1800 The Zoologist — August, 18G9. 



into and on the top of it. The nren had made its nest of shaving', leaves, he, and, 

 evidently before the nest was quite finished, a flycatcher conuneiiced building at the 

 top, not simply taking it for a foundation, but so interweaving the moss and hair as to 

 present the appearance of one nest. Wiien bri)ii};lu in fiom Preston, where it was 

 found the nifjhl before, the flycatclier'.s contained four and the wren's three eggs; hut 

 from the ajjpearance of the back of the iiesi, I lielieve the latter had more in it when 

 taken down. Tlie nests were luiiil in an elm tree, at a knot in the stem, and were 

 partially concealed by elm twigs. — T. W. Wonfur ; Briyht'in, Jul// 3, 18(59. 



Ring Ousel in Kensington Gavdctis — Riftriing lo the nciliceof the ring ousel shot 

 at Muswell Hill, which appears in the ' Zoolo};i.st ' for the present month, I may men- 

 tion that on the 26ih of November last I saw one of these birds in Kensington 

 Gardens. — T. Vuvy/uin Rnbrrts ; Si Mildred's Court, Poultry. June 14, 1S(>9. 



Gulden Oriole at S'illy. — Our friends the <nioles have made their appearance 

 iitScilly again this season: one is in bcatifnl phnnaije, as bri^jbt as a marigobl ; the 

 other, probably the female, in duller plumage. This species appears to be now a 

 regular spring visitor to the Islands, in more or less nnmbeis; but hilherto they have 

 disappeared when the season fiT bleeding advances, alllion};li to all a|>pcarances the 

 birds have paired, and have been seen to frequent close plantations as if preparing for 

 nesting. — Edward Heurte Rodd ; Penzance, May 3, 1869. 



Nightingale in Yorkshire. — I ha»e great pleasure in recording the occurrence of 

 the nighiingale this season in Yoik^hire. On the 13th of May oue commenced sing- 

 ing in a small wood called Bushy Cliff, situate about five miles south-east of Leeds: 

 it haunted some thorn bushes near a brook, and began to sing each evening about 

 half-])ast ten, and continued in song till four in the morning. I, along with several 

 others, walked about in the arljacent meadows most of the nights of ilie IStli and 16ih 

 listening to its charming music, — charming and rare, indee>l, to Yorkshire men: the 

 plaintive notes and the so-calledjwatcr-bubble parts of its simgwere especially distinc- 

 tive. I was somewhat surprised at iis lamentss: on the third evening many boys and 

 young men from villages roimd about assembled and created some uproar without 

 disturbing it from its perch, and the game-watchers got within a few yards of it. This 

 tameness ami indifference when sin;;iii!j; is alluded to by various authors, and serves 

 to distin;:ui&h it from all other nocturnal songsters. The hijihest parts of its song 

 were plainly audible at three different villages on tlie west side of the wooil in which 

 it was lociited: I heard its notes dislinctly when I was above a mile distant. E-irly 

 in the morning nf the 17th, four djys after its appearance, it was captured with limed 

 twigs by two Leeds biid-fiiiciers: a few meal-wnnns were thrown down among the 

 twigs, and in less than five minutes after the bait was laid the bird was secured ; 

 greatly, T may add, to the mortification of hundreds who had listened to its surpass- 

 ing song from their chamber windows. A friend of mine, who is an ornith<dogi>-t in 

 a small way, was present when it was cau<;hi, and saw that it tviis a nightingale. 

 Hefore this occurrence 1 was amon-.'st tho^e wlo were sceptical abiiut the ninhlingale 

 being a Yorkshire biid, but now I am won entirely over to the other side. If the bird 

 had not been caught there was sufficient evidence in ihe power and qunjiiy of its sonc, 

 and in the peculi.irity of its habits, to establish its identity. Mr. Kidd, 1 may just 

 observe here, says that the nightin;rale is the easiest of all birds to catch. 1 believe 

 the nighiingale is known amungst the rude birdcatchers as the '" red bird." Ha»ing 



