VOL. IX.] NOTES. 299 



CROSSBILL NESTING IN SHROPSHIRE. 



Ever since the invasion of Crossbills in 1909-10, a few of 

 these birds have haunted a certain fir-clad hill about six miles 

 north of Shrewsbury. In the spring of 1914, and again in 

 1915, nests were actually built there, but in neither case were 

 any eggs laid or broods reared, so far as is known. This year, 

 however, Dr. Buckle discovered a pair building a nest on 

 January 31st. He visited the place again on February 10th, 

 and on climbing to the nest — a matter of no small difficulty — 

 fomid it contained three eggs, which the female was covering. 

 The nest Avas at the extremity of one of the upper boughs of 

 a tir-tree, and was made of larch twigs at the base, but mainly 

 dried grass at the sides ; the lining was of feathers (from a 

 poultry-yard near by) and dead leaves of the wood-rush 

 [Lnzula sylvatica). This is the first authentic record of the 

 nest and eggs of the Crossbill being found in Shropshire. 



H. E. Forrest. 

 TFor a i)revious record of a nest in Shropshire, see Vol. VL, 

 PP^ 371-2.— Eds.] 



GREAT GREY SHRIKE IN KENT. 



Although the Great Grey Shrike {Lanhis e. excAihitor) is a 

 fairly regular winter visitor to Kent, only three spring occur- 

 rences are mentioned by Dr. N. F. Ticehurst in his Birds of 

 Kent. It may therefore be of interest to record that I saw 

 an example at Tunbridge Wells on March ITth, 19lfi. 



S. Kendall Barnes. 



EARLY NESTING OF THE WREN. 



On February 9th, 1916, near Callerton, Northumberland, 

 I flushed a Wren [Troglodytes t. tror/lodytes) from a nest which 

 contained one egg. The nest Avas new, almost wholly exposed 

 and placed about eighteen inches above the ground in a thorn 

 hedge which runs round a wood. The hedge at the point 

 where the nest was placed is well sheltered and close to a 

 collierJ^ 



On revisiting the spot on March 12th in the hope of seeing 

 the nest contain young, I found that it had been removed. 



Isaac Clark. 



BREEDING-HABITS OF THE WRYNECK. 



The following notes of observations made by me on some 

 Wrynecks [Jynx t. torquilla) in a garden at Orpington, 

 Kent, may be of interest. In 1913 the Wrynecks arrived 

 on April 15th, as the year before, and almost immediately 



