430 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



all night, for at 1 a.m., when we ceased listening to them, the flocks of birds 

 were still passing over in uninterrupted succession. — Allan Ellison 

 (Hillsborough, Co. Down). 



Nesting Habits of the Magpie. — With reference to the notes on 

 Magpies building in hedges (pp. 309, 351, 353), and especially that of 

 Mr. Pilley, who refers to the supposed existence of two species of Magpies, 

 the Bush and Tree Magpie (to which the Rev. J. C. Atkinson adds further 

 that the two were said to be distinguished by the comparative length of 

 their tails, the former being the short-tailed, the latter the long-tailed 

 variety), may I say, that I once found a nest, about seven or eight feet from 

 the ground, containing three eggs, in a thick holly in the hedgerow of a 

 narrow lane in this neighbourhood. Oddly enough, the bird which flew off 

 it had a very short tail. The Stoke Woods and several larch and fir copses 

 were within half a mile of the site, and several good-sized trees were in the 

 hedgerow itself, so it was not of necessity that this low nesting-place was 

 chosen. — L. Mark Kennaway (Homefield, Exeter). 



Immigration of Hawfinches.— Referring to the footnote on p. 367, 

 in which it is indicated that the birds obtained at the Outer Dowsing light- 

 vessel in 1882 and 1883 were not Hawfinches, but Bramblings, I may add 

 that this also was the case in 1884, as I am informed by Mr. Cordeaux. 

 The unusual abundance of Hawfinches in Norfolk in 1889-90 was remarked 

 upon by Mr. J. H. Gurney (Zool. 1890, p. 332),— 0. V. Aplin (Bloxham, 

 Banbury, Oxon). 



Roller in Co. Antrim. — About the middle of September a Roller, Cora- 

 cias garrulus, was observed at the edge of Lord O'Neill's park, near Randals- 

 town, Co. Antrim, about a mile from Lough Neagh. It frequented the 

 same place for about a week, a few scattered shrubs and some old paling 

 being its favourite places of perching. When first seen it was very tame, 

 but after being fired at several times would not allow anyone nearer than 

 200 yards. When disturbed it retired to the thickest part of the park for 

 a few hours, and then returned to its usual place. A boy broke its wing, 

 and brought it to the station-master at Randalstown, who kept it alive for 

 about a week, feeding it on bread. At the end of that time it died, and 

 was sent to Sheals of Belfast, on Sept. 29th, in whose shop I saw it. I am 

 not aware of any previous record from Ulster. — Robert Patterson 

 (I, Windsor Park Terrace, Belfast). 



batrachia. 



The Venom of the Toad. — An interesting correspondence has lately 

 taken place in the columns of the 'Lancet' respecting the precise action 

 of the poisonous secretion in the glands of the skin of the Toad, and 

 Dr. Lauder Brunton has given some useful details. Passing over the 



