The Zoologist — July, 1867. 827 



by Mr. Brown must not only bare crossed tbe Atlantic, but also tbe continent of 

 America, for it only appears to be found in California. Every naturalist, of course, is 

 always on the look out for new or rare species, but I think if I myself had seen a 

 magpie wilh a yellow beak I should have thought at once thai it had been robbing a 

 hen's nesl, not that it was an American species. — R. G. Beckwilh ; Eaton Conslanline, 

 Wellington, Salop, May 1, 1867. 



Capture of Swifts by Hook and Line. —The icy east winds of the latter part of 

 May were felt severely by the Hirundinidse in this neighbourhood. I have been told 

 of swifts and sand martins having been found dead in bed-rooms, having no doubt 

 flown in at the open windows for shelter. On the 25th a swift was brought to me 

 which had been picked up in the street: it appeared in a semi-torpid state, and I 

 thought the best thing would be to place it in a basket in front of the fire : here it 

 remained until the next morning, when I was pleased to hear it fluttering vigorously 

 inside. The wiud in the night had come round to the genial west, and when I look 

 the basket out of doors and opened it the swift (without stopping to thank me for my 

 hospitality) flew off with a great rush towards the neighbouring church- tower. A week 

 after this I was fly-fishing with a friend, when a swift suddenly took my tail-fly as my 

 line was trailing behind in the wind. It was with some little difficulty that I extri- 

 cated the hook from the unfortunate bird's mouth, and having done so 1 put my novel 

 capture into my basket to show my friend who was fishing at some little distance. 

 On my way to him the swift was clever enough to take advantage of the hole in the 

 lid of my basket, and flew out and escaped. But while I was in the very aci of 

 relating to my friend what had happened, behold ! a tug at the end of his line, and, 

 on looking round, a swift caught and fluttering! Carefully set free from its painful 

 position, it was permitted to fly, and the work of flogging the water recommenced. 

 Almost at the first throw another deluded swift took the red palmer as it streamed 

 back at tbe end of my friend's collar, and the disentangling process had to be again 

 enacted. After this the swifts ceased to molest us; but on our return home we were 

 able to boast of having. taken fish and fowl in equal numbers — viz. three trout and 

 three swifts. I have fly-fished, I may safely say it, many thousand times, but never 

 captured a swift until the other day. The birds could not have been unusually 

 hungry to have been so reckless of what food they seized, for the weather for several 

 days before had been damp and mild, and insects must have been abroad in abund- 

 ance. — M. A. Mathew ; Weston-super-Mare, June 4, 1867. 



Early Arrival of Swallows and Martins. — Swallows have arrived this year very 

 early: Mr. Ingram, her Majesty's gardener, saw several martins near Windsor during 

 the last week in March; and on tbe 1st of April a pair of chimney swallows were ob- 

 served flying over the Thames in the Eton College playing-fields. — Alexander Clark- 

 Kennedy ; Eton, Bucks, April 2, 1867. 



Nesting of the Kingfisher. — Though the subject of tbe kingfisher (Alcedo ispida) is 

 somewhat stale, yet, in consequence of the remarks which I have just read in the 

 October ' Quarterly ' on "Homes without Hands," I send you the following notes, 

 made this spring, in order to set at rest, if possible, a mistake regarding the breeding 

 of this bird. Modern writers on the kingfisher are hardly more free from error than 

 even Ovid or Pliny. The bird is a true miner, and makes a nest of fish-bones ; but, as 

 no rule is without an exception, where it cannot find a suitable bank to bore in, it has 

 been known to nidificate in abnormal situations ; and when abundance of proper fish 



