The Zoologist — August, 1873. 3627 



western part of our coast is by no means suited for a breeding- 

 station, the cliffs along the greater part of it being thickly wooded 

 down to the water's edge. On the 5th of June also I walked along 

 a good bit of the coast about Quantock's Head and only saw one 

 herring gull, and that an immature bird ; indeed this part of the 

 coast, owing to the crumbling nature of the cliff, would be a very 

 unsafe place for a nest. I cannot help thinking, therefore, after all 

 these expeditions, that Messrs. Sharpe and Dresser, in the ' Birds 

 of Europe,' must have been led into a mistake when they sd\d,Jide 

 More fide Crotch, that the common gull breeds on the coast of 

 Somerset. On the same visit to Bream Down, on the 14th, I saw 

 a flock of about fifteen curlews on the mud, and my wife saw one 

 curlew and a flock of purres near Weston pier. I did not myself 

 see a single small wader of any kind on the muds, though last year 

 about the same time I saw a kw purres and a small flock of 

 sanderlings : this was one of the few times I have found sanderlings 

 on our coast, where they do not appear to be common. 



June, 1873. 



Blackcap, Willoiv Wren and Redstart. — I made a few notes 

 this THonlh as to the colour of the fauces of nestling warblers, in 

 accordance with a request of Prof. Newton in a late number of the 

 'Zoologist' (S. S. 3527). I had not much time, however, for nest- 

 hunting, and was not fortunate in finding the nests of warblers. 

 The only three which I was able to find were the blackcap, the 

 fauces of the young of which were a pale pink, and the willow wren 

 and the redstart, the fauces of both of which were yellow. While 

 I was watching for the blackcaps to hatch I frequently found the 

 male bird taking the place of the female and sitting on the eggs 

 whilst she was away, especially if the weather was cold or wet : 

 I had before noticed this, but did not think it was such a regular 

 habit as it appears to be. In the nest of the willow wren I 

 frequently found both the old birds squeezed in lovingly but un- 

 comfortably together, for as the nest was scarcely large enough 

 for both of them the tail of one was generally left sticking out of 

 the entrance-hole. 



Pinkfooted Goose.— The pinkfooted goose hatched on the 3rd, 

 but her young ones were almost immediately eaten by rooks, who 

 have been very destructive both to eggs and young birds this year. 

 I was much disappointed at losing the young geese, as 1 was 



