NOTES AND QUERIES. 67 
Tree Sparrow nesting near Cromer.—I was not a little surprised at 
having a Tree Sparrow’s nest last summer in our dry parish of Northrepps, 
far removed from marsh or stream, in the tiles of a cottage within one 
hundred yards of the front door. In thirteen years I have seen about a 
dozen of these birds, and, although I had in June last seen a couple for 
the first time at this season, I should not have thought of looking for their 
nest in a tiled roof. The nestlings were just ready to fly when discovered, 
and a fortnight afterwards I captured a young one in the garden, evidently 
one of the second brood. In Asia the Tree Sparrow is stated to nest 
habitually among houses, but my previous experience of its nests have 
been in trees and sheds by the water-side.—J. H. Gurney, jun. (North- 
repps, Norwich). 
Notable Birds’ Nests.—Oun April 19th I found a Kingfisher’s nest, 
containing seven eggs, in the uprooted portion of a fallen poplar. In this 
neighbourhood of late years many poplars have been blown down, affording 
secure and favourite nesting-places for the Kingfisher ; the hole in which the 
nest was placed was ten feet from the ground. On April 21st young Rooks 
were hatched. On May 5th a Nuthatch’s nest with four eggs was found, 
about three feet from the ground, in an apple tree. On May 1st I was 
fortunate enough to take nearly four dozen Tree Sparrow’s eggs in 
Cambridgeshire. The nests without exception were built in pollard willow 
trees. The variety in these eggs was very great ; I obtained several quite 
light specimens, and there was one light egg with a clutch of dark ones in 
many instances. On May 30th a Wryneck’s nest containing eight rather 
small eggs was found in the top of a perfectly dead pollard elm. On 
August 24th I found, amongst some potatoes with very little top on, being 
late in August, a Yellowhammer’s nest containing three eggs; I call it a 
nest, but really it consisted of little but a few grasses, &c., bent round, for 
positively the three eggs were placed upon the hot, dry, dusty soil, and 
it was the most curious place I have ever seen for a Yellowhammer’s nest. 
During the summer, at Martlesham, Suffolk, a Butcher Bird (before it 
could be destroyed) had taken over twenty young partridges, transfixing 
them up on the hedges in the vicinity. An unusual number of Bramblings 
have appeared this year on the beech trees. —E. Cuartes Moor (The Rosery, 
Great Bealings, Woodbridge, Suffolk). 
Lesser Black-backed Gull on the Yorkshire Coast.—In reply to the 
remarks of the Rev. Mr. Tuck and Mr. W. E. Clarke (p. 26), my statement 
that some climbers had eggs of this bird among their other spoils was 
simply given on their authority, as 1 myself am of opinion that the eggs of 
this species cannot be distinguished from those of the Herring Gull. I 
may mention, however, that the climbers in question could not have 
selected the clutch of three eggs (which they emphatically declared to me 
