FIELD NOTES. 



MAMMALS and BIRDS. 

 Otter and Kingfisher at Horncastle. — In the Canal 

 which runs through the town of Horncastle, an Otter has 

 recently been seen disporting itself at the end of a stone- 

 mason's yard, and within a few feet of his work-shop. At 

 the writer's oft-repeated request, it was not disturbed, and 

 ■occasionally lay on the bank in full view. At the same place 

 a Kingfisher (now also undisturbed), has been frequently seen 

 during the last two years, diving for food. Can there be any 

 connection between these two incidents ? The mason says 

 that there are shoals of small roach or dace about this part of 

 the canal.* On one occasion an unfortunate Kingfisher rose from 

 his dive with such impetus, that he struck against the brick 

 wall bordering the water, and was killed. — Rev. J. Conway 

 Walter, Langton Rectory, Horncastle, December i6th, 1908. 



A Birdland Tragedy. — Early in December last, a painter 

 brought me the mummified body of a Swift, which he had found 

 in a hole under a spout. Apparently the bird had somehow 

 or other managed to become entangled in a piece of cord, 

 and hang itself. I sent the bird over to a meeting of the 

 Bradford Naturalists' Club, and they, with their usual 

 thoroughness, held a post-mortem examination, and what 

 appeared to be a lot of string, turned out to be a portion of 

 a lady's veil. This had been tightly twisted round and round, 

 and had gathered an external coating of dirt and soot, which 

 gave it the exact appearance of thick string. Attached to the 

 veil there were three or four inches of ordinary garden wire 

 netting. 



By a method of deduction we get a probability something 

 like the following : — A veil blew from a lady's hat, and caught 

 in some wire netting, and waving in the breeze, took a Swift's 

 fancy for nesting material. All might have gone well if the 

 piece of wire had not become fixed near to the entrance of the 

 nesting hole. A few struggles with it caused the veil to twist 

 round the bird's neck and foot. Then a series of struggles 

 to get free must have resulted in the bird putting such an 

 amount of twist into the veil, that it became tightly drawn, 



* The abundance of food has no doubt attracted both the Otter and 

 Kingfisher. — Eds. 



iigoy March i. 



