Proceedings of the 



except for these one could pass one's hand along under the nest. The bird 

 could be heard very near at hand making a most curious noise, perhaps best 

 described by the word " grunting ; " it was not unlike some of the sounds a cow 

 sometimes utters, but it kept quite out of sight and would not show itself. 



A gentleman of my acquaintance residing at Pinner, who may be 

 thoroughly relied on as an accurate observer, recently informed me 

 that a young cuckoo just fledged was last summer caught by his groom, 

 by whom it had been driven out of a water wagtail's nest built against the 

 side of an elm-tree near his house, at a height of about 8ft. from the ground. 

 My informant had for some time observed the wagtails flying to and from 

 this nest, as if engaged in feeding their young, but had not till then known 

 that the nest contained a cuckoo. The young bird was put in a cage, and 

 hung in a position at least 100 yards from the nest, and here it was con- 

 stantly fed all day for more than a week by a robin, this being repeatedly 

 witnessed by my informant himself. This seems to be but another instance 

 of the mysterious fascination which the cuckoo exercises over other species 

 of birds. The same gentleman also informed me that a pair of blue tits 

 last year built their nest inside the letter-box in his front door. Letters 

 were constantly put in as usual, but were invariably ejected by the bird* 

 through the slit in the door. It is difiicult to imagine how such small birds 

 could succeed in doing this, as some of the letters were of considerable 

 weight, and it must have been no easy matter for a bird within the box to 

 support the letter up to the mouth of the slit, at the same time holding it 

 in the necessary position end first. 



On the 27th December I noticed two or three lesser redpoles (a species I 

 do not very often see here) at Merstham Pond, apparently finding some 

 food in the dead seed vessels of the large willow-herb (Epilobium hirsutum). 



Mr. Reeves of Holmesdale Eoad informs me that during the past summer 

 two white martins were shot in this neighbourhood, and brought to him for 

 preservation, one being now in his possession. This bird was shot on the 

 Ist September at South Park, the other having been killed some time pre- 

 Tiously. After the first bird was shot, and before the second was shot, Mr. 

 Beeves heard of a white martin being seen at Buckland Pond, at 

 the chalk-pits on Eeigate Hill, at Santon, at Betchworth quarries, 

 and at Glover's Fields. A man also told him that he had seen a 

 white " squeaker " {i.e., swift) flying over Earlswood Pond, but probably he 

 ■was mistaken as to the species. The area included within these various 

 localities is probably some five or six square miles, and from these occur- 

 rences in different places we may perhaps derive a little information as to 

 the range of individual birds, though it is of course not possible to say how 

 much further its journeys may have extended. On Tuesday last, the 7th 

 inst., a blackbird was brought to Mr. Eeeves, which had been killed on the 

 previous day, of which the sides of the head, the forehead, and part of the 

 chin were pure white, the breast being pale with spots, somewhat resemb- 

 ling that of a hen blackbird. As the bird had a bright yellow bill, it was 

 however no doulit a male. 



