Zoology. 433 



made any more sport. It was the case with this one ; for, the moment he 

 saw his enemy coming towards him, he lost all his powers, and made a 

 ridiculous awkward defence on the ground j where the falcon would soon 

 have dispatched him, \i the falconer and his lure had not been near at hand. 



This sport was to me an extraordinary treat, from its novelty and the 

 excitement which it caused j but there were circumstances attending it 

 which would have made the farmers stare and swear in some counties, for 

 the horsemen rode through fields of standing corn with as little ceremony 

 as the titheman, but with much more celerity : and the sport was more 

 dangerous than fox-hunting ; for the eye, being constantly aloft to view the 

 aerial diversion, the chasms and sinuosities of mother earth were not so 

 observable as when the object of pursuit lay more at right angles with the 

 vision of the pursuer. — J, C. June 2.3. 1831. 



The Blackbird crowing like the common €o€k. — Sir, As the fact I ara 

 about to mention is a novel one to myself, I am inclined to hope it may be 

 so to many of your readers. Within half a mile of my residence there is a 

 blackbird which crows constantly, and as accurately as the common cock, 

 and nearly as loud ; as it may, on a still day, be heard at the distance of 

 several hundred yards-. When first told of the circumstance, I conjectured 

 that it must have been the work of a cock pheasant concealed in a neigh- 

 bouring brake ; but, on the assurance that it was nothing more or less than 

 a common blackbird, I determined to ascertain the fact with my own eyes 

 and ears; and this day I had the gratification of getting close to it, seated 

 on the top bough of an ash tree, and pursuing with unceasing zeal its 

 unusual note. The resemblance to the crow of the domestic cock is so 

 perfect, that more than one in the distance were answering to it, and the 

 little fellow seemed to take delight in competing with its rivals of the dung- 

 hill. It occasionally indulged in its usual song ; but only for a second or 

 two ; resuming its more favourite note ; and once or twice it commenced 

 with crowing, and broke off in the middle into its more natural whistle. I 

 am not aware that the blackbird has ever been included among those birds 

 -which could be taught to imitate sounds ; such as the starling, jay, or mag- 

 pie ; and in what way this bu-d has acquired its present propensity I am 

 unable to say, except that, as its usual haunt is near a mill where poultry are 

 kept, it may have learned the note from the common fowl. lam, Sir, yours, 

 &c. — Barton Bouchier. Wold Rectory, near Xorthampto7i, April 27. 1831. 



In-door Nests of the Thrush. — The statement in VoL III. p. 237. of a 

 curious deviation from its usual habits in the common thrush or throstle 

 ( T'urdus musicus), brought to my recollection a similar cii'cumstance which 

 came under my own observation. At Whitley, a small village about three 

 miles from this place, is a gentleman's house which has been untenanted 

 for several years, and near it is a shed or outhouse through which the 

 person who had the care of the garden was accustomed to pass and repass 

 several times in the course of the day. Two years ago, the gardener 

 pointed out to me a thrush's (or, as he termed it, a grey bird's) nest, built 

 on a cross beam, close to the wall of the shed. At the time I first saw the 

 nest, the eggs were nearly hatched, and in the course of a few more days 

 the young birds were out ; but unfortunately the gardener, in this instance, 

 was not so fond of watching the habits of birds as the millwright in your 

 correspondent's account, for, as soon as the young birds were nearly 

 fledged, he carried them away, with the intention of keeping them until fit 

 for sale. This deviation from the natural habits of the bird was the more 

 remarkable, as on the other side of the shed was abundance of shrubs and 

 bushes, such as the thrush delights to build in, and where it would have 

 been much less apt to be disturbed than in the shed. I am. Sir, yours, 

 &c. —E. Headlam. Greenhow, North Shields, May 13. 1831, 



To obtain the Skeletons of small Fishes. — My method is this : — I sus- 

 pend the fish by threads attached to the head and tail, in a horizontal 

 Vol. IV. — No. 21. f f 



