Page:The Zoologist, 3rd series, vol 2 (1878).djvu/90

68 tree in which the Ravens had established their home, and they have never nested there since. It would seem, nevertheless, that even now they are not quite proof against the charm of old association, as they have more than once paid a visit of two or three days to the park, and their rich mellow croak, as they loudly remind each other of the past, is still occasionally heard in their old familiar haunts among the beech woods.

In his very useful work, 'Pheasants for Coverts and Aviaries,' Mr. Tegetmeier has examined the evidence on the disputed question whether Rooks destroy Pheasants' eggs, and has detailed several instances (pp. 45, 46) in which they have been known to do so. Mr. Weaver finds the case proven, and records two instances in which Rooks were seen to visit Pheasants' nests and steal the eggs while the hens were actually sitting on them!

Jackdaws, too, are robbers in their way: —

The Dartford Warbler has been observed at West Heath and on East Harting Down (p. 272), and we have met with it also just beyond the limits of the parish on Bepton Down.

The rarer Marsh Warbler (Acrocephalus palustris), which has lately been admitted into the list of British Birds as an occasional summer visitant, has on one occasion been found nesting in West Sussex (p. 276), and the Grey Wagtail, or "Winter Wagtail," as it is often called (Motacilla boarula) has been observed to breed in