8954 Birds. 
simple safeguard, and answers admirably ; and I am always cheered by the warbling 
of some little pet, from the nightingale in the spring to the robin in the winter. I 
would here remark, that it is easy to keep birds destructive to our crops within due 
compass without the dangerous use of poisoned grain, which will most assuredly kill 
every moderate-sized animal that may by any chance be allured to pick up the 
scattered seed ; the songster and the sparrow, the partridge and the pheasant, and, 
worse than all, the poor skylark, may by its subtle aid be destroyed by hundreds, and 
sent through the poulterer to our tables as an article uf food. Who can foresee what 
amount of misery may arise even from this act alone? In conclusion I would call the 
farmet’s attention to the comparison of the damage done by birds to that perpetrated 
by rats; and, instead of sparrow clubs, let rat clubs be substituted and established in 
every town and village, and the trifling injury done by the feathered race would be 
speedily saved by clean ricks, undamaged homesteads, and a full return of the grain 
stored both in barn and rick.—C. J. Cow ; January, 1864. 
The Spotted Woodpecker —On the 10th I was fortunate enough to have been able 
to watch, for a short time, a greater spotted woodpecker, but it evidently knew I was 
criticising it, for its manners were unnatural and constrained. These birds are seldom 
met with here, and they rarely give one an opportunity to notice their habits. In this 
case the bird alighted on the branch of a tree over my head, and moved quickly about 
in a state of great excitement, at intervals altering its peculiar cry: as long as it was 
visible I watched it carefully, and, had it not been somewhat foggy, I might have kept 
sight of it for a long time, as it took its departure gradually, flying from tree to tree.— 
C. J. Maurice ; Mickelmarsh Rectory, Romsey, January 16, 1864. 
Kingfishers on the Carron in Stirlingshire.—This beautiful bird, three years ago, 
was very common on the banks of the Carron; but I am sorry to say that now only 
two pairs remain. Last year there were three pairs, but one pair out of the three has 
since disappeared, Last spring I knew two nests; one of these—the contents of which 
(seven eggs) I took for my collection—was placed about ten feet above the surface of 
the water in a sand-bank, and the other was at least thirty feet above the surface, also 
in a sand-bank, and perfectly safe from molestation from almost any bird-nester. In 
this last I fully expected the old bird would bring out her young, but “alas, for 
human expectations!” I was doomed to disappointment. The sand above the nest 
slipped down, covering up the entrance of the hole, and the poor bird on her eggs was 
buried alive; I hope, however, the remaining two pairs will be more successful this 
season in bringing out their young, otherwise I fear they bid fairly to be totally 
exterminated in this district—John A. Harvie Brown; Dunipace House, Falkirk, 
January 3, 1864. 
Abundance of Kingfishers in Norfolk.—Upwards of forty specimens of the king- 
fisher have been shot in this neighbourhood during the past three weeks, and several 
have likewise been picked up completely starved out; most of the specimens being in 
very good plumage.—T7. E. Gunn ; Norwich, January 16, 1864,—In ‘ Corresponding 
Naturalist’s Circular, 
[A still larger number have been killed or picked up dead in the Woolwich Marshes 
and the fens of Lincolnshire, but much earlier in the winter season, and before any 
starvation could have taken place from the freezing of streams: indeed, October and 
November were the months when these birds were most abundant.—Edward Newman. ] 
Nesting of the Kingfisher.—In answer to the question of Mr. Pigott (Zool. 8886), 
resp ecting the nesting of the kingfisher, I reply that I certainly never found anything 
