THE RELATION OF SONG TO THE NESTING OF BIRDS. 

 To the Editors of British Birds. 



Sirs, — With reference to the notice of Mr. Burkitt's article 

 (anlea, p. 262), I may state that some years ago I made very 

 extensive and detailed notes on the subject. Unfortunately my 

 notes were destroyed by lire, and I have only a short resume by 

 me of results based on my notes. My observations were made around 

 Boughton Monchelsea, near Maidstone, during the seasons of 191 3, 

 1914, 1915 and 1916, and dealt chiefly with the Chaffinch, Linnet, 

 Chiffchaff, Willow-Warbler, and Common Whitethroat. I cannot 

 say that the evidence of my notes leads me to agree with Mr. Burkitt's 

 conclusions. H. G. A.'s suggestion that the abundance of a species 

 may affect the duration of song is interesting, and certainly all the 

 above-mentioned species are very numerous indeed in this district. 

 Of the many pairs which I had under close observation, the song was 

 in no 'way diminished during the period of incubation and after the 

 young were hatched, only in so far that the male bird was occupied 

 in helping to feed the young, and so had less time to sing. I have 

 frequently seen a Willow-Warbler warbling away with its beak full 

 of insects, and Whitethroats, after feeding their young, cast themselves 

 into the air and give vent to their hurried scrambling song before 

 darting off to hunt for more food. The Yellow Bunting I have only 

 had under close observation once, and the male bird sang with fully 

 fledged young in the nest. Every lane and hedgerow abounds with 

 this species and their song can be heard all day until late July. Surely 

 these cannot all be mateless birds ! 



Nightingales were unusually numerous here last year. A pair had 

 their nest and reared their young close to my house, and the male 

 bird sang intermittent snatches of song until the young were almost 

 fledged. I have never studied the species before with attention to 

 its song, so merely give the record for what it is worth. The Thrush- 

 Nightingale (Luscinia luscinia) which I had ample occasion for observ- 

 ing on the Rhine during one season, does sing intermittently in snatches 

 with well-grown young in the nest ; in the little valley where I was 

 staying the species was very common, and one could always hear 

 two, three, or more singing at the same time, in close proximity to 

 each other, Marie L. Parker. 



WiERTON COTT.\GE, NR. MaIDSTONE. 



OBSERVATIONS ON THE CUCKOO. 



To the Editors of British Birds. 



Sirs, — In justice to Mr. Edgar Chance, I feel it incumbent on me 

 to write a few lines in reply to Mr. J. S. Elliott's letter [antea, p. 262). 

 Few if any of the field-workers of the present-day are more punctili- 

 ously careful with regard to the authentication of eggs taken by them 

 than Mr. Chance. Moreover, on several occasions Mr. Chance had the 

 advantage of being accompanied by other ornithologists, and I have 

 not the slightest doubt that every case was most fully and carefully 

 investigated. Having also myself seen the series of 46 eggs — no two 

 of which were laid in one nest — I certainly think that they furnish in 



