9040 Birds. 
instinct, innate to its species, the hawk quickly descried its victim, and with the 
swiftness of lightning swept down on the unfortunate sparrow, and bore it off in 
triumph, almost within reach of my brother’s driving-whip: this incident happened in 
the after part of the day, just as the light was beginuing to wane, but my brother 
quite satisfied himself that the hawk was a kestrel, and from its size he thought 
it must have been a female.—Henry Blackmore ; Salisbury, March, 1864. 
On the Redwing singing in England.—With reference to the observation appended 
to my note on the redwing singing in England (Zool. 8946), I beg again most posi- 
tively to assert that on many occasions, and under the circumstances already recorded, 
which must have rendered any mistake impossible, I have heard the redwing in full 
song in Oxfordshire. After more than twenty years’ experience as an ornithologist, it 
can scarcely be thought necessary for me to ask the opinion of any person as to the 
difference between a redwing and a song thrush. Any one conversant with the habits 
of these birds will know that they do not usually associate together, and least of all are 
they likely to do so at the time when the redwings are assembling for their vernal 
migration. Moreover, the food of the two species is essentially different; that of the 
redwing consisting of berries and hedge-fruit, while the song thrush subsists chiefly on 
snails, worms and other small animals. Although I cannot take upon myself to say 
that either species restricts itself exclusively to its own proper food, yet this difference 
must act, in a great measure, as a bar to their association —A. Matthews ; Gumley, 
Market Harborough, March 19, 1864. 
Redwing singing in England.—The Rey. A. Matthews, in speaking of the song of 
the redwing, says, in the ‘ Zoologist’ (Zool. 8946), that it was very little inferior to 
that of the song thrush, and adduced what appeared to him unmistakeable evidence of 
being so, from having secreted himself in a wood and watched them; nay, more, on 
one occasion shot one in the act. Query: may not this identical bird have been a 
specimen of our native song thrush, and may not others of this species have con- 
gregated with the redwings, and so have been mistaken by Mr. Matthews? The red- 
wings do, however, sing or chatter not very unlike starlings, which assemble in large 
flucks in the autumn, and keep up a kind of jargon (to me very agreeable) just before 
going to roost. I have for fifty years observed the character and habits of the redwing, 
and could never discover any song approaching the song of the thrush, either in quality 
or quantity; and Bechstein says,“ The song of the male bird is as inharmonious as 
that of the fieldfare. These birds,” he continues, “ make a great noise when they are 
collected in large flights upon the alders in March and April; but their warbling 
hardly deserves the name of song.” This, I confess, is my experience, and I do not 
believe I am mistaken.—J. J. Fox; Devizes, March 7, 1864. 
[This communication very closely corresponds with the passage in my own history 
of the redwing, which first originated the discussion. I am quite willing to admit 
that negative evidence cannot be fairly weighed against positive evidence like that of 
Mr. Matthews; but it is a little remarkable that Mr. Doubleday (whose very decided 
opinion I have not printed), Mr. Yarrell, Mr. Bond, Col. Newman, Mr. Fox, Mr. Bech- 
stein (to say nothing of myself), all of whom have made this a special object of inquiry, 
should have never detected a redwing in the act of singing: it certainly tends to show 
that the singing is very exceptional and not the normal habit of the bird, as in the case 
of the song thrush.— Edward Newman.) 
Black Redstart at Eastbourne.—A fine specimen of the black redstart (Sylvia tithys) 
was caught here by a bird-catcher on the 9th of November, 4863; a splendid adult 
