VOL. VI.] NOTES. 185 



pair carrying nesting-materials on the 11th, but the tall, 

 thick trees made observation of their movements difficult, 

 and the time at my disposal did not admit of a thorough 

 search. 



Again, this year (1912) I was at Ashford in May, and on 

 the 25th a nest with three typical eggs was found about a 

 quarter of a mile from the orchard, but the lining had been 

 disturbed and partially loosened, and fvirther observation 

 proved it to be forsaken. Not more than a hundred yards 

 from this was a second nest, situated at the top of a hawthorn 

 hedge, some fifteen or sixteen feet high, and bordering a 

 stream, on the opposite bank of which was a row of alders. 

 The bird flew off as I climbed, and came quite near during my 

 examination of the nest. There were four newly hatched 

 young ones and one addled egg. 



My friend, Mr. C. F. Stedman of Ashford, has not heard 

 of the breeding of this species for many years, and can only 

 recollect one former nest. Their recurrence in two successive 

 seasons seems to point to an increase of the bird in a south- 

 easterly direction. In this connexion I may mention that 

 I saw three nests at Farn bo rough, Kent, in May, 1910, where 

 they have bred annually for a few years. H. R. Tutt. 



TITS AND HUMBLE-BEES. 



This summer I had amongst other birds nesting in nesting- 

 boxes a pair of Blue Tits and a pair of Coal-Tits. The 

 Blue Tits' eggs were about due to hatch when I foimd the 

 nest deserted, but taken possession of by a large female 

 humble-bee {Bombus terrestris), which was proceeding to 

 make its own nest in the box, and it seems that the buzzing 

 of the bee had scared away the Blue Tits. In the case of 

 the Coal-Tits nine young ones were hatched and were several 

 days old when I found them all dead, and in this case the 

 nest was occupied by a humble-bee. I could find no trace 

 of injury on the young birds or of their having been stung 

 by the bee, and I surmise that the mother bird had also 

 in this case been scared away. A similar instance occurred 

 in 1910 in the case of a Wren's nest in a nesting-box here, 

 and the humble-bee made her nest of moss in the Wren's 

 nest and a family of humble-bees were brought up in the 

 box. John R. B. Masefield. 



BARRED WARBLER IN IRELAND. 



So far only two specimens of the Barred Warbler {Sylvia n. 

 nisoria) have been recorded from Ireland : one obtained 



