7644 Birds. 



a lepelition, to record its occurrence in this iinraediute vicinity. In an old brick-field, 

 covered wilb reeds, I found it last week in some abundance, discoveriiio; fuur nests on 

 a cursory examination, each with eggs quite fresh. I also shot several specimens of 

 the bird. In the same locality Crex porzuna was observed last year, but I was not 

 successful in findiuo; it, owini? probably to the density of the reeds and the bird's shy 

 habits.— 2V. F. Dobree ; Hull, July 20, 1861. 



Mr. Saxhys uuknoivn Warbler. — Mr. Saxby, in his 'Notes on the Birds of 

 Belgium,' mentions (Zool. 7543) having met with a specie* of Sylvia previously 

 unknown to him, and being still in doubt as to its proper name, expresses a hope that 

 some reader of the ' Zoologist' might be able to set thai doubt at rest. May T be 

 allowed to suggest that, judging from his descripiion, the bird in (|uestion is most 

 probably the Sylvia hippolais (melodious willow warbler) of the British, and S. hip- 

 polais and S. polygloita of continental writers, — a bird well known on the Continent, 

 and fully described in Yarrell's ' Second Supplement,' from a specimen killed near 

 Dover in 1848. Mr. Bree, in his ' Birds of Europe' (now publishing), describes a 

 warbler as distinct from the melodious warbler, but so nearly resembling it in size, 

 colour and habits, as to have been often confounded with it by authors : it is called 

 Viellot's willow warbler {Sylvia icteriua), and said to be common in Belgium, espe- 

 cially about Liege and Brabant, occupying damp groves and willow plantations, also 

 dry hills planted with vines and fruit trees ; it also builds in gardens. Mr. Saxby 

 will observe, on examination, that the wings of these birds are much shorter, in pro- 

 portion, than those of the wood wren, and that the whole under plumage is light yel- 

 low. — John Gateombe ; Wyndham Place, Plymouth, June 24, 1861. 



Habits of the Shell Purrot (Euphemia undulata) of South Australia, as a Cage 

 Sird. — It is now a good many yeais since a pair of these truly elegant biids were 

 kindly presented to uie, having been just brought by their owner from the neighbour- 

 hood of Adelaide, where they are said to be abundant in a wild state, although not 

 widely distributed. Though more frequently to he met with in this country than was 

 then the case, they are still valuable, and at that time were only to be purchased at a 

 very high price. Of course I was anxious to treat such treasures as they deserved, 

 and especially to accommodate them in a manner that should induce them to set about 

 the business of a nest, or rather of rearing a family, for nest, in the usual meaning of 

 the word, they do not atiempt. According to the information resjiecting their habits 

 which I received from their kind donor, I bad a curved wooden tube constructed to 

 resemble the hollow branch of a tree, leading into a box at the bottom, and after 

 covering all with bark and lichen, that it might look rather picturesque than disfiguring, 

 it was fixed in a good canary's breeding cage, the lid of the little nest-box being made 

 to lift up, so that I might occasionally see what was taking place within. The birds, 

 however, though to all appearance perfectly healthy, as well as affectionately playful, 

 feeding each other, and dressing one another's plumage in the amusing way common 

 to their tribe, never took any further notice of the carefully constructed cradle than to 

 sit side by side on the top of it. This continued for a year or two, when the lien 

 suddenly died, 1 believe in a fit. My friend generously sent me another in her place, 

 greatly to the delight of the poor widower, who had been very restless and unhappy 

 when first left alone, coming close to me when I approached the cage with what seemed 

 a plaintive cry of enquiry as to what I had done with his mate, whose lifeless remains 

 he had seen me take away. When the new companion was introduced it was very soon 

 apjiarent that the artificial branch hud become an object of attention, especially to the 



