﻿36G 
  THE 
  ZOOLOGIST. 
  

  

  15th. 
  — 
  Examined 
  a 
  nice 
  adult 
  female 
  Hobby, 
  shot 
  on 
  or 
  

   about 
  June 
  23rd 
  near 
  Hanwell. 
  Another 
  bird 
  was 
  seen. 
  There 
  

   is 
  no 
  doubt 
  that 
  the 
  Hobby 
  would 
  breed 
  every 
  year 
  in 
  small 
  

   numbers 
  in 
  Oxfordshire 
  if 
  it 
  were 
  not 
  molested. 
  Unfortunately 
  

   this 
  useful 
  bird 
  is 
  regarded 
  as 
  a 
  " 
  hawk 
  " 
  simply. 
  

  

  28th. 
  — 
  Grasshopper-Warbler 
  singing 
  at 
  Milcomb 
  Gorse 
  ; 
  this 
  

   bird 
  sings 
  late 
  in 
  the 
  season. 
  

  

  August. 
  

  

  1st. 
  — 
  Barred 
  Woodpecker 
  near 
  Charlbury. 
  

  

  3rd.— 
  The 
  drought 
  is 
  severe 
  now, 
  and 
  damaging 
  what 
  little 
  

   fruit 
  there 
  is. 
  Many 
  Warblers 
  (Blackcaps, 
  Garden-Warblers, 
  

   Lesser 
  and 
  Common 
  Whitethroats) 
  in 
  kitchen-garden. 
  

  

  4th. 
  — 
  A 
  pair 
  of 
  Swallows 
  are 
  building 
  in 
  one 
  of 
  my 
  pigsties, 
  

   occupied 
  by 
  two 
  pigs 
  ! 
  The 
  walls 
  of 
  the 
  stye-yard 
  (6 
  ft. 
  by 
  7 
  ft.) 
  

   are 
  5i 
  ft. 
  high. 
  The 
  birds 
  have 
  to 
  drop 
  down 
  into 
  this 
  yard, 
  

   and 
  then 
  shoot 
  in 
  at 
  a 
  doorway 
  4| 
  ft. 
  high 
  and 
  2£ 
  ft. 
  broad. 
  The 
  

   nest 
  is 
  on 
  a 
  crossbeam, 
  6 
  ft. 
  from 
  the 
  ground. 
  I 
  think 
  the 
  birds 
  

   chose 
  this 
  curious 
  situation 
  for 
  the 
  sake 
  of 
  coolness 
  (only 
  the 
  

   early 
  morning 
  sun 
  falls 
  on 
  the 
  roof), 
  for 
  there 
  is 
  plenty 
  of 
  room 
  

   for 
  Swallows 
  to 
  breed 
  in 
  a 
  wood-shed 
  and 
  a 
  barn 
  (in 
  both 
  of 
  

   which 
  some 
  birds 
  breed 
  every 
  year) 
  close 
  to 
  the 
  pigstye. 
  I 
  

   notice, 
  too, 
  that 
  the 
  Swallows 
  which 
  breed 
  in 
  the 
  wood 
  -shed 
  

   always 
  build 
  under 
  the 
  north 
  slope 
  of 
  the 
  roof. 
  The 
  scarcity 
  of 
  

   Swallows 
  is 
  now 
  evident 
  ; 
  no 
  doubt 
  many 
  perished 
  in 
  the 
  cold 
  

   weather 
  in 
  May. 
  

  

  6th. 
  — 
  The 
  first 
  good 
  rain 
  since 
  the 
  middle 
  of 
  June. 
  

  

  12th. 
  — 
  Saw 
  a 
  Green 
  Sandpiper 
  in 
  the 
  Cherwell 
  valley. 
  

  

  15th.— 
  Many 
  Swifts 
  in 
  the 
  forenoon. 
  Chiffchaff 
  singing 
  in 
  a 
  

   very 
  low 
  tone 
  in 
  the 
  garden 
  for 
  the 
  last 
  two 
  or 
  three 
  days. 
  

   Blackcap 
  singing 
  in 
  the 
  holly-tree 
  by 
  my 
  window 
  ; 
  only 
  the 
  low 
  

   preliminary 
  notes. 
  

  

  16th. 
  — 
  Close 
  and 
  hot 
  at 
  times. 
  Between 
  twelve 
  and 
  one 
  

   o'clock 
  numbers 
  of 
  Starlings 
  hawking 
  for 
  flies 
  over 
  the 
  village 
  ; 
  

   the 
  sky 
  was 
  dotted 
  over 
  with 
  them. 
  Roughly 
  speaking, 
  they 
  

   were 
  all 
  from 
  200 
  to 
  600 
  ft. 
  high, 
  calculating 
  from 
  the 
  church- 
  

   spire, 
  which 
  is 
  198 
  ft. 
  high. 
  Many 
  Warblers 
  in 
  the 
  garden. 
  

   The 
  Swifts, 
  1 
  think, 
  have 
  gone. 
  

  

  19th.— 
  Nuthatch 
  " 
  trilling." 
  

  

  