46 BRITISH BIRDS. [vol. xy. 



EARLY BREEDING OF WOODCOCK. 



Referring to Mr. E. G. B. Meade-Waldo's note on the above 

 subject {antea, p. 22), I do not know whether it is worth 

 recording that nests and eggs of the Woodcock {Scolopax 

 rusticola) have been found in this county (Dumfriesshire) as 

 early as the end of February. This is, of course, somewhat 

 exceptional, but nests with their full complement are com- 

 monly found before the middle of March. 



Hugh S. Gladstone. 



ROSEATE TERNS BREEDING IN DORSET. 



Ox June 13th, 1921, in company with Dr. F. G. Penrose and 

 Mr. Howard Lacey, I found Roseate Terns {Sterna d. dougallii) 

 breeding on the coast of Dorset. After careful watching, 

 we marked a bird four or five times on to two eggs. These 

 were remarkably elongated, one particularly so, and appeared 

 to be slightly incubated. The nest was very scanty and not 

 concealed. We saw every detail of the bird's plumage through 

 prism glasses and telescopes, and both birds were very bold, 

 constantly uttering their unmistakable note, which I learnt 

 to know, last year in Wales. Possibly another pair was also 

 breeding. Though this species formerly bred on the Scilly 

 Islands, this is, I think, the first record of the finding of 

 Roseate Terns' eggs on the south coast of England. 



F. L. Blathwayt. 



