506 



The Museum Gazette 



The following birds nest in March : Raven, Rook, Crow, 

 Hooded Crow, Heron, Crossbill, Long-Eared Owl, Tawny 

 Owl, Song Thrush, Mistletoe Thrush, Blackbird, Robin, 

 Hedge- Sparrow, Long-tailed Titmouse, Woodlark, Kingfisher, 

 Woodcock, Moorhen, Ring dove, Stock dove, and Rock dove. 



In this month we may begin to watch for the arrival of the 

 spring migrants. One of the first to arrive is the chiffchaff, 

 usually in the second week. About a fortnight later comes 

 the wryneck or " cuckoo's mate," as it is popularly termed, 

 from its habit of sometimes arriving in this country with the 

 cuckoo. It is essentially a woodland bird ; like the wood- 

 pecker, it nests in a hole in a tree, but unlike that bird, does 

 not go to the trouble of drilling one. 



Its plumage much resembles that of the bark of the trees 

 which it loves to climb and examine for insects. Like the 

 green woodpecker it is very fond of ants, and will frequently 

 visit ant-hills. " The peculiar habit which the bird has of 

 twisting the neck with a slow undulatory movement, like that 

 of a snake, has obtained for it the name of wryneck, not only 

 in England, but throughout the Continent, wherever the bird 

 is known," writes Mr. Harting. 



The first " Bee " of the season is usually not a bee at all. 

 You may find him some sunny morning crawling languidly on 

 the windows, and may not improbably exclaim, " Oh, a poor 

 drone ! " He increases the deception by twitching his abdo- 

 men in the peculiar way that bees do. He looks to the 

 uninstructed exactly like a bee. He is, however, not a bee, but 

 a big fly, quite harmless, and may be handled without fear. 

 He is one of the Drone flies (Eristalis) which has been aroused 

 from hibernation by the mild weather. 



In summer these flies may be seen commonly in gardens 

 hovering over flowers in the manner of their allies, the Hover- 

 flies. The abdomen of the latter being banded with black 

 and yellow, causes them to resemble wasps. Look carefully 

 at the Drone fly, you will at once distinguish it from a bee by 



