Little Grebe.-On the 3rd of May, after a short search, I came upon a nest of this bird containing four fresh eggs. It was composed of a mass of weeds heaped up on the surface of the water, and kept firm by the surrounding reeds. The eggs were covered over with wet weeds, and were warm. Ground colour of eggs dirty yellow; two of them had some clouds of brown: they were oval in form, and measured one inch seven lines by one inch. The interior of the shell was deep green. On the 28th of May I found another nest, in which were six eggs and the broken shell of another. The bird had not been hatched more than one hour, yet it was nowhere to be found; it had decamped into the water. A proof occurred here of the small amount of warmth required to hatch and keep alive the young "chick." I took away two eggs, one of which was addled. On arriving at my rooms I laid the eggs in the bath, and was surprised to hear periodical chirpings coming from one of the eggs. Not having time to open the egg then I put it away, and on taking it up the following evening, thirty hours after I had taken it from the nest, I was still more surprised to hear the chirpings again. Assisted by a friend I liberated the hardy little monster, and wrapped him up in flannel: he departed this life, however, on the following day. The egg was not kept in a warm room.

Coot. The coot is very plentiful on the fresh water in the Essex marshes: they are especially numerous on the lagoons at Pitsea. On the 5th of May I found their nests in tolerable numbers in that locality. I may remark that though I have never surprised a coot or a moorhen on her nest, I have never found their eggs covered up, as is sometimes stated. The habitation of the coot is constructed in water sometimes of a foot in depth, its foundation resting on the roots of the reeds. among which it stands. Those I have found have generally been neatly made columns of about two feet in height from their foundation; that is, in water of a foot in depth, they rise about a foot from the surface. The materials of the column are reeds cut up to the required length, and laid crosswise on one another around a common centre with great regularity. The lining is a mass of cut-up reedblades, and the diameter of the column is about ten to twelve inches. It is an admirable example of bird-architecture. The largest number of eggs I have found in one nest is eight: they were of a stone-yellow ground, speckled and spotted all over with small spots of dark brown, slate-blue and bluish black, and measured two inches two lines by one inch five lines. The eggs of the coot do not seem to vary much.

Moorhen. This bird is equally numerous with the coot in this neighbourhood. I have found their nests in great numbers this year. Some of them are mere slovenly masses of rushes lying on mud-banks among the reeds; others are neatly constructed columns standing in water, and supported by reeds growing round them, in every respect similar to those of the coot. One nest I found was a beautifully constructed abode, with the green blades of the reeds which supported it bent down and woven together, forming a dome about a foot above the eggs. Had the bird an eye for the beautiful, or did she fondly imagine thus to shield her devoted head from the April showers? I am sure that sometimes the eggs in these nests are the produce of more than one bird, as I have found what I am convinced were two distinct clutches in the same nest. In one instance the contents of a nest were as follows:-four eggs, small and of oval form, measuring one inch five lines by one inch one line; ground whitish yellow, spotted sparingly with lilac, lilac-red and brownish red: six eggs, large and of a tapering form; ground colour reddish yellow, with large irregular blotches of dark brown-red and dark slate-colour; dimensions one inch nine lines by one inch three lines. These, every one will see, were the produce of two distinct birds. The eggs, however, vary very much in size and number. I have found twelve in one nest, and four sat upon in another.

Shoeburyness, December 19, 1866.

W. VINCENT LEGGE.

Rabbits breeding in January.-When ferreting rabbits the other day, the ferret got amongst a litter of young rabbits not more than four days old. The nest was placed at a considerable depth in the ground, not as is usual near the surface, and was almost completely composed of rabbits' fur. We had to dig out the ferret, which, after a sumptuous mid-day meal, had lain down beside its victims to indulge in a restorative snooze. The surface of the ground was frozen to the depth of four inches. -John A. Harvie Brown; Dunipace House, Falkirk, January 15, 1867.

Hare feeding on Hawthorn-berries.-Upon examining the contents of the stomach of a hare I shot lately, I found it consisted almost entirely of the berries of the hawthorn: this, I suppose, must be accounted for by the absence of their usual food, the snow at the time being six inches in depth.-George Mawson; Moor Side, January 5, 1867.

Roughlegged Buzzard in Dumfriesshire.-I was in my birdstuffer's premises in Edinburgh (Mr. Small's, George Street), and saw a most magnificent specimen of the roughlegged buzzard, which struck me as being considerably above the usual size and of unusually dark colour, almost approaching to black. Mr. Small gave me the

following particulars concerning its capture:-"The bird was shot at Billholm, near Laugholm, Dumfriesshire, and is the property of Mr. Richard Bell, of Billholm. It was shot by him on the 1st of December, whilst soaring over his head, and it fell, bursting its gizzard, which was quite gorged with food." I regret I cannot send you the measurements of this bird, as I believe they were not taken before its being stuffed.-John A. Harvie Brown; Dunipace House, Falkirk, January 15, 1867.

