colour, well covered, though more thickly at the larger
end (where they form a cap) , with small spots and freckles of light
brown. The surface is highly glossy. Another egg from a nest
in a lemon tree near Shupanga on the Zambesi is the same in
colour but smaller, 21 J mm. x i6| mm. I have cause to remember
that nest : I was going up the river on a dreadfully hot day (Sep-
tember 2ist, 1920), and the Captain of the s.w. " Centipede "
(now lying on the bottom at Chinde, since the hurricane of February
24th, 1922) had invited us to follow him round one of his cotton
estates at a rate of about 5 miles an hour. I collapsed quite early,
and made for the grateful shade of these lemon trees. Perceiving
a small nest just within reach of my stick, I poked at it idly,
thinking it old. To my surprise, out toppled two eggs, and to
my greater surprise, I almost involuntarily caught one in my hand.
Simultaneously, the whistle of the Shrike came from the next tree.
Two is the usual clutch, but I have been shown one of three. The
native name on the Lower Shire is Mulichire.

Dryoscoptis ciibla (Shaw). — ^The genus Dryoscopiis (Lesser
Puff-back Shrikes) is another to which a good deal of species-
lumping might with advantage be applied. The local form is
hantatiis (Hartl.), which ranges down the East Coast from Witu to
Ouilimane and across into South-west Africa. It is common
enough in this Protectorate, and is always on the move in the
leafy tops of trees where it may easily be mistaken for Nilaus
nigriiemporalis, a rarer bird. Its note is loud and rasping.
I never had the good fortune to find the nest, though from October
to the end of the year they were clearly breeding in the scrub
country north of BlantjTC where I often saw the male extending
the white patch of dorsal feathers, a sexual adornment. It was
well described by a young friend who recently passed through
Chinde, and wrote to me of a bird new to him seen there, which
" seemed to have a lump of raw cotton on its back." I had no

The Oologists' Record, June i, 1922. 39

difficulty in fixing identity from such an apt and African description.
I should say this species was equall}^ well distributed in high and
low areas. I can give no details of its nesting habits, but Dr. Van
Someren (" Ibis," July, 1916, pp. 393-4) states of the nests of closely
alhed congeners that they are built of rootlets and fibres and usually
placed in a low bush, though he took one at fifty feet. An egg
sent me from Chiromo (taken December 12th, 1921) was sub-ovate
in shape, white, with a good sprinkling of small brown and grey
spots tending to form a ring round the larger end. I did not
measure this egg, but from E. C. Chubb's catalogue of the Millar
Collection, Durban, the millimetre measurements would be about
22 X 16. There is an excellent coloured figure in that catalogue
frora which the egg may at once be recognised — more than one
can say of a good many coloured figures. The native name of this
bird in the Ruo District is Mwekire.

Malaconotus olivaceus (Vieill.). — ^The form of the Grey-headed
Shrike found in Nyasaland is starki {W. ScL), distributed from
Pangani to the Cape. It is easily the most beautiful of our Shrikes,
and the largest, its grey head, green back and yellow underparts
making it, as it were, a large edition of Chlorophoneus. During
the winter months it appears to undertake local, perhaps merely
individual, migrations ; one sees it then among the trees in township
compounds. I first saw it, and heard its single flute-like note, in
Zomba in October, 1920, and speculated greatly as to where it might
nest. Probably, thought I, it retires to some secluded mountain
gully. In fact, it does nothing of the kind. A year later, on
October 15th, 1921, I was returning to my house at Blantyre
through comparatively open woodlands, when I saw in a most
exposed and central position, in a lightly leaved small tree at about
12 feet, a rough flattish nest which I should at once have put down
as a dove's had it not had a distinct " cup." It was empty.
Returning two days later, I had the pleasure of seeing a Grey-headed
Shrike fly from it. One egg was visible through the bottom of the
nest, and on the 19th I found the female sitting on what I think
is the full normal clutch of two eggs. I afterwards found two
more nests with eggs in similar positions. No other African
Shrike's nest I know is so conspicuous, but to an Australian there
suggests itself at once a nest of the Butcher-bird (Cracticus), and,
in a quite unrelated family, that of the Wattle-bird, Acanthochaera
carimadata. The nest is roughly built of coarse twigs, with a

40 The Oologists' Record, June i, 1922.

lining of finer ones or tendrils. My three clutches of eggs
are dated October 19th and 29th, and November 28th. An
average egg measures 27 mm. x 20 mm. The ground colour is
deep greenish cream, and the medium-sized rounded rail-like
spots which are well sprinkled over the egg are light purplish-brown
and lilac. They form more or less of a cap at the blunt end. The
shape of the egg may be called elongate-ovate. I may add that in
the early spring I heard these birds utter, besides the flute-note
{which is very like that of Laniarius), a sort of screech and yet a
third sound, a clinking note like an exaggeration of a Stonechat's.
On that occasion there were three birds together : two males
pursuing a female, or, of course, it may have been vice versa. This
species seems to inhabit both the Highlands and the Shire Valley^
as eggs have been taken at Chiromo.

Lanius collaris, L. — Probably there is no better-known African
bird than the Fiscal, Butcher-bird, Bull-head, call it what you will.
For some reason it is rare in Nyasaland as compared with the south
generally, and with Kenya in the plains. You may always be
sure of finding a pair in its special domain, held to all through the
year, but you may travel a long way before you come to the next
pair, and, in all, I do not suppose I have seen more than a dozen
pairs in the parts of the Protectorate I have travelled over. I
have found but one nest. Coming down Lake Nyasa in H.M.S.
" Gwendolen," I landed one evening (November 21st, 1921) at
a spot of peculiar desolation called Bana, given over to reeds, deep
sand, biting flies, and a few intensely melancholy borassus palms.
I made for the only spot of any promise, where a few scrubby bushes
grew, and, as I approached, a Fiscal Shrike flew up from somewhere
and perched rather anxiously near the top of a palm. There was
not much choice of sites, and at the third or fourth try I came on the
nest, at about 8 feet from the ground, well in towards the centre of
a bush. It was a deep compact cup, of flexible twigs and all kinds
of mixed dry vegetation, with a few insect cocoons, and was lined
with strips of fine borassus fibre. The three fresh eggs it contained
were the finest clutch of this bird I ever saw ; and even now, after
the fading to which the Fiscal's eggs are subject more than any other
Shrikes, they are still very beautiful. They measure 25I mm. x
18 mm., and have an irregular zone of large brown and purple
blotches on a creamy ground. Speaking from memory they are a
good deal larger than Uganda eggs of this species. The Uganda

The Oologists' Record, June i, 1922. 41

form is humeralis (Staul.), but the differences are certainly not more
than subspecilic.

l.anius souzae (Boc). — Sharpe records Souza's Shrike from the
Bua River in Angoniland, but I was surprised to meet with it so
far south as Blantyre, to which district I imagine it to be a spring
migrant from the north. For I did not see it between the beginning
of March and the end of September in what I was later to learn
were its breeding haunts. I first saw one in the Masuku scrub
near Nyambadwe Hill on October gth, and at a hurried glance took
it for a Red-backed Shrike. On the 29th of the same month one
of my garden boys took me to see a nest in the fork of a Masuku
about 15 feet from the ground, which I did not doubt was a Kurri-
chane Thrush's {Tiirdus libonyanus) until he brought it down with
three eggs, obviously not Thrush's and yet somehow familiar in
type. The nest was Shrike-hke. Suddenly I remembered : the
eggs wefe exactly like those of Lanius mackinnoni of Uganda.
The bo}^ put back the nest as best he could, and I waited for perhaps
twenty minutes, when along came an undoubted Lanius souzae
and flew up to the nest. Later in the year this pair of birds hatched
young in this neighbourhood. On December i8th, when I. thought
the season would be well over, I shot a specimen which, to my
disappointment, turned out on skinning to be a female in breeding
condition : I returned to where I had shot it and found a half-
■built nest in a tree close by. The nest first-taken is of an irregular
shape, to fit the perpendicular triple fork in which it was built.
It measured 5 inches over all across, and 2 inches deep, the inside
cup being 2| inches wide by nearly an inch deep. It is composed
of all manner of small twigs, insect cocoons, and a little lichen^
and lined with long pieces of fine grass. It is exactly like that of
Lanius mackinnoni, and so are the eggs, which are of a greenish
white ground-colour, sprinkled all over with very fine freckles of light
brown and light purple tending to form a zone near the top end.
They measure 2i| mm. x io| mm. This bird inhabits actual wood-
lands, while L. collar is prefers open country with scattered bushes
and scrubby trees. The only note I heard from it was low and
scraping, but that was when the adults were flying about with
newly fledged young.

C. F. B.

42 The Oologists' Record, June i, 1922.

DESCRIPTION OF THE NEST AND EGGS OF Spizaetus
bellicosus (Daud.) AND Stenostira scita (l/ieill,).

By H. W. James.

Spizaetus bellicosus (Daud.). — Equalling the magnificent and
powerful Aqiiila verreauxi (Less.), in size, the Martial Hawk Eagle
is one of the finest of all our larger South African Eagles. Like
many other large birds of prey, it is yearly becoming scarcer.
Whenever opportunity offers, it takes such heavy toll of the farmers'
kids and lambs that it is, as far as South Africa is concerned,
becoming slowly exterminated. The day is not far distant when
these magnificent birds will live but as a memory.

I have one egg in my collection, taken in April, 1908, in the
Barkly West district. It agrees well with the single egg in the
British Museum collection, taken in the Orange Free State. My
e,^^ is, in shape, a broad rounded oval. The texture of the shell
is very rough and quite devoid of any gloss. In colour it is dull
white, sparingly spotted and blotched with pale reddish-brown. The
markings are heavier and denser on the top, where, in addition to
the blotches, there are a number of short, thick, streaks of dark
purplish-brown. It measures 3-18 inches in length by 2-66 inches
in breadth.

The nest, built of stout sticks and grass, was placed on the top
of a large mimosa tree, about 25 feet from the ground.

Stenostira scita (Vieill.). — In the mimosa scrub, found along all
the periodical watercourses of the Cradock and Tarkastad district,
the Fairy Flycatcher is fairly plentiful but the nest is a rare one :
so rare that I know of no other collector in South Africa who has
taken the eggs. I have collected for fifteen years in those districts,
and in that time have recorded only six nests. The rarity of the
nest is due to the clever way in which the small, beautiful structure
is hidden and the skill displayed in making it harmonise with its
surroundings.

The nest is built of dry leaves, dead grass and cobwebs ; the
inside well lined with feathers ; the walls thick and compact and the
whole neatly and beautifully finished. All nests found measured
the same, i\ inches in diameter by i| inches deep.

In shape the eggs are broad ovals and have a fair amount of
gloss. In one clutch, the ground-colour is pale greenish-buff ;

The Oologists' Record, June 1, ig22. ' 43

round the broad end is a very indistinct zone of slightly darker
shade of the same colour. In another clutch, the ground-colour
is pale drab with a distinct zone round the broad end of the
eggs of darkish-buff. In another clutch, the ground-colour is
creamy-buff. Round the middle of the eggs, in this clutch, is a
very distinct zone consisting of confluent blotches of brown. The
eggs of this clutch differ from those of the other clutches in having
the whole shell covered wath small, almost obsolete, spots of greenish-
brown. The measurements of a small series of six eggs are, -55 inches
to -65 inches long by -43 inches to -46 inches broad. All nests
were found during the months of October and November.

[Mr. James sent the above in response to our request for
descriptions of very rare eggs. We shall be glad to receive similar
contributions from other subscribers. It is best to give detailed
and average measurements of eggs, which should be in millimetres. —
Editor.]

THE CUCKOO'S SECRET.

By Edgar Chance, M.B.O.U.
(Sidgwick & Jackson, Ltd., ys. 6d. nett.)

The complete record of Mr. Chance's epoch-making investigations
of the breeding habits of the Cuckoo is now available to all. His
book must surely be the most concise and exact record of specialised
nature study ever published, but the pains he has taken in recording
the details are only proportionate to the importance of the results
he has achieved. At every stage the reader is furnished with the
fullest possible data accompanied by plans, diagrams and photo-
graphs, and when the author leaves the realms of fact for those of
theory his arguments are sound and supported b\^ logical deduc-
tions.

We have not the space to quote lengthily from the book, which
most of our readers will wish to get for themselves. Perhaps the
most important part of the work from the oological point of view,
is the last chapter. Here we find that Mr. Chance considers it
likely that a hen Cuckoo, fostered by a certain species, will, in its
turn, victimise the same species. He wiites : " If we postulate
the truth of the theory, which for my part, I confidently hold, that
a female Cuckoo bred in (say) a Robin's nest is not only herself

44 The Oologists' Record, June i, 1922.

the descendant on the maternal side of generations of Robin
Cuckoos, but has an inherited instinct to seek out Robins' nests
and make Robins, so to speak, her preferential victims, it ceases to
surprise us that the respective eggs of Robin and Robin Cuckoo
should exhibit a marked similarity. What has been the law of the
survival of the fittest, from the Cuckoo's point of view, throughout
the ages of evolution, is thus dovetailed with the line of least resistance
on the part of the Robin." But the followers of Mendel will be
appeased by the next paragraph, for the author continues : —

" But I frankly admit that this theory must fall to the ground,
if it is a fact that the influence of the male parent bird is at least as
potent, if not more so, as that of the female parent on the offspring — ■
and even on the eggs — produced by their daughter. Yet again, it
may prove to be the fact that the male Cuckoo tends to associate
only with female Cuckoos of his own type, i.e., those reared by the
same species of fosterer. This idea may some day turn out to be
less fanciful than it sounds — that there is, at present, an unknown
but nevertheless definite distinction between the different types
of Cuckoo, according to the foster-parents by which they were
bred and to which they are attracted."

These theories open up a wide field for further investigation,
but one that is not easy to pursue. After the flood of light shed
on the habits of the Cuckoo by the author it would not seem
improbable that some of these points may be lifted out of the
theoretical stage in the near future.

Perhaps the main result of Mr. Chance's investigations is the'
recording of enough indisputable evidence to support his theory
that "a dominant hen Cuckoo, by a process of watching and
searching, discovers, some days in advance, the nests of those dupes
in which she intends subsequently to deposit an egg." He contends
" that the watching of her dupes engaged in building stimulates
her own reproductive organs and the resulting egg is ready for
extrusion about five or six days afterwards. It follows that within
reasonable limits the number of eggs she lays is regulated by the
number of suitable nests discovered, though of course, in cases of
emergency, a Cuckoo will sometimes make use of what are, to her,
unnatural fosterers."

His theory that the building of a nest by a prospective acceptable
fosterer is likely to stimulate the reproductive organs of the Cuckoo
may not be generally endorsed ; but the author does prove, without

The Oologists' Record, June i, 1922. 45

any shadow of doubt, that the Cuckoos under his observation did
find thfe nests of their victims two or three days before the laying
of the eggs in such nests, and also that they were able to retain
their eggs for a considerable time if there were no suitable nests
ready to receive them.

It is well known that at certain seasons a domestic hen will
be found to have a string of little immature eggs forming and that,
given the favourable conditions required for their maturity, the
laving of them follows as a matter of course. It might be supposed,
therefore, that a female Cuckoo has her eggs forming in the same
wa5^ possibly before her arrival in this country, and "that, favoured
with certain climatic and dietetic conditions, she will have them ready
for extrusion at a certain time and deposit them in the nests of her
favourite fosterers or, failing such, in other nests, without being
stimulated in the manner suggested.

But Mr. Chance has worked in such a mass of data in support of
his theories that it is hardly fair to criticise any of them without
(luoting the context more fully, and we feel sure that the bulk of our
readers will read the book for themselves and, having done so,
communicate to Mr. Chance any data they possess which helps to
clear up any point in the problem, and in future avail themselves
of every opportunity of securing more. Any one of them may,
unwittingly, stumble on facts which will help him in his studies.

Mr. Chance does not, as so many of his predecessors in this field
have done, suggest any reason why the Cuckoo is a parasite ; and
this led us to turn to " The Evolution of Sex," by Professors Geddes
and Thomson. After dealing with the Cuckoo question very fully,
the authors come to the conclusion that the habit " is a deliberate
expression of the whole constitution of the bird." But among the
many characteristics which they attribute to the species, we suggest
that the real reason may be found in the fact that, as the authors
point out, " . . ; even among greedy birds, the Cuckoos hold
a verv high rank. They are remarkably insatiable, hungry,
gluttonous. Even the anatomical conditions asserted by some to be
important, the swollen low-set stomach, may have their influence
in the Cuckoo, which has certain other peculiarities, though the
same conditions may be overcome in other birds, which remain
perfectly natmal. It might almost be suggested, that the habit of
feeding so largely, as "Cuckoos do, on hairy cater])illars, whose
indigestible hairs form a fretwork in tlie gizzard, may also have its

46 The Oologisis' Record, June i, 1922.

irritant, gizzard-fretting, dyspeptic influence. But the main point
is, that in a bird with so strong nutritive impulses, it is Httle wonder
the reproductive emotions are degenerate. There is too much
hunger and gluttony for the higher development of love."

