Vol. xl. | 72 
the Medical profession, and not one of them could say if it 
were possible or not; his own Medical man, with whom he 
discussed the question at some length, was of the opinion 
that it was not impossible. 
The CHAIRMAN said that Dr. van Someren had told him 
that he had seen Quails and other birds in captivity when 
about to lay, put the head down between the legs as if to 
relieve some irritation caused by difficulty in laying, and it 
seemed quite possible for such scratches as Mr. Bunyard had 
referred to and exhibited to be caused by the bill. 
It was agreed by several members present that it was quite 
possible for such scratches to be caused by the bill, but that 
they could not be made by the bird’s claws before the egg 
was fully laid. 
The Rev. F. C. R. Jourpain exhibited a clutch of eggs 
of the Kestrel (F. tinnunculus tinnunculus), together with an 
egg of the Great Spotted Cuckoo (Clamator glandarws), 
taken from an old and flattened nest of Magpie in an ilex, 
some 20 ft. from the ground, on May 21st, 1919, about a 
day’s ride south-west of Coria del Rio, Spain. Mr. G. 
Tomkinson was present as well as the Exhibitor, when the 
Kestrel was flushed from the nest. All the eggs were fresh 
or almost so. Mr. Jourdain believed this to be the first 
instance on record of the egg of the Great Spotted Cuckoo 
being found with the eggs of the Kestrel, as they are almost 
always found in the nests of various species of Corvidee. 
Mr. Enwss remarked on the great number of Woodcock 
which had been found in H. Lincolnshire and H. Yorkshire 
during the latter part of November and early in December, 
when record bags had been made in many places. Mr. St. 
Quinton, of Scampston Hall, Rillington, Yorkshire, would 
be very glad to have further information from other parts of 
the country. It seemed that the early flights had been 
prevented from going west and north, owing to the unusually 
cold weather which prevailed when the first flight arrived, 
