UC-NRLF

B 3

BIOLOGY
LIBRARY

t

THE BIRDS OF BERKSHIRE

AND

BUCKINGHAMSHIRE.

THE LONG-EARED OWL.
Strix otus.

THE

BIRDS OF BERKSHIRE

AND

BUCKINGHAMSHIRE:

A CONTRIBUTION TO THE
NATURAL HISTORY OF THE TWO COUNTIES.

BY

ALEXANDER W. M. CLARK KENNEDY,
" AN ETON BOY,"

MEMBER OF THE HIGH WYCOMBE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY.

ifcm:

INGALTON AND DRAKE.

SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, AND COMPANY
1868.

BIOLOGY

UBRARY

G

BIOLOGY

LIBRARY

G

LONDON :

K. CLAY, SON, AND TAYLOR, PRINTERS,
BREAD STREET HILL.

TO THE READER.

Like as the little lark from off its nest,

Beside the mossy hill, awakes in glee,

To seek the morning's throne, a merry guest ;

So do I seek thy shrine, if that may be,

To win by new attempts another smile from thee."

CLARK.

811999

TO

PRINCE LEOPOLD,

THIS VOLUME IS RESPECTFULLY

BY HIS HUMBLE AND OBEDIENT SERVANT,

ALEXANDER W. M. CLARK KENNEDY,

IN REMEMBRANCE OF MANY HAPPY HOURS SPENT
WITH HIM AT

WINDSOR CASTLE.

PREFACE.

' MAY this magnificent study5 (of Ornithology),
' second to none but Theology, daily gain more
favour in the eyes of the public; and be the time
not far distant when observers shall arise capable
of giving greater accuracy and precision to our
knowledge of British Birds. While the world en-
dures, be it a thousand years or a million of
centuries, the works of God will never be fully com-
prehended by man ; and thus there is delightful
occupation in view for all time.1* These are the
words of a true Ornithologist, and they seem to
point out to us that too much can never be written
of the wonderful works of God. Be the writer
discoursing on birds, animals, fishes, insects, or any
of the numberless works of Nature, he will still
have much to learn, many new facts to note down,

* Professor Macgillivray.

x PREFACE,

many fresh habits to observe; and, lastly, will
have an endless source of enjoyment in studying
and inquiring into the life-histories of a most
interesting portion of the creation.

A complete Natural History of British Birds can
scarcely be written by one man unassisted ; but
by the inquiries of several into the ornithology
of particular districts the task may eventually
be accomplished, and, at the same time, more
perfectly executed. Surely if one naturalist would
undertake the Birds of this county, another of
that, and so on, materials for forming a Com-
plete Ornithology of Great Britain would be forth-
coming, and ample details would thus be placed in
the hands of some competent person — a future
Yarrell — for compiling the work, which would indeed
be a boon to all naturalists.

An ardent wish to see the ornithology of each
British county represented has prompted me to
place these rough notes in the hands of the public,
and it has been my endeavour, as far as possible,
to follow in the footsteps of the able authors of
' Ornithological Rambles in Sussex/ the ' Birds of

PREFACE. xi

Middlesex/ and the ' Birds of Norfolk.' I now am
pleased to be able to add to the list the 'Birds
of Berkshire and Buckinghamshire.' I trust that,
ere long, we shall be presented with accounts of
the Avi-fauna of many other counties, and that
our labour, by being thus divided, will be found
more perfectly executed.

Although I have closely adhered to the nomencla-
ture of Yarrell in the following pages, I have availed
myself of a method similar to that proposed by
the editor of the Zoologist, Mr. Edward Newman,
in an appendix to the 'Letters of Rusticus on
Natural History,' and one which, I think, if more
generally adopted by Ornithologists, would do much
towards helping a stranger to form a general idea
of the Birds of a particular district.

I have accordingly classed my birds under five
heads : —

Residents.

Summer Visitors.

Winter Visitors.

