Birds. 659 



The nest in question was built among the small branches of an elm tree, which, un- 

 connected with any hedge, stands in a straw-yard. It was placed close to the bole or 

 trunk of the tree, at about ten feet from the ground. Exteriorly, it was composed of 

 wheat-straw, intermingled with small recently-dead twigs of the elm, to which the dried 

 leaves were still attached. It had no other lining than the green moss commonly used 

 by the hedge-chanter in the construction of its nest, and contained a single egg. — 

 Chas. Forge ; Driffield, June 5, 1844. 



Note on the occurrence of the Hoopoe in Cornwall. A pair of hoopoes have been 

 shot this spring between the Land's End and the Logan-rock. The first was brought 

 in on the 27th of April, and the other, the male bird, and the best British-killed speci- 

 men I have yet seen, about a week afterwards. This species is not uncommonly ob- 

 served here during the spring and autumn months ; probably a few individuals strag- 

 gle to us during the period of their migration northerly in the spring, and upon their 

 return southward in the autumn to their winter quarters on the continents of Asia and 

 Africa. — Alfred Greenwood ; Penzance. 



Correction of an Error in a previous Communication. I observe a slight error has 

 crept into my paper on the hawfinch, which appeared in the June number (Zool. 569), 

 either through my own inaccuracy or a mis-print. The date of my finding the nests 

 of the above-named bird was May, not March as stated, and which 1 think it is rather 

 important to correct. — J. G. Barclay ; Walthamstow, Essex, June 10, 1844. 



Note on the habits of a Pigeon fyc. Various interesting communications have ap- 

 peared in ' The Zoologist' on the peculiar habit of flying to and pecking at windows, 

 observed in the grey wagtail (Motacilla Boarula, Zool. 136, 230, 358, 566), and by Mr. 

 Hardy (Id. 568), the same habit has been noticed in the domestic pigeon. I coincide 

 with the latter writer, and believe the bird's reflected image to be the object of attrac- 

 tion, especially as I have witnessed a male " mule " (the produce of the canary-bird 

 and goldfinch) singing a song of defiance to an imaginary rival, his own image re- 

 flected from a mirror. A friend of mine, on whose veracity I have the most implicit 

 reliance, informs me that by placing a mirror before an old male mule, in his posses- 

 sion, he could at any time be induced to sing, beginning with a gentle cadence, and 

 gradually rising as he became excited, at length he poured forth his notes with rapid- 

 ity and vehemence, and if not prevented by a timely removal of the mirror, dashed 

 madly forward to the attack of his imaginary rival ! That his song was not one of 

 love, was proved by introducing a bird of the opposite sex into the cage ; for after 

 singing his usual song, he attacked it with fury, and would soon have destroyed it, had 

 it not been removed. The same party kept a redbreast in confinement for nine months. 

 On placing a mirror near its cage, it immediately expressed the recognition of its fel- 

 low by a particular low and sweet note, and would give vent to its satisfaction in a 

 loud song. In fine weather, this bird was generally placed outside, and daily carolled 

 his gay notes to his own image reflected from the window, especially during the limit- 

 ed time that the sun shone upon the glass. Perhaps he then saw his fair form with 

 more than usual clearness and precision ; imagining he saw a rival, or, perchance, a 

 mate, his song might be one of defiance, of emulation, or of love. The habit of cage- 

 birds singing when a mirror is placed before them, is one of common occurrence, and 

 well known to bird-fanciers, and can easily be verified by any person curious or inte- 

 rested enough to make the experiment. — T. J. Bold ; 24, Cloth-market, Newcastle-on- 

 Tyne. 



z 3 



