NOTES AND QUERIES. 353 



(' Birds of Sussex,' p. 134) does not admit it as a breeding species in 

 the county. — Robert Morris (Uekfield, Sussex). 



Plumage of the Young Cuckoo. — Till recently I was at a loss to 

 understand what might be meant by a young Cuckoo " of a dark blue 

 colour " (cf. Zool. 1898, p. 431), but on Aug. 2nd one of this type was 

 brought to me. It was hatched in a Pied Wagtail's nest in some 

 creepers on a house in this village, and was found dead soon after 

 leaving the nest, having evidently flown against a window or a tree. 

 The upper parts are dark greyish blue, with the feathers narrowly 

 edged with white, and there is a good deal of white on the head. 

 Compared with a young bird of the ordinary rufous colouring, it looks 

 like a Hobby by the side of a Kestrel. — Julian G. Tuck (Tostock 

 Rectory, Bury St. Edmunds). 



Little Owl (Athene noctua) in Hertfordshire. — During 1906 several 

 specimens of the Little Owl were both seen and obtained in the 

 northern part of Herts. The first case to come to my notice was of 

 one being killed at Offley in January, and later one was observed at 

 Pirton. On Sept. 20th a keeper shot one at Stevenage, at about 

 five o'clock in the afternoon. This bird was brought to me, and is 

 now in my collection. It proved on dissection to be a female, but is 

 in very bad plumage. I have since heard from the same keeper that 

 there are some more Little Owls in the neighbourhood, and that they 

 have taken to an old tree covered with ivy ; if this is the case it would 

 be reasonable to suppose they have nested here. — Stuart Maples 

 (" Kingsbury," Stevenage). 



Little Owl in Bedfordshire. — I believe that it may interest some of 

 your readers to know that a specimen of the Little Owl was seen near 

 Sandy, Bedfordshire, last month. I was returning from a walk along 

 the high road when I noticed the bird perched on a telegraph-wire 

 close to the pole. It allowed me to approach within about five yards, 

 and then slowly took flight to the centre of a large elm tree standing 

 in the adjacent field, where I saw it alight about forty yards away. 

 This occurred on Saturday, Aug. 3rd, and I should have informed you 

 before this time of the event had I believed it to be of sufficient im- 

 portance. I was going over the collection of birds at Newcastle-on- 

 Tyne recently, and chanced to mention the fact to the curator, who 

 assured me that the bird was sufficiently uncommon to make it worth 

 while writing to you on the subject. I am sure the bird in question 

 was the Little Owl, as I have excellent eyesight, and have collected 



Zool 4th ser. vol. XL, September, 1907. 2 E 



