130 THE ZOOLOGIST. 
and the song sounded weak and poor; Spotted Flycatchers did 
not appear until the 30th of May, three weeks later than last 
year; nor were Whitethroats heard until the same date, also 
three weeks late. i 
Very few of these small birds appear to have succeeded in 
rearing their young, chiefly owing to the cold and excessive 
wet weather at the time of hatching, addling the eggs in some 
nests, and killing the weakly young in others. Several broods 
of the Spotted Flycatcher have been reared close to the house 
every season for some years past, but last summer I do not 
believe that a single brood was reared, for during the entire 
season their alarm-note was never heard—a call that surely 
gives notice that the young are hatched ; and, in further proof of 
the failure, I watched two nests (one on an elder tree in the 
garden, and the other in some ivy on a part of the house) 
which the birds deserted, leaving addled eggs in each, after 
sitting longer than usual. 
Willow Wrens were scarce, and I remarked no increase in 
their numbers as the summer advanced, missing the little family 
parties that are usually seen flitting about the plantations and 
woods. The Whitethroats also appeared unusually scarce in our 
hedgerows, and very silent throughout the summer. One solitary 
male Chiffchaff remained about the place the whole summer, but 
I do not think he found a mate, for I seldom saw him in the 
evenings near the same parts of the plantation, and if he had a 
nest he would of course remain in the vicinity of it at roosting- 
time. Golden-crested Wrens, I am sorry to say, appear to have 
been quite cleared out of this locality by last winter’s frost, not 
one appearing during the summer, nor even a visitant during the 
autumnal migration. 
Swallows are partly deserting their old breeding-places here in 
the cattle-houses and out-offices, for where five pairs used 
generally to have their nests, only a solitary pair have built for 
two years past; this season two broods were reared, the second 
leaving the nest on the 2nd of September. 
Of our winter visitants Snow Buntings were pretty numerous ; 
I saw a flock of over forty birds in November, and several 
smaller flocks throughout the season. Redwings appeared in 
much smaller numbers than usual, and Fieldfares were very 
scarce indeed, showing that the summer broods had not recruited 
