NOTES AND NEWS. 
33 
a piece of wire, which is in turn fastened to one end of a stick, 
which should be long enough to be of practical use. Where 
cliff-climbing has to be done, a good stout rope is of great 
service, and when possible the rope should be fastened around 
a post driven securely into the ground some distance from the 
edge of the cliff. The rope should always be fastened around 
the body of the person who is making the descent. Great 
care should always be taken when letting the rope run over 
the edge of the cliff, so that it does not get cut or become 
frayed by friction against the sharp edges of the stones. 
The time of year when nests of the different species should 
be sought for differs, of course, more or less according to the 
locality and season ; but for all that it can be taken as a rule 
that the time when nine-tenths of the year’s collecting has to 
be done, is from the beginning of April until the end of June. 
There are, of course several of our resident birds, such as 
thrushes, robins, rooks, &c., which nest in March, and, if the 
weather is very mild, even in February, but these are 
exceptions. 
[To be continued.) 
NOTES AND NEWS. 
That entertaining writer, Mr. Arthur Patterson, is, we 
notice, contributing to the Eastern Daily Press a series of 
articles on “The Fishes of East Anglia.” Mr. Patterson is 
well known as a writer on popular Natural History, and is a 
great authority upon matters piscatorial. 
The Death’s-Head Moth at Hampstead. —It may interest 
your readers to know that a perfect specimen, fresh from the 
chrysalis, of the Death’s-head Hawk Moth {A. atvopos) was 
found by my workman in the Elledale Road to-day, and is 
now in my possession; this is the first specimen that I have 
seen in this neighbourhood. I remember some years ago, 
when living at Ashford, Kent, taking several of the larvae, 
the season being an unusually warm one. I shall be pleased 
to show the above specimen to anyone wishing to see it. 
Hampstead. J. E. Whiting. 
Birds of the Isle of Man. —The Isle of Man is indeed a 
home for the naturalist in search of bird life. Here we 
have breeding with us the peregrine falcon, kestrel and 
sparrow-hawk ; while barn owls and long-eared owls are 
common all over the island. 
During the breeding season we have, with very few excep¬ 
tions, all the smaller birds. All the crow family nest here, 
