Notes Squacco Heron eating passerines On 11th April 1984, at Eilat, Israel, I watched a Squacco Heron Ardeola ralloides catching passerines in a field of alfalfa. In one hour of only intermittent observation, three birds were seen to be caught and swallowed whole, with considerable difficulty. At least one was a Red-throated Pipit Anthus cervinus, and probably all were. BWP (1: 275-276) makes no mention of birds among the food of Squacco Heron, but states that prey items are up to about 10 cm in length. The length of a Red-throated Pipit is about 14.5 cm. y P. R. GORDON Dairy Cottage, Craigielaw, Longniddry, East Lothian EH320PY

The Herons Handbook (Hancock & Kushlan 1984) mentions only one passerine, a Whitethroat Sylvia communis, in the prey of Squacco Heron; and only one other bird species, a dead Wood Sandpiper Tringa glareola, which a Squacco attempted to swallow. EDS

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590 Notes 591 Ducks 'spinning* Dr J. T. R. Sharrock's note on a female Mallard Anas platyrhynchos 'spinning' (Brit. Birds IT. 355) recalled an incident on 8th November 1981, at Strathclyde Country Park, when a drake Shoveler A. clypeata engaged in exactly the same behaviour. It was alone on an area of fairly shallow water where various sedges and grasses broke the surface. At the time, I joked about it imitating a phalarope Pkalaropus, the spinning being mechanical and continuous and not the 'swimming in a circle' recorded in BWP vol. 1. Like Dr Sharrock, I too was involved in a wildfowl count and returned to find the Shoveler still spinning; although I did not count the revolutions one way and the other, the description fitted exactly. J. C. MAXWELL 7 Lilac Hill, Hamilton, Strathclyde

Extent of light area on flanks on adult male Ring-necked Duck Paintings of adult male Ring-necked Duck Aythya collaris in some important ornithological works give an impression that it is not the extent of the pale area on the flanks that helps separate this species from adult male Tufted Duck A. fuligula, but the shape, which is considered to be more rounded. This is also apparent in Keith Vinicombe's notes and sketches (Brit. Birds 75: 327-328). In my opinion, the light area on male Ring-necked is more extensive, as well as being more rounded. This is brought about by the amount of black on the breast being noticeably less than is the case in adult male Tufted. At present, one can only speculate whether published sketches of supposed Ring-necked X Tufted Duck hybrids (e.g. 75: 327) truly portray breast and flank patterns similar to male Ring-necked or to male Tufted. These points are especially important, since male hybrids between these two species are likely to have breast and flank patterns similar to either species or in between the two. Useful photographs of adult male Ring-necked Duck appear in Mendall (1958, The Ring-necked Duck in the Northeast), Linduska (1964, Waterfowl Tomorrow) andjohnsgard (1968, Waterfowl). E. H. GILLHAM 31 Coast Drive, Lydd-on-Sea, Romney Marsh, Kent TN299NL

Pinioned Goosanders catching and drowning House Martins On 27th and 28th May 1984, at the Wildfowl Trust's Arundel Centre in West Sussex, rain had brought House Martins Delichon urbica very low down in their search for insects, and several pinioned Goosanders Mergus merganser were observed trying to snatch them out of the air. The first Goosander which we saw to be successful was a drake; it drowned its prey which it appeared to try to swallow over the next ten minutes, but it disappeared around an island before I could confirm that it had swallowed the martin. The second case involved a female; she played with her catch for some time before eventually losing interest and swimming away. Some years ago, at the Martin Mere reserve in Lancashire, a Goosander snatched a House Sparrow Passer domesticus from the shore and drowned it. It would be interesting to know if the habit of catching aerial food, including dragonflies and birds, also occurs in the wild. JIM STEVENSON RSPB, Vane Farm Nature Centre, by Loch Leven, Kinross KY13 7LX 592 Notes Red Kite fishing like Osprey On 3rd March 1984, I had just finished refurbishing some nestboxes beside the Hannessee, a small lake on the military ranges near Paderborn, Westphalia, West Germany. The day was cool and cloudy, with little wind and no rain. The water in the lake had recently been reduced to about one-third of its capacity to permit conserva­ tion work; the remaining water was shallow and the fish were therefore easily seen, particularly around the periphery where it was barely 8-10 cm deep. As I approached my car through the trees, I heard a loud splash 30 m away and looked up to see a Red Kite Milvus milvus struggling back into the air with a very large fish in its talons. The fish wriggled wildly and tried every way it could to free itself, as often seen in similar circumstances with a fish and an Osprey Pandion haliaetus. The kite then circled above the lake, while eating the fish in flight. It was joined by its mate and both then continued to circle together, one busily biting into the fish and the other trying very hard to join in, or to assist the captor to drop its prey. I watched them for 4V2 minutes before they disappeared above some trees. The fish was still securely held. The Red Kite is seen daily in this area, but this was the first time I had seen it near the water, let alone in it. A.J. CREASE The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, Athlone Barracks, British Forces Post Office 16

