NATURAL HISTORY NOTES 
227 
on the ground, by hedghogs eating into the soft parts of their '.todies, has 
been regarded in some quarters as incredible. It is perhaps hardly necessary to 
state that unless convinced of the fact 1 should not have ventured to commit it to 
print. Similar incidents have been recorded in the Field, and the ZoolofAsl 
(1886, p. 457). Last May a gentleman who has had much experience in 
rearing pheasants in the south of Scotland told me in the course of conversation, 
and without any hint that I was interested in the matter, that he had twice found 
sitting pheasants killed on the nest by hedgehogs which had attacked them, not 
on the head or neck (as a stoat or rat would), but in the horrible manner suggested 
above. After this I think we may say that — incredible as it may seem — the fact 
is well proven : the hedgehog is — “ Guilty.” 
Shrewsbury, November 5, 1901. II. E. Forrest. 
Boxes for Birds. — At the beginning of March I placed in my garden a 
number of bo.xes for birds to nest in, with an entrance hole in one corner near the 
roof, so that when sitting on their nests the birds should not .see and be disturbed 
by what went on below. A slick was fastened to each box to serve as a perch, 
and they were fixed on tree trunks ten or twelve feet from the ground. l 5 y the 
first week in April every box was appropriated by sparrows, which sat in pairs on 
a slick, and amused themselves by going in and out of the box and driving all 
other birds away. The boxes not being intended for the education of young 
sparrows, I determined to eject them ; but how, was the question, unless a gun 
were used, which w’ould terrify every bird on the premises, and drive many away. 
Placing the boxes six feet from the ground proved a remedy, but it is too low- 
down for nuthatches and wrynecks, which I especially wanted to encourage. 
The most effective plan has been the lessening of the hole, till just large enough 
to admit the thumb. This was done the middle of Ajrril, and the perseverance 
of the sparrows in their attempts to get in by the reduced entrance was most 
amusing. For three weeks they made fruitless endeavours to squeeze through 
holes by which different kinds of tits passed into the boxes without the slightest 
trouble. Sparrows have not the same power of entering holes as birds that 
habitually nest in such places. They require space to gr.asp the hole with their 
feet as they enter, and prefer one large enough to perch in, while tits and 
nuthatches pass readily through any space that will admit their bodies. The 
effect of the sparrows’ pertinacity has been to keep several of my boxes 
untenanted. It is, however, the first time I have erected any, and next year 
the broods of those birds that have been successfully raised will be on the look 
out for similar quarters near their old home. I have come to the conclusion 
that perches on boxes are a mistake, and shall remove the sticks. They are 
only an encouragement to sparrows. Tils fly straight to the hole, and nuthatches 
do not require them, nor do any of those birds that habitually nest in holes. 
Market Weston, Thctford. Edmu.M) Tiios. D.vubeny. 
November, 1901. 
Strange Nesting Places. — Perhaps you may think one or two more of 
these worth recording. I once found the nest of the great tit in the super of a 
disused bee hive, while in the stock hive underneath was a strong wasps’ nest in 
full swing. The heat, in the hive was so great that the eggs all dried up instead 
of hatching. I took them after they had been incubated for a month and found 
the yolks rattling about inside them like small marbles. Another was built 
in a private letter box, and I found the bird sitting on the nest with a letter 
and two post cards lying on her back. I took one egg, and on visiting 
the nest again in four days’ time, found that three more had been laid. They 
were duly hatched and the brood flew. Another pair of great tits made 
persistent attempts to build in a pump which was in daily use in a garden 
belonging to some friends of mine. On three successive mornings they pumped 
out part of a nest, the work of the previous day, and on the fourth morning they 
pumped out one of the birds as well. After such very rough and inhospitable 
treatment, which unfortunately could not be helped, as it was necessary to use the 
pump, the poor things at last gave up the attempt in disgust. 
Lyminster, Arundel. \V. S. Clea'IHER. 
The eccentricities of tits are certainly remaikable. At a little country place 
which I have, a pair has for at least three years past reared and fledged a brood 
