NOTES AND QUERIES. 31 



indifferent they are to the human hand ; they will not budge from the 

 nest when the tile overhead has been removed, and the only concern 

 they seem to show is when one after the other they are thrown into 

 the air — they generally go off screeching. — Stanley Lewis ("Wells, 

 Somerset). 



Late Stay of Swift. — On Sept. 16th of last year, with a naturalist 

 friend, I had one of my most interesting experiences of bird migra- 

 tion. Successive flocks of Martins (Chelidon iirbica) were steadily 

 flying iow down over this town, or rather, I should say, past the sea- 

 front of the town, for they flew not over but in front of the tallest 

 buildings. The Martins passed southwards in successive companies, 

 like soldiers on the march, and with them were several Swifts flying 

 with but not amongst the Martins, suggesting the fancy that they (the 

 Swifts) were acting as officers. — W. Gyngell (Scarborough). 



Lesser Spotted Woodpecker and Whinchat in Herts, &c. — Both 

 these species appear to be increasing in this district, and the Whinchat 

 nested within five minutes' walk of my house, which is in a fairly 

 populated neighbourhood. Last spring, when I rambled through the 

 woodland in the early morning, I saw and heard daily a great number 

 of Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers. All three British nesting species 

 breed in the woods here — Great and Lesser Spotted and Green species. 

 I also saw a pair of Wheatears here on April 2nd last, which may be 

 considered rare visitors with us, and knew of young King-Doves out of 

 the nest as early as April 5th. — W. Peecival Westell (5, Glenfernie 

 Boad, St. Albans, Herts). 



Cuckoo's Egg in Nest of Twite.— In < The Zoologist ' (1904, p. 315) 

 mention is made by my father of a Cuckoo's egg being found in the 

 nest of a Twite by one of my younger brothers. Mr. Allan Ellison 

 (1905, p. 391), in referring to this record, says : " The instance men- 

 tioned by Mr. Butterfield can hardly be substantiated"; and Mr. W. 

 H. Parkin (1905, p. 348) also says, in referring to the same instance : 

 "We received a report by a younger brother, .... but we failed to 

 locate it." Both these references can only be interpreted as throwing 

 some doubt on the record, or, at any rate, that it is not satisfactorily 

 confirmed. I well remember the circumstance, as I saw the Cuckoo's 

 egg, which was incubated, the same day. The locality where the 

 Twite's nest was found containing the Cuckoo's egg was the very 

 " colony " with which Mr. Parkin is familiar, and I understood that 

 he knew the particular circumstances under which it was visited at 

 the time. That my brother was familiar with the egg of the Twite is 



