474 



THE ZOOLOGIST. 



holes, through one of which the sitting bird's tail protrudes ; that Swifts 

 cannot rise from the ground ; that a hooting Owl bodes evil to the listener ; 

 that there are two kinds of Magpie, one that builds in hedges, the other in 

 trees ; that the Wren is the female of the Robin ; that Herons dangle 

 their legs through a hole in the bottom of their nest ; and that Kingfishers 

 breed in the holes of water-rats. I am far from supposing that I have in 

 the foregoing series exhausted the list of vulgar beliefs, but of one thing I 

 am certain, and that is, that a love of the mysterious and marvellous where 

 birds are concerned is the invariable concomitant of ignorance. — H. S. 

 Davenport (Ormandyne, Melton Mowbray). 



PS. — In making use of, in an aberrant moment, the somewhat loose 

 and frequently misapplied expression "hybernate" in connection with 

 Swallows, as above, it has occurred to me that purists will not unreasonably 

 infer what I by no means wish to imply. That Swallows on occasions will 

 attempt hybernation, that is, attempt to pass the winter in an animate 

 state in this country, is an accepted fact ; but that they become torpid is 

 quite another matter, and it is in this sense that I have not seldom detected 

 people using the term " hybernate " in connection with Swallows wintering 

 in England.— H. S. D. 



Garden Lists of Birds. — By way of comparison with Mr. Mathew's 

 interesting lists of birds in last month's 'Zoologist,' I add a list of birds 

 seen by myself from the study window of this house during the ten years 

 we have lived here. My list numbers fifty-five species, the total number 

 observed in the parish (under 1000 acres) being about 101 : — 



Green Woodpecker. 



Great Spotted Wood- 

 pecker. 



Lesser Spotted Wood- 

 pecker. 



Wryneck. 



Cuckoo. 



Barn Owl. 



Kestrel. 



Mallard. 



Wood Pigeon. 



Stock Dove. 



Turtle Dove. 



Pheasant. 



Grey Partridge. 



Red-legged Partridge. 



Moorhen. 



Lapwing. 



Whimbrel. 



Mistle Thrush. 



Song Thrush. 



Fieldfare. 



Redwing. 



Blackbird. 



Redstart. 



Redbreast. 



Blackcap. 



Willow Wren. 



Hedge Sparrow. 



Long-tailed Tit. 



Great Tit. 



Coal Tit. 



Marsh Tit. 



Blue Tit. 



Nuthatch. 



Wren. 



Tree Creeper. 



Pied Wagtail. 



White Wagtail. 



Tree Pipit. 



Spotted Flycatcher. 



Swallow. 



Martin. 



Sand Martin. 



Greenfinch. 



Hawfinch. 



House Sparrow. 



Goldfinch. 



Linnet. 



Chaffinch. 



Brambling. 



Bullfinch. 



Starling. 



Jay. 



Jackdaw. 



Rook. 



Sky Lark. 



In addition to these I frequently hear the Nightingale and Tawny Owl, and 

 this year the Tree Sparrow nested in an old stump in full view of the 

 window, but the nest with three eggs was taken before the birds were 



