200 From Magazines, &c. \^^^'^]ln. 



laid by the foster-parents of its future offspring. Again, the bird 

 must dehberately keep an eye on all that they are doing, for don't 

 tell me that Cuckoos invariably come across nests by chance, in 

 which the firll complement of eggs is not yet laid ; and do Cuckoos 

 ever make mistakes, putting an eg^ in a nest where the other 

 eggs may be ready to hatch ? I don't think so. My pair of 

 Cuckoos arrived together, as far as I could make out, just as they 

 departed together, and must have known beforehand of the 

 Wagtail's nest, and that the moment had come for the egg to be 

 deposited." 



Sparrow-Hawk versus Weasel. — ^lany interesting bird notes 

 are published in the column entitled " In Touch with Nature," 

 conducted by Mr. J. Drummond, F.L.S., F.Z.S., in the Lyttelton 

 Times, New' Zealand. The following appeared in the issue of 

 30th October, IQ15 :— 



" A desperate encounter between a Sparrow-Hawk and a 

 weasel is described by Mr. J. A. Brooking, of Wanganui. He 

 was supplied with the information by a friend, who actually 

 saw the incident. Mr. Brooking' s friend was riding quietly, and 

 was surprised by a dark brown object shooting past him and. 

 apparently, striking the ground behind a bunch of toe-toe a few 

 yards away. A squeal was heard immediately afterwards. 

 Investigations showed that a fight between a Sparrow-Hawk and 

 a large weasel was in full swing. The bird was sitting on the 

 ground, with its tail feathers spread out fan-like behind it, and 

 it was grasping the weasel with both claws. The right claw was 

 on the weasel's shoulder, the left on its flank. The Hawk was 

 struggling to retain its hold, the weasel to get free. The Hawk 

 looked very solemn, and seemed to have undertaken a larger 

 contract than it could carry out. Although the spectator stood 

 within three yards of them, neither took the shghtest notice of 

 him. In the first attack the Hawk had not got sufficient grip. 

 The weasel had too much play with its head and neck. The 

 Hawk found some difficulty in guarding its leg, and made 

 repeated lunges with its bill at the weasel's head, but these 

 attempts the weasel always dodged, and countered by snapping 

 at its enemy's leg. Finally the Hawk tried to fly off with the 

 weasel, but "could rise only a foot from the ground. It then fell 

 back to the same place. The weasel made frantic efforts to free 

 itself. It dragged the Hawk about four feet, but could not shake 

 it off. The Hawk then seemed to realize that it must take 

 decisive action. Drawing the weasel as close to it as possible, 

 it made a furious blow with its bill on the weasel's head. The 

 blow missed. Whether the Hawk slightly overbalanced itself or 

 began to feel the strain of the struggle is not clear, but it was an 

 instant too slow in recovering. Taking advantage of this, the 

 weasel seized the Hawk's neck in its mouth. It seemed inevit- 

 able that the Hawk, unless rescued, would lose its life, and, as 



