Page:The Zoologist, 4th series, vol 2 (1898).djvu/156

124 relation the Chaffinch; but in the present instance the sexes seem to have been pretty evenly balanced, although perhaps the males were slightly in excess—of the twenty-nine birds I saw twelve were females. About the same time as the large flocks were in the forest, a flock of some fifty or sixty birds was seen in the fir-woods on the western side of the river, but so far as I know these escaped molestation, and, strange to say, at the present time (Feb. 2nd) they seem to have entirely disappeared from both localities, whether gone further south or west to seek " new pastures " and less persecution, or (deceived by the spring-like weather) back to their home in the far north, I cannot say. One thing is certain, they did not stay long enough to consume all the beech-mast.— (Ringwood, Hants).

Abundance of Crossbills in the Severn Valley.—I have noticed more Crossbills (Loxia curvirostra) in the Severn Valley this winter than usual. I have several times counted as many as a dozen feeding at the same time on my lawn. It would be interesting to know whether observers in other parts of the country have noticed an abnormal increase.— (Monkmoor, Shrewsbury).

Rooks and Buttercup Bulbs.—While walking in a large meadow near Kingham last January, Mr. H.C. Playne and myself noticed that the Rooks had been turning up the bulbs of Ranunculus bulbosus, which lay scattered in every direction over the field. The same process had also been pursued in other fields in the neighbourhood. Tn every case the bulb had been partially eaten by a grub, and it was this of course that the birds were after. I have not been able to find the grub in the act so as to identify it. This performance of the Rooks is new to me, and also to Mr. O.V. Aplin, who has studied the habits of Corvus frugilegus in relation to agriculture. Were the birds in this case doing good or harm to the field? The grubs would seem to have been benefiting it by keeping down the growth of buttercups, which are acrid and unpalatable to cattle. On the other hand, the Rooks were finishing the work of the grubs by pulling the damaged bulb clean out of the ground.— (Lincoln College, Oxford).

Rough-legged Buzzard near Ringwood.—In January, 1897, a specimen of Buteo lagopus was killed not far from the Avon in this neighbourhood, and its occurrence in this locality being, so far as I know, "few and far between," I thought it worth noting—although rather a stale record—but illness prevented my doing so previously. The bird was a noble specimen, although badly shot, and to a person not familiar with the species its soft Owl-like plumage appeared peculiar, so unlike the comparatively stiff and close-set feathers of a Peregrine Falcon, or even the softer plumage of a Harrier. The specimen in question had been feeding upon