2IO TJie Field Naturalist' s Quarterly Aug, 



quantities of young Robins demolish the currants ere the 

 latter begin to colour. 



An unusual occurrence was chronicled in the local press 

 in the spring of 1901 : in one of Mr Teasel's boatsheds on 

 Stalham Staithe seven Thrushes' nests were discovered. 

 On a mast lying across the beams of the shed, between the 

 spars, the nests were placed side by side. Three nests were 

 completed, two were partially lined, and two only partially 

 built. Five eggs were laid in one nest, these being taken by 

 a boy ; two more were subsequently deposited — only one 

 pair of birds were noticed. I recorded a somewhat similar 

 instance in * Land and Water ' in 1880. The year before 

 that there were two Blackbirds' and two Thrushes' nests built 

 between the staves of a ladder which was hung up horizon- 

 tally between the projecting reed roof at the back of some 

 outhouses at Winterton Rector}^ Year by year this strange 

 nesting-site was used, and I have counted as many as seven 

 nests between its staves during former Easter holidays ; but 

 only in 1879, I believe, was the state of incubation reached, 

 when one Blackbird and one Thrush began to sit be- 

 fore the nests were destroyed. There were one or two 

 facts which made against the ladder being turned into a 

 successful nursery : in the first place, the back of the shed 

 faces the high road at a distance of less than ten yards ; and 

 secondly, nidification took place just at a time when the 

 ladder was required for attending to the wall fruit-trees. 

 My idea is that there was only one pair of Blackbirds and 

 Thrushes in either case, and the position between each rafter 

 in the one instance, and each stave in the other, was so 

 exactly alike, that they from time to time forgot the site they 

 had selected — got mixed up, in fact, between the staves and 

 rafters ! 



On dull and cold summer days all the Swifts in the neigh- 

 bourhood seem to assemble together over the larger Broads, 

 not only for their evening flight but also to feed by day : at 

 such times the chill and heavy atmosphere probably brings 

 down to earth their ordinary fare, thus compelling them to 

 imitate their smaller relatives of the Swallow tribe in levying 

 tribute upon aquatic insects. Under all climatic conditions 

 Sand-martins, Swallows, and House-martins much frequent 



