ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES. 



2I 5 



Jackdaw and Young Birds. — I witnessed a freak this evening which, 

 though perhaps usual enough, may not be known to many of your readers. On 

 returning home I saw a Jackdaw (Corvus moneduld) on the roof of a friend's 

 house, peering down into the ivy in a somewhat suspicious manner. A number 

 of Sparrows were on a tree close by, making a most vociferous outcry. Presently 

 the Jackdaw dropped down into the ivy, put his head into a sparrow's nest, pulled 

 out a half-fledged young one, flew back on to the roof, and there and then calmly 

 ' ate iV — H. T. Archer, Newcastle-on-Tyne. 



Birds deserting their Nests. — A neighbour tells me that in his garden 

 some of the Blackbirds ( Turdus meruld), Thrushes (T. musicus), a Hedge Accentor 

 {Accentor modularis), and a Robin {Erythacus rubecula) have deserted their nests 

 — the latter all containing eggs. At Easter I stayed with a friend on one of our 

 Northumbrian moors for a week's fishing. In our evening rambles after the day's 

 fishing was over we found many nests of the Missel Thrush ( Turdtis viscivortis), 

 Song Thrush ( T. musicus), Blackbird ( T. merula), Water Ouzel {Cinclus aquaticus), 

 Red Grouse {Lagopus scoticus), Curlew {Numenius arquata), Snipe {Gallinago 

 ccelestis), Green Plover ( Vanellus vulgaris), &c. Nearly all of these contained eggs. 



My friend was back at the moor again last week and reports that many of the 

 nests of the Thrushes and Blackbirds have been deserted, some of them even con- 

 taining young. As there is no one within many miles to meddle with them I think 

 the desertion must have been caused by the heavy rains which have occurred, 

 especially as at Easter, when there were eggs in most of the nests, there was very 

 little foliage to shelter them. 



The Carrion Crows {Corvus corone) and Lesser Black-backed Gulls {Larus 

 fuscus) rob the nests of the ground-building birds unmercifully. The shepherd 

 found a Snipe's nest with four eggs, but the next day they had a hole pecked through 

 them and the contents sucked out. I brought nest and the remains of the eggs 

 away as they were, and while doing so came across a pair of Black-backed Gulls 

 quartering the moor like pointers. — H. T. Archer, Newcastle-on-Tyne, June 9th. 



Thrush laying in a Blackbird's nest. Late stay of the 



Redwing. — Early this spring a Blackbird ( Turdus merula) built its nest in a 

 stunted bush of the famous North American ' Red Wood ' ( Taxodiuni sempervirens) 

 in one of our plantations and subsequently laid in it the full complement of eggs, 

 which, however, were soon stolen by one of the ubiquitous birds-nesting boys and 

 for a while the nest remained empty ; not for long, however, for on May 4th I 

 happened to pass the bush and, out of mere curiosity, looked into the nest, when 

 I was a little astonished to find that a Thrush ( T. musicus) had taken possession, 

 and after plastering the inside with mud had laid her four eggs, being too lazy, one 

 might suppose, to construct a nest for herself. 



On the same date (May 4th) a Redwing {T. iliacus) was seen here. The 

 individual who observed it knows the species well and reports that he had been 

 very close to the bird in question and had specially noticed its well-marked eye- 

 stripe. — James Backhouse, junr., West Bank, York, May 27th, 1886. 



Dunlins and Black Tern near Nottingham.— On April 4th and 



again on 25th I had glimpses of small parties of Sandpipers with dark underparts 

 which I was unable to identify. On May 9th, however, I had a better opportunity. 

 A friend called to tell me that a flock of about 30 Sandpipers were flying up and 

 down the river about a mile away. I was fortunate enough to catch up a straggler 

 from the flock which was obligingly tame. I found it to be a Dunlin ( Tringa 

 alpina) in full breeding plumage. To-day, May nth, a Black Tern {Hydro- 

 chelidon nigra) passed and re-passed me several times whilst rowing in a boat on 

 the Trent. I finally saw it within a few feet of me perched on a stone in the 

 river. — F. B. Whitlock, Nottingham, May nth, 1886. 



Pied Flycatcher in North Lincolnshire.— Yesterday a strange 



bird was reported to me as frequenting a garden in Bourne Road, Alford. To-day 

 I have seen it. It is a male Pied Flycatcher {Muscicapa atricapilla) without doubt. 

 I had not time to wait to see if a female be also in company. I have, from reports 

 in previous years, suspected it in the Alford district ; it is now a certainty. The 

 occupier has been requested to protect it, and I hope it may nest. — Jas. Eardley 

 Mason, The Sycamores, Alford, 16th May, 1886. 



July 1886. 



