86 BRITISH BIRDS. [vol. xv. 



the only Lincolnshire eggs I can remember having seen were 

 taken from Ropsley Wood near Grantham in 1906. 



F. L. Blathwayt. 



FOOD OF THE ROBIN. 



During July 1921 I watched a juvenile Robin {Erithacus r. 

 melophilus) many times eating the fruit of the Berheris and 

 loganberry. As the bird was very tame it was easy to see it 

 cast up the dark looking pellets which on examination showed, 

 the seeds of the above-named plants ver}^ plainly amongst 

 the insect remains. Stanley Lewis. 



[Raspberries, currants, rowan and whortleberries have 

 already been recorded. — Eds.] 



ABNORMAL LAYING BY THE SWALLOW. 



In 192 1 a pair of Swallows {Hirundo r. rustica) built in a 

 barn in Cumberland, and reared three young, of which two 

 left the nest on the morning of June 13th. At 8.30 p.m. I 

 visited the nest and found, besides the nestling one egg. 

 Unfortunately this was dropped and broken. At 8.30 a.m. 

 on June 14th the nest contained, besides the nestling Swallow 

 three eggs. Three eggs had therefore been laid within twelve 

 hours, and four eggs within twenty -four hours. 



The young Swallow left the nest on the 15th, and no more 

 eggs were laid until the 19th, when the nest contained four. 

 The Swallow started to sit on the 20th, but on the 23rd 

 another egg was laid, and then one each day up to and including 

 the 26th, when the nest held eight eggs. From 23rd-25th 

 she did not sit except to cover the eggs at night, but on the 

 26th commenced sitting again. 



On July 8th three nestlings were out, and on the 9th two more 

 hatched, making a total of five. Of the three eggs that did 

 not hatch two were found to be infertile and one addled. 

 The barn where the nest is, stands well back from the road, 

 is not used for any purpose, and is only a few yards from our 

 house. I do not think that any person had interfered with 

 the nest, and it would seem to be a case of more than one 

 Swallow using the same nest. It is interesting to note that 

 at least one of the eggs must have been incubated from 

 June 20th to 23rd, and then again from the 26th to July 8th, 

 in all fifteen or sixteen days with a gap of three days. 



R. H. Brown. 



WING-STROKES OF THE SWIFT. 



With reference to the note {antea, p. 60) as to whether 

 Swifts {Apus a. apiis) raise their wings alternately in flight, 



