THE BLACK REDSTART. 45 



time to time been obtained in various localities, but in no case have the birds 

 themselves been satisfactorily identified in connection with these eggs: thus an 

 egg, believed by several eminent Ornithologists to be that of the Black Redstart, 

 was passed round at a Meeting of the Zoological Society in 1878, by the Rev. R. 

 P. Barron, M.A. ; he having obtained it with two others in Hertfordshire in 1876. 

 This egg was sent to me for illustration in my "Handbook of British Oology," 

 together with the remains of the nest: Mr. Barron writing respecting it as 

 follows : 



"The nest, I fear, is not very perfect, having been two years left in its place; 

 it was found in the middle of May, 1876, right inside the hollow trunk of a living 

 elm-tree, at a distance of about seven or eight feet from the ground, in a projecting 

 ledge of the inside wood, and within a few feet of a small lake. There were 

 originally three eggs, of a slightly pinkish tint before being blown ; they had been 

 forsaken; the nest seemed to be lined with hair and hay. You need not, of 

 course, return the egg or nest." 



When I received this egg I was satisfied, from the distinctly unhesitating 

 decision of well-known authorities, that it was a genuine Black Redstart's ; by 

 daylight, it then showed a scarcely perceptible bluish green tinge, which has since 

 entirely faded : looking at it now in conjunction with the remains of the nest, I 

 see no reason why it should not be a white egg of the common Robin. 



With regard to Mr. Stirling's nests, he does indeed note that in one instance 

 the hen was engaged in incubation ; but, as he does not appear to have secured 

 her, and all his nests were found in hedges or thorn fencing, the nidification of 

 this species in Great Britain must still remain unproved, so far as his observations 

 are concerned. His account however is worth quoting: ("Birds of Sherwood 

 Forest," pp. 67, 68) "My first acquaintance with it was the discovery, on May 

 1 7th, 1854, of a nest in a thorn hedge by the side of the road leading from 

 Ollerton to Edwinstowe. It was placed about four and a half feet from the 

 ground, and was constructed of dry bents, intermingled with a little moss, and 

 lined with hair. When I found it, it contained four eggs ; had it remained 

 undisturbed, I have no doubt they would have increased to the usual number of 

 six, as the female was on the nest. As it was, I appropriated them as a valuable 

 addition to my collection. This, however, was not a solitary instance, for two 

 years later, on May i8th, 1856, another nest was taken from the same hedge, 

 near the place from which I had taken the previous one; it contained one egg, 

 which was brought by the finder to me. A third nest was taken the next day at 

 Ollerton ; it was placed in the side of a cattle hovel, amongst the thorns with 

 which the upright framework was interlaced, and was constructed of dry grass 



VOL. I. T 



