daily throughout September. Sometimes the flights consist wholly of young and at others of old birds. Now and again a few Martins accompany them, and even a Sand Martin or two, but there is always a remarkable homogeneity in the separate flights. Considered with regard to the faculty whereby the phenomena of migration are performed, it is doubtful whether much progress has been made since attention was called to this subject by Prof. Newton twenty years ago in his British Association Address, "On certain neglected subjects of ornithological investigation" (q. v. Zool. 1875, pp. 4640–41, as also the admirable article " Migration," in his ' Dictionary of Birds,' pp. 547571). In another direction, however, British ornithologists have employed themselves with some diligence-but with what degree of wisdom remains to be determined. One cannot but feel a little disappointed in the deductions of Dr. von Middendorff ('Die Isepiptesen Russlands, 1855') and Professor Palmén ('Om Foglarnes flyttningsvägar, 1874'), although it would not be easy to overrate their services in suggesting and stimulating research.— W. C. J. RUSKIN BUTTERFIELD (St. Leonards-on-Sea).

·

[Here, again, we would suggest a comparison of the observations above referred to with those published by Herr Gätke, who gives reasons (p. 66) for "the wide divergency between the results of his own observations and those arrived at by Dr. von Middendorff. An English translation of Prof. Palmen's Report on the Migration of Birds,' submitted to the second International Ornithological Congress in Budapest, 1891, and full of suggestive information, is printed, with a map, in the Smithsonian Report, 1893, pp. 375-396.-ED.]

Escape of a Caged Eagle. On Oct. 2nd a Golden Eagle in the Zoological Gardens at Bristol contrived by an accident to make its escape. It was in an open-air cage with two other eagles, and on the entry of the keeper it flew up to the wire that formed the roof, and hung from the netting with its claws. The wire being old and the bird heavy, several of the meshes broke and left a large hole, through which, to the astonishment and dismay of the keeper, the eagle quickly managed to escape. It flew over the river towards the Leigh Woods, and the head keeper, Mr. Blunsden, followed in that direction. He passed through Failand and all round the grounds of Sir Cecil Miles, but without finding the bird. That it was afterwards seen over St. Philip's is probably accounted for by the fact that there was still a very high wind prevailing at the time, and that the bird after its captivity would not have the strength to fly against it for any great length of time. There is little hope that the bird, which was a female, and had been presented to the Gardens by Sir Greville Smyth, will be captured alive. Should any of our readers hear shortly of a Golden Eagle being shot or trapped, it would be well to ascertain whether it is the bird which has so lately made its escape, bearing traces of confinement, and if so, to report it to the Secretary at the Zoological Gardens, Bristol.

Black Tern in Wales.-As the Black Tern, Hydrochelidon nigra, appears to be a rare bird in Wales - Mr. Salter (p. 249) records a solitary instance of its occurrence at Aberystwyth-it may be well to note that I saw one of these birds near a pool of mine on July 26th last, never having observed one in this district before.-C. S. MAINWARING (Cerrig-ydruidiou, Trefnant, North Wales).

Jackdaws hawking after Insects.-During some of the bright clear days of April both Jackdaws and Starlings were observed hawking after insects in the air, after the manner of Swallows, for many hours at a time during the warmer period of the day. Probably they were catching the little beetles with red wing-cases (Aphodii) that swarm in myriads on fine days at that season, and rise to great heights in the air. Starlings often hawk for insects in the manner described during the autumn months, but I do not remember ever having seen them or Jackdaws indulging in such habits so early in the year. The mention of Jackdaws reminds me of an amusing incident I once witnessed. A rough shaggy pony was reclining in a pasture field, and two Jackdaws were perched on his back engaged in pulling out beakfuls of hair with which to line their nests. The pony looked over his shoulders at them, and several times suddenly rolled over on the grass with the evident intention of catching and crushing the birds beneath him. Needless to say, the Jackdaws were too much on the alert to be caught in this manner, but flew up at once, settling again on his back to resume operations as soon as the pony had returned to his reclining posture.-ROBERT SERVICE (Maxwelltown, Dumfries, N.B.).

