VOL. VI.] NOTES. 89 



On April 14th I found some very recent work on the cones 

 close to Croydon, where I found Crossbills breeding in 1910, 

 suggesting that they were breeding somewhere in the locality. 



A very interesting point to which I do not think attention 

 has been drawn before, is the very foul state of the nests from 

 which young have flown, owing no doubt to the inabilitj^ of 

 the parents to remove the fseces. This can be readily under- 

 stood when we bear in mind the shape of the mandibles. The 

 ground under the nest is also usually strewn with the fseces. 



Crossbills, like many other species this year, were a fort- 

 night earlier than the usual date when the bulk of the birds 

 start nesting. I have no doubt that had I visited the 

 locality earlier many other nests would have been located. 

 However, I feel convinced that the Crossbill is (and probably 

 always has been) a firmly established English- breeding bird, 

 and I do not consider it is more sporadic in its nesting 

 than many other British birds such as the Hobby, Hawfinch, 

 Grasshopper- Warbler, etc. etc. P. F. Bunyard. 



[I may mention that there is no proof that the Crossbill 

 has ever nested before for three years running in any one 

 locality in England.— H.F.W.] 



GREY WAGTAIL BREEDING IN HERTFORDSHIRE. 

 As there appear to be few records of the nesting of the 

 Grey Wagtail [Motacilla h. boarula) in Hertfordshire, it 

 may be of interest to record that I have kno%\Ti of their 

 nesting in that county on the banks of the river Chess for 

 the last nine years. This year one pair has nested and reared 

 two broods. M. Bedford. 



ISABELLINE WHEATEAR IN SUSSEX. 

 An Isabelline Wheatear {CE7ianfhe isabellina) shot at Rye 

 Harbour on March 28th, 1912, has already been recorded in 

 these pages (Vol. V., p. 328). I saw this specimen almost, 

 I might say, in the flesh, as Mr. Bristow had just finished 

 removing the skin from the body. On May 10th another 

 bird of this species, a male, was shot in a quarry at " Old 

 Roar," St. Leonards-on-Sea, and was examined in the flesh 

 by Mr. W. Ruskin Butterfield. This specimen was secured 

 by Mr. W. H. Mullens, and is now in the Hastings Museum 

 amongst the fine collection of local birds presented by him to 

 that institution. The two birds above recorded make the 

 third and fourth examples of this species obtained in Great 

 Britain. According to the recently published Hand-List 

 of British Birds there are only two other records, viz. Female, 

 Allonby (Cumberland), Nov. 11th. 1887 ; male, Rye Harbour 

 (Sussex), April 17th, 1911. Thomas Parkin. 



