164 



NOTES on BIRDS. 



Unusual Situation of Thrush's Nest near Bolton.— On the nth 



May I flushed a Song- Thrush {Turdus musicus) from her nest and four 

 eggs under a heather bush on a moorland hill-side, on or close to the 

 ground. Within a quarter of a mile were trees and grass-land. — John P. 

 THOMASSON, Bolton, 13th May 1901. 



Pink-footed Goose in Co. Durham.— On 5th Feb. 1901, a specimen 

 of the Pink-footed Goose {Anser brachyrhynchus) was shot at Seaton Carew, 

 according to the local papers, by Mr. C. Braithwaite, of that place. This 

 bird is an autumn and winter visitant to the shores of this county, arriving 

 about October and leaving- ag-ain about April. — J. W. Fawcett, Satley, 

 Darlington, 22nd March 1901. 



Dates of Arrival of Swallow and Cuckoo at Wetwang-on-the- 

 Wolds, 1870-IOOI. — I beg to forward the following notes, taken by me at 

 Wetwang-on-the- Wolds, for a series of years. The arrival of the Swallow 

 (Hirundo rustica) and the note of the Cuckoo {Cuculus canorus) are taken 

 from personal observation, or from the information of one or two observers 

 whom I have interested in the subject. 



Date. 



Swallow. 



Cuckoo. 



Date. 



S\v allow. 



Cuckoo. 



1879 . 



. April 25 





1891 . 



April 22 



. May 14 



1880 . 



'. April 25 .. 





1892 . 



April 22 





1881 . 



. April 16 





1893 . 



April 20 .. 



May 6 



1882 . 



. April 21 





1894 . 







1883 . 



April 26 





1895 . 



April 20 





1884 . 



. April 28 .. 





1896 . 



April 24 





188=; . 



April 17 





1897 . 



April 21 .. 



April 23 



1 886 . 



April 26 .. 





1898 . 



. April 16 .. 





1887 . 



. April 28 .. 





1899 . 



April 20 .. 



April 30 



1888 . 



April 29 



. May 8 



1900 . 



. May 1 .. 





1889 . 



. April 23 .. 



May 1 



1901 



April 20 



May 1 



1890 . 



. May 3 .. 



. May 6 









Formerly the Sand Martins {Cotile riparia) used to arrive first, but none 

 have been seen for many years. — E. Maule Cole, Wetwang, 3rd May 1901. 



Mistle-Thrush. — This bird {Turdus viscivorus L.) has built in the large 

 Sycamore {Acer pseudoplatanus L. ) by the vicarage garden gate at Cadney 

 for many years, except in the year of the great frost, 1895, and for a season 

 or two afterwards. A pair this year have made their nest in a small White 

 Thorn {Crataegus monogyna Jacq.) in the same fence. The position of the 

 nest is at the forking of the branches, just such a place as the bird loves. 

 But the bottom of the nest is less than four feet from the ground. When 

 there were four eggs in the nest one was accidentally broken and another 

 taken, and the birds forsook the garden for a week. Then I found they had 

 returned, for I saw them sitting in the tree turning their heads on one side 

 and peering into the nest. It suddenly struck me that the partially incubated 

 and dead eggs were their trouble, and the following night I removed them. 

 The birds are now sitting on four eg-gs. In all my experience of nesting 

 I have never known the Mistle-Thrush return to a robbed nest and lay 

 a second clutch ; and can hardly believe it would have been the case in my 

 garden had not the two bad eggs remained in the nest till they wished them 

 removed. Though the garden is but half an acre in size, in the last ten 

 seasons we have had Blackbirds {T. merula L.), Thrushes {T. musicus L.), 

 Hedge Sparrows {Accentor -/nodularis L.), Flycatchers {Muscicapa grisola L. ), 

 Wrens {Troglodytes troglodytes L. ), Sparrows {Passer domesticus L. ), Chaf- 

 finches {Fringilla coelebs L.), Starlings {Sturnus vulgaris L.), and Ringdoves 

 {Columba palumbus L. ) nesting with us. I have seen most of our common 

 birds at one time or another within the fences. The Tree-Creeper {Certhia 

 familiaris L.) is my best record. — E. Adrian Woodruffe-Peacock, Cadney, 

 Brigg, 22nd April 1901. 



Naturalist, 



