NOTES AND QUERIES. 805 
a pair of Robins soon hopping inquisitively near me, who did their best to 
rid me of many of those small pests that buzzed about me. The male 
bird darted every minute at some large May-fly, flitted to the female, who 
received it with quivering wings, and then returned to his old place of 
“reconnaissance.” The piping of a Water Ouzel attracted my attention 
at that moment. There he was coming down the stream towards me. 
A sudden cessation in his flight, and I had to look intently before I could 
discern his white breast, a few yards off me, as he took up his position on 
a moss-grown stone by the edge of the water, so closely did he resemble 
the surrounding mass of boulders and pebbles. The female in another 
minute put in an appearance. That these fascinating birds should be so 
destructive to the Trout is a thousand pities, for fishermen never hesitate 
to bring about their death in consequence. The Grey and Pied Wagtails 
were tippeting merrily about amongst the rocks, dabbling through the 
shallow pools and making fine meals. But I had no longer eyes for any of 
the above-mentioned, for at that moment a small black and white bird 
darted from a bough not eight yards from where I was sketching, seized a 
May-fly and returned to the tree. Without doubt I saw, for the first time 
in my life, a Pied Flycatcher at large; for I do remember seeing in an 
aviary at Wimbledon two pairs of these birds in perfect health and plumage, 
the property of a German, and brought over from Germany by him. 
However, my genuine wild Flycatcher at Bolton was more interesting, 
especially when his mate arrived also, and when, in a few more minutes, 
another male bird flew pugnaciously at him. They tussled for a second, 
and then the interloper took his departure a little way down the river, 
where I think he joined his lawful wife, for I fancied I saw her. The first 
pair stayed close to me the whole morning, appearing perfectly fearless, 
and once the cock bird flitted on to a rock, where he looked enquiringly at 
me, flirting his tail up and down all the time. Redstarts, Common F'ly- 
catchers, and a pair of Red-backed Shrikes also frequented what I may 
safely call one of the most lovely spots in England. Let us hope they will 
all, after safely rearing their young, return next year to add to the beauty 
and interest of Bolton.—Hvuserr D. Astiry (Chequers Court, Tring). 
Ornithological Notes from Breconshire-—On Whit-Monday (May 
25th), when returning from fishing with one of my boys, I saw a Wood- 
pecker which I cannot but think was the Great Black Woodpecker, Picus 
martius. I first heard the note of a bird, very loud indeed, in a tree, a 
large oak; it was exactly like the note of the Curlew when first disturbed, 
and quite as loud and totally unlike any Woodpecker’s note I have ever heard 
before. A large black bird—certainly a Woodpecker—then flew out of the 
tree with a very quick flight. I only had just one glimpse of it, and could’ 
see it was larger than the Green Woodpecker, Picus viridis, and more 