Spring arid Atitumn Visitors, being the species

xii PREFACE.

which pay us literally ' a flying visit ' during the
time of the periodical migrations. And lastly,

Rare and Accidental Visitors, which occur only
at uncertain intervals.

The two counties whose Avi-fauna I have under-
taken to chronicle can boast of no less than 225
species, a number by no means insignificant for an
inland county. Doubtless many more rare birds
have been obtained of which I have not received
notices, but in a future edition I shall hope to
add to my list, and shall accordingly be obliged
for any notes of the occurrence of rare stragglers in
either county which may here have escaped notice.

The following is a summary of the Birds of the
two counties according to the arrangement I have
adopted : —

Residents 64

Summer Visitors 31

Winter Visitors 34

Spring and Autumn Visitors 16

Rare and Accidental Visitors 80

Total Number ........ 225

It now only remains for me to return thanks to
the many kind friends who have given me their

PREFACE.

XIll

help and advice in this my first literary essay ; and
I will venture to say that in a similar undertaking
few have met with more encouragement than has
been bestowed on me during the progress of this
little work.

To my friend Mr. R. B. Sharpe, of Cookham, I
am much indebted for many interesting notes ;
and to the Rev. Charles Wolley, of Eton, the
Rev. H. Harpur Crewe, of Drayton Beauchamp,
and Mr. James Britten, of High Wycombe, I am
under similar obligations. Mr. J. E. Harting, of
Kingsbury, has been most kind in his endeavours
to make my work as complete as possible, and I
owe him a debt of gratitude for a personal super-
vision of the following pages as they were passing
through the press. The Rev. Bryant Burgess, of
Latimer, has forwarded many ornithological notes
from the neighbourhood of Chesham ; and the Rev.
E. D. Stone, of Eton College, has, during the pro-
gress of this work, furnished many useful hints.
The Rev. F. O. Morris was good enough to write
me word that I might make any extracts from his
' British Birds ; ' and Mr. Gould has kindly informed

xiv PREFACE.

me of several rare captures, and allowed me to
take notes from his finely coloured ' Birds of Great
Britain/ To Professor Newton, of Cambridge, I
am indebted for much kindly advice and useful
information ; and Mr. Dalziel Mackenzie, of Henley-
on-Thames, also deserves my thanks for a series of
notes on some of the rarer birds which have been
taken near Fawley, Medmenham, and other places
in his immediate neighbourhood. I have received
much information from local birdstuffers, but have
given credence only to such reports as seemed
thoroughly trustworthy.

Lastly, I thank my subscribers for their support,
and trust that while they criticise the following
pages, they will extend that indulgence which is
naturally looked for by an author of sixteen.

ALEXANDER W. M. CLARK KENNEDY.

ETON COLLEGE, BUCKS,
March, 1 868.

CONTENTS.

PAGE
RESIDENTS I

SUMMER VISITORS 69

WINTER VISITORS IO2

SPRING AND AUTUMN VISITORS 136

RARE AND ACCIDENTAL VISITORS 154

INDEX 221

LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS 227

THE BIRDS OF BERKSHIRE AND
BUCKINGHAMSHIRE.

-<$&

RESIDENTS.

ORDER L— RAPTORES.

Family — FALCONID^E.

KESTREL (Falco Tinnunculus}. Local names, Wind-
hover, Hover Hawk. A common species, particularly
in the neighbourhood of Eton, Surley, and Windsor.
Any^one, while taking a stroll in summer, may see
one or more of these hawks hovering over the fields
in search of its usual food, grasshoppers and mice. I
once observed five hunting in the same field. This
bird breeds abundantly in both counties, as proved by
the number of eggs which are taken in the season,
and of these I have seen several curious varieties.

Mr. Sharpe tells me that it is a common bird at
Cookham, and that it breeds annually in Cliefden
Woods, where he has seen six at one time sailing

B

-'. . _ THE BIRDS' OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

overhead. For two successive years a pair of Kestrels
bred in some tall fir-trees at Formosa, and birds of
this species have been frequently observed in the
grounds of Mr. Burrows at Cookham. Some time
since, a male Kestrel was shot in the act of grasping
a slowworm, which it held so tightly, that when it
arrived at Cookham from Reading its feet still re-
tained their hold, notwithstanding that the victim
was alive !

