60 BRITISH BIRDS. [vol. xv. 



The nest was so situated that it was next to impossible 

 for rats to have been the cause ol the disappearance of the 

 two clutches ; it was certainly not by human agency, and 

 I can only conclude it was the result of quarrels between 

 the Flycatchers and House-Sparrows, House-Martins, Green- 

 finches and Starlings, all of which had nests within a few 

 feet. 



In 1920 the pair reared two broods in exactly the same 

 spot. In the autumn of that year I subjected the clematis to 

 a severe pruning, and although I took the greatest possible 

 care to leave the old nesting-site in statu quo, there must 

 have been something not quite to the birds' liking, as this 

 year they chose a site about two feet away ; they have 

 already reared one brood, and the hen is now sitting on her 

 second clutch of eggs — in the same nest. Roy Clayton. 



WING-STROKES OF THE SWIFT. 



With reference to the question that has been raised as to 

 tiie movement of the wings of the Swift {Apus a. apus), whilst 

 watching the flight of these birds at Aix-les-Bains this summer 

 my wife and I distinctly saw a Swift flying away from us 

 towards a dark blue mountain (the Mont du Chat) in the 

 sunshine, and the wings caught the sun first on one side and 

 then on the other as they were raised. This seems to be 

 good and positive proof that these birds do raise their wings 

 alternately. Walter Cave. 



ROLLER IN ESSEX. 



On June 17th, 1921, a Roller {Coracias g. garrulus) was 

 brought alive to my house. I was unfortunately absent 

 from home and my gardener, who received the bird, was 

 ignorant of its natural food, with the consequence that it 

 died on the 19th. The man who brought it has since informed 

 me that it flew against a telegraph wire in the parish of 

 Ramsey and that another bird, apparently of the same 

 species, was seen on the preceding or following day. 



W. B. Nichols. 



UNUSUAL SITE FOR KINGFISHER'S NEST. 



In March 1921 a pair of Kingfishers {Alcedo a. ispida) started 

 to tunnel in a soft vein in a gravel pit rather more than a 

 mile from Felsted School, Essex. This gravel pit is situated 

 about three-quarters of a mile from the Ter and a good mile 

 from the Chelmer. Some of the ponds in the neighbourhood 

 of the gravel pit hold fish (carp, tench, etc.), but there is no 



