254: MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES. 



too often, they will usually forsake it. I discovered a nest of these birds some years since, by 

 seeing the pair constantly engaged in gathering materials, and always taking flight in one 

 direction. It was close to a Avalk which was constantly used, and hence in passing it was 

 natural to have a look at it; this speedily caused them to desert it, but it was too much to 

 repeat all their labours in collecting materials, so the old nest was, bit by bit, torn to pieces, 

 and taken to construct a new habitation, which was more quickly built than the first; and I 

 then called to mind another instance of the same kind, which had puzzled me at the time, but 

 ■was now explained. I will pledge myself as to the truth of the above fact, having watched 

 the operation with considerable intei-est, although I did not discover the new nest until the 

 youno- were fledged. The time which was occupied in forming the second nest, from the materials 

 of the first, clearly appeared by the age of the young when I discovered them, and the identity 

 of the materials from the somewhat singular circumstance, in this instance, although the general 

 fact is by no means uncommon, of some pieces of muslin and carpet sweepings of a peculiar 

 pattern, being in both.— 0. S. Round, London, February 3rd., 1853. 



Note on the Nest and Eggs of the Wood Sandpiper, (Tetanus glareola.) — I obtained a nest, 

 containing four eggs, of the Wood Sandpiper on the 23rd. of May, 1853, from a birch plantation, 

 situated some distance from a small loch in the county of Elgin, N. B. I saw the bird fly off 

 the nest, and I remarked to my companions that it was a Wood Sandpiper, and when I saw 

 the co-s I was perfectly satisfied that I was correct. I have shown them to Mr. Yarrell, who 

 says they are extremely like that bird's eggs; and Mr. Bond has also seen them, and has no 

 hesitation in pronouncing them as such. — C. Tiiurxall, Whittlesford, Cambridge, September 

 6th., 1853. 



Note on the Nest and Eggs of the Dotterel, (Charadrius Morinellus.) — I likewise had the good 

 fortune to take in the same neighbourhood two nests, containing three eggs each of this bird, 

 and another nest, containing three eggs, has been taken since I left. — Idem, 



Note on tlie Grasshopper Warbler's Nest, (Salicaria locustella.)— On the 5th. of June, 1853, 

 I had a nest of the Grasshopper Warbler, containing six eggs, brought me from Duxford, near 

 Cambridge. I have some of these eggs, and also many other species collected in this neigh- 

 bourhood, in duplicate, which I should be happy to exchange with any of your readers.— Idem. 



Night Heron, (Nycticorax Gardenii,) at Blackpool.— k rare bird was shot near Blackpool by 

 Mr. Daniel Lare, ofNormoss, on the 14th. instant, namely, i\\c Nycticorax Gardenii, (Night Heron.) 

 It is as beautiful a specimen as could be wished for. The following are the measurements taken 

 before I skinned it: — Full length, from tip of bill to longest tail feather, twenty-two inches 

 and a quarter; extent of wings, thirty-nine inches and a half; wing from flexure, eleven inches 

 and a quarter ; length of bill along the gape line, three inches and a quarter ; tarsus, two inches 

 and seven-eighths ; middle toe, two inches and five-eighths ; claw, half an inch ; the three white 

 occipital feathers are without the black tip; the crown and nape, with the fore part of the 

 back and the scapulars, greenish black; wings and tail, bluish grey; lower parts, very light 

 cream. It may be seen at my shop at Blackpool. — James Bost, Blackpool, June 18th., 1853. 



Egg of the Tree Sparrow, (Passer montanus.) — In my notes on the Tree Sparrow I stated my 

 intention of endeavouring to ascertain whether the light-coloured egg I have invariably found 

 in each nest of this species, which I have had an opportunity of examining, was "the last laid, 

 or the first, etc." — I have now ascertained that it is the last. This fact would seem to strengthen 

 the opinion of Mr. Yarrell, quoted by the Rev. F. 0. Morris, in the article on the Kestrel, in his 

 "History of British Birds," that the want of colouring matter on the shell of the egg is "occasioned 

 by the temporary constitutional exhaustion the bird has sustained." Having had occasion to 

 mention the work on British Birds by the Rev. F. 0. Morris, now in course of publication, I 

 cannot avoid expressing my opinion that it is a work which every lover of nature, every one 

 who wishes to become "intimately acquainted" with the feathered tribes of our land — and I know 

 not what more desirable, or at any rate what less objectionable "acquaintances" he can form — 

 ought by all means to possess himself of. The peculiarly pleasing and happy manner in which 

 each bird is introduced, its history given, its habits and peculiarities described, and the numerous 

 anecdotes, contained iu such history, related, impart a charm of no ordinary kind to this work ; 



