43 



attracted chiefly by the fruit of a small cherry-like tree 

 (? Prunus sp.), the kernels of which they readily extracted, 

 the ground beneath the trees being thickly strewn with the 

 thin brittle shells or "stones." Several examples had been 

 shot, on account of the injury they had caused to the peas, 

 before I discovered their presence. In spite of the persistent 

 persecution I was delighted to find that some 8 or 10 individuals 

 were left, and it was a pleasing sight to watch them extracting 

 the kernels from the fruit of the tree to which I have referred. 



Fruit of the Yew. — At Eaton, Chester, on the estate of 

 the Duke of Westminster, this bird is fairly common, and, in 

 the early autumn, it subsists very largely on the fruit of the 

 yew, extracting the " kernels," evidently by preference, while 

 the fruit is still in the green stage ; some of the larger trees 

 in the main drives through the park are often completely 

 stripped of the fruit, and the empty kernels may be found 

 lodged among the branches or upon the ground beneath them. 



Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs, Linn.). 



242-252. 11 Females; Ince, Chester ; 6th January, 1894. — 

 All filled with seeds of the Knot grass (Polygonum sp.) mixed 

 with a few fragments of brick. 



253, 254. 2 Females ; Aldford, Cheshire ; 22nd February, 

 1894. — Garbage from kitchen midden ; pebbles ; fragments of 

 brick. 



255. Male ; Aldford, Cheshire ; lyth March, 1894. — A 

 quantity of vegetable fibres ; quartz grains ; cinders and bricks. 



256-258. 1 Male, 2 Females ; near Chester ; jth June, 1892. — 

 Filled entirely with fragments of beetles, chiefly weevils (Cur- 

 culionidae) ; pebbles. 



259. N estling Y oung (nearly fledged) ; near Chester; 21st June, 

 1908.— Almost filled with equal proportions of the remains of 

 Noctuid moths and moth larvae* ; of the latter 1 at least was 

 referable to the Winter Moth (Cheimatobia brumata). There 

 were besides these : wing cases of 2 small weevils ; 1 earwig ; 

 a quantity of fine grit and small pebbles. 



* My brother, Mr. Alfred Newstead, who had spent some considerable time 

 during the day (June 21st) in watching the parents, assured me that the major portion 

 of the food brought in to the young consisted of green geometrid caterpillars, and 

 that they were collected from the fruit trees in the orchard where the nest was built. 



