Birds. 5789 



put it down she would take it in her mouth and cany it back. In the beginning of 

 July I found the rat dead in the nest. What the cause of its death was I cannot say, 

 but there were no marks upon it to show that the cat killed it. The most extraordi- 

 nary circumstance is that the cat suckled it before it had its kittens taken away. — H. 

 G. M. Williams ; Crick House, near Chepstow, August 27, 1857. 



Note on the Occurrence of three Honey Buzzards (Falco apivorus) at Northrepps, 

 Norfolk. — About 9 o'clock this morning I was riding along a broad green drive which 

 runs through a wood in this place, when a honey buzzard rose from the grass, and 

 alighted on a tree on the edge of the wood. I shortly after sent my gamekeeper in 

 pursuit of it, and he succeeded in shooting it near the spot where I saw it. Hearing 

 afterwards that before he shot this bird it had been seen flying in company with a 

 second specimen, he returned to the drive, and succeeded in shooting that also, very 

 nearly at the same spot where he had procured the first specimen, being guided in his 

 search by loud whistling cries which the bird was making, probably as a call-note to 

 the one which had been previously shot. About two hours later my son, who was 

 passing through the drive, saw a third specimen rise from the ground and alight on a 

 tree, in a similar manner and nearly in the same place as the first. The gamekeeper 

 was again sent in pursuit ; but when he succeeded in getting a view of this bird it had 

 risen so high in the air that it was out of shot, and continued flying at a great height 

 in an inland direction till it disappeared. Both specimens that were procured were 

 in full adult dress, and possessed the beautiful gray tinge on the head which always 

 distinguishes the adult examples of this bird. On dissection both of these specimens 

 proved to be male birds. The stomachs of both contained the remains of wasps and 

 wasp-grubs. — J. H. Gurney ; Northrepps, near Cromer, Norfolk, August 25, 1857. 



Occurrence of the Rosecoloured Pastor (Pastor roseus) near Penzance. — A female 

 specimen of this bird was captured, a few days since, in our neighbourhood. — Edward 

 Hearle Rodd ; Penzance, September 16, 1857. 



Autumnal Migratory Movement : Scilly Isles. — It has been noticed, on a former 

 occasion, that the Scilly Isles form a sort of resting-place for our migratory birds in 

 the great autumnal movement from the North to the South. This movement at first 

 begins with the Limosa, Tringa, and other genera, in August, and continues to Octo- 

 ber, with the woodcock. At Scilly I find, from a correspondent, that snipes, godwits, 

 and several of our small soft-billed birds are now to be seen. Many of the latter, 

 birds of the year principally, are to be found flitting about in a restless state, and 

 amongst them the young of the pied flycatcher, which is almost entirely confined to 

 a few of the midland counties, and is unknown in the West of England. It will be 

 a more interesting fact still to find that young nightingales form a portion of the 

 party, as no recorded example exists of the nightingale having been seen or heard in 

 Cornwall. — Id. 



Wagtail's Nest in a Scarlet Geranium. — While staying in Northamptonshire, in 

 July of this year, Lord Exeter's gamekeeper informed me of a curious incident which 

 had just come under his notice. There had been a flower-show at Stamford on the 

 preceding day, and, amongst other floral gaieties, there were some large scarlet gera- 

 niums, in pots, from a terrace outside Burleigh House. Shortly after they had been 



