188 BRITISH BIRDS. 



ON THE LATE NESTING OF THE CTRL BUNTING IN 



SOMERSET. 

 On September 15th, 1910. I found a nest of the Cirl Bunting 

 {Emberiza cirlus) at Badgworth, Somerset, with young in 

 the down, which was dark grey. Tlie young were fledged 

 and sitting about the hedge on the morning of the 21st. The 

 feeding was performed entirely by the female bird, the male 

 never once putting in an appearance, which made a careful 

 identification necessary. H. W. Mapleton. 



[Cirl Buntings undoubtedly breed until late in the summer. 

 Instances may be noted of eggs hard-set on September 6th, 

 1903, in Dorset {Field, September 26th, 1903), and for previous 

 notes on the subject in our pages compare Vol. III., pp. 125 

 and 195, while the article in VoJ. I., pp. 275-9, might also be 

 consulted. — Eds.] 



CEREMONIAL GATHERINGS OP THE MAGPIE. 



With regard to Mr. F. J. Stubbs' note on the ceremonial 

 gatherings of the Magpie (Vol. III., p. 334), I would remind 

 readers of British Birds who live in a " Magpie country " 

 tliat now is tlie time to find out the earliest date wliicli these 

 gatherings take j^lace. Nearly all my life has been spent 

 in " Magpie country," and in Mid and West Lothian I liave 

 seen winter-gatherings of well over one hundred. Here in 

 the Blantyre district of Clyde Magpies are fairly plentiful 

 and gatherings of from one to two score are often seen, and 

 on looking up some of my notes I find the earliest are : — 

 Gathering of about twenty-five, January 8th, 1908 ; about 

 thirty, January lOtli, 1909. My latest dates are : — Gathering 

 of about twenty-five, March 15th, 1909 ; about thirty-five 

 on 22nd and again 29th March, 1910. Walter Stewart. 



THE PERSISTENCE OF THE RIGHT OVARY AND 

 ITS DUCT IN THE SPARROW-HAWK. 



On September 12t]i, 1910, I had sent to me a female 

 Sparrow-Hawk {Accipiter nisus) from Dumfriesshire. On 

 dissecting it I discovered to my astonishment that, 

 instead of only the left ovary and its duct being functional, 

 tlie right ovary also was persistent and equal in size to 

 the left, and that the right oviduct was also present, though 

 not quite so long or wide as the left one. As I had never met 

 with a similar case in tlie dissection of some hundreds of 

 birds of many species I sent the specimen to the British 

 Museum, where Mr. Pycraft examined it, and confirmed my 

 findings, remarking that he also had never come across a 

 similar case. Since thea I have had tAVO more female Sparrow- 



