BIRD NOTES 31 



clear of the shell ; he placed the other eggs near the 

 fire, and hatched these off shortly after. The poor 

 little things were subsequently killed and " used up " 

 by a taxidermist. 



Another sportsman of my acquaintance, Mr. B. 

 Dye, 1 who made quite a hobby of watching the habits 

 of this species, found an unhatched egg, which he 

 placed in wadding over the top of his oven. This 

 was hatched ; as was, two years later, a clutch of 

 eggs. He had observed the time of their deposit, 

 and allowed them to remain in the nest until about 

 four days before the young birds should make their 

 appearance : and in a similar way they first saw the 

 light on his oven-top. They readily fed from my 

 fingers, accepting small earthworms, and might, I 

 am confident, have been easily reared. A day or two 

 after they too, poor chicks, were made into specimens 

 surrounding a couple of stuffed adult birds. 



Some of the observations made by Mr. Dye and 

 myself may be worth recording. The site locally 

 selected was a long level of mixed shingle and sand. 

 A depression made by a horse's hoof, or a specially 

 prepared hollow, was rounded off; and what nests 

 I have seen were lined with small white chalky 



1 Has since lost his eyesight. 



