154 
NATURE NOTES 
nest with us. A fallen tree in the duck decoy 200 yards from my house is a 
favourite resort where green sandpipers have been under observation for the last 
six years. They leave us, presumably to nest further north, about May 15, and 
usually return with their young after two months’ absence. One was seen at 
Euston Park on June 24, and on July 5 one flew over my house at a great height. 
It is quite possible that these nested in England. 
July, 1905. Edmund Thos. Daubeny. 
270 . Joint Nesting. — A swallow’s nest has been occupied by a pair of 
swallows and spotted flycatchers at the same time. How they managed the 
sitting part of the business I cannot quite make out. The owner of the house 
where this occurred says it was most curious watching the four parents feeding 
their young. 
One spring a scrimmage went on in some rough grass several mornings in 
succession, opposite the windows as we were at breaklast. This was caused by 
a hen pheasant turning a partridge off her nest and laying an egg in it. After a 
time we removed the pheasant’s eggs and handed them to the gamekeeper. 
July, 1905. Edmund Thos. Daubeny. 
271 . Successive Occupancy of Nest. — In a honeysuckle on the wall 
of this garden there is a nest, built this spring by a pair of thrushes who have 
recently reared their brood in it. In this abode two pied or water wagtails 
(sometimes known as “dishwashers”), alter carefully “redecorating” it with a 
new lining of hair, have established their home, and are now busily engaged in 
feeding their young family. I should be glad to know if this is a common occur- 
rence with this species of birds, as I do not remember having before seen an 
instance of it. I have read that the cuckoo is fond of selecting a wagtail’s nest 
in which to deposit its eggs, but in this case the victims seem to have learnt from 
the enemy, although they have shown more consideration by waiting until the 
residence was vacated by its previous tenants. 
Summerdale House, Chichester. Wilfred Bailey. 
July 3, 1905. 
272 . The Spotted Flycatcher. — This pretty summer visitor has, from 
my earliest knowledge of it, had a very great fascination for me, its habits are 
some of the most interesting met with among birds, and as great numbers of 
them visit this country, we may watch for him from the month of May with 
every prospect of success. In size and shape it greatly resembles the sand- 
martin, being slender and having a long forked tail, and a very large head in 
proportion to its body. Its bill is thin and sharp, and well adapted for its mode 
of life, as will be seen later on. Above, and on the head it is grey-brown, while 
its breast is grey with several small brown specks, and grey on the underparts. 
To add to the resemblance to the sand-martin, its legs are very short, and when 
it perches on a fence or the branch of a tree, they are bent close to the body and 
are almost invisible. Its haunts are well-wooded gardens on the outskirts of 
towns, shady lanes, or clearings in woods, surrounded with trees and undergrowth 
of dense bushes. Commonly distributed all over the southern part of our island, 
I have seen him frequently on the outskirts of London, and very commonly in 
a lane near Brighton, bordered by a fence, and a hawthorn hedge, and Over- 
hung with young oaks and tall pine trees, making a tine shady avenue, and a 
typical haunt of the bird. 
Walking along this lane early one morning in August of last year, appreciat- 
ing the laint odour of the pines, I noticed a spoiled flycatcher fly from the fence 
into the road to snap up a passing insect, and it struck me as being a likely spot 
for this pretty visitor. Accordingly, 1 went out in the afternoon to the same 
spot and counted as many as twxnty birds on the fence, all actively engaged in 
fly-catching. They sit iiuietly on a fence, with eyes keen on the surroundings. 
Presently a (ly passes and the flycatcher darts from the fence and finishes up his 
short flight with a graceful sail, and then the fatal snap, and very rarely indeed 
misses his aim. It is a very pleasant sight to see a pair thus engaged on a warm 
summer alternoon ; they will fly to and fro the fence for hours, if not disturbed, 
and as they are very bold, they can easily be obseived. 
An extremely interesting trail in their character is their lender solicitude for 