[After reading the above we set to wondering whether the Cuckoo
would be able to incubate its eggs, even if it were so minded. To
secure enough food both to satisf}' its appetite and to maintain its
bod,y-warmth sufficiently for the function of incubation, and
handicapped already by its diminished blood-supply,* would it
not have to leave its eggs so long and so often as to frustrate
their incubation ? Perhaps some of our readers will tell us if in
some allied genera, which share some of our Cuckoo's disabilities
and appetites but which are not parasitic, the males have to
feed the sitting females. — ^The Editor.]

NATURELAND.

Dr. Graham Renshaw commenced in January last, the publica-
tion of " Natureland," a quarterly journal of natural history, which
should make a strong appeal to the all-round naturalist. Already
it has contained a great deal of matter of interest to the ornithologist,
and as it is produced in a most artistic style, we have no doubt but
that it will grow and prosper. The subscription is 105. 6d. per
annum. Prospectus may be had from Dr. Graham Renshaw,
Bridge House, Sale, Manchester.

SMALL BIRD SANCTUARIES.

Fortunate in the possession of a terrier which will only tolerate
a dead cat, and surrounded on all sides b}^ woods, we have been able,
with some success, to make our small wild garden a miniature
bird sanctuary, and have been able to get intimate peeps into bird
life which we might otherwise ha\'e missed altogether. We cannot
pretend to claim anything like the numbers of breeding birds
mentioned by Mr. Gilbert Grosvenor in" The Book of Birds "(O.R.,
Vol. I, page 70), but we think a brief record of what has been done
may stimulate others to see what they can do.

An absence of cats is, we feel sure, the main desiderata, but

* -The F^volution of Sex," p. J77.

The Oologists' Record, June i, 1922. 47

perhaps equally important, is the provision of nesting sites adapted
for the use of the species one hopes to attract. Commander
Vaughan very kindly brought Mi. Hiesemann's book to our notice
when we told him how we pruned our silver birch trees to ensure
the requisite " shrubbiness," but this book does not suggest any-
thing more than we had already attempted.

Our nesting boxes are crude home-made affairs, and the proof of
their worth is in the using. We find that the Tits like a box with
an entrance only just sufficient to admit them, and that it is very
important to see that the rain is not allowed to drip into them.

Our boxes have been tenanted by Great and Blue Tits time
and again, by Robins and once by Redstarts which are by no means
common here. A Tree Creeper is now sitting on her eggs in a nest .
built behind a piece of bark we had attached to the trunk of a Scotch'
lir quite near the house. We rather feared we had made the. cavity
too small, and indeed there seems only just room for the bird to
sit on the nest.

Mr. J. W'arren Jacobs, of Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, an old
correspondent of ours, and now one of the foremost exponents of-
" bird-architecture " in the States, was good enough to promise us
some eggs of the Chickadee, Parus atricapillus, which we wished
to foist on one of our Tits here. Meantime we have sent him five
fresh Blue Tit's eggs for a similar purpose. In order that the Blue
Tit's nest should be easily accessible, we placed a nest box on the
window-sill of an upstairs window quite early in the season, and
were surprised to see a pair of Cole Tits seriously viewing the premises
on more than one occasion. They did not, however, do more than this ;
and, having stopped up about fifteen cavities in a series of iron posts,
many of which have been used before by Blue Tits, we thought we
should be sure of getting a pair to use this box. When nine eggs
were laid, we took five for Mr. Jacobs, hoping that this would not
upset matters : but it did. The Blue Tit seemed to forsake the nest,
but after two days added more material to it, and laid more eggs,
upon which she is now sitting. We do not know just how many
more as we feared to disturb her too much.

. In the case of this nest we noticed that, like the Great Tit, the
eggs were covered during the day with a pad of soft material, and
that, even when the nest only contained a single ege^, it was brooded
on at night.

Vox the third vear in succession, we have had a Chaffinch's

4<^ 1 he Oologists' Record, June i, 1922.

nest buill right against the house wall ; first in a clematis, then in a
pear, and now in a rose bush, trained on the wall.

Willow Warblers we have every year, and though we do not
get the Chiffchaff in the garden^not having enough rough tangle
for it — we have them just outside, and to-day, almost when writing
these notes, we heard a cock Wood Warbler's joyous song in the
gai'den. We arc hoping he and his mate will stay. A Blackcap,
too, has been singing there this week, but m'c think the nest is just
outside the fence.

Robins and Hedge-Sparrows nest every year, and occasionally
we get Wrens, and once a Garden Warbler. There are Greenfinches
and Bullfinches nesting closeby, and we think that when our birches
are dense enough we may have them actually in the garden.

Every evening, lately, we have heard Nightingales and Nightjars
from two sides, and we are never without the call of the Cuckoo in
the Spring and early Summer. Quite often we get the gurgling
note of the female, but I have yet to learn the particular species
niost victimised by the ("uckoos here. Just below the house is a
" rough," half grass, half wood, where Tree Pipits successfully
conceal their nests from sight. Perhaps the Cuckoos find them.

We have no Woodpeckers nesting in the garden- — the trees
arc all sound ; but the call of the Green Woodi)ecker is heard almost
daily, and the Greater Sjiotted often heard, but seldom seen. No
doubt if boxes were provided for tliem they would prefer the sites
they can excavate for themseh'cs at a safer distance from the ground.
Jays we do not like, for they play havoc with the garden peas. Last
year there was a Sparrow Hawk's nest in a tall pine behind the
kitchen garden, but this we did not " attract."

By the way, we noticed this year that a hole we had scraped
in a bank, ready for l^obins, was greotly enlarged by them before
the nest was made. This nest got full of drifted snow ; so early
was it made, or so late did it snow, that it was ahandoned : and we
are ashamed to say Ihat the terrier scratched out a nest further
down the 1)aiik, made, doubthss, h\ tlie same bird.

K. I. S.

Harrison & Suns, I.lJ., Ptinu'V.s in OiUiiiary to His AUiiesty, St. Martin's Lane, W.C. 2.

THE OOLOGISTS' RECORD.

Edited by KENNETH L. SKINNER.

ALL RIGHTS RKSKRVKD.

Vol. II-No. 3.] [Sept;ember 1, 1922.

OOLOGICAL NOTES ON SOME OF THE BREEDING
BIRDS OF PALESTINE.

By Capt. C. R. S. Pitman, D.S.O., M.C., M.B.O.U.

{Continued from p. 91, Vol. I.)

Emheriza calandra. Corn Bunting.

The' group which interested me most in Palestine was that of
the Emberizinae ; consequently it is harrdly surprising to chronicle
that I had very little success in findiiTg the nests and eggs of the
three types of Buntings which breed in those parts. The most
common species, E. calandra, is a resident, though vast flocks of
winter visitors which are probably racially different haunt the
coastal plains during the winter months and early spring This
large Bunting is a common breeder amongst the grass and scrubby
cover at the edges of the marshes near the mouths of the Wady
Rubin and R. Auja in the coastal plain, while I believe similar
locahties in the Kishon valley near Haifa are equally favoured.
I was rather under the impression that they were not early breeders,
but I found plenty of old empty nests in June, and saw young birds
which were strong on the wing in May. In the latter part of June
and in July the young birds joined up into large flocks, which
disappeared a few weeks later and must have moved off elsewhere.
As far as I know, only one"~brood is hatched in the year. I had not
the time tq spare to find nests by watching the parent birds, and
my collectors were much too lazy to do this for me, so I did not
obtain a single egg! The nests are very well conce^ded, and are
similar to those of the Cirl' Bunting. They are usually placed in
bushy cover or in a tuft of grass, practically on the ground, and the
eggs are apparently laid in March or April. The nests were easily
found late in the season, after the crops had been cut and much of
the herbage had died down. The harsh and monotonous reehng
song of these birds, uttered frc^m the top of a bramble or tall reeds,
was quite one of the features of bird life in the marshes. Their
pecuhar aeroplane-hke flight is quite unmistakable, and always

A

50 The Oologists' Record, September i, 1922.

interested me. As the bird volplanes down to some selected perch
with feet hanging down, the resemblance to aircraft with the landing
wheels below is quite ridiculous.

I am unable to give any notes on the eggs, never having taken
any myself nor seen any that had been obtained by others. As
in the case of most Buntings, the parent birds, especially the cocks,
are very obliging in the way in which they will disclose the position
of their nests by their frequent visits, and a little patience in the
breeding areas soon meets with the desired reward.

Emberiza melanocephala. Black-headed Bunting.

This particularly handsome bird breeds freely in the coastal
plain, the birds arriving at the end of April and commencing breeding
operations early in May. The brambles round the edges of the
marshes are the most favoured nesting sites, but isolated bushes or
groups of bushes are preferred, and the nests are never placed in
very thick cover. I met with httle success in obtaining the eggs of
this species, not having much time to spare for bird-nesting — in
fact I only secured a single clutch, and that was not a full one.
In the Ramleh-Ludd-Bir Salem area I found no nests in the orange
groves which I constantly searched, but during the months of July
and August in 1918 I came across several old nests in the orange
groves near the R. Auja in the Jaffa area. The principal breeding
areas of this Bunting were the scrub lands in the vicinity of the
marshes of the Wady Rubin, Jaffa Auja, and R. Kishon in the Plain
of Esdraelon, though they undoubtedly bred in suitable locaHties
by any of the small estuaries opening into the Mediterranean. The
nests found in the orange groves were very curious, insomuch that
they were composed of the flowering stems of a tiny yellow clover
or trefoil, which gave the nests a very gay appearance. Those
found in the brambles were constructed of dry and dead grasses,
and as so often is noticeable in those of the Yellow Hammer, fre-
quently had a stragghng pathway of grasses leading into the nest,
which serves nicely to reveal its position. They are well lined with
horsehair.

Nests are rarely placed more than 2 or 3 feet above the ground,
and I found many when it was too late, after the rank herbage had
died down. They are usually fairly well concealed, but the cock
birds are always ready to give away the positions by visiting them
at frequent intervals, and his colouring and his flight are quite

The Oologists' Record, September i, 1922. 51

unmistakable. In 1918, I managed to secure five stale eggs in the

first week of July, which measured as follows : — ■

4.7.18 ... c/2 Stale -Sq x -68 "i . . ^

r, , ^ , rZ . Average of =5 eggs =

4.7.18 ... c/i Stale -86 x -64 ^ o c r x. x

re , r^ , '-. . \ •S73 X -653 (mches).

6.7.18 ... c/2 Stale -^7 x -64 J /-^ ^ J-^ v ;

On May 16, 1920, I secured a clutch of four fresh eggs, but,
unfortunatety, I did not take their measurements.

Measurements of individual eggs are :—

Maximum length -89 x -69. Minimum length -86 x -64.

breadth -89 x -69. ,, breadth -86 x -64.

, The principal breeding season is during May, after which month

fresh eggs are only hkely to be found in late nests, and only one

brood is normally reared in the season.

The birds seemed to disappear in August or even earlier.

The eggs are fairly large for the size of the bird, and of a greyish
or greenish-white ground colour with olive-brown, greyislvgreen and
ohve-green spots and streaks on the surface, and paler shell markings
of slate-grey. In shape they are broad ovals and hardly pointed at
all. The markings are not at all typical of those usually found on
Buntings' eggs, and the curious pencilhngs are conspicuous by
their absence.

Ember iza caesia. Cretzschmar's Bunting.

This is a very common summer visitor in the Judean hills,

though its nests are by no means easy to find. I am not well enough

acquainted with it to say M^hether it has two broods in the season,

but in the summer of 1918, which was abnormal, as fighting was

going on in the hills, the birds had undoubtedly nested in March and

April, and were nesting again in June. In May, full-fledged young

birds were found to be very numerous. The nest, such as it is, is

exceedingly well concealed, and usually placed beneath a tussock of

grass, a small bush or shrub, on the rocky hillside, and the brooding

bird sits very tight. As in the case of all the Buntings, the cock

bird is apt to give away the position of the nest very readily. Eggs

taken in 1918 measured in inches are : —

2.6.18 c/2 Hatching out -74 x -60 ^ .

or o , c•^^ ji J o- r Average of 8 cggs ==

8.6.18 c/2 Stale and bad -815 x -62 > ^ ^^

14.6.18 c/4 Hatching out -8125 x -63 J '^^ ^ ^ '^'

Maximum length -8^ x -63. Minimum length -74 X -60.
breadth -83 x -63. ,, breadth -74 X -60.

52 The Oologists' Record; September i, 1922.

The nests are just a pad of dead grass, bents and rootlets, thickly
lined with horsehair or other soft materials.

In colour the eggs are pale purplish white, stained purplish, and
with sepia surface pencilhngs and shell spots of purple. Marked
all over but more profusely at the larger end. The eggs are rather
squat in shape,

Eniberiza hortnlana. Ortolan Bunting.

Passes through in great numbers on passage during the spring
and autumn, but does not remain to breed.

Melanocorypha himacidata gaza. Palestine Calandra Lark.

The Larks form an interesting group, providing as they do
several breeding species, but the same old story of lack of time has
prevented me from getting together a nice collection of their eggs.
On arrival, in Palestine in May, 1918, 1 was sent up to the front line
to make a reconnaissance of conditions. On the way, motoring
through the plain of Sharon, I was at once struck by the numerous
Calandra Larks, which were evidently nesting ; but I had no oppor-
tunity of looking for eggs, and my regiment was forthwith moved
into the hills. Li the summer of 1920 I did have a few opportunities
of becoming acquainted with their breeding habits, and found these
birds very plentiful in an area a few miles east and south-east of
Jaffa. I am not certain whether they are double-brooded in the
season or not, but rather think they are. Although I rode all over
their breeding area more than once, I only managed to find one nest,
which contained four fresh eggs. Li colour they seemed a dirty
greenish, heavily spotted and speckled with olive-brown, greenish
brown, and greenish olive surface spots,- and with slate-grey and
purplish-grey shell markings. They were broad for their length.
The nest requires no description, being of the usual type of Lark's
nest, and placed under the shelter of a tussock of grass. The normal
clutch is four or five eggs. I ought to have been able to secure
many nests from the local inhabitants when reaping the earty crops,
but they were far too apathetic to help me in any way

Calandrella brachydactyla longipennis. Short-toed Lark.

The Short-toed Lark of Palestine is a resident, but I foimd it
none too plentiful in the same suitable localities where the Calandra
Larks were breeding. I only once came across a nest, and that

The Oologists Record, September i, 1922. 53

was at the end of May, when I was out riding one day, and it was
impossible for me to take away the four eggs whose incubation
appeared to be advanced. The nest, of the usual type, was placed in
a small hollow in open grass land. The eggs are very much smaller
than those of the Calandra Lark, and the colouring is generally
greyer. I fancy the main breeding season is in May, but cannot
state what number of eggs constitutes a normal clutch.

Ammomanes deserti fratercukis. Desert Lark.

This is a common species on the nearly barren hills just west of
the Jordan Valley near Jericho. It is resident, but I never had the
good fortune to find any nests or eggs. It breeds in May. The
birds utter a plaintive piping note which is quite unmistakable.

Galerida cristata brachyura, Crested Lark.

As I never collected any skins of Crested Larks either in the hills
or plains, I cannot be absolutely certain that all my eggs belong to
brachyura, as nests found in the Judean Hills, 12 miles and further
north and north-wes^ of Jerusalem, may well belong to the race
cinnamomea. The Crested Lark is a resident and well distributed,
whether in the hills or on the plains, and may be found breeding
almost anywhere. I don't think there is any doubt of its being
double-brooded, and the normal clutch of eggs is probably five,
though it is not at all unusual to find only four eggs being incubated,
while the set of six eggs I found is, I think, quite abnormal. In
1918, in the Judean Hills, I found the first nest, which contained five
fully-fledged young, on May 22, and this bird starts nesting as
early as the middle of March. The next nest was taken on June 9,
and contained six eggs, which had been incubated for about
a week. There was nothing unusual in the type of nest which was
placed in the shelter of a bush and rock at the top of a hill 2,600 feet
above sea-level. The nesting materials were very loosely put
together, and just fell to pieces when picked up. The eggs are
greyish-white in ground colour, thickly and finely speckled, as well
as spotted all over with shell markings of various shades of
grey, and more boldly marked all over with yellow-brown surface
spots. Markings are often very profuse at the larger end, where
there is frequently a ringed zone. Rings are occasionally found
round the narrow and pointed end. These eggs are not unlike those
of the Calandra Lark, but are a trifle smaller, very considerably

II eggs

=

•89 X •

67

•82 X

'64

•82 X

•64

54 The Oologists Record, September i, 1922.

narrower, and more elongated and pointed. Measurements of eggs
in inches are : —
9.6.18 ... c/6 Inc. of a week -84 X -658 "1 Average of
14.6. 18 ... c/4 A few days -9025 x -6875 {_^
15.6. 18 ... c/2 Hatching out -93 x -67(1 egg f

measured) J

Maximum length -95 X -66 Minimum length
breadth -93 X -67 ,, breadth

It will be seen that the eggs vary very considerably in size.
During 1920, in the plain of, Sharon, near Ramleh, a few nests
were found, but no measurements of eggs taken.

