6o 



FIELD NOTES. 



ARACHNIDA. 

 Meta menardi Latreille. in West Lancashire — Whilst 



examining a cave on Warton Crag, during October last year, in 

 company with Mr. J. Wilfrid Jackson, we discovered the 

 beautiful cocoon of this fine spider suspended from the roof. 

 The cocoon is balloon-shaped, an inch by three-quarters in 

 diameter, and formed of delicate pure white silk. The pale 

 flesh-coloured eggs could easily be seen within it, as a globular 

 mass of about a quarter-of-an-inch in diameter. It was 

 suspended by numerous fine lines attached to the small end, 

 giving it the appearance of an inverted balloon. We were in 

 the cave again during Christmas week, and secured some of 

 the spiders, which appeared to be fairly plentiful, but were 

 mostly beyond reach, high up on the roof. They seemed 

 sensitive to our lights, moving rapidly away when the rays of 

 a powerful lamp reached them. In Blackwall's ' Spiders of 

 Great Britain and Ireland,' the only locality given for this 

 species is ' North Wales,' and to this the Rev. O. P. Cambridge, 

 in his later work on the ' Spiders of Dorset,' adds ' Co. Durham.* 

 This, therefore, appears to be an additional county record. 

 — R. Standen, Manchester Museum. 



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BIRDS. 



Qreat Grey Shrike near York. — A Great Grey Shrike was 

 caught at Strensall, near York, on Nov. 28th last. It struck 

 at the decoy bird of some 'linnet catchers,' its wing being 

 caught on their limed twigs. The Shrike lived two days after 

 its capture, killing mice readily, but refusing to eat them or 

 any other food, eventually dying of starvation. — Sydney 

 H. Smith, York. 



Stock Doves near Brocklesby. — There was an exception- 

 ally large flock of Stock Doves near Brocklesby, in Lincolnshire, 

 on] Dec. 30th, 1907. It reminded one more of the big flocks 

 we frequently see of Wood Pigeons. — W. H. Parkin, Shipley. 



Crossbills in Westmorland.— Mr. Booth's notice of the 

 Redwing (' Nat.,' Jan. p. 17) reminds me of a phenomenal flock 

 of Crossbills in Westmorland some fifty odd years ago. The 

 birds made the Brampton pine-woods, near x^ppleby, quite an 

 aviary. The local naturahst (Dr. Moses, of Appleby) wrote 

 about it in The Times, and offered to send specimens to Museums 



Naturalist, 



