NOTES AND QUERIES. 267 



second four. They were on the ground surrounded by heather. I 

 have in rny possession eggs from both of these clutches. They are a 

 good deal smaller than Kestrel's, and at a distance appear to be of a 

 uniform reddish mahogany colour, but on close inspection are found to 

 be covered with minute brick-red and black specks, and most of them 

 have a slight purple tinge. On May 29th, 1888, a Merlin's nest con- 

 taining four eggs was found by my friend Mr. Edgar Thomas on the 

 same moor. He happened to be walking across a heather-clad hill- 

 side, and flushed the sitting bird from the nest. This set of eggs were 

 placed in a Brecon collection, and are very like those above described. 

 Meadow-Pipits, as well as Grouse, are very abundant on this moor, 

 and Merlins are more numerous here than in most parts of South 

 Wales, attracted probably by the food supply afforded by one or both 

 of these species. The gamekeepers think that these little Hawks 

 destroy the young Grouse. — E. A. Swainson (Woodside, Brecon). 



Nesting of the Merlin in Derbyshire. — The Merlin is now so rare 

 a bird in North Derbyshire that some account of its nesting here 

 during the present season may be of interest. On May 29th I visited 

 a nest of this species. It was situated about eight and half miles 

 N.N.E. of Bakewell, on a wild and unfrequented piece of moorland, 

 and among rank heather on the slope of a hill. It contained five eggs, 

 quite fresh, and much darker in colour than those figured in Seebohm's 

 books. The two old birds had been shot a few days before, but they 

 had left ample traces of their presence, for within a considerable radius 

 of the nest were the spots where their prey had been devoured. The 

 remaius showed that Meadow-Pipits had been the most common form 

 of food, but a Greenfinch and two young Grouse had afforded some 

 variety. Many pellets were also found, but these have not been 

 examined. On June 28th another nest was found six miles N.E. of 

 Bakewell, and three miles from that above mentioned. It contained 

 five young Merlins in down, with the wing-quills just beginning to 

 sprout. The old birds were killed, the hen being trapped, and the 

 cock being shot. I have not yet had an opportunity of seeing the nest 

 and its surroundings, but there is no doubt that the young Grouse will 

 have paid heavy toll to the growing Falcons. — W. Stores Fox. 



Night-Heron, Black-headed Bunting, and Great Sedge-Warbler in 

 Sussex. — On Sept. 24th, 1904, an immature female of the Night- 

 Heron {Nycticorax griseus) was shot at Pevensey, Sussex. On April 

 21st, 1905, a very fine cock Black-headed Bunting (Emberiza melano- 

 cephala) was killed at Little Common, Sussex, in full adult yellow 



