OTES 



THE NESTLING OF THE CRESTED TIT. 

 As I am unable to find any adequate description of the 

 nestling Crested Tit {Parus c. scoticus), the following observa- 

 tions may be of some interest to ornithologists. When 

 staying in Inverness-shire recently, my friend Mr. R. G. Todd 

 and I examined a nest containing newly-hatched young, and 

 were surprised to find that, although otherwise almost 

 naked, they all had a well-developed tuft of hair-like down on 

 top of the head. We then examined some unhatched eggs 

 and found that even the embryo chick has this peculiar 

 characteristic of a long, clearly formed crest even in the 

 earliest stages. The interior of the mouth is bright lemon- 

 yellow, with darker 3'ellow tongue and centre and no tongue- 

 spots. Clifford Borrer. 

 [I can confirm the fact that a long and well-defined crest is 

 present in the embryo, from personal observation in May 1916. 

 One hair-like tuft seems to spring from just above the eye, 

 one from the occiput, and in one case one from the forehead. 

 There are also two hair-like tufts on the back. — F. C. R. 



JOURDAIN.] 



PROBABLE LESSER GREY SHRIKE IN 

 NORTHUMBERLAND. 



On April 9th, 1921, I saw a Lesser Grey Shrike {Lanius minor) 

 at Seaton Sluice on the coast of Northumberland, and had 

 it under my direct observation for half an hour or more. 

 It was sitting on the top of a thorn fence on the edge of the 

 dene. As an abrupt hill rose immediately behind the bird 

 I could make out its darker forehead as compared with a 

 Great Grey Shrike (L. excnhitor), while the whole bird was 

 also darker and smaller than the latter. The single white 

 wing-bar which showed became more marked when the bird 

 took flight. A strong offsea wind prevailed at the time and 

 the bird was obviously tired. I may add that I am familiar 

 with the species, which I have shot in Egypt and also possess 

 a mounted Great Grey Shrike. W. Raw. 



BLACKBIRD LAYING IN NEST OF SONG-THRUSH. 

 On April ist, 1921, my brother found a nest of a Song-Thrush 

 {Ttirdus ph. clarkei) at Theale, near Reading, containing 

 three eggs. 



We visited the nest again on April nth and a Blackbird 

 [T Urdus m. menda) flew off. The nest then contained four 



