294 Gleanings. 



Last j'ear this lingering disposition on the part of the Swift was even 

 more marked, for there was none of the usually perceptible decrease in num- 

 bers at the end of July, and many flocks of seven or eight were to be observed 

 any evening up to August 28. After that only a few stragglers were to be 

 seen, and by the first of September the last Swift seemed to have found its 

 way out of the country. It may be, of course, that last year nesting was de- 

 layed owing to bad weather, or the j'oung birds in so wet and cold a summer 

 did not grow at the usual rate, so that their parents were compelled to tarry 

 longer than usual. But that cannot have been the case either this year or in 

 1911 — at anyrate at the present moment all the young Swifts would seem to be 

 out of the nest and fully grown. Some of the birds — possibl}- the bulk of 

 them- have already gone, but it will be interesting to see whether any of 

 them remain so long with us on this occasion as a year ago. Ten j'ears back 

 it would have been deemed a very uncommon circumstance if a single Swift 

 had been observed as late as the third or fourth week in August, and one 

 would like to discover the reason for this more dilatory behaviour on the 

 part of a bird ordinarilj- so punctual in its habit.*. 



So far as temperature and food supply are concerned— and these are 

 generally held to be the two moj^t important factors in the movements of 

 migratory birds -there seems to be no reason whj' the Swift should not re- 

 main in this country up to the middle or end of September. There is plenty 

 of insect food available up till then, and neither days nor night are colder 

 than they often are in May. On a chilly and blusterous evening in tht latter 

 month the Swifts seem just as happy as on a piping afternoon in July. 



Their wonderful evolutions in the air and their joyous screaming in 

 high falsetto are pleasant things to see and hear, so that whether they go 

 early or late the passing of the Swifts must always be a matter for regret. — 

 From the " Standanl,'^ Aui/iiyt 22. 7.97.?. //-'/• Rer. G. H. Rai/uor. 

 NESTLINGS' HOME IN A BATTERY. 



The Royal Artillery gunners at Cliff End Battery, Totland Bay. Isle 

 of Wight, found a nest of four C4oldfinches, and placing it in a cage near 

 the spot where they found it, discovered that the parent birds came regular- 

 ly to feed their young. The cage has now been removed to the middle of 

 the battery, and the old birds come regularly to feed the prisoners, and are 

 quite unalarmed by the discharge of the heavy guns. The gunners are now 

 aspiring to capture the parents in order to match them with Linnets. — Fiom 

 the '' Standard;^ Sepfemhpr r,lh. 7f)13. per lirr G. IT. Na>/)im: 



Gleanings. 



[Compiled from Xojks ox " (age Birds."] 

 Redpolls (Linoia rufesccns): My birds have at last 

 succeeded in rearing young. The nest was made in a small 

 basket filled with hay. They simply scooped the hay out at one 

 end and deposited five eggs in the cavity; the eggs were laid 

 on consecutive days, the first Qgg was laid .July 9th, and the 

 first egg hatched on July 2 1st, second and third on .July 22nd, 



