NOTES AND QUERIES. oT 
Gulls hawking for Insects.— With regard to Mr. Collingwood 
Ingram’s note (Zool. 1911, p. 433), it'may interest him to know that 
what he saw on Sept. 12th is also seen here in North Lancashire 
every year. When the male (flying) ants come out in August in their 
millions, the Black-headed Gulls and Starlings hawk for them just 
as Mr. Ingram describes. How the Gulls know the ants are about I 
cannot say, but as soon as the ants appear we have the Gulls also 
flying round in great numbers and feeding on the insects. I may 
say, in conclusion, that when the ants come out they do so in 
incredible numbers. I have known the windows of the houses to 
have to be kept shut, otherwise it was a case of taking a sweeping- 
brush and sweeping out the dead and dying ants from the rooms. I 
have seen the lake here literally covered with dead ants, and the air 
full of Gulls, Starlings, Swallows, Swifts, and Martins feeding on 
those still flying about. I consider itis no unusual method of feeding 
on the part of the Black-headed Gull, and I am certain they frequently 
not only “hawk” for flying ants, but for moths and other insects as 
well.—F’. W. Smauuey (Challan Hall, Silverdale, Lancashire). 
Causes of our Rare breeding Birds disappearing. — In ‘The 
Zoologist’ (1911, p. 435), Mr. F. C. R. Jourdain, commenting on 
my statements (loc. cit. p. 391), says “he holds no brief on behalf 
of the trading collector, and, without. knowing anything of Mr. 
Warren’s correspondent, will wndertake to say that there is not a 
single British-taken egg among the fifty duplicate Ospreys’ eggs of 
which he writes.” This is a bold statement to make of unknown 
dealers. What evidence can he produce that enables him to give 
such a sweeping undertaking? He also states :—“ In the first place, 
it is a well-known fact that the Golden Eagles of Scotland have 
enormously increased in numbers, in spite of a certain amount of egg- 
taking, because the old birds are not shot down now on many of the 
deer forests. On the other hand, the Osprey is on the verge of 
extinction, but, as Mr. Warren must be aware, this is due to the 
wanton slaughter of the birds on migration through Ireland, and 
not to egg-collecting at all. How many clutches of British Ospreys 
have been taken of late years? Yet eyrie after eyrie is deserted in 
spite of strict protection, and simply because one or both of the 
birds have been barbarously murdered, either on their way south 
after the nesting season, or moving north in the spring, to be finally 
recorded in the pages of the ‘Irish Naturalist.’’’ Now, I should like to 
hear the evidence that enables Mr. Jourdain so positively to state that 
the decrease of the Osprey is caused by their slaughter when on migra- 
