NOTES AND QUERIES. 227 
the song also a Willow-Wren’s, but strangely modified so as to 
resemble the Chiffchaff’s. There was a pair of Chiffchaffs mating 
close by, but I could not conclude that it was a case of imitation, for 
this was the first Willow-Wren I had seen, and the weather had been 
extremely cold. My own belief was that the bird, before acquiring 
its full song, had on its arrival unconsciously fallen back on the 
primeval song of its race. That Col. Meyrick’s Chiffchaff should 
have added the Willow-Wren’s song to its own may possibly mean 
that a Chiffchaff may, like the Willow-Wren, be inspired to add a 
strain to its own original song, but without abandoning the latter, as 
the Willow-Wrens have done. All Chiffchaffs, I may add, are well 
worth listening to with care; they differ among themselves curiously.— 
W. WarbeE Fowzer (Kingham, Oxon). 
Mimicking Song of Chiffchaff.— The song mentioned by your 
correspondent, Col. Meyrick, has been recorded by Mr. G. A. Dewar 
in his ‘ Hampshire Highlands,’ and also by a lady who writes to the 
‘Hampshire Chronicle’ under the name of ‘‘Caer Gwent.’ It is 
curious that it should have been so long overlooked. — J. EK. Knusann 
(Rectory, New Milton). 
Lesser Redpoll Nesting in Middlesex.—As there do not appear to 
be many recorded cases of the Lesser Redpoll (Linota rufescens) nest- 
ing in Middlesex, the following note may be of interest. Last year 
several pairs of this Redpoll were to be seen daily about Hampstead 
Heath during the spring and summer, and were no doubt breeding 
there. I saw young broods, evidently not long out of the nest, 
accompanying the parent birds. In autumn the several family 
parties flocked and soon left, and I could not find any about here 
during the winter. This year two or three pairs of Lesser Redpolls 
returned to the Heath about May 12th, just as the birch trees were 
well in leaf. On May 28th I found a nest containing eggs, and upon 
which the female bird was sitting. This nest was placed in a fork at 
the end of a branch of a birch tree, and about fifteen feet above the 
ground. On the following day I found another nest about half a 
mile away from the first, which was also placed in a birch tree, being 
in a fork against the main stem and about twenty-five feet up. In 
this nest the female bird (June Ist) is still busy with the lining, which 
appears to be white vegetable down of some sort. As is usual with 
Redpolls, the birds at both nests are very confiding, and can be easily 
observed at close quarters through glasses. — H. Meyrick (Holly 
Cottage, The Mount, Hampstead). 3 
