egg taken by him in 1896 is in Mr. Buttress's possession. This species does not figure in the list of birds observed by Mr. Buttress in 1897, a fact that may possibly be accounted for by the fact that the discoverer of the eggs has more than once shot the birds off the nest. Saxby, during his long residence in the Shetlands, never saw the Black-throated Diver there; and, according to Mr. Howard Saunders, "this species has not . . . been identified in the Shetlands at any season" ('Manual,' p. 698). Seebohm stated that large examples of the eggs of the Black-throated Diver cannot be distinguished from small eggs of the Great Northern Diver, nor small examples from large eggs of the Red-throated Diver ('History of British Birds,' vol. iii.). The hitherto unsuspected presence of C. arcticus as a breeding species in the Shetlands, therefore, if fully proved, makes the paternity of some supposed Northern Divers' eggs taken in those islands more doubtful than ever.—O.V. Aplin (Bloxham, Oxon).
Black-throated Diver in Derbyshire.—In January or February of this year a Black-throated Diver was shot on Combs[1] Reservoir, near Chapel-en-le-Frith, by a man named Peter Muir. The bird is in immature plumage, the feathers of the upper parts being edged with pale slate-grey, and the white plumage of the chin, throat, and sides of the head is slightly suffused with brown. The following measurements will be sufficient to distinguish the bird from the Great Northern Diver, a species more frequently met with inland:—Wing, 11·9 in.; length of bill, 1·8 in.; depth of bill at nostril, ·65 in.—Chas. Oldham (Sale).
Spotted Flycatcher's Nest constructed in Nest of Hawfinch.—I am forwarding you a this year's Hawfinch's nest with a Spotted Flycatcher's nest built inside, as I was not aware that Spotted Flycatchers built in other birds' nests. I found the Hawfinch's nest in the fork of a whitethorn bush in Wychwood Forest on May 26th, with the egg-shells lying on the ground under the nest. They had been sucked either by Cuckoos or Jackdaws. These birds appeared to be sucking every egg that was laid, for nearly every nest of eggs had shared the same fate, both Cuckoos and Jackdaws being very numerous. When passing the same spot on June 28th, I noticed a Spotted Flycatcher sitting on the same nest, which looked somewhat different. On climbing up to the nest I discovered that it contained two eggs. Feeling certain that these eggs would share the same fate as the last, I took one (which I now send you) of the two eggs, with the result that when I passed the place the following week the remaining egg was sucked.—R.U. Calvert (Ascott-sub-Wychwood, Oxford).
- ↑ I desire to substitute the word "Combs" for "Coombs" at p. 329, line 7 from bottom.
