Birds. 451 



Hewett, through the medium of The Zoologist,' whether he is certain of the identity 

 of " those delicate little songsters on the top of furze-bushes on the open downs ? " — 

 because the wild wood-notes of the black-cap are invariably emitted from the leafy 

 sprays of the coppice and the wood ; and then, while the trees in " the sear and yellow 

 leaf" blend their autumnal tints in gorgeous richness around his ebon cap, he and his 

 congeners withdraw in silence from our shores, instinctive taught by an unerring hand 

 to wing their way to more sunny climes. — James Harley ; Leicester, December 6, 1843. 



Note on the occurrence of the Fire-crested Regtdus at Yarmouth. A specimen of the 

 lire-crested Regulus was captured here on the 6th of last November. It was taken, 

 I believe, among some gold-crests, which appear annually about that time, in consi- 

 derable numbers. The dark bands on the cheek, and the white line over the eye, are 

 in this bird very conspicuous, but the colour of the crest is much less vivid than in 

 many of the goldcrests, whence I conclude that it was a young male. — William R. 

 Fisher ; January 15, 1844. 



Defence of previous statements respecting the Wood-wren. In your December num- 

 ber (Zool. 356) is an article entitled "Correction of some inaccuracies in a prior com- 

 munication on the wood-wren," by Henry Doubleday, Esq. As the "inaccurate'' 

 communication alluded to was written by me, I deem it advisable to offer a few re- 

 marks in reply. I stated that the wood-wren (referring of course to the locality from 

 which I am writing) built its nest on the ground, in a tuft of coarse grass, which was 

 lined with a profusion of poultry -feathers, and that I had seen it lined with dark horse- 

 hairs and the seed-branches of field grasses. Mr. Doubleday remarks, that it is inva- 

 riably lined with fine grasses and hair, the bird never using a feather in the construction 

 of its nest. Living in a neighbourhood partaking entirely of the pastoral and sylvan, 

 where these birds are no rarity, I have every summer ample opportunities of observing 

 their manners and habits, and am convinced of the accuracy of my statement. Not 

 only have I shot birds, which had just left nests answering to my description, but I 

 have now one in my possession, killed by myself in the very act of carrying a feather 

 to its nest. The bird was larger than the willow-warbler, of prettier coloured plumage, 

 and at once distinguishable from it by the light feathers above and below the eye. 

 Many birds vary the materials used for their nests, according to the locality in which 

 they are built ; and whether or no the wood-wren ever uses feathers in the construc- 

 tion of its nest in Mr. Doubleday's neighbourhood, I am not able to say, but I repeat 

 the assertion that it does so in mine. I said the eggs were spotted very thickly with 

 dusky red spots, he, thickly covered with dark purple spots. I am aware that Mr. Dou- 

 bleday is an able and observant naturalist, and I must confess that no one has derived 

 more gratification from a perusal of his writings than I have myself, but still I think 

 him hardly justified in pronouncing an observation inaccurate, merely because it stated 

 that a bird used one particular kind of material in building its nest here, which it did 

 not happen to do in his own neighbourhood. — John Joseph Briggs ; King's Newton, 

 Melbourne, December 10, 1843. 



[I thought it would be unfair to deny Mr. Briggs the right of reply, otherwise I 

 should prefer leaving the question as it stood. I must freely confess my opinion that 

 Mr. Briggs has fallen into an inaccuracy by some accidental transmutation of speci- 

 mens : the materials of the nests of the wood-wren have been repeatedly described and 

 the descriptions verified (see Montagu, Selby &c), and the peculiarities of the bird in 

 this choice of materials for its nest, really almost amounts to a specific character. The 



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