24 BRITISH BIRDS. [vol. xv. 



to the construction of the nest of our Long-tailed Tit {Mgithalos c. 

 roseus) and the observation was made about the year i8g8, probably 

 in the latter part of March or early in April. I was a very keen egg 

 collector in those days, and was out with my brother in the neighbour- 

 hood of Moreton, Dorset, when we came across this nest. It was 

 situated low down in either a bramble or furze bush, as is often the 

 case, but to me, the peculiarity of the circumstance consisted in the 

 fact that, although completed outside in every detail, the nest had 

 no entrance hole. I have always regretted that, in the excitement 

 of youth, I did not preserve this nest complete, but after examining 

 it all round carefully, made an artificial entrance with my finger. The 

 inside was unlined. It would be interesting to know if such nests 

 have been found by others. Is it perhaps the normal method of 

 construction, and does the bird make the hole and line the nest, after 

 first completing the shell ? 



One can quite see that there might be advantages in this method, 

 in the case of a nest such as that of a Long-tailed Tit, and possibly 

 it may be quite the usual way. W. R. Thompson. 



SiERR.\ Leone, West Africa, February 26th, 192 1. 



WEIGHT-CARRYING POWER OF A GOLDEN EAGLE. 



To the Editors of British Birds. 



Sirs, — In 1915 some Seaforth Highlanders were billeted in an 

 empty house opposite me at Farnham, and I made the acquaintance 

 of some of the men and invited three to tea one day — a keeper, a 

 forester, and a ghillie from the north of Scotland. 



I showed them Macpherson's Life of a Golden Eagle, in which they 

 were much interested — the illustrations being from life — and, in 

 course of conversation, asked them if they had ever heard of a child 

 being taken by an Eagle — which they all agreed was a very unlikely 

 thing to happen ; but the forester told us he once saw an Eagle swoop 

 down on a young lamb, and with great difficulty fly away with it. 



Seeing the bird could not get far from the ground with its burden, 

 he followed it on foot for two miles and a half, when the bird dropped 

 the lamb dead, a little way in front of him. He picked it up and took 

 it home, and carefully weighed it at once out of curiosity, finding it 

 scaled a little over 19 lbs. 



I do not know whether this would be a very heavy weight for a 

 full-grown Eagle, but the other men thought it quite possible. 



Arthur R. Gillmax. 

 Hatch End, Boscombe. 



