432 



THE ZOOLOGIST, 



to praiseworthy compilation rather than original observation. I have found 

 nests of the Goldcrest placed against the sides of ivy-clad trees in some 

 half-dozen instances during my nesting career in England, and my argu- 

 ment is that, if so many could be found by a single individual, there must 

 be very many others which pass unobserved. The first nest I discovered 

 so located was on the banks of the river Lugg, between Mortimer's Cross 

 and Aymestrey, in Herefordshire. Another was by the side of the avenue 

 leading to Place Castle, near to Fowey, in Cornwall. Yet another was in the 

 gardens at Nosely Hall, in this county (Leicestershire) In my ' Original 

 Sketches of British Birds' — a work on the eve of publication — T have 

 made particular allusion to this not altogether unfamiliar situation for the 

 Goldcrest's nest, though I have often marvelled at its being one which 

 authors with common consent have apparently ignored. — H. S. Davenport 

 (Skeffington, Leicester). 



Abnormal Nesting of the Goldcrest in Ireland.— In the last number 

 of ' The Zoologist' (p. 385), Mr. A. T. Mitchell mentions that the Gold- 

 crest, Begulus cristatus, commonly builds in ivy-covered trees. I think the 

 following table, taken from my notes of seventeen nests of this species 

 found in the county Dublin, may be of interest : — 



No. 



Year. 



1 



1883 (?) 



2 



1884 (?) 



3 



1885 



4 



») 



5 



1889 



6 



1890 



7 



1891 



8 



ii 



9 



)» 



10 



j> 



11 



jj 



12 



?» 



13 



>> 



14 



1892 



15 



1894 



16 



»j 



17 



j» 



Tree or Shrub. 



Position as regards 

 Branch. 



Beneath 



Above 



Do 



Do 



Do 



Do 



Beneath 



Do 



Above 



Do 



Do 



Do 



Do 



Do 



Do 



Beneath 



Above 



Height 

 from Ground. 



Spruce fir 



Silver fir 



Ivy against ash 



Gorse or whin 



Ivy against Scotch fir. 



Ivy against ash 



Cypress 



Evergreen oak 



Do 



Do 



Do 



Silver fir 



Do 



Do 



Thorn 



Ivy against PJiyllyrea 

 Ivy against thorn .... 



13 



11 



5 



G 



30 



14 



18 



12 



9 



40 



11 



8 



20 



15 



7 



6 



10 



ft. 



These statistics tend to support Mr. Mitchell's observations. — J. Teumbull 

 (Malahide). 



Richardson's Skua at Hastings.— On Aug. 30th a very dark-coloured 

 specimen of Richardson's Skua was shot at Rye, and brought to Bristow, the 

 taxidermist, for preservation. A few days afterwards a very light-coloured 

 one was picked up dead at Sidley, near Bexhill, with an old wound in the 

 eye and the gizzard empty. Both were young birds. — G. W. Bradshaw. 



