88 the zoologist. 



Bird that three broods of Hawfinches flew at Shropham by June 

 5th, and on that day he saw two Nightingales' nests in the same 

 lime-tree, one six feet, the other ten feet from the ground ; and 

 a Blackcap's nest eighteen feet up. There must have been 

 something to account for these extraordinary altitudes, — perhaps 

 the presence of Stoats, which have been unusually abundant, so 

 much so that the keeper at Hempstead had caught the unprece- 

 dented number of fifty by July 26th, and others subsequently. 



On May 12th Col. Feilden saw an Osprey at Holkham, where 

 a pair of Pink-footed Geese stayed behind, as he observed, until 

 June 8th, long after their companions had left. He last saw 

 them at the end of May, after which he left home ; but they are 

 believed to have been seen by the head-keeper as late as June 

 26th. The abundance of this species during the previous winter 

 had been noticed and commented on (1891 — 2). 



June 20th. —Young Sand Martins were dying in their holes at 

 Keswick from the excessive drought. 



July 3rd. — A Little Bittern was unfortunately killed at 

 Rollesby, and on the dth another, by the same keeper, who 

 thought he was doing a clever thing in shooting them ! 

 Mr. Lowne reports that the second, which had been feeding on 

 Perch, " had the appearance on the under parts of having been 

 sitting," but that they were both males. Lord Lilford has 

 observed, in the case of Common Bitterns which have nested in 

 his aviaries, that the male has occasionally taken part in incu- 

 bation, so that there would be nothing remarkable in a Little 

 Bittern doing the same. 



Mr. Bird reports two Herons' nests at East Somerton. 



Mr. Pashley is of opinion that two pairs of Sandwich Terns 

 bred on Blakeney Point, and eggs from one nest, or more, were 

 taken by some boys, with the usual result that they were broken, 

 and therefore the interesting fact is not clearly proved. He 

 writes : — " George Long tells me his boys went to the beach for a 

 few eggs, and they brought back three large eggs of a kind he had 

 never seen before ; they were larger than the Common Tern and 

 coloured differently. The boys gave them to a son of Mr. George 

 Hudson." Long considers that one clutch were hatched, as he 

 saw the old Sandwich Terns flying past his smack at different 

 times with " Sand-launces " (the Lesser Sand-eel) in their beaks, 

 evidently intended for their young* These large Terns were also 



