4204 Birds. 



distance on its foe. So, bravely it dies, without a thought of glory, 

 or without a chance of fame, for of its kind there are no cowards. 



" One day I heard a low noise in the woods which surprised me. I 

 thought it must be the whine of a dog that was very eager after some 

 animal it could not get at ; I even guessed it might be a wolf. After 

 a careful stalk I came upon a family of hawk owls, one of which drop- 

 ped a mouse as I fired. It was in the day-time; they were very little 

 alarmed, and I could have shot them all. I am told that they breed 

 in 4 tyllyrs.' I have not found a nest, but shall set up some conve- 

 nient houses for them this autumn." 



" Tyllyrs " are the nest-boxes set up by the Lapps and other inha- 

 bitants of the far North for the accommodation of the golden-eyed 

 duck, or rather for their own, as it is a case of " Sic vos non vobis." 

 Is this the species of owl of w r hich Linneus (as may be seen in Yar- 

 rell's * British Birds,' iii. 270) found a couple of young ones hung up 

 in terrorem, in consequence of their parents having appropriated a 

 box to themselves ? 



Egg and Song of the Redwing (Turdus iliacus). — Some time since 

 several very interesting notes respecting the colour of the egg of the 

 redwing appeared in the ' Zoologist' (Zool. 2141, 2948, 2983, 2984), 

 and all but conclusive evidence was then adduced by Mr. Wilmot and 

 Mr. John Wolley ; in case, however, any one should still entertain a 

 lingering doubt as to its true character, I beg to record, for their com- 

 plete satisfaction, that I am informed by my friend, the gentleman 

 last named, that on May 23rd, 1853, he shot a redwing near Umea, 

 in the North of Sweden, containing an egg, perfect, and ready for 

 exclusion ; and that this egg, which (together with all the others col- 

 lected by him last year in Scandinavia) is now in my keeping, closely 

 resembles those which collectors have been accustomed to receive 

 from Mr. Procter, and other trustworthy sources : that is to say, it is 

 of the same character as eggs of the blackbird, and is in no way like 

 ordinary varieties of eggs of the song thrush. In addition to those 

 particulars respecting the nidification of the redwing furnished to the 

 new edition of Mr. Hewitson's * Eggs of British Birds,' Mr. Wolley 

 tells me he is assured that it does not breed near Stockholm, or in the 

 southern or central parts of Sweden ; and hence the difficulty there 

 has hitherto been in procuring its eggs from that country. He goes 

 on to say : — 



" When they have young, the old redwings are bold, flying sud- 

 denly towards the face of an intruder with an angry note, something 



