﻿:'64 
  THE 
  ZOOLOGIST. 
  

  

  Early 
  nesting 
  of 
  the 
  Lesser 
  Whitethroat. 
  — 
  Witb 
  reference 
  to 
  the 
  

   note 
  {ante, 
  p. 
  227) 
  on 
  the 
  early 
  nesting 
  of 
  this 
  species 
  [Sylvia 
  curruea) 
  

   in 
  Surrey, 
  I 
  may 
  mention 
  that 
  on 
  May 
  Gth, 
  1902, 
  I 
  found 
  a 
  nest 
  con- 
  

   taining 
  five 
  eggs 
  near 
  this 
  town, 
  incubation 
  having 
  commenced. 
  This 
  

   nest 
  therefore 
  must 
  have 
  been 
  built 
  in 
  April. 
  Although 
  the 
  Lesser 
  

   Whitethroat 
  does 
  not 
  arrive 
  here 
  before 
  the 
  Common 
  Whitethroat, 
  it 
  

   is 
  nevertheless 
  an 
  earlier 
  breeder 
  ; 
  and 
  in 
  this 
  part 
  of 
  Cheshire 
  it 
  is, 
  

   some 
  years, 
  quite 
  as 
  common 
  a 
  bird, 
  and 
  apparently 
  increasing 
  in 
  

   numbers. 
  Only 
  once 
  have 
  I 
  found 
  a 
  nest 
  with 
  six 
  eggs, 
  but, 
  as 
  a 
  rule» 
  

   five 
  — 
  seldom 
  less 
  — 
  seem 
  to 
  be 
  the 
  usual 
  number. 
  There 
  is 
  little 
  

   doubt 
  that, 
  like 
  the 
  Common 
  Whitethroat, 
  it 
  is 
  very 
  often 
  double- 
  

   brooded 
  ; 
  I 
  have 
  seen 
  half-fledged 
  young 
  in 
  the 
  nest 
  as 
  late 
  as 
  August 
  

   oth, 
  and 
  not 
  infrequently 
  on 
  the 
  wing 
  in 
  July. 
  The 
  construction 
  of 
  

   the 
  nest 
  resembles 
  more 
  closely 
  that 
  of 
  the 
  Blackcap 
  than 
  any 
  of 
  the 
  

   genus, 
  and 
  the 
  site 
  also 
  is 
  often 
  very 
  similar 
  ; 
  it 
  is 
  sometimes 
  placed, 
  

   however, 
  higher 
  up 
  ; 
  one 
  that 
  I 
  saw 
  a 
  few 
  years 
  ago 
  was 
  at 
  least 
  six 
  

   feet 
  from 
  the 
  ground, 
  in 
  a 
  hazel-bush 
  entwined 
  with 
  honeysuckle. 
  It 
  

   is 
  a 
  question 
  as 
  to 
  which 
  is 
  the 
  song 
  proper 
  of 
  this 
  bird, 
  for 
  the 
  low 
  

   warbling 
  notes, 
  distinct 
  and 
  varied 
  — 
  when 
  one 
  is 
  close 
  enough 
  to 
  hear 
  

   them 
  — 
  are 
  much 
  more 
  in 
  the 
  nature 
  of 
  a 
  song 
  than 
  the 
  well-known 
  

   monotonous 
  trill 
  generally 
  heard. 
  I 
  have 
  often 
  wondered 
  how 
  the 
  

   curious 
  " 
  zip, 
  zip" 
  call 
  is 
  produced, 
  a 
  sound 
  impossible 
  to 
  transmit 
  to 
  

   paper, 
  and 
  one 
  that 
  can 
  hardly 
  be 
  associated 
  with 
  a 
  bird 
  at 
  all, 
  so 
  

   singular 
  is 
  it. 
  Besides 
  the 
  alarm-note, 
  " 
  tcheck, 
  tcheck," 
  it 
  has 
  

   another 
  cry 
  less 
  frequently 
  heard, 
  a 
  continuous 
  harsh 
  " 
  tchr-r-r-r-r-r 
  " 
  

   of 
  some 
  seconds' 
  duration, 
  which 
  it 
  gives 
  vent 
  to 
  when 
  nest 
  or 
  young 
  

   are 
  approached 
  too 
  closely. 
  — 
  S. 
  G. 
  Cummings 
  (Chester). 
  

  

  The 
  Cuckoo 
  in 
  1904 
  : 
  interesting 
  Incident 
  with 
  a 
  Young 
  Bird. 
  — 
  

   The 
  Cuckoo 
  (Cuculus 
  canoiiis) 
  was 
  heard 
  in 
  the 
  surrounding 
  districts 
  

   from 
  May 
  1st 
  and 
  onwards, 
  but 
  was 
  only 
  heard 
  on 
  my 
  immediate 
  

   ground 
  on 
  May 
  8th, 
  and 
  was 
  then 
  present 
  in 
  fair 
  numbers, 
  though 
  

   perhaps 
  not 
  so 
  numerous 
  as 
  in 
  some 
  other 
  years. 
  I 
  found 
  a 
  Twite's 
  

   [Linota 
  flavirostris) 
  nest 
  on 
  May 
  25th, 
  with 
  one 
  young 
  Cuckoo 
  and 
  two 
  

   young 
  Twites, 
  about 
  three 
  days 
  out 
  of 
  the 
  shell. 
  The 
  former 
  was 
  very 
  

   like 
  the 
  latter, 
  but 
  the 
  mouth 
  being 
  larger. 
  On 
  the 
  27th 
  there 
  was 
  no 
  

   vestige 
  of 
  the 
  young 
  Twites, 
  and 
  on 
  the 
  29th 
  the 
  young 
  Cuckoo 
  was 
  

   dead, 
  lying 
  about 
  eighteen 
  inches 
  from 
  the 
  nest. 
  Two 
  conclusions 
  

   may 
  be 
  entertained 
  at 
  least 
  on 
  this 
  question, 
  one 
  beiug 
  the 
  death 
  of 
  

   the 
  foster-parent, 
  and 
  that 
  some 
  spasmodic 
  action, 
  through 
  hunger, 
  

   may 
  have 
  caused 
  the 
  young 
  bird 
  to 
  spring 
  out 
  of 
  the 
  nest, 
  near 
  which 
  

   I 
  found 
  a 
  dead 
  Twite. 
  The 
  other 
  conclusion 
  is 
  that 
  some, 
  or 
  the 
  

  

  