138 THE ZOOLOGIST. 
county. I was examining a small densely overgrown osier- 
plantation fronting on to the Thames; the plantation had not 
been cleared for several years, and the undergrowth was exceed- 
ingly thick. There were several Reed- and Sedge-Warbler’s 
nests, one of the former containing two eggs and one Cuckoo’s. 
Some twenty yards back from the river I flushed a bird from a 
nest which after some searching I found placed low down in the 
fork of a small osier-bush almost completely covered with a mass 
of tall grasses and nettles. In the nest were four splendidly 
marked eggs of the Marsh-Warbler. The bird was very shy, and 
although I waited for a long time I could get no good view of it, 
though all the time it was hopping about near by in the under- 
srowth. On June 25th I again visited the plantation, and found 
another nest placed two or three feet from the ground in a thick - 
clump of tall grass, three or four stems of which were woven 
into the sides of the nest, which again held four finely marked 
eges. Once more I had great difficulty in getting even a glimpse 
of the bird.: I wrote to Mr. L. B. Mouritz, who is interested in 
Surrey ornithology, and together we visited the spot on July 
13th. The result was disappointing, as we found the nest 
empty, and could see no sign of the birds; nor was I any more 
successful on two subsequent visits. The chances of the birds 
returning to the plantation are, I am sorry to say, not very 
bright, for the area is very small and has been partially cleared 
for the erection of bungalows. A mile or so distant there is 
another dense and much more secluded osier-bed, and I expect 
that it will be here, if anywhere, that I shall meet the birds this 
spring. 
BraMBuine (Ff ringila montifringilla).—Mr. E. Pettitt, a keen 
and capable ornithologist, writes me that he saw two birds near 
the Staines Reservoirs on Jan. 12th, 1908, and later in the month 
one bird near the same spot. 
HoopEep Crow (Corvus cornix).—On Oct. 28th, 1905, I saw 
one feeding with Rooks and Jackdaws in a newly ploughed field 
at Datchet. On Jan. 27th, 1907, I saw one standing on the ice 
at Virginia Water, trying to dig out some prey that was frozen 
into the ice, which was not very strong. I spent the morning of 
March 8rd at Virginia Water, and saw several of the birds. I 
did not see more than one at a time, so it may have been the 