In his account of ' The Birds of Cookham and the
Neighbourhood,' Mr. Sharpe states that this hawk
feeds chiefly on small birds : I think mice constitute
its principal food, although it has occasionally been
seen to carry off live sparrows, redpoles, siskins, and
gold-finches ; and as a proof of its voracity, a London
bird-fancier once exhibited a young Kestrel which
had been killed and partly devoured by others of
its own species.

' I remember well/ says Mr. Sharpe, ' having
crept close up to a flock of sparrows, I was ajx>ut
to fire from behind the hedge, when I saw a brown
thing jumping about on the ground in the midst of
them. I thought at first it was a stoat, but I soon
saw it was a Kestrel, and I stood watching it. What
surprised me most was, that the sparrows did not
fly, but were dodging about like mice on all sides of
the hawk, apparently aware that if once on the wing,
the hawk .would soon overtake them, whereas on the
ground their smaller size and superior agility enabled

FALCONID^E. . 3

them to elude his grasp. The Kestrel, however, con-
quered, for I heard a squeak, and then the whirr of
the flock as it took flight, and immediately after the
hawk flew over my head with a sparrow in its claw.
I had never thought of firing till he was out of reach,
but I followed the direction he took, and he finally
darted out from under a ploughshare, where I found
the sparrow with his head eaten off/

SPARROWHAWK (Accipiter Nisus). This also is a
common species, but not so numerous as the Kestrel.
Many of these hawks are shot annually as vermin,
and almost every house one enters with any stuffed
birds in it, is certain to contain this hawk among the
rest. It breeds abundantly, and so many nests are
taken every season, that it is surprising that it con-
trives to ' increase and multiply ' as it does. I have
seen many tame Sparrowhawks in Eton and Windsor,
and they appear to thrive well in confinement.

By nature the Sparrowhawk is exceedingly bold
and impetuous, and many instances are recorded in
which one of these birds has been known to fly
against a window in pursuit of its prey, killing
itself by the force of the shock. The food of this
hawk comprises small birds of all descriptions, phea-
sants, partridges, and grouse, the denizens of the
poultry-yard occasionally suffering from its depre-
dations ; mice are sometimes, though rarely, found
in its crop.

The males separate from the females early in winter.

4 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

MARSH HARRIER (Circus <zruginosus}. Resident
throughout the year, but nowhere numerous. It is
distributed sparingly in both counties, and is doubt-
less often confounded with the Hen Harrier. It
was formerly more common than it now is ; and
when there was a greater extent of uncultivated
heaths and moorland wastes the Marsh Harrier
might frequently have been observed sailing in mid-
air in search of prey. A few are still to be seen
at various seasons in the neighbourhood of Chesham ;
and it remains all the year in some favoured locali-
ties, which are now, alas ! ' few and far between/ in
the two counties.

The Rev. Bryant Burgess, of Latimer, near Ches-
ham, wrote me word of an immature Marsh Harrier,
which was killed some years ago at Risborough.

HEN HARRIER (Circus cyaneus). Local names,
Ringtail, Buzzard, Moor Btizzard. Resident, but not
numerous. A good specimen of this Harrier was
preserved by Mr. Hasell, of Bexley Street, Windsor,
who told me that it was trapped by one of the royal
keepers in Windsor Forest in the year 1855. Another
bird of this species — a female — was shot in Windsor
Forest in either 1859 or 1860, but the exact date
has not been recorded. A fine male was shot by a
carpenter named Skelton, of Eton, in the year 1857.
It was resting upon an elm-tree when he shot it,
near the mathematical schools of Eton College. I
saw the bird in the possession of Mr. Ferryman, of

STRIGID&. 5

Datchet, who had preserved it. He informed me
that it was the only bird of this species he ever saw
in either of the two counties.

