Entomological Society. 4205 



like that of the blackbird, snapping their beaks, and then wheeling 

 rapidly out of sight. At other times, they use the same note as they 

 fly from tree to tree round the nest, but they keep out of sight as much 

 as possible. As she sits on her eggs, the white stripe over the eye of 

 the redwing is very conspicuous. Like other birds of the kind, she 

 has so deep a cup to hold her that the rim of it necessarily chucks 

 her under the chin, and makes her beak point upwards. 



" The redwing and the redstart sing here [Tornea Lapmark] all 

 night ; the redwing incessantly, night and day, without any variation. 

 A string of three or four notes — tut-tut-tut — in a regular descending 

 scale, and then a little inward twittering or warbling, the former at 

 about the ordinary pitch of the voice of the song thrush (whose music, 

 by the way, is infinitely superior), but the last part so faint and feeble 

 as scarcely to amount to a whisper, and only to be heard at a short 

 distance. For a long time I was not aware of the existence of this 

 inward melody : perhaps the twittering of a swallow on the house-top 

 may give some little idea of it. The tut, tut, tut is repeated so con- 

 stantly and regularly as to be quite tiresome, the rest seldom reaches 

 the ear ; nevertheless, these loud clear notes, followed at the end of 

 the next interval by the suppressed scarcely distinguishable twitter- 

 ings, make a very striking wood-sound. I much question whether it 

 is ever to be heard in perfection before the bird leaves our islands. 

 The inward kind of song I think I have heard up here very late in the 

 year, but unpreceded by the bold open notes, and unfollowed by a 

 repetition of them after a very short rest, as in the perfect spring 

 song, which I heard for the last time this year about July 27th." 



It is plain that Mr. Wolley does not think that this bird is entitled 

 to the name of i( Swedish nightingale ; " I have therefore given the 

 above long though interesting extracts from his correspondence. 



Alfred Newton. 



Elvedon, Thetford, January 6, 1854. 



Proceedings of Societies. 

 Entomological Society. 

 January 2, 1854. — Edward Newman, Esq., President, in the chair. 



Donations to the Library and Museum. 

 The following donations were announced, ajnd thanks ordered to be given to the 

 donors : — The ' Zoologist' for January ; by the Editor. The ' Athenaeum' for December ; 

 XII. H 



