76 THE ESSEX NATURALIST
it proceeded to pluck and eat, standing on its "kill" as it did so. This
took place on a garden seat within fifteen yards of the house.
E. M. Male.
Blackbird feigning injury. M. J. Ardley (in British Birds for July, 1947)
records that at Upminster in May, 1947, he picked up a young blackbird,
whereupon the male blackbird flew right up to him and began to flutter
along the ground with one wing dangling. When the young bird was placed
in a bush the male flew into a neighbouring tree and repeated the perform-
ance while both parents kept up cries of alarm.
Wook-Lark at Hainault. Mr. R. B. Warren (in British Birds, xl, p. 146)
reports a wood-lark (Lullula a. arborea) in frequent song over Hainault Golf
Course on April 6th, 1946.
Birds in the Lea Valley. I am informed by Mr. W. A. Wright that he
has observed the following species at the Lea Valley reservoirs:—
King George Reservoir.
Goosander—One seen on November 14th, 1947.
Smew—Two seen on December 2nd, 1947 (one being an adult male).
Magpie—One on December 2nd, 1947.
Walthamstow Reservoir.
Hooded Crow—Two on November 11th, 1947.
Red-necked Grebe—One on November 17th, 1947.
The occurrence of the magpie is of some interest because this is the first
occasion in sixteen years' recording that Mr. Wright has noted this species
on the Reservoir. Also it is a stage further in the advance of this species
in S.W. Essex. Some twenty years ago the magpie was rarely seen closer
to London than Epping. Within recent years the species has been noted
more frequently and in increasing numbers in this area.
I am told that a similar increase and townwards tendency has been
noted in other districts, especially at Richmond, Surrey. In Liverpool the
magpie is to be found regularly in parks and open spaces right into the
centre of the city. It remains to be seen if the magpie will become as metro-
politan in London as it now is in Liverpool.
B. T. Ward.
Waxwings in Essex. Judging by naturalists' reports in the daily Press, a
considerable number of Waxwings visited England during the very cold
weather of early 1947. From these observations it seems apparent that
the birds fly across the North Sea from central Europe and invariably stay
in the Eastern Counties for a few days before penetrating further inland.
If the visitors arrived in flocks the scarcity of food broke up their numbers,
for they were noticed in certain Essex towns during February, working
usually in pairs.
On February 10th a pair of Waxwings was observed in the front garden
of a Braintree house, within sight of the parish church. They were feeding
on the fruit of a Pyracantha bush around which, although it was only ten
feet from the main road and close to the entrance of a builder's yard, the
birds remained undisturbed and very tame for two days. From the windows
of the house it was possible to get a good view of their antics ; the wax-like
tips to the shafts of the secondaries were clearly evident and the general
plumage of the hen was drab in comparison with that of her handsome
mate.
The pair fed contentedly on the berries, swinging and hanging from the
branches like great tits. When resting their behaviour was similar to