58 BRITISH BIRDS/ [vol. vii. 



neatly rounded off, by the hen only, by means of pressing 

 her breast into the hollow and turning constantly round and 

 round, always from left to right. She was still turning 

 when I disturbed her. The unfinished nest on examination 

 proved to be fully an inch and a half in depth. The birds 

 were not far from where I lay concealed behind a hedge ; 

 and as I was using Ross glasses of 12 power, their every 

 movement was perfectly clear, and the longer crest of the 

 male very noticeable. Lewis R. W. Loyd. 



SPOTTED SANDPIPERS IN SUSSEX. 

 On May 23rd, 1913, I was shown a specimen of the Spotted 

 Sandpiper [Tringa macularia) which had been shot the pre- 

 vious day at Pevensey Sluice, Sussex. It was a male in full 

 summer-plumage. Another specimen which accompanied it 

 was not obtained until May 24th, and proved to be a female. 



H. W. Ford-Lindsay. 



REDSHANK NESTING IN SOMERSET. 



I FOUND the nest of a Redshank {Tringa totanus) with eggs 

 on May 25th, 1913, by the side of a large pond in a certain 

 spot under the Mendip Hills in Somerset. I am not aware 

 that there is any ]30sitive record of the nesting of the Redshank 

 in Somerset, although it has been suspected of doing so. 



D. MuNRO Smith. 



[The Rev. F. L. Blathwayt {Vict. Hist, of Somerset, I., p. 159) 



says : "I have evidence that a pair have nested quite recently 



on Steart Island, and it seems probable that the bird 



occasionally nests elsewhere in the county." — Eds.]. 



BLACK TERN IN THE OUTER HEBRIDES. 

 On May 3Ist, 1913, ^\'hile watching birds round the coast of 

 Eilean Mor in the Outer Hebrides, I saw a Black Tern 

 {Hydrochelidon n. nigra) flying in a westerly direction. I was 

 ^^'ithin sixty yards of the bird which was flying low down 

 against a strong wind. I went down to the end of the 

 promontory off which I had last seen it, and waited some 

 time, but it did not re-appear. A few minutes later, on 

 returning to the s^Dot where I had seen the bird, I saw a 

 second Black Tern flying in the same direction as the other 

 had done. I had a good look at it through x 8 glasses, and 

 even attempted a snapshot with a reflex camera that I had 

 in my hand, but the result is unfortunately too small to be 

 worth anything. The light was good there being brilliant 

 sunshine, but a violent south-west gale was blowing. The 

 previous day we had a storm of wind and rain from the 

 same quarter. I am inclined to think that there were 



