NOTKS PROM NORTHAMPTONSHIRE. 463 



he took three of these little falcons in 1886 and 1887 (c/. Zool. 

 1886, pp. 468-9, and 1887, p. 454). The woodman averred 

 positively that four young Kestrels had been hatched in, and flown 

 from, the nest in which this year's Hobbies were found, about the 

 beginning of June last. At a few feet below these young hawks 

 was a "Wood Pigeon's platform with two small young birds upon it. 



Aug. 6th. A small flock of Gulls, apparently Lams canus, 

 passed over the house in a southerly direction. 



Aug. 11th. The decoyman brought in a Spotted Crake, alive 

 and quite uninjured, caught at the decoy in a snipe-springe this 

 morning. This bird has done well in a cage up to date of this 

 writing (Oct. 26th). A Snipe taken at the same spot, on Aug. 13th, 

 declined to feed, and died very shortly after capture. 



Aug. 15th. I received a fine male Crossbill in good red 

 plumage, with two Hawfinches, shot this morning in the kitchen- 

 garden at Tichmarsh Rectory. This is a rare bird in Northampton- 

 shire, and this is the first county-killed specimen that has come 

 fresh into my hands. Our butler, who has a very good knowledge 

 of British birds, described three birds seen this morning by him 

 between Thorpe and Achurch, which could hardly be other than 

 Pallas's Sand Grouse. 



Aug. 30th. After three days of violent wind-squalls, with 

 heavy rain and occasional thunder, the Swallows and House 

 Martins — which had swarmed about the house at Lilford between 

 the 24th and 28th inst. — suddenly and entirely disappeared. 

 A little band of some half-dozen Swallows passed rapidly up the 

 river on the 31st, and on Sept. 1st, with a change of wind from 

 N.N.E. to W.S.W., a good many of that species were hawking 

 about the willows below our boat-house, and I noticed them, in 

 about their usual numbers, till the usual time for their departure, 

 but with the exception of six or eight House Martins recorded on 

 the 13th, I did not see one of these latter birds after Aug. 28th. 



Sept. 4th. The decoyman reports fifteen Whimbrels passing 

 over the meadows in a southerly direction. 



Sept. 7th. I heard reports of a large brown round-winged 

 hawk as seen about Lilford by various persons during the last 

 week. I heard many accounts of this unknown bird till the 16th, 

 when our butler saw it close to Lilford, and recognized it without 

 any doubt as a Common Buzzard. Twenty Wild Geese reported 

 as "going southerly" over Tichmarsh. On this day I received a 