Cornish Specimens of the Jerfalcon and Redfooted Falcon.-The specimen of the jerfalcon which you have recorded in the pages of the 'Zoologist' as having been killed at Port Eliot, near St. Germans, has come into my possession, as well as of the redfooted falcon, killed on Wembury Cliff, in Plymouth Sound. The former is nearly an adult male bird, with the head and throat entirely white, as well as the whole of the tail-feathers, both upper and lower surfaces: from the lower part of the throat to the whole of the belly are sparingly distributed drop-like spots pointing downwards; these are largest on the flank above the thigh-feathers, which are also pure white; the shape of these spots underneath may be best described by likening their shape to the downstroke of a note of admiration. Mr. Vincombe, from whom I had the bird, assured me that the cere and legs were blue: he had it alive for some time. The redfooted falcon is a very good and adult male, in the dark slate plumage with tile-red thighs.— Edward Hearle Rodd; Penzance.

Remarkable Shot.-On the 8th of the present month a somewhat remarkable shot was made here by a bird-preserver, whilst out seeking specimens: he saw three blackbirds sitting on a bush, the weather being very warm and the sun shining brightly: on the same bush, above the blackbirds, but in close quarters with them, sat another larger bird quietly preening his feathers: he shot at the larger bird, and great was his surprise to find that he had shot a beautiful male kestrel together with one of the blackbirds. This fact, I think, does away with the supposed propensity of the kestrel preying on birds, or at all events it shows that the blackbirds had no such fears in this instance: I believe, in the many cases in which the kestrel has been detected feeding on birds, they have found them dead.-Stephen Clogg; Looe, Cornwall, January 10, 1867.

Our Gray Shrikes.-Since writing last month on the subject of two kinds of gray shrike, I have been able to refer to Wilson's 'American Ornithology.' I find he speaks of two kinds, viz.—

1. American Shrike (Lanius excubitor, Wilson; L. borealis, Vieillot).

2. Loggerhead Shrike (L. carolinensis, Wilson; L. ludovicianus, Linnæus). The first seems to be the same bird as our L. excubitor, though he speaks of only one white spot, and of crescentic marks on the under part of the male, which would only apply to the immature bird. This, however, is not surprising, as no one seems to have noticed the marked distinction which appears to exist between the male and female of our L. excubitor, the former when adult having two spots, the latter one. The second of the above-named species seems to me to be this species, of which Mr. Rodd's bird (described before as No. 2) may prove to be a specimen; the only noticeable difference being that L. carolinensis has a line of black in front of the head over the beak, which No. 2 has not; but the absence of this may perhaps be conuected for by age and sex. The above confirms my former remark that the various notices in the 'Zoologist'-with one exception (Zool. 2650), where the mistake is calling the smaller bird L. borealis-refer simply to examples of L. excubitor. Still it appears probable that when the distinction is

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understood, the loggerhead shrike (L. carolinensis)—if that is the bird in questionmay prove to be of occasional occurrence in this country. In Bree's Birds of Europe' this bird is said to be identical with L. meridionalis of Temminck.-J. H. Jenkinson; St. Mary's Vicarage, Reading, January 15, 1867.

Curious Processes in the Tail of the Redwing.-During the late severe weather I have shot many redwings here, and in one specimen have noticed a very peculiar abnormal condition in the tail, the feathers of which have well-marked projections in the direction of the shafts, fully one-sixteenth of an inch beyond the web of the feather, reminding one of similar projections in the tail of the Australian spinetailed swift. This peculiarity, in my specimen, may certainly have been caused by the feathers being worn away by abrasion; but the regular form of the projections goes against this view. I have thought this occurrence of sufficient interest to send it to you for publication, for possibly similar projections may have been observed in other birds.G. Norman; Ben Rhydding, Yorkshire, January 13, 1867.

Black Redstart at Looe.-A black redstart, in winter plumage, was shot here last Saturday, and another was seen the week before.-Stephen Clogg; Looe, Cornwall, January 10, 1867.

Waxwings in Peebleshire.-I saw in Mr. Small's shop four or five waxwings (I forget the exact number), which were shot near Peebles on the 7th of December and on the 8th instant. The gamekeeper who shot those on the day first named evidently did not know the value of the birds, as he offered to procure some more for Mr. Small, if the latter would stuff one for him, stating that there was a large flock of them near Peebles at that time. However, the flock did not wait for him, and he did not succeed in getting any more.-John A. Harvie Brown; Dunipace House, Falkirk, January 15, 1867.