Skylark using human beings as refuge On 22nd October 1983, at Barbrook Reservoir, Derbyshire, R. P. Blagden, K. R. Gould and I noticed a female Merlin Falco columbarius pursuing a Skylark Alauda arvensis towards us, in the usual fashion of harrying and stooping, across the adjacent moorland. At about 30 m range it broke off the attack and veered away, presumably having seen us. The Skylark dien dived towards us, alighting at my feet, scuttled into the area between us, flattened itself to the ground, and stayed quite still for 30 seconds or so. Believing the lark to have been injured during the chase, I bent down to pick it up, whereupon it flew strongly along the reservoir embankment and alighted in a clump of heather. I have not heard of passerines using human beings as a shield against predators, which I am certain was the lark's intention. M. E. TAYLOR 76 Hawksley Avenue, Chesterfield, Derbyshire S404TL

Blackbird scavenging nestling House Sparrow At about 15.00GMTon 16th May 1984, at Wye College, Ashford, Kent, a male Blackbird Turdus merula was seen pecking at an object on a tarmac drive beside an ivy-covered wall. On closer inspection, the object was seen to be a small dead passerine chick aged about three days, which I considered was probably that of a House Sparrow Passer domesticus as there were a number of their nests with nestlings in the ivy. As the Blackbird appeared reluctant to leave the chick, I stood back and watched. The Blackbird remained still for about two minutes, and then began jabbing at the chick again, perhaps eight to ten times. It then jerked it into its mouth and swallowed it head first, with no apparent difficulty. This bird had been noted in the same area on a number of occasions before and has been since; as the tarmac at this point appears to be devoid of any other food, and as House Sparrow chicks are frequently Notes 593 found on the ground beneath their nests, it seems possible that this was not the first time that this Blackbird had scavenged such food, CHRIS HODGSON Department of Biological Sciences, Wye College, near Ashford, Kent

Blackbird presenting elvers to young On 11th August 1983, at Bodorgan, Anglesey, I watched from about 4m the behaviour of a female Blackbird Turdus merula at a shallow garden stream. It was feeding a fully fledged young in a thick shrubbery some 4 m away, and was hunting for food by the edge of the water. Its attention was directed to the water, where it waded and picked up a silvery object which was clearly seen to be an elver about 7 cm in length. This it took to the edge of the shrubbery, where the young bird darted out of the bushes and immediately swallowed the elver which had been presented. The adult returned to the stream, and within about five seconds had captured a further four elvers, all of which it took together in its bill and deposited on the ground before the juvenile; the latter disposed of these one after another. A sixth elver was caught and taken to the shrubbery, but whether this was consumed by the juvenile was not determined. The Handbook does not specifically state that elvers form part of a young Blackbird's diet, but does record that a small frog and a stranded minnow have been brought to the nest. JOHN P. WILKINSON Overstrand, Malltraetk, Bodorgan, Anglesey LL625AW

