812 The Zoologist — July, 1867. 



in the ' Field.' We know that many birds have a habit of singing at 

 night, some all the night through, during the summer months, and 

 thrushes perhaps occasionally amongst others, but that it should have 

 been particularly noticed in different localities that same night is 

 rather curious. It was certainly a moonlight night, but not an 

 unusually bright one. Did any other reader of the ' Zoologist' notice 

 this singing on the night in question ? 



Gray Wagtail. — March 11th. A gray wagtail has frequented this 

 immediate neighbourhood for several weeks ; as yet, however, the 

 black patch on the throat is scarcely beginning to show. But a pair 

 of birds newly arrived have the patch nearly perfect and the yellow 

 part much brighter than the first-mentioned bird, which is probably a 

 last year's bird. The same thing is frequently noticeable in the pied 

 wagtail. Those birds which winter with us, and some braved the 

 severe frosts of January last, do not assume the summer plumage by 

 the lime that others arrive from the south in that state. A company 

 of about thirty pied wagtails, the first arrivals, seen on the loth of 

 March, and meadow pipits passing northwards on the 16th. Through 

 the kindness of a friend I have just learned that the gray wagtail does 

 occasionally remain to breed in Sussex, two instances of its having 

 done so being known to him, and in addition to this I have myself 

 (June 1st) just found a nest of its young near Petworth. The sides' of 

 streams would seem to be the sites chosen, and in the latter case a 

 hole in a sandbank by the side Of a waterfall. 



Peewit. — March 17th. The cold N.E. winds and sharp frosts induce 

 the peewit again to travel southwards in flock. 



Tawny Owl. — March 21st. While the peewit is flying from the 

 second winter the tawny owl is nesting. Four ^eggs, partially 

 incubated, were brought me to-day from a hollow yew-tree. 



Oystercatcher, — With us in the south the oyslercatcher is a scarce 

 bird ; not breeding here, it is only met with when migrating south- 

 wards iu autumn or northwards in spring; but they seem to have 

 been unusually plentiful this spring. I obtained one in good 

 plumage on the 20th of March, and the same day nine others were 

 brought into Chichester for sale ; they were shot at West Wittering, 

 and were, I am told, all killed at one discharge of the gun. Subse- 

 quently four others were sent from the same place, and the thirteen 

 cut up into plumes for the ladies. 



Spring Arrivals. — One would imagine the weather to have been any 

 thing but favourable for the arrival of our summer visitants, yet some 