21.4.20 ... c/3 Hard set ^ ^^^ ^^^^^^ .^ ^p^^ ^^.^^^

27.4-20 ... c/5 Several days L land near the Wadv

14.5.20... c/4 Very hard set i R^bm marshes.

18.5.20 ... c/4 Inc. of over a week ^
Anthiis sordidtis captus. Pipit.

This fine Pipit is a resident, but I am not quite sure when it
breeds. When I was in the Judean Hills during June, 1918, I came
across this bird on the tops of various hills. « From its behaviour it
was evidently breeding, and it was very noisy ; but try as I might
I never found so much as a trace of a iiest or young birds. I watched
the birds for days, had scouts out watching them and searching for
the nests, but all to no purpose.
Parus major terrae-sanctae. Palestine Great Tit.

This handsome little bird is a resident throughout the hills and
plains, and is a fairly early breeder, being almost as prolific in the
way of eggs as its English cousin. I came across two nests in 1920
both of which are worthy of description, while the eggs are similar
to those of the British bird. A nest out of which six very hard set
eggs were taken on April 11 was really in a very curious situation.
A drain-pipe from the roof of our quarters had no proper drain
below it, so the end of the pipe was protected by a metal sheeting
cyhnder to limit the splash during heavy rains. As the Palestine
rains end about the end of March or early April at the latest, this
cylinder was not a bad place for a Great Tit's nest, but building as
early as it did, I knew that the sitting bird got one or two thorough
drenchings. I had noticed the birds constantly about the pipes,
and suddenly it dawned on me that they must have a nest, so that
ver}^ night I looked down into the cylinder with the aid of an electric
torch. There was the nest, and there was the hen bird with its

The Oologists' Record, September i, 1922. 55

black, beady eyes looking up into the glare. The nest was on the
ground level, the foundation consisting of grasses, straw and dead
leaves, on top of which the cup for the eggs had been placed, com-
posed of wool, hair, and other very soft materials. There were six
eggs, which were too hard set to blow, the a\^erage measurement
(in inches) being -71 x -55. This pipe formed part of a verandah
which was in use all day and night, but the birds did not seem to
worry about the constant traffic.

The other nest was found on April 26, and was placed in
the centre of a loosely built stone wall. It was about 2 feet inside
the wall and 3 feet above the ground. The nest was a thick pad of
soft materials, such as lumps of cows' hair, wool, and sweepings off
carpets, with a neat cup hollowed in the centre as a receptacle for
the eggs. The nest contained seven fresh eggs which I had no
difficulty in blowing. Many nested in the holes in oHve trees, and
young broods and young birds were plentiful in May and early June.
One cannot lay down any rule about the normal clutch from only
two sets of eggs, especially in a bird which, at any rate in Great
Britain, often lays an exceptionally large number of eggs, but I
should not be at all surprised to find that the normal clutch in
Palestine is usually well below double figures.

Lanius senator niloticus. Woodchat Shrike.

This is a summer visitor which is quite a common breeder in
the Judean Hills. Almost every valley and re-entrant from it,
where there were a few oHve trees, was inhabited by a pair of these
birds, and once they had been detected it was usually not ver}^
difficult to find their nest. I was rather puzzled as to the principal
breeding season, for, like L. colUirio in Great Britain, I thought they
were late breeders. Of course, the hill fighting in April and May,
1918, was sufficient to retard the nesting of many species and so
give one false data. It is true that, at the end of May, I found a
Woodchat's nest containing six eggs which were in too advanced a
state of incubation to blow, as well as nests containing young ones,
both in this month and in early June. Then, on the other hand,
fresh clutches were taken as follows (measuring in inches) : — ■
4.6.18 ... c/6 Fresh 2300' -933 x -683-1 Average of
5.6.18 ... c/6 Fresh 2400' -973 x -702 y 13 eggs =
. 7.6.18 ... c/i New laid 2400' -93 x -67 J -945 X -685.
Maximum length i-oo x -/i. Minimum length -92 x -67.
breadth I -00 x -71. ,, breadth -92 x -67.

'^ 3 .

56 The. Oologisis' Record, September i, 1922.

The longest egg has the greatest breadth, and the shortest egg
had the narrowest breadth.

I find, on looking up my register, that I did measure the set found
on May 30, 19 18 : — •

•92 X -69, -93 X -71, -91 X -70, -96 X -71, -90 X -70,
•90 X -69. — Average of 6 eggs = -92 x -70.

This makes the average of 19 eggs -932 x -692, and gives the
minimum length -90 x -69.

Eggs varied very considerably in size, and the set taken on
June 5 was distinctly on the large size : —

•96 X -70, -94 X -68, -98 X -71, I -00 X -71, '97 X -70,
'99 X -71. — Average of 6 eggs = -973 x -702.

Nests were invariably placed in olive trees several feet above the
ground, the highest one being 9 feet. They were compact and solid,
besides which they were neatly built. They were composed almost
throughout of the dry stalks and stems of sweet-smelling aromatic
herbs and flowering plants, with a little wool interwoven as a binding
material. There was no lining except the soft dry leaves of such
stems. The general outward appearance of the nest was a grey-
green colour which assimilated well with its surroundings and
tended towards concealment. Measurements of nest cups : —

3 X 3 X if inches. 3 X 3 X li inches.

The normal clutch appears to be six eggs. In colour and markings
they vary a good deal.

The ground colour varies from a greenish white to yellowish
white and cream ; these colours become rather dead after the eggs
are blown. The surface markings are of several shades of brown,
and are chiefly confined to the larger end, which is frequently thickly
marked and blotched as well as ringed. I have found eggs well
marked all over. The shell spots are of various shades of grey,
purplish grey and grey-blue, and are also chiefly found at the larger
end, but are very apparent.

Lanins nithicus. Masked Shrike.

The Masked Shrike was found in the same localities as t|^e
Woodchat, but was not so common. The nests are not so easy to
find, and are very similar to those of L. collurio, and usually placed

The Oologisfs' Record, September i, 1922. 57

in patches of brambles or thorny shrubs. Neither of these Shrikes
breeds in the coastal plain. I only came across a couple of nests,
and as each contained five eggs, I think that this may probably be
the normal set. They are late breeders.

2.6. iS ... c '5 Inc. of a week 2300' -88 x -674.
• 13.6. 18 ... c/5 A few days 2400' -9325 x -705.
Average of 9 eggs = -906 x -689.

Maximum length -95 x -72. Minimum length -83 x -65.
breadth -95 x -72. ,, breadth -83 x -65.

These two sets vary so very considerably in size that it is worth
while giving the measurements of the eggs in detail : — -

•83 X
•86^ X
•90 X
•91 X
•90 X

65 1 -94 X -711

65 I Average = -92 x -69 I Average =

69 y -88 X -674 -95 X -72 J- -9325 X -705

69
69

•92 X -70 I
One broken J

One nest made of rootlets and lined with wool and hair was
placed in a bramble-bush a few feet above the ground, and was well
concealed. The other was composed of dead grass, bents and root-
lets, thickly lined with horsehair. It was very skilfully hidden in a
bramble-bush growing against a rocky wall, and the nest was some-
what overhung. Young birds just able to fly were seen at the end
of June.

There is not very much difference between the eggs of this species
and those of the Woodchat, but in size they seem to be a trifle
smaller. In colour one set was greenish-grey, heavily marked and
ringed at the larger end with various shades of brown on the surface,
and with shell spots of greenish gre}^ bluish grey, and purplish grey
The other was creamy white, the eggs being blotched and spotted on
the surface with umber brown and with shell markings of grey
brown. The eggs were hea\'ih' ringed, though rather low down, at
the larger end. If Shrikes' eggs are taken and the parent birds have
not been seen, there can be no doubt at all as to the ownership of
the eggs if the nests are taken or have been seen. The breeding
sites are almost as dissimilar as the nests themselves.

58 The Oologists' Record, September i, 1922.

WHAT EFFECT DOES THE ADVANCE OF CIVILIZATION
HAVE ON THE BREEDING HABITS OF BIRDS ?

By Capt. C. R. S. Pitman, D.S.O., M.C., M.B.O.U.

This is a very big subject, which I cannot hope to tackle except
from a hmited point of view, but a few of my observations and
experiences will probably prove of interest. Generalizing, it appears
that civilization attracts many species of the smaller passerines, and
at the same time drives away a large percentage of the raptores,
as well as some of the shyer game birds. Not only does it drive
them away, but in many cases it brings them onty too soon to the
verge of extinction. But it is principally from a breeding point of
view that I wish to discuss this question.

Take India, for instance, a country in which I did much egg
collecting. In the small compound (garden) of one bungalow I have
taken the following nests and eggs :- — Astur badius, The Shikra ;
Elanus cceruJeus. Black-winged Kite ; Milviis govinda, Pariah Kite ;
Buteo , Buzzard ; Corvus splendens, House Crow ;

PalcBornis torquaiiis, Rose-ringed Paroquet ; PalcBornis bengalensis ,
Large Green Paroquet ; Coracias indicus, Indian Roller ; Acrido-
theres fristis, Common Mynah ; Strepfopelia decaoito, Indian Ring
Dove ; Strepfopelia cambaiensis, Little Brown Dove ; Merops viridis,
Little Green Bee-Eater ; Argya caudata, Common Babbler ; Argya
earli. Striated Babbler ; Pycnonotus leiicotis, White-cheeked Bulbul ;
Arachnechthra asiatica, Purple Sunbird. This is quite a collection
in itself — and why do all these birds come into the haunts of man to
breed, an operation which is usually regarded as bringing forth all
the sh^'est characteristics in creatures ? There must be a variety of
answers, and among them I find : {a) Suitability of nesting sites,
such as the great avenue trees for the Raptores and Crows, the
mud-walls for the Bee-Eaters, the palm scrub for the Babblers,
small trees and large shrubs for the Doves, the bungalows with their
myriads of holes for the IVIynahs and Paroquets, the ornamental
shrubs for the Bulbuls and Sunbirds, and so forth. [b] Food in
plenty and easy to obtain. First and foremost, if the smaller birds
come in, they will naturally be followed by the larges ones that prey
on them. Garbage and refuse attracts the Kites and Crows as well
as in a lesser degree the Buzzards. The Paroquets find fruit and
green food, seeds, etc., in unlimited quantities ; insects swarm.

The Oologisfs' Record, September i, 1922. 59

hence the Rollers and Bee-Eaters ; while all manner of sweet-scented
flowers are an irresistible attraction to the Sunbirds by reason of
the honey they contain. I have found as many as half a doz^n
nests of Arachnechthra asiatica within a few yards of each other in
my compound, (c) I also have an idea that many birds come into
tlie haunts of man for- the sake of peace and quietness ; vermin is
ruthless]}' kept in check, so that to a great extent they are free from
the fear of natural enemies.

In the jungles of the Central Provinces I was always very struck
h\ the fact that, during the hundreds of miles I used to tramp during
the breeding season I rarely came across many nests in the heart of
the jungle ; but in the vicinity of villages several species of Doves,
Munias, the Brown-backed Robin {Thamnobia cambaiensis) , Rap-
tores, Bulbuls, and others bred freely, while all manner of Waterfowl
nested in the cover round the village tanks or up in the trees along-
side them. The rare and shyer species were naturally only to be
found far from the haunts of man.

Cultivation in Palestine has undoubtedly attracted large numbers
of breeding birds, the principal kinds being Greenfinches, Gold-
finches, Bulbuls, Doves, Spotted Flycatchers, Rufous Warblers,
Spanish Sparrows and Warblers of the tribe Sylvia and Hippolais.
But the most interesting of all is the li.ttle Sunbird, Cinnyris osea,
which has been attracted to the country by the rich feeding to be
had in the orange and lemon groves, and which is now said to
breed in the Jordan Valley. It is only within comparatively recent
years that the coastal plain has been planted out with orange and
lemon groves, with almond groves and ' vineyards, and with large
plantations of eucalyptus for firewood. All these localities nowa-
days are first-class hunting grounds for the egg-coUector. The
orange groves contain hundreds of nests of the Greenfinch, plenty
of those of the Turtle Dove, and fewer of the Bulbul, Goldfinch,
Olivaceous Warbler, Rufous Warbler, Sylviidae and Spotted Fly-
catcher. Lemon groves, where the fohage is not so thick as with
the oranges, are equally favoured by the Greenfinches, but more
freely resorted to by Goldfinches and Bulbuls. The eucalyptus
plantations, more particularly those that have been chopped down
once and are growing up again, seem to be the preserves of the
Rufous Warbler, Olivaceous Warbler, and Spotted Flycatcher, while
to a lesser extent Doves, Bulbuls, Goldfinches and Greenfinches breed
in them. In the tall eucalyptus trees are often found huge colonies

6o The Oologists' Record, September i, 1922.

of the Spanish Sparrow. Finally, the almond groves are the chief
nesting sites of the Goldfinches, but are also much favoured by the
Olivaceous Warbler. Pomegranate trees are an irresistible attrac-
tion to the Streaked Wren Warbler when he is looking for a suitable
site to build his nest. Where were all these birds before civilization
brought cultivation in its train ? I am quite sure that few must
have bred there in the olden da^^s, as the olive trees are not a fruitful
source to the egg-collector. Consequently it seems to me that the
vast majority of the birds enumerated have onl}' come to Palestine
to breed within recent j^ears. Lastly, I turn to Africa, -to Kenya
Colon}^ for still further instances. Just a year ago — I write in
May — my partners and myself were commencing to clear a portion
of one of our farms, 60 miles east of Elgon, preparatory to breaking
the land and putting it under cultivation. Certain birds were here
then, and certain of the commoner varieties were conspicuous b}'
their absence. This May I have 70 acres under cultivation, and while
preparing the land have come across many nests of our Common
Pipit, Anthiis sp., and several of the larger Yellow-breasted Pipit,
Macronyx croceus. These birds were entirely absent until we had
cleared some of the scrub and started breaking the land, while now
they are more than common, as we have provided them with suitable
nesting sites and feeding grounds. The Glossy Starling, Lamprocolitis
massaicus, has also been attracted here, and was breeding freely in
the holes of trees in March. Opening up the soil has evidently
attracted and released large numbers of insects, as the two Long-
tailed Rollers, Coracias caiidatits and Coracias abyssinicns, which
were formerlj^ absent, are now quite common, and have been
breeding this spring.

I have no doubt that when I have an extensive orchard going,
trees planted, and ornamental gardens made, full of shrubs and all
manner of flowers, that various other species wiU be attracted and
will breed, more especially the numerous kinds of Sunbirds which
are plentiful enough, but whose nests are uncommonly hard to find
at present.

One has only to visit the gardens in our nearest township to see
what a variety of small bird life has been attracted to them, and
where, during the various breeding seasons, every bush and shrub
seems to have an occupant. A bird which has not yet arrived to
breed here, but which has paid us a few visits, and which is botmd
to come in the long run, is the African Pied Wagtail, Motacilla vidua.

The Oologists' Record, September i, igzz. 6i

It is probably the most homely bird out here, is \'ery tame, likes
to breed near houses or in the thatch, and has a very pleasing and
sweet song, so it is quite an asset to the homestead.

OBSERVATIONS ON THE HOBBY, [FALCO S. SUBBUTEO).

By NORMAX GiLROY.

It has frequently been suggested by competent authorities that
the Hobby as a nesting species in Great Britain is no doubt often
overlooked. M\^ own experience, extending o\'er a considerable
period, rather tends to disprove this than otherwise. No doubt the
areas in which it is to be found have become more widely known
in recent years, owing to the rapidly increasing numbers of those
whose interest in wild life leads them farther afield than formerly ;
so that, to the casual observer, the Hobby would perhaps appear to
be a commoner species than he had imagined.

