﻿104 
  THE 
  ZOOLOGIST. 
  

  

  sewage-farm 
  on 
  Feb. 
  3rd, 
  where 
  two 
  or 
  three 
  others 
  were 
  seen 
  

   with 
  it 
  ; 
  and 
  Hutchinson 
  informed 
  me 
  that 
  there 
  were 
  three 
  

   birds 
  when 
  he 
  shot 
  the 
  male, 
  now 
  in 
  the 
  Eolleston 
  Hall 
  collection, 
  

   on 
  the 
  same 
  ground 
  on 
  March 
  1st, 
  1897. 
  It 
  is 
  difficult 
  to 
  believe 
  

   that 
  these 
  birds, 
  if 
  unmolested, 
  would 
  not 
  breed 
  in 
  the 
  neigh- 
  

   bourhood. 
  

  

  March 
  18th. 
  — 
  The 
  first 
  Wild 
  Duck's 
  egg 
  reported 
  to-day 
  from 
  

   Eepton, 
  while 
  the 
  Chiffchaff 
  arrived 
  on 
  the 
  22nd, 
  and 
  was 
  singing 
  

   briskly 
  at 
  8 
  a.m, 
  next 
  morning. 
  The 
  smart 
  shock 
  of 
  earthquake 
  

   felt 
  here 
  on 
  the 
  24th 
  did 
  not 
  appear 
  to 
  produce 
  any 
  alarm 
  among 
  

   the 
  birds 
  which 
  were 
  singing 
  at 
  the 
  time. 
  On 
  the 
  29th 
  an 
  

   Egyptian 
  Goose 
  was 
  seen 
  on 
  Yeldersley 
  Pond, 
  and 
  remained 
  

   there 
  for 
  some 
  time. 
  On 
  April 
  2nd, 
  after 
  some 
  search, 
  I 
  found 
  

   a 
  pair 
  of 
  Herons 
  breeding 
  in 
  a 
  big 
  Scotch 
  fir 
  standing 
  in 
  a 
  small 
  

   plantation 
  near 
  Longford. 
  The 
  remains 
  of 
  an 
  old 
  nest 
  were 
  

   visible 
  in 
  the 
  same 
  tree. 
  About 
  this 
  time 
  some 
  men 
  who 
  were 
  

   building 
  a 
  cart-shed 
  at 
  Osmaston 
  found 
  a 
  Badger 
  inside 
  it 
  when 
  

   they 
  arrived 
  at 
  their 
  work 
  in 
  the 
  morning, 
  and 
  managed 
  to 
  

   secure 
  it. 
  It 
  was 
  carefully 
  locked 
  up 
  in 
  an 
  outhouse, 
  and 
  its 
  

   capture 
  duly 
  recorded 
  in 
  the 
  local 
  paper, 
  but 
  next 
  morning 
  the 
  

   Badger 
  had 
  disappeared, 
  having 
  effected 
  its 
  escape 
  in 
  the 
  night 
  ! 
  

  

  While 
  returning 
  to 
  Clifton 
  with 
  some 
  friends 
  on 
  the 
  evening 
  

   of 
  April 
  10th, 
  we 
  noticed 
  a 
  Lapwing 
  get 
  up 
  from 
  a 
  field 
  ahead 
  of 
  

   us, 
  but 
  another 
  Lapwing 
  which 
  was 
  flying 
  about 
  immediately 
  

   stooped 
  at 
  it, 
  and 
  drove 
  it 
  to 
  the 
  ground. 
  A 
  second 
  attempt 
  to 
  

   rise 
  was 
  defeated 
  in 
  the 
  same 
  way. 
  As 
  we 
  got 
  nearer 
  the 
  

   aggressor 
  flew 
  away, 
  and 
  presently 
  we 
  saw 
  the 
  crouching 
  bird 
  

   get 
  up, 
  but 
  it 
  had 
  barely 
  travelled 
  thirty 
  yards 
  before 
  a 
  Sparrow- 
  

   Hawk 
  dropped 
  on 
  to 
  it 
  like 
  a 
  flash 
  from 
  an 
  ash 
  -tree 
  (where 
  it 
  

   must 
  have 
  been 
  all 
  the 
  time), 
  and 
  seized 
  the 
  Lapwing 
  by 
  the 
  

   head. 
  For 
  several 
  seconds 
  a 
  violent 
  struggle 
  in 
  the 
  air 
  ensued, 
  

   during 
  which 
  time 
  the 
  Lapwing 
  continued 
  to 
  scream 
  loudly, 
  but 
  

   at 
  last 
  the 
  Hawk 
  failed 
  to 
  make 
  good 
  its 
  hold, 
  and 
  the 
  Lapwing 
  

   broke 
  away 
  and 
  flew 
  off 
  heavily. 
  I 
  have 
  frequently 
  picked 
  up 
  

   the 
  remains 
  of 
  dead 
  Lapwings 
  on 
  their 
  breeding 
  grounds, 
  which 
  

   were 
  in 
  all 
  probability 
  killed 
  by 
  Sparrow-Hawks, 
  and 
  I 
  have 
  

   seen 
  the 
  sternum 
  on 
  an 
  old 
  nest 
  used 
  as 
  a 
  "dining-table," 
  but 
  

   never 
  actually 
  saw 
  one 
  struck 
  by 
  a 
  Sparrow-Hawk 
  till 
  to-day. 
  

  

  Early 
  in 
  May 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  keepers 
  at 
  Farley, 
  Staffordshire, 
  

  

  