THE ZOOLOGIST. 



OBNITHOLOGICAL NOTES FKOM MID-HANTS for 1892. 

 By Sutton A. Davies. 



January. 

 This month was, on the whole, a cold one, but little of interest 

 occurred. On the 18th a fine pair of Bitterns, Botaurus stellaris, 

 male and female, were shot at Stockbridge, and in the course of 

 the last week two Curlews, Numenius arquata, were shot out of a 

 flock of seven at King's Somborne. Towards the end of the 

 month the weather became very mild, and most of the commoner 

 birds began to sing. 



February. 



On the 1st of this month Mr. Fisher saw a Hawfinch, 

 Coccothraustes vulgaris, in a garden in Winchester ; another bird 

 came into the hands of Mr. Chalkley, the local birdstuffer, in the 

 course of the month, which had been shot at Otterbourne, while 

 I myself saw one on the 15th. 



On the 2nd we visited Fisher's Pond, one of the few pieces 

 of water in this part of the county. The keeper told us that 

 there had been very few ducks on the pond this winter ; he had 

 only seen one Teal and one Pochard. It is strange that the Teal 

 should be so scarce with us ; it has not yet been satisfactorily 

 proved to have nested in Mid-Hants, though the Hon. H. A. Baring 

 tells me that young birds are frequently to be seen on Alresford 

 Pond in late summer, and Mr. W. H. Turle, of Newton Stacey, 

 Stockbridge, says it certainly breeds on the Test, though he has 

 not yet found the nest. 



On the 5th we witnessed a curious sight — a gathering of 

 Partridges for pairing. Some dozen birds were assembled on a 

 smooth patch of turf in a turnip-field; they were making a great 

 noise, continually fighting, squabbling, and pursuing one another. 

 After this date I saw no more coveys. On the 14th Mr. Cobb 

 reported the first twig-bearing Rook, and I saw a large hawk 

 circling over Longwood Warren, which subsequently proved to 

 be a Rough-legged Buzzard. On the 20th the migration of 

 Golden Plovers began, and Mr. Cobb saw a small flock on the 

 downs. On the 25th, the weather being very mild, a Blackbird 

 began to build, but was eventually stopped by the snow at the 

 beginning of March. 



