ZOOLOGICAL NOTES 181 



certain of its nature, he threw a stone into the tree, upon which a 

 little bird slipped quietly out as if off its nest. Our curiosity was 

 now aroused, and we crossed the stream, only to find, however, that 

 the tree, which overhung the water at a height of some forty feet, 

 was in an advanced state of decay. Notwithstanding this, one of the 

 party climbed to the nest, which was built in a fork of the tree just 

 where it bent right over the stream. So exceedingly shy were the 

 owners of the nest, and so bad was the light, that it was with the greatest 

 difficulty, and only after a wearisome wait, that we discovered that 

 they were Marsh Tits ( Parus palustris). One of the party who is 

 familiar with the peculiar note of the bird had asserted from the 

 very first that the nest belonged to that species ; but I determined, 

 if possible, to place the matter beyond dispute. The nest, except 

 that it is larger than usual, is quite normal. So far as I am aware, 

 this is the first authenicated case on record of the Marsh Tit nesting 

 in an exposed situation. What is perhaps more wonderful still is 

 the fact that the eggs are exceptionally large! The largest specimen 

 measures .77 x .59 in., while the average dimensions of the clutch 

 are .74 x .59 in. \ Most leading British authorities give .65 in. as the 

 maximum length of eggs of this Tit ; while the longest specimen in 

 the famous Rey collection at Leipzig measures 17.0 mm. J. B. 

 DOBBIE, Edinburgh. 



Hybrid Crows in the Forth Area. This season I have examined 

 two specimens of Crows in intermediate plumage between the typical 

 Corvus corone and the northern form C. comix. The first was shot 

 about the middle of May from a nest in S.W.Perthshire; it had neck and 

 shoulders gray, but was otherwise in the plumage of a typical Carrion 

 Crow, to one of which birds also shot it was mated. The second 

 was shot from a nest near Listonshiels, Pentland Hills. It had a 

 ring of gray round the lower neck, extending to an inch in breadth 

 on the upper back, and the whole plumage of the lower back was 

 interspersed with gray feathers ; its mate was not secured, but 

 appeared to be a typical Carrion Crow. ROBERT GODFREY, Edin- 

 burgh. 



The Jay in Dumfriesshire and Kirkcudbright. The large 

 number of these birds that found their way to Dumfriesshire and 

 the more easterly parts of the Stewartry during the past winter have 

 been singularly lucky in avoiding the fate usually meted out to such 

 as hold a reputation (ill-deserved it may be) like theirs. From all 

 I can learn, not more than two or three dozen of them seem to have 

 been shot. Some few of them may remain, and, if good luck 

 continues, may breed. The vast majority have, however, dis- 

 appeared quietly. Doubtless they are returning to the forests of 

 North-Eastern Europe, from whence they set out in October last. 

 Outside the western boundaries of the Nithsdale water-shed, these 

 Jays hardly seem to have been noticed. A couple were shot near 



