824 Birds. 



on the 3rd of June, which must have been four or five days old, thus being hatched 

 a fortnight earlier than their usual time, in which they as well as partridges are mostly 

 very regular, the one hatching about the 14th, the other about the 21st of June. — 

 Henry T. Frere, Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, November \st, 1844. 



Occurrence of the Nutcracker, near Yarmouth. A specimen of the Nutcracker 

 (Corvus caryocatactes) was killed at Rollesby, near Yarmouth, on the 30th of October, 

 1843. From the rarity of this bird, it is seldom that an opportunity is afforded of as- 



Head of the Nutcracker : half the natural size. 



certaining, by dissection, the nature of its food. It has been stated to live upon ker- 

 nels and seeds as well as insects. The contents of the stomach of this bird consisted 

 entirely of Coleopterous insects, and though it may also occasionally feed upon vege- 

 table matter, I think that from the fact that this bird was observed near the spot for 

 a week before it was shot, we may infer that such is not its favourite food, In its per- 

 fect state, the upper mandible of the beak of the nutcracker, as will be seen by the 

 annexed outline, which is reduced to half the natural size, projects considerably over 

 the lower. In foreign specimens which I have seen, the mandibles were of equal 

 length, the projecting part having, I presume, been worn down by seeking for insects 

 on the bark of trees ; or, if the bird really obtains its subsistence in that way, by the 

 process of breaking nuts and seeds. The tip of the upper mandible is horn colour, 

 the rest of the beak is black. — William Fisher, Great Yarmouth. 



On the Nesting of the Golden Oriole, in Kent. Having made enquiries about the 

 nidification of the Oriolus galbula, in East Kent, mentioned by Mr. Sladen (Zool. 

 762), I am enabled to send the following notice of the occurrence, which may 

 prove interesting to some of the readers of the ' Zoologist.' In the month of June, 

 1836, a nest built by a pair of these beautiful birds, was discovered in an ash planta- 

 tion near the village of Ord. The nest, which consisted of fibrous roots, was attached 

 to two upright stems of ash, around which the fibres were carefully twisted. The 

 entire structure, however, was so thin, that when discovered, the young birds could be 

 seen through the bottom of the nest. The young ones were taken every care of, but 

 did not long survive their captivity. In the summer of 1834, several young orioles 

 were shot in the neighbourhood : occasional visitors had been seen in that locality for 

 some years previously. The Golden Oriole is common in several parts of Europe, 

 and particularly in France, from whence I imagine those come which visit Kent. 

 They are, I believe, supposed to pass the winter in Africa. The female is extremely 

 attentive to her young, fearing no enemy, in their defence, and permitting herself to 

 betaken in the nest with them. Inthose countries where they regularly breed, the 



