VOL. VI.] NOTES. 63 



neck so that the upper part, from the beak to the end of the 

 tail formed practically a straight line, and at times leaned 

 over the edge of the fence at such an angle that one felt it 

 must overbalance. When it had reached a point some four 

 or five yards from the nest, the Hedge-Sparrow came out and 

 attacked it. It always flew at the Cuckoo's head, and the 

 latter rose each time a few feet from its perch and so far as I 

 could see fought entirely with its feet, uttering all the time 

 a note which I have never heard before and can only syllable 

 as a somewhat harsh " cak-cak-cak-cak-cak." During an 

 interval in the fighting the birds sat for fully a minute facing 

 each other and quite still, like fighting cocks, but about 

 six inches apart. After some time a Thrush joined in the 

 fray, and the Cuckoo was put to flight. A Starling sat on 

 the fence throughout the fight, apparently much entertained, 

 but took no part, neither did the Hedge-Sparrow's mate ever 

 put in an appearance. 



On ^lay 20th there were four eggs and on May 21st five 

 eggs in the nest, and on that afternoon two ladies who were 

 staying in the house (Elton Hall, Peterboro') watched a 

 similar performance to that described above for over an hour. 

 On the following morning the nest contained only three eggs 

 and no Cuckoo's egg. The same number remained each 

 morning until that of May 29th, when there were but two 

 Hedge-Sparrow's eggs left and the Cuckoo had laid. It will 

 be noticed that the Cuckoo's egg was laid twelve days after 

 the first of the Hedge-Sparrow's, and a full week after com- 

 mencement of incubation. The shell of the third egg, which 

 lay below the nest, showed this to be well advanced in 

 incubation. 



I regret that the nest Avas destroyed the next day by 

 someone. It was built not ten yards from the draAving-room 

 window. 



Apropos of Mr. Johnson's letter to Mr. Jourdain {supra, 

 p. 18), in which he refers to all the eggs of a Hedge-Sparrow 

 being removed by a Cuckoo, I met with a similar case this 

 year. Lew^is R. W. Loyd. 



LITTLE OWLS BREEDING IN ESSEX. 

 The first I heard of the Little Owl {Athene n. noctua) in the 

 neighbourhood of Felsted, was from Mr. Hughes -Hughes, of 

 Leez Priory, who had been brought a specimen for identifi- 

 cation at the end of 1909 by the bailifi" on one of the Guy's 

 Hospital farms. Early in 1910 the bailiff at the next farm. 

 Pond Park, also shot one and reported in the summer that 

 there was still a pair there. This pair was on the same farm 