Derek Goodwin has commented as follows: 'I believe that elver-taking has been recorded, but what does seem new and interesting here is that the adult Blackbird put the food on the ground in front of the young, not in its mouth as normal.' Eos

Birds bathing in deep water During the years 1982-85, near Ringwould, Kent, I observed certain bird species bathing in deep water. This took place in drinking troughs 75 cm deep, 2 m in diameter, with rims 10 cm wide. The first troughs were installed in 1980, and, by 1984, 16 were scattered over some 200 ha of farmland. In an arid area, they provided new supplies of water at a variety of sites, some of which were used more frequently than others. The bathing, first noticed in 1982, continued spasmodically all year around: most instances were recorded in dry spells in summer. There were three ways of bathing: (a) DIPPING Birds stood on the rim of the trough, bending over to wet head, neck, and perhaps breast (according to water levels). (b) JUMPING Birds jumped with flapping wings from rim to water, usually returning quickly to a nearby point; juvenile Rooks Corvusfrugilegus, however, tended to swim across to the other side of the trough. (c) DROPPING From the air, birds dropped down to alight on the water, as if they were landing on the ground. Only when the rim was already crowded did this occur. As well as Rooks, other species which bathed in the troughs were Jackdaw C. monedula, Carrion Crow C. corone, Magpie Pica pica, Starling Sturnus vulgaris, Woodpigeon Columba palumbus, Turtle Dove Streptopelia turtur and Stock Dove C. oenas. The Rooks, Jackdaws -and Carrion Crows were the most numerous and persistent performers, often bathing together in large 594 Notes numbers in one trough. An individual normally began by dipping, then switched to jumping, each exercise probably repeated several times, and with shaking and preening being interspersed. Carrion Crows dipped and jumped, and possibly dropped. Rooks and Jackdaws used all three methods. The two Turtle Doves and one Stock Dove, all observed briefly, jumped. Starlings, the smallest of the species involved, rarely dipped (water levels may often have been too low); they usually jumped, but sometimes dropped. Elsewhere, I have seen similar behaviour by Starlings at a lake, where a few occasionally dropped into the water to join a crowd of others already bathing or massed on the shore nearby; in New Zealand, Cockrem (1979) described some individuals in a flock of Starlings landing in shallow water in a lake, some flying from one spot to another during the subsequent bathing. Simmons (1985) listed five methods of bathing in surface water. The one seen most frequently in Europe he named 'stand-in bathing', performed 'while standing or crouching in the water'. The others were 'stand-out bathing' (settled on land at the edge of water); 'in-out bathing' (jumping repeatedly into and out of water); 'flight-bathing' (on the wing, by a series of dips and rises); and 'plunge-bathing' (diving from a perch on to the surface of water, sometimes repeatedly). In these terms, the jumping which I observed is an example of 'in-out bathing', and dipping may rate as 'stand-out bathing' if'land' covers any form of foothold; the dropping bore little resemblance to either 'flight-bathing' or 'plunge-bathing', nor did it appear to be repetitive. During 11 years in this locality, I have not seen Rooks, Jackdaws or Carrion Crows bathe other than in the troughs or, occasionally, on flooded fields in winter. Woodpigeons, Turtle Doves, Magpies and Starlings used road puddles and a small birdbath 7 m from my house. Given that the three Corvus species rarely linger on the ground near habitation, they were, perhaps, equally wary of approaching water so situated. J. M. STAINTON Dove Cottage, Church Lane, Ringwould, Deal, Kent CT14 8HR

REFERENCES COCKREM, J. F. 1979. Starlings bathing. Notornis 26 (3): 312. SIMMONS, K. E. L. 1985. Comfort behaviour. In CAMPBELL, B., & LACK, E. (eds.), A Dictionary of Birds. Calton.

