﻿ORNITHOLOGICAL 
  NOTES. 
  253 
  

  

  holes. 
  One 
  nest 
  only 
  brought 
  to 
  light 
  to-day, 
  and 
  contained 
  five 
  

   fresh 
  eggs, 
  slightly 
  pear-shaped. 
  

  

  May 
  19th. 
  

  

  A 
  very 
  objectionable 
  day, 
  with 
  high 
  winds 
  and 
  intermittent 
  

   hailstorms. 
  

  

  Ligurinus 
  chloris. 
  — 
  Found 
  a 
  nest 
  of 
  the 
  Greenfinch 
  in 
  a 
  hedge- 
  

   row 
  with 
  one 
  egg 
  only 
  in 
  it. 
  

  

  Turdus 
  riscivonis. 
  — 
  Came 
  across 
  three 
  Mistle-Thrushes' 
  nests, 
  

   all 
  built 
  in 
  most 
  conspicuous 
  positions, 
  and 
  easy 
  of 
  access. 
  They 
  

   were 
  all 
  empty, 
  and, 
  as 
  there 
  were 
  no 
  fragments 
  of 
  egg-shells 
  in 
  

   any 
  of 
  them, 
  it 
  appeared 
  that 
  they 
  must 
  have 
  been 
  pilfered 
  of 
  

   their 
  contents. 
  One 
  nest 
  in 
  particular 
  had 
  an 
  extraordinary 
  

   amount 
  of 
  sheep's 
  wool 
  in 
  its 
  composition— 
  in 
  fact, 
  the 
  builder 
  

   evidently 
  was 
  completely 
  nonplussed 
  as 
  how 
  to 
  properly 
  use 
  so 
  

   large 
  a 
  piece, 
  with 
  the 
  consequence 
  that 
  half 
  of 
  it 
  was 
  blowing 
  

   about 
  like 
  a 
  small 
  flag 
  — 
  a 
  very 
  advertisement 
  of 
  the 
  nest's 
  

   whereabouts. 
  In 
  the 
  evening 
  observed 
  several 
  Einged 
  Plovers 
  

   at 
  Littlestone, 
  and, 
  a 
  little 
  later, 
  approached 
  quite 
  closely 
  two 
  

   Redshanks, 
  who 
  were 
  wading 
  about 
  in 
  a 
  shallow 
  stream 
  near 
  the 
  

   beach. 
  "When 
  within 
  about 
  thirty 
  yards 
  of 
  them 
  they 
  suddenly 
  

   dashed 
  up, 
  uttering 
  their 
  sharp 
  whistling 
  notes, 
  and 
  flew 
  away 
  

   inland. 
  A 
  few 
  Herring-Gulls 
  straggling 
  in 
  from 
  the 
  sea, 
  and 
  

   flying 
  in 
  the 
  direction 
  of 
  Dungeness. 
  

  

  May 
  20th. 
  

   Saxicola 
  cenanthe. 
  — 
  Flushed 
  a 
  Wheatear 
  from 
  small 
  hole 
  

   (certainly 
  not 
  a 
  Rabbit-burrow) 
  in 
  some 
  open 
  and 
  rather 
  broken 
  

   ground 
  near 
  the 
  golf-links. 
  Some 
  withered 
  stalks 
  were 
  scattered 
  

   at 
  the 
  entrance 
  to 
  the 
  hole, 
  some 
  just 
  inside, 
  but 
  the 
  nest 
  itself 
  

   was 
  entirely 
  invisible 
  from 
  the 
  outside, 
  and, 
  if 
  the 
  soil 
  had 
  not 
  

   been 
  loose 
  and 
  giving, 
  I 
  doubt 
  whether 
  I 
  should 
  have 
  tracked 
  the 
  

   nest 
  at 
  all. 
  The 
  nesting-cavity, 
  containing 
  a 
  fairly 
  compact 
  

   structure 
  — 
  certainly 
  more 
  compact 
  and 
  bulky 
  than 
  was 
  necessary 
  

   in 
  such 
  a 
  protected 
  situation 
  — 
  was 
  composed 
  of 
  dead 
  grass, 
  and 
  

   lined 
  with 
  a 
  little 
  hair 
  and 
  wool. 
  From 
  the 
  ground-line 
  to 
  the 
  

   nest-cavity 
  the 
  distance 
  was 
  a 
  good 
  elbow's 
  length, 
  and 
  the 
  

   cavity 
  itself 
  was 
  a 
  cul 
  de 
  sac, 
  branching 
  out 
  of 
  the 
  main 
  hole 
  

   (see 
  diagram). 
  

  

  