NOTES AND QUERIES. 887 



of my own ; they are both cock-birds in good plumage. The interesting 

 discovery of the nest and eggs of this bird in the gorse near his house he 

 has already communicated to 'The Zoologist.' Wood Wrens, Willow 

 Wrens, and Chiffchaffs have been plentiful here this summer, the Willow 

 Wren being by far the commonest. I regret to say the Kite has become 

 very scarce, and I rarely see one now. My son killed an albino Sand 

 Martin at Llangorse Lake; it was of a deep cream-colour all over. I 

 intend sending it to the Natural History Museum. Also a Dunlin and a 

 Hinged Plover there on the 13th August, the last two birds being new to 

 this county. Grouse are very plentiful here this year, but very wild ; in 

 fact, many packs have never had a shot fired at them, and I think they 

 were as wild on the 12th of August as in October ; I need hardly say the 

 continued wet weather is the cause. A Redshank was seen at Llangorse 

 early in August, and I am inclined to believe it occasionally breeds there; 

 it is, however, a rare bird in the county. Snipe are numerous, and I never 

 remember seeing so many when Grouse-shooting ; they are, of course, all 

 home-bred birds. Our supt. water-bailiff, who is a very fair naturalist, 

 described to me a bird that he had seen on the Usk, and, from his descrip- 

 tion, that of a very large Swallow with long legs and a short bill, I think 

 it could have been no other bird than the Collared Pratincole, which has 

 once before been observed in this county. In an old Buzzard's nest on the 

 Beacons a Haven nested last year, and also hatched there. Since then a 

 Kestrel has taken possession, but its eggs were removed. A Marsh Harrier 

 has also been seen on the bog called The Trath, on the Ilhya Hill, near 

 here. The Common Scoter, a young bird, was killed near the town last 

 winter, and a Cormorant has lately been seen fishing in Llangorse Lake. 

 A curious ash-coloured Jackdaw was killed at Llangoed Castle by Mr. 

 Butler, as he informs me. I had already noticed (as remarked by Mr. 

 Goldsmith in the last number of ' The Zoologist '), that the Spotted Fly- 

 catcher is not so numerous here this year as usual. As to Herons swim- 

 ming, perhaps it may interest Mr. Rope to know that some forty years 

 ago (alas !), when a boy at school at Calne, Wilts, in the park of the 

 Marquis of Lansdowne, I and some other boys caught a young Heron that 

 had just managed to fly from the large heronry in the middle of the lake, 

 and out of pure mischief we threw it into the lake in deep water, close to 

 where some Swans had young, to see if they would attack it, and, to our 

 surprise, it swam easily out, and we let it go. This is the only time I have 

 ever seen a Heron swim. Some years after the same query was asked in 

 1 The Field,' and I sent this information to that paper, as there seemed 

 some doubt on the matter ; and, to my pleasure and surprise, the Editor 

 kindly sent me a letter he had received from an old school-fellow, saying he 

 was one of the boys who had helped to capture the young Heron, and that 

 he well remembered the circumstance. I was in Bourne Park last year, 



