Page:The Zoologist, 1st series, vol 4 (1846).djvu/133

Rh the time, and they were afraid to enter the room to trace the cause of the annoyance. The window looked into the garden, which lay on the south side of the house; and se- rious apprehensions of a robbery being entertained, one of the ladies, after locking the door of the room, ventured to enter the garden from the ground floor ; but on looking to the window nothing could be discerned, the tapping noise however continued. The gentleman himself having returned home about 9 o'clock, he procured a ladder, where- with he ascended to the window, in order to ascertain the cause of the disturbance, when he found it to be a common house sparrow, busily tapping with its beak at one of the low panes. He took the little bird in his hand, it offered no resistance, brought it down with him and put it into a cage, where it remained all night. On the follow- ing morning he took out the bird for the purpose of bringing it to me ; but supposing it unable to fly, from the circumstance of its having allowed itself to be taken, he per- mitted it to leap out of his hand, which accomplished, it flew away, and has never since repeated its visit. — ''Geo. Lawson; 108, Hawkhill, Dundee, February'' 10, 1846.

A Quail shot in Worcestershire in January. On Wednesday, the 20th of January, 1846, Michael Grazebrook, Esq., whilst shooting at Pedmore, in the county of Wor- cester, rose a remarkably fine quail [Cotumix vulgaris), in a field of turnips, on a farm in the occupation of his brother, George Grazebrook, Esq. Mr. G. Grazebrook fortu- nately brought down his bird, which he has directed to be stuff'ed, and placed in his collection. The quail seldom visits this country earlier than May, and then only in small numbers, the males arriving first. — John Evans; February 5, 1846.

A Quail and Landrail shot in January, 1846. A friend of mine, the Kev. F. Du- rant, having several times recently met with a quail in the parish of Shifi'nal, Salop, on the 20th of the present month of January, was fortunate enough to get a shot at and kill this beautiful little bird — never before, as I am aware of, found at so late a period of the year. In a neighbouring parish, in the same month, and but a few days before, another friend killed a landrail. Both birds were in excellent condition, and as fat as those found in the summer months. Had there set in a frost of any dura- tion, in all probability both these birds would have fallen a sacrifice to its severity. May not the circumstance of their being found here at so very late a period not only be an indication of the mildness of the season to the present time, but that these migratory birds, which generally leave us in the autumn, had no anticipation of any severe wea- ther arriving this year, or before the usual period of their visiting us in the spring had come round, and until which time there is no doubt they would have continued to re- main, and probably have bred here, had they not been killed. Whether such antici- pation that no severe frost will occur, prove correct, the next two months will decide. W.H.S.; Hatton Hall, January 30, 1846.

Note on the Water-rail. A short time ago, during the only two days of frost that have yet occurred here this winter, I shot one of the common water-rails, and saw se- veral others. This bird is so frequently to be met with in the winter months, and so constantly found and killed during hard frosts, when it is driven to seek its food along the smaller streams, and at the bottom of sheltered ditches, where it is more easily made to rise, from the openness of the place and want of suflScient cover to conceal itself from its pursuers ; that I am quite surprised that many of your correspondents should consider the appearance of this little bird in the winter months as at all a sin- gular circumstance, or that they can have the slightest doubt as to its remaining here the whole year through. I have inquired of a great number of sportsmen, who all con- cur in attesting that to be the fact ; and I have myself, for upwards of thirty years,