NOTES. 113 



The food at a nest in a chicken-loft also consisted chiefly 

 of Starlings. In this case, however, there was quite a ring 

 of heads and pellets round the nest. The food-supply also 

 occasionally included a frog. There was this curious point 

 about the pellets : they were composed far more of fur than 

 feather, although I never saw either mice or rats in the nest 

 — this in spite of the fact that the farm was alive with 

 rats. These pellets may have been those of the parent birds. 

 I often took the young birds out to photograph them, and at 

 times saw a pellet ejected. In these cases I always examined 

 them carefully, and, to my great surprise, the first such pellet 

 contained part of a skull of a half-grown rat. Later pellets 

 contained the skulls of Starlings, and one, most of the skeleton 

 (minus the head) of a Skylark, with the tail- and wing-feathers 

 still adhering to it. The young birds were rather more than 

 a month old, when I saw the first pellet thrown up. By 

 clearing away the ring of heads and pellets round the nest 

 at each visit, I was able to conclude that the old birds 

 began to give the young the whole carcase at about the age 

 of a month. 



The large proportion of Starlings in the food found 

 at these nests and in the pellets, seemed to me worth noting. 

 I have watched the Owls take Starlings from fences in the 

 twilight, and carry them into the nearest tree. J. H. Owen. 



NIGHT-HERON IN HAMPSHIRE. 

 Early in July, 1911, I was told of a Heron-like bird having 

 been seen, since about the middle of May, at a small lake 

 near New Milton, Hampshire. On July 14th I saw the bird, 

 through the trees at first, and took it at once to be a Heron 

 of small size, and afterwards, while it was flying round at 

 varying heights, sometimes as near to me as twenty-five 

 yards and for a period of five minutes, I felt sure I indentified 

 it correctly as the Night-Heron {Nycticorax griseus). I felt 

 further confirmed in my opinion by reference to the works 

 of Lilford, Saunders, Seebohm, and Harting, and after a 

 careful examination of the species in Hart's Museum, Christ- 

 church. 



The flight was very buoyant and noiseless, the broad wings 

 flapping steadily, head carried back almost between the 

 shoulders, and legs extended straight out beneath the tail. 

 At times I used a glass in observing, but with difficulty, as 

 the sunlight was so strong and the bird often too near me. 

 I could not detect any trace of immature plumage, the under- 

 parts were very light grey, and as far as it was possible to 



