Ornithological Notes. By George Bolam. 891 



that is large enough for the purpose, and I have taken the nest within the 

 district in boles in old walls, in trees, in sand banks or amongst rocks on 

 the sea side, under the tiles in the roofs of buildings, and in various 

 other situations. The nest is more carefully put together than that of the 

 common sparrow, so large a quantity of materials being seldom used, and 

 no loose straws are left protruding from the entrance to the hole. Although 

 to a certain extent migratory the tree sparrow is found here throughout 

 the year, being perhaps most plentiful during the breeding season, and I 

 do not think that in the north we have any great increase in its numbers 

 in the autumn as seems to be the case in some of the more southern 

 counties of England. 



Starling : Sturnus vulgaris, Linn. - 

 An almost white variety of the starling M'as killed near Beal during the 

 last week in August, 1 883, and is now in my collection. The whole plumage 

 is of a dull white, many of the feathers on the upper parts being margined 

 or tipped with pale brown, while beneath, the breast is obscurely spotted. 

 The legs, bill, &c., were rather pale in colour, irides of the usual dark 

 brown. 



Hooded Crow : Corvus comix, Linn. 

 A few individuals appear to remain with us almost every summer, and 

 these probably breed either associated with carrion crows (C. coronej or 

 with partners of th eir own colour. 



For the last seven years I have seldom missed seeing one or two hooded 

 crows in some part of the district during summer, and in at least six of 

 them I have known a mixed breed to have been reared upon the cliffs a 

 little way to the north of Berwick ; the young birds from these nests have 

 usually been intermediate in colouring between C. comix, and C. rorone, 

 although one of two shot on 27th Atigust, 1879, had only so small a shade 

 of grey about the shoulders that at first sight it would have passed for a 

 pure carrion. From August to November, 1880, I kept one of these " half 

 castes " in confinement, and when he was again allowed his liberty, he had 

 assumed an adult plumage as nearly as possible half way in colour between 

 the two forms. 



Hoopoe : Upupa epops, Linn. 

 On 12th September, 1880, a beautiful specimen of this bird was shot by 

 Mr Allan's gamekeeper near the old toll gate at Grindon, in the parish of 

 Norham, and I had an opportunity of examining it, in the flesh, on the 

 following morning. It is now preserved and in Mr Allan's possession. 

 Another example was shot on the sanda near high water mark between 

 Beadnell village and Annstead on 25th August, 1882, by a person named 

 Davidson, and was preserved in Alnwick for its captor. 



On 16th Anril, of the same year, a hoopoe was observed feeding by the 

 side of a small burn on the coast near Boulmer, but although suffered to 

 remain unmolested, it was next morning no where to be seen, and had 

 probably moved on, on its migratory journey. 



Stock-dove : Columha cenas, Linn. 

 Since my last communication on the subject numerous instances of the 

 breeding of this bird both in Northumberland and Berwickshire have come 



