24 BRITISH BIRDS. [vol. viii. 



before it reaches the ground. The prey is plucked before 

 being brought to the nest, and is broken up and distributed 

 to the young with much care and discrimination. Small 

 birds appear to form the bulk of the food, but in one case 

 Mr. Taylor saw the remains of a young Lapwing, while at 

 another nest he found the following "victims" : Blackbird, 

 Song-Thrush, Ring-Ouzel, Willow-Wren, Starling, Pied 

 Wagtail, Chaffinch, young Cuckoo, young Golden Plover, 

 young Lapwing, Meadow-Pipit, young Grouse, young 

 Partridge, young Woodcock, Hawfinch, Sandpiper, Snipe, 

 and Greenfinch. 



Scottish Heronries. — Mr. H. B. Watt gives {Scot. Nat, 

 1914, pp. 112-15) some further details regarding Heron- 

 ries in Scotland. He estimates the number of existing 

 Heronries containing four nests or more in Scotland at 190. 

 Messrs. L^ssher and Warren assign some 330 to Ireland, 

 whilst about 200 are said to exist in England and 40 in Wales, 

 but these latter figures are subject to revision. Altogether 

 Mr. Watt thinks that there are not fewer than 760 nesting- 

 places in the L^nited Kingdom at the present time. 



Display of the Mallard in relation to pairing. — 

 Mr. S. E. Brock contributes an interesting article on this 

 subject to the Scottish Naturalist (1914, pp. 78-86). To 

 Mr. Wormald's account of the actions {Brit. B., IV., pp. 2-7) 

 he adds a sixth, as follows : — 



The forepart of the body is raised rather slowly out of the 

 water, the head and neck being extended upwards at an abrupt 

 angle. A characteristic head-shake frequently precedes the action. 



Mr. Brock then proceeds to inquire whether there is any 

 relation between these curious actions and the securing of 

 mates. He sums up as follows : — 



Sexual selection occurs in the Mallard. Such selection is 

 almost certainly not " accidental." The influences governing 

 or directing the choice of the female appear to take the 

 form of certain stimuli provided by the display of the male, 

 the external attributes of the male, or the cumulative effect 

 of both. 



Grebe spreading wings before diving. — Mr. V. Burtch 

 publishes in the Auk (1914, pp. 211-12, Plates XXI. and 

 XXII.) a remarkably interesting photograph of a Holboell's 

 Grebe {Colymbus holboelli) in the act of diving. It shows a 

 dark area representing the depression in the water where 

 the Grebe sat at the beginning of the exposure, the " ghost " 

 of its wings fully spread out behind as it started to lunge 

 for\\ard, and the Grebe itself nearly submerged a full length 



