168 BRITISH BIRDS [vol. x. 



pipes j)ut into a bank purposely for Sand-Martins by Waterton 

 were used as nesting places by these birds {cf. Yarrell, II. 

 p. 358, Ed. IV.). One of us has also known of a similar 

 successful experiment. — Eds.] 



UNUSUAL NUMBER OF EGGS IN A 

 NIGHTJAR'S NEST. 



With reference to the note on page 139, I may mention that 

 in 1878 or 1875) I found a Nightjar's nest with three eggs on 

 Cobham Heath. They were not taken, and the state of 

 incubation is unknown. On this property (Temple Combe) 

 we have more than once seen both Stock-Dove's and Wood- 

 Pigeon's nests vidth three eggs. Heatley Noble. 

 [Mr. A. B. Earn had a clutch of three Nightjar's eggs in 

 his possession, one of which proved to be infertile. See also 

 ZooL, 1884, p. 90, where two other instances of broods of 

 three are referred to. For instances of Stock-Doves' and 

 Wood-Pigeons' nests with three and four eggs see Brit. Birch, 

 Vol. IV., pp. 155 and 316.— F.C.R.J.] 



ON THE POSSIBILITY OF THE BUZZARD REARING 

 TWO BROODS IN ONE SEASON. 



Mr. a. H. Machell Cox suggests {antea, p. 143) that a pair 

 of Buzzards {Buteo b. buteo) reared two broods in the time 

 which elapsed between April, 1914, when the nest contained 

 eggs, and August 30th, 1914, when the two young finally left 

 the nest. As the Buzzard is a fairly regular breeder and 

 the average date for a full clutch is between April 24th and 

 28th, we may take the approximate date of laying in this 

 case as April 26th. The incubation period lasts about 

 thirty-one days, which would take us to the end of May. 



Everything, therefore, depends on the length of time the 

 young birds remain in the nest. This naturally varies to 

 some extent, but the only absolutely reliable and definite 

 figures with which I am acquainted are those of Mr. H. B. 

 Macpherson, who made very careful observations on a pair 

 which nested in Scotland, and states that they remained in 

 the nest for nine weeks and two days ! This certainly seems 

 an extraordinarily long period, and it seems just possible 

 that it was slightly prolonged owing to the disturbance 

 caused by frequent visits and long j^eriods of watching. The 

 biixls watched by Mr. Macpherson flew on July 30th, and if 

 we take his figures as a guide, the young should have been 

 hatched by May 27th, and would leave the nest on Jul}^ 31st. 

 In Mr. H. E. Forrest's Vertebrate Fauna of North Wales 



