128 BRITISH BIRDS. [vol. vi. 



July 18th, it is impossible for these to have hatched off. so 

 that on the departure of the parents such must have been 

 destroj^ed by Gulls, Jackdaws, and other feathered thieves, 

 to account for none being seen at either place. 



A few old and immature Terns were seen on the shore 

 adjacent to the Ravenglass colonies, but I failed to see a 

 single bird of this species on the shores of Walney Island, 



Last year, when they hatched off earliei- than they have 

 ever done before, there were numbers still on the ground on 

 August 9th when I marked eighty-five, and in 1909 on 

 August 10th, 13th and 17th, I marked seventy-four, forty-six 

 and thirty respectively and also a few up to as late as 

 August 26th. 



To whatever cause their late arrival was due, that of their 

 early departure is undoubtedly the extremely cold and wet 

 weather, and especially the bitterly cold nights with frost 

 prevalent during part of July. H. W. Robinson. 



SANDWICH TERNS AT RAVENGLASS. 



Mr. H. W. Robinson's statement {supra, p. 95) that previous 

 to 1911 all Sandwich Terns' eggs at Ravenglass hatched off in 

 June, is not correct. In both 1909 and 1910 I noted eggs 

 which had yet to hatch, in July. Probably a few chicks 

 emerge in this month every year. 



Mr. Robinson notes that a number had hatched out the 

 week and fortnight previous to June 26th, 1912 ; j^oung were 

 to be seen more than a month before that date. 



Eric B. Dunlop. 



Redstart's remarkable nest. — The May-June number 

 of the Zeitschrift fUr Ooloijie und Oniitholorjie (p. 89) contains 

 a note by Herr R. Schlegel, of Leipzig, on the discovery of a 

 nest of Redstart (Phoenioiriis ph. phoenicurus) with the extra- 

 ordinary number of twenty-five eggs. It was found in Sep- 

 tember, 1909. while the roof of a summer-house was being 

 repaired, and Herr Schlegel was assured that it had not been 

 tampered with in any way. The largest clutches of which 

 we have any note have consisted of nine and ten eggs, so that 

 apparently not less than three hens miist have made use of 

 this one nest. 



Reported breeding of the Long -tailed Duck in 

 Orkney. — With reference to our note on this subject (Vol. V., 

 p. 20.3), in reply to requests for further information Mr. 

 O. V. Aplin states (ZooL, 1912, p. 195) that "the duck was 



