58 THE OENITHOLOGIST. 



should also be very grateful for details of any private or public local collec- 

 tion of birds, as there must be without doubt many rare and interesting 

 specimens obtained in the county of which I at present have no knowledge. — 

 John Bucknill (Hylands House, Epsom). 



Eggs of the Redstart. — Most oological works describe the eggs of the 

 Common Redstart as " blue, unspotted." One writer says, " It is said that 

 the eggs of this species are 'occasionally speckled with reddish,' but surely 

 this must be a mistake." It may be worth while recording the fact that in 

 1894 I found two clutches (of five each) which were very decidedly speckled 

 at the larger end with reddish. In anticipation of the sceptics, I may 

 further state that the identification was beyond question. In each case the 

 female was sitting on the eggs, and was most certainly a Redstart, not a chat. 

 I still have one of the clutches. — W. Shelley (Swymbridge, Devon). 



Notes from South Devon. — I have lately ascertained that the Storm 

 Petrel bred last year not far from here (the egg having been taken by a boy), 

 and that a colony of Cornish Choughs has been re-established at a place some 

 ten miles away, which I hope shortly to visit. — J. H. Comyns (Newton 

 Abbot). 



Robin's Nest in December. — While staying with some friends during 

 Christmas holidays at Shipley, Derby, I had brought to me a nest and six 

 eggs of the Robin, which had been found by a labourer in a haystack on the 

 estate of E. M. Mundly, Esq., Shipley Hall, Derby. Upon enquiry of the 

 man into the particulars, he stated that he found the nest on December 10th, 

 1895, while at work cutting hay from the stack, by the bird flying out and 

 hovering excitedly around. — Hy. Beeston. 



Early Nesting of Song Thrush.— I copy the following note from my 

 diary of March 15th, 1896, written on the spot. " To day I found the nest 

 of Song Thrush, and near the nest, in same bush, the dead female bird. 

 Upon examining the body (or rather skeleton, for nothing remained but a few 

 bones and feathers) I fouud inside the abdominal cavity an egg of rather 

 unusual proportions. The bird had probably been either too weak or the 

 egg was too large to produce extrusion, and the poor creature had thus died 

 on or near the nest. From the appearance of the nest and the carcass of the 

 bird I infer that this must have been a very early nest, at least a month or 

 six weeks old." — Hy. Beeston (Langstone, Havant). 



The late Mr. Tukes's Great Auk's egg, offered for sale at Stevens's on 

 Monday, April 20th, was knocked down to Mr. Noble for 160 guineas. It is 

 a fine egg, but slightly damaged on one side. 



