NOTES AND QUERIES. 431 



nated, and the same may be said of the Golden-crested Wrens. Curiously 

 enough, the number of eggs laid by our common birds seemed to be fewer 

 than usual. Very few Thrushes' or Blackbirds' nests contained more than 

 four eggs, and often only three were found ; while I have found nests with 

 only two young birds. On April 18th a Brown Owl was found nesting in 

 the fork of a tall spruce in Dovedale. The nest was quite open, and the 

 Owl could be seen from the hillside above. Nearly all the nests in this 

 district are in holes of trees, but I have seen a Brown Owl's nest on the 

 ground under the shelter of a small rock in a wood in North Wales. While 

 returning from a visit to a Sparrow-Hawk's nest on May 12th, I heard a 

 clear, ringing, quickly-repeated note, quite unlike that of any of our common 

 birds. Directly afterwards the chatter of a Mistle-Thrush and the Lap- 

 wing's cry called my attention to three birds flying rapidly up the valley 

 close together, with regular swift beats of the wing. As they passed me I 

 had a good look at them, and noticed their pale faded brown colour and 

 somewhat Gull-like-shaped wings. They flew straight and fast, and were 

 soon out of sight. At the time I thought they were Sand-Grouse ; in fact, 

 I know of no other bird that could be mistaken for them. Black Grouse 

 still breed in small numbers in this neighbourhood. A nest with six eggs 

 was found on May 16th on the Staffordshire side. On May 17th I visited 

 the site of the Raven's nest in Howdenchest, which is meutioned by 

 Seebohm f 1 British Birds,' vol. i. p. 49). Although it is nearly forty years 

 since the nest was last used by the Ravens, the remains of the nest are 

 clearly visible. One of the keepers told me that he saw a Raven on his 

 beat about April 5th. It was circling round a lambing ewe, and flew right 

 away out of sight. He had also noticed Short-eared Owls above Muibrook 

 in the autumn of 1899. A Hawfinch's nest, which was found in Clifton on 

 May 26th, contained three incubated eggs, and was built nearly at the top 

 of a good-sized sycamore close to the roadside. The hen sat close, and the 

 nest was only discovered by accident. The Merlins made another attempt 

 to breed on the Grouse moors of North Derbyshire, but the nest with four 

 eggs (almost hatching) was found, and I believe both birds were trapped. 

 A Common Sandpiper's nest found on June 17th, with two eggs chipping 

 and two newly-hatched young, was placed on the side of the railway 

 embankment between Clifton and Norbury, only eight feet from the metals. 

 The old bird was running along the sleepers, and only took wing when a 

 passing train was within a few yards of it. The eggs which were chipped 

 had the largest fragments of the broken shells neatly fitted on to the small 

 ends. The nest was about one hundred and fifty yards or so from the River 

 Dove. On Aug. 4th two large white birds flew over Clifton at a good 

 height, which were almost certainly Gannets. The previous day had been 

 very stormy. — Francis C. R. Jourdain (Clifton Vicarage, Ashburne, 

 Derbyshire). 



