ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES FROM BEVERLEY. 155 
and a few warts were appearing near the base of the bill; the 
frill, so far as it had been assumed, was composed entirely of new 
feathers. 
During the summer of 1876 the Nightingale was absent frow 
East Yorkshire. Considering, however, that we are on the extreme 
northern limit of its range, it is not surprising that it should fail to 
reach us in such a miserably cold and backward spring as that 
of 1876. 
A female Hawfinch, with considerably developed eggs in™the 
ovary, and which had been previously shot at and wounded, was 
picked up alive on May 7th on Westwood Common, where—as 
I have already mentioned (2nd ser. p. 4763)—two nests were taken 
last year. It appears they have again returned to the same place 
to breed. I afterwards made a search and found three nests, two 
apparently those of last year, and the third barely finished. At the 
last-named the old bird no doubt was at work, for it made a great 
outcry when I went near it. I thought it looked scarcely com- 
pleted, but knowing what a flimsy and unfinished kind of nest this 
bird makes, I climbed up to it, and must have been seen, for it was 
afterwards forsaken. 
On the same day a Black Tern and a Common Tern were shot 
on our river; and J may here mention that it is a common practice . 
for people to go up the river in a boat on Sundays, and shoot 
anything and everything, whether protected by the Sea-birds’ 
- Protection or any other Act. 
On the 10th May I saw a beautifully-plumaged Oystercatcher on 
the river-side: this is the first time I ever saw or heard of one here. 
The following day I heard a Ring Ouzel singing, and saw a large 
flock of Fieldfares. The 11th May seems a late date at which to 
find the last-named birds here, but they remained with us this year 
until May 19th. 
For upwards of sixty years a pair of Missel Thrushes have nested 
in our garden, with scarcely an exception. This spring the old 
gardener came to me, with a mournful look, and said he was afraid 
something was going to happen, as he had not noticed them about 
as usual; but when I pointed out to him the old bird sitting on 
her nest high up in a pear tree, his face brightened up, and he said, 
“Hey! well, that’s all right! I am glad.” So much for super- 
stition. Last year they built in a tree overhanging the middle walk, 
and the old bird flew off every time anyone went near. I was 
