H2 BRITISH BIRDS. [vol. x. 



The circumstances attending the finding of one of the 

 eggs are perhaps worth recounting. One of the boys was 

 coming to early school (May 15) at the Junior School and 

 saw a Cuckoo fly out of tlie fence round the playing field. He 

 looked at the spot and found a Hedge-Sparrow's nest con- 

 taining four eggs and a Cuckoo's egg. This egg hatched on 

 May 22nd. It must therefore have been incubated for at 

 least five days before the boy found it, but whether the 

 Cuckoo seen had any connexion with the egg, it is impossible 

 to say. 



Another Cuckoo was interesting because when Hedge- 

 Sparrows had half reared it a pair of Linnets joined them. 

 This is the third case of double foster-parentage that has 

 come under my notice. One Wagtail's nest had six eggs 

 as well as the Cuckoo's egg. 



The last nestling I had under observation was taken by 

 a cat during the night of July 23/24 ; it was then ten days 

 old and was probably from one of the last eggs laid near here, 

 as we did not hear the Cuckoo after June 29th. 



J. H. OV^EN. 



HABITS OF YOUNG AND POSSIBLE DOUBLE-BROOD 

 OF COMMON BUZZARD. 



Mr. J. H. Owen's interesting account of the "Flap-dance" 

 executed by the nestlings of a Sparrow-Hawk reminds me 

 of a very similar ]:)erformance which I witnessed at the nest 

 of a Cominon Buzzard (Buteo h. bvtco). I had the two 

 occupants of this nest under close observation for many hours 

 during the last week before they went out into the world. 

 Frojn time to time, at very irregular intervals, a bird would 

 rise and stretch its wings to their full extent high above it? 

 l)ack and then springing up about six inches from the nest 

 would do an " about-turn " in mid-air and land facing in the 

 opposite direction. vSome flapping of the wings accompanied 

 the action, but the jump appeared to come from the legs, 

 which were held out stiff while in the air. The action was 

 repeated as many as ten times, till perhaps the bird wns giddy 

 (I saw nothing, I believe, but a " right about tiu:-n " , and 

 then after a short rest it Avas at it again. I did not regard 

 the perfoj'mance as an aid to digestion, though it usually 

 followed a meal ; once however, it was gone through when 

 the supply of food had run very short. This " Flap-dance " 

 was indulged in by one nestling only, the smaller of the two : 

 his com|)anion — with whom by the ^vay, he was on the best 

 of terms — had begun to indulge in short flights from the nest. 