I have been told by Mrs. Hussey, of Brenthurst,
Sussex, that some twenty years ago this Harrier
used to be a common bird in Buckinghamshire, but
it is to be regretted that this species, along with
many of our nobler birds of prey, has now almost
entirely disappeared from districts where it used
formerly to be abundant. This is probably owing
to the great increase in the number of gamekeepers,
who, of course, kill every hawk they can 'get a sight
on/ even the harmless Nightjar being occasionally
included as a hawk in the ' museums ' of such
worthies. The Hen Harrier has occurred at Chesham
and near Cookham, and it has been observed flying
over Langley Park at such a low altitude as to
enable the beholder to ascertain the species.
i

Family— STRIGID^E.

LONG-EARED OWL (Otus vulgaris}. Local names,
Long-ears, Brown Owl, Horned Owl. This is a
tolerably common species in most parts of the two
counties. Although a nocturnal feeder, I have on
several occasions put up a Long-eared Owl by day,
and have even observed one of these birds flying
along the hedge-rows in broad daylight.

Owls of this species are numerous in Windsor

6 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

Forest, where they are often taken or shot as vermin !
Vermin, indeed ! I will undertake to say that for
every rabbit or leveret they take, they destroy twice
as many rats, mice, and moles ; and this might be
proved if each specimen were examined when shot.
They are common in Ditton Park, the seat of His
Grace the Duke of Buccleuch, and are to be found
in Burnham Beeches, where their nests and eggs have
been taken. They breed also in Langley Park, in
Windsor Forest, near Winkfield, at Fulmer, and in
many other wooded localities.

Mr. Ferryman, of Datchet, states that specimens of
this bird are sometimes brought to him from that
neighbourhood. The last which came under my
notice was a large male bird, in fine plumage, which
was killed by a keeper in Stoke Park, about the
2Oth of September, 1867. The following extract
is from a letter from Mr. A. Collins, of the 57th
Regiment, dated Manchester, 22nd November, 1867 :-*-

'From my earliest recollection there have always
been some five or six couple of Horned Owls in a
small fir plantation on my father's property, Better-
ton, near Wantage. Probably the retired situation
of this wood — in a hollow of the Downs — had much
to do with the owls' making it their head-quarters,
their wisdom being proverbial. My ambition, when
I was a schoolboy, was to have one of these as a
pet, but as the young birds were always fully fledged
and strong on the wing by the time I got home for

STRIG1D&. 7

the holidays, the difficulty was to catch one alive.
However a deus ex machind arose in the shape
of our old gamekeeper's son. This worthy, Charles
by name, loaded his gun with split peas, which
he informed me would stun the bird only, and
while it was in that state it would fall an easy prey.

' I thought this rather improbable, but set off
with him to the plantation. After a long and hot
search, for it was a broiling day in June, we espied
an owl perched high up in a fir-tree and gazing
down at us with its big yellow eyes. Bang ! and
down it came, with blood streaming from its head,
and apparently as dead as any door-nail. My
coadjutor, however, promptly enveloped it in his
velveteen coat, and in a few minutes it was hissing
and scratching to an alarming extent. We found
afterwards that only one pea had struck it, just
above the ear. I consigned it to a hen-coop, and
for a long time despaired of taming it, but a low
diet worked wonders, and eventually it became so
tame that it would ride about on my wrist or head
I put up two or three perches in an old ivy-covered
tree on the lawn, where it would sit very con-
tentedly ; at night, for greater safety, it was con-
signed to an old dog-kennel.

' Alas ! my owl was but mortal, and I found him
one cold winter's morning a frozen corpse. I had
my old favourite's head preserved, and it now hangs
over a formidable array of pipes. Sometimes when

8 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

I look at it — like Wordsworth's thrush in Cheapside —
it recalls to me the hot still summer day when we
effected its capture, and I almost try to sniff the
delicious, fir-scented Downs' air ; but as these bar-
racks are environed by a large gasometer, a brick-
field, and a tan-yard, the ideal soon merges into a
very disagreeable reality.'

