NOTES FROM EAST NORFOLK. 485 
are not very high in the middle of June, I found without much 
difficulty six nests, and a few days afterwards Mr. Norgate, going 
again by himself, found eight; and all this in a compass of half 
an acre. To any one who does not mind wading, the Reed 
Warbler’s is the easiest of nests to find, and I suppose for that 
reason it is selected by the Cuckoo to lay its egg in. On one 
occasion a young Cuckoo was seen by Mr. Norgate being fed by 
a Thrush near the reeds at Bluestone, and which had doubtless 
been hatched by Reed Warblers, and flown away from its foster- 
parents. I believe that instances of this kind frequently happen. 
Is it as well known that the young Cuckoo sometimes puts itself 
into the most extraordinary passion, darting at everything that 
approaches the nest of which it is the occupant? A young Cuckoo 
at Sprowston, the occupant of a Pied Wagtail’s nest, behaved in 
the most ferocious manner, and we could not conjecture the 
motive. Our adult Cuckoos were as usual the first of migratory 
birds to leave us; many young ones generally remain late, and 
when strong on wing are mistaken for Sparrowhawks. 
I found a nest of the Teal in the spring at Hempstead; and, 
with reference to Mr. Hewett’s note on the subject of the lining, 
I may remark that the old birds had employed down almost 
entirely, and certainly I did not see any feathers. It was a 
beautiful structure, deposited in the snuggest way in a bed of 
heather, slightly arched over with the common fern, and an 
aperture left for egress. The hen bird sat like a stone, and we 
almost trod on her. We almost always have one nest there, 
but I believe never more. Ducks and Teal remain longer at 
Hempstead than they do at the Broads; and the Ist of August, 
when our close-time ends, is not too late for the “flappers”’ at 
Hempstead. 
We had a decided migratory arrival of Sparrowhawks in the 
middle of August. One dashed itself against a window, attracted 
by a Canary, and three or four were often seen in a day, where it 
is rare to see one at any other time. The Northrepps gamekeeper 
took four in about a week in a very ingenious net, which I recom- 
mend to any one who does not wish guns to be fired near the 
Pheasants’ coops. It is quite a small affair, about six feet broad, 
hung up lightly in a path or “drive” in the wood. Whatever 
comes in contact with it brings it down directly, and although a 
few unfortunate Cuckoos and other birds are occasionally caught, 