White Linnets.-The following abstract from a Scotch local newspaper may be of interest to some of your readers. It is taken from the Kircudbrightshire Advertiser,' of Friday, the 28th of December last:-" Among the many flocks of gray linnets in the neighbourhood of Selby, the bird-catchers have observed several pure white linnets, and though every exertion has been made to catch them they have hitherto eluded their snares, though many of the gray linnets have been caught." I do not know at all if pure white linnets are rare or not, but I suppose that they are not very common.A. Clark-Kennedy; 14, Princes Gardens, Princes Gate, W., January 4, 1867.

Late Swallow's Nest.—A friend of mine, residing at Walton-on-the-Naze, Essex, has sent me an account of a pair of swallows having built a nest at that place so late as the latter end of November last. These birds (or it was believed the same pair) began a nest about that time, at one of the houses on the Terrace, near the sea: from finding that spot too cold, or from some other cause, they soon abandoned it, and went to a farm-yard a little further inland, where, inside a barn, they not only completed a nest, but three eggs were laid in it, after which the birds disappeared. The persons at the farm had watched them with great interest, being, curiously enongh, nearly related to those inhabiting the house on the Terrace, where they were first observed to be building: it was supposed by them that a threshing-machine, coming into the yard, eventually frightened the swallows away, but it is perhaps more probable that their natural instinct, though so late in its promptings, at length caused them to migrate, in spite of the attraction of a new home. I perceive it is stated in Yarrell's 'British Birds' that even the young birds are now and then thus forsaken when hatched

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in autumn, but there is no mention in any work to which I have referred of so late a nest as this one. My friend was kindly allowed by the farmer to have possession of the deserted nest and eggs. I have not seen them, but an experienced naturalist, on examination, pronounces them to be certainly those of the chimney swallow, the eggs, however, being nearly one-third smaller than the average. Would this peculiarity render it likely that the birds belonged to an early brood of the same year? A young eggcollector has just remarked to me that several species of birds do lay the first year, and that the eggs are very small; he instanced the wren, thrush, &c. The nest mentioned above was detached whole, being built on a rafter against the wall; the back is, of course, flat: it is composed of mud, with a few feathers and a little hay; the eggs, as usual, spotted with pale red. On being blown for preservation, their freshness proved them to have been recently laid.-S. King; Sudbury, January 14, 1867.

The Willow Grouse and Red Grouse perching.—I am glad to be able to remove one point of difference, which was considered fatal to my views of the identity of the Norwegian willow grouse and the British red grouse. In a communication (Zool. 8955) Mr. Reeks, quoting from the late Mr. Wheelwright, asks "whether the red grouse had ever been known to perch on a tree." In my reply (Zool. 9045) I stated that if the willow grouse really did perch, and the red grouse did not, then this fact alone would go strongly against my views of their identity. At that time, it is scarcely necessary to say, I was not aware that the red grouse did ever perch on trees, but now I am glad to be able to remove this doubt. A few weeks ago I was shooting on the moors here above Middleton Hall, and while discussing various habits of the grouse with the keepers, accidentally mentioned the subject of grouse perching. To my great surprise three of the keepers informed me that this habit is by no means infrequent: the head keeper, pointing at the time to a plantation of Scotch pine called "Ling Plantation," said he had often seen grouse perching there: this was corroborated by others present. I have spoken with other shooters in this district who have also seen them perching in trees, so that I think this point of supposed difference must fall to the ground. It strikes me as being very strange that when this subject was being discussed in the pages of the 'Zoologist' no one should have come forward to settle this interesting point of perching, for surely it must have been observed by sportsmen in different parts of the country.-G. Norman; Ben Rhydding, Yorkshire, January 13, 1867.

Note on the Occurrence of Quails near Belfast.-I saw this day in Leadenhall Market six quails, which I was informed were part of a consignment of eight, which had arrived together from a locality in the neighbourhood of Belfast. The birds I saw were in excellent condition; four were in the usual adult winter garb, the other two had speckled throats, which I presume was a remnant of their immature dress. The occurrence of eight quails in one locality in England at the same time, in winter, would certainly be an uncommon event; whether such a circumstance is equally rare in Ireland I know not, but it appears worth recording.-J. H. Gurney; January 4, 1867.

Plumage of the Oystercatcher.-I shot two specimens of the above-mentioned bird at Hunstanton, in Norfolk, last autumn, one of which was rather larger than the other, and had a white gorget of about one inch and a half in length, and about two inches in breadth; while the smaller bird had its neck, to the breast, of a pure glossy black, and its bill was more black at the end than that of the other bird. Mr. F. O. Morris