But to one who has had close communion with the birds from
summer to summer there is no such illusion.

In my opinion the Hobby is a species which has long affected
certain areas, and from such^ as is the case not only with most
migratory birds, but with other Hawks, it is extremely difficult to
dislodge entirely. It may disappear unaccountably for many
seasons, only to reappear unexpectedly and mysteriously after
perhaps a lapse of years. It is a well-known fact that certain ledges
in the sea-cliffs have a nameless attraction for the Peregrine Falcon,
certain spots on the hillside for the Merhn, and it is the same with
the Hobby.

I have known a Crow's nest to be tenanted by a pair year by year
until only the shell remained, when a move was made to a more
substantial nest in a tree a few yards off.

The breeding range of the Hobby does not appear to extend,
although the number of breeding pairs may increase in an estab-
lished area, as was undoubtedly the case during the years of the
war. From some districts, of course, the birds may be compulsorily
driven — by the felling of trees, by the extinction of the Carrion
Crow which provides in my estimation fully 98 per cent, of the
necessary nesting accommodation, or by tlie wanton and useless
destruction year after year of the birds themselves and their broods.

Generally speaking, the areas outHned by Saunders in his Manual

62 The Oologists Record, September i, 1922.

are admirably exact, although in many of them the Hobby is very
rare as a breeding species and does not increase.

It is somewhat" curious that in many instances where there are
wide tracts of suitable country actually bordering on " inhabited "
areas, one so seldom finds a nest outside a certain limit. There are
also districts where such suitable country abounds for miles, and
where the Carrion Crow breeds unmolested, but where no Hobby
exists, or for that matter (as far at least as one can reasonably
ascertain) ever has existed.

The Hobby is one of the last of our migratory birds to arrive,
seldom reaching us much before the middle or even the end of May.
It is generally reputed to leave in September, but I have on many
occasions seen it in October and even November (possibly birds of
the year), whilst it has been reported in January, so that I have no
doubt odd birds remain with us throughout the winter.

I have found that newly-arrived birds do not always go direct
to their breeding haunt, but often a pair will take up a temporary
residence in a wood some distance off ; here they will remain until
a day or two before the actual nesting. For this reason their sudden
disappearance is sometimes an unconscious cause of safety, the nesting
site being perhaps three or four miles away.

It is during this transition period between arrival and nesting
that the Hobbies may be seen at their best ; after the eggs are laid
they become much more cautious, except in rare individual cases.
They are not unreasonably shy, and ma}^ be seen sweeping and
diving through the air, sometimes at an immense height, chasing
one another playfully and- occasionally uttering the rather weak.
Wryneck-like cry. The long sickle-wings, comparatively short tail,
and " high " shoulders (which gave to the species the old name of
" gibbosus," or hunchbacked), are an eas}' mark for the skilled
observer. And i-f the sun be shining, the white cheeks, jet " mous-
tache,", and blue-black back can be discerned at a considerable
distance. When in search of prey close to the ground, the flight
and motion of the wings are curiously " swinging."

Although a great proportion of the food consists of dragon-flies
and the larger beetles and moths, the Hobby is a terror to the Sky-
lark, which it captures with extraordinary skill and velocity. There
is no chase as with the Sparrow Hawk or Merlin — one or two swift
stoops, a slight turn upwards, and a " click " which can almost be -
heard !

The Oologisis' Record, September i^ 1922. 63

The Hobby almost invariably chooses for its eyrie the disused
nest of a Carrion Crow-^preferably one of the year from which
either the eggs have been removed earlier in the season or the young
have flown. No alteration or preparation whatever is made in such
nest, although it has been confidently asserted by -some observers
that the lining of wool is entirely removed. In the event of an
older nest being occupied, from which the wool from various causes
has disappeared, the hollow may be slightly rounded, but no addi-
tion of any kind is made.

I have on three occasions found the nest of the Hobby in an
inhabited rookery.

The site chosen is nearl}^ always one which commands a wide
outlook over open country, and a clump or belt of trees is preferred
to a large wood. When in the latter, the nest is usually on or close
to the edge or in a clearing. I have never personally found one in
the middle of a wood, although I am aware that such have very
occasionally been recorded, and I know a district in Gloucestershire
where the single pair of Hobbies almost invariably occupy a nest in
a hedgerow elm or oak in a quiet valley.

The Hobby seldom has a full set of eggs before June 19 — often
not until June 30, or even the first few days of July. I have,
however, once found a set on June 12, but I consider this to be
exceptional.

Should the first eggs be taken, the Hobby will very exceptionally
lay a second time. I have indisputable evidence of this ; but
careful observations taken over a number of years have tended to
make me a little sceptical as regards the percentage of birds which
do so.

In England the normal clutch of eggs is three. I have once
seen four, and I am informed that another well-known authority has
had a like experience ; these are the only recorded instances.
Clutches of two, however, are not infrequent. The eggs vai"y con-
siderably in size ; they are generally larger than those of the Kestrel,
but often smaller. There is an appreciable variety in the colouration
of individual clutches, but as a general rule eggs of the Hobby are
unmistakable, notwithstanding anything that may have been stated
to the contrary.

The behaviour of individual pairs of Hobbies at the nest varies.
At certain times of the day the cock is generally to be found at rest
in a tree close to the nest, leaving when an intruder is some distance

64 The Oologists' Record, September i, 1922.

away. His departure frequently warns the sitting hen, which shps
off quietly, and both birds disappear. Sometimes the hen sits very
closely, even when she has only one q^q, and will not leave the nest
until the tree is struck violently. Occasionally one or both of the
birds is aggressive or noisy, but such instances are rare. Generally
they either soar overhead or fly right away out of sight, although
they will return with almost uncanny speed should a marauding
Crow appear on the scene.

It would, I think, be against the best interests not only of this
charming and attractive Httle Falcon, but also of those to whom our
rarer species mean so much, to particularise the areas in which most
of my notes have been taken ; but I may perhaps conclude by
observing that, given reasonable treatment, the Hobby is m no
immediate danger of extinction.

MORE LIGHT ON THE HABITS OF THE CUCKOO.

By The Editor.
Mr. Geo. J. Scholey has again made some far-reaching observa-
tions with regard to his " Wagtail-Cuckoo," and the results were
fully described and illustrated with most excellent photographs in
the " Graphic " of 5th and 12th August last. As perhaps many of
our readers missed seeing them we propose to quote at length, but
no doubt the back numbers of the " Graphic " could be ordered
through newsagents if required.

Mr. Scholey's Cuckoo has rather out-heroded other Cuckoos in
her desire to secure nests for her eggs at the right periods. Of her
Mr. Scholey says : "To provide nests for her subsequent use the
' Cuckoo at once proceeded to destroy the nest containing the in-
' cubated eggs, but unfortunately for herself the entrance hole to
' this nest was too small to admit her. She remained at the
' entrance and kept the Wagtails from entering, with the result
' that the eggs got cold and the Wagtails deserted.

" For observation purposes, I removed the stone blocking the
' entrance, and • she at once availed herself of the opportunity,
' entered the hole and raided the nest. She broke all the eggs it

' contained.

*******

" The particular pair of birds (Wagtails) set to work and rebuilt
" another nest — for what ? — only to receive the Cuckoo's e^g eight

The Oologists Record, September i, 1922. 65

' ' days after she had phmdered the first nest ! Exactly the same
" thing happened with the pair of Wagtails with the nest of young.
" The evening after she (the Cuckoo) had destroyed the nest of
" incubated eggs, she came over, went straight to the nest of young
" Wagtails, pulled them from the nest, and left them to die on the
" cold stones in which the nest was built. The Wagtails immediately
" commenced building, and had a completed nest with one egg in
" a week, only to receive the egg-of the Cuckoo at this stage."

Mr. Scholey satisfied himself that " when the Cuckoo could
" squeeze herself into a Wagtail's nesting hole she would sit on the
" nest and lay her egg in normal fashion, but where she could not
" do this the egg was deposited by the bill."

This particular Cuckoo took an extra e^g from a nest when she
wished the Wagtail to continue laying and postpone the commence-
ment of incubation, and thus have the nest ready for her eg^ at the
right time. " Once," says Mr. Scholey " the male ate an egg and
" removed another, which he swallowed, to a near bank in occupation
" of the female."

Mr. Scholey contends that, "It is a fact that a female Cuckoo
" will dominate a certain territory, driving away any others that may
" require the territory for egg-laying purposes. On several occasions
" this female Cuckoo received visits from her mother who had used
" the same territory in previous years, and when these visits were
" made, there was a battle royal. The old mother did, in fact, outwit
" her on three occasions and deposit her egg in or near the quarry."

Another interesting sidelight on this game of hide-and-seek : — •
" It was very noticeable towards the end of the season to see how
" completely the Wagtails were sick of the continued attentions of
" the Cuckoo. As soon as they commenced to build, the Cuckoo
" found the nests, with the result that the Wagtails left them and
" restarted to build. Two pairs of birds each made three attempts
" to nest before finally settling down, and then they received the
" eggs of the Cuckoo in spite of their endeavours to outwit her."

The particular Cuckoo under Mr. Scholey 's observation this
year laid 14 eggs in the chalk quarry, and his work was so thorough
that we must beUeve, that he accounted for all of them. He had
made most of the nesting sites before the commencement of the
season, and these were provided with both entrance and exit, for a
Wagtail, he says, " loves a nesting site where it can enter and leave
" by separate holes, if necessary."

66 The Oologists' Record, September i, 1922.

CLIMATIC CONDITIONS IN THE ARCTIC AND NEW
POSSIBILITIES OF ARCTIC TRAVEL.

By The Editor.

The Arctic has a great interest for all oologists and we propose
to quote at length from an article by Vilhjalmur Stefansson in the
August issue of the " National Geographic Magazine " (Washington).
The object of Mr. Stefansson's article is to point out the great advan-
tages of the transarctic route for inter-continental air travel in
summer, and he looks to a time when it will be crossed in many
directions by regular air routes, -for which repair and supply stations
will be established at convenient points. The opening up of the
Arctic in this manner would be of great scientific interest to oologists
and enable those with leisure to visit spots that are at present
quite inaccessible except to an expedition specially equipped for the
purpose. But many of our readers will be still more interested in
what Mr. Stefansson says about the climatic conditions of the Arctic
regions, and the accessibility of many spots of peculiar oological im-
portance.

" The map of the Northern Hemisphere," writes Mr. Stefansson,
' shows that the Arctic Ocean is a huge Mediterranean. It hes
' between the continent somewhat as the Mediterranean lies
' between Europe and Africa. In the past, it has been an impass-
' able Mediterranean. In the near future, it will not only become
' passable, but will become a favourite air route between the con-
' tinents^ at least at certain seasons — safer, more comfortable, and
' consisting of much shorter " hops " than any other air route that
' lies across tlie oceans that separate the present -dav centres of
'population."

" . . . in the summer season at least it will be thought an
" absurdity for those in a hurry to go from England to Japan by
" way of either New York on Montreal. They will fly by way of
" the North Cape of Norway and Novaya Zemlya."

* * H: * * * *

" The airman may change his wind from fair to foul by raising
" or lowering his craft. It is, therefore, impossible to say now
" just where the transpolar air routes will lie, and indeed they will
" probably always vary from day to da}-. But, wherever they lie,
" they are sure to be advantageous commercially and popular with

The Oologists' Record, September i, 1922. 67

" passengers, at least during the season corresponding to that in
" which the tourist of to-day sails to Alaska or Norway or Spitz-
" bergen to see the midnight sun."

*******

" The first advantage of the Polar route is its shortness. The

" most practical route (from England to Japan) of the recent past

" has led from England by way of ocean steamers to Montreal,

" the Canadian railways to Vancouver, and then by the northerly

"steamer route along the Aleutian Islands to Japan. This route is

" approximately 11,000 miles from Liverpool to Yokohama. But

" the distance from a railway terminus at the north of Great Britain

" to the north end of Japan proper, where railway travel could be

" again resumed, is by air route only 4,960 miles, or about half the

" present regular route between the two countries."

*******

" Econom}^ in h^'drogen is the second important advantage
" of the Polar route. . . Paint the bag silver or any colour
" you will, the amount of heat locally generated by the sun's rays
" striking the dirigible is great. The hydrogen expands, and there
"is no practical way as yet conceived which can avoid the loss of
"gas.

" You can avoid a bursting of the bag only by allowing the gas
"to escape." This is" the chief factor which limits the length of
" balloon voyages. A certain amount of gas is lost each day and
" reciprocalh^ a certain amount of ballast has to be thrown out each
" night to prevent the balloon from settling to earth.

" But the alternation of day and night, which seems a necessary
" evil to those habituated to southern latitudes, is not a factor in
" the Polar regions, whether in mid-winter, when it is always dark,
" or in mid-summer, when it is always light. We shall, for the
" present, consider only summer journeys."

Mr. Stefansson then enlarges upon the third great advantage
of the route — the perpetual dajdight. So often in a mishap at
sea all efforts are rendered futile by the fact that all lights are
extinguished when the disaster happens.

The fourth great advfintage lies in the presence of the enormous
ice-floes, seldom more than a few miles apart. A forced descent
to open water would be robbed of the greatest perils attending such
a thing in mid-Atlantic for " one effect of scattered floes is that
" even in a gale there are no heavy seas. Indeed, if the ice is

The Oologists' Record, September i, 1922.

" abundant, no swelLis noticeable in the heaviest gale, and the
" waves on the patches of open water are only such as one may
" find on a pond or a small lake."

Mr. Stefansson points out, too, that an ice-floe is by no means
such an inconvenient place of refuge as we might imagine.

" To people little acquainted with the Arctic, as most of us are,
" and misinformed, as nearly all of us are, there appear to be many
" arguments against the Polar route. Few of these rest on any
" reality. Indeed, where we imagine positive difficulties there
" may be positive advantages. Take, for instance, the matter of
" summer temperature.

" We have all of us learned in school that, per square mile per
" hour, there is more heat received from the sun at the earth's
" Equator than anywhere else ; but in the minds of most of us
" this truth is only a half-truth, and therefore the most dangerous
" sort of error, for we have commonly failed to grasp its inter-
" pretative corollary, that while each hour of sunlight brings most
" heat to the Equator, the hours of sunlight per day in summer
" increase in number as we go north.

" This would give a perfect balance if the sunlight lengthened
" proportionally as the heat per hour lessened. That is not the
" case. As you go north, the length of day in midsummer increases
" more rapidly than the amount of heat per hour decreases ; so
" that, although the heat per hour received at Winnipeg is less than
" it is in New Orleans, the amount of heat received per day is greater.
" That is one reason why Winnipeg is frequently hotter than New
" Orleans in July.

" For something like five weeks every summer, more heat per
" day is received from the sun on a square mile in the Arctic than at
" the Equator. If the North Pole were located on an extensive
" low land, remote from high mountains or any large bodies of water,
" it would be about as hot as the Equator on the fourth of July.
" There is, however, at the Pole, and in many places in the remote
" north, a local refrigeration that tempers what otherwise would
" be unbearable heat. The winters are long, and under certain
" conditions a great deal of ' cold ' may be stored up.

" In the Polar basin we have an ocean thousands of miles across,
" and thousands of feet deep, and all this water during the long
" winter is chilled to the vicinity of 30° Fahr. above zero.

" There is also a certain amount of ice floating around on the

The Oologists' Record, September i, 1922. 69

" surface. Wejiave, therefore, a vast store of ' cold ' to neutralize
" the terrific downpour of the summer sun's heat, and it is probable
" that the air ten feet above the middle of the Polar ocean is seldom
" warmer, even in July, than 50° or 55° Fahr. above zero. • Higher
" up it would be somewhat warmer.

" This means that conditions of flying, ^so far as temperature
" is concerned, would be about the same over thfe Polar ocean in
" July as they would be in France or England in late winter or early
" spring.

" Greenland is peculiar among the Polar lands, in that its great
" altitude enables it to store up a large amount of ' cold.' In a few
" other northerly islands there are glaciers of moderate size (Franz
" Josef Island, Spitzbergen, North Devon) and glaciers of inter-
" mediate size (as in Ellesmere Island and Heiberg Island), but
" there are vast areas of Polar lowlands where the little snow that
" falls in winter (commonly much less than the snowfall of Vermont
", or Scotland) disappears like magic in the early spring, and where
" the sun beats down for month after month upon a soil clad with
" vegetation.

" We can take it for certain that there is far less permanent
" ice and snow in the lowland of North Siberia than there is in the
" mountains of Mexico. It is 'even possible that tropical Africa,
" with its one or two snow-clad mountains, contains more permanent
" snow than do all the lowlands of Arctic Siberia.

