NOTES 45 



ten Hawfinches on 6th January. This was the largest number 

 ever seen, but on several days since, nine have been counted. 

 Their notes are often heard from the door, while the birds are 

 constantly noticed in the trees about the house, being easily 

 identified by their heavy, almost clumsy shape. Sometimes they 

 admit of a wonderfully close approach. Among the branches of the 

 hawthorns, by means of glasses, they can be watched, plucking and 

 greedily eating the berries on every side of their perch. The 

 gardener — Mr A. Purves — who is a close observer of Nature, 

 remarks two habits of the bird which he has often noticed. A 

 Hawfinch seldom leaves a tree without making a rapid descent 

 preliminary to its straighter flight away from it. Then, though there 

 are no leaves to conceal it, the bird often remains for some time 

 perfectly motionless among the branches, as though he hoped to 

 escape observation. At other times, however, I notice Hawfinches, 

 which are among the most restless of birds, and always on the 

 outlook for danger, flecking the tail, and turning their eyes in every 

 direction. Though often among the haws with Fieldfares and 

 Missel-thrushes, they keep entirely to themselves, and never appear 

 to consort with other birds. Hawfinches no longer nest in the Manse 

 grounds — a noisy terrier has disturbed them too much — but every 

 winter they come about the end of the year ; twelve months ago, 

 we often saw three of them. One winter we were successful in 

 getting a lovely male to come for parrot seeds scattered on the 

 ground close to the front door, and watched him several mornings 

 through one of the windows. I think these birds must still nest in 

 Lauderdale, as they are seen at other times, and most summers do 

 a good deal of damage to the pea rows. A male Hawfinch was 

 found dead in Lauder as the result of contact with a street lamp, 

 and is in my possession. — William McConachie, Lauder. 



Tree - sparro-w in Lauderdale, etc. — Referring to Mr 

 McConachie's interesting note on the increase of the Tree-sparrow 

 at Lauder during the last few years {Scot. Nat. for December, 

 p. 287), it may interest him to know that I see from my Journals 

 that in 1894 I had (in company with the Rev. Thos. Martin, a 

 former minister of Lauder) seen a pair nesting in an old building a 

 short distance west of the Manse ; but I recollect that we specially 

 went to see them on account of their presumed rarity there, and 

 that their identity might be satisfactorily ascertained. A year or 

 two later, William Shaw notified me that a pair were then nesting in 

 the grounds at Thirlestane Castle; and about the same time, 

 through my late friend, Robert Renton of Fans, I had found that 