[We have frequently observed Jackdaws treating Fallow-deer in this way in the spring, and robbing them of hair to line their nests with. Their mode of procedure on such occasions has been described in 'The Zoologist' for 1878, p. 68.—ED.]

Twite Nesting in Confinement.—Mr. G. C. Swailes, writing in the 'Avicultural Magazine' (No. 11), reports that during the past summer a pair of Twites, Linota flavirostris (Linn.), nested and reared their young in his aviary, which he describes as "quite out in the country." He says:-"The hen commenced to build on May 14th, and laid her first egg on the 17th, laying altogether five eggs and sitting closely after the third was laid. I did not again look at the eggs, but saw the old birds busy feeding on June 2nd and following days. I looked in the nest on the 8th, hoping to find some fine young birds, but the nest contained only one poor starved thing which died on the following day: the weather was very stormy at the time they were hatched, and I think this was the cause of their doing so badly. On the 15th I noticed that the hen had nearly completed another nest, and she laid on the 16th and three following days. Having a Redpoll

nesting at the same time, I gave her two of the Twites' eggs, making up the number for each with infertile eggs: both birds hatched on the same day; the two in the Redpoll's nest perished at once, though she is a good feeder, and has reared two broods of her own this season. The Twite successfully reared hers, and they left the nest on July 19th, and are now very fine birds and normally coloured. Young Twites are not nearly so precocious as Redpolls; they were a long time before they attempted to peck for themselves, and even now (August) clamour to the old ones for food, whereas I have seen young Redpolls, a week after leaving the nest, shell hard canary seed. My birds have no soft food given them, but as much of the flowering top of the dwarf grass, dandelion, and hardhead tops, thistle, plantain, &c., as they wish, and as many aphides off rose, apple, or plum trees as I can at the time obtain; infested branches being put in the aviary for the birds to peck them off. The latter, I consider, are very essential for the successful rearing of Finches in confinement, especially for the first few days after they are hatched.-G. C. SWAILES.

A Crane traced from its Nest to its Winter Quarters.-According to the Cairo correspondent of The Times,' Slatin, the recently escaped prisoner of the Khalifa, relates the following interesting occurrence. In December, 1892, the Khalifa handed him a small metal capsule, ordering him to open it and explain what it meant. It contained two small slips of paper each about the size of a visiting card, with an inscription in German, French, and English, stating that the capsule was attached to the neck of a Crane bred on the estate of Herr Falz-Fein, at Tskanea Nova, in the province of Taurida, South Russia (just north of the Crimea), who had released the bird, and requested any future captor to communicate to him particulars of date and place. Slatin, who speaks only from memory, for he was not allowed to retain or even copy the writing (the possession of any European writing being a punishable offence), thinks that the date of the bird's release was June or July, 1892. It was killed about November of that year, in Nubia, at Darel Shaigia, and the capsule was sent to Younes, the Emir of Dongola, who forwarded it by special messenger to the Khalifa, at Omdurman, a total journeying of about 800 miles by camels. Slatin has written to Herr Falz-Fein, informing him of the incident, the remarkable point of which is, that the paper reached the only man in the entire Soudan who could comply with the wish of the sender of the message.

Honey Buzzard Nesting in Herefordshire.-It may be of interest to note that during the past summer a pair of Honey Buzzards attempted to establish themselves in Bishopswood, near Ross, Hereford, but unfor tunately, through the ignorance of a keeper, both birds were shot and their two eggs taken. Through the kindness of Mr. W. C. Ashdown, the taxidermist

in Hereford, I was able to examine the birds and his notes on them, which contain the following interesting particulars:-Cere, grey; iris, bright orange-yellow, showing that the birds were adult; contents of crop, wasp grubs, some pieces of the wasp's nest still adhering to the base of the bill of the female bird. It seems a pity, seeing the nature of the food of the Honey Buzzard, that such beautiful and useful creatures are not allowed to live in peace; but Bishopswood is an estate on which the landlord does not reside, and the keepers, no doubt, kill everything that does not actually increase the stock of pheasants. Now that Major McCalmont has come into the property, we may hope that so good a sportsman will endeavour in future to improve matters, and protect the Honey Buzzards, when next a pair visits this locality. I am informed that some years ago £40 was offered for a pair of these birds, with the eggs and nest, in this locality; but in the present case there was no question of bribe, only ignorance in mistaking the birds for Kites.-W. E. DE WINTON.

