Birds. 5683 



indeed furiously, clinging to it with the greatest tenacity, never once quitting its hold, 

 emitting, at the same time, an angry, hissing kind of noise, which might have been 

 heard at a considerable distance. What the culprit had been about I could only con- 

 jecture, but probably it had been caught, or rather detected, in the act of robbing one 

 of its neighbours, but as rooks are notoriously a thievish race I was not prepared for 

 such a general and public display of virtuous indignation, proving, however, the old 

 adage true that there is even honour among thieves.... March 31. In passing the 

 rookery I observed the rooks were as quarrelsome as ever, frequent fights taking place 

 even upon the nests, so that had they contained eggs they must, I think, have been 

 either broken or thrown out. I noticed several rooks, evidently paired, on the branches 

 close to and immediately over the nests,— a proof that they could not have contained 

 their full complement of eggs, or one of the birds would have been setting on them. 

 Rooks are exceedingly clumsy birds, for they even roll about in walking, and their 

 oscillation on first alighting on the branches is very remarkable, and in flying into the 

 trees they often miss the branch on which they had endeavoured to perch, thereby 

 dropping several feet lower into the tree than they had intended ; and even when 

 seated they are a few seconds balancing themselves to and fro, with wings extended 

 and their heads depressed. This awkwardness may, I think, partly arise from the 

 great size and weight of the head and bill, as well as from the shortness and rigidity 

 of the claws, which certainly appear better adapted for walking than for grasping the 

 branches of trees. — Id. 



Early arrival of the Cuckoo, fyc. — Tunbridge, March 26, 1857. Observed a cuckoo 

 this afternoon flying low, so that in threading its way through the hop-poles it passed 

 so close to me that I could plainly distinguish the varied and chequered plumage of 

 the back. ... April 5. Saw a chiffchaff in an oak tree ; heard the notes of two more in 

 the course of the day, which has been warm, with a westerly wind. ... April 6. Saw a 

 swallow. — Id. 



Another Egg prodigy. — I herewith give the dimensions of an ostrich's egg, selected 

 by me some years since, when at the Cape, from amongst several others, on account of 

 its superior size. I think it decidedly the largest that I ever saw, although pussibly 

 there may be found some to exceed it in private collections or in public museums in 

 this country: its circumference lengthwise is 16£ inches, and 14^ inches in breadth, 

 and is capable of containing three pints of liquid. — Id.; April 8, 1857. 



Notes on the House Sparrow (Fringilla domestica). — March 31, 1857. Rather more 

 than a week since a pair of house sparrows commenced building in one of the small 

 elm trees in front of the house: the site selected for the nest is a forked branch near 

 the top, and the work seemed to be progressing favourably till a sudden change in the 

 weather not only put a stop to it, but the drenching rain that has during the last few 

 days succeeded the snow has almost washed away the few straws that had escaped the 

 violence of the equinoctial gales ; however, I observed, both yesterday and to-day, the 

 unfortunate couple endeavouring by renewed exertions to repair damages, but as the 

 weather still looks threatening I think the new foundation not unlikely to follow the 

 old. The position chosen for the construction of the nest is not only a most unsafe 

 but an unlikely one, for the tree, as I have already observed, is by no means a large 

 one, and might be climbed with ease, as the branch on which it is placed, although 

 not large, is strong enough to bear the weight of a good-sized boy. It is wonderful to 

 think how these birds can manage to make a nest stick on, for at present it seems to 

 consist merely of a few loose straws balanced on the forked branch so insecurely thai 



