5006 Tue ZooLocist—Juty, 1876. 
them might find their way to the nest, as this bird is well known to be so 
very partial to young aquatic poultry; but twelve days afterwards he was 
surprised to see the old crow go off her nest, and on looking into it he 
found it contained four more eggs. Nor is this the most curious part of the 
business, for he assures me he is confident that there were three old birds 
belonging to the nest, as three always went out of the tree, and were 
always seen in company.—C. Matthew Prior ; Old Wolverton, Bucks. 
Partial Migration of Rooks.— In the May number (8.8. 4907) your 
correspondent W. A. Durnford remarks on a partial migration of rooks. 
As I do not recollect having previously seen any record of this habit in 
rooks, I send you a similar case. In the neighbourhood of Huddersfield 
(where I lived until last October) there are several rookeries, the inhabitants 
of which only remain there from February to July or August (I cannot 
give dates, as my note-book is not at hand); during the rest of the year 
they frequent the neighbourhood in the daytime, and retire before night to 
some place to the eastward, I believe Nostell Priory, where there is a very 
large rookery, which is fourteen or fifteen miles from Huddersfield. — 
J. FE. Palmer ; Lucan, Co. Dublin, May 19, 1876. 
Flight of the Hoopoe.— In one respect the interesting note on the 
hoopoe, quoted in your review of the late Dr. Saxby’s ‘ Birds of Shetland’ 
(Zool. 4209), does not agree by any means with my observations. He says 
its flight is rapid, but it always struck me in Africa, where I have seen 
hundreds, as being slow; and certainly the only time on which I have seen 
a hoopoe in England I should say the samé of it—J. H. Gurney, jun. 
Swift flying against Telegraph-Wires.—A few days ago a swift was killed 
by flying against the telegraph-wires with such force as to nearly cut its 
wing off. I should not wonder so much at this circumstance if the wires 
had just been put up, but this is not the case. Although there are so 
many swifts about—I should think quite fourteen pairs—I have never been 
able to detect one with any material for building in its mouth.—C. M. Prior. 
Thirteen Eggs in a Moorhen’s Nest.—A person residing in this vicinity 
found a moorhen’s nest containing thirteen eggs, and I know of one with 
ten in it. This is an enormous number, because the weight of a moorhen 
itself is from thirteen to sixteen ounces. I find in Waterton’s ‘ Home, 
Habits and Handiwork’ a similar instance, except that in this case nine 
eggs and four young ones were discovered. I believe the average number 
of eggs is nine.—Id. 
Lesser Whitefronted Goose,—I find that our party was not the first to 
discover the lesser whitefronted goose in Egypt, as I see from a translation 
of Heuglin’s ‘ Ornithologie Nord-ost Africas’ (‘ Field,’ Nov. 22, 1873), that 
it has been obtained before.—J. H. Gurney, jun. 
Duck nesting in a Pollard Willow.—At Oakley, Bedfordshire, the seat 
of his Grace the Duke of Bedford, a common wild duck made its nest in a 
