Notes
G o l d e n E a g l e a t t a c k i n g Reindeer.—With reference to the recent
papers by Dr. K. Curry-Lindahl and Dr. G. Bergman on the food and
feeding habits of birds of prey in Fenno-Scandia (Brit, Birds, 54:
297-306, 307-320), it may be of interest to record an attack by a juvenile
Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) on a female Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus)
and her half-grown calf, which we witnessed at Olderfjord, Troms,
Norway, on n t h August 1961. T h e Golden Eagle was first seen
circling above a mountain. Suddenly, with feet and talons extended,
it swooped towards the two Reindeer which cowered in the face of
the attack. The female Reindeer was sheltering the calf, but the
Golden Eagle repeatedly tried to press home its attacks and the swoops
it was making missed her only by a matter of inches because she was
ducking down at the last moment. Altogether the Golden Eagle
dived about six times before the two Reindeer were able to retreat
under a large boulder. They were not seen to reappear even when the
bird moved away.
M . P . H A R R I S and R. P R I C E
Kingfisher d u c k i n g Kingfisher.—On 4th August 1961, as I was
•driving alongside the River Bourne at Idmiston, Wiltshire, my eye
was caught by what I took to be a fish jumping. The stream was
only some six inches deep at that time and about ten feet wide. I
drew to a halt and looked through my binoculars at the object which
was still bobbing up and down in the water. T o my surprise I found
that I was watching a fight between two Kingfishers (Alcedo atthis).
O n e was hovering low over the water and apparently holding the other
by the bill. It was repeatedly ducking the latter and I had the impression that there was a small fish somewhere between the two beaks.
Unfortunately, however, the squabble came to an abrupt end almost
as soon as I focused my binoculars and the two contestants flew off
rapidly into the surrounding bushes. The whole incident was observed for about 2 5 seconds, during which time the lower bird was being
pushed under at least once per second, and it should be remembered
that I did not see the beginning.
As a sequel to this observation, I erected a mist-net near the spot on
9th September and, almost at once, two Kingfishers hit it in rapid
succession. One immediately began to duck the other even while
they were entangled in the net and this continued until my companion,
F. P. Errington, started to take them out. The one which was being
attacked proved to be in first-winter plumage. Unfortunately, the
aggressor escaped while being extracted from the net.
G.
42
H.
FORSTER
NOTES
F u r t h e r notes o n Great Spotted W o o d p e c k e r s a t t a c k i n g nestboxes.—I have previously drawn attention (Brit. Birds, 52: 270,
54: 119) to the damage done to nest-boxes at Possingworth, Sussex,
by Great Spotted Woodpeckers (Dendrocopos major). During the
winter of 1960/61 further damage was caused to ten more boxes, and
between 1st March and 30th June 1961 another twenty-four received
sufficiently severe attacks to necessitate the complete replacement of
the fronts. Seventeen of these contained nests of Great Tits (Parus
major) or Blue Tits (P. caerukus) at the time. One clutch of eight eggs
of Great Tits was pulled out with most of the nest. Nestlings killed
totalled nine Great Tits and at least one hundred and four Blue Tits
(exact brood sizes were not known in one or two instances). In
nearly all cases the nestlings were removed and presumably eaten,
but a few dead ones were found in the nest remains. In only one
instance did a brood survive after a box had been, sufficiently opened-up
to permit a woodpecker to enter, presumably because the bird had been
disturbed before completing its task. Eight other occupied boxes
received less severe damage; in some of these eggs or young were
deserted, though it cannot be proved that the attacks caused the
desertions. Nearly one third of the 190 nest-boxes in the park have
now received some damage from woodpeckers and several have had
fronts replaced more than once. So far as I can ascertain, there are
not more than four pairs of Great Spotted Woodpeckers in the 150
acres where these attacks occur. Nestling tits therefore appear t o
have become an established part of the diet of these birds in spring.
There is evidence of improved technique in gaining access to the
nests, by comparison with previous years. In 1959 and i960 the
entrance holes of damaged boxes was merely evenly enlarged and in
one instance a hole was made in the side of a box. In 1961 nine-tenths
of the damaged boxes showed that the woodpeckers had worked only
on the two inches between the top of the entrance hole and the lid.
This section was speedily knocked in to the width of the hole and then
widened to permit the bird to enter. The wood is three-quarters of
an inch thick, with two coats of preservative. Several boxes so
damaged are shown on plate 8b.
The previously reported attempts by woodpeckers to open my
concrete nest-boxes have continued and plate 8a is an illustration, but
so far damage is only slight. An interesting variation, however, was
an attack last winter on an open-fronted concrete box designed for
Spotted Flycatchers (Musacapa striata); not only the edges of the open
part of this box but also the entire roof were pitted, the marks being
identical with those around the entrance hole on an adjacent concrete
tit-box.
GUY MOTJNTFORT
43
B R I T I S H BIRDS
Calandra Lark in Dorset.—A Calandra Lark (Melanocorypha calandra)
was under observation at Portland Bill, Dorset, for much of 2nd April
1961. I first heard it calling at 11.30 G.M.T., and then saw it circling
overhead with Skylarks {Alauda arvensis). Its large size and dark
underwing, combined with an absence of any pale wing-patch, confirmed its identification. R. J. Jackson soon joined me and we were
able to obtain good views of the bird in flight and on the ground.
During the course of the day it was seen by at least 2 3 observers, and
the following description is culled from detailed notes made by F. M.
