WRYNECK 253 



may therefore be of interest to publish the facts." — A. G. 

 Butler {Zoologist, 1887, p. 299). 



Wonderful Egg-producing Poicers of the Wrynecli. — 

 " A friend of mine discovered the haunt of a pair of these 

 birds, lynx torquilla, in a plantation at Farnborough, 

 in Kent ; he had noticed them going and coming from 

 an old decayed plum-stub about 5 feet 6 inches or so in 

 height. Not being able to see far down the hollow limb, 

 he broke a strip away, which fortunately snapped off at 

 the very bottom of the hole, a distance of fully 2 feet. 

 Where first found, on May 13, 1897, there were seven 

 eggs lying on the bare wood, which he took, afterwards 

 replacing the strip in position. Two more eggs were 

 laid by the 25th inst., and were left in statu quo, but had 

 disappeared somehow the next morning. The bird de- 

 posited another on the 26th inst., to which were added 

 two eggs of the House-Sparrow, to make up for those 

 that were missing ; all the three, however, lay broken at 

 the foot of the tree on the following morning. She then 

 seemed to settle down to regular business and continued 

 laying every day without intermission, each egg being 

 removed as soon as laid, the total number up to July 17 

 reaching sixty-two, less the three that were broken or 

 missing, leaving fifty-nine eggs in my possession from 

 the one bird, which I fancy must establish a record. 

 Concurrently with this another bird was laying in an 

 adjacent plantation, but in a more erratic fashion, the 

 eggs in this case being removed in batches of four or 

 five. On two occasions she stopped laying for a day or 

 two, and then continued depositing again ; total number 

 of eggs forty-three." — H. Alderson, Farnborough, Kent 

 {Zoologist, 1897, p. 511). 



