96 ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES. By G. BOLAM 



almost every garden where there were trees or bushes to 

 induce them to stay, and in more than one instance, where 

 the conspicuous markings of the males caught the eye, people 

 reported them to me as black-and-white sparrows. On 12th 

 May I walked round part of the Town Walls, and found 

 the Flycatchers, in threes and fours together, flitting about 

 in all directions. In one large open garden, near the powder 

 magazine, there were in sight at one time four male Pied 

 Flycatchers and ten or eleven cock Eedstarts, all of which 

 were sitting upon stones or posts — the garden being almost 

 destitute of bushes — or hopping about the beds and pathways 

 on the lookout for food. Under such circumstances both 

 these birds bear a considerable resemblance to the Eobin, 

 in their manner of pitching down to the ground from some 

 slight elevation, in order to pick up an insect or small 

 worm. In the absence of insects (their more legitimate food) 

 Pied Flycatchers seem to take to worms almost as readily 

 as their neighbours, and I have even noticed them following 

 the gardener while digging, and dropping down every now 

 and then to secure some worm, or grub, from the newly 

 turned soil. 



At Holy Island a number of Pied Flycatchers were 

 observed on the 12th May, while on the two following days 

 they were numerous at Beal, Haggerston, and Goswick. 

 Males everywhere greatly predominated over females in 

 point of numbers. 



During May one was shot at Yetholm, and many others 

 were seen in the neighbourhood of Kelso, where, on the 

 31st, I was informed that there were still at least one pair 

 about the policies at Newton Don, and it was believed 

 that they were nesting. At North Sunderland, Mr H. A. 

 Paynter reported them to be quite numerous on the 13th, 

 in company with many Redstarts, and he saw two on the 

 Fame Islands on the previous day. At Alnwick also the}'' 

 were first noticed on the 10th May, and were in large 

 numbers, several pairs remaining to nest, as usual, in the 

 park, where, on 2nd June, I had the pleasure of seeing a 

 nest containing four eggs, and when, had we wished it, 

 other nests could easily have been found. From Chapel Hill, 

 Mr John Wilson wrote me on 25th May that he had seen 



