118 



THE YOUNG 



NATURALIST. 



About the end of June their voice begins to 

 break, and they drop the last letter " Cucko, 

 Cucko," and so on " Cuck, Cuck," till it gets 

 to"Cu, Cu" buttered sharply), they then 

 lose their voice altogether. 



CoRNRCAKES are very plentiful in the low 

 meadows by Jerome's Pool in the summer 

 They hardly fly at all, but rely chiefly on 

 their powers of running, which they do with 

 remarkable swiftness. When I have heard 

 the " Crank, crank," I have dropped a stone 

 into the place where the noise came from, 

 and then seen a head peer quietly up, then 

 dart down and run away through the grass. 

 They begin their concert as soon as the sun 

 has set, although they may be heard occa- 

 sionally all the day long. The come about 

 mostly at night. 



Partridges. — A friend of mine, J. L. C, 

 Esq., at Horse Brook Hall, said that he 

 found a partridge's nest containing about a 

 dozen eggs in it on a bank. He sat them 

 under a hen and they grew up very plump 

 and fat, and were very hardy, not one of 

 them died. As soon as they had left their 

 mother they took to the fields and did not 

 come back again. 



Scarcity of L. auriflua and P. gamma. 

 — Could any one inform me if the scarcity 

 of Liparis auriflua and Plusia gamma was 

 general in 1880 and 1 881, at least, I saw very 

 few specimens around Birmingham, (al- 

 though in October, 1880, I observed P. 

 gamma in great numbers in a clover field in 

 Shropshire.) They were both in great 

 abundance in 1879. L. auriflua covered the 

 hedges in October of that month like snow. 

 Mr. C. M., an experienced entomologist, 

 attributes it to their having laid their eggs 

 in a different locality. 



P. cardui. — In reply to a correspondent 

 to the Y.N. in No. 107, vol. 3, I may state 

 that I have not seen a single specimen during 

 the last two years (1880-81) around Birming- 

 ham. In 1879 they were plentiful, some 

 penetrating even into the Borough. 



THE LANCASHIRE & CHESHIRE 

 ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



This Society held its Annual Meeting on 

 Monday, 28th Jan., when S. J. Capper was 

 again elected President. In the course of 

 his remarks he gave a succinct account of the 

 use and progress of the Society. Formed 

 in 1877, at the house of Mr. Nicholas Cooke, 

 Mr. Capper was elected president without 

 his knowledge even that such a society was 

 about to be formed, and he has been con- 

 tinuously re-elected to the same oflice. They 

 originally consisted of only eleven members, 

 and from the commencement there have 

 been seventy-six ; of these fifty-seven still 

 remain connected with it. They have held 

 fifty-six meetings, at which fifty-one papers 

 have been read, ten of which have been 

 published. Interesting exhibits have been 

 made at the meetings, and they already 

 have papers promised to be read at the 

 meetings for nearly a year in advance. Not 

 the least valuable portion of the society is 

 its Entomological Library, purchased out 

 of the surplus subscriptions, which is al- 

 ready so good that Mr. Capper advises 

 those who cannot attend the monthly meet- 

 ings to become members for the privilege of 

 having accept to the books, which are cir- 

 culated among the members. 



BRITISH BIRDS, THEIR 

 NESTS AND EGGS. 



By S. L. Mosley. 



MONTAGU'S HARRIER. 

 Circus cenerareus (Mont.) 

 Cinerareus (L.) Ash coloured. 

 Size. — Male, length about i ft. 5in., ex- 

 panse 3ft. 8in.; female ift. 7 or Sin., expanse 

 3ft. 9 or loin. 



Plumage. — a pair in my own collec- 

 tion, which I should presume are adult, are 

 as follows: — 

 Male. — Bill dark horn colour, darker at 

 j the tip ; cere, eyes, and legs yellow. Head, 



