NOTES AND QUERIES. 231 



was attacked and severely buffeted by a Carrion Crow for no apparent 

 reason. It was strange that the huge bird of prey appeared quite 

 incapable of resenting the impertinence of the Crow. On the 28th, 

 about ten miles down the river, we saw three Kites together, and 

 watched them for a long time in the air and perching most con- 

 spicuously on bare trees above the road. The Kites were all Milvus 

 ictinus. It is possible that they may have been the same as those 

 seen the day before who were migrating by easy stages northwards. 

 These three Kites were in company of four Buzzards, and one had 

 the rare pleasure of seeing these fine Accipitres together on the wing 

 over one's head. The form and flight of the Buzzard and Kite 

 on the wing are strikingly different, though both soar in easy curves 

 with motionless wings. Seen from underneath, the tail of the 

 Buzzard is short, square, and not forked. The wings are obtuse and 

 carried horizontally. The tail of the Kite is long, narrow, and most 

 distinctly forked. The wings are carried at an acuter angle over the 

 back when soaring than those of the Buzzard. The only other bird 

 of prey seen was a single Kestrel. We saw one Heron, and on 

 March 28th a single Stork, apparently just arrived at his old nest 

 and sitting as though feeling the cold. Green Woodpeckers abound, 

 and the bird is an ancient symbol of the Spessart. The Great Black 

 Woodpecker (Dryocopus martins) seemed to be fairly plentiful, but very 

 shy. There can be few districts more accessible to the English ornitho- 

 logist who wishes to study this noble Picarian bird. The flight is 

 characterized by the dipping movement of the other Woodpeckers, 

 and the loud ringing cry has a roll and a deeper note than the 

 familiar " yaffler." I should write it down : " True-true-true," &c. 

 We heard a number, but only succeeded in once getting a view of 

 the bird. In the forest were small numbers of Wood-Pigeons but no 

 large flocks ; and I saw a party of half a dozen Stock-Doves drinking 

 in the evening at a brook. An ornithologist who explored the 

 Spessart in May and June when migration was complete and nesting 

 going on would no doubt be well rewarded. The best starting-point 

 is Aschaffenburg on a main line of railway. Excellent maps showing 

 marked footpaths through the forest can be got there. — Harold 

 Eussell (16, Beaufort Gardens, London). 



INSECTA. 



Notes on Culex vexans (Meigen) and Osmylus fulvicephalus. — 

 On March 22nd last I found, in a pool formed by rain-water in 

 a wood, a number of larvae of a species of gnat. These larvae in 



