CORRESPONDENCE. 
481 
( Fringilla montana ), whistling, Feb. 10.—Larks ( Alauda arvensis ), soaring and 
singing, Feb. 10.—Elder-leaf sprouting, Feb. 12.—Partridges ( Teirao perdix), in 
pairs, Feb. 13.—Honey-suckle, or Woodbine, sprouting, Feb. 12.—Mezereon, 
flowering in gardens, Feb. 10.-—House Sparrow ( Fringilla domestica ), building, 
Feb. 23.— Pyrus Japonica , in gardens, first flowering, Feb. 23.—Blackbirds, 
building, Feb. 24.— Aranea palustris , above ground, Feb. 28.—“ Lords-and- 
ladies” ( Arum macidatum ), shooting up plentifully on the banks of hedges, 
Feb. 28. 
Coldest day in February, the 18th. Thermometer at 26° seven o'clock, a. m.; 
40° at one, p. m.; 30° at nine, p. m.—Mildest day in March, the 9th. Thermom. 
at 51°, 55°, and 52°, at the same hours. Wind S.S.W. Barometer at the 
lowest (29.2°) on the 18th; at the highest (30.2°) on the 10th. Wind S.W. 
The hatch of a Kestrel, or Wind-hover ( Falco tinnuncidus ), was brought to me 
in June last, consisting of four well-fledged birds. There were originally five, 
but one, attempting to fly on the approach of the nest-robber, fell to the ground 
and was killed. After disposing of the young brood, I went to examine the nest, 
which was on a , Spruce-fir tree ( Pinus abies ), about sixteen feet from the 
ground. On taking it down, I had olfactory evidence of the callow brood's 
having had u enough and to spare” of animal food, for the stench arising from 
it was prodigious. Constructed of the withered branches of the Larch ( Pinus 
larix ), without much regard to architectural order, it would have been difficult 
to remove, had not the upper part of it been cemented together with a mass of 
the decomposed leavings of the young family. They had been amply supplied 
with fresh birds, as they had left the half-picked remains of many a former meal 
—a suitable couch whereon to repose their satiated bodies, in which I recognized 
the Finch and Sparrow tribes. 
On my way from Norfolk, on the 8th of March, X found that the Rooks at 
Dapell, in Hertfordshire, had just completed their nests. I learnt "on inquiry that 
they commenced the third week in February. At Wadesmill they had begun 
about a week, whereas in our neighbourhood they had not laid the first stick 
when X left home. The Rooks at the Tower in London are now highly busy at 
the same work. 
Believe me to be, Dear Sir, 
Most respectfully yours, 
London , March 13, 1839. Richard Pigott. 
known by the English name of “ Hedge-sparrowwhile, on the other hand, the real Fringilla 
montana , or Tree Sparrow, possesses no song at all.— Ed. 
