394 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



of the other. The bird did not attempt incubation in such an inconvenient 

 nursery ! Another nest I found this summer was being continually played 

 upon by the spray from a waterfall ; it was impossible to put one's hand 

 into the nest without having one's arm made very wet. There was a nest 

 of the Grey Wagtail within a foot of it. These two species of birds 

 T have often found nesting in close proximity. Another pair of Dippers I 

 know of nest annually in a hole in the roof of a cave, a quite inaccessible 

 place without the use of a long ladder. I have never found a Dipper's 

 nest far removed from the water ; by the side of the stream they build in 

 every conceivable situation, the nest being sometimes remarkably con- 

 spicuous, at other times extremely well hidden. It is, in my experience, 

 almost always lined with dead leaves, chiefly of the oak and beech ; the 

 dome and back of the nest, so complete and well-formed in some cases, are, 

 where the situation of the nest allows it, almost or completely dispensed 

 with.— E. W. H. Blagg (Cheadle, Staffordshire). 



The Shetland Wren. — In the list of birds observed in Shetland 

 (p. 346), Troglodytes borealis appears without any query appended. It was 

 my intention that a query should be inserted after the specific name, since, 

 with the materials at hand, I did not feel warranted in naming the bird 

 positively. — R. M. Barrington (Fassaroe, Bray). 



[Our apologies are due for having overlooked the query. A note of 

 interrogation after the specific name was inserted in the MS., but by an 

 oversight was omitted on the proof. — Ed.] 



Erroneous Records of Short-toed Larks. — In « The Zoologist ' for 

 February last allusion was made (p. 58) to two Short-toed Larks, Alauda 

 hrachydactyla, reported to have been taken in Devonshire, and to one 

 obtained about the same time at Yarmouth. The former specimens have 

 since been ascertained by the Rev. H. A. Macpherson to have been 

 imported from Italy, and bought by a dealer at Peckham, who was not quite 

 so candid about their origin as he might have been. Short-toed Larks 

 seem to be often imported from the Continent, and it may be remembered 

 that Mr. Macpherson alluded to the subject (Zool. 1885, p. 68) when 

 querying the supposed occurrence of a specimen of this bird in Kent. — 

 J. H. Gurney (Keswick Hall, Norwich). 



Scarcity of the Spotted Flycatcher. — Referring to Mr. Goldsmith's 

 note (p. 35*!), I have been particularly struck with the scarcity of the 

 Spotted Flycatcher this year. I have been accustomed to look upon it as 

 amongst our commonest visitors ; I have not seen more than two pairs this 

 season, whereas last year we had four nests on the College grounds, within 

 quite a short distance of the house. Its egg was one almost sure to be 

 found amongst those taken by the bird-nesting " yokels " of the neighbour- 

 hood, but this season I have not come across it in that way in a single 