" In Arctic Canada we have ice-free lowland everywhere except
" in the Yukon.

" In Siberia and Canada there is, therefore, an aggregate area
'• much larger than the whole of the United States, where there is
" no stored-up ' cold ' to moderate the heat of the Arctic daylight,
" except the slight chill of the frozen sub-soil. This is kept from
" havirig much effect on the air by the insulation over it of the cloak
" of vegetation.

" Accordingly we find that at Fort Yukon, in Alaska, north
" of the Arctic Circle, the United States Weather Bureau has
" recorded the temperature of 100° in the shade. No thoughtful
" person will, therefore, suppose that transpolar air journeys will
' in summer be interfered with by low temperatures. Neither will
" it be uncomfortable because of extreme heat, for that can be
' regulated by the airship's rising high enough into a cooler air.

" It is true that parts of the Polar regions are given to summer

70 ^ The Oologists' Record, September i, 1922.

" fogs, but fogs lie low over the ocean and presumably, the dirigibles
" and airplanes would navigate in the clear sunlight above them.

" . . . base stations will be supplied by railways, by ocean
" steamers, or by river steamers. A glance at the map of the
" Polar air routes shows that they require few long jumps between
" places that are now reached with fair regularitj/ by ocean or river
" steamers.

" How accessible are many of the seemingly remote fur-trading
" outposts of Arctic Canada and Siberia few of us realize.

" It would take only about 25 days to make the journey to-day
" from New York to the mouth of the Mackenzie, 200 miles north
" of the Arctic Circle in Canada, and regular railway and steamboat
" tickets could be bought, if not in New York, at least in Winnipeg
" or Edmonton.

" Under normal peace-time conditions a similar surprise would
" await those who desired to reach the north coast of Siberia, by
" journeying in steamers from the Trans-Siberian Railway down one
" or another of the great north-flowing Asiatic rivers.

" It goes without saying that where the air route touches the
" north of Norway or the north Pacific coast of Asia, the problem
" of supply is even simpler.

" The islands that dot the Polar ocean will, obviously, become
" important relay stations on the various transpolar routes.

'Tt may be said about them in general, and about the north
" coasts of Asia and America, that they are now far more easily
" accessible by steamer than the public realizes. This accessibility
" will be doubled by improvements in our ice ships, and by the
" increase of skill and decrease of fear on the part of our sailors.
" It will be doubled again by the location at difficult points of
" wireless stations to give captains advance news of ice conditions
" and by pilot airplanes to pick out ice-free routes that ships may
"follow.

" It will be so easy for ships to supply the strategic points in the
" polar regions that few of the Polar airways will have to be far
" diverted from the theoretically preferred short routes toseekout-
" of-the-way places to get petroleum or other supplies.

"As the cereal belts of middle Canada and middle Siberia are
" increasingly cultivated, great cities will grow up nearer and nearer
" the Arctic. Thirty years ago Edmonton, for instance, was a

The Oologists Record, September j, 1922. 71

',' village supposed to be too far north ever to become anything but
" what it was, a fur-trading post ; to-day it is a city of 60,000
" inhabitants. The oil-fields of the lower Mackenzie, where the
" Standard Oil Company has extensive operations, and the copper
" district, north of Great Bear Lake, already hold a definite promise
" as commercial centres.

" It may be of little beyond academic interest this year that the
" air route from the northern railway terminus on the Athabasca
" River north of Edmonton to Archangel, in northern Russia, is
" only 3,946 miles ; but as the railway continues to push its way
" northward through Canada this route between railheads on oppo-
" site continents will gain in importance as it becomes short, and as
" the communities that depend upon it grow.

" Steamers have been running to the mouth of the Mackenzie
" for several decades already. The journey from the present
" railhead to the mouth of the Mackenzie can even now be made in
" fifteen days. It is significant, therefore, that from the mouth
" of the Mackenzie the air route by which one may penetrate the
" interior of north-eastern Siberia through the great rivers of the
" Kolyma system is only 1,541 miles by way of Point Barrow and
" Wrangel Island, and that the longest hop, from Point Barrow
" to Wrangel Island, is only 450 miles.

" By branching off at Wrangel, you can reach the mouth of
" the Lena, one of the world's greatest rivers, in a total distance
" from the Mackenzie's mouth of 2,208 miles, and with the longest
" single hop, from Wrangel Island to Holy Cape, of about 750
" miles.

After discussing the advantages of other routes, the writer
continues : "To get a greater benefit from the perpetual daylight
" of the Arctic summer, a route might be laid from Scotland to
" the east tip of Iceland ; thence by way of Jan Mayen Island,
" the summer hotel already established in Spitzbergen ; then
" Franz Josef Land, Emperor Nicholas II Land, or Cape Chelyus-
" kin, and thence overland to Japan.

" This route is only a few hours' flying longer than the shortest
" possible route."

" As the centres of population continue to move north in Canada
" and Siberia, the importance of the transpolar air routes will
" correspondingly increase.

72 The Oologisls' Record, September i, 1922.

" Whoever grasps at all the vast natural resources of the Polar
" lands and seas, and understands the conditions under which
" they are already beginning to be developed, will have fascinating
" dreams about any number of transarctic air routes destined to
" come into everyday use whenever air travel in general becomes
' a commonplace on the more dangerous and difficult, but already
" speculatively accepted, routes between Liverpool and New York,
" San Francisco, Hawaii, and Japan."

We hope our readers will not consider that we have strayed
too far from oological matters, but we have seldom seen a more
interesting and at the same time authoritative article on the future
possibihties of travel in the Polar regions, and of the chmatic and
other conditions which obtain there generally.

Those who desire to read the article in its entirety should remit
54 cents by Money Order to the National Geographic Society,
Hubbard Memorial Hall, Washington, D.C., U.S.A., for the August
number of the Society's Magazine. The subscription for the year
is 4 dollars. Though the circulation of the magazine is certified
at 750,000 it is little known in this country.

Harrison & Sons, Ltd., Printers in Ordinary to His Majestj', St, Martin's Lane, W.C. 2.

THE OOLOGISTS' RECORD.

Edited by KENNETH L. SKINNER.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Vol. II— No. 4.] [December 1, 1922.

ORNITHOLOGICAL WORK IN THE ARCTIC REGION.

By the Rev. F. C. R. Jourdain, M.A., M.B.O.U., H.F.A.O.U.

The conditions under which ornithological work must be carried
on in the high north are so different from those prevailing in the
temperate zone, that a few words based on personal experience
may be of interest at any rate to those who contemplate work in
the Arctic at some future time. There are many collectors whose
wanderings have hitherto extended only to the more or less civilized
European countries, where they have worked with some measure of
success. In such cases it is possible to map out a tour with tolerable
accuracy a month or two beforehand, and one can form a very fair
idea of the species one is likely to meet with, and the probable
results of the trip. Knowing the approximate breeding dates of
each species, and where it is likely to be met with, one can go
further and arrange one's time-table to coincide with nesting
season of the birds in which one is most interested. There is also
a natural tendency to visit any well-known bird haunt, and to
avoid the less productive districts, so that often a regular succession
of visitors work over the same field year after year. While the
actual collections made by each man are probably larger than
would be the case if each worked out his own line, the net gain
to ornithological knowledge is considerably less, and the worker
who strikes out a new field of exploration must be prepared for
possible temporary failure as regards tangible results.

In the Arctic, however, the first thing which forces itself on
one is the utter impossibility of attempting to adhere to a cut-and-
dried programme. Climatic and weather conditions vary so much
from season to season, and even from day to day, that the first
condition of success is the power to adapt one's plans to circum-
stances, and to take advantage of opportunity. This is the case
even when the explorer is in the happy position of having his own
base in the form of a vessel of some sort at his disposal. If, on
the other hand, he has to rely on others, he must be prepared for

A

ijA The Oologists' Record, December i, 1922.

innumerable disappointments and heart-breaking delays, and may
find his whole season wrecked through no fault of his own. Needless
to say, it is an enormous advantage to know exactly what every one
has seen and done before one, and this can never be done satis-
factorily by the study of English works alone. Scandinavian,
German, and, in many cases, Russian literature must be carefully
digested and stored up for future use, and in practice one frequently
finds that little items of knowledge which appeared to be utterly
valueless at the time they were acquired, suddenly become deeply
significant, in view of new facts which gradually fill up the gaps
and lead to fresh discoveries.

There are two factors in all work in the far north which tend

greatly to simplify the work of the pioneer, namely, the shortness

of the period during which it is possible for birds to breed, and the

restricted amount of possible nesting ground. In temperate Europe

the normal breeding season lasts for about seven months of the

year, and there is no month in the year in which some species of

bird has not been known to breed. One can open the season by

marking down nests of Bearded Vulture in December or January,

and go on steadily up to July, while late broods may be found

through August and occasionally even later. But in the far north

winter does not relax its grip till late in May, and few birds venture

to lay before the end of May or early June, while by mid- July,

the egg season is practically over. Then the interior, at any rate

on the higher ground, is often covered by snow throughout the

year, and it is only along the coastline, and in the lower and more

sheltered valleys, and on islands, that any animal life can exist.

As practically everything depends on the sea for food, the nesting

sites are usually not far away. Other characteristics of the northern

fauna are the tendency to breed in colonies or in close association

with other species, and the very pronounced preference shown by

breeders on low-lying ground for islands or peninsulas as a protection

from the depredations of carnivorous mammals, such as the Arctic

Fox. The paucity of species also greatly tends to simplify the

work of the ornithologist and oologist, as one soon grows familiar

with the appearance and notes of the very few birds which are

really common.

x\ll these circumstances favour the explorer, but there are many
others which weigh heavily in the scales on the other side. Cold
is not as a rule severe during the summer months, but when com-

The Oologists' Record, December i, 1922. 75

bined, as it occasionally is, mth wet it forms a very serious handicap
to field work. Luckily precipitation is light except at certain
definite points, where cold and warm currents meet. Roads, of
course, are unknown, and the going may be tolerable, but is more
frequently execrable. Every river (and their name is legion) has
to be waded, and even if one's boots do not take in water at first,
sooner or later it is sure to find its way in over the tops. Wading
in marshy ground for hours together, especially in a biting wind,
is also an over-rated amusement. If an expedition is made to
any distance from one's base, besides the usual impedimenta in
the form of collecting-boxes, field-glasses, cameras and at times
ropes, ice-axes, etc., a sufficient supply of food must also be carried,
as generally there is no possibility of replenishing one's stores.
The innumerable glaciers form a very serious obstacle to a small
party attempting to follow the coastline, and even when working
from a ship there are manj^ places wheie the lack of anchorage
may render it necessary for her to seek shelter on a sudden change
of wind. Meantime a shore-going party may thus find themselves
completely isolated, perhaps for a day or two, and, unless a reserve
store of provisions and sleeping-kit has been taken, may be reduced
to great straits for a time. Navigation in the neighbourhood of
the pack requires the supervision of an ice-pilot, and also necessitates
a type of ship specially built to stand ice pressure, and the ordinary
iron ship would be quite useless under these conditions. In
working along little-known coasts where there is much ice there
is also the possibility of getting hemmed in by ice, and forced to
winter there — an experience few people would care to go through
without ample previous preparation.

There is also a great tendency for the bird-life to be concentrated
in certain spots, and it is rather a depressing experience to walk
for miles up some wide valle3^ fairly free from snow and apparently
offering plenty of possible nesting sites, and yet scarcely to see a
bird of any kind, except perhaps the distant speck of white on
some scree which marks the presence of the ubiquitous Snow
Bunting, or a Purple Sandpiper, inconspicuoas and ijidiffcrent to
one's presence, quietly feeding among the lichen-covered stones.

One point still remains to be mentioned — to my mind the
greatest attraction of the Arctic — the never-ending day. The
feeling that time has ceased, and that day and night are purely
arbitrary terms, combined with the exhilarating effect of the pure

76 The Oologists' Record, December i, 1922.

air, inspire one to exertion which would be impossible at home.
While the memory of the endless tramps, footsore and weary, over
snowfield and sodden tundra or sharp screes becomes more and
more dim, the recollection of the Arctic sunshine flooding the
snow-capped hills and glaciers, with the still waters of the fjord
at their feet, forms a mental picture which is unforgettable

OBSERVATIONS ON THE COMMON CROSSBILL

Uoxia c curuirostra).

By Norman Gilroy.

It was in what is known as the " Breck " district of East Anglia,
— the wide area of sandy flint-strewn warrens on the Norfolk and
Suffolk borders, through which the Little Ouse winds lazily, and
of which the endless belts of Scotch firs, not only bordering the
roads but binding the fields and woods themselves, are so prominent
a feature — that I first came into somewhat mysterious touch with
the Crossbill. LTp to that time — I think it was 1901 — the Crossbill
was a species to which I had given only a passing thought. I had
looked upon it as a bird which was little more than a casual visitor,
breeding no doubt from time to time in odd localities at extraordinary
times of the year, and I had relegated it to the extreme background
as far as my own observations were concerned.

Then, on a visit to Norfolk in late April, 1901, I saw two young
birds being fed by their parents in the middle of the road. They
were nearly fully fledged, but I managed to catch one of them,
and the distress of the parent birds was unbounded. The cock
actually pitched on my arm, and I knew then that I had stumbled
unwittingly on a species that was almost outside my scheme of
things.

There was an intelligent shepherd whose acquaintance I had
made, and I deternpned to consult him on the matter. To my
astonishment he informed me that, to his own knowledge,, the
Crossbill had always bred in the district, and that a year never
passed but he either found the nests or saw the young of at least
two or three pairs, generally in February or March ; in fact, that
the Crossbill, like the Stone Curlew and the Woodlark, was one of
the typical birds of the countryside. My main oliject in making

The Oologists' Record, December i, 1922. 77

these preliminary observations is really to suggest an undoubted
continuity of the Crossbill as a breeding species in a particular area,
and to deprecate the opinion expressed by some writers that it is
sporadic as regards its nesting distribution.

I met with fully-grown broods of Crossbills in the district every
spring until 1910 — the year of the great irruption — but I was never
there early enough to find the nest. In 1905 I found several nests
of Loxia c. scotica in Inverness-shire, but it was not until 1910 that
I actually found my first nests in East Anglia ; then, from 1916
until the present year 1922, I found them annually, sometimes as
many as ten in a season.

One has only to know the Crossbill — to meet with it on a sunny
day in February in these fir-belts of nameless attraction — to
appreciate its charm. There are few birds so calm and confiding,
and at the same time so excitable and so joyous. From May or
June onwards the Crossbills may be met with in small parties of
old and young, although throughout the year there are always
a few isolated pairs which keep strictly and curiously to themselves,
seldom seeming to wander far from a remarkably restricted area.
The little parties — in my experience seldom more than 10 to 13
strong — are restless and often noisy, feeding rapidly and moving
swiftly from place to place. The isolated pairs, on the other hand,
seldom betray their presence, and only the initiated may become
aware of it. It is true that at all seasons of the year the cock will
occasionally break into song ; but this song is of so peculiar a
timbre that, except in the spring when it is very much louder,
it is very easy to overlook. For the last few years I have generally
made a practice of visiting the Crossbill country about the second
week of January, and continuing my observations until the early
part of April. The birds are extremely difficult to see, and their
presence is most easily located by listening either for the crackling
sound produced by the extraction of the seeds from the fir cones,
or by the dropping of the cones themselves to the ground. The
Crossbill nearly always feeds near the tops of lofty trees, but I have
frequently met with them in plantings of young firs, and they are
so ridiculously tame that they can be watched with ease and at
leisure. I have found that they seldom feed in the immediate
neighbourhood of the nest, although I have no doubt that in the
red-letter year 1910 this peculiarity was not so apparent on account
of their great numbers.

A 2

78 The Oologists' Record, December i, 1922.

On sunny days in the late winter and very early spring the
cocks sing in a particularly bright and lively fashion, generally
from the extreme top of a very tall tree, but often from a dead branch
within a few feet of the ground. The song, which is sometimes
accompanied by a passionate shaking or even flapping of the
wings after the fashion of a Starling, is a little difficult to describe,
but at once proclaims itself to the practised ear. It has a number
of curious, soft, at times almost inaudible phrases, reminiscent of
the Bullfinch or the Starling, into which from time to time a few
loud and not unmusical notes are somewhat oddly interjected, the
effect of the whole being curiously pleasing and attractive.

The alarm note, which is absolutely unique and unmistakable,
is extraordinarily penetrating, and can be heard from an immense
distance. It consists of a clear, metallic and insistent " Chip-chip-
chip," rapidly and frequently uttered, and at the nest deeper
and more intense. Once heard, this note of the Crossbill can never
be mistaken or forgotten.

