BIRDS adult female peregrine, shot by Mr. Owen West at Tur Langton about five years previously. The late Mr. Ingram sent me an immature female on 19 Dec., 1889, captured in Birkstone Wood, about which he gave me the following interesting particulars : ' I have seen Mr. Sharp to-day and learnt the following particulars concerning the hawk and its capture. It was first seen by one of the under-keepers at Belvoir near Birkstone Wood, pur- suing a heron ; from the description the man gives it must have been a fine sight ; the heron took higher and higher flights, the swoops of the hawk causing it to scream fearfully ; the end of the fray was not seen, as a portion of the wood intercepted the view. The day following this the hawk struck a wood-pigeon ; this being observed by the keeper, he set a trap baited with the bird and caught the hawk by one of its talons.' Mr. W. Whitaker informed me of a specimen in his possession which was shot at Newbold Verdon on 30 Oct., 1891. Mr. W. J. Horn, writing on 15 Oct., 1897, stated that a large hawk (? peregrine) had for the past three days taken up its quarters on St. Martin's Church, Leicester, and had already ' done to death eight pigeons.' In the ' Bickley col- lection,' in the museum, is a fine female specimen which was shot at Melton Mowbray in 1 849. 107. Hobby. Falco subbuteo, Linn. An uncommon summer visitant, but has bred in the county. According to Harley, it usually breeds in the deserted nest of a carrion-crow or magpie, which it repairs. In the summer of 1840 a pair of hobbys took possession of the deserted nest of a magpie on a large elm standing in a hedgerow at Houghton. Chaplin of Groby met with this species in Martin- shaw Wood in September, 1841. Mr. Babington (Potter, op. cit. App. p. 65) recorded one specimen as having occurred near Thringstone. Sir George Beau- mont reported one which was killed at Coleorton in 1874. The late Dr. Macaulay recorded its occurrence at Gumley Wood on several occasions on the authority of the Rev. A. Matthews. He further reported hav- ing seen a male hobby, shot at Smeeton in January, 1888, by Mr. John Peberdy. Mr. Davenport writes : ' A pair were shot by the keeper at Stockerston Wood in the summer of 1881. One was chasing the other and both were killed by one discharge and hung on a tree with other vermin.' The late Mr. Widdowson reported three during 1880, and Elkington had received several before his death, reporting the last one, a male, caught by nets in 1882. Some years ago a male, killed at Hinckley, and another at Bosworth Park were purchased for the museum. I saw in 1888 a specimen in the collection of Mr. H. C. Woodcock of Rearsby, which he informed me was shot at Brentingby many years ago. 1 08. Merlin. Falco ttesalon, Tunstall. Locally, Blue Hawk, Pigeon-Hawk, Stone-Falcon. An uncommon winter visitant, not remaining to breed. According to Mr. Babington (Potter, op. cit. App. p. 65) it has occurred near Shepshed, and Harley stated that it comes to our woodlands in autumn, remaining during the winter months only. I saw in the possession of Mr. H. C. Woodcock an adult male specimen which he shot on a tree in his garden at Rearsby, about 1868. In Zool. for May, 1 868, p. 1 2 1 2, is the following note : ' A specimen in immature I 37 plumage was killed a few days since by dashing at the windows of a house in Leicester. An adult bird was shot on the farm of Messrs. Spencer in this county.' Mr. J. B. Ellis presented to the museum on 30 Jan., 1882, an adult female merlin in the flesh, shot at Bardon Hill, and has informed me of two others since then, one of which was shot. Mr. Ingram wrote : ' Taken occasionally at Belvoir.' The late Mr. Widdowson reported several during the last few years of his life. I saw at Elkington's a female shot at Dunton Bassett on 1 1 Dec., 1886. Mr. Stephen H. Pilgrim informed me that some time in 1892 Mr. Thomas Powers shot one at Barwell. 109. Red-footed Falcon. Falco vespertinus, Linn. The Leicester Museum donation-book records the presentation, by the Leicester Literary and Philo- sophical Society, on 22 Feb., 1866, of an 'orange- legged hobby, shot near the Machine-house, Bel- grave Road, I July, 1866,' with a note in the margin, ' first recorded specimen in this county,' and in the Field of 10 March, 1866, is the fol- lowing note : ' I saw a few days ago a very fine specimen of the red-footed falcon, a young male, killed two or three miles from Leicester about two months ago. It is now in the museum of that town. The curator bought it for a trifle from the person who had it in the flesh. It was shot by a young man who lives at Belgrave, a suburb of Leicester ROBERT WIDDOW- SON (Melton Mowbray).' The identical specimen is still in the museum, and it was shot by Thomas Adcock. I am pleased to verify this note, about which I now have little doubt, and therefore cancel my previous remarks (see Zool. 1886, p. 166). 110. Kestrel. FaL'o tinnunculus, Linn. Locally, Stannel (i.e. ? Stand-Gale), Windhover. Resident and generally distributed. Harley stated that he had seen it attack the starling and bear off the black thrush and its congener, but that it appeared to feed much on the smaller kinds of mammals and various coleoptera, especially the cockchafer. The late Dr. Macaulay considered that since the passing of the Wild Birds Protection Act this species had become commoner, which tallies with my own observation. In the stomachs of kestrels I have dissected I have never found anything but remains of beetles and mice. Mr. G. H. Storer informs me that whilst snipe-shoot- ing with some friends at Arnesby in December, 1882, a lark was seen flying towards them, hotly pursued by a kestrel. The bird flew into a barn which they were entering and dropped trembling with fright into the straw at the feet of one of the party, just as its swift pursuer reached the door. Seeing the group, the kestrel veered off, and a few seconds later the lark recovered and left also. (Tram. Leic. Lit. and Phil. Soc., Jan., 1889, p. 26.) This species builds quite close to Leicester, at Knighton, where I procured, on 3 July, 1883,3 nest of five young. Mr. Davenport writes : ' My experience of kestrels is that they are more sen- sitive than the sparrow-hawk, forsaking their nest if tampered with. If I find a nest with three eggs and take one only, it is almost a certainty the bird will not only forsake, but will cast away the remaining eggs as well. I found a white egg at Billesdon Coplow in May, 1882." This bird builds early in some seasons, and Mr. Davenport records that in 1885 he took a 18