The Rev. H. H. Crewe tells me that the Rev. D.
Jenks, of Little Gaddesden, has a tame bird of this
species, taken from the nest in Ashridge Park, where
this owl breeds every year.

WHITE OWL (Strix flammed). Local names, Screech
Owl, White Owl, Cherubim, Barn Owl, Church Owl.
This pretty owl is a very common species, and
breeds abundantly in the two counties. Several
pairs frequent the churches in the vicinity of Windsor,
and many old barns possess their pair of 'cherubims.'
The species is common in Windsor Great Park and
Winkfield, in Berkshire, while in Buckinghamshire
it is numerous at Ditton Park, near Eton Wick,
Chesham, Cookham, Drayton Beauchamp, at Stoke
Park, Burnham Beeches, and many other localities.
A nest was taken from a tree in Burnham Beeches,
in the spring of 1865, with as many as nine
eggs.

A pair of these White Owls built in a cavity
near the top of the celebrated H erne's Oak, in
Windsor Park, the year before it was blown down.

Mr. Atkins, of Eton, once had a tame bird of this

STRIGID&. 9

species, which had been caught when young ; it
would hop upon his shoulder, sit upon the table
while the family were at breakfast, eat from his
hand, and had become quite domesticated.

The White Owl is a great benefactor to man, and
shame on him who ruthlessly destroys one of these
creatures. It is well known that they do infinitely
more good than harm, as their prey consists of
common mice, shrews, young rats, insects, and occa-
sionally small birds — never aspiring to game, as is
supposed. In the spring of 1866, an owl laid two
eggs upon some loose hay in a dilapidated old shed,
which used to stand by the side of the river Thames
near Eton. The old bird was surprised one even-
ing sitting upon her eggs, and permitted herself to
be quietly captured by a boy. In this case there
were no signs of a nest — the two eggs were merely
laid upon the top of the hay.

Mr. A. Collins, to whom I have before referred,
told me that a pair of these owls always nested in
the- hollow fork of an old elm-tree stretching over
an arbour at Betterton, Wantage. One spring, on
paying them a visit, he found some impudent jack-
daws had driven them into the inmost recesses of
the branch, and deposited their own eggs in the poor
owls' original nest. He immediately smashed the
jackdaws' eggs, as a warning, and after that, the
birds of wisdom were unmolested, and continued
to occupy their old quarters.

io THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

TAWNY OWL (Syrnium aluco). Local name, Brown
Owl. A numerous species in the wooded districts.
The Duke of Buccleuch's gamekeeper states that
there are many of these birds in the Ditton woods,
where they breed sparingly : of course, like all other
members of this unlucky family of birds, they are
shot down as vermin. That they do occasionally
carry off a leveret or a rabbit I do not deny, but it
appears to me that they do much more good than
harm.

Tawny Owls are often shot in Windsor Forest,
where they breed. If this bird were not so nocturnal
in its habits, there is little doubt but that many
more would be destroyed. Its loud melancholy hoot
is likely to awaken a vague, uncomfortable feeling
in the hearer, if he be not accustomed to such sounds ;
and should he be walking through a churchyard,
or some ancient ruin at the time, the note of this

' Ominous and fearful owl of death ' *

cannot fail to be associated with the idea of dark
deeds and ghosts.

Some ornithologists have noted that it is the
habit of this species, and of the Barn Owl, to
feed on fish : I have never known this to be
the case, but Mr. Watertonf states that some
years ago, on a fine evening in the month of

* Shakespeare's Henry VI. Part I. Act iv. Scene 2.
+ 'Essays on Natural History,' p. 13.

STRIGID^E. ii

July, long before it was dark, as he was standing
on the middle of the bridge at Walton Hall,
Yorkshire, and timing the owl by his watch as she
brought mice into her nest, all on a sudden she
dropped perpendicularly into the water. Thinking
she had- fallen down in an epilepsy, his first thought
was to go and fetch the boat; but before he had
got to the end of the bridge, he saw the owl rise
out of the water with a fish in her claws, and take
it to the nest.