Chaffinch stealing from Greenfinch The note on Bramblings Fringilld montifringilla catching falling nuts in flight and robbing Greenfinch Carduelis Moris (Brit. Birds 78: 244) recalls the following incident. In my Cheshire garden, a supply of small seed is maintained over the winter months, along with sunflower seed. Greenfinches, Chaffinches F. coelebs and Tree Sparrows Passer montanus then visit regularly, with Greenfinch (the only species to husk the sunflower seeds) usually dominant in any interspecific aggression. Several times during the severely cold January of 1982, however, I noticed a Chaffinch waiting by a Greenfinch which was mandi- bulating a sunflower seed; the Chaffinch was moving forward, evidently to try to take the kernel when it was freed from the husk. On three occasions, I Notes 595 watched a Chaffinch reach forward and remove the kernel from the husk while the Greenfinch still held this in its bill, exerting pressure to prise the husk open. Both male and female Chaffinches were seen to deprive Green­ finches of food in this way. THELMA K. SYKES Newcroft, Saughall, Chester CHI 6EL

Food-robbery as alternative feeding strategy of Chaffinch The note by Ewan Brodie, describing how a Brambling Fringilla montifringilla seized a peanut from a Greenfinch Carduelis Moris at a bird-feeder (Brit. Birds 78: 244), prompts me to record similar behaviour from the Chaffinch F. coelebs. Chaffinches will rob each other of food when foraging, and the extension of such behaviour to the robbing of other species on occasion is not in itself a phenomenon worthy of special note, being common among sociable passerines generally as a casual (or facultative) practice. My observations, however, suggest that the Chaffinch has developed the habit of interspecific food-robbery to such an extent that it amounts to an alternative strategy to normal foraging in certain situations, and the same could well apply to the Brambling. During the three winters of 1978/79-80/81, in the garden of my former home at Oadby near Leicester, peanuts were supplied for the birds in a square (RSPB-type) wire holder and later, from mid-January 1980, in a tubular ('Dina-bird') one. Regular feeders among the finch-like birds included House Sparrows Passer domesticus. Greenfinches, and, on the 'Dina-bird', Reed Buntings Emberiza schoeniclus, but none of the few Chaffinches that wintered in the garden was ever seen on either holder, though, like certain individuals of the other three species, they would forage for fallen scraps below. Yet the Chaffinches, as well as the other birds that fed directly on the holders, could often be seen carrying away whole or half peanuts to eat, either on the ground or more usually on a flat or flattish surface (the horizontal boughs of a large ash Fraxinus excelsior being the favourite site). There, as their behaviour repertory lacks the habit of holding or clamping down food in the foot, all would deal with the item in the same clumsy manner, placing it down and nibbling away at it: a prolonged procedure which often led to the dropping of the peanut, or part of it, and its recovery by another bird of the same or another species. It eventually became apparent that only the Chaffinches—one female in particular each year (perhaps the same individual), but also males—were exploiting this situation in a systematic way and were regularly robbing other garden passerines of their food, especially during the period December to February. The method used was highly distinctive: (1) the Chaffinch would 'mark' a bird that had extracted a peanut; (2) follow (stalk, tag, or dog) it until it put the seed down to eat it; (3) potter about nearby, in an 'innocent' and 'inoffensive' manner, gradually getting closer; and (4) dart in quickly, seize the nut or a fragment of it, and make off immediately. Less frequently, similar attempts were seen against birds with other items of food. The species robbed were mainly Greenfinches and House Sparrows, but 596 Notes attempts were seen against Blue Tits Parus caeruleus and, in the case of bread, Blackbirds Turdus merula. If no actual robbery had been effected, the Chaffinch would eat up any fragments left after the would-be victim had departed. The Chaffinches robbed one another too at times, but mainly by direct supplanting attacks, usually male on female. I have since seen similar food-robbing behaviour in our present garden in Leicester itself, where Chaffinches are only irregular winter visitors, but have not been able to document it in any detail. There is much scope here for an interesting study of such kleptoparasitism by the Chaffinch and the Brambling, both in the artificial garden situation and under more natural conditions. K. E. L. SIMMONS 66 Romway Road, Leicester LE55SB