Page:The Zoologist, 4th series, vol 4 (1900).djvu/265

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Curious Partnership of Hedge-Sparrow and Blackbird in a Nest.—On April 13th this year a half-finished nest was found in a rhododendron in my grounds, the character and materials of which gave one the idea of it being a Hedge-Sparrow's (Accentor modularis), though from its size, and from the presence of large twigs and grasses, it seemed very doubtful that it could be the work of one. The nest steadily grew in size, and partook more and more of the character of a Blackbird's (Turdus merula), until in due course it was finished, and on April 19th it was found to possess its first egg—a Hedge-Sparrow's. On the 20th, when looked at next, the nest contained two Hedge-Sparrow's eggs and one Blackbird's. On the 21st the numbers had increased by one more egg of each kind, and on the 22nd the score stood at four Hedge-Sparrow's and three Blackbird's. The following day the Blackbird had brought the score up level, and begun to sit, but the weight of the hen Blackbird proved too much for the Hedge-Sparrow's eggs, and when the nest was looked at again on the 24th one of the four Hedge-Sparrow's eggs was crushed to pieces, and another badly cracked. The nest was then taken so as to preserve the production of such an ill-assorted couple of nest-builders.— (Claughton-on-Brock, Garstang, Lancashire).

Pied Flycatcher in Somersetshire.—On the morning of April 27th I saw a male Pied Flycatcher (Muscicapa atricapilla) in my father's garden, Weston-super-Mare. The bird was very tame, and was probably resting on its way to its breeding haunts in Wales. This species appears to be rare in Somerset, and I only know of two records of its former occurrence in the county, namely, one killed near Taunton some years prior to 1869, as recorded in Mr. Cecil Smith's 'The Birds of SomerstshireSomersetshire [sic]'; and a record, noticed near Wells in the spring of 1870 (vide 'The Birds of Devon,' by D'Urban and Matthew, p. 53). It has doubtless been noticed more than once since 1870, but its visits to the county are evidently irregular, and probably accidental. On April 25th, 1897, I saw a male bird of this species near Gidleigh, North Devon, in which county the bird appears to be nearly as rare as it is in Somersetshire. Last summer I came across several pairs of Pied Flycatchers in a certain locality in Herefordshire,