256 BuUetin of the British 



Mr. Penrose thought that these two statements, and par- 

 ticularly the second, were of very great interest, so he had 

 written to the Rev. T. Powell, A^icar of Healey, to ask him for 

 further particulars, and had received the following reply : — 



" I have pleasure in giving you the facts with regard 

 to the hibernating of the two Swallows here last winter 

 {1895--6). They were members of a very late brood of 

 four hatched in a nest under the slates inside our cow- 

 house. I may here mention that a pair of Swallows nest 

 every year in the same place. The two Swallows in question 

 were seen flying about by members of my family long after 

 the other Swallows had disappeared. They finally lodged 

 above the lintel of the cowhouse door, squeezing themselves 

 into a small hole in the stonework, and thus escaping the 

 draught. When I saw them the tail was the only part of 

 their bodies that was at all conspicuous. My eldest son, 

 then 16 years old, had them both in his hands at the begin- 

 ning of last Christmas holidays, soon after his return from 

 Bradford Grammar School. They were in a drowsy con- 

 dition, and did not attempt to fly when he gave them the 

 chance. On very fine days, as he informs me, he saw them 

 flying about for about two hours in the middle of the day 

 from 11 to 1 o^clock. 



" One of the Swallows died some time in spring, the other 

 left its winter-quarters shortly before the return of the 

 Swallows (in April) and was a conspicuous object among its 

 fellows during spring and early summer through having lost 

 one of the forks of its tail. It mated with another Swallow, 

 and they attempted to nest in the pigsty, which joins the 

 cowhouse, but this came to nothing — the lowness of the 

 roof of the pigsty most likely causing them to desist from 

 the attempt. It is hardly necessary to add that last winter 

 hereabouts, in common with the rest of England, was very 

 mild.'' 



Mr. Charles E. Pearson exhibited an interesting clutch 

 of the eggs of the Common Whitethroat {Sylvia cinerea), 

 which showed a remarkable pink tinge. These eggs had 

 been obtained by Mr. F. B. Whitlock near Nottingham. 



