MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES. 183 



agricultural gentleman was conversing with his servant at the Hall door, which was wide open, 

 when one of his tame pigeons rapidly flew past him, brushing his face with its wing, and 

 took refuge in the Hall where it dropped overcome with dread, its enemy, a fine male Hobby, 

 was seen by the gentleman careering upwards, doubtless very chagrined. He saw it near his 

 home on the following day, but not since; the late snows may have driven it away. It ia 

 a fine bird when of adult age, very fierce, and generally extremely scarce, and but seldom seen 

 in the county of Norfolk, and never I think at so early a date as March 7th. — Idem. 



Pitgnacity of tlie Souse Sparrow, (Passer domcsticus.) — Whilst rambling a few montlis ago 

 in search of specimens for my cabinet in the neighbourhood of Dunham Park, the seat of the 

 Earl of Stamford and Warrington, my attention was arrested by an unusual uproar amongst 

 a number of Sparrows that wei-e congregated in a fir tree near to where I stood. I listened 

 for a while, but as the noise increased 1 was induced to get under the tree as quietly as 

 possible, so as not to disturb the belligcrants. When under the tree I soon found that war 

 was declared, and that a fight was then being carried on, which I felt an inclination to witness. 

 I had not stood under the tree above two minutes when one of the bcUigerants full at my feet quite 

 dead, having received a wound on the head, from which blood was issuing. I watched again, 

 and still the fight went on until another bird dropped from the tree, not quite dead, but 

 mortally wounded, only living in my hand a very few seconds. Still the fight was not over, 

 and I determined, if possible, to see it out, and therefore waited a little longer. After some 

 minutes hard fighting another bird flew out of the tree, but dropped to the ground within a 

 very few yards from me. I ran after and gathered it up, but it was so wounded as only to 

 live about half an hour. How long this "tremendous fight" would have continued I cannot 

 tell, for the confusion amongst the fighters was as great as at first, but when I ran to pick up 

 the last bird I made a noise, which disturbed the belligcrants, and caused them to take to 

 flight. I had throe tnale Sparrows, all killed in this remarkable battle, left in my possession 

 as a memento of the occurrence.— John Balshaw, Post Office, Altringham, April 20th., 1853. 



House Piff eon. —Having observed this bird referred to in "The Naturalist," for the current 

 month, by Mr. Henry Fen-is, I beg to forward the following in corroboration of his statement : 

 —My father, Mr. Thomas Balshaw, has been a Pigeon-fancier for many years, and has more 

 than once been in possession of birds that have laid three eggs at a nesting, but in no instance 

 have all the eggs been fruitful. He has now, however, a pair of birds which have not only 

 laid but actually hatched three eggs : the young ones seem very healthy, and are about a week 

 old. This is certainly an exception to the general rule. — Idem. 



T/ie House Sparrow, (Passer domesticus.)— I have several times recently, up to the present 

 date, observed considerable numbers of Sparrows in the low hedges of the fields about here, 

 almost small flocks. Tliey are not building, and I do not remember ever to have seen them 

 in this way at this season of the year before.— F. 0. Morris, Nafi"ei-ton Vicarage, Driffield, 

 May 2oth., 1853. 



Additional Heronries.— Pcrha^^s the following extract from the "North British Review," for 

 May, 1853, may interest Mr. Mc'Intosh. "As an example of the less usual kind of Heronry 

 where the 'munition of rocks' is selected as a place of safety, we may mention the ivy-mantled 



front of one of those ghauts called the Sutors of Cromarty As respects their lowlier sites, 



wo may state that there is an island in a small lake on the southern borders of Sutherland, 

 between the Aikel and the inn at Altnagalcanach, where Herons breed upon the ground; and 

 in the island of Islay, about three miles from Ardimersy cottage, there is a well-known colony 

 of these birds also breeding on the ground." In the "History of British Birds," by the late 

 Dr. Macgillivray, mention is made of one "at Inglcsmaldie, in the south comer of the parish 

 of Fettercaim," Kincardineshire; and a few Herons breed in the woods of Feteresso, in the 

 same county. — J. Longmxjir, Jun., Aberdeen, May 23rd., 1853. 



Do the Hawk tribe Brink?— In answer to this question, a short passage may be quoted 

 from the "American Ornithological Biography" of the celebrated Audubon, in reference to the 

 Great-footed Hawk, which is the Peregrine-Falcon {Faleo Pcregrinus) of Bi-itish authors: — "Many 

 persons believe that this Hawk, and some others, never drink any other fluid than the blood 

 of their victims ; but this is an error. I have seen them alight on sand-bars, walk to the edge 



