454 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



near the edge of the Downs ; and if it could occasionally bring an acorn 

 still further, to Brighton, it is evident that the oak may have crossed the 

 Strait of Dover, when it was somewhat uarrower, and that Britain, so far 

 as the oak shows, may have been continuously an island since the Glacial 

 Epoch." — Clement Reid. 



[The experience of Mr. Reid in this case recalls to mind some observa- 

 tions made many years ago in Westmorland by the Rev. Thomas Robinson, 

 Rector of Ousby, and published by him in ■ Au Essay towards a Natural 

 History of Westmorland and Cumberland,' 8vo, pp. 118 (1709). Writing 

 on this very subject, he says : — " About twenty-five years ago, coming from 

 Rose Castle early in the morning, I observed a great number of Crows 

 [sc. Rooks] very busy at their work upon a declining ground of a mossy 

 surface. I went out of my way on purpose to view their labour, and I found 

 they were planting a grove of oaks. The manner of their planting was 

 thus : they first made little holes in the earth with their bills, going about 

 and about till the hole was deep enough, and then they dropped in the acorn 

 and covered it with earth and moss, This young plantation is now growing 

 up to a thick grove of oaks, fit for use, and of height for the Crows to build 

 their nests in. T told it to the owner of the ground who observed thera 

 spring up, and took care to secure their growth and rising. The season 

 was the latter end of autumn, when all seeds were full ripe." In this case 

 it seems reasonable to infer that the Rooks were unconsciously planting 

 oaks in the exercise of a natural instinct which prompts them to store 

 up food " for a rainy day," the bulk of which is not recovered. Magpies, 

 as is well known, have a similar habit of hiding food. — Ed.] 



Ornithological Notes from East Kent.— During the latter part of 

 September and the beginning of October I was staying at the mouth of the 

 Stour, near Sandwich, and spent a good deal of time in watching the birds 

 on the flats. The season was somewhat disappointing, and the waders 

 seemed very much scarcer than in former years. On Sept. 29th there were 

 vast numbers of Yellow Wagtails, with a fair admixture of Pied Wagtails, 

 all along the shore in the direction of Deal. Wading birds were unusually 

 scarce, and even the ordinary Duulius were far from plentiful; the flocks 

 contained a few Ringed Plovers, /Egialitis hiaticula, and one or two Little 

 Stints, Tringa minuta, while here and there a solitary Grey Plover, Squata- 

 rola helvetica, was feeding. The only birds that could be called really 

 common were the Oystercatchers and Curlews, which were feeding in large 

 flocks on the farthest flats. On Sept. 27th there were a great number of 

 Knots, Tringa canutus, about, with one or two Godwits. We secured a 

 Sanderling, Calidris arenaria, out of a flock of Tringa alpina from a mud- 

 flat off the river-mouth. On the 28th we shot two Grey Plovers and two 

 Knots, all of them immature birds. The wind began to blow keenly from 

 the N.E., and a good many ducks came in. We had heard Wigeon and 

 Teal passing over in the night, and a Wigeon was shot along the shore. 



