
LATE NESTING OF RAVENS. 
WHILE showing an eyry of a Raven (Corvus c. corax) to some 
friends on July 9th, 1917, I was surprised to find it still 
occupied by “* ravelets,”’ the date being more than two months 
beyond their regular time of fledging. Thus, in another nest 
this spring, the young were quite ready to fly on May 6th, 
and I have other records a week or more earlier than that. 
The shepherd explained the unusual lateness of these young 
by telling me that a previous brood had been “ perished ” 
by the severe weather in April, snow and hard frost continuing 
throughout the whole month in the hill-country. Hf this 
explanation was correct, it is an occurrence quite outside all 
previous experience, for so hardy are young Ravens by nature 
that no severity of climate seems to affect them. For 
example, I remember in 1915 seeing a brood newly-hatched 
on March 18th and during the same afternoon there set in 
one of the most severe snow-blizzards we have experienced 
for many years at that season. Locally two human lives 
(besides countless sheep) were lost: yet the little naked 
Ravens survived it all right. The degree of frost this year, 
however, was quite exceptionally great for April. The 
maximum of 26° was recorded during that month and that 
at only 350 ft. above sea-leve]. At the altitude of the 
Ravens’ eyry (about 2000 ft.) the temperature would pre- 
sumably have been well below zero. ABEL CHAPMAN. 
ROCK-PIPITS INLAND IN NORD, FRANCE. 
On November 3, 1916, I was surprised to see a Rock-Pipit in 
a low-lymg meadow at Nieppe, near Armentieres, Nord, 
France. <A few days later I met with the species again near 
Meteren, west of Bailleul. Both these places are some 
35 miles from the nearest point of the coast. Of course I 
cannot say whether they were A. s. petrosus or A. s. littoralis. 
C. J. ALEXANDER. 
WAXWINGS IN SOMERSET. 
Two Waxwings (Bombycilla garrulus) were shot on the main 
road between Westbury and Easton, in the Cheddar Valley, 
Somerset, by Mr. Arthur Phelps on February 12th, 1917. 
The occurrence of this species in Somerset is rare. 
Stantey Lewis. 
