Birds. 9109 
Owing to the wary habits of this species its nest is difficult to find, therefore I have 
no doubt it is thought to be more rare than it really is—7. E. Gunn; Norwich, 
May 23, 1864. 
The Reed Warbler nesting in Gardens.—This very pretty little warbler I had only 
associated years ago with what I then thought its only haunts, such as reed-beds in 
fens, marsh-ditches and river-banks—in short, wherever reeds were to be found; but 
the last few years I have become more intimately acquainted with it in quite another 
aspect, namely, so near London as Hampstead, where I have a garden, far away from 
water in any shape, and bordered on two sides by a high road, yet here for some years 
it has not failed to appear about the middle of May, much later than the arrival of our 
common warblers, and for the last three years a pair have bred in the garden, the first 
year in a Corcorus, the nest, as in reeds, being firmly attached to three stems; the last 
two seasons ina lilac in the same manner. The lilac is close to my hall-door, and 
neither the noise of children or dogs disturbed them in their labours, and the male 
sang cheerily through the day, invariably accompanying the female in her search for 
materials for the nest, but never, that we could see, assisting her in actually carrying 
such matters, or in constructing the nest itself. They were so far from exhibiting any 
shyness in their habits, that they rambled over the standard roses, and were constant ° 
visitors to the balcony of a Venetian window which was full of plants, and near which 
some of us were usually sitting. These nests were fastened and held together by any 
little bits of twine and thread or hair that they could pick up in the vicinity of the 
house. Mr. Bond suggested the other day that we might have two species of bird at 
present under this name, but the eggs were exactly similar to those taken from reeds, 
and at Bath, where the River Avon is bordered by gardens, I have formerly found 
their nests in shrubs near the water; but I confess I was much astonished to find this 
bird entirely away from water, and so near London. I may add that last summer 
I found four pairs of this bird here breeding in gardens under similar circumstances. 
The young, I observed, were very much fed.on Aphides taken from a sycamore, the 
adjoining tree to that containing the nest. As soon as the eggs were hatched, the 
male nearly discontinued his song, gave up his idle life, and devoted himself to his 
_parental duties— Robert Mitford ; Hampstead, April 12, 1864. 
Rock Pipit in Norfolk.—On the 7th of March a pair of rock pipits (Anthus 
petrosus) were killed on the river’s bank, near St. Martin’s Gates, Norwich, a 
most unusual locality, since the very few birds of this species obtained in Norfolk 
have been killed on Breydon Wall, near Yarmouth. It is most probable that a few 
regularly visit our coast in spring and autumn, though unnoticed by the gunners, 
from their general resemblance to the meadow pipit (Anthus pratensis); but, with the 
exception of one other specimen, these are the only examples of this species that have 
come under my notice in the hands of our bird-stuffers—H. Stevenson; Norwich, 
April 27, 1864. 
Snow Bunting in Summer Plumage near Penzance.—We have the snow-flake 
pretty regularly every autumn and winter on our open downs, but I do not remember 
ever having seen one so late in the spring with the slightest symptom of the black 
summer plumage until last month, when I was shown a specimen pretty far advanced 
in summer plumage, which had been shot somewhere between this and the Land’s 
End.— Edward Hearle Rodd; Penzance, May 9, 1864. 
Brambling in the Chilterns. — Your correspondent Mr. Tyrer (Zool. 9023), in 
noticing the occurrence of a flock of bramblings at Weston-Turville, asks whether these 
