46 tHE ZOOLOGIST. 



wycke, that he has some fifty or more of these birds, unpinioned, 

 on his lake at that place (which is about ten miles from Lilford), 

 and that at this time of year the old ganders drive the young birds 

 entirely away from the park. It is remarkable that I should not 

 have even heard of any of these birds coming up the Nene before ; 

 but I believe that they prefer the valley of the Welland to that of 

 our river. Mr. O'Brien mentions that at the time of writing to 

 me on this subject, — i. e. about April 18th, — five Great Crested 

 Grebes were frequenting his lake. 



12th. Two " Grey Geese" near the decoy. — K. S. 



21st. Under this date Mr. Slater informs me that he saw 

 " a fine old male Merganser at Field's shop in Kettering, shot 

 close by. I am making enquiries as to exact date and locality of 

 this occurrence. 



25th. A nest of Little Owl, containing six eggs, found in a 

 hollow ash-tree in the park at Lilford (cf. Zool. 1889, p. 426). 

 Young Stock Doves ready to fly.— S. J. 



May. 



5th. A pair of Wigeon on the decoy. — K. S. 



We returned to Lilford from Bournemouth on May 14th, the 

 weather fine, but unseasonably cold. Large flocks of Wood 

 Pigeons haunting the tall elms about the pleasure-grounds ; these 

 birds are, no doubt, merely passing through our county on their 

 way from their winter quarters to the north, as many of our 

 home-breeding Cushats are sitting hard. These travellers are 

 smaller and darker-coloured than our average typical Wood 

 Pigeons. 



16th. Some of the eggs in the Little Owl's nest have been 

 hatched for several days. 



17th. A nest of Hawfinch, containing five eggs, found in a 

 horse-chestnut tree near the aviary. Mr. G. Hunt shot eighty-five 

 Wood Pigeons over wooden decoys on a pea-field on Wadenhoe ; 

 he assures me that of these not more than six were, in his 

 opinion, home-birds ; and certainly the differences between one of 

 the latter and three "travellers" sent by him as samples of his 

 bag were very remarkable. Mr. Hunt informed me that most of 

 these Pigeons had empty crops, and that the principal attraction 

 for them to the spot was a common creeping-plant with a white 

 ilower, locally known as " May-weed." 



