146 BRITISH BIRDS. [vol. vii. 



indeed tlie majority had not even finished laying, a very 

 large number containing but one egg. H. W. Robinson. 



LATE NESTING OF DABCHICK. 



On Sunday, August 24th, 1913, I saw three young Dabchicks 

 {Colymbus r. ruficolUs), about one day old, on a pond in 

 Hertfordshire. I caught one for identification and after- 

 wards released it. J. Beddall Smith. 

 [Although fresh eggs of the Dabchick may frequently 

 be found during the month of June and up to the end of 

 July, it is unusual to find them later. As the period of 

 incubation in this species is about twenty to twenty-one 

 days, the eggs in question must have been laid by about 

 August 2nd. Eggs laid late in July obviously do not hatch 

 out till towards the third week of August, but occasionally 

 nests with fresh eggs have been met with even in September. 

 Mr. W. Mackay Wood records a clutch of four eggs from 

 Brinscall, Lancashire, on September 7th, 1907, and another 

 nest with an incomplete clutch of two eggs on September 

 8th of the same year, at the same locality {Brit. Birds, II., 

 p. 242). In Mr. E. W. Nelson's Birds of Yorkshire, II., 

 p. 747, there is a reference to a late brood in September, 

 1896, near Harrogate, but in this case the birds had been 

 repeatedly disturbed. — ^F. 0. R. Jourdain.] 



INCUBATION PERIOD OF THE COMMON 

 SANDPIPER. 

 With reference to Mr. H. B. Turney's communication {antea, 

 p. 86) on the incubation period of the Common Sandpiper 

 {Tringa hypoleuca), I should like to add a few dates from 

 my notes, which I think should definitely settle the 

 incubation period. 



I am fortunate in being able to watch these birds very 

 closely, having no less than a dozen pairs within a mile of 

 my home. I have also on several occasions found their 

 nests before the full complement of eggs have been laid. 



The following dates cover four years and only those cases 

 in which I could be certain of the dates are noted : — 

 Last Egg. Hatching. Days. 



1909 May 7 May 28 



1910 „ 8 „ 29 



1912 „ 12 June 2 ' ^^ 



1913 „ 10 May 31 



By leaving out the day on which the last egg was laid and 



counting the day of hatching, the incubation period in each 



case is exactly twenty-one days. James D. Patteeson. 



