Thk Zoologist — Si-.PTEMnF.R, 18C9. 18J7 



missel tlinisb (*lio hud continued iier inctibaiiuii nolwitlislandiiig llie loss of lier 

 pavliier) was observed in coiiipany vvilh a soufj thrusb on an adjacent giass-plnl : 

 ihey were siibsequeiilly frequently observed to consort to{,'ellier wliilsi tlie missel ilirn^li 

 was bringing up ber youug: and once the song thrush was observed to fly into the oak 

 containing the missel ihrnsb's nest, with food in its bill. After the young missel 

 lliriishes bad begun to fly, ibeir mother and the song llirusli were still frequently 

 observed in company, and, as late as the 9lh of June, I carefully watched tbrongh a 

 glass the old uiissel thrush, two young missel thrushes ami the song thrush, all silting 

 together within a yard of each other on some iron rails wiiich divideii the garden in 

 which the nesl was siluato, from an adjacent field. — /. //. Gurnet/ ; July 16, 1869. 



LiUe Singing of ike Niyhlingale and the Cuckoo. — Rather an unusual thing has 

 occurred in my garden this week, viz , a nightingale sings every morning about eight 

 o'uliitk for half an hour or so, in a low irregular way — sometimes, however, breaking 

 out in a good jug-jng-jug : it is, I should think, a bird of the year, jiid;;iMg from the 

 time and manner of singing. The cuckoo sang here till the 7ih ult. — four days late 

 according to the old folks, who vow he never sings later than the 3rd of July. — 

 IV. lutrren ; Rose Crescent, Cambridge, A^igusl 7, 1869. 



Number of Egga laid by the Darlford Warbler. — I see in your numbers for this 

 montii a notice from a correspondent that a Daiiford warlder's nest, with five eggs, 

 has been taken near Brighton, and that an opinion exists witii some that such never 

 is the case. I have had, in the l.isl few years, nearly sixty nests of this s|iecies : in 

 four cases there were five eggs in a nest — four eggs certainly, as far as my experience 

 goes, is the rule — but in eleven cases there were but three : of course it is difficult to 

 say that there might not have been more laid if the nests had not been taken; but I 

 have had at least one nest with only three eggs, and those hard set. — Alfred Crowley ; 

 Bram ley Oaks, Croydon, August 19, 1869. 



Rare Variety of the Great Tit.— I was down at the New Forest for a few days 

 lately, and found in a keeper's possession, stuffed and cased, a vtr^ rare vaiiety of the 

 great tit (Parus major) : the parts that are yellow and green in the type are pale lemou- 

 yellow ; the rest of the plumage quite white ; bill pale yellowish flesh. — fV. Farren. 



Ray's Wagtail at Scilly. — Large numbers of the yellow wagtail have frequented 

 the Islands during the past week. 



Variety of the Yellcivhammer. — On the 23rd inst. I received, in the flesh, a pale 

 variety of the yellowhammer, the whole sinfttce of its plumage being nf a pale sul|)hur- 

 yellow, the up|ier parts tinged with a pale reddish brown ; eyes pale brown. Fem.ile, 

 and in good condiii m. — T. E. Gunn ; Norwich, June, 1869. 



Extraordinary Jackdaw's Nesl. — During the ]>reseiit season a pair of jackdaws, 

 taking a fancy to a loophole in the lower of Hillinglon Church, near I-ynn, as a site 

 for their nest, but finding nothing but the winding staircase within as a foundation, 

 liave licen at the pains of building thereon — piling up stirks for the purpose to tlie 

 height of about twelve feet, and in quantity about a cari-lnad: the work of collecting 

 and building ibis quantiiy of material was accomplished in about three weeks: the 

 structure is so substantial as to completely blockade the staircase against all comers. 

 —Id. 



Albino Sand Martin. — I should wish to record in your next number an occurrence 

 which I should imagine by no means conimon. On the 21st inst. I shot a pure white 

 sand manin (H. ripniia) near Eniiis Kerry, in this couniy : the bird was young, and 



