NOTES AND QUEBIES. 321 



traces of pink. The nest is described by the lady who sent it to me as 

 having been a very beautiful object, and it was difficult to believe that the 

 berries had not been stuffed into the structure of the nest for purposes of 

 ornamentation. They turned out to be ivy-berries which had been passed 

 through the body of the bird, the seeds, as Mr. Aplin has pointed out, being 

 voided with the membrane containing them, while the soft parts of the 

 berries were absorbed. It seems to be the membrane which takes the pink 

 hue after extrusion. Mr. Aplin, who has seen the nest, thinks that the 

 seeds were dropped upon it without definite purpose ; Mr. Lewis, who does 

 not mention the red colour, seems to be clear that the male bird brought 

 them as food for the female. I should like to ask him whether the female 

 consumed the berries, and whether he noticed any seeds of a red or pink 

 hue. I have given up the idea of ornamentation, which was tempting at 

 first sight ; if the incubating female was fed by the male, and then extruded 

 the seeds in a gelatinous state, they would easily have got fixed into the 

 structure of the nest in such a way as to hold there firmly even after they 

 had dried up. — W. Warde Fowler (Kingham, Chipping Norton). 



[Many of the seeds forwarded by Mr. Stanley Lewis were of a red or 

 pink hue. — Ed.] 



Large Clutch of Wheatear's Eggs. — Mr. Davenport states {ante, 

 p. 203) that he has never known of a clutch of eggs of the Wheatear 

 (Saccicola amanthe) to number eight. It may interest him to learn that a 

 nest containing that number was found in a hole in the walls of an old 

 ruined castle in North Lancashire on May 11th, 1888. I saw the eggs 

 immediately after they were discovered, and seven of them are now in my 

 collection ; the eighth was unfortunately broken by the finder to ascertain 

 " if it was fresh." Excepting in this instance, six is the largest number I 

 have taken ; but I believe a seven or eight clutch is in the possession of 

 my friend Mr. R. W. Calvertt.— T. H. Nelson (The Cliffe, Redcar). 



Hawfinches near Bradford. — On the 20th May last, whilst watching 

 from behiud a tree a Goldcrest feeding in a larch in Bingley Wood, a 

 Hawfinch (Coccothraustes vulgaris) flew just past, alighting at some distance 

 on an oak tree, but flew off again, immediately on my attempt to approach, 

 along with another bird which I took to be of the same species. Formerly 

 the Hawfinch was quite unknown in this district, but scarcely a year 

 now passes but it is to be seen, or its nest found, and is undoubtedly 

 extending its range in a northward direction. Recently a friend of mine, 

 who had had his pea-crop attacked, was for some time quite ignorant of 

 the cause of destruction ; but early one morning he accidentally dis- 

 covered that this species was the culprit. — E. P. Butterfield (Wilsden, 

 near Bradford). 



Zool. 4th Ser. vol. III., July, 1899. Y 



