108 BRITISH BIRDS. [vol. xiii. 



saw and heard a male singing in some old willows, which had 

 been pollarded several years ago. It stayed here just three 

 weeks, during which time I frequently watched it. For the 

 first fortnight it sang persistently, but afterwards became less 

 vigorous. It had a habit of going into holes in the willows 

 as if prospecting for a nesting site, but although a careful 

 watch was kept, no mate appeared and eventually it disap- 

 peared about June 3rd. One point of interest about this 

 bird was that it was probably onlj^ in its second year, as the 

 upper parts were brownish rather than black, and the frontal 

 patch was not prominent ; in fact, if the bird had not been 

 such a persistent singer, it might almost have been taken for 

 a female. W. Davies. 



YOUNG GARDEN-WARBLER FED ON MOTHS. 

 On July 4th, 1919, I had under observation at Havant for 

 some hours a Garden-Warbler {Sylvia horin) which had 

 brought a single young one to an old pear-tree in my garden. 

 The old bird returned to the young one, usually every few 

 minutes, from a line of apple-trees, carrying a single good- 

 sized moth of a light buff colour. She passed within a yard 

 of me, as a rule, often, if I moved a little, indulging in a very 

 faint " inward melody " only audible within a yard or two ; 

 and I was able to note that when she flew direct to the 

 young each time, the wings of the moth had not up to then, 

 at any rate, been removed. I never saw any other prey taken 

 to the young bird, and all the moths were about the same size, 

 carried across the beak, and of the same or a closely similar 

 species. The whole hunting was done for hours on the same 

 apple-trees ; and, so far as I could see, the under-sides of the 

 leaves alone were searched. 



I have not noted the adult Garden-Warbler, or young when 

 able to feed itself, feeding upon moths, but always searching 

 the twigs for small life, as with other warblers ; but usually, 

 I think, or often, at a lower elevation than most. 



Howard Atkins. 



[The Green Oak-Moth is very largely made use of, when 

 abundant, for feeding the young by not only Garden-Warblers, 

 but Blackcaps, Willow-Warblers and Nightingales and 

 probably other species. In the case of the Willow-Warbler 

 at any rate, they are given to the young whole, i.e. wings and 

 all.— N.F.T.] 



MULTIPLE NESTS OF BLACKBIRD. 

 A PAIR of Blackbirds {Turdus m. menila) this year (1919) 

 near Chorley, Lanes., brought off a brood in early spring, the 

 nest being in a normal position against a v/all amongst 

 shrubs. 



