BIRDS OF THE DISTRICT OF STAINES. 143 
I see that in my last notes I described the Corn-Bunting as 
resident. This was a mistake; the bird is migratory, arriving 
early in April and remaining until about the end of September. 
I felt sure that it bred at Staines, though I have never found the 
nest. This year, after a whole morning’s watching, I found a 
young bird just able to fly which was being fed by its parent. 
Instances of birds sharing the same nest are uncommon, but 
I met with two cases last year. A Yellow Bunting I flushed from 
a small bush at the side of a ditch was sitting on two of her own 
eggs and two Whitethroat’s. I think the nest was built by the 
Whitethroat, but could not be sure. Another similar case was a 
Reed-Warbler’s nest built in nettles which held three Reed- 
Warbler’s eggs and one Sedge-Warbler’s. Four days later the 
Sedge-Warbler’s ege had vanished, and the Reed-Warbler was 
sitting on her own three eggs. A Hedge-Sparrow built a nest in 
the head of a sprouting broccoli in the garden, but the wind blew 
the nest and eggs to the ground. A still more extraordinary 
Hedge-Sparrow’s nest was built in an osier-bed, entirely sus- 
pended in giant nettles; the nettles were very dense and tall, and 
several stems were woven into the nest after the Reed-Warbler’s 
style; yet the nest was undoubtedly built by the Hedge-Sparrow, 
and the bird was sitting on five eggs. I twice found two Cuckoo’s 
eggs in the same nest, but I think my notes on the Cuckoo must 
be dealt with later on in an article to themselves. 
The movements of the Stonechat in this district have been 
very peculiar. Formerly it was a local resident, and I regarded 
it as an increasing species. In 1906 I know that at least three 
families were reared, but that autumn the birds entirely dis- 
appeared, and none were seen for more than twelve months. In 
November, 1907, two were seen back in their old haunts, but 
since then they have again entirely left the neighbourhood. I 
happened to mention this to Mr. Mouritz, and he said that it 
was certainly curious, as he had a note that the Stonechat had 
not been seen in Richmond Park for over a year. 
During the last two winters a flock of some fifty Black-headed 
Gulls have frequented the river and Eton Playing Fields; they 
may often be seen far away from the river, following the plough 
in company with Rooks and Jackdaws. 
