ZOOLOGICAL NOTES 247 



Grey Hen with Two Broods. A few days previous to igth 

 August, the shepherd on one of the beats on our hill here told my 

 head keeper that he knew of a Grey Hen (Tetrao tetrix) which had 

 had two broods of birds this season and was rearing both. The 

 keeper was not unnaturally sceptical, but accompanied the shepherd 

 to the place where the Grey Hen was. This turned out to be an 

 enclosure of about three or four acres surrounded with a dry-stone 

 dyke with only one gate, which is kept shut in order to keep out 

 sheep. On going to the spot in this enclosure where the shepherd 

 said he knew the bird had nested for a second time, there, sure 

 enough, she was with two sets of chicks ; the one set being well 

 grown, and the other lot just two or three days old. The shepherd 

 said he knew the bird well, had been watching her all season, and 

 could vouch for her having nested twice. The incident seemed to 

 me unusual, but apparently so well ascertained that, at the suggestion 

 of Mr. Harvie-Brown, I venture to send it for insertion in the 

 " Annals."- -}OHN P. WRIGHT, Cardrona, Traquair, Innerleithen. 



Woodcocks nesting- abundantly in Kirkcudbrightshire. 

 Captain G. Hutchison writes me from Balmaghie, Castle-Douglas, 

 that this season his keeper has come across (without purposely 

 looking for them) no less than 2 7 Woodcocks' nests in the home 

 coverts there. It will be remembered Kirkcudbrightshire is one of 

 the three counties in Scotland where the Woodcock is " protected," 

 under the Wild Birds Protection Act, from ist February to ist 

 October. HUGH S. GLADSTONE, Capenoch, Thornhill, Dumfries- 

 shire. 



Black-tailed Godwit in East Ross-shire. On 3oth March I 

 had the pleasure of again seeing the Black-tailed Godwit (Limosa 

 belgica) at the Cromarty Firth. The bird was in summer plumage, 

 and was amongst a flock of Bar-tailed Godwits. On 8th April I had 

 another excellent view of the bird, but by i4th April it had departed. 

 Very probably this is the same bird which frequented the Cromarty 

 Firth during the late spring and early summer of last year (1909), 

 and reappeared during the autumn migration, in the end of August, 

 remaining till the middle of September. ANNIE C. JACKSON, 

 Swordale. 



Malformation in a Young Curlew's Bill. Towards the end 

 of July I captured a young curlew with a malformed bill. The 

 upper mandible was half an inch shorter than the under ; it 

 was much thickened towards the base of the bill, and was further 

 remarkable in that both nostrils were completely closed by a horny 

 growth, so that the bird could only breathe through the mouth. 

 Breathing was distinctly a laborious process, and became still more 

 laboured when the upper and under mandible were held closely 

 together, though, it may be remarked, by so doing the breathing was 

 never completely arrested, owing to the misfitting mandibles. The 



