VOL. XV.] notp:s. 19 



Song-Thrush's eggs and two Blackbird's eggs. One of the 

 Blackbird's eggs was quite typical, being marked with small 

 spots, but the other had large red spots, and was heavily 

 marked at the larger end. 



The nest was mud-lined and undoubtedly that of a Song- 

 Thrush. 



Unfortunately I could make no further observations owing 

 to being absent from the neighbourhood. 



A. Steven Corbet. 



LARGE CLUTCH OF EGGS OF TAWNY OWL. 

 A NEST of Tawny Owl {Strix aliico sylvatica) at Martock, 

 Somerset, which I examined on March 26th, 1921, contained 

 five hard-sat eggs. During twenty years' experience of the 

 species I have never found more than four eggs, and the 

 usual clutch here seems to vary from two to three. 



Joseph H. Symes. 

 [Clutches of five eggs, though scarce, have been recorded 

 on a good manj^ occasions chiefly from Northamptonshire 

 and Oxfordshire, but also from Kent (cf. British Birds, 

 VIL, p. 55), Pembrokeshire (Capt. W. M. Congreve), Argyll- 

 shire {Ibis, 1879, p. 378), etc. Sets of six are much rarer, 

 but have been reported from Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire, 

 and Yorkshire. Seven eggs in various stages of incubation 

 have been twice reported (cf. British Birds, X., p. 187), 

 and in the Birds of Dumfriesshire (p. 182) a statement is 

 quoted by Mr. R. Armstrong that in March 1892 he found 

 a nest on Burn Farm (Closeburn) containing eight eggs. 

 Possibly in these latter cases the female may have been 

 killed after depositing a full clutch and the male may have 

 taken another mate. A second clutch would naturally be 

 laid in due course. In the case recorded by Mr. Forrest from 

 Shropshire, there is some evidence that seems to suggest 

 that two females were occupying the same hollow, and 

 the three last laid eggs disappeared mysteriously .^ — -F. C. R. 



JOURDAIN.] 



PROBABLE RED-FOOTED FALCON IN 

 NORTHUMBERLAND. 

 On May ist, 1921,. I saw an adult male Red-footed Falcon 

 {Faico vespertiniis) about a mile south of the Tyne opposite 

 Cor bridge. It flew low and quite slowly over a grass field 

 and glided up on to a low bough in a hedgerow oak about 

 150 yards from where I was. It sat up stiffly on this bough 

 for some time, and then glided down and flew off as before 

 just above the grass of the next field beyond. My first 

 impression was o[ a dull black bird, which I was surprised 



