Birds. G55 



so firmly grappled together by their talons, that I could hardly separate them, though 

 dead. They were two lien kestrils. What could have been the sudden cause of their 

 rage? It was autumn, and therefore they had no nests. — /. W. G. Spicer ; E&her 

 Place, Surrey, May 12, 1844. 



Anecdote of a Battle between a Kestril and a Magpie. It is very common in this 

 neighbourhood for the kestril to breed in a magpie's nest, generally a deserted one, 

 but sometimes it appears in one from which they have driven the rightful owner. A 

 few weeks ago, a man passing a tree, heard a screaming from a nest at the top. Hav- 

 ing climbed the tree and put his hand into the nest, he seized a bird which proved to 

 be a kestril; and at the same instant a magpie flew out on the other side. The kes- 

 tril, it appears, had the advantage in being uppermost, and would probably have van- 

 quished his adversary, had he not been thus unexpectedly taken. He has suffered a 

 felon's fate, and is now suspended by his head against a wall. Whether the magpie 

 still retains possession of his domicile, I am not aware. — W. Peachey ; Northchapel, 

 near Petworth, June, 1844. 



Note on the Nest of the long-horned Owl, (Strix Otus). My observations on this 

 bird quite coincide with those detailed in an interesting paper in No. 18 (Zool. 562). 

 I however once met with an instance of its nesting, not on a tree, but on the ground, 

 in the manner of the short-horned owl, (Strix brachyotus). The specimen I allude to 

 was a fine one, which I saw alive some years since in the collection of the Earl of 

 Derby, at Knowsley, and which the man who had the care of it assured me had been 

 taken when young, from a nest formed upon the ground, in that immediate neigh- 

 bourhood. — J. H. Gurney ; Norivich. 



Note on a young Cuckoo being kept in confinement through the Winter. We have in 

 our possession a cuckoo taken from the nest of a wagtail last summer. When first 

 brought to us, it was in the beautiful plumage of the young bird ; but being unavoid- 

 ably confined in a small cage for a few weeks, the tail and wing-feathers were much 

 shattered, and they have never since been sufficiently renewed as to restore its pow- 

 ers of flight. A few ash-coloured feathers, such as characterize the adult bird, are now 

 beginning to show themselves on the neck and back. Though fully fledged when we 

 obtained it, it was a very helpless creature, and its clamorous cries could only be paci- 

 ed by frequent meals of egg boiled hard, small pieces of raw meat, and bread and milk. 

 It would sit on the perch, throwing its head back, with its wide orange-coloured beak 

 open, and its wings quivering, awaiting each mouthful to be put down its throat with 

 a quill ; yet he soon became expert in catching his food, if dropped over his bead. 

 He now feeds like any other bird, from a saucer placed in his cage, and also devours 

 with avidity small worms, caterpillars, spiders, &c, beating the larger ones from side 

 to side while holding them in his beak, before he swallows them. As the cold weather 

 came on, we found him very sensitive to the change of temperature, and when allowed 

 to hop about the room, he usually found his way to the fender, where, with wings ex- 

 tended and head erect, he delighted to bask before the fire. At night he was placed 

 in a basket, covered with baize. The winter being mild was probably much in his fa- 

 vour, for when the weather was frosty, he would sit the chief part of the day moping 

 on his perch, which we covered with list to increase the warmth to his feet. The re- 

 turn of spring has now enlivened him again, and his favourite position is in a window 

 exposed to the full warmth of the sun. In his habits he is very bold, never showing 

 any signs of fear, but seems incapable of affection, throwing himself into an attitude 

 of defence, and fiercely pecking at any one who attempts to touch him. His disposi- 



