152 THE OENITHOLOGIST. 



uttered a short squeak, which differed from the long grinding 

 cry. Again we watched the soft easy flutter, with its uncer- 

 tainty of direction, as we allowed her to take flight. Digging 

 further into the same cavity, we discovered a fourth, which, 

 along with its egg, I took, and having procured sufficient for 

 our purposes, we stayed our search. 



We found another Starling's nest with young, deep down 

 amongst the stones, and noted two great Blackbacks and an 

 Eider-drake pass during our sojourn on the island. 



All the Petrel's eggs proved more or less incubated, and in 

 five out of the six cases, they had been laid on the bare earth ; 

 in the odd case the egg rested on a little hay. The two birds 

 taken were male and female, so that both birds incubate. 



46, Cumberland Street, Edinburgh. 



THE BIRDS OF THE HAVEN. 

 By G. Moir. 



The " Haven," as it is called, is a long but narrow piece 

 of water lying just opposite to Cowes (Isle of Wight), two 

 miles from Titchfield, and fourteen from Portsmouth. 



The length is about three-quarters of a mile, and it is in no 

 part more than 500 or 600 yards wide. It is formed by the 

 outlet of the river Titchfield, which after passing the Haven 

 flows into the sea. The banks on either side are covered 

 with reeds, &c, and so afford a most suitable nesting ground 

 for many aquatic and other birds. It is the private property 

 of Colonel Delme-Ratcliffe, by whom it is shot over, and care- 

 fully preserved, therefore being a safe nesting and resting 

 ground for many species of birds not otherwise found on this 

 part of the coast, which is everywhere low and exposed to the 

 violence of every storm. It is shut off from actual communi- 

 cation with the sea by a bridge. 



Dealing first with the birds which are in it continually, 

 from the fact of its being an inland lake, the foremost are the 

 Coots (Fulica atra), of which there are several hundreds, and 

 any day in the whole year at least a hundred may be counted 

 swimming on the water. Moorhens are also present in large 



