NOTES AND QUERIES. 309 



A double-yolked Egg of the Robin.— A circumstance which came 

 under my notice you may perhaps think of interest. On May 22nd I found 

 a Eobin's nest from which the young had flown ; it, however, contained an 

 egg, evidently bad from its discoloured appearance. As this egg was of 

 most unusual size I cut it open, and found it contained two dead young 

 birds, each perfectly formed and almost ready to have burst the shell. 

 The shell was rather largest in the middle, tapering off to each end, and 

 the birds were placed with their heads towards the points, the small portion 

 of unconsumed yolk being between them in the middle of the egg. The 

 colouring of the shell, however, was collected chiefly at one end, as is 

 generally the case with Robins. — H. S. D. Byron (Bromstone Farm, 

 St. Peter's, Thanet). 



[Double-yolked eggs are well known to those who rear poultry and 

 pheasants, but we imagine are less frequently laid by small birds. At all 

 events, they are less frequently noticed. With poultry and game the more 

 artificial conditions of existence, and more stimulating food, may in some 

 measure account for the phenomenon. — Ed.] 



Dipper's Nest in a Tree. — I took a nest the other day in Scotland, on 

 the Don, an account of which, I think, may interest you. It was that of 

 the Water Ouzel, to me one of the most charming of British birds. The 

 peculiarity of this nest was, first, its enormous size, compared with that 

 of the bird ; and, secondly, that it was built on the branch of a tree 

 overhanging the river, some six feet above the water. I have seen very 

 many nests of this bird, but never before on a tree, nor have I ever heard 

 of one in such a situation. But the chief peculiarity was its size, which 

 equalled that of a small beehive, being three feet four inches by two feet 

 seven inches. It was visible a quarter of a mile off, and had already been 

 visited, or I should not have taken it. The material was chiefly moss from 

 the stones in the river, with some twitch, and a few dead leaves. This 

 great globular mass, which was very compact, seemed to be desigued as a 

 sort of outer case for the real nest, which was built inside it, and of 

 a size suitable to that of the bird, lined as usual with fine dry leaves — 

 oak and beech, chiefly the former. The eggs, four in number, white and 

 transparent, very beautiful. The usual position of the nest is under a 

 bridge, or on the perpendicular, moss-covered bank of a river. I never 

 before saw or heard of one on a tree. — George Rooper (Nascott House, 

 Watford). 



Nuthatch nesting in a Sandbank.— On June 1st I was shown two 

 nests of the Nuthatch, tiitta ccesia, one in a sandbank in the grounds of 

 Catteshall Manor, near Godalming, and another in a similar situation some 

 two hundred yards distant, just outside the grounds. In each instance the 

 hole was about eight feet from the ground. The holes, when I saw them, 



