Notes

01 December 1995 Comments Notes On 14th June 1972, near Krisuvik, Reykjanes peninsula, southwest Iceland, I observed a huge gathering of an estimated 30,000 Kittiwakes Rissa tridactyla on lava-flow terrain about 6 km inland from the breeding cliffs. Close examination revealed the maj...
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Short reviews

01 November 1990 Comments Reviews Rapaci In Volvo: Liguria: Archeologia Probabile. Birds of Prey in Flight: Liguria: a probable archaeology. By Luisella Carretta. (Pirella editore, Genova, 1988. 73 pages. Paperback ITL34,000) This dual-language book (Italian and English) presents the w...
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Notes

01 August 1990 Comments Notes Oystercatchers incubating on closely adjacent nests. In early spring 1987, in a quiet corner of Blackpool Airport, Lancashire, soil, sand and chippings were dumped and then levelled. Later, the area became partly covered by vegetation and up to five Oy...
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Notes

01 April 1989 Comments Notes Mating behaviour of Cuckoos. At approximately 08.00 GMT on 5th June 1986, on an alpine heath, in the vicinity of Ammarnas, south Swedish Lapland, I heard a 'gowk' call and saw two Cuckoos Cuculus canorus approaching in a wild and noisy pursuit flight f...
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Notes

01 November 1985 Comments Notes Interspecific aggression between Little Grebe and Dipper. On 19th August 1982, at Loch Beannacharain, Ross & Cromarty, I saw a Little Grebe Tachybaptus ruficollis diving close to the shore of the loch around the mouth of the River Meig, whi...
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Letters

01 October 1985 Comments Letters Distinction between Mandarin and Wood Duck in female-type plumages. A comprehensive description of differences between Mandarin Aix galericulata and Wood Duck A. sponsa was given by C. Holt {Brit. Birds 11: 227-232). As he noted, however, some of the c...
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Letters

01 July 1984 Comments Letters Wing-span of White Pelican. In Stanley Cramp's 'Studies of West Palearctic birds. 185: White Pelican [Pelecanus onocrotalus]' (Brit. Birds 76: 253-262), I consider a reference to a 'wing-span of up to 360cm' (11 feet 10 inches) somewhat large f...
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Notes

01 November 1983 Comments Notes Division of parental care by Mute Swans In May 1978, at Marazion marsh, Cornwall, a pair of Mute Swans Cygnus olor reared three cygnets. In the first four weeks the family remained intact, keeping near the nest site in pools. During this period...
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Notes

01 September 1983 Comments Notes Hen Harrier with rufous-orange underparts A large harrier Circus with rich rufous-orange underparts was present on Fair Isle, Shetland, from 25th August to 8th October 1982. It was a large, heavy ring-tail, whose silhouette at times recalled Ma...
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Letters

01 December 1981 Comments Letters Wintering Bitterns in Britain The recent paper by Dr C. J. Bibby on wintering Bitterns Botaurus stellaris in Britain (Brit. Birds 74: 1-10) illustrated that the population is supplemented in winter by immigration to this country of Bitterns fro...
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