﻿348 
  THE 
  ZOOLOGIST. 
  

  

  yellow 
  tail, 
  and 
  the 
  unmistakable 
  ovipositor 
  of 
  that 
  grand 
  hymeno- 
  

   pteron. 
  These 
  insects, 
  whatever 
  they 
  were, 
  might 
  have 
  been 
  swal- 
  

   lowed 
  within 
  the 
  body 
  of 
  the 
  Bat, 
  but 
  they 
  appeared 
  to 
  be 
  the 
  remains 
  

   of 
  a 
  previous 
  meal. 
  Thus 
  it 
  seems 
  the 
  Hobby 
  does 
  not 
  confine 
  itself 
  

   to 
  one 
  order 
  of 
  insects, 
  although 
  possibly 
  preferring 
  the 
  Coleoptera, 
  as 
  

   1 
  have 
  seen 
  it 
  chasing 
  members 
  of 
  the 
  Odonata 
  over 
  the 
  forest 
  

   ponds, 
  a 
  sight 
  not 
  easily 
  forgotten, 
  as 
  it 
  was 
  difficult 
  to 
  tell 
  which 
  was 
  

   the 
  more 
  expert, 
  the 
  bird 
  or 
  the 
  dragonfly 
  ; 
  and 
  the 
  fact 
  of 
  it 
  some- 
  

   times 
  taking 
  Bats 
  has 
  been 
  recorded 
  in 
  these 
  pages 
  several 
  times 
  

   during 
  the 
  past 
  thirty 
  years, 
  indicating 
  that 
  this 
  species 
  is 
  sometimes 
  

   on 
  the 
  wing 
  later 
  in 
  the 
  day 
  than 
  some 
  of 
  its 
  congeners. 
  — 
  Gr. 
  B. 
  Corbin 
  

   (Ringwood, 
  Hants). 
  

  

  The 
  Stock-Dove 
  in 
  Breconshire. 
  — 
  Although 
  not 
  as 
  numerous 
  as 
  in 
  

   the 
  English 
  border 
  counties, 
  the 
  Stock-Dove 
  {Columba 
  cenas) 
  is 
  here 
  a 
  

   not 
  uncommon 
  resident. 
  A 
  pair 
  or 
  two 
  nest 
  in 
  most 
  of 
  the 
  woods 
  in 
  

   the 
  central 
  parts 
  of 
  the 
  county 
  ; 
  it 
  is 
  also 
  fond 
  of 
  breeding 
  in 
  the 
  

   pollard-willows 
  which 
  fringe 
  many 
  of 
  our 
  streams, 
  and 
  in 
  the 
  old 
  oak- 
  

   trees 
  in 
  the 
  Priory 
  Grove 
  adjoining 
  the 
  town 
  of 
  Brecon. 
  One 
  pair 
  

   have 
  passed 
  the 
  summer, 
  and 
  probably 
  nested, 
  in 
  a 
  grove 
  of 
  old 
  oaks 
  

   about 
  a 
  hundred 
  yards 
  from 
  this 
  house, 
  for 
  the 
  last 
  fifteen 
  years 
  at 
  

   least. 
  In 
  May, 
  1898, 
  they 
  nested 
  in 
  this 
  grove, 
  in 
  a 
  hole 
  in 
  a 
  tree, 
  in 
  

   which 
  also 
  a 
  pair 
  of 
  Pied 
  Flycatchers 
  also 
  bred, 
  a 
  distance 
  of 
  about 
  six 
  

   feet 
  only 
  separating 
  the 
  two 
  nests. 
  In 
  May, 
  1901, 
  a 
  friend 
  climbed 
  to 
  

   this 
  same 
  hole, 
  and 
  found 
  a 
  Stock-Dove's 
  nest 
  containing 
  the 
  unusual 
  

   number 
  of 
  three 
  eggs. 
  In 
  addition 
  to 
  their 
  being 
  rounder, 
  smaller, 
  

   and 
  creamy, 
  instead 
  of 
  pure 
  white, 
  most 
  of 
  the 
  eggs 
  of 
  this 
  Dove 
  I 
  

   have 
  seen 
  have 
  another 
  peculiarity 
  which 
  further 
  distinguishes 
  them 
  

   from 
  those 
  of 
  the 
  Bing-Dove, 
  in 
  that 
  they 
  have 
  a 
  slightly 
  rough 
  shell, 
  

   caused 
  by 
  little 
  lines 
  of 
  raised 
  surface 
  running 
  spirally 
  across 
  the 
  eggs. 
  

   Anyone 
  unacquainted 
  with 
  its 
  peculiar 
  note 
  might 
  think 
  it 
  rare 
  here, 
  

   as 
  it 
  is 
  a 
  shy 
  bird, 
  and, 
  owing 
  to 
  its 
  very 
  rapid 
  flight, 
  it 
  is 
  difficult 
  to 
  

   identify. 
  The 
  note 
  of 
  the 
  Stock-Dove 
  is 
  but 
  scantily 
  described 
  in 
  our 
  

   bird-books. 
  It 
  seems 
  to 
  me 
  to 
  resemble 
  the 
  word 
  " 
  woo-oop," 
  repeated 
  

   about 
  eight 
  times, 
  the 
  last 
  syllable 
  pronounced 
  short 
  and 
  accentuated. 
  

   This 
  " 
  song," 
  which 
  I 
  often 
  hear 
  from 
  the 
  windows 
  of 
  my 
  house, 
  

   commences 
  about 
  the 
  middle 
  of 
  March, 
  continuing 
  to 
  about 
  the 
  end 
  of 
  

   August. 
  It 
  is 
  also 
  occasionally 
  to 
  be 
  heard 
  in 
  the 
  autumn. 
  — 
  E. 
  A. 
  

   Swainson 
  (Woodside, 
  Brecon). 
  

  

  Habits 
  of 
  Willow-Grouse.— 
  In 
  the 
  P.Z.S. 
  1894, 
  vol. 
  i. 
  pp. 
  411-12, 
  

   &c, 
  Dr. 
  Einar 
  Lonnberg 
  tells 
  us 
  the 
  mother 
  of 
  the 
  " 
  Ripoire 
  " 
  or 
  

   hybrids 
  was 
  a 
  female 
  Lyrurus 
  tetrix, 
  and 
  the 
  father 
  a 
  male 
  La;i<>/ius 
  

  

  