2l6 



NOTES—ORNITHOLOGY. 



Little Gull at Withernsea.— Mr. Chas. Couldwell showed me in his 

 collection a Little Gull {Larus minutus), which was shot at Withernsea after 

 a storm three or four years ago. — J. W. Stather, t6, Louis Street, Hull, 

 28th May 1900. 



Ruff at Bottesford Moors. — A Ruff {Machetes pugnax Linn.) was 

 taken at Bottesford Moors (Div. 2) about 1845. My father says it was 

 a beautiful bird, the ruff shading- off from light grey to white. It was kept 

 and fed in a room for some time, but what became of it my father does not 

 know. The men who caught them to sell on the moors in the Isle (Div. 1) 

 used to shut them up in a room, and they would live happily enough 

 together, if each had its separate box or plate for food. If this were not 

 done, those which were not provided for would die of starvation. Is this 

 fact or folk-lore ?— E. Adrian Woodruffe-Peacock, Cadney Vicarage, 

 Brigg, nth May 1900. 



Incubating Habit of Robin near Brigg.— Here, at Cadney, we have 

 a Robin's nest containing six egg-s. It is situated among some creepers 

 that are held up to the wall by trellis work. The wall faces south. During 

 the heat of the last few days the bird frequently left the nest or sat on 

 the side of it, leaving the eggs exposed. Does she do this in order that the 

 eggs may not be over-heated and thus spoil their chance of incubation? 

 I notice, too, that she often perches on the bough of an apple tree and 

 hawks for flies like a veritable flycatcher, but this habit is common to 

 several of our smaller birds. How often may the Grass-Chat be seen 

 perched on the dried last year's thistle or stem of hemlock, from which 

 point of vantage it hawks for flies and insects. — Max Peacock, Cadney, 

 Brigg, Lincolnshire, 12th June 1900. 



Bird Destruction in Winter. — Many years ago a farmer at Bottes- 

 ford, Div. 2, after laying a train of small seed and chaff, posted himself so 

 as to obtain a shot along the line of feeding birds during winterly w y eather. 

 The gun used was an eight-bore flintlock, with a 3 ft. 4 in. barrel, charged 

 with 4 ds. of powder and four pipe-heads full of dust shot, say 3^ oz. He 

 fired twice and killed 113 birds as the result. I myself counted the following 

 number of species : — 



Sparrows, 38. Goldfinches, 5. Great Tit, r. 



Greenfinches, 24. Tree Sparrows, 5. Blue Tits, 2. 



Blackbirds, 9. Hedge Sparrow, 1. Chaffinches (hens), 10. 



Larks, 13. Redwings, 2. Pigeons (dovecote), 3. 



— Max Peacock, Ivy House, Bottesford, Doncaster, 28th May 1900. 



Birds that Nested in the Yaddlethorpe Gravel Pits in 1887.— 



During the spring and summer of that year I spent much time noting the 

 bird life of this quiet spot. I find that the birds which nested in the sides 

 of the cliff in Rabbit or Sand Martin holes were the following : — Jackdaws 

 (3 pairs), Stockdoves (3), Swifts (5), Sand Martins (in great numbers), 

 Kingfisher (1), Wheatear (1), Starlings (in numbers). The pit is situated 

 about 60 yards from Bottesford Beck in an enclosure with high hedges on 

 three sides, the beck forming- the other. Three acres and a half of sandy 

 gravel with whin bushes and scattered whitethorn trees lie within the 

 fences. There I found the following birds incubating: — Robin (i)bn grass- 

 covered cliff-side; Yellow Wagtail (1), meadow on beck-bank, Pied Wag- 

 tail (1), With young Cuckoo in nest on beck-bank ; Linnets (3) and Thrushes 

 (2) in the whin bushes ; Ring Dove in ivy-covered ash tree ; Goldfinch in 

 small Dutch elm; WTiinchat (1) at the foot of a clump of thistles; Partridge 

 (1) at the foot of a thorn bush ; French Partridges (2) in rough grass at the 

 top of pit; Yellow Buntings (1) on beck-bank under a thorn bush. With 

 the single exception of the King-fisher, I believe, ^11 might be found again 

 this season when their different times for nesting arrive. Bottesford parish 

 is a very land of birds still. — Max Peacock, Ivy House, Bottesford, Don- 

 caster, 31st May 1900. 



. Naturalist, 



