224 Zoological Society :—- 
ber 27, 1861, which.I received from my friend Pastor Theobald, of 
Copenhagen. He says as follows :— 
“«The nidification of Totanus ochropus is so remarkable that I do 
not fear to trouble you with the history the Forester Hintz [whom 
I have mentioned above] has given me. He writes: —‘ This year I 
succeeded in finding the nest of Totanus ochropus. On the 9th of 
May I took four eggs of this bird; they were found in an old nest of 
Turdus musicus, and seemed to have been incubated about three days. 
The very same day there were brought to me four other eggs of this 
bird, also found in a Thrush’s nest. * * * The 10th of May there 
was shown to me a nest, thirty feet high, on an old birch, the bird 
having chosen an old decayed nest of a Squirrel. This nest was the 
highest I have ever seen. Three young ones had just been hatched ; 
in the fourth egg the bird was about to break the shell. One jumped 
down and concealed itself on the edge of a water-pool. The 11th of 
May a nest with four fresh eggs was found, but they did not come into 
my hands; this was in an old Pigeon’s nest on a Pinus rubra, and 
full of dry pine-leaves. The 20th of May two eggs, almost burst by 
the young, were found in an old Thrush’s nest, the two missing birds 
having most likely already left the nest. The 22nd of May four young 
ones, apparently but a few hours old, were found in the old nest of 
a Lanius Collurio, iv a juniper three feet high. The 24th of May 
four young ones were found in the hole of a Populus tremula thrown 
down by the wind. The year before, Muscicapa luctuosa had its 
nest in the trunk as it lay on the ground; this year Totanus ochro- 
pus had chosen the same opening. When I approached the trunk, 
the young ones, perhaps four-and-twenty hours old, jumped away 
and hid themselves in the grass among the branches. All these 
nests were near the water—two on the edge of a rivulet, the others 
on wet morasses, the distance from the water being at most six feet.’ ”” 
I have the pleasure of exhibiting to you a small series of a score 
of the eggs of this bird, as well as three nests. The latter were 
sent me by Mr. II. W. Wheelwright, and were obtained by him this 
year in Sweden. They are so ragged and dilapidated that, as is often 
the case with ancient ruins, it is not easy to say of what race the 
builders were. From one of them, five-and-twenty feet up in a fir 
tree, the mother was killed on the 28th of May, and I produce her 
skin. Three of the sets of eggs belonged to these nests; a fourth set 
was the contents of Forester Hintz’s nest of the 9th of May 1861, 
mentioned in his interesting letter. This fT owe to Mr. Theobald and 
some other friends in Copenhagen. The remaining four eggs are odd 
ones obtained by Mr. Wolley and myself from Dr. Kjzerbolling. 
Jan. 26, 1864.—E. W. H. Holdsworth, Esq., F.Z.S., in the Chair, 
An extract was read of a letter from Dr. Harry Anthony to Mr. 
Louis Fraser, dated Brass River, Bight of Biafra, 3rd Dee. 1863, 
referring (as follows) to what was supposed to be a species of Cla- 
71as :— 
“*T intend to try and send you by my uext ship some of the ‘ Black 
