174 



FIELD NOTES. 



MOLLUSCA, 

 Mollusca near Louth. — Mr. C. S. Carter (see page 121, 

 ante), will be interested to know that to Mr. V. Howard 

 and myself Helicigona lapicida, var. nigrescens Tay., living, 

 occurred freely in Welton-le-Marsh Wood, six miles south- 

 east of Gt. Thoresby, on August 27th, 1907, and again in 1908 

 in company with living examples of Cyclostoma elegans var. 

 pallida Moq. — J. F. Musham. 



BIRDS. 



Cuckoos' Eggs and Foster Parents. — Referring to Mr. 

 W. Hewitt's remarks ( The Naturalist, p. 140), that Mr. Massey 

 disputed the statements ' that one Cuckoo sometimes deposits 

 t\Vo or three eggs in the same nest, holding that where there 

 were two or more Cuckoo eggs in any nest they were deposited 

 by different birds,' I cannot help thinking that Mr. Massey's 

 contention is much too sweeping, since I have at least found 

 one nest with two Cuckoo eggs, and, I think, there were over- 

 whelming reasons to convince anyone that both eggs were 

 laid by one Cuckoo. — E, P. Butterfield. 



Flocks of Magpies. — Referring to The Naturalist, pages 

 26 and 138, it has been my privilege to see two flocks of Magpies, 

 if parties of between twenty to thirty, scattered within a 

 radius of a hundred yards or so can be called ' flocks.' I saw 

 a flock of this kind about last Christmas in the fields within 

 a mile of this place, but the birds appeared to be quite restless, 

 flying from one hedge to another, without any apparent 

 reason whatever, and left the locality altogether within quite 

 a short time, and gave me the impression they were on migra- 

 tion. The other flock was on a tract of land up to the Crimean 

 War covered with bilberry and heather, but now well under 

 cultivation, but is still called Cottingley Moor ; this flock also 

 gave me the impression of its being a migratory movement. 

 In neither of these flocks could it be said that with any reason 

 food had induced them to visit the localities where I saw them. 

 Referring to Mr. Welch's notes ; some time ago, near the Allerton 

 car terminus, near a farm house, I saw a cat, almost certainly 

 belonging to the farm house, and two or three Magpies, having 

 an encounter. The cat was in a big bush — either Elder or 

 Whitethorn — but I think the Magpies were more frightened 

 than otherwise. I have heard, however, of them — at least 

 one — of a Magpie killing a rabbit. Last year on the highway 

 near Gilstead, I noticed a dead hedgehog, and on returning 

 later, I saw a Magpie feeding upon the carcase. Magpies are 

 more common here than they have been for forty years. This I 

 attribute to the fact that nearly all our gamekeepers have been 

 drafted into other occupations. — E. P. Butferfield, Wilsden. 



Naturalist, 



