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the methods of our great spotted woodpecker at home. 

 Two birds shot to-day struck me as peculiarly " British" 

 a rook and a short-eared owl ; both, however, belong to 

 slightly different species, Corvus capensis and Asio capensis. 

 In the open groves were pririt fly-catchers (Batis\ in 

 black and white, not unlike our familiar pied fly-catchers 



WOOD-HOOPOE (Jrrisor). 



BANDED GOSHAWK (Melierax polyzonus). 



in England ; also fantail warblers and those feathered 

 mites no bigger than a hazel-nut, the grass - warblers 

 (Prinia) ; these latter, however, I am wont to leave to 

 Lynes' more expert eye, and indeed have no design to 

 abuse the reader's patience by inflicting on him a whole 

 catalogue of the forest-birds. 1 



1 I take refuge in a footnote to record the fact of finding in these 

 woods three nests of sandgrouse (Pterocles quadricinctus), each with three 

 salmon-pink eggs, quite fresh, on March 8th, all three nests near together, 

 and on bareish ground among thin bush. A couple of days later, found the 

 two eggs of a long-tailed nightjar {Scotornis climacurus\ both parents 



