Page:The Zoologist, 4th series, vol 1 (1897).djvu/195

Rh Strange Discovery of a Tit's Nest.—On Nov. 12th, 1896, the sawyers at the wood-yard of Messrs. S. Allsopp & Sons were engaged in cutting up into planks a very fine broad-leaved elm-tree, the trunk of which was five feet in diameter at the base. The tree had been felled in front of Kinlet Hall, near Highley, Shropshire. Judging from the size, the tree must have been from two to three centuries old. About seventeen feet from the base they found a small cavity containing three nails and also a perfectly-formed bird's nest; on this was a perfect egg, which was unfortunately broken during the manipulations. But on removal of the upper layers another nest was found, containing four eggs in a fair state of preservation. From their size they were probably laid by a Blue Tit, and the markings are quite plain, although somewhat faded. Judging from the disposition of the woody fibres, I think that the original aperture must have been closed by the growth of a large branch which finally coalesced with the main trunk, and so cut off all communication with the outside. I am indebted to the courtesy of Mr. Maxwell Tod, the secretary of the Company, for the opportunity of recording these facts.— (Burton-on-Trent).

Yellow Wagtail in Argyllshire.—I beg to record the occurrence last spring (March and April, 1896) of a solitary specimen of the Yellow Wagtail, Motacilla raii, about a mile from Oban, Argyllshire, N.B. It alighted on a stone bridge within a yard of where I was standing, enabling me to quietly and minutely examine and determine the species certainly to my satisfaction. I note Messrs. J.A. Harvie Brown and T.E. Buckley, in their 'Fauna of Argyllshire and the Inner Hebrides,' remark the scarcity of the bird thereabouts, so send you this account of ray own personal observation.— (3, Waterloo Avenue, North Strand, Dublin).

The Ostrich.—In an important article of last month's 'Zoologist,' Mr. Schreiner calls attention to a great many fallacies which have hitherto been generally accepted as facts. The German naturalist Brehm, several years ago, in an essay entitled 'The Steppes of Inner Africa,' wrote a description of the habits of the Ostrich which agrees in several points with Mr. Schreiner's views, as, for instance, in the question of polygamy or monogamy; but in a quotation added by the editor to the English edition, which appeared last year, are the following remarks; and I think they are characteristic of the misconceptions existing in scientific circles as to the habits of this bird:—"Ostriches, though sometimes assembling in troops of thirty to fifty, commonly live in companies of four or five—one cock and the rest hens. This is especially true at the breeding season. All the hens lay together; the cock broods during the night; the hens take turns during the day, more it would seem to guard their common treasure from