252 MISCELLANEA 



Much was said in the newspapers about the scarcity of 

 Swallows in the summer of 191 2. It is therefore worth while 

 to put on record the fact that in this part of the country 

 Swallows were noticeably more abundant than usual all 

 through that summer. One day in September* a remarkable 

 southward migration of swallows was taking place across 

 Newcastle Town Moor. The swallows were flying low, in a 

 straggling stream a hundred to two hundred yards wide, 

 crossing the Recreation Ground, the south-east corner of 

 the Moor, the houses in Claremont Place, and the Leazes. I 

 saw them as I went home to lunch, and they were still 

 passing in the same way when I came back again. Most of 

 them were young birds. — E. L. G. 



Night Heron at Warkworth. — In March, 19 13, a Night 

 Heron (Nycticorax griseus) was shown to us at the Museum 

 by Mr. Wallace, jun., of Churchill Villa, Warkworth, who had 

 shot it by the Coquet just above Warkworth in the preceding 

 month. It had been seen about the same place for at least 

 a fortnight. 



Water' Rail in Jesmond. — From the frequency with which 

 Water Rails are picked up under telegraph wires or met with 

 in various other casual ways it is evident that only their 

 retiring habits make them seem scarce. A Water Rail which 

 was brought alive to the Museum on October 1st, 1913, had 

 made itself known in a particularly curious way. It was 

 brought by Mr. P. O. Hare, who told us that it had that 

 morning actually run in at the front door of his house, 9, 

 Manor House Road, Jesmond. We kept this bird for some 

 time in the aviary. At first it spent all the daytime roosting 

 about five feet up in some brushwood in a dark corner, and 

 always in the same posture, with its tail up and its head and 

 bill pointing obliquely downwards. Later it became much 

 tamer and showed itself freely. We fed it on worms, but to 

 judge by the efforts needed to swallow them they were not a 



* I made a note of the date somewhere, but unfortunately cannot now 

 find it. 



