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NOTES AND QUERIES. 



AVES. 



Curious Partnership of Hedge-Sparrow and Blackbird in a Nest. — 

 On April 13th this year a half-finished nest was found in a rhododendron 

 in my grounds, the character and materials of which gave one the idea of it 

 being a Hedge-Sparrow's (Accentor modularis), though from its size, and 

 from the presence of large twigs and grasses, it seemed very doubtful that 

 it could be the work of one. The nest steadily grew in size, and partook 

 more and more of the character of a Blackbird's (Turdus rnerula), until in 

 due course it was finished, and on April 19th it was found to possess its 

 first egg — a Hedge-Sparrow's. On the 20tb, when looked at next, the nest 

 contained two Hedge-Sparrow's eggs and one Blackbird's. On the 21st 

 the numbers had increased by one more egg of each kind, and on the 22nd 

 the score stood at four Hedge-Sparrow's and three Blackbird's. The 

 following day the Blackbird had brought the score up level, and begun to 

 sit, but the weight of the hen Blackbird proved too much for the Hedge- 

 Sparrow's eggs, and when the nest was looked at again on the 24th one of 

 the four Hedge-Sparrow's eggs was crushed to pieces, and another badly 

 cracked. The nest was then taken so as to preserve the production of such 

 an ill-assorted couple of nest-builders. — W. Fitzherbert-Brockholes 

 (Claughton-on-Brock, Garstang, Lancashire). 



Pied Flycatcher in Somersetshire.— On the morning of April 27th 

 I saw a male Pied Flycatcher (Muscicapa atricapilla) in my father's garden, 

 Weston-super-Mare. The bird was very tame, and was probably resting on 

 its way to its breeding haunts in Wales. This species appears to be rare 

 in Somerset, and I only know of two records of its former occurrence in the 

 county, namely, one killed near Taunton some years prior to 1869, as 

 recorded in Mr. Cecil Smith's ' The Birds of Somerstshire'; and a record, 

 noticed near Wells in the spring of 1870 (vide ' The Birds of Devon,' by 

 D'Urban and Matthew, p. 53). It has doubtless been noticed more than 

 once since 1870, but its visits to the county are evidently irregular, and 

 probably accidental. On April 25th, 1897, I saw a male bird of this 

 species near Gidleigh, North Devon, in which county the bird appears to 

 be nearly as rare as it is in Somersetshire. Last summer I came across 

 several pairs of Pied Flycatchers in a certain locality in Herefordshire, 



