VOL. XV.] NOTES. 115 



handled and ringed, continued to incubate their eggs and 

 hatched out their broods, so that in one family seven out 

 of eight were ringed; in the other, six out of seven. 



Of course it is much easier to find the nests when there 

 are young, for then there is a constant traffic to and fro. 

 The fl'ght now is tlie same as before, but, at any rate after 

 the birds are about a week old, the parents settle on the 

 edge of the hole and entice the young to them. 



It would seem a simple matter to ring the nestlings once 

 the nest has been found, but one must not leave it till too 

 late ; at six days old they are too small ; after nine they 

 all bolt down the hole, it possible, as soon as one bird is 

 taken out, sometimes before. 



Towards the end of May and at the beginning of June I 

 saw several times both male and female Wheatears hovering 

 about ten feet above the ground ; I could find no nest nor 

 signs of young ones and am curious to know what it signifies, 

 for I never saw it done at any spot where I knew there was 

 a nest. Is it some kind of nuptial display which I missed 

 with the earlier nesters ? J- F. Tho'\ias. 



LESSER SPOTTED WOODPECKER BREEDING IN 



AUGUST. 

 An instance of the late nesting of the Lesser Spotted Wood- 

 pecker {Dryobates m. comminutus) which is considered to be 

 a single-brooded species, may be of interest. I have reason 

 to think that the pair of birds in question brought off a brood 

 in June, either in my garden or close at hand. At the end 

 of July, on passing the remains of an old dead pear tree, I 

 noticed on the underside of a bough the commencement of 

 a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker's hole. The hole did not go 

 far in, and for several days it was left alone, but on August 4th 

 much more work had been done and the hole had just begun 

 to go downwards, and then again it was left alone until 

 .August nth, when much work was done. On tb.e 17th the 

 nest appeared to be ready for eggs, if eggs had not already 

 been laid, while on the 27th the bird was sitting. 



In an interesting note on the Woodpeckers {antca, p. 61), 

 Mr. J. H. Owen remarks, v/ith reference to the old Vjirds 

 keeping the nest-hole clean, "The dung must be swallowed 

 in the hole, as we never saw a bird carry any away." This 

 does not appear to be always the case, as wlien I was watching 

 Lesser Spotted Woodpeckc^rs feeding young, I twice saw the 

 male bird disappear into the hole and emerge carrving a fair- 

 si/ed white lump which I took to be the excreta of the young, 

 and he flew right away with it. B. D'O. Aplin. 



