NOTES AND QUEEIES. 27 



ditiou, weighing five ounces full. The following measurements of it 

 were carefully taken in the flesh : — Head and body, 6J in. ; tail, 9 in. ; 

 ear, if in. ; vibrissa, 2f in. ; hind foot, l T 7 g in. — P. E. Rumbelow 

 (2, Napoleon Place, Great Yarmouth). 



AVES. 



Chiffchaff in December.— On Dee. 20th, 1905, I shot a Chiffchaff 

 (Phylloscopus rufus) from a hedge at Cullercoats, on the Northumber- 

 land coast, about three-quarters of a mile inland. This is interesting 

 not only on account of the date, but also because the Chiffchaff is an 

 unaccountably scarce bird even in the summer months in Northumber- 

 land. The specimen is being preserved in the Handcock Museum, 

 Newcastle-on-Tyne. — Hugh V. Charlton (Cullercoats, near Newcastle- 

 on-Tyne, Northumberland). 



Economical Nesting Habits of the Willow-Warbler (Phylloscopus 

 trochilus) and the Wren (Troglodytes parvulus). — On June 9th, 1905, 1 

 found, built among the grass of a dry ditch, a Willow- Warbler's nest 

 containing six eggs, which appeared to be much incubated. These were 

 subsequently taken. On the 14th, when walking near the place, my 

 eye was attracted by a small bird (a Willow-Warbler as it turned out), 

 carrying in its beak a large white feather. On approaching the spot 

 to which it flew, the bird got up, and disclosed a nest in the course of 

 construction, in a very similar position to that found on the 9th. On 

 the next day the new nest appeared to be finished. I then examined 

 the old nest a few yards further along the ditch, and found that the 

 bird had completely dismantled the interior, taking away all the soft 

 white feathers and hair. I have to record a very similar occurrence in 

 connection with a Wren. The nest was found on June 10th, and was 

 built at the end of an elm-bough about six feet from the ground, and 

 near a pond. It was a large nest, with a great deal of lichen on the 

 exterior. It contained three fresh eggs. It is well known that the 

 Wren is extremely jealous of its nest, the mere touch of the human 

 finger being sufficient to cause instant desertion ; but there are excep- 

 tions, and some years ago I took the only egg from a Wren's nest in 

 the thatch of a hovel, and on two successive mornings repeated the 

 experiment, when it was at last deserted. The Wren under notice, how- 

 ever, acted according to the rule, and deserted. She was " at home " 

 on the 12th, and flew out as I tapped the bough ; but the eggs were 

 gone — in fact, she had turned them out, and they lay broken on the 

 ground. On the 14th 1 did not see the bird, but found on examining 



