NOTES ON THE ORNITHOLOGY OF NORTHAMPTONSHIRE. 469 
that the Hobby, Falco subbuteo, frequently bred in the locality, I 
particularly begged them to try to find a nest. They had hardly 
entered the wood when they heard: the cry of the old Hobbies, 
and one of the party, after some search, descried an old nest of 
Carrion Crow, to which the falconer climbed, and therein found 
three young Hobbies, which he considered as rather too young 
for taking at the moment; but, as the wood in question is 
virtually unpreserved, and much frequented by entomologists 
and loafers of all sorts, I sent him up again on the 31st, and he 
brought the young birds home tome. ‘They seemed to be strong 
and healthy, and we put them out “to hack” in the park, but 
on taking them up they began to droop one after another, so 1 
turned them adrift again. They remained about the park for a 
short time, but all took their departure before the middle of 
September. 
Landrails, Crex pratensis, seem to-be unusually abundant 
with us this year, and reports reached me of their being heard 
*‘ craking”’ every night till nearly the middle of August. It is 
probable that this unwonted continuance of what is undoubtedly 
the pairing or love-call of this species may have been caused by 
the destruction of many eggs in the heavy floods of May last; a 
nest of eggs hard-set was brought to me on August 9th, and a 
young bird not very long hatched, caught in one of our meadows 
shortly afterwards. In connection with these late broods, I may 
mention that my son and two friends met with seven Landrails 
on October 12th in a piece of strong seed-clover. We seldom 
hitherto have met with more than an odd one or two in this 
neighbourhood after the end of September, though in most 
seasons our meadows are alive with them during the summer 
months. 
The first Snipe, Scolopax gallinago, shot here this season fell 
on August 8rd. The decoy-man afterwards told me that he had 
seen two or three of these birds about the decoy-pool before this 
date. I look upon this species as an autumnal migrant to this 
immediate neighbourhood, though it occasionally has bred to 
my knowledge in the Nene Valley to the north of our property. 
Colonel Irby, often before quoted, informed me that he saw 
an adult Common Tern, Sterna fluviatilis, near Wadenhoe on 
August 10th. 
The first Peregrine, Falco peregrinus, of the season was 
