NOTES. 135 



bordered fritillary {Argynnis selene) seems a favourite, and I 

 once saw a large hatch of these on a common close to a nest 

 of Pied Flycatchers, which were feeding greedily upon them : 

 the young apparently swallowed wings and all. 



Charles Collier. 



NUMBERS OF YOUNG IN BROODS OF SWALLOWS 

 AND HOUSE-MARTINS IN 1911. 

 In Vol. IV. (p. 249) I mentioned the size of broods of Swallows 

 (Hirundo rustica) and House-Martins {Chelidon urhica) which 

 I had visited during the summer of 1910, showing that full 

 broods were the exception, both in that year and the one 

 previous, in the neighbourhood of Lancaster. 



With regard to Swallows, the remarkably dry summer 

 of 1911 has been a splendid one for them, large broods being 

 much more general, and in no case were dead found in the 

 nests. Of nineteen Swallows' nests visited in June, two 

 contained broods of six, ten of five, five of four, and two of 

 three. Of twelve nests visited in July, three contained 

 broods of five, eight of four, and only one of three. Twenty- 

 seven nests were visited during August, of which one con- 

 tained six young, ten had five each, thirteen had four apiece, 

 and three contained broods of three, whilst two nests visited 

 in September contained four and five respectively. 

 1911 : Of 60 nests, 3 had broods of 6, and 24 of 5 = 45 %, average 



[brood being 4.4. 

 1910: „ 45 „ none 15 of 5 = 33 %, average 



[brood being 3.89. 

 1909: „ 11 ,, none none = %, average 



[brood being 3.27. 



Good as 1911 has been for Swallow broods, it did not 

 benefit those of House-Martins at all, for I again failed to 

 find a full brood, as was also the case of 1909 and 1910. 

 The average brood this year was 3.22, as compared with 

 3.25 in 1910, and only 2.25 in 1909. H. W. Robinson. 



QUICK GROWTH OF A BROOD OF SWALLOWS 

 AND A POSSIBLE CAUSE. 



Mr. J. H. Owen informs me {in litt., September 16th, 1911) 

 that he watched the growth of a brood of young Swallows 

 {Hirundo rustica) which were hatched on August 15th, 1911. 

 They did not leave the nest till September 7th, which gives 

 a fledging-period of twenty- three days ; in 1910 the young 

 flew from nests watched on the twenty-first day. These 

 observations agree closely with those of Mr. S. E. Brock 



