722 



Birds. 



chief. On the 19th I discovered the fidgetty, saucy, chattering whitethroat. It was 

 not long before up he flew, making in his short flight what that close observer and ac- 

 curate describer, White of Selborne, quaintly terms, " those odd jerks and gesticula- 

 tions," which so clearly distinguish the whitethroat from all his compeers. When this 

 bird ceases its chatter, which is but seldom, and really sings, its song is very pleasing. 

 A joyous trio I heard in the castle-wood, by a nightingale, a blackcap, and a white- 

 throat, far surpassing all the squalling of the opera. At Welwyn, early on Sunday 

 morning, the 21st, I saw a pair of fine house martins, evidently just come over. First 

 one, then the other, and then both together, thrust their heads into and examined the 

 old nest in the window corner under the eaves of a cottage. They were apparently 

 considering and consulting whether it would be safe to trust to the old, or better to set 

 to and build a new nest. I heard the cuckoo for the first time on the 22nd. At El- 

 tham, on the 2nd of May, two days before it was due, I enjoyed the sight of a splen- 

 did swift, careering high in the heavens in the full enjoyment of perfect freedom ; bold, 

 dashing about, screaming with delight, the very symbol of health and happiness. The 

 lovely, modest, drab-coloured garden warbler arrived on the 7th ; his long-continued, 

 flute-like song is the softest and sweetest of all our warblers. On the 8th I caught a 

 glimpse of the wood wren, and nearly stumbled over what I fancied to be the fern owl. 

 Matthew Hutchinson ; Blaekheath, June 1, 1844. 



Note on the dates of Nidification of Birds at Elden. Nothing of the kind having 

 yet appeared in ' The Zoologist,' I venture to enclose a list of the dates of nidification 

 of birds in the vicinity of Elden, collected by the Rev. Frank Clifford and myself, for 

 insertion in that periodical. 



Rook, first egg laid about March 13 



Tawny owl 14 



Song thrush 19 



Starling 24 



Long-eared owl 25 



Missel thrush 29 



Blackbird 29 



Stockdove April 1 



House sparrow 2 



Hedge sparrow 6 



Robin 6 



Pheasant 7 



Ringdove 9 



Stonechat 9 



Wren 9 



Skylark 11 



Golden-crested wren 13 



Dabchick 14 



Wheatear 15 



Jackdaw 16 



Chaffinch 21 



Red-legged partridge 22 



Cole titmouse 23 



Moorhen 23 



Partridge 24 



Greenfinch April 24 



Kingfisher 24 



Chiffchaff 25 



Creeper 25 



Long-tailed titmouse 26 



Great plover 26 



Blackcap 27 



Pied wagtail 29 



Lesser whitethroat 30 



Yellow hammer 30 



Nightjar May 1 



Blue titmouse 2 



Swift 2 



Green woodpecker 5 



Sparrowhawk 5 



Greater titmouse 6 



Meadow pipit 6 



Willow wren 7 



Redstart 8 



Bullfinch 8 



Short-eared owl 9 



Greater whitethroat 12 



Sand martin 14 



Swallow 15 



Ringed plover 16 



