334 The Zoologist — August, 1866. 



off their supply of food, in the way of insects, was the primary cause 

 of the swallows suffering. Nevertheless the flycatcher, turtle dove 

 and nightjar were here early, though the flycatcher, which T saw on 

 the 1st of May, looked dreadfully cut up. 



Golden Oriole. — This species appears to have been observed pretty 

 well all along the south coast this spring. On the 5th of May a pair, 

 male and female, were killed at Sidlesham, about five miles south of 

 Chichester. There is a female in ti)e Chichester Museum, which was 

 shot near the same place in May, 1853, about which period several 

 others were obtained in Sussex. 



Ni(/htinyale. — May 13. Found a nest of this bird, three feet from 

 the ground, built in some dead wood which had fallen on a heap of 

 bramble. Hitherto all the nests of this species which I have seen in 

 situ have been on the ground, or at least only slightly raised from it 

 by decaying vegetation or something of that nature. Yarrell says its 

 nest is "almost always placed on the ground." But in a suiall work 

 which I have seen, by the Rev. J. C. Atkinson, that author states, as 

 the result of his experience, that it is not usually' placed on the ground. 

 It would be interesting to ascertain if the placing of its nest varies in 

 different districts. 



Grasshopper Warbler. — I was so fortunate, on the 19th of May, as 

 to find, quite accidentally, two nests of this warbler. It is generally 

 understood that its nest is extremely difficult to find : neither of these 

 nests, however, was concealed with greater care than the nest of the 

 common whitethroat usually is, both being built in tufts of coarse 

 grass, the tops of the grass just drooping over the nest. These nests 

 vere situated in a small wet copse, where the underwood is patchy 

 and the bottom thickly overgrown with grass. Another nest of the 

 grasshopper warbler, which 1 found on the 16th of May, 1864, was 

 placed in a small thick crab-bush : this also I discovered by accident, 

 and although I have spent hours in looking for their nest, have never 

 found one when actually searching for it. These three nests each 

 contained five eggs when taken. The grasshopper warbler is not by 

 any means numerous here, but is to be found in various localities, from 

 the top of the downs to the vicinity of the sea-coast. 



Waders. — During the last fortnight in May the waders were very 

 plentiful about the coast and harbours, many of them in full summer 

 plumage, others in the transition state. The cold north-easterly winds 

 that prevailed at this time probably induced them to linger about the 

 south coast longer than they are in the habit of doing while on the 



