310 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



and was by them submitted to me for identification ; it had, when killed, 

 the red band at the base of the mandibles, one of the distinctive marks of 

 difference between it and Baillon's Crake. Mr. Dresser, in his 'Birds of 

 Europe,' has recorded three examples of Sussex-killed specimens : one said 

 to have been observed near Hastings in April, 1859 ; one at Seaford in 

 March, 1848 ; and another near Pevensey in March, 1862.— Thomas 

 Parkin (Fairseat, High Wickham, Hastings). 



Quails in West Sussex. — I am glad to be able to report that Quails 

 are with us again this season. On July 10th I heard the well-known note 

 of this bird in a wheat-field about 200 yards from my house, and on the 

 12th I flushed one of the birds. It is three years since I saw any in this 

 field. In former years I have come across a considerable number of Quails 

 round about this village, and, as already mentioned, I think, in 'The 

 Zoologist,' have known them to breed here. — H. Marmaduke Langdale 

 (Compton, Petersfield). 



Nesting Habits of the Common Whitethroat— In June last a pair of 

 Common Whitethroats built a nest in our garden, and after the nest was 

 complete the hen bird was observed to sit in it for fifteen days before an 

 egg was laid. This I consider very unusual. — J. Whitaker (Rain worth, 

 Mansfield, Notts). 



Nutcracker near Chichester. — Mr. John Hale, butler at the Deanery, 

 Chichester, lately showed me a remarkable bird which was shot on the 

 3rd November, 1893, in Stockbridge Fields, near Chichester. Its large 

 size (about 14 inches in length), corvine appearance, and spotted plumage 

 made me think it must be a Nutcracker, Nucifraga caryocatactes, but, to 

 make quite sure of this, I carried the bird in its case to the Natural History 

 Museum, where I had the satisfaction of learning that I was right. As 

 Mr. Borrer, in his ' Birds of Sussex,' mentions but a single example of this 

 bird obtained in Sussex, namely, one shot at Littlington in Sept. 1844, it 

 may be well to place on record the occurrence of a second and more recent 

 specimen. — H. D. Gordon (Harting Vicarage, Petersfield). 



REPTILIA. 



Tritons devouring Newts. — In April of the present year I put a large 

 number of Newts, together with ten Tritons, into a glass vessel containing 

 from six to seven gallons of water, partly for the sake of observation and 

 partly with the idea of amusing the children. From time to time it struck 

 me that the numbers of the Newts diminished, and having made sure that 

 none could make their escape, I watched more closely till I caught a female 

 Triton with the tip of a male Newt's tail showing out of her mouth. Having 

 caught the Triton, 1 pulled the Newt out ; its length was three inches and a 

 trifle over. — H. Marmadukk Langdale (Compton, Petersfield). 



