144 
J". HOPKINSON—-NOTES ON BIRDS 
seem, Mr. Littleboy says, to indicate that it was the same bird and 
had wandered in that direction. The hoopoe is an irregular visitor 
to the south of England, and has only been seen in Hertfordshire 
at considerable intervals of time, the last record being of one shot 
at Brocket Hall in 1882. 
Cuckoo ( Cuculus canorus ).—A few years ago Mr. Arthur Dicken¬ 
son, of Hew Earm, St. Albans, took a very young cuckoo out of a 
robin’s nest and had her for several weeks, after which time she 
made her escape. Her foster-parents, the robins, found her, or 
she them, and they fed her for some weeks. That it was the same 
cuckoo Mr. Dickenson infers from her tameness and also from 
seeing her near the place of her birth. Last year (1888) he found 
in one of his meadows a robin’s nest and two hedge-sparrows’ nests 
within about a hundred yards of each other, each nest containing a 
young cuckoo. 
Sparrow-hawk ( Accipiter Nisus). —Mr. C. Dickenson, of Hew 
Earm, once placed several sparrow-hawks’ eggs under a dove-house 
pigeon. She hatched them out, and he then took them away and 
brought them up by hand. As they grew up they became perfectly 
tame, coming at his call and taking food from his hand. 
Cormorant ( Phalacrocorax Carlo). —I am informed by the Hon. 
"Walter Rothschild that a cormorant visited Tring in October. It 
is ten years since one has been seen there, the only previous record 
being of one shot on the reservoirs in Hovember, 1878. 
Sheldrake ( Tadorna cornuta). —On the 8th of January a common 
sheldrake was observed on the Tring Reservoirs by the Hon. 
Walter Rothschild for more than an hour. The only previous 
record of the sheldrake in our county is of one which was shot on 
the Elstree Reservoir in December, 1883. 
Tufted Duck ( Fuligula cristata). —Mr. Henry Manser writes on 
25th Eebruary that two male tufted ducks have remained for 
about a month on the Lynch, Hoddesdon. 
Wood-pigeon (Columba Palumlus). —In the ‘Herts Advertiser’ 
of 15th December, Mr. Henry Lewis records that “During the last 
few days large flights of wood-pigeons have passed over St. Albans 
and its neighbourhood. It is several years,” he adds, “ since such 
large numbers of these birds have visited us.” 
Water-rail ( Rallus aquations). —Mr. E. W. Arnold reports on 
15th January that water-rails are plentiful at Redbourne Bury, 
St. Albans. 
Golden Plover (Charadrius pluvialis). — Mr. Horman Thrale 
reports that large flocks of golden plovers were observable through¬ 
out the month of March near Hertford and at Hatfield Hyde; and 
Mr. Henry Lewis states that they were plentiful at St. Albans in 
December. 
Guillemot ( Lomvia Troile). —A common guillemot is reported by 
Mr. Horman Thrale to have been shot on the Hertford Meads on 
5th April. Our only previous county record of this bird is of one 
having been shot on the Elstree Reservoir in Hovember, 1882. 
