12 



BIRD NOTES AND NEWS. 



On July 21st the Cuckoo and two of the Hedge- 

 Sparrows hatched out. When they were first born 

 there was not much difference between them, 

 except that the Cuckoo had a hollow in the middle 

 of its back and the others had not. At the age of 

 two days the young Cuckoo began being mischievous 

 by hitching the rotten egg out of the nest by means 

 of the hollow in its back. The next day the two 

 Hedge-Sparrows were turned out, and then the 

 Cuckoo had the nest to itself. I used to sit on the 

 log of a tree and watch the little Hedge-Sparrows 

 feed it. They never seemed to be still for a minute, 

 feeding it every three minutes. When two weeks 

 old it grew too big for the nest, and began trampling 

 it down, and when it was able to fly the nest looked 

 nothing more than a mat of hay and twigs. I was 

 also watching another nest of Hedge-Sparrows 

 which were hatched two days after the others. It 

 was surprising to see how much sooner they flew 

 than the Cuckoo. They were fledged and flown in 

 a fortnight, while the Cuckoo continued feeding 

 from the little Sparrows for a fortnight or three 



weeks more. 



Ruth Cunnlngton (Clophill). 



BOOKS RECEIVED. 



Birds of Britain. — By J. Lewis Bonhote, 

 F.L.S., F.Z.S. With one hundred illustrations in 

 colour, selected by H. E. Dresser from his " Birds 

 of Europe," so as to give examples of the most 

 typical species. The letterpress includes every 

 species which has been known to occur in Great 

 Britain. London : A. & C. Black. 20s. 



Birds as Conservators of the Forest. — By 

 F. E. L. Beal. The results of scientific enquiry 

 into the work of Wild Birds in relation to forest 

 trees — as destroyers of insects and small mammals, 

 and as distributors of seeds. With fourteen coloured 

 illustrations, by L. A. Fuertes. Biological Survey, 

 U.S. Dept, Agr. 



Aquila. — Publications for 1907 of the Hungarian 

 Ornithological Bureau. In Hungarian and German. 



A Book of Birds.— By W. P. Pycraft, A.L.S., 

 F.Z.S. A general survey of the principal groups of 

 modern birds, giving a concise account of those 

 bird families which have representatives in Great 

 Britain and of such species as are likely to be met 

 with in Zoological Gardens or museums. With 30 

 coloured plates. London : Sidney Appleton. 6s. net. 



A Powerful Sermon in support of the Royal 

 Society for the Protection of Birds was preached at 

 Kinnoull parish church, Perthshire, on Sunday, 

 March 15th, by the Rev. J Henderson, who dealt 

 eloquently and trenchantly with the wearing of bird- 

 millinery, the trapping and caging of wild birds, etc. 



The names of birds mentioned in the Glamorgan- 

 shire Bird Protection Order are to be printed in 

 Welsh as well as English. 



CLOSE TIME. 



It may be well to remind readers that 

 during the close or nesting time, the taking or 

 killing of any wild bird by any person is 

 illegal except (so far as regards non-scheduled 

 birds) by owners and tenants, and their 

 authorised agents, on their own land. Birds 

 include nestlings ; but the protection of eggs 

 depends upon the local Bird Protection Order. 

 It is also illegal to possess a recently-taken 

 wild bird. In all convictions under the Acts, 

 birds, eggs, nets, etc., may be confiscated by 

 the Court. 



IN THE COURTS. 



Shooting a Bittern. — At Melksham Petty 

 Sessions, on February 6th, Arthur Es'cott was 

 summoned for shooting a Bittern on January 14th. 

 Defendant said he saw a large bird flying over a 

 field and did not know what it was. The bird had 

 been sold to a man named Findley, in Bath. Let 

 off with payment of costs, 9s. 



" A Day's Sport." — At Aylesbury Petty Sessions, 

 on December 12th, George Wall was convicted of 

 being in possession of four dead and eighteen live 

 Linnets, birds protected all the year in Bucks, and 

 of cruelty to two Goldfinch decoys. The police 

 liberated the Linnets, but the decoy birds died. 

 For the defence, a Wendover man named Jones 

 said he asked Wall down for a day's sport ; he had 

 caught birds before, and should do so again in 

 Hertfordshire. It was also argued that this being 

 sport could not be looked upon as cruelty. Fined 

 for the two cases, £1 and 10s. costs. 



BIRD NOTES AND NEWS. 



Vol. II. of Bird Notes and News (containing 

 the numbers for the years 1906 and 1907, with 

 contents and index), bound in cloth ; price 3s. 6d., 

 by post 3s. lOd. 



A limited number of copies of Vol. I. may be 

 had, bound, at 5s. each. 



Bird Notes and News (issued quarterly) will 

 be sent post free to any address for Is. per annum, 

 payable in advance ; single numbers, 3d. 



To Members of the Society subscribing 5s. and 

 upwards per annum it is forwarded gratis and post 

 free. 



Printed by Witherby & Co., 326, High Holborn, W.C., and 

 published by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, 

 3, Hanover Square, London, W. 



