The Zoologist — July, 1871. 2681 



supposed him to be, having had some acquaintance with the species during 

 my stay in Ca.ua.da..— Henry Hadfield. 



[The correspondence on this subject is now closed ; it ought to have been 

 so when I last expressed a wish to that eiiect—Edivard Newman.] 



Pied Flycatcher iu Herefordshire.— On the 21st of May, whilst strolling 

 through the wood at the foot of Kuill Garraway, a steep hill near this town, 

 my attention was called to the strange notes of a little bird, which was 

 alarmed at my approach. On looking into the branches of a fine old ash 

 tree,— a favourite haunt of the great spotted woodpecker {Picus major),— 

 1 had the pleasure of seeing, for the first time, a male pied flycatcher 

 {Muscicapa atricapilla). After watching the bird, and listening to its Hvely 

 song for a few minutes, I saw its mate fly from a hole in one of the limbs of 

 the tree and join her more conspicuous consort ; and the pair kept flying 

 around the place for some time, the female occasionally entering the hole, 

 until at last she settled again upon her maternal duties, where I left her, 

 much gratified with my new acquaintance.— Jaw; es W. Lloyd; Kington, 

 Herefordshire, June 23, 1871, 



dolden Oriole in Confinement.— I have been asked by a lady lately 

 returned from Italy to communicate the following account of a tame oriole, 

 brought by her from that country, which is the more interesting as from its 

 shy nature the oriole is a very rare cage-bird :— " I have at present a 

 golden oriole in full yellow plumage. It was winged by a lad during the 

 spring migration at Neroi, near Genoa. When brought to me I was sure 

 by the eye it was not mortally wounded, though a large spot of blood on its 

 breast was believed to be from a shot-hole. I put it in a basket, nearly 

 fainting from fright and the heat; it recovered and tried to escape. 

 I examined it, and found the first joint of the wing only was damaged. A 

 email shot had passed quite through, and there was the hole plain enough, 

 I cut off the hanging part and washed the wound with vinegar to keep off 

 the flies, which, the last week in April, abound at Neroi, it being warmer 

 than is often the case in June in England. The next day it ate flies from 

 my hand, and in a day or so, sop made of bread and water with sugar to 

 sweeten it : I tried meat, which it ate only when very hungry. It always 

 prefers sop, or, better still, orange and figs if soft enough to pick ; any fruit 

 it hkes. It is exceedingly tame and will eat from my hand, and always 

 comes to the bottom of the cage when it sees me about to give it food. It 

 appears to be perfectly healthy,"— J". H. Gurney, jun.; 2, Beta Place, 

 Alpha Road, London, N.W. 



Suspended Jiests of the Sedge Warbler.— On the 13th of June I found 

 six nests of the sedge warbler, all from two to four feet from the ground : 

 two of these were suspended like nests of the reed warbler; one iu a willow, 

 one of the branches of which passed through the side of the nest, as also 

 did a dead branch with two twigs which lay crosswise in the tree, while the 



