﻿NOTES 
  AND 
  QJJEBIES. 
  347 
  

  

  or 
  three 
  days, 
  but 
  by 
  this 
  time 
  it 
  was 
  the 
  last 
  day 
  of 
  June, 
  and 
  I 
  was 
  

   unable 
  to 
  discover 
  any 
  further 
  attempt 
  to 
  build. 
  Meanwhile 
  the 
  pair 
  

   in 
  the 
  osiers 
  had 
  safely 
  brought 
  up 
  their 
  young, 
  and 
  Mr. 
  Aplin 
  and 
  I 
  

   were 
  just 
  in 
  time 
  that 
  same 
  day 
  to 
  find 
  the 
  last 
  young 
  one 
  just 
  about 
  

   to 
  leave 
  the 
  nest. 
  — 
  W. 
  Waede 
  Fowler 
  (Kingham, 
  Chipping 
  Norton). 
  

  

  Early 
  Laying 
  of 
  the 
  Cuckoo 
  (Cuculus 
  canorus) 
  in 
  Cheshire. 
  — 
  On 
  

   the 
  30th 
  April 
  last 
  I 
  found 
  an 
  egg 
  of 
  this 
  bird, 
  along 
  with 
  one 
  of 
  a 
  

   Pied 
  Wagtail, 
  in 
  a 
  nest 
  which 
  was 
  built 
  inside 
  an 
  old 
  Blackbird's 
  nest, 
  

   on 
  a 
  ledge 
  of 
  rock 
  in 
  an 
  old 
  mine 
  working 
  at 
  Alderley 
  Edge. 
  I 
  con- 
  

   sider 
  this 
  is 
  an 
  unusually 
  early 
  date 
  for 
  Cheshire. 
  I 
  heard 
  the 
  Cuckoo 
  

   for 
  the 
  first 
  time 
  this 
  year, 
  at 
  Alderley 
  Edge, 
  on 
  the 
  26th 
  April. 
  — 
  

   Frank 
  S. 
  Graves 
  (Ballamoar, 
  Alderley 
  Edge). 
  

  

  The 
  Hobby 
  (Falco 
  subbuteo) 
  and 
  its 
  Prey. 
  — 
  The 
  following 
  note 
  on 
  

   this 
  handsome 
  little 
  Falcon 
  is 
  more 
  in 
  confirmation 
  of 
  a 
  well-known 
  

   fact 
  than 
  in 
  recording 
  anything 
  new 
  in 
  its 
  interesting 
  habits, 
  but, 
  

   coming 
  under 
  one's 
  personal 
  observation 
  for 
  the 
  first 
  time, 
  it 
  seemed 
  

   to 
  possess 
  a 
  peculiar 
  interest. 
  It 
  is 
  with 
  regret 
  I 
  record 
  the 
  death 
  of 
  

   two 
  of 
  this 
  species 
  in 
  this 
  part 
  of 
  Hants 
  — 
  one 
  in 
  May 
  near 
  Lymington, 
  

   the 
  other 
  at 
  the 
  end 
  of 
  August 
  near 
  the 
  river 
  here. 
  The 
  former 
  (a 
  

   male] 
  fell 
  to 
  the 
  gun 
  of 
  a 
  gamekeeper, 
  who 
  stoutly 
  accused 
  it 
  of 
  having 
  

   destroyed 
  a 
  number 
  of 
  his 
  young 
  Pheasants, 
  but 
  on 
  dissection 
  the 
  

   stomach 
  of 
  the 
  hawk 
  contained 
  only 
  the 
  remains 
  of 
  insects, 
  mostly 
  

   Coleoptera, 
  a 
  few 
  Diptera, 
  and 
  a 
  small 
  mass 
  of 
  what 
  appeared 
  to 
  be 
  

   fur 
  or 
  hair. 
  The 
  August 
  specimen 
  was 
  killed 
  by 
  a 
  man 
  who 
  was 
  

   waiting 
  at 
  the 
  riverside 
  for 
  the 
  evening 
  flight 
  of 
  Ducks, 
  and 
  the 
  Hobby 
  

   was 
  doubtless 
  following 
  the 
  Swallows 
  to 
  their 
  roostings 
  amongst 
  the 
  

   rushes, 
  as 
  it 
  was 
  killed 
  at 
  the 
  same 
  spot 
  as 
  one 
  I 
  recorded 
  in 
  1892 
  

   under 
  somewhat 
  similar 
  circumstances. 
  This 
  was 
  a 
  female 
  in 
  very 
  

   bright 
  and 
  clean 
  plumage, 
  with 
  no 
  indication 
  of 
  having 
  nested, 
  and 
  a 
  

   noticeable 
  feature 
  in 
  its 
  appearance 
  was 
  the 
  apparently 
  swollen 
  con- 
  

   dition 
  of 
  the 
  neck 
  and 
  throat 
  ; 
  this 
  was 
  caused 
  by 
  the 
  entire 
  folded-up 
  

   wings 
  of 
  a 
  Bat, 
  the 
  membranes 
  of 
  which 
  were 
  somewhat 
  torn, 
  but 
  the 
  

   little 
  stick-like 
  bones 
  were 
  unbroken, 
  the 
  other 
  portions 
  of 
  the 
  Bat 
  

   having 
  passed 
  into 
  the 
  stomach, 
  where 
  the 
  head, 
  with 
  its 
  sharp 
  little 
  

   teeth, 
  was 
  very 
  conspicuous 
  amongst 
  the 
  other 
  remains. 
  The 
  stomach 
  

   also 
  contained 
  a 
  considerable 
  mass 
  of 
  some 
  large 
  insects 
  in 
  an 
  advanced 
  

   stage 
  of 
  digestion, 
  which 
  my 
  limited 
  knowledge 
  was 
  unable 
  to 
  identify. 
  

   From 
  what 
  I 
  could 
  make 
  out, 
  the 
  insects 
  had 
  a 
  broad 
  yellow 
  band 
  

   across 
  the 
  upper 
  portion 
  of 
  the 
  body 
  — 
  something 
  resembling 
  the 
  large 
  

   sawfly 
  {Sirex 
  gigae) 
  — 
  but 
  the 
  body 
  was 
  flatter 
  in 
  shape, 
  without 
  the 
  

  

  