168 BRITISH BIRDS. 



and another egg of the Sparrow just outside. We had young 

 Cuckoos flying about till the last few days in August, and 

 the old birds Avere with us till late Juh^" 



Clifford Borrer. 

 [Curiously enough the date as given above coincides exactly 

 with the latest date mentioned by Mr. G. D. Rowley in the 

 Ibis, 1865 (p. 178), where he mentions a Meadow-Pipit's nest 

 with a small Cuckoo's egg taken near Brighton on July 19th, 

 1864. One or two other cases of Cuckoos' eggs taken in earh^ 

 July are also on record. — F.C.R.J.] 



SPOTTED CRAKE IN WARWICKSHIRE. 



On Se23tember 9th, 1911, a Spotted Crake {Porzana maruetta) 

 was picked up near Hami)ton-in-Arden, Warwickshire, having 

 been killed by striking the telegraph wires ; it was sent for 

 l^reservation to Messrs. Spicer & Sons, Birmingham, at whose 

 shop I examined it. It proved to be a male, and judging by 

 the dirty- white throat, was immature. 



Mr. R. F. Tomes {Vict. Hist. Warwick., p. 203) says: 

 " Though not absolutely rare in the county, this species 

 is by no means common." I am, however, not aware of 

 any published record of its occurrence since the publication 

 of this statement in 1904. A. Geoffrey Leigh. 



WATER-RAILS AS MIGRANTS. 



It has long been a moot point with ornithologists whether 

 the Water-Rail {Rallus aquaticus) is actually more numerous 

 here in winter than in summer, or only apparently so. Many 

 observers hold that the latter is the case, the bird being 

 more easily seen in winter on account of the lack of " cover " 

 at that season. Some light is shed upon the problem by 

 certain records in the recently issued report of the British 

 Ornithologists' Club Committee on the Migration of Birds in 

 the spring of 1910 and autumn of 1909. The observations to 

 which I would call special attention were made at Bardsey 

 Island Lighthouse at the south extremity of Carnarvonshire. 

 Water-Rails were noted here in small numbers on the nights 

 of September 15th and 27th, 1909, but these may have been 

 local birds, since no decided migratory movement seemed 

 to be in progress at that time. On the night of November 4th 

 and 5th, many birds passed the light about midnight, including 

 six Water-Rails, travelling southwards, i.e. away from land. 

 On the following night there was a tremendous rush of migrants 

 going southwards, including many Water-Rails : " About 

 2,600 Blackbirds, Redwings, Song-Thrushes, and Starlings, 



