262 FIRST APPEARANCES OF BIRDS, INSECTS. ETC. 



giving some description of the bird and recording its occur- 

 rence. As, however, important points were omitted, and the 

 letter was somewhat unconvincing, I wrote to Mr. Bosworth 

 Smith, who has kindly furnished me with further particulars, 

 which make the record as reliable as one of observation with- 

 out capture can well be. He says that Mrs. Bosworth Smith, 

 who is a good observer of birds, when she came back laid stress 

 on the following material points, which are omitted from the 

 description in the Dorset County Chronicle : (i) the size of the 

 bird being that of a jackdaw, (2) the size of its bill and tail, 

 (3) the curved shape of the bill. In these points she was con- 

 firmed by her daughter, who was also accustomed to observe 

 birds. The bird was under observation for some little time. 



This species has not before been recorded as occurring in 

 Dorset. (N. M. R.) 



LESSER SPOTTED WOODPECKER (Dendrocopus minor, L.). One 

 was seen at Corfe Castle by Mr. Arthur E. Bankes on May 15. 

 (E. R. B.) 



A pair hatched a brood in the limb of a dead beech in the 

 latter part of April at Pulham. (J. R.) 



WOOD PIGEON (Columba palumlus, L.). Throughout the 

 whole winter of 1906-7, Wood Pigeons have been most remark- 

 ably scarce in the Corfe Castle district. As a rule large flocks 

 of them reside with us during the winter, doing much damage, 

 particularly to the turnip and clover fields. These presumably 

 consist in general, of birds reared in Purbeck, where their nests 

 are abundant, especially in the many fir woods, though it is 

 highly probable that in some seasons their numbers are 

 augmented by immigrants from elsewhere. But during the past 

 winter I do not think we have had more than one individual for 

 every ten usually observed at this time, nor have I noticed a 

 single flock consisting of even a score of units. Seeing, how- 

 ever, that during this same period, Wood Pigeons in thousands 

 have been doing such damage in the portion of Devonshire 

 between Exeter and Dartmouth, that all agriculturists have had 

 to unite in taking special measures for their destruction, it 



