4014 Birds. 



Inquiry respecting the unknown Eggs lately found near Norwich. — Allow me to ask 

 your correspondent who supplied the note on the above eggs (Zool. 3981), whether the 

 common kingfisher (Alcedo Ispida) is found on the Norwich river, as the description 

 of the eggs given by him tallies exactly, except in number, with a nest of eggs of that 

 bird taken near Miltown, on the Dodder, and which I saw. Their identification is 

 rendered the more difficult from your correspondent's not being able to describe the 

 nest ; but perhaps further inquiry might procure this information. — J. R. Kinahan ; 

 Sea-view Terrace, Donnybroolt, August, 1853. 



Occurrence of the Golden Oriole (Oriolus Galbula) at Eltham. — A beautiful exam- 

 ple of the golden oriole was shot on the 14th of this month, at Eltham, in Kent, by 

 Mr. Joiner, of Crown Manor Cottage, Eltham, and is now in my possession. Colour of 

 bill dark red ; head and back yellow ; tail-coverts rich yellow ; throat and breast yellow- 

 ish white ; tail yellowish black, tipped with rich yellow. Length 10 inches. — James 

 Bramley ; 9, Winchester Street, Waterloo Town, Bethnal Green, June 19, 1853. 



Note on the Thrush Warbler, (Sylvia turdoides). — The specimen of the thrush 

 warbler which you saw in the flesh, was caught at Dagenham, in Essex, on the 16th 

 of June, 1853. — J\ Green ; Naturalist, 1, East Road, City Road, July, 1853. 



Correction of a previous Error respecting the Fire-crested Regulus. — 1 am anxious 

 to correct at once a mistake into which I had fallen when I recorded the fire-crest as 

 having been shot in the Isle of Wight in July, (Zool. 2526). This correction is the 

 more desirable, since all the birds of this species hitherto seen in England, with the 

 single exception of the young bird recorded by Mr. Jenyns, have occurred in the win- 

 ter months, from November to March ; and my erroneous record might seem to favour 

 the opinion that the bird builds in this country, a fact scarcely yet established. My 

 mistake arose from finding a bird, apparently young, from the yellow skin at the gape, 

 and yet with a crest more brilliant than that of an adult male gold-crest with which it 

 was compared, while the form and character of the bill and tail appeared to agree 

 with the description of the young fire-crest. From what I have since learned, I be- 

 lieve my bird to have been a young gold-crest in its second plumage. — A. G. More ; 

 Bembridge, Isle of Wight, August 6, 1853. 



Note on the Nest of the Great Tit (Parus major) built in a Pump. — A pair of great 

 tits built their nest this spring in the hollow of my pump, which is a bored tree, with 

 the handle let into a slit in the side, and at about 6 inches from the top, over which 

 is nailed a flat piece of wood as a permanent covering. The birdi gained access to 

 the inside of the pump by means of the slit which admits the handle, and formed their 

 nest nearly 2 feet down the bore, so that it could be barely reached at arm's length. 

 I had known of the existence of the nest for nearly a fortnight, as the birds were con- 

 tinually seen passing in and out of the pump, but I wished it to remain undisturbed, 

 until so many complaints were made that the water always contained particles of dirt 

 and weeds, and was unfit for use, that I was compelled to remove the nest. It was 

 found to contain twelve fine full-fledged birds, three of which escaped during its re- 

 moval ; the others being put into a basket, with the idea that the old ones would con- 

 tinue to feed them while in confinement, but they all escaped through a very small 

 aperture in the basket early on the following morning. The nest was sustained in its 

 place in the pump, which is 6£ inches in the bore, by a mass of vegetable matter, 

 such as twigs, dried grass, and especially the somewhat elastic roots of the couch 

 grass (Triticum repcns), of which it chiefly consisted. These appeared to have been 



