LETTER XXVII 



Neighbour's Rookery Deserted Reasons for Kingfisher Its 

 Flight Hovering Kingfisher in India Kingfisher's and Hum- 

 ming Bird Moth's Wings Compared Wych Elms Gains- 

 borough's Tree Sudbury The Seaside. 



2$th August, 1895. 



DEAR MARCO My neighbour's rookery 

 this year has been entirely deserted. In the 

 spring some nests were begun as usual, but 

 a severe gale in April carried away one or 

 two, and shortly afterwards the rest were 

 abandoned by the old birds. He tells me 

 that there has been a marked decrease in the 

 number of nests each year lately ; and now 

 the trees are completely forsaken. One or 

 two reasons are suggested for this desertion, 

 first, the old and oft-repeated opinion, that it 

 is because the practice of shooting the young 



p 2 



