Birds. 3981 



pleasing strain of the wagtails ; from the brakes along its sides, the sedge-warbler in- 

 cessantly warbles a rich medley ; on the low meadows near the river-banks, you will 

 see the titlarks rising and falling, singing merrily ; the whitethroatiu the hedges keeps 

 up its miserable wail, changed, if disturbed, into a scolding note of alarm ; on the 

 tops of the bushes the buntings are ringing, ringing, revelling in the genial heat, and 

 in the pastures below you will see the chats rising and falling in the air, at times pur- 

 suing their insect prey, then uttering their short song on wing, or perched upon the 

 summits of the bushes ; while the wheatear may be seen, now feeding on the ground, 

 now rising for a short distance singing, and anon, perched on some old bank or wall, 

 perking his tail, and scolding you for disturbing his solitude. In the woods above, 

 you hear the sprightly song of the chaffinch, or the blackbird's mellow strain, floating 

 softly on the summer air ; in the tops of the trees you have the gentle song of the 

 lesser willow-wren, or the harsh note of the green linnet ; lower down in the branches 

 the chifTchaff ceases not chip-chopping incessantly ; there, too, may you hear the soft 

 low coo of the ring-dove ; and above your head, the swallows, gliding along, utter 

 their low note of contentment. From the corn-field comes now and again on your ear 

 the monotonous creak of the rail, or the plaintive twit-twitter of the quail; from the corn, 

 too, springs the lark, and, as he rises higher and higher, redoubles his song. On the 

 bluffs above, the ring-ouzel gives utterance to his simple strain ; and high over all the 

 towering song of the thrush is heard in all its surpassing melody. There is, or rather 

 was, such a glen on the Dodder, where yon might, with few exceptions, hear all these 

 songsters. There, oft have I enjoyed this treat, when all things — the purling stream, 

 the glorious scenery (magically softened by the glimmering haze), the calmness, the 

 sweet songs, the solitude, — might almost make you fancy that you were in fairy land, 

 or the far-famed Elysium of the ancients.— J. R. Kinahan, in Report of the Proceed- 

 ings of the Dublin Natural History Society. 



Unknown Eggs lately found in the neighbourhood of Norivich. — On the 5th of 

 June, some boys, out for a trip on the Norwich river, observed a hole in the bank, be- 

 tween Coldham Hall and Woodsend, about 8 miles below Norwich. Supposing it to 

 contain a nest, from some loose materials protruding from the aperture, they searched 

 it, and discovered ten pure white eggs, deposited at some distance from the entrance. 

 Three of these were broken in getting them out, and the rest were taken the next 

 morning to a bird-preserver in this city; but, unfortunately, the boys could give no 

 account of the nest itself. In shape, the eggs closely resemble those of the common 

 swift, but differ from them in being much smaller, and in having a smooth shining 

 exterior ; and, before they were blown, the yolk appearing through the shell gave 

 them a delicate flesh-coloured tint. They measure about 8^ lines in length, by 5% in 

 breadth, tapering towards the smaller end. The unusual number, and general ap- 

 pearance of these eggs, lead one to assign them to some bird hitherto unknown to 

 breed in England. — H. Stevenson; Norwich, June 25, 1853. 



Note on the Red-backed Shrike destroying Small Birds. — This morning a bird- 

 catcher was following his vocation near Norwich, when a red-backed shrike pounced 

 on one of his call-birds (a linnet), and attempted to carry it off, but being prevented 

 from doing so by the linnet being fastened to the ground with a string and wooden 

 peg, the shrike tore off the head of its victim, with which it made its escape. The 

 bird-catcher then drew out from the ground the peg which held down the dead linnet, 

 and left the dead bird lying in the net. In about half an hour the shrike again ap- 

 peared, pounced upon the body of the dead linnet, and carried it off in its beak, with 



