NOTES AND QUERIES. 225 



I watched it carefully. The white line about the eye is a surer guide to 

 identity than the crest. — A. B. R. Battle (Oxford). 



[The first recorded British specimen of this bird was obtained near 

 Cambridge in the month of August, 1832. With the exception of one 

 other, procured in East Lothian, this is believed to be the only one 

 procured here in summer ; all others, according to Prof. Newton (4th ed. 

 Yarrell, i. p. 457), having occurred between September and April, but 

 mostly in the depth of winter. — Ed.] 



Rookeries in London.— In 'The Zoologist' for 1878 (pp. 193—199), 

 Dr. Hamilton gave a report on this subject, supplemented by Prof. Newton 

 (pp. 441 — 444), and additional notes were contributed subsequently (1879, 

 p. 268 ; 1880, pp. 143, 515), in which the unwillingness of Rooks to leave 

 the metropolis was clearly shown. It is interesting to observe that since 

 the destruction of several large rookeries, notably those in Kensington 

 Gardens and behind Hereford Square, small parties of the birds have 

 established themselves in many new places. For instance, this spring four 

 nests have been built in the three elm-trees on the south side of Kilburn 

 Square, where no Rooks were, I believe, ever known to have built before. 

 Other new sites have been, I understand, occupied at Barnes and even in 

 Kensington ; doubtless some of your readers can make the record of London 

 rookeries complete to the present date. — H. T. Wharton (39, St. George's 

 Road, Kilburn, N.W.) 



The Birds of Lambay Island. — A visit to Lambay on the 19th of 

 March last yielded the following observations : — The Peregrine Falcon was 

 busy about its breeding place, no eggs being yet laid, nor nest made appa- 

 rently, but with that they sometimes dispense entirely. A Raven's nest 

 contained three eggs, one rotteu and two on the point of being hatched. 

 The nest, large and cumbrously made outside, was neatly and comfortably 

 lined with sheeps'-wool, horse-hair, and moss. With regard to the Hooded 

 Crow, I should mention that it occurs sometimes at Howth, and is commoner 

 than I supposed at Wicklow, where Mr. Barrington finds it breeding. It 

 is, however, a decreasing species, and rarely seen near Dublin. The Rooks 

 were laying, and settling their nests. I accidentally omitted mention of the 

 rookery at the Castle. I was informed by the lads on the island that a pair 

 of Magpies usually breed on Lambay. I was much interested to see that 

 the Puffins had arrived. They had been there for a few days, and were no 

 doubt cleaning out their burrows. This bird appears to be about the earliest 

 summer migrant to arrive in Ireland ; it was certainly the earliest this year 

 in Co. Dublin. The only other birds on the cliffs were the Cormorants; 

 they were, I believe, breeding in holes in the rocks, in quite inaccessible 

 situations. The Cormorant remains on the island through the winter, 

 roosting in these holes. No Gulls were seen, but a pair of Manx Shear- 

 waters were observed between Rush and Lambay, about a mile and a half 



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