Birds. 1299 



the time, and they were afraid to enter the room to trace the cause of the annoyance. 

 The window looked into the garden, which lay on the south side of the house ; and se- 

 rious apprehensions of a robbery being entertained, one of the ladies, after locking the 

 door of the room, ventured to enter the garden from the ground floor ; but on looking 

 to the window nothing could be discerned, the tapping noise however continued. The 

 gentleman himself having returned home about 9 o'clock, he procured a ladder, where- 

 with he ascended to the window, in order to ascertain the cause of the disturbance, 

 when he found it to be a common house sparrow, busily tapping with its beak at one 

 of the low panes. He took the little bird in his hand, it offered no resistance, brought 

 it down with him and put it into a cage, where it remained all night. On the follow- 

 ing morning he took out the bird for the purpose of bringing it to me ; but supposing 

 it unable to fly, from the circumstance of its having allowed itself to be taken, he per- 

 mitted it to leap out of his hand, which accomplished, it flew away, and has never 

 since repeated its visit. — Geo. Lawson ; 108, Hawkhill, Dundee, February 10, 1846. 



A Quail shot in Worcestershire in January. On Wednesday, the 20th of January, 

 1846, Michael Grazebrook, Esq., whilst shooting at Pedmore, in the county of Wor- 

 cester, rose a remarkably fine quail (Coturnix vulgaris), in a field of turnips, on a farm 

 in the occupation of his brother, George Grazebrook, Esq. Mr. G. Grazebrook fortu- 

 nately brought down his bird, which he has directed to be stuffed, and placed in his 

 collection. The quail seldom visits this country earlier than May, and then only in 

 small numbers, the males arriving first. — John Evans ; February 5, 1846. 



A Quail and Landrail shot in January, 1846. A friend of mine, the Rev. F. Du- 

 rant, having several times recently met with a quail in the parish of Shiffnal, Salop, 

 on the 20th of the present month of January, was fortunate enough to get a shot at 

 and kill this beautiful little bird — never before, as I am aware of, found at so late a 

 period of the year. In a neighbouring parish, in the same month, and but a few days 

 before, another friend killed a landrail. Both birds were in excellent condition, and 

 as fat as those found in the summer months. Had there set in a frost of any dura- 

 tion, in all probability both these birds would have fallen a sacrifice to its severity. May 

 not the circumstance of their being found here at so very late a period not only be an 

 indication of the mildness of the season to the present time, but that these migratory 

 birds, which generally leave us in the autumn, had no anticipation of any severe wea- 

 ther arriving this year, or before the usual period of their visiting us in the spring had 

 come round, and until which time there is no doubt they would have continued to re- 

 main, and probably have bred here, had they not been killed. Whether such antici- 

 pation that no severe frost will occur, prove correct, the next two months will decide. 

 W. H. S. ; Hatton Hall, January 30, 1846. 



Note on the Water-rail. A short time ago, during the only two days of frost that 

 have yet occurred here this winter, I shot one of the common water-rails, and saw se- 

 veral others. This bird is so frequently to be met with in the winter months, and so 

 constantly found and killed during hard frosts, when it is driven to seek its food along 

 the smaller streams, and at the bottom of sheltered ditches, where it is more easily 

 made to rise, from the openness of the place and want of sufficient cover to conceal 

 itself from its pursuers ; that I am quite surprised that many of your correspondents 

 should consider the appearance of this little bird in the winter months as at all a sin- 

 gular circumstance, or that they can have the slightest doubt as to its remaining here 

 the whole year through. I have inquired of a great number of sportsmen, who all con- 

 cur in attesting that to be the fact ; and I have myself, for upwards of thirty years, 



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