The Crossbill is extremely fond of water in every sense of the
term ; it drinks continually, and even on the bitter January days,
when only the tiniest spaces are free from ice, will wash vigorously
and with obvious enjoyment over and over again.

Although I have on two occasions seen young just out of the
nest, and on a third young almost fully fledged before January 20,
I have never personally found a nest in that month. The earliest
nest I have ever found was on February 10, 1910, which contained
four considerably incubated eggs. On February 16 in the same
year I found a second nest with five eggs — a very rare clutch —
these eggs being quite fresh. On February 23, 1919, I found three
nests containing two, one and three eggs respectively, the last-
mentioned being on the point of hatching. On February 19, 1921,
I found a nest with three eggs which were chipped for hatching,
and on the same day watched a hen Crossbill building, the nest
being about half-finished. On February 24, 1922, I had a message
from a keeper that he had found a nest with four eggs on which
the bird was sitting hard, but on visiting this nest on the following
day I found that the young were hatched. Later in the day,
however, I found a second nest with four eggs very slightly
incubated.

These are my earliest records of the nesting of the Crossbill ;
by far the greater number of birds under my observation have

The Oologists' Record, December i, 1922. 79

nested between March i and 21. Early nests often appear to
take a very long time to construct, especially in the initial stages.
One may come across a pair of birds apparently feeding quietly,
when, quite suddenly, the hen will creep to the end of a branch,
clip off a dead twig with her strong bill and fly off with it, the
motion of her wings being extraordinarily loud and rustling. She
can be easily followed to the nest, and the operation watched
perhaps half a dozen times, when -she will just as suddenly stop
and do nothing more for the rest of the day. After the foundation
and the outer rim of dead twigs are put together, building proceeds
a little more quickly. Moss and grass are collected from the
ground, often from the same spot ; repeated journeys are made,
the hen being invariably accompanied by the male, who takes no
part, however, in the actual building of the nest. Most nests, too,
contain as a portion of the lining thin strips of the outer bark of
the elder, and it is interesting to watch the hen Crossbill peeling
the elder twigs with a considerable amount of care, and quite
oblivious even of the near presence of an intruder. Occasionally
feathers are added, but not many ; and the nest when complete,
although somewhat loosely put together, is singularly compact
and even imposing. The nest of the Crossbill is quite unmistakable
even in May, when many Greenfinches are nesting in similar
situations.

To refer again to the time taken in the construction of the first
nest : In 1922 I found a nest absolutely ready for eggs on March i ;
on March 8 it had apparently been deserted, but late in the afternoon
I saw the hen enter it with a single feather in her bill. A fortnight
afterwards the eggs were laid.

I have generally found that in East Anglia the nest of the
Crossbill was built at a great height from the ground, frequently
from 40 to 60 feet, and was often inaccessible even with ladders.
On the other hand, I have on many occasions found nests within
easy reach, even when far out on the branches. The nest is
usually placed on a horizontal branch, sometimes at the extreme
end and nearly always well away from the trunk of the tree. Some-
times, however, it is right against the stem, and occasionally at
the extreme top. As a rule it is very easy to find, the cock giving
away the secret either by feeding his sitting mate, by singing
constantly in its immediate neighbourhood, or by becoming quite
unnecessarily alarmed and " chipping " without reason. The nest

A 3

8o The Oologists' Record, December i, 1922.

is seldom intentionally concealed, and the female sits so remarkably
closely — her large head and forked tail being generally plainly
visible — that it cannot possibly be mistaken for an old one. The
most conspicuous feature about the nest of the Crossbill, however,
is the invariable presence of white patches of excrement on the
rim. This may be found even when the eggs are quite fresh, and
I do not recollect having seen the matter referred to before.

The normal clutch of eggs of the Crossbill is four, but sets of
three are not uncommon, especially in early nests. Clutches of
five are exceedingly rare.

I have referred above to the extraordinary way in which the
Crossbill will sit. It is sometimes quite impossible to get her to
move, and I have over and over again lifted a bird off her eggs.

In these notes I have made only a passing reference to the great
irruption of the Crossbill in 1910. Unfortunately in early March
of that year I had to go over to the United States, so that I lost
what was probably a unique opportunity of studying that wonderful
visit. Such irruptions, however, are periodical, not only with the
Crossbill but with other species, and I hope that should another
such take place in our time I shall be here to observe it.

I think that probably East Anglia is one of the very few areas
in which the Crossbill is a resident in England, and I shall be grateful
for any information which may cause me to alter my opinion.
Of course, in many counties of Ireland it is resident and not
uncommon, but as far as the southern half of Great Britain is
concerned I don't think we have a great deal to learn.

A MULTIPLE-UNIT EGG CABINET.

A very interesting and ingenious cabinet has been designed by
one of our subscribers, Major A. G. L. Sladen, and executed by
J. Hill and Sons, of Yewfield Road, Willesden, N. The accom-
panying illustration gives some idea of its construction. It is,
in fact, a multiple-unit system which can be expanded or inter-
changed at the will and convenience of the collector. It is built
up of—

(i) A body section so arranged that it will take any drawers

The Oologists' Record, December i, 1922. 81

in multiples of |^-inch sizes from 2 inches to a total depth
of 21 inches.

(2) A moulded top to go on top of the body section.

(3) A plinth for the section or sections to stand upon.

{4) Glazed drawers, from 2 inches to 5 inches deep over all, in
graduations of | inch. The actual space for eggs in each
drawer is about | inch less than the total depth over all.

It will be seen that to a collector who is beginning to form a
collection a cabinet of this type is an invaluable accessory. How
many of us have, with a growing collection, had to scrap our first
cabinets to gain uniformity when the collection has outgrown
them ? How often, too, the second lot have had to be replaced
by a third, with all the attendant work of rearrangement. Finally,
how many collections are there that can boast of uniformity and
systematic arrangement throughout ? We think they could almost
be counted on the fingers. But with the multiple-unit system
all these difficulties disappear, and the man of moderate means
need not wait until he can afford to buy sufficient for his total
requirements. He can begin with one body section, a top and a
plinth ; and he can buy his drawers one by one to fill it if he so
desires. The makers aim at keeping a stock of these standard
drawers, and at maintaining always a minimum price which will
be kept as near as possible to what they hope will be the falling
cost of production.

The accompanying photographs show a single body section
complete with top and plinth, and with the front shutter and
some of the drawers removed ; and two body sections also with
top and plinth, and with both front shutters in position. It will
be seen that three or more body sections can be superimposed
if so desired, or a new cabinet can be begun to stand next to the
first. The cabinet shown is flush-sided, but a complete end panel
can be fixed on the outside cabinet of a row. The carcase work
is of oak, and the drawers are of mahogany with an inside lipping
to allow of the cotton-wool being tucked in around the edge. This
lipping also allows for the stringing system of divisions inside the
drawer. This system was originally thought out and invented by
Major Sladen, and has since been adopted by other collectors. It
consists of stringing the drawer into the required size of square
very much hke a tennis racquet, the string being brought
higher or lower towards the glass, according to the size of the eggs.

82 The Oologists' Record, December i, 1922,

A jeweller's sheet of cotton-wool is then placed over the string and
tucked in at the edges. When the clutches are placed in the
squares they are, as it were, slung in a spring hammock, with a
wide and uninterrupted air space tmdemeath, and owing to the
action of the string each fresh clutch that is added balances the
pressure on the other clutches throughout the drawer. It is signi-
ficant, too, that no single case of mildew has been reported from a
strung drawer, although it has occurred in wool-filled drawers in
the same collection. This is undoubtedly due to air circulation
below the eggs.

Of course, much of the success of a system such as this depends
upon the ability of the makers to ensure absolute uniformity, but
from what we have seen of their work we think there is nothing
to fear on this score. They anticipate, moreover, that if the cabinet
becomes at all generally adopted, the demand for drawers will
enable them to turn out considerable quantities of each size at a
time thereby very materially reducing the price.

THE NUCLEUS OF A COLLECTION OF THE EGGS OF
THE FRINGILLIDAE.

By K. L. S.

Some time ago I referred to the advantage of specialisation in
Oology, as opposed to the accumulation and study of the eggs of
many different groups, and having made some progress on the lines
indicated, I propose to enumerate the 280 species, comprised in
80 genera, now represented in my collection of the eggs of the
FringillidcB.

The late Dr. Nehrkorn, who bequeathed his collection to the
Berlin Museum, had eggs of 412 species of this family, but it
must be remembered that he was satisfied, in almost every, case,
with one single specimen. i ■ >).'->;> ■■

When I commenced the collection, about the year 1913, 1 thought
to confine it to the Buntings, but I found it difficult to draw a line
dividing them off, and also was loth to exclude many other interesting
genera. I was early able to secure the large series of the various
Japanese Buntings from the • collection of the late Alan Owston,
but the major portion of the rest of the collection have reached
me direct from the actual collectors in all parts of the world, and

The Oologists' Record, December i, 1922.

83

84 The Oologists' Record, December i, 1922.

I need not enlarge on the scientific value of specimens so secured.
I have made considerable sacrifices of valuable palaearctic and
nearctic specimens in exchange for some of the rarer North American
species, but at the same time I have>to thank many correspondents
for humouring me in my desire to enrich this collection.

There are some notable blanks, chief among which is the total
lack of any of the species breeding in the Galapagos Islands.
There is a great weakness too in South American species, and it is
in this connection that I hope to increase the collection in the near
future. Comparatively " easy " species, such as the Trumpeter
Bullfinch [E. githaginea), Scotch Crossbill, Afghan Sparrow {Passer
rutilans) and man}' Madeiran, Canarian and Mauretanian local
varieties, will no doubt be added also in the near future.

With the exception, perhaps, of Harris Sparrow and some
few other very interesting species, North America is pretty well
represented in the collection. The most welcome additions in the
future would without doubt be some of the rare species from the
high Himalayan regions and from Central Asia.

The arrangement is based on Sharpe's Hand List, in which
about 1,200 species of Fringillidae are enumerated. No doubt over
100 species should now be added to this total.

The collection is housed in a 44-drawer series of teak cabinets,
with drawers approximately 24 inches square, each drawer having
a glazed lid. Data are attached to foolscap sheets bound in
" clutch " files.

I have not given dimensions, and limited space permits of only
a brief description of some of the more interesting species, but I
shall be happy to give details to any reader interested in an\''
particular species.
Ligurinus chloris {Linn.). Greenfinch. A series.

,, aurantiiventris {Cab.). Southern Greenfinch. 4 sets.

„ chloroticus {Bp.). Palestine Greenfinch. A fine series.

,, sinicus {Linn.). Chinese Greenfinch, c/2.

,, minor {Temm. and Schl.). Japanese Greenfinch. A series.

,, — - — ■ i* South Russian Greenfinch, c/4.

The eggs of the various species of Greenfinch run through
pretty much the same types, but the British eggs stand out as the
largest. The South Russian set was obtained by Capt. Kennedy
in the Crimea during the War. The Palestine series are all from
Capt. Pitman.

The Oologists' Record, December i, 1922. 85

Eophona melanura (Gtn.). Black-headed Hawfinch, i single.

This is a very pretty egg, the markings recalling those of the
European Hawfinch and of Perissospiza. The ground colour is
greenish and the markings are almost entirely in the form of a ring
round the large end. Mr. Bickerton found this egg some years
ago near Shanghai.

Hesperiphona montana {Ridg.). Western Evening Grosbeak, c/2.
This rare egg is best described as being like some types
of the Hawfinch, but with the ground colour more green and with
less of the wriggly lines, though the markings are by no means
numerous and they are almost confined to the larger end.

Coccothraustes coccothraustes {Linn.). Hawfinch. A fine series.
,, japonicns{Temm. and Sch.). Japanese Hawfinch, c/3.

The very interesting set of the Japanese species was laid in
Mr. Shore Baily's aviaries. Rather elongated, two of them closely
resemble eggs of the Yellow Hammer (Emberiza citrinella), being
marked almost all over with wriggly lines, while the third egg has,
in addition to such lines, a few Hawfinch-like markings also.

Pheucticus aureiventris {D'Orb. and Lafr.). c/2.

These might be described as very much like the eggs of the
Black-headed Grosbeak of California, but with a few purplish
markings overlaid on the large end in the form of a cap.

Zamelodia ludoviciana {Linn.). Rose-breasted Grosbeak. Series.

,, melanocephala {Swains.). Black-headed Grosbeak. Series.

Guiraca caenilea {Linn.). Blue Grosbeak, c/4.

,, laziila {Less.). Western Blue Grosbeak, c/3.
Cyanocompsa argentina {Sharpe). 5/2. ., .

* As in so many South American species of finch, two seems to
be the full clutch. These eggs are somewhat varied as between set
and set, but the two eggs in each set are very similar. Some are
marked all over with reddish, like the eggs of the common Towhee,
others are marked with larger, distinct spots of reddish, which
form a cap at the larger end, and others, again, with large blotches
of two shades like some eggs of the Fox Sparrows but without
much, if any, green in the ground colour.

Oryzoborus torridus {Scop.). Curio (Brazil). 2/2.

These few eggs make one long for a series, for they are most

* Unless the context indicates otherwise, the notes refer always to the
previously named species.

86 The Oologists' Record, December i, 1922.

interesting. I had them from a correspondent in the Province of
Minas Geraes and hope to get more. They resemble eggs of
Rhyacornis fiiUginosa, but the rich vandyke markings are in the
form of a dense zone in one pair, and the effect is most handsome.

Sporophila melanocephala {Vieill.). i single.

„ sharpei {Lawrence). Sharpe's Seed Eater. 2/3.

„ caeridescens {Vieill.). Olive Finch (of Argentina). 1/2.

ornafa {Licht.). Papa-capim (Brazil). 3/2, i.
Fifty-seven species of Sporophila are enumerated in the Hand
List, so that a description of four seems rather inadequate. The
two sets of the Texan species differ very much, one set having
warm brown markings and the other purple and grey marks, chiefly
at the large end.

Melopyrrha nigra {Linn.). Black Seed Finch, i '4.

These eggs are more like some of the common types of lightly
marbled House Sparrows.

Euethia olivacea {Linn.). Olive Finch. 1/4.

canora {Gm.). Cuban Finch. 2/4, 1/2.
The first are rather lightly marked with reddish brown which
inclines to a zone, and the second resemble eggs of some of the
Titmice but lack the brightness of colour seen in the latter ; some
have slight zones.

Volatinia jacarini {Linn.). Serra-serra (Brazil). 2/2, i.

This interesting little species, of which 1 hope soon to secure
a series, shows an almost pure white ground with dark red markings
forming zones almost at the extremity of the large ends.

Pyrrhuloxia sinuata {Bp.). Arizona Pyrrhuloxia. 1/4.
,, texana {Ridg.). Texan Pyrrhuloxia. 1/2.

Cardinalis cardinalis {Linn.). Cardinal. Series.

canicauda {Chapman). Grey-tailed Cardinal- 1/4-
,, floridaniis {Ridg.). Florida Cardinal. 2/3.

sitperbus {Ridg.). Arizona Cardinal. 2/4, 1/3.

igneits {Baird). San Lucas Cardinal, i single.

The eggs of the various species of Cardinal and Pyrrhuloxia

do not, to the superficial observer, present much variety. Indeed,

the various sets of the Common Cardinal are as varied as those

of all the other species as a whole.

The Oologists' Record, December i, 1922. 87

Saltator similis, Lafr. and D'Orh. Trinca-ferro (Brazil). 1/3.

,, grandis {Licht.). i single.

„ caeridescens, Vieill. 3/2.

,, aurantiirostris, Vieill. 1/2.

There are 25 species in the Hand List and Nehrkorn says they
are all similar. Of the above, S. caeridescens are the most handsome.
They have a light blue ground and a multitude of fine black hair
lines are twisted and wreathed into beautiful zones at the extreme
tip of the large end. In 5. aurantiirostris the markings are much
bolder, less numerous, and do not make a clearly defined zone.
S. similis is very lightly marked with short scrawly marks and
ragged spots. Two of my sets of S. caeridescens contain an egg of
Molothrus bonariensis.

Fringilla teydea {Webb and Berth.). Teydean Chaffinch. 1/2.

,, coelebs (Linn.). Chaffinch. Fine series.

„ spodiogenys (Bp.). Algerian Chaffinch. 1/2, 1/3, 1/4,

,, montifringilla (Linn.). Brambling. Good series.

,, solomkoi, Menz. and S. South Russian Chaffinch. 1/4.

