724 Birds. 



purpose as that of hooded crow, which seems to me to be altogether meaningless. The 

 grey crow remains with us all the year round; and from its increased numbers in win- 

 ter, must effect a partial migration, but whether from less favourable districts of this 

 island, or from England, I cannot say. — Joseph Poole, Grovetown, near Wexford. 



Note on the late departure of the Redwing and Fieldfare from Melbourne, Derby- 

 shire, in the Spring of 1844. The greater number of our redwings and fieldfares left 

 us on April 1. On the 18th I descried a single fieldfare ; on May 5, a pair of red- 

 wings, and on May 18, a solitary fieldfare arose from a field where it had been feed- 

 ing. This is the latest period to which I ever knew any of these birds prolong their 

 visits. — J". J. Briggs. 



Note on the early arrival of the Fieldfare near Godalming in 1844. The fieldfare 

 has made its appearance in this neighbourhood unusually early this year. This morn- 

 ing I observed six or eight of these birds to rise from the tops of some high elm trees, 

 near Teusley, in this parish, and fly off in a south-easterly direction. I took the ' Na- 

 turalist's Almanack ' from my pocket, and found the 9th of October marked as the 

 usual period of arrival ; and since, having consulted White's and Markwick's Calen- 

 ders, I find that White gives October 12, and Markwick Oct. 13, as the earliest dates 

 of the appearance of the fieldfare at Selborne and at Battle respectively. The well- 

 known note of the fieldfare when disturbed, convinced me that I was not mistaken. — 

 Henry Bull ; Godalming, Surrey, Sept. 13, 1844. 



Note on Fieldfares. About the 12th of May, 1836, I found numerous nests of the 

 fieldfare in an alder-brake near Bergen, in Norway, built in bushy alders, from three 

 to five feet from the ground. Most of the nests contained eggs ; five being the largest 

 number. But what to me was peculiarly interesting (having about a fortnight before 

 seen the fieldfares in England extremely wild), was the fearlessness with which they 

 approached me, flying and settling in the bushes close above my head, setting up their 

 feathers and scolding, much as the missel thrush will occasionally do, when her nest, 

 and especially her young, are approached. — W. H. Wayne ; Much Wenlock. 



Note on the Starling. Large flocks of starlings arrive here about March 13, and 

 sometimes earlier; I have observed them by February 27. After, remaining some time 

 together, they disperse, spreading themselves over this and the neighbouring parishes, 

 frequenting meadows, pastures, old enclosed ground, and parks, especially those of 

 Calke and Donnington, which abound with ancient and venerable trees; where they 

 feed on worms, insects, slugs &c. About the first week in April they begin to build, 

 choosing for nidification some hollow cavity in an old tree, especially a rude gnarled 

 oak, sometimes a hole in a wall, and not unfrequently a space immediately beneath 

 the rafters of a house. In the latter situation a pair of starlings built their nest, short- 

 ly after which they were shot. Next year the spot was again occupied by a pair, and 

 has been every succeeding year, although a pair has been shot annually. The nest is 

 a mass of bents, shreds of cotton, and feathers, and generally contains eggs about the 

 end of April or the beginning of May. The nest is occasionally composed of clean 

 white straw, and when this is the case, the eggs, which are of pale blue and delicately 

 transparent, when contrasted with the light hue of the straw have a beautiful appear- 

 ance. Some eggs are dotted over with a few well-defined black spots, like those of the 

 song-thrush. The young are hatched about the third week in May, and are fed prin- 

 cipally with worms, both male and female assisting in the operation. The nest is kept 

 remarkably clean, the old birds carrying away the mutings or droppings in their bills, 

 as occasion may require. Early in September they begin to collect in flocks, which, 