Gauntlett, R. J. Jackson, Dr. K. B. Rooke, M. Terry and myself:
Si%e and build: when flying looked twice as big as Skylark, partly due to large
expanse of open wing, and on ground approximately corresponded to Song
Thrush (Tardus phihmelos) with which it was directly compared; bulky, and
plump like Corn Bunting (Emberi^a calandra), usually with short-necked appearance. Upper-parts: crown dark with some streaking; nape pale grey with no
obvious streaking; mantle dark greyish-brown streaked with darker brown or
blackish, as in juvenile Mistle Thrush (T. viscivorus) (i.e. feathers had dark
brown centres with pale grey fringes), and lacking brownish-buff or olive-buff
tinge of Skylark; rump warmer and more buff than mantle, with fewer streaks.
Sides of bead: grey-brown with pale off-white or greyish-white supercilium
starting a little in front of eye and travelling round behind ear-coverts (not
broad, but quite conspicuous at a distance, even in flight); darker line through
eye angled back at posterior edge of ear-coverts. Under-parts: throat offwhite ; very conspicuous and almost horizontal patch of dark blackish on each
side of neck, about 2$ times as long as broad, sometimes looking blunt-ended
and sometimes more pointed at centre of upper breast where the two patches
almost met; shadowy area between these and a few distinct spots of brownish
below; remainder of under-parts whitish and unstreaked; under tail-coverts
pure white. Wings and tail: wings generally dark with two lines of pale
huffish tips to coverts forming indistinct bars, and one line of dark centres
(to the median coverts?) producing dark bar in front of these, as in Tawny
Pipit (Anthus campestris); in flight there was marked contrast between remiges
and rest of upper surface of open wing, as in Kestrel (Fako tinmmculus) and
Turtle Dove (Streptopslia turtur); underwing blackish with prominent white
trailing edge, this white being most conspicuous near body but probably
extending as far as inner primaries; tail very short and dark brown with
whitish outer feathers. Soft parts: bill pale horn or pale yellow with darker
tip, short and heavy and reminiscent of finch or Corn Bunting (bill and facial
pattern together distinctly bunting-like); gape pale orange; eye dark;
estimates of leg colour varied from pink (in strong sun), salmon-pink, fleshpink and bright flesh to light pinkish-straw and yellowish-orange.
When first seen the bird was calling with a succession of loud notes
which I rendered as prrrruuup, but which were impossible to describe
adequately. After circling for four or five minutes at a height of
50 or 60 feet, it dropped like a stone, uttering a rather long irrrreeeep,
and alighted about 20 yards away in one of two small adjoining fields
which had recently been drilled. Here it spent most of the rest of the
day. It was not heard to call any more and, in general, seemed
rather shy and nervous, often flying off and climbing high in a vigorous
44
NOTES
manner; after circling in typical lark-like flight, it would then plunge
steeply with nearly closed wings down almost to ground level, finally
planing to earth on outstretched wings. It would crouch for long
periods in hollows and often stood still, sometimes on a small ridge
or stone, apparently doing nothing. When alarmed it would stand
upright with outstretched neck, and it sometimes flew with its neck
extended. It hopped, walked and ran. It could usually be picked up
fairly readily against the rather dark soil. At times it looked a very
grey bird compared with Skylarks; this was very marked, in the overcast light of evening when the head especially seemed grey and the
streaking on the mantle appeared as black striations. It left with
some Skylarks at dusk and was not seen again.
To sum up the salient features, this was a large lark with a very short
tail and broad, rounded wings, the undersides of which were black
with white trailing edges; it had mainly unstreaked and almost white
under-parts with conspicuous blackish neck patches; it had greyishbrown upper-parts, a bunting-like bill, white outer tail-feathers and
no crest. If one accepts the decision of the editors of British Birds to
exclude the "Hastings records" (see P. A. D. Hollom, The Popular
Handbook of Rarer British Birds, i960, p. vi), this is the first known
occurrence of this species in Britain.
J. S. A S H
Rook with unusual bill deformity.—On 26th February 1961, Mr.
Gordon Finn-Kelcey telephoned me to say that a Rook (Corvus
frugikgus) had been shot on his farm at Old Romney, Kent, because it
had a beak so misshapen that it could not possibly feed itself. I
inspected the bird later the same day. Both mandibles were very
elongated. The upper one was much decurved, while the lower,
correspondingly upturned, was embedded through its middle length
in the flesh and feathers of the upper breast. The body was plump
and well-nourished and we concluded that the bird must have been
regularly fed by other Rooks. From the way the lower mandible
entered and emerged from the flesh, we thought that the lengthening
of the mandibles must have been a consequence of the piercing of the
upper breast and in no way a cause of it. Presumably the two mandibles started to grow in length as soon as the bird was unable to close
them properly. On 2nd March Mr. Gordon Clemetson took the
photograph which is reproduced here as plate 8c.
I arranged for the body to be sent to Dr. James M. Harrison who
managed to salvage the specimen although it was by then in a very
decomposed state. He found that the bird was an adult female and he
likewise commented on the fact that it was not nearly as emaciated as
might have been expected, although "feeding must have presented
many difficulties". He measured both mandibles from the gape.
45
B R I T I S H BIRDS
The upper was 66 mm. and the lower 71 mm. (The Handbook gives the
measurements of the bills of ten adult females as 31-38 mm. from the
nostril). He added that "approximation of the two mandibles fails
by 2 mm. at about 34 mm. from the gape".
W. S. N E V I N
46
PLATES
8A and
8B.
Ncst-box
damage by Great Spotted Woodpeckers {Dendrocopos major), Sussex,
1961. Left, concrete box with the
hole enlarged by nearly a fifth.
Above, several wooden boxes with
the part from hole to lid hacked out
(page 43) (photos: Guy Mountfort)
P L A T E 8 C . Female Rook (Corpus
frugikgus) with lower mandible
stuck through skin of upper breast,
Kent, spring 1961. It could not
close its bill and both mandibles
were elongated. In good condition,
it may have been fed by other Rooks
(page 46) (photo: Gordon Clemetsori)