4994 Birds. 



his fish upon the hank, a water rat has crept out of his hole and niched one or two of 

 them, and carried them into it. He has watched a rat whilst performing this feat 

 on several occasions. — Id. 





Black Hawfinch. — Mr. Hall, naturalist, of the City Road, has just Drought me a 

 hawfinch, which had heen kept in confinement and fed on hemp-seed for six years: 

 its head, neck and back were quite black, and all the feathers of the breast and belly 

 were more or less particoloured, black being* intermixed with the usual colouring: 

 abundance of instances have occurred of this change of plumage in bullfiuches, but I 

 do not recollect another in the hawfinch. It may be amusing to some of my readers 

 to know that the owner of this bird considered it a nightingale. — Edward Newman; 

 January 15, 1856. 



Popular Fallacies about Birds. — The country people have a notion that cuckoos 

 turn to hawks in the winter, and the keepers in this neighbourhood destroy them both 

 on this account and because they suppose that in the summer the cuckoos suck 

 pheasants' eggs. A somewhat similar idea prevails that the land rail or corn crake 

 turns to the water rail in the winter, but I have positive euidence to the contrary, for a 

 land rail was shot here last week, namely, on the 3rd of January : this winter occurrence 

 of the land rail is very uncommon with us. On the same day on which the land rail was 

 shot we saw several sea-gulls. — J. C. Dale ; Glanvilles Wootton, January 12, 1856. 



Late stay of the Swallow Tribe. — In the 'Zoologist' for January, 1856, 1 observe 

 that a correspondent, writing from this place, mentions the 1 1th of November as the 

 day he last saw a swallow. As I have seen both swallows and martins some two or 

 three weeks later, I will now give you the exact dates from my note-book, together 

 with some-few observations and extracts from the same, and I may possibly, at a future 

 period (should you wish it), describe what has come under my observation with 

 regard to the migration of swallows, during a residence of some years in this 

 neighbourhood. 



1839. April 21. Observed two swallows. 



1840. April 15. Saw three swallows. 



1841. April 27. Saw first swallow. 

 „ „ 28. Saw a martin. 

 „ November 3. Last swallow seen. 



1842. April 23. Observed a swallow. 

 „ December 2. Saw last swallow. 



1852. April 13. Saw first swallow. Wind E.: therm. 56°. 

 „ November 13. Observed a few swallows. Wind S.E. 



1853. April 12. Observed first swallow. Wind W.: therm. 50°. 

 „ November 22. Saw a swallow and three martins. Wind E. 



1854. April 15. Saw several swallows and martins. 

 „ September 7. Saw several sand martins. 

 „ November. Observed both swallows and martins till about the middle of 



the month. 



1855. April 8, 4 o'clock p.m. Saw three swallows hawking over the mill-dam. 

 Wind N.W. : therm. 59 Q at 1 o'clock p.m. , 



„ April 28. Observed two sand martins. 



