Birds. 7171 



she would have done to her own young ; but the chicks did not seem to comprehend 

 well her intention at first, generally preferring to pick up the meat from the ground, 

 the hawk scattering it about her. Oue delicate chick seems to receive more attention 

 from the hawk, and keeps closer to her, receiving a larger portion of food. The 

 gentle and afiFectionate manner in which the hawk presents the morsels of meat to the 

 young birds is most pleasing to witness : at first she will hold up the whole piece of 

 meal to the chicks, which, 1 presume, is intended to draw them off to a distance from 

 the hen, who at first was greatly alarmed at seeing her young ones in such dangerous 

 company. One morning the hawk seemed to have devised a method to appease the 

 hen, for on being fed she ran off straight to the coop with the piece of meat in her 

 bill, and presented it to the hen, as if to say, " See here, I am only going to feed your 

 young ones with this," and suiting her actions to her words fed them at a short 

 distance off; since then the hen has appeared perfectly satisfied. One morning I saw 

 the hawk scratching the ground and shaking her wings as a hen does when she wishes 

 to gather her little ones under them, and I think that it was really the motive of the 

 hawk to draw them around or under her. An account somewhat similar is related by 

 Yarrell of the buzzard ; but I do not learn that the kestrel sat on her own eggs, 

 which she laid last year. It will be seen that the period in which these foud 

 attentions have been paid to the young of another bird is considerably later than 

 usual, the young ol the kestrel being hatched about the end of March or beginning of 

 April. — Joshua Brown; Bartonbury, August 4, 1860. 



Robins and Titmice reared in one Nest. — A short time ago, when looking for bird's 

 nests, I discovered a robin's in a hole, about five feet from the ground, in a chestnut 

 tree ; the nest contained five eggs. Being the first I had found this summer, I deter- 

 mined in a day or two to lake oue egg. The third or fourth day alter I first found 

 the nest I went to the tree ; to my great surprise, 1 saw some very fine hair and wool 

 close to the mouth of the hole inside ; I just peeped in, and out fiew a blue titmouse. 

 How the ingenious and impudent little fellow had become possessed of the robins' 

 chosen place I cannot conceive. I only saw the robins once after. The bold titmouse 

 very soon returned, and in a few days had deposited eggs amongst the robins. As 

 soon as it began to sit, I hollowed out a piece of stick and took two robin's and three 

 titmouse's eggs out of the nest; there were left six tits and three robins. In due time 

 the eggs were hatched, and the old tits tended the robins the same as their own. Oue 

 morning I thought they would be ready to fly, and 1 got a lighted taper and inserted 

 into the hole ; to my surprise, they were all fiown but one little tit, — in about an hour 

 afterwards it was gone as well. I then got the nest out as well as I could, and found 

 one robin's egg left, so that two robins and six titmice were all reared in one nest. — 

 L. Appleby ; Middleton Lodge, July 29, 1860. 



I'he Hawfinch breeding in Norfolk. — In the 'Zoologist' for 1846 (Zool. 4946), 

 I recorded the first instance that had ever come to my notice of the hawfinch 

 remaining to breed in this county, at which time a young bird, now in my possession, 

 was shot in Kimberley Park. On the 20ih of July last I was shown an immature 

 specimen, obtained at Eastou a few days before, much resembling my own, but if any- 

 thing rather more advanced in plumage. I am more and more convinced, Irom in- 

 quiries made of gamekeepers, gardeners and others employed in likely haunts for these 

 shy birds, that these two are by no means solitary instances of the hawfinch nesting in 

 this county, although their peculiar watchfulness and the dense foliage they usually 

 frequent render it extremely difficult to delect their presence amongst us, except in 



