306 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



from a Whitethroat's nest a day or two previously. The lad who took it 

 said there were two other eggs in the nest, and offered to show me where it 

 was situated. I went to the spot, and found the Whitethroat's nest in an 

 ordinary situation, viz., about two feet from the ground in a tangle of 

 nettles and bramble, and, strange to say, I saw a Cuckoo fly away from 

 the bush as I approached it ; the nest, however, on inspection contained no 

 other Cuckoo's egg, but four eggs of the rightful owner. The presence of 

 a Cuckoo so near the nest in which an egg of this species had been 

 deposited tends to confirm a previously formed opinion that the parent 

 Cuckoo, although not incubating its own egg, revisits the spot where it has 

 been laid. I have observed the same thing before in the case of a Cuckoo's 

 egg dropped in the nest of a Black-headed Bunting, but in that case the 

 egg remained iu the nest. — G. B. Corbin (Ringwood). 



Lesser Spotted Woodpecker in Captivity. — I have kept a female Lesser 

 Spotted Woodpecker, Bendrocopus minor, in confinement for more than 

 a year. It came into my possession, with a male, when they were nestlings 

 only a few weeks old. Unfortunately the male died in early winter, during 

 my temporary absence in Italy. The female has not been one whit less active 

 since the loss of her companion. Her activity in wood-chipping is wonderful 

 and very enterprising. Both sexes have the same call-note, " kink, kink " 

 (rendered by Naumann as " kiik ") ; but the male has, in addition, a sort of 

 laughing cry, only uttered when he is excited, and even then but rarely. 

 Having listened to these birds at all hours from dawn to twilight I am able 

 to state positively that both male and female " churr." They have, in fact, 

 three different beats: one is a loud " ratatatat "; the second is similar to 

 the light tapping of the Nuthatch, Sitta ccesia; their third sound, generally 

 called "churring," is produced by a succession of very rapid blows on one 

 particular piece of bark. Both sexes produce this sound. My male bird 

 produced it when only a few months old. The solitary female reproduces it 

 occasionally for her own amusement. I cannot say that the Lesser Spotted 

 Woodpecker shows as much attachment to its owner as the Greater Spotted 

 Woodpecker (which makes a very affectionate pet), but it is a dainty little 

 bird and a lively companion. It undergoes an entire moult in spring. — 

 H. A. Macpherson (Carlisle). 



The Lesser Tern at Dungeness and Pett. — Mr. Robert Warren's 

 interesting account (p. 270) relative to the increase of the Lesser Tern 

 in Co. Mayo, reminds me that this charming bird has appeared this 

 year in slightly increased numbers at Dungeness. I have this from an 

 observant resident whose acquaintance with the colony there extends over 

 many years. Unfortunately I have been unable to realize a hope I enter- 

 tained during the recent breeding season of visiting the spot before the young 

 appeared, so as to reassure myself, and if possible gain an approximate idea 



