ig8 
FIELD NOTES. 
BIRDS. 
Grey Hen in the Wilsden District. — The other day 
Mr. Leach, late head woodman -to Mr. Ferrand, St. Ives, 
Bingley, informed me that a few years ago, he thinks in 1917, 
he saw a Grey Hen several times on Blackhills, near Wilsden, 
but never saw a male. A few years prior to this another 
Grey Hen was seen, and a nest was found with eggs, but the 
bird was unfortunately shot— E. P. Butterfield. 
Turtle Dove in Yorkshire. — With reference to The 
Naturalist, pp. 125-12 7, I was living at Skipwith from 1893 to 
1906, and I cannot remember a season in which there was 
none of these birds about, and every spring one or two pairs 
were nesting on the Common, particularly in some of the 
larger clumps of birches. Since coming to Saxton, in 1906, I 
have generally noted Turtle Doves close to my house, and on 
two occasions a pair has nested in the small belt of plantation 
surrounding the grounds. — C. Ash, Saxton Vicarage. 
Swan -marking in the 14th and 15th Centuries.— Dr. 
W. T. Caiman makes the suggestion (Naturalist, 1922, p. 83) 
that the cut which represents a Swan undergoing the process of 
marking — reproduced in No. 771, p. 121, — is nothing more 
than a caricature, but I can not think this was so, remembering 
how common the practice was of cutting n itches on Swan's 
legs and beaks, as an identification of ownership, and no 
doubt it was found very effective. The original of this cut, 
which is coloured I believe, is a small miniature measuring, 
as Mr. Gibson of the Bodleian Library has, kindly informed 
me, only three inches by one and a half.— J. H. Gurney, 
Keswick Hall, Norwich. 
Wintering of the Pied Wagtail at Newsome, Yorks. — 
A pair of Pied Wagtails has again passed the whole of the 
winter in the parish of Newsome. On the 13th and 14th 
January last there was a snowfall of four to five inches in 
depth, followed by an intense period of frost up to the 27th 
January. During that period, I frequently saw the birds 
obtaining sustenance from food placed in gardens, and poultry 
runs, or from the rough vegetation at the base of walls, both 
at Newsome and the adjoining, suberb of Primrose Hill. 
The plumage of the birds became very much soiled, making 
them quite a contrast with the immigrants of this species, 
which were noticed on the arable land on the 10th March. — 
W. E. L. Wattam, Newsome. 
Pied Wagtails, have been in Harrogate during the whole 
of the winter. On January 5th I picked up the dead body of 
a fine male in perfect plumage on Duchy Road. On March 
2nd there was a big flock in the grounds of the Cairn Hydro: 
I saw them at 6 p.m. ; they were evidently new arrivals, and 
Naturalist 