Hobby in Wiltshire.-It may be of interest to know that a Hobby (Falco subbuteo) was shot at Seend, near Melksham, about the second week of September. It was seen flying about in company with three others, but its sex was not positively ascertained, on account of its body having been thrown away by the amateur who skinned it. It was eventually sent to Mr. H. W. Marsden to be preserved, and through his courtesy I was enabled to examine the skin.-C. B. HORSBRUGH (4, Richmond Hill, Bath).

Immigration of the Solitary Snipe.-The Solitary Snipe, Gallinago major, is an annual visitor to this country in autumn, and so far as my experience goes, arrives long before the majority of the Common Snipe from the Continent put in their appearance. The name "Solitary "is well bestowed, although the contrary has been asserted (see Stevenson's Birds of Norfolk,' vol. ii. p. 30). I have never heard of a wisp of these birds being seen, or even a couple being flushed at the same time, although one day in the last week of August (twenty years ago), I came across three on the same marsh (the town marshes at Aldeburgh, Suffolk), two of which were bagged. But they were a long way apart, and on dry ground. They were easily recognizable from the Common Snipe (of which a few homebred birds were about in the dykes) by their heavier flight, and by the white outer tail-feathers, which were flirted as the bird rose. In these same marshes, on Aug. 21st, 1876, the late Mr. N. F. Hele, of Aldeburgh, shot one in the dusk as it was running on the ground; and the late Mr. Herbert Greenwood informed me that he had shot several there at intervals, late in August or early in September. I suspect they may be found there every year, for this locality lies right in the way of immigrants from the Continent. As a rule, these birds affect drier situations than the Common Snipe, as I have already observed in my Handbook of British

Birds' (p. 51), where several instances in support of this statement are noted. As additional instances I may mention one shot in a dry cloverfield, North Riding of York, Sept. 24th, 1858 (Field,' Oct. 23rd, 1858), and another on a dry bean-stubble, Northants (Zool. 1880, p. 444). During the present autumn one was shot near Pickering, Yorkshire, on Sept. 21st; another "in a dry water-meadow" at Eaglesham, Renfrewshire, Sept. 27th. Instances of the occurrence of the Great Snipe here in spring are rare. One was shot near Lowestoft, in April, 1851 (Zool. 1851, p. 3175), and there is a record of this species having nested near Wroxham, in April, 1846 (Zool. l. c.). But the late Mr. Stevenson, who enquired carefully into the circumstances, and examined one of the eggs taken, has shown good reason for concluding that the nest was that of a Common Snipe (Birds of Norfolk,' vol. ii. pp. 300-301). This bird is much rarer in Ireland than in England; of late years it has been recorded from Co. Cork (Zool. 1884, p. 149), Co. Galway (Zool. 1888, p. 33), and Co. Mayo (Zool. 1893, p. 434). As to the weight of the Solitary Snipe, I think Stevenson's statement (op. cit., p. 302) that the usual weight is from 6 oz. to 8 oz. is quite correct. The following are the weights of some that have come under my notice:

The heaviest known to the author of the Fauna of Norfolk' (Rev. R. Lubbock) weighed 10 oz., as noted by Stevenson in the work above quoted. In addition to those above mentioned, I have seen many stuffed specimens in different parts of the country, the weights of which had not been ascertained by the respective owners.-J. E. HARTING.

Quail in the Isle of Wight.-I do not know if Quails have been often met with in the island at this season of the year, but I think it is always worth while chronicling their presence. I flushed one by Hurricane House, above Shanklin, on Oct. 2nd. The bird was close to the footpath, and flew only about twenty yards, so I put it up again, just to make sure, as it was getting dusk.-H. MARMADUKE LANGDALE (Royal Cliff, Sandown).