SEPTEMBER. 253' 



first few lines about this bird read as follows: "The Avosetta is a 

 bird common at Rome and Venice, and also frequents our Eastern 

 Coasts of Suffolk and Norfolk in Winter time. 



The Flamingo is called "The Flammant," and there is a curious 

 plate of a large Spider seizing a Humming Bird. Amongst the fish 

 are included illustrations of the Old Wife Fish, the Old Husband Fish, 

 the Schoolmaster Fish, the Old Pudding Wife Fish, and of the fresh 

 water Perch, it states, "The fresh water Perch is usually small, seldom 

 found as big as a man's hand ! " I saw one recently weighing over 

 five pounds, considerably larger than any hand I ever- met with! 



28th. Bright morning, nearly 90 degrees in the sun at 8 a.m. 

 Fine all day. Lark and Robin singing. Many of the former still 

 passing over high up in the air, twittering pleasantly. Earwigs still 

 about the house, getting into the hair brushes and other places. 



My friend, Mr. John Craig, of Beith, Ayrshire, writes me to-day 

 as under : " A friend found a Robin's nest containing a clutch of 

 five white eggs this Summer. This is the second Robin's nest we 

 have found with five white eggs. He also found a Yellow Bunting's 

 nest containing five eggs this year. This is only the second Yellow 

 Bunting's nest we have seen containing five eggs in all our experience. 

 Perhaps you will remember the discussion about the number of eggs 

 laid by this bird, which proved that three is the most common number. 

 There was also a discussion as to the usual number of eggs laid by 

 the Robin One observer said the number was generally four, but I 

 maintained that five and six were the most common numbers. I also 

 saw this year a Blackbird's nest containing seven eggs." 



29th. Bright, after a heavy fog and dew. Like a Spring morning. 

 Skylark and Robin singing. Rooks passing overhead, crying loudly, 

 Chaffinch "pinking" near my garden. How nice a colour the clumps 

 of Pinks assume when the dew is upon the small sword-shaped blades. 

 Noticed a covey of Partridges and a small flock of Lapwings on some 

 ploughed Lands These we saw from the railway train, and from the 

 same situation observed that most land is ploughed up again. After 

 the rain of the 27th the soil turns up well now. 



Mr. W. A. Nicholson, Portobello, M B , writes me as follows, under 

 date of September 28th: 



"The yellow-coloured leaves which are being whirled over moor 



and dale betray the presence of Autumn with its sometimes dreary 



weather. Still much work can be done by the Mature-lover, in 



observing the habits of birds and recording the arrival and departure 



