428 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



appears to be too obvious a feature in the economy of the species to be even 

 incidentally noted by any of the so-called popular writers on the birds of 

 these islands ! 



Before concluding, I must explain one little matter. I have spoken of 

 the hundreds of Sparrow-Hawks' eggs that I have taken, but it must be 

 remembered that the species is notoriously baneful to shooting interests, 

 and that gamekeepers wage a war of extermination against it at all seasons. 

 On many and many an occasion my plundering of a nest has sufficed to 

 save the bird's life ; whereas, had I not been present to plead for mercy and 

 climb to the nest, the brooding bird would have been ruthlessly shot on the 

 spot, and the beautiful eggs left to their fate. Such interposition profited 

 the owners of the various nests equally with myself, seeing that they were 

 allowed to escape with their lives, and subsequently laid eggs elsewhere for 

 my appropriation. It may appear strange, but it is none the less absolutely 

 true, that the old female Sparrow-Hawk, from whose nest I abstracted the 

 fifteen eggs, got to know me, through my repeated visits to her home in a 

 Scotch-fir, so well that at the last she never troubled to leave the nest until 

 my head was on a level with it. It was ouly on the occasion of my final 

 "call" that she evinced real indignation, however, and for a moment the 

 situation was not pleasant when she faced round and unfolded her wings at 

 the distance of a few inches only. What a wicked eye she turned on me, 

 too, but that was the full extent of her hostility. — H. S. Davenport 

 (Melton Mowbray). 



Quail in Cheshire. — Several times during the latter half of July 

 I heard the liquid trisyllabic note of the Quail (Cotumix communis) near 

 Wilmslow. On one evening four or five birds were calling on Lindow Moss, 

 and in the surrounding fields. — Chas. Oldham (Alderley Edge). 



Quail in Hertfordshire. — A Quail (Cotumix communis) was picked up 

 dead outside the post-office here in May, 1899, by one of the city police, it 

 evidently having come in contact with the telegraph-wires. — W. Percival 

 Westell (5, Glenferrie Road, St. Albans, Herts). 



Black-tailed Godwit iLimosa belgica) in Hants. — On Aug. 20th, 

 whilst out in my punt in the harbour, I shot three Black-tailed Godwits ; 

 they were feeding on some very soft and rotten mud. One bird which I 

 weighed scaled 8f oz. — John Stares (Portchester). 



Rough Notes on Derbyshire Ornithology, 1899-1900.— Although 

 the winter of 1898-1899 was so mild, large flocks of Bramblings were 

 reported from different parts of the county. A single shot fired out of 

 curiosity into a large flock not far from Derby, on Jan. 26th, 1898, brought 

 down no fewer than fourteen. On Jan. 27th I saw a nicely set-up Slavonian 

 Grebe at Hutchinson's shop, which had been killed at Ailestree towards the 



