NOTES AND QUERIES. 405 



Boyd these birds seemed to have been identified as Storks, and the 

 matter is left undecided. As Storks have no note, and the loud 

 clanging note is characteristic of the Cranes, there can be no doubt 

 that the birds observed were Cranes. The " clappering " noise made 

 by the Stork is produced by mechanical means only*. — F. C. E. 

 Jourdain. 



Longevity in a Magpie. — A friend tells me has known a Magpie for 

 twenty-four years, and it had been with its owners some time before 

 that. " He " had been with them for sixteen years, always being 

 referred to as "he " and named " Mac," when " he " scandalised his 

 large circle of friends by laying an egg ! This was the only occasion. 

 He was very fond of beer, which evidently agreed with him. From 

 what I can gather, Mac's seems to have been " a long life, and a gay 

 r one." — (Miss) A. Pbeyss. 



An Unusual Blackbird's Nest. — This spring, when visiting the 

 Horniman Gardens, I found a Blackbird's nest in a very exposed 

 position. The nest was in a small hollow of an oak-tree, about six 

 and a half feet from the ground ; this is rather high for this bird. 

 The female as well as the male was orange-billed. There were five 

 eggs of the usual colour. The birds deserted their nest before the 

 eggs were hatched, evidently disturbed by the numerous visitors to 

 the Gardens. — Eric L. Kelting (London). 



Status of the Stonechat in North-West Yorkshire. — Under the 

 above heading my old friend Mr. B. P. Butterfield quotes me {ante, 

 p. 398), as reporting a pair of Stonechats with one young one — the 

 latter fairly strong on the wing — this summer. As Mr. Butterfield 

 does not give any .date, and as the locality stated is not strictly 

 accurate, I am sure he will excuse my adding the following parti- 

 culars, in order to avoid the possibility of any confusion arising in 

 the future. The spot was actually at Threshfield, but close to 

 Grassington Bailway Station, in Upper-Wharfedale. Mr. D. Sut- 

 cliffe reported that he had seen a pair of Stonechats there on 

 June 19th, and on July 8th I went, as directed, and saw the three 

 birds at the exact spot in the same field. It was a very windy day, 

 and there may have been other young hiding in the long herbage ; 

 but I could not see signs of any more. Personally, I have not the 

 slightest doubt but that these birds had nested there ; although, as 



* Most probably both species were present, as suggested by Mr. Buxton (p. 416) ; 

 the identification of Cranes by their note does not exclude the presence of Storks 

 as well, which would be very difficult to distinguish from thern when flying at a 

 leight or in the dusk. [Ed.] 



