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THE ZOOLOGIST. 



brother was fortunate enough to find a pair of Lesser Spotted Wood- 

 peckers nesting in the top of an ash-tree on June 2nd, 1907, his 

 attention being drawn to them by their curious note ; and on June 

 14th, 1908, we found the Great Spotted Woodpecker nesting in a 

 holly- stump. The nest was about ten feet from the ground and con- 

 tained young, but notwithstanding the fact that the old birds must 

 have been most anxious to keep their ravenous offspring well supplied 

 with food, they were so shy and wary that it was most difficult to get 

 a sight of them. We hope to see more of them next summer. As 

 far as I can ascertain both species are rare in our district, though 

 they may be easily overlooked owing to their retiring habits. — A. 

 Hugh Duncalfe (Perton, Wolverhampton). 



Local Name of Corn-Crake. — The use of the name Bean-cracker 

 for the Corn-Crake in South Pembrokeshire, as recorded by Mr. H. B. 

 Booth (Zool. 1908, p. 431), suggests an interesting comparison with 

 the name " Bean-crake" used for this bird in South Wexford. The 

 resemblance is, I believe, in agreement with well-known historical 

 facts. — G. E. H. Barrett-Hamilton (Kilmanock, Campile, Water- 

 ford, Ireland). 



Bird Notes from the Tyrol. — Last year (1908) we took our holiday 

 in the Austrian Tyrol, and as usual I seized every opportunity to see 

 as much of the bird-life of the country we passed through as possible, 

 and I must say I was greatly disappointed with the results, for we 

 saw scarcely any birds, and the number of species noted was so few 

 that I hardly like offering these meagre notes to the Editor, but they 

 may be of interest to persons intending to pay a visit to this very 

 beautiful part of Europe. Why birds are so scarce in the Tyrol was 

 a mystery, for in all the three weeks I was there I never saw a peasant 

 with a gun ormeard a short fired ; so different to the South of France, 

 where one often meets sportsmen with a string of Thrushes. Perhaps 

 the Austrian peasants have given up shooting as a bad job, all the 

 birds having been killed by the last generation. 



I left London on July 29th. When passing through Switzerland 

 I saw a pair of Storks (Ciconia alba) feeding their young on a farm- 

 house chimney. On Lake Zurich a Great Crested Grebe (Podicipes 

 cristatus) was noted swimming close to the train, and out on the lake 

 a few large hawks, probably Buzzards, were wheeling about. Lan- 

 deck was reached on the 31st. Here the only birds I saw were some 

 Great Tits (Parus major) feeding near the river, and a fine Crossbill 

 (Loxia curvirostra^ in a cage. Our next long stay was Trafoi, with 



