The Zoologist— March, 1868. 11 33 



found, cerlainly as late as the 6th of October. They are very plentiful in this neigh- 

 bourhood. In a stroll up the lanes they are scarcely ever absent from view for five 

 minutes at a time, and during the winter they frequent the stack-yards in great 

 numbers to receive their tithe of the corn, the wages of their summers service.— John 

 Hanson ; Linlon-on-Ouse, York. 



Rnsecoloured Pastor.— I believe, as you write, that " the rosecoloured pastor is 

 extremely rare in this country." My father was a very careful observer of birds for 

 half a century, and I have heard him say that he never knew of but one being shot, 

 and he had heard of a second, both in the East Riding of Yorkshire. For a quarter 

 of a century I have noted the occurrence of rare birds in the neighbourhood of my 

 dwelling, and 1 have never seen but one, and have never heard of another. The one 

 1 have seen is in the possession of a gentleman farmer near Yoik, and was shot by him 

 in his orchard. There were two, but die other escaped. The person who stuffed it, 

 a man of great experience, told him it was very rare indeed.—/*/. 



The Hawfinch at Epping.— This bird is resident here throughout the year, and 

 breeds in considerable numbers in the forest and neighbouring woods and plantations, 

 but I believe their numbers are increased in some seasons by arrivals from the 

 Continent: this was the case in the winter ol 1865-6, when large flocks were scattered 

 all over the forest. The seeds of the hornbeam are the favomite food of this species, 

 and in the autumn of 1865 there was an unusual quantity on the trees. The hawfinch 

 i.s an extremely shy and wary bird, and I am quite sure that no " urchin who goes out 

 to pop at small birus " would have the slightest chance of getting hold of any of them 

 here.— Hmry Doubleday ; Epping, February 18, 1868. 



The Crossbill breeding successfully in County Kildare.—l was informed last 

 March, by Mi. Glenuon, taxidermist, oi Wicklow Street, Dublin, that crossbills were 

 breeding in the grounds of Kilkea Castle, Margeney. County Kildare. The weather 

 was so severe, and wild-fowl shooting so good, that I could not get to Margeney to 

 see the interesting sight, and later in the spring I was so busy with the sea-fowl (not 

 shooting them) that I deterred till too late my visit to Mr, Roussel, the steward of 

 Kilkea Castle, but got the following full particulars from him, which may be 

 interesting to some of the readers of the 'Zoologist.' "This is the iourth winter 

 I have spent," says Mr. Roussel, "at Kilkea, but until last winter did not see a single 

 ciossbill. There were about five or six pairs which had nests; I shot two and a half 

 pairs at fiist, never thinking that they would breed here, and had them stuffed. Very 

 early, about the middle of February, I happened to see the birds building— found one 

 nest, a little later another, and afterwards two more much later: I think the last two 

 must have been second nests. One night, about the 10th of March, we had a very 

 severe storm aud high wind : the following day I got a person to go up the tree, who 

 found that a large cone had, unfortunately, fallen into the nest, and four pretty strong 

 birds were killed. Auother Dest, the female sitting, was destroyed the same night. 

 I had only one nest safe, out of lour, containing five young birds. There were many 

 young birds in the plantation about the 1st of May: 1 often saw them in great 

 numbers, say twenty or twenty-five together: they all left in the middle of summer. 

 But for the storm I should have had three beautiful clutches: I found them easy 

 reared, getting much attached to the person who feeds them. I lost a most beautiful 

 male bird, killed by a hawk, at my window: Mr. Gleunon has it now stuffed for me. 

 Tne male has a very sweet uote when the female is sitting: he keeps a little away 



