NOTES AND QUERIES. 29 



habits we quite agree with St. John (' Sport in Moray,' p. 103) and Mac- 

 gillivray (* British Birds,' vol. ii. p. 102), that they are similar to the 

 Blackbird, more so than between those of the ITieldfare and Song-Thrush, 

 as stated by Mr. Fox. On the other hand, we quite agree with Mr, Fox 

 that the Ring-Ouzel does not manifest any skulking habits during the 

 breeding season — at least when it has young^-at which time it is often bold 

 and fearless, and advances to within a short distance of any intruder who 

 may be playing with its young. Contrary to Mr. Fox's experience, we 

 have never found the male bird to take part in incubation. They appear 

 to be fond of berries {Vacciniiim and Empetrum), and in autumn, just 

 before migration, may be seen feeding upon elder-berries. When flushed 

 from the nest, we have never seen them " reel and tumble on the ground to 

 decoy one away," as Seebohm states (' British Birds,' vol. i. p. 248), but 

 have seen them, when flushed from hard-sat eggs, or when having young, 

 flutter for a few yards in a lazy sort of fashion over the top of the heather. 

 Regarding the date of nesting, Mr. Fox mentions one which he found (April 

 99th) as ten days or a fortnight earlier than he usually sees them ; but this 

 date we should not regard as at all being early. They commence nidifica- 

 tion very soon after their arrival, much more so than most of our summer 

 visitants. In this district it much prefers to build its nest where the 

 ground is much broken up, more so than on the flat portions of the moor- 

 land ; a " gully " or steep declivity seems to be a particularly favourable nesting 

 site, and I have, like Mr. Fox, found it breeding occasionally at some distance 

 from the moors ; and have also found its nest built in trees, but never at any 

 great height. The eggs vary, even in the same nest, and it not unfrequently 

 happens that, whilst three or four are of the typical colour and markings, 

 one is hardly to be discriminated from the egg of a Blackbird. Four is the 

 usual number of eggs, sometimes five, but we have never known it to sit 

 upon three. — E. P. Butterfielc (Wilsden, Yorkshire). 



Occurrence of the Willow Tit in Sussex. —In this Journal (1898, 

 pp. 116-118) Mr. Ernst Hartert announced the discovery in England of 

 the Parus salicarius of C. L. Brehm. The paper did not receive the 

 attention it merited, probably because of a feeling of uncertainty among 

 British ornithologists as to the validity of the species. During August, 

 1900, I determined to get together a series of Marsh-Tits, in the hope of 

 procuring skins answering to the description of P. salicarius. It seemed 

 to me that it would be best at first to search regularly each day the woods 

 close at hand. By the 12th of October I had a fair series of Tits, and on 

 that day I picked out three skins which I judged to be nearest to the 

 Willow-Tit, and submitted them to Mr. Hartert, who replied that they were 

 doubtless assignable to Parus salicarius. I have since shot three other 

 examples, the last being a fine adult male, which I obtained on the 2ud of 



