Hobnesdale Natural History Club. 



summer and winter migrants to overlap so much as four weeks, as in this 

 instance. Gilbert White alludes to it as an unusual circumstance when he 

 saw martins and redwings flying in view together. At the time of the " 

 spring migi-ation, however, it is not at all uncommon for both redwings 

 and fieldfares to remain long after many of the summer migrants have 

 arrived, and indeed up to a time when their relatives the thrushes, 

 blackbirds, and missel thrushes have long hatched their young. 



On several occasions in February I noticed hawfinches going in little com- 

 panies, as many as eleven or twelve being at times together. Possibly they 

 may flock somewhat in the winter, as most of the finches do more or less ; 

 only that, beiug less numerous as a species, the numbers that associate in 

 any one district are usually only small. I found a nest of this species on 

 May 4th, in the fork of a hornbeam, 40 or 50 feet from the ground, in 

 exactly the same place where there was a hawfinch's nest several years 

 ago, the old nest having remained there ever since. The materials now 

 employed, however, all seemed new, so probably the birds had removed 

 what remained of the old nest, and built a new one in the same site. 



On June 1st I found a cirl bunting's nest, containing four eggs, in a juniper 

 bush, about three feet from the ground. As there was a yellowammer's 

 nest built at the foot of a low bush at a very short distance, a good oppor- 

 tunity was afiiorded of comparing and contrasting the nests and eggs of the 

 two species ; the greenish ground colour of the cirl bunting's eggs being 

 strikingiy diflierent from the pinkish or purplish tinge apparent in those of 

 the yellowammer. A loag- tailed tit's nest was built in a small arbor vitje in 

 the garden, beiug nearlj' finished on April 6th. On the 14th I found that it con- 

 tained four eggs; the two that I examined were pure white, without any spots. 

 I exhibit two eggs of the water rail, which I took on April 19th from a nest 

 in the neighbourhood of Newbury, in Berkshire. Owing to the localities 

 inhabited by this species, and its retiring habits, the nest is comparatively 

 seldom met with. It was in a district where there were extensive meadows, 

 intersected in all directions by innumerable clear, swiftly-running streams, 

 both large and small, natm-al and artificially diverted. There were also in 

 several places ponds, around and in which there were still standing immense 

 quantities of dead reeds of last year's growth ; and amongst these ponda 

 were little copses of alder and other trees, and also tracts of marshy land, 

 more or less covered with coarse herbage and dead rushes. Wild ducks 

 abounded, and we found two nests containing eight and ten eggs 

 respectively within a few feet of each other, on the ground, in a rather 

 swampy place, well concealed by herbage. Almost close to these my 

 brother noticed something moving among the rushes, and on looking, 

 ■discovered a water rail's nest, very well concealed, containing nine eggs. 

 The bird had slipped away so quietly that we could not obtain a view of it. 

 but the eggs sufiicientlj'' proved the identity. The nest was cup-shaped, built 

 and lined with dead rushes ; it was raised some two or three inches above 

 the swampy ground, and seemed to be supported by the stems of some 

 plants growing beneath it, which must have been woven into its structujej 