My set of F. teydea came direct to me from Herr Rudolf von
Thanner-Tschusi, and the set of F. solomkoi was taken by Capt.
Kennedy in the Crimea during the war. Many local races, notably
from the Canaries, Madeira and Morocco, are still wanting here.

Cardiielis cardiielis {Linn.). Continental Goldfinch. Series.
,, britannica {Hartert). British Goldfinch. Series.
,, tschnsii {Arr.). Corsican Goldfinch. 2/4.
,, africana {Hartert). N. African Goldfinch. 1/3.
caniceps {Vig.). Himalayan Goldfinch. 1/4, 1/5.
niedecki (Reichenow). Palestine Goldfinch. Series.
Spinus spinus (Linn.). Siskin. 2/4.

,, citrinellns (Linn.). Citril Finch. 1/4.
,, toitus {Sparrm.). South African Siskin, i single.
,, ictericus {Licht.). Black-headed Siskin. 1/4.
,, tibetanus {Hume). Sikhim Siskin. 1/3 and i single.
,, pinus (Wils.). Pine Siskin. 3/4.
Hypacanthis spinoides {Vig.). Himalayan Greenfinch. 1/2, 1/3, 1/4.
Astragalinns tristis {Linn.). American Goldfinch, 1/5.
; ,;,, salicamans {Grinnell). Willow Goldfinch. 1/5.

„ psaltria {Say). Arkansas Goldfinch. 1/5.

The Oologists' Record, December i, 1922.

Astragalinus hesperophilus (Oberh.). Green-backed Goldfinch. 1/4,

1/5-
„ lawrencei {Cass.). Lawrence's Goldfinch. 1/5.

All the above are very light blue, except the last which is pure
white, and quite unspotted.

Linaria flavirostris {Linn.). Twite. Series.

,, rufostrigata {Walton). 1/3, 1/5.

„ cannabina {Linn.). Linnet. Series.

„ mediterranea {Tschiisi). Mediterranean Linnet. 1/4.

,, fringillirostris {Bp. and Schl.). Eastern I>innet. i single,

,, linaria {Linn.). Mealy Redpoll. Series.

„ nifescens {Vieill.). Lesser Redpoll. Series.

,, exilipes {Cones). Coues' Redpoll, i single.

There are many so-called eggs of the Coues' Redpoll in collec-
tions, but the authenticity of many of them is very doubtful.
My single specimen was taken by Col. Meiklejohn at Kem, on the
Karelian Coast, and he sent the birds home for identification. It
is a rather brighter green than most Redpoll eggs and is very faintly
marked, though I have Mealy Redpoll eggs from Labrador quite
as sparingly marked.

Montifringilla nivalis {Linn.). European Snowfinch.

griseinucha {Brandt). Aleutian Rosy Finch. 1/3.
Rhodospiza obsoleta {Licht.). i single.

Erythrospiza zedlitzi {Neumann). Algerian Desert Bullfinch. 1/3.
,, amantum {Hartert). Canary Is. Desert Finch. 2/5.

The eggs of E. zedlitzi are smaller and I think the markings are
more generally distributed than in the case of E. amantum or the
typical species, which, strangely enough, I have not yet been able
to secure.

Petronia petronia {Linn.). Rock Sparrow. 1I4, i}^.

maderensis {Erlanger). Madeiran Rock Sparrow. 1/3.
„ dentata {Sundev.). Grey-headed Sparrow. 1/5.

super ciliar is {Blyth). Diamond Sparrow. 2/3.
My P. dentata eggs are from Mr. Baily's aviary. They seem to be
almost unspotted and to present a uniform dirty grey appearance.
The two sets of Diamond Sparrow, from the same source, are pretty
little eggs, almost spherical, with rather large dark greenish-grey
spots all over the surface.

The Oologists' Record, December i, 1922. 89

Gymnorhis flavicoUis {Frankl.). Yellow-throated Sparrow (of India).

2/4.
Carpospiza brachydactyla {Bp.). Short-toed Desert Sparrow. 1/3,

1/4.
I am indebted to Mr. Stuart Baker for this interesting species

from Persia. The eggs have a creamj'-white ground upon which

there are a verj^ few large and small dark red spots. They are

much like eggs of some of the Vireos of North America.

Passer montanus {Linn.). Tree-Sparrow (of Europe). Series.
,, saturatus (Stejn). 2/5.

malaccensis (Dubois). Malacca Sparrow. 2/4, 1/5.

domesticns {Linn.). House-Sparrow. Series.
,, biblicus {Hartert). Palestine Sparrow. Series.

niloticus. Egyptian Sparrow. 1/2, 1/3.

indicus {Jard. and Selby). Indian House-Sparrow. 2/3.
,, iialiae {VieilL). Italian Sparrow. 1/4,
„ hispaniolensis {Temm.). Spanish Sparrow. 2/5.

maltae {Hartert). Maltese Sparrow. 1/5.
,, cinnamomeus {Gould). Cinnamon Tree-Sparrow. 2/3.

fiaveolus {Blyth). Pegu House-Sparrow. 1/3, 1/4.
,, nielanurus {P. L. S. Miill). Cape Sparrow. Series.

moabiticus {Tristr.). Tristram's Sparrow. 1/5.
,, motitensis {Smith). Greater South African Sparrow. 1/4.
„ griseus {VieilL). 1/4.

diffusus (Smith). Grey-headed Sparrow. 2 singles.
Though size and shade vary a lot, all the above look like
Sparrows' eggs.

Alario alario (Linn.). Mountain Canary. Series.
Auripasser liiteiis (Licht.). Yellow Sparrow. 1/2.
Poliospiza albigularis (Smith). White-throated Seed-eater. Series,
,, angolensis (Gm.). Black-throated Seed-eater. 2/3.
,, leiicopygia (Sundev.). 1/3.

,, striolata (Rilpp.). Streaked Serin Finch. 1/2.

,, gularis (Smith). Streaky-headed Seed-eater. 2/3.
,, canicapilla (Dii Bus), il^.

Seriniis canicollis (Swains). Cape Canary. 1/3.
,, stdphuratus (Linn.). Bully Seed-eater. 2/3.
,, icterus (Vieill.). Golden-rump Canary. 1/3.
,, serinus (Linn.). Serin Finch. 3/4, 1/5.

go The Oologists' Record, December i, 1922.

Serinus canarius {Linn.). Wild canary. 1/4.

,, pitsillus {Pall.). Gold-fronted Finch. 1/3.
Sycalis flaveola {Linn.). Canario da terra (Brazil). 2/4.
,, pelzelni {Scl.). 1/3.

,, arvensis {Kittl.). Misti Seed Finch. 1/4.
luteiventris {Meyer). 1/5, 1/4.
Carpodacus erythrinus {Pall.). Scarlet Grosbeak. 2/3, 1/4, 1/3.

severtzovi (Sharpe). Severtzov's Rose Finch. 1/3, 1/4, 1/5.
purpnreus {Gm.). Purple Finch. 2/4, 1/5.
calif ornicus {Baird). Calif ornian Purple Finch. 2/4.
cassini {Baird). Cassin's Purple Finch. 1/5, 2/4.
ruherrimiis {Ridg.). San Lucas House Finch, i single.
frontalis {Say). House Finch. 2/5, 1/4.
dementis {Mearns). San Clemente House Finch. 1/4.
ampins {Ridg.). Gaudalupe House Finch. 1/3.
Propasser pulcherrinms {Hodgs.). Beautiful Rose Finch. 1/5, 2/4.
ivaltoni {Sharpe). 1/3, 1/5.

rhodochrous {Vig.). Pink-browed Rose Finch. 2/4 and
I single.
Loxia curvirostra {Linn.). Continental Crossbill. 1/5, 1/4.
anglica {Hartert). British Crossbill. 1/4.
minor {Brehm). American Crossbill. 1/4.
pityopsittacus {Borkh.). Parrot Crossbill, i single.
The best thing here, of course, is the American species. The
four eggs are very sparsely marked and much resemble faintty
marked Greenfinch eggs. The single egg of the Parrot Crossbill
was bought from Monsieur Cavro's collection and came from Cholm,
in Poland. It is the largest Loxia egg I have ever seen and much
larger than the eggs usually attributed to this species.

Pyrrhula pyrrhula {Linn.). Greater Bullfinch. 2/5.

,, enropaea {Vieill.). Continental Bullfinch. 1/4.

,, pileata {Macgill.). British Bullfinch. Good series.
Pinicola emicleator {Linn.). Pine Grosbeak. 8/4.

These eggs do not differ much. My collector-correspondent in
North Finland assures me they do not lay five eggs* ; yet dealers — !

Pyrrhulorhyncha pyrrhidoides {Pall.). Large-billed Reed Bunting.

1/5.
,, palustris {Savi). Intermediate Reed Bunting. 1/2.

* pinicola enucleator hat niemals mehr als 4 Eier — oft nur 3. Ich habe
mehr als 100 Gelege gehabt und alle von 3-4 Eier.

The Oologists' Record, December i. 1922. 91

Emberiza schoenicliis {Linn.). Reed Bunting. Fine series.

Pyrrhulinus (Swinh.). Japanese Reed Bunting. 1/3.
Mr. Gordon was good enough to let me have this set collected
by a relative of his in Japan. He first sent them to me for my
opinion. As there is only one type of E. schoenicUis in Japan,
these eggs, which are very similar to E. schoeniclus, must, I think,
be referable to E. pyrrhulinus.

Emberiza yessdensis {Swinh.). Yesso Bunting. Series.

I secured this fine series from the collection of the late Mr. Alan
Owston. The eggs are very distinct from those of any other
Bunting and some of the types are very beautiful, richty marked
as they are with dark brown.

Emberiza pusilla {Pall.). Little Bunting. 2 singles.
,, rustica {Pall.). Rustic Bunting. Series.
,, fucata {Pall.). Grey-headed Bunting. Fine series.
chrysophrys {Pall.). Yellow-browed Bunting. 1/2.
flaviventris {Steph.). Golden-breasted Bunting. 6/2.
One of the most beautiful eggs in the Bunting Group. Almost
all eggs are devoid of marks with the exception of a delicate wreath
or zone at the large end. One set only is capped instead of zoned.

Emberiza melanocephala {Scop.). Black-headed Bunting. 1/4, 1/5.
,, luteola {Sparrm.). Red-headed Bunting. 3/4.

aureola {Pall.). Yellow-breasted Bunting. 1/4.

citrinella {Linn.). Yellow Bunting. Very fine series.
,, erythrogenys {Brehm.). 1/4.
,, sulphurata {Temm. and Schl.). Fine series.
,, personata {Temm-.). Fine series.
,, cirlus {Linn.). Cirl Bunting. Series.
,, nigrostriata {Schiebel). Corsican Cirl Bunting. 1/3, 1/4.

hortulana {Linn,). Ortolan Bunting. Series.

buchanani {Blyth). Grey-necked Bunting. 1/4.
,, caesia {Cretz). Cretzschmar's Bunting. 1/4.

steivarti {Blyth). White-capped Bunting. 1/5.
,, cia {Linn.). ^ Meadow Bunting. Fine series.
,, stracheyi {Moore). Eastern Meadow Bunting. Series.

par {Hartert). Hartert's Bunting. 1/3.
,, cioides {Brandt). Siberian Meadow Bunting. 1/5.
,, ciopsis {Bp.). Fine series.
,, leucocephala {Gm.). Pine Bunting. 1/5.

92 The Oologists' Record, December i, 1922,

Miliaria miliaria {Linn.). Corn Bunting. Series.

Fringillaria capensis (Linn.). Cape Bunting. 1/2, 1/3.
tahapisi (Smith). Rock Bunting. 1/3.
saharae [LevailL). Saharan House Bunting. 1/2, 1/3,
,, impetuani {Smith). Lark Bunting (of S. Africa). Series.

Tisa variabilis {Temm.). 2/3, 1/2.
Melophus melanicterus {Gm.). Crested Bunting. 1/4.
Plectrophenax nivalis (Linn.). Snow Bunting. Series.

,, townsendi (Ridg.). Prybilof Snow Bunting. 1/5.

Calcarius lapponicus {Linn.). Lapland Bunting. Series.
alascensis {Ridg.). Alaskan Longspur. 1/5.
pictus {Swains.). Smith's Longspur. 1/5.
,, ornatus {Towns.). Chestnut-collared Longspur. 1/3, 1/4.
Rhynchophanes maccowni {Lawr.). McCown's Longspur. 1/3.
Calamospiza melanocorys {Stejn). Lark Bunting (of N. A.). 1/5.
Spiza americana {Gm.). Dickcissel. 1/4.
Chondestes grammacus {Say). Lark Sparrow. 2/5.

,, strigatus {Swains.). Western Lark Sparrow. 1/3, 2/5,

1/4-
Pooecetes gramineus {Gm.). Vesper Sparrow. Series.

confinis {Baird). Western Vesper Sparrow. 3/4.

affinis {Miller). Oregon Vesper Sparrow. 1/3, 1/4.

Passer cuius savanna {Wilson). Savannah Sparrow. 2/4.

,, alaudinus {Bp.). Western Savannah Sparrow. 1/3,

1/5-

„ bryanii {Ridg.). Bryant's Sparrow. 1/4.

,, beldingi {Ridg.). Belding's Sparrow. 2/3.

Centronyx bairdi {Audubon). Baird's Sparrow. 1/4.

A very rare egg and a very pretty one. A creamy ground colour
is suffused with reddish-pink blotches and markings which are
more intense at the large end, like one type of Erithacus ruhecula.
The bird, of course, is not rare on the western prairies, but the
nest is difficult to find, and consequently the eggs are seldom
seen in collections.
Coturniculus passeriniis {Wilson). Grasshopper Sparrow. 2/4,

,, bimaculatus {Swains.). Western Grasshopper Sparrow.

1/3-
Ammodromus maritimus {Wils.). Seaside Sparrow. 2/4.

„ caudacutus {Gm.). Sharp-tailed Sparrow. 1/5.

„ nelsoni {Allen). Nelson's Sparrow. 1/4.

The Oologists' Record, December i, 1922. 93

Ammodromus leconfei [Anditb.). Leconte's Sparrow. 1/4.

henslowi (Audub.). Henslow's Sparrow. 1/5.
occidentalis {Brewster). Western Henslow's Sparrow.

1/4-
Myiospiza manimbe {Lichi.). i single.

Haemophila carpalis [Coues). Rnfous-winged Sparrow. 1/3.
ruficeps [Cass.). Rufous-crowned Sparrow. 1/4.
scotH [Sennett). Scott's Sparrow. 1/3.
eremoeca [Brown). Rock Sparrow (of N. A.). 1/4.
cassini [Woodh.). Cassin's Sparrow. 1/3.
bachmanni [And.). Bachmann's Sparrow. 1/4.
Amphispiza bilineata (Cass.). Black-throated Sparrow. 1/4.
deserticola (Ridg.). Desert Sparrow. 1/3.
belli (Cass.). Bell's Sparrow. 2/4, 1/3.
nevadensis {Ridg.). Sage Sparrow. 1/4, ^j^.
I am not sure whether or not three of my sets of Sage Sparrow,
which came from the Bend country, are not of a separate sub-
species.

Poospiza melanoleuca [D'Orb. and Lafr.). White-breasted Warbling
Finch. 1/2.
,, whitei {Scl.). 1 single.

erythrophrys{Scl.). Red-browed Warbling Finch, i single.
,, torquata [D'Orb. and Lafr.). 1/4.
J unco hyemalis [Linn.). Slate-coloured Junco. 1/4.
,, carolinensis [Breivster). Carolina Junco. 1/3.
shufeldti (Coale). Shufeldt's Junco. 1/3, 2/4.
thiirberi [Anthony). Thurber's Junco. 1/3, 1/2.
,, pinosits [Looniis). Point Pinos Junco. 1/4.

inearnsi [Ridg.). Pink-sided Junco. 1/4.
,, caniceps [Woodh.). Grey-headed Junco. 1/4.
Spizella monticola [Gm.). Tree Sparrow (of N. America). 3/5.

These are three very line sets selected from a number that I
used to get from a collector in Labrador.
Spizella socialis [Wils.). Chipping Sparrow. Series.

arizonae [Codes). Western Chipping Sparrow. 1/3, 2/4.
pusilla [Wilson). Field Sparrow. Series.
I have yet to see a set of five Field Sparrow.
Spizella arenacea {Chadbourne). Western Field Sparrow. 1/3, 1/4.
atrogitlaris [Cab.). Black-throated Sparrow, zj^^,.
One of these is the unspotted type.

94 The Oologists' Record, December i, 1922.

Spizella pallida [Swains.). Clay-coloured Sparrow. 2/4, 1/2.
The 2 set has a Cowbird's egg with it.

