7998 



Birds. 



Blackcap. Lined with the sprigs of a whalebone broom. — ff. Blake-Knox ; 



Bartragh, Dalkey, Dublin, March 7, 1862. 



The Manner in which the Cuckoo deposits its Eggs. — In corroboration of what Mr. 

 Cogan states of the deposition of the eggs of the cuckoo (Zool. 7935), I may men- 

 tion that a few years ago a young cuckoo was discovered in the nest of a robin in an 

 aperture of an old stone wall ; there was only one cuckoo as usual, and no young 

 robins. In about a mouth my friends where it happened were obliged to enlarge the 

 hole or entrance to the nest, to allow the young cuckoo to escape. This bird was 

 watched for five or six weeks by most of the members of the family, and was most 

 attentively fed by its foster-parents, the robins, until it disappeared ; but the inhabit- 

 ants of the house particularly stated that they were always puzzled to know how the 

 egg of the cuckoo had been introduced, as it was quite impossible that the body of the 

 parent bird could have entered. The nest was about four inches from the entrance.— 

 H. W. Newman ; Hillside , Cheltenham, March 11,1 862. 



Early Arrival of the Wheatear. — Yesterday, March 7th, I noticed a wheatear on 

 the sea-shore. This is the earliest date at which the bird has been known to arrive 

 at Bembridge. Up to the 5th of the month we had cold easterly winds ; on the 6th 

 and 7th it blew a gale, with much rain, from the south-west, the temperature rising 

 more than twelve degrees. With this soft, warm wind came the wheatear. — A. G. 

 More ; Vectis Lodge, Bembridge, March 8, 1862. 



Habits of the Crested Titmouse. — On Tuesday last I had the pleasure of observing 

 several crested titmice among some Scotch firs near Craig Lockhart, within about an 

 hour's walk of this city. Their presence was betrayed by their peculiar and inces- 

 santly repeated notes ; but even after the discovery had been made it was no easy 

 matter to keep the birds in view, owing to their continual restlessness, in which 

 respect, as well as in the amusing variety of their motions, they bore a striking resem- 

 blance to the more familiar blue titmouse. They kept pretty near together, and for 

 the first twenty minutes or so after my arrival they appeared to be making but a cur- 

 sory examination of the trees, constantly flitting from branch to branch, and seemingly 

 obtaining but little in the way of food. At length, without any apparent cause, they 

 all flew off to a small clump of Scotch firs standing alone at a more sheltered part of 

 the hill-side. Whether they had received a signal from one of their number who had 

 been sent out to explore, or whether they preferred the comparative shelter of their 

 new position, it is impossible to say ; but at any rate it was evident that they had now 

 found an abundant supply of food, for not only did they confine themselves to one 

 single tree, but they also appeared to be directing their attention almost exclusively 

 to the extremities of the smaller branches, to which they might frequently be seen 

 hanging back downwards, at the same time making vigorous use of their bills. In 

 this manner they were still continuing to employ themselves when I lefi the spot about 

 half an hour later, after having repeatedly, but in vain, endeavoured to ascertain the 

 nature of their food, by examining such of the small branches as could be obtained. 

 Although I broke these from the same tree, by means of a long stick, the birds were 

 so little alarmed as merely to fly to ihe opposite side of the tree (which, however, was 

 one of considerable spread), and there remain curiously eyeing me until the interrup- 

 tion ceased. Several hundred yards from this spot I saw two more birds of the same 

 species in a thick hedge. As far as could be ascertained, both of them were females, 

 but so constantly were they in motion that a fair view of them could with difficulty be 

 obtained. One of them suddenly flew out of the hedge, and made several snaps at a 



