NOTES AND QUERIES. 



29 



Wolverhampton, in May- June, 1907. My brother, Mr. Henry Dun- 

 calfe, and I noticed the birds early in May, and, although we made 

 several journeys to the spot, were quite baffled in our attempts to find 

 the nest until June 9th, when we saw one of the birds with a large 

 green caterpillar in its bill, and after watching for some time it 

 hurriedly disappeared amongst the thick herbage. The bird seemed 

 exceedingly nervous, and was constantly flying from bush to bush, 

 evidently very uncertain as to the wisdom of trusting us with its 

 secret. We then found the nest, which was most carefully hidden in 

 the bottom of a clump of nettles and briars growing on a steep hedge- 

 bank, and it then contained two newly hatched young and one addled 

 egg, which latter is now in our collection. The nest was composed of 

 oak-leaves with a lining of fine twigs. We also located another pair 

 about a mile from this spot, but failed to find their nest. Curiously 

 enough, both these pairs were within a few yards of running water, 

 but perhaps this is only a coincidence. I have only known single 

 representatives of this species visit us very occasionally soon after 

 their arrival in this country, and after a short time they disappear. I 

 believe the males usually arrive some few days before the females, 

 and perhaps this would account for the single birds we sometimes 

 get. I have never heard of any nesting in our district before. We 

 were hoping they would return to us again this summer, but unfortu- 

 nately they did not, although, as far as we know, the young got off 

 safely. Mr. H. E. Forrest, in his 'Fauna of Shropshire,' speaks of it 

 as " being very sparingly distributed along the Severn Valley as far 

 north as Shrewsbury," while Dr. McAldowie, in his book on the 

 'Birds of Staffordshire,' says "it is an occasional summer visitant, 

 although authorities include Staffordshire in its regular breeding 

 area " ; and again, later, he says : " During recent years it has been a 

 rare visitor, its occurrence having only twice been recorded in the 

 Annual Zoological Eeport of the North Staffordshire Field Club from 

 1886-1892." One cannot help feeling that the birds spoken of above 

 really belonged almost as much to one county as to the other, as some 

 of their excursions must have taken them over the border into 

 Staffordshire. I should be very much interested to hear whether 

 other ornithologists have heard of them breeding in either of 

 the two counties lately, and if so, if they are regular visitors, or 

 only turn up occasionally. — A. Hugh Duncalfe (Perton, Wolver- 

 hampton). 



Nesting of the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopus minor) 

 and the Great Spotted Woodpecker (D. major) in Staffordshire. — My 



