THE ZooLocist—Juxy, 1872. 3147 
vessel all through her Black Sea voyage, came with her to Amsterdam, and 
thence to the Tyne.—South Shields Gazette and Daily Telegraph, May, 1872. 
Dark-coloured Eggs of the Goldcrest.—I may mention that to-day a nest 
of goldencrested wren’s eggs was brought me, in which the eggs were quite 
brown, almost as dark as nightingule’s. The colouring matter, whatever it 
is, washes off almost entirely—Gceorge H. Pope. 
Redpole Breeding in Lancashire—I feel much pleasure in being able 
to state that the redpole, or lesser redpole (Fringilla linaria), breeds in 
Lancashire, especially as I think the fact has never before been recorded. 
I trust therefore that the following notes about the breeding of this little 
bird may prove of some interest to the readeas of the ‘ Zoologist.’ As yet I 
haye only been able to discover three nests of the redpole in this neighbour- 
hood, but, as I have seen several pairs of these birds about here, I have no 
doubt that many more might be found. The first nest of this species was 
brought to me on the 24th of May: it contained two fresh eggs, of a dull 
greenish gray colour, marked with a few very faint reddish spots and 
streaks, principally at the thick end, and a few dark rusty and black spots 
and streaks. The nest was placed in a thickish hawthorn hedge, about five 
feet from the ground, and was composed of grass, roots and twigs, a little 
moss, &c., which materials were interwoven with wool and a few feathers. 
The lower part was loosely put together, but the upper and inner parts were 
firmly compacted. The inside or cavity of this nest measured nearly one 
inch and three-quarters in diameter and one inch in depth; it was beauti- 
fully lined with sheeps’-wool. Although I did not see the birds that 
belonged to the nest, yet I am quite sure they were of this species, as both 
the nest and eggs are almost identical with the other two nests I found, and 
which I identified as belonging to the redpole. The second nest I found on 
the 2nd of June: it was placed in a high hawthorn-bush (which stands in a 
thin hedge), full seven feet from the ground, and was composed. of exactly 
the same materials as the one already described, with the exception of the 
lining, which consisted of willow-catkins (of Salix cinerea, I think,) instead 
of wool; this may be owing to the late bad weather, and the consequent 
lateness of the season, as the catkins were not yet out on the date of the 
discovery of the first nest. This second nest contained three fledged young 
ones; in fact, they were so well fledged that they managed to escape out of 
their nest before I could reach it. The old birds seemed very anxious 
about their young, for they kept fluttering about me as long as I remained 
near the nest, uttering a peculiarly loud but soft alarm-note. On the 16th 
of June I succeeded in finding a third nest of the redpole; it had only been 
just completed, and was yet empty. The nest very much resembled the 
two I had previously found; but the bird had used, besides the materials 
above mentioned, small twigs for the lower and outer parts. The interior 
was beautifully lined with the wool of the willow-catkins, horse-hair and a 
