Page:The Zoologist, 4th series, vol 2 (1898).djvu/116

84 Saunders, in a letter to me, admits that he has never seen any Roseate Terns' eggs taken in the Old World that run into some of the variations, &c, of Arctic Terns: "that is (he says), there is no bluish or greenish ground, and the shape is decidedly more elongated; but American eggs taken by men of good repute so far were not so distinct." I, like Mr. Grabham, have seen very elongated eggs of the Arctic Tern, but I should not mistake them for Roseate's. In my last note to 'The Zoologist' on this subject I put a? after "late" when referring to the Rev. J.C. Atkinson, whom I am very pleased to hear is still hale and hearty.— (14, Bootham Crescent, York).

On the reported Summer Appearance of two Species of Birds in Lapland.—In answer to Prof. Collett (Zool. ante, p. 25), I can only say that to the best of my belief the birds in question were what Mr. Wollaston and myself reported them to be, namely, Bernicla brenta and Phalaropus fulicarius. We spent a long time watching the Geese, which were at no great distance from us, and we both had field-glasses. Mr. Wollaston went to the other side of the lake, and tried to drive the birds towards me, while I hid with the gun; but they would not move from the middle of the water. From the fact that they did not attempt to fly, it seems not improbable that the young birds were unable to do so. The Phalaropes were a great deal nearer to us, and we identified them as we did the Geese, while the birds were still before us, with the help of the 'Handbook of European Birds,' written by Mr. Backhouse. It is quite possible that the Phalaropes were on migration, as the date on which we saw them was Aug. 9th. Short of actually shooting them, I do not think we could have been more careful about the identification; and the picture of the Phalaropes with the other birds by that pool at Kautokeino has been so often in my mind since that I cannot help feeling glad we did nothing to disturb it.— (Clifton College).

At what Hour of the Day do Birds most usually lay their Eggs?—It would be interesting, I think, to have on record the experiences of readers of 'The Zoologist' on this subject. It is almost a certainty that birds do not lay during the night, but rather in the early morning. My own experience is to this effect. However, I have known isolated cases where the daily egg must have been deposited late in the forenoon. I should say the most usual time, restricting the actual limits as much as possible, is between six and seven o'clock; that is, provided we take the month of May as a typical egg-laying month. I may explain my proof of this. In my morning walks, while living in the country, I have gone round those nests I happened to know of, between the hours of eight and nine, and found an additional egg deposited in every one. But on one