Spizella breweri {Cass). Brewer's Sparrow. 3/4.
Zonotrichia leiicophrys (Forst.). White-crowned Sparrow. Series.
From both Labrador and the west.

Zonotrichia nnUalli (Ridg.). Nuttall's Sparrow. Series.

„ albicollis (Gm.). White-throated Sparrow. 2/4.

Brachyspiza pileata (Bodd.). Tico-tico (Brazil). 1/3, 1/4.

,, canicapilla [Goidd). i/i, 1/2, 1/3.

Melospiza melodia {Wils.). Song Sparrow. Series.

Montana {Henshaw). Mountain Song Sparrow. 1/3.
santacrucis {Grinnell). Santa Cruz Song Sparrow. 1/3,

1/4;

,. merrilli [Brewster). Merrill's Song Sparrow. 1/3, 1/4.

,, fallax [Baird). Desert Song Sparrow. 1/4, 1/5.

heermanni [Baird). Heermann's Song Sparrow. 1/3,

1/5- _
,, cooper i [Ridg.). San Diego Song Sparrow. Series.

,, clementae [Towns.). San Clementae Song Sparrow. 1/4,

1/5;

,, graminea [Towns.). Santa Barbara Song Sparrow. 1/4,

1/5- _
,, samuelis [Baird). Samuel's Song Sparrow. 2/3, 1/4.

pusilhda [Ridg.). Alameda Song Sparrow. 1/4.

cleonensis [McGregor). Mendocino Song Sparrow. 1/3.

niorphna [Oberh.). Rust}' Song Sparrow. 2/4.
,, lincolni [Audubon). Lincoln's Sparrow. 1/4.

,, georgiana [Lath.). Swamp Sparrow. Series.

,, fisher ella. Fisher's Song Sparrow. 1/5.

juddi. Dakota Song Sparrow. 1/5.

gouldi. Marin Song Sparrow. 2/4.
Passerella iliaca [Merrem). Fox Sparrow. 1/4.

,, townsendi [Aud.). Townsend's Fox Sparrow. 1/3.

,, schistacea [Baird). Slate-coloured Fox Sparrow. 2/4.

,, megarhyncha (Baird). Thick-billed Fox Sparrow. 1/3.

,, stephensi [Anthony). Stephens' Fox Sparrow. 1/2.

Passerina cyanea [Linn.). Indigo Bunting. 1/4, 1/5.
,, arnoena [Say). Lazuli Bunting. 1/3, 1/4.

,, ciris [Linn.). Painted Bunting. Series.

The Oologists' Record, December i, 1922. 95

Oreospiza chlorura {Towns.). Green-tailed Towhee. 1/4.
Pipilo megalonyx {Baird). San Diego Towhee. 2/3, 1/4.
oregonus (Bell). Oregon Towhee. 2/3.
erythrophthalmus {Linn.). Towhee. Series.
alleni {Coues). White-eyed Towhee. 1/4.
aberti (Baird). Abert's Towhee. 3/3.
mesolencus {Baird). Canon Towhee. 1/4, 2/3.
crissalis {Vig.). CaHfornian Towhee. 1/3, 1/4.
senicida {Anthony). Anthony's Towhee. Series.
Saltatricida multicolor {Burm.). 1/2.
Arremonops rnfivirgatns {Later.). Texan Sparrow. 1/5.
Embernagra olivascens {D'Orh. and Lafr.). 1/3.
Coryphospiza alhifrons [Vieill.). i single.
Phrygihts gayi {Eyd. and Gerv.). 2/3.

Beautiful eggs these, like very small types of ZameJodia but
with ground colour and markings a more vivid green.
Phrygilus melanoderus {0. and Gaim.). Falkland Is. " Sparrow." 1/2.

fruticeti {Kittl.). Mourning Finch. 2/3, 2/2.
Diuca dittca {Mol.). Diuca Finch, i single.

,, minor {Bp.). Lesser Diuca Finch. 4/3, 1/2.
Coryphospingus cristatus {Gm.). Red-crested Finch. 2/2.
Paroaria cucnllata {Lath.). Red-crested Cardinal. 2/2.
,, larvata {Bodd.). Dominican Cardinal. 2/2.
Both species are like very handsome eggs of our Skylark. In
both sets of P. larvata one eg^ is very lightly marked with a greenish-
white ground showing.

Gubernatrix cristata {Vieill.). Green Cardinal. 1/4.
Arremon orbignii {ScL). 1/3.
Buarremon citrinellits {Cab.). 3/2, 1/2.

BIRD HAUNTS AND NATURE MEMORIES.

By T. A. Co\v.\RU, M.Sc, F.Z.S., etc. Warne and Co., ys. 6d.
Those of our readers who possess Mr. Coward's work on " The
Birds of the British Isles," which we have not ceased to recommend,
will welcome his new work, for it is penned in a still more delightful
vein. It is not, like the former, an encyclopaedia of information
with regard to each species, but a racy account of numerous visits
to out-of-the-way spots, with intimate peeps into the bird and other
life seen. The reader can in imagination accompany the author
on his wanderings, almost hearing the twigs break beneath his feet
as he goes.

c)6 The Oologists' Record, December i, 1922.

Perhaps the most interesting chapter is that on " The Home
Life of the Shearwater," and, if the eggs were not so utterly wanting
in variation as to limit the cupidity of the most callous collector,
we should doubt the wisdom of betraying the exact locality.
" There are not," he writes, " rabbit-burrows enough for the Shear-
water colony, and by far the greater number of the birds lay
their single white egg in some deep crack or hole amongst the
rocks." The author relates curious things about the behaviour
of the Shearwaters during a heavy rainfall or in fog. " As the
birds came flying swiftly round the hill, passing unseen in the
darkness, within a few yards of the house — ' in the doorway,' our
host expressed it — we heard what sounded like an emphatic
' it-y-corka,' the emphasis on the third syllable, and other loud
remarks — ' kitty-coo-roo,' ' kok-a-kok,' sharply repeated, and
' kok-a-go-go,' all uttered with a vehemence which was perfectly
astonishing. The birds flew swiftly, following one another ; at
times there was a moment's silence, then a babel of voices."

Mr. Coward's chapters on the struggle for existence in the bird
world, and the effect of importations such as that of the Little Owl
and the Grey Squirrel, are full of interesting facts and conjectures.
He makes us wonder if the Grey Squirrels, but recently arrived in
our home woods, should be allowed to establish themselves, for
from such causes, as he explains, come profound changes in the
distribution and number of our birds.

The author grudges and misjudges the interest of the oologist ;
but, closely in touch as we are with oologists in all parts of the
world, we would like to assure him that they are, on the whole,
active agents for the preservation of species. Nor is this the interest
of the Oyster-catcher for the oyster. Ornithologists and oologists
alone know and appreciate the existence of the rare species, while
to the great mass of people bird-life connotes merely the songsters
of their shrubberies, fields and hedgerows. The ignorance of many
protectionists proves this. We commend to them a scheme for
the licensing and control of domestic cats, which would do more to
foster bird-life than all they have ever done or will do, while the
greatest efforts of the most greedy collector in a lifetime will not
exceed what a pair of Jays or Magpies will accomplish in one season.
But the author's views on these matters, relegated to the end of
the volume, do not detract one iota from the very great pleasure
it has afforded us.

Harrison & Sons, Ltd., Printers in Ordinary to His Majesty, St. Martin's Lane, W.C. 2.

THE OOLOGISTS' RECORD.

A Quarterly Magazine devoted to the advancement of Oology in
all parts of the World.

Vol. II— No. 1.

March 1, 1922.

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STEVENS'S AUCTION ROOMS, Ltd.

Established 1760.
38, King Street, Covent Garden, London, W.C. 2.

PERIODICAL SALES

are held at the above Rooms, of NATURAL HISTORY SPECIMENS,
including BIRDS and BIRDS' EGGS, CABINETS, &c. Also BOOKS
relating to NATURAL HISTORY.

Catalogues of sales posted on application.

~ "THE OOLOGIST."

A MAGAZINE FOR STUDENTS OF BIRD LIFE.

Subscription 50 cents per annum, or $1 for two years.

Published Monthly by

R. M. BARNES,

LACON, ILLINOIS, U.S.A.

F. H. L. WHISH,

LYMPSHAM, SOMERSET.

Specialises in tite Setting-up and Mounting of
Birds and Bird Sleinsm

Fur Skins Dressed, Dyed, Cleaned, Renovated,
and Stored. A stock of well-prepared Bird and
Mammal Skins with authentic data. No Lists.

Pleate mention " The Oologitls' Record" when replying to advertisements.

THE OOLOGISTS' RECORD.

A Quarterly Magazine devoted to the advancement of Oology in
all parts of the World.

Vol. II— No. 4.

December 1, 1922.

Published by HARRISON & SONS. Limited, Printers in Ordinary to His Majesty;
45, St. Martin's Lane, London, W.C. 2.

Subscription 5s- per annum post free. Single copies are on sale at i the Publishers
at Is. (>d. per copy, or Is. 7J. post free. All communications for the Editor should be
addressed to " The Editor, 7 he Oologists' Record, Brooklands Estate Office, Weybridge,
Surrey."

[All Rights Reserved ]

NATURELAND.

An Illustrated Magazine of Natural History.

THE MAGAZINE YOU HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR.
THE MAGAZINE THAT IS DIFFERENT.

INTERESTING PAPERS BY WELL-KNOWN WRITERS.

NATURE NOTES COLUMN.

NATURAL HISTORY PHOTOGRAPHS OF ALL KINDS.

Prospectus from the Editor, Graham Renshaw, M.D., F.R.S.E., Bridge
House, Sale, Manchester.

STEVENS'S AUCTION ROOMS, Ltd.

Established 1760.
38, King Street, Covent Garden, London, W.C. 2.

PERIODICAL SALES

are held at the above Rooms, of NATURAL HISTORY SPECIMENS,
including BIRDS and BIRDS' EGGS, CABINETS, &c. Also BOOKS
relating to NATURAL HISTORY.

Catalogues of sales posted on application.

"THE OOLOGIST."

A MAGAZINE FOR STUDENTS OF BIRD LIFE.

Subscription 50 cents per annum, or $1 for two years.

Published Monthly by

R. M. BARNES,

LACON, ILLINOIS, U.S.A.

F. H. L. WHISH,

LYMPSHAM, SOMERSET.

Spocialises in the Setting-up and Mounting at
Birds and Bird Skins.

Fur Skins Dressed, Dyed, Cleaned, Renovated,
and Stored. A stock of well-prepared Bird and
Mammal Skins with authentic data. No Lists.

Pleate mention " The Oologists Record" when replying to advertisements.

ADD to YOUR CABINET as YOUR COLLECTION GROWS, by using our

SECTIONAL CABINETS.

Keep your DATA TICKETS, attached to FOOLSCAP or QUARTO SHEETS, in our

CLUTCH FILES,

which overcome all the disadvantages of perforated " loose-leaf " systems.
Send for our 55 pp. Price List of Office Requisites. It is sent post free on application.

TAPP & TOOTHILL, LTD., foNDoTs™!. ^*"?™*^:

'Phone Hop 3732.
Branches at Leeds, Bradford, Manchester and Sheffield.

SMALL ANNOUNCEMENTS.

The charge for advertisements in this column is is. 6d. per line
of 10 words. Minimum charge" 4s. 6d.

" O. E. & M." standard data forms, size 5 inches by 3 inches,
are suppHed to subscribers by Harrison and Sons, Ltd., St. Martin's
Lane, London, W.C. 2, at the following rates, post free : —

250 for 3s. -^d. ; 500 for 6s. ; 1,000 for los. 6d.

Card-index cabinets, of standard size, to hold these data forms in a
most convenient manner for ready reference, are supplied as
follows : —

£ s. d.

1 drawer, to hold about 2,000 forms ... o 12 6*

2 drawers ,, ,, 4,000 ,, ... i i of

Larger sizes can be quoted for, as well as every description of
printing and stationery of the best quality.

OOLOGICAL RESEARCH FORMS.

100 for 7s., post free ; 500, or more, at 5s. 6^. per 100, post free.
Binding covers for above, -^s. 6d. each, post free.

* Postage i.f. 6d. t Postage 2s.

WATKINS & DONCASTER,

36, STRAND, LONDON, W.C.2,

Keep a large stock of Clutches of Eggs and also

Skins of all the species of Birds included in the

British List, as well as those of many Palaearctic

species not included therein.

Correspondence is invited from Oologists
abroad who are desirous of filling up gaps
in their collections or of completing series or
groups.

All Eggs are perfectly prepared and authen-
ticated, and full data are furnished. Single Eggs
can be supplied as well as sets.

COLLECTIONS PURCHASED.

We also supply Cabinets, Apparatus and
Accessories of all descriptions, of our own manu-
facture, for the use of Oologists, Lepidopterists,
Botanists, &c., and specialise in Books for every
branch of Nature Study.

Catalogue sent post free on application.

Please mention "The Oologists^ Record '\ when replying
to advertisements.

SMALL ANNOUNCEMENTS.

The charge for advertisements in this column is is, 6d. per line
of 10 words. Minimum charge 4s. 6d.

" O. E. & M." standard data forms, size 5 inches by 3 inches,
are supplied to subscribers by Harrison and Sons, Ltd., St. Martin'?
Lane, London, W.C. 2, at the following rates, post free : —

250 for 3s. 2^. ; 500 for 6s. ; 1,000 for los. 6d.

Card-index cabinets, of standard size, to hold these data forms in a
most convenient manner for ready reference, are supphed as
follows : —

£ s. d.

1 drawer, to hold about 2,000 forms ... o 12 6*

2 drawers ,, ,, 4,000 ,, ... i i of

Larger sizes can be quoted for, as well as every description of
printing and stationery of the best quaUty.

OOLOGICAL RESEARCH FORMS.

100 for 7s., post free ; 500, or more, at 5s. 6d. per 100, post free.
Binding covers for above, 3s. dd. each, post free.

* Postage is. 6d. t Postage 2s.

^WATKINS & DONCASTER,

36, STRAND, LONDON, W.C.2,

Keep a large stock of Clutches of Eggs and also

Skins of all the species of Birds included in the

British List, as well as those of many Palaearctic

species not included therein.

Correspondence is invited from Oologists
abroad who are desirous of filling up gaps
in their collections or of completing series or
groups.

AH Eggs are perfectly prepared and authen-
ticated, and full data are furnished. Single Eggs
can be supplied as well as sets.

COLLECTIONS PURCHASED.

We also supply Cabinets, Apparatus and
Accessories of all descriptions, of our own manu-
facture, for the use of Oologists, Lepidopterists,
Botanists, &c., and specialise in Books for every
branch of Nature Study.

Catalogue sent post free on application.

Please mention "The Oologists^ Record^' when replying
to advertisements.

SMALL ANNOUNCEMENTS.

The charge for advertisements in this column is is. 6d. per line
of 10 words. Minimum charge 4s. 6d.

" 0. E. & M." standard data forms, size 5 inches by 3 inches,
are supplied to subscribers b}" Harrison and Sons, Ltd., St. Martin's
Lane, London, W.C. 2, at the following rates, post free : —

250 for 3s. 3^. ; 500 for 6s. ; 1,000 for 10s. 6d.

Card-index cabinets, of standard size, to hold these data forms in a
most convenient manner for ready reference, are supplied as
follows : —

£ s. d.

1 drawer, to hold about 2,000 forms ... o 12 6*

2 drawers ,, ,, 4,000 ,, ... i i of

Larger sizes can be quoted for, as well as every description of
printing and stationery of the best quality.

OOLOGICAL RESEARCH FORMS.

100 for js., post free ; 500, or more, at 5s. 6d. per 100, post free.
Binding covers for above, 3s. bd. each, post free.

• Postage IS. 6d. t Postage 2s.

WATKINS & DONCASTER,

36, STRAND, LONDON, W.C.2,

Keep a large stock of Clutches of Eggs and also

Skins of all the species of Birds included in the

British List, as well as those of many Palaearctic

species not included therein.

Correspondence is invited from Oologists
abroad who are desirous of filling up gaps
in their collections or of completing series or
groups.

All Eggs are perfectly prepared and authen-
ticated, and full data are furnished. Single Eggs
can be supplied as well as sets.

COLLECTIONS PURCHASED.

We also supply Cabinets, Apparatus and
Accessories of all descriptions, of our own manu-
facture, for the use of Oologists, Lepidopterists,
Botanists, &c., and specialise in Books for every
branch of Nature Study.

Catalogue sent post free on application.

Please mention ** The Oologists* Record'* when replying
to advertisements.