3S4 
NOTES TO THE 
in the western parts of England, but I have found it breeding 
abundantly in some parts of the west ; as, for instance, in 
Devonshire. One nest in my collection is composed externally 
of a mixture of grass and roots. The body of the nest is of 
wool, moss, and grass in layers, forming a substance which, 
although not very compact, yet has an air of comfort about it. 
" Another nest is composed externally of coarse grass, with a 
small amount of moss, and is compactly bound together. It is 
cup-shaped, and is lined with horse-hairs and a few roots almost 
as fine. A small piece of hemp cord garnishes the rim of the 
nest, which is altogether as strong and easily lifted as one of the 
hedge-sparrow. 
" The eggs are mostly a cream-coloured ground, with spots of 
ash and pale yellow ochre. Some are of a pale blue, and others 
are of a salmon-coloured ground. They are variously spotted, 
from dull ash-coloured green to bright red, which last is gene- 
rally mixed with pure ash and pale ochre. They have very 
generally a zone of spots towards the larger end, and are very 
seldom thickly spotted all over, so as in the least degree to 
obscure the groimd colour, except where the zone of spots is. 
The number of eggs varies from five to seven." — G. Napier. 
Mr. Gould gives four Shrikes. Genus Lanius : 1. The great 
grey shrike, L. excAihitor ; 2. Lanius minor, rose breasted shrike. 
Genus Enncoctonus ; 3. Butcher-bird, U. collurio ; 4. Wood- 
chat shrike, E. Til fits. 
In order that the reader may understand the meaning of the 
terms " flur stick " and " brace birds," I now give an extract 
from an article I published in Land and Water, No. 501, Aug. 28, 
1875, describing a day's bird-catching at Mr. Burr's park, at 
Aldermaston, near Heading, with Mr. Davy, the bird-catcher. 
The process of laying the nets is as follows : — Two nets, twelve 
yards long (and, when open, covering the ground twenty feet 
wide), are neatly laid down on the ground. It is impossible, 
without a diagram, to describe the rough yet very excellent 
machinery by which a pull on the rope held by the bird-catcher ^ 
will make these harmless-looking nets instantly spring into the 
air and catch the birds, either on the wing or on the ground. 
The nets act so quickly that the eye can scarcely follow their 
spring. Anything on the wing crossing them four feet high will 
be shut in instantly. It is better to catch the bird before he 
1 When catching small birds, the bird-catcher stands eighteen yards from 
the nets ; when catching blackbirds, thrushes, or starlings, position is taken up 
at twenty -five yards. 
