MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES. 189 



liim, and shewed it to me. I was not aware before this that the Rook would suck eggs. — G. B. 

 Clarke, Woburu, Beds., June 23rd., 1851. 



Occurrence of the Dotterel, (Charadrius morinollus.) — A pair of these birds were brought to 

 me by a farmer, who shot them at Bottisham-fen. — R. A. Juliax, Jun., May 26th., 1851. 



A TF/u'te Missel Thrush, (Turdus viscivorus,) was shot on Tuesday last, July 8th., by Mr. 

 J. A. Haraos, gardener, of Heavitree, near Exeter, in his garden adjoining the turnpike-road. 

 It is quite a young bird, of the purest white, with light yellow legs and beak. Caleb "Weeks, 

 Torciuay, July 16th., 1851. 



Parental attachment in the Chaffinch, (Fringilla eoclcbs.) — "We hear much of the attachment of 

 birds for their young, and the various stratagems they resort to to guard them from danger, but 

 I do not think I have ever seen the aft'ection of any bird carried to such an extent, as in the 

 following instance : — A few springs back, a Hen Chaffinch was found in a village in this neigh- 

 bourliood, actually frozen to death on her nest. Now I can attribute this to nothing but the 

 love the poor bird had for her eggs. The Rev. R. Barras, to whom the nest was brought, and 

 in whose possession it now is, told me that the preceding winter had not been very severe. — • 

 R. P. C. 



Cinereous Shearwater, (Pufflnus cinereus.) — I obtained a live siiccimen of this rare bird on the 

 26th. of July, of a boy who caught it in the mouth of the Ri^cr Ouse, near Ljmn : on dissection 

 it proved to be a male. The account he gave was that, as he was returning to Ljnn in a 

 fishing-boat, he saw the bird sleeping on the water, and struck it with his oar ; this was on the 

 afternoon of the 25th. It lived with me until the morning of the 31st., when I found it dead, 

 most probably from injuries received from the oar of the boy who captured it, as it was very 

 lively, and ate readily of small fish, live shrimps, etc. The fishermen to whom I shewed it, say 

 that they know the bird, and describe it as being exceedingly swift on the wing, feeding on the 

 excrement or half-digested food of other birds, which it chases until they regurgitate. They 

 e^ddently mistake it for the Skua Gull, (Lestris cataractes.) "Wliile I kept it I never once saw 

 it attempt to fly, and it walked very little indeed ; I noticed no desire to liide itself. It slept 

 all da}' with its head turned back, and bill buried in its feathers, but became more lively after 

 sunset. I never heard of one of these birds being captured in this neighbourhood before. The 

 colour of the plumage of this bird was the same as that of the dark-coloured bird described by 

 YarrcU, (vol. 3, page 629.) The length was seventeen inches; wing, from anterior bend, twelve 

 inches; bill, one inch and tlu-ee-quarters ; tubular portion, five-eighths of an inch; tarsus, two 

 inches ; middle toe, including claw, two inches and a half. Tliis specimen is now in the Lj-nn 

 Museum. — T. Southwell, Lynn, Norfolk, August 2nd., 1851. 



The Tree Sparroic, (Passer montanus.) — About two j'ears ago I foimd the Tree Sparrow 

 breeding in South Wootton Park, near Lynn, since which time I have found it rather abundant 

 in that neighbourhood. The nests are built in holes in the heads of decayed pollard "^'illows, 

 and are composed of roots and grass, lined with feathers. The eggs, from five to six in number, 

 vary much in their markings, some having separate and distinct longitudinal blotches of a very 

 fine browTi colour; others very closely resemble the eggs of the Titlark. I have also several 

 intermediate varieties. The dark variety is the most frequent. In 1850, and again this summer, 

 (May 22nd.,) I found a nest in a crack in the imderside of an Oak tree, which inclines over a 

 ditch. This is the only instance I have met with of their building in any other tree than 'the 

 "Willow. — Idem. 



The following note occurs in the margin of a copy of the Ornithologj- of Ulysses Aldrovandus, 

 in my possession, in the hand-writmg of the late Mr. Sole, the Botjmist, once an Apothecaiy 

 in Bath: — '■'■Certhia familiar is, Linn: Creeper. I suppose this is what is meant at Bath, and in 

 Wilts, by Nettle Creeper; and is, I believe, my "^'hite Throat, (Eliz.) It is an excellent warbler, 

 and in my Botanic garden I have often sat in the arboin* with the greatest delight to hear 

 him respond to the Nightingale, and even silence him. The Nightingale never sings in sight : 

 on the contrary, this bird sings with most pleasure if greatly admired and looked at. ( TJnde 

 forsan familiar is dicta.") — R. "Wilbhaham Falconer, M. D., Bath. 



Tlie hook upon wliich a Linnet's cage was suspended, giving way, caused the fracture of the 

 right leg of the little prisoner. Splints were applied for some time, but no union of the bones 

 took place, when the limb was amputated above the loiee ; after which the little patient survived 