12 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS

ORDER IL— INSESSORES.
Tribe— DENTIROSTRES. Family— MERULIM.

MISSEL THRUSH (Titrdus viscivorus). Local names,
Mistletoe Thrush, Stormcock. This large Thrush
is exceedingly common in both counties, and is
one of our earliest breeders. Except in the nesting-
season, it is a very wild bird, but at that period it
shakes off all fear, and approaches the habitations of
man. I have found newly built nests of this bird as
early as the end of March, and eggs are frequently
taken early in April.

It usually builds its nest high in a tree, frequently
in a hollow formed by the junction of two or more
branches; I have, however, found a nest in a low
hedge about three feet from the ground, in the park
near Ditton House. Though not so often observed
at other seasons of the year, in spring it may be
frequently seen. On the approach of an intruder
it will usually set up a loud screeching, and has been
known to attack a cat which had ventured too near
its nest.

One of the bird's local names, 'Stormcock/ has

MERULID^E. . 13

been given it from its habit of singing loudly during
stormy weather. The eggs vary much in size and
colouring : I possess two with a green ground and no
spots; another with an almost pure white ground,
and I have seen several perfectly round. Where
the nest is built in damp situations, I have always
found that the eggs are lighter in ground-colour
and markings, and in this I am confirmed by the
observations of Mr. Harvie Brown, of Dunipace
House, Falkirk.

SONG THRUSH (Turdus musicus). Local names,
Throstle, Mavis. This lovely songster is happily
numerous in this district ; it is an early builder, for
1 have known of nests and eggs having been taken
in March, and I have found eggs by the 1st of
April. I have at different times collected many
varieties of the Thrush's egg ; two are perfectly
round, and several pure blue without any speck or
mark, while others have their markings rather red
than black. I have always found the pale varieties
near water, or in damp localities: in 1867 I found a
nest in a tree which was flooded by water at its
roots ; and there were several eggs in it which
were quite blue. I once found near Windsor a nest
containing eggs, without any mud for a lining, but
with merely some dry grass roughly twisted round
the inside.

A friend of mine a few years since took a Thrush's
nest with four young ones, and shortly afterwards got

14 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

a second nest, also containing young birds : they were
all put in the same cage, and one of the older ones
belonging to the first brood fed the younger ones
every morning and evening regularly. I found a nest
of this species on a wooden bench some years ago :
they will often build in ivy, jessamine, and other
climbing plants ; indeed there are few places which
they will not in turn select. If the weather be mild
they will sing in February, and I once heard a Thrush
in full song on a bright day in January.
BLACKBIRD (Turdus Meruld).

" The ouzel-cock, so black of hue,
With orange- tawny bill" '

is universally distributed in England, and Berkshire
and Buckinghamshire are alike favoured with the
presence of this noted songster. It is, indeed, one of
our commonest birds, and a most useful friend to the
farmer and gardener. Often have I hidden behind
a hedge, and watched a cunning old fellow take up
a snail in his bill, the next moment dash it with his
whole strength against a stone, and picking up the
body of the unfortunate householder thus rudely
ejected from his habitation, fly off in high spirits to
give his young this savoury meal.

I have seen, at various times, many eggs of this
bird nearly blue, but none perfectly so. As has been
observed in the case of the Thrush, these light-coloured

* Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream, iii. I.

MERULIDJE. 15

eggs are, in almost every instance, found in trees or
shrubs growing in damp situations.

A good many pied varieties of the Blackbird have
occurred at different times, and Mr. Howard, of
Burnham, told me that his father once shot a white
Blackbird near Burnham. This bird had a perfectly
white head and throat, white wings, and several white
feathers interspersed on the back and rump : the tail
feathers were white and brownish-black.

Mr. G. S. Blane informed me that during the
summer of 1866 several Blackbirds were seen in the
grounds of Wingfield Park, near Windsor, with white
feathers in their wings, grey heads, and black and
white tails. These were believed to be young birds,
and were probably of the same brood: they were
very tame, approaching close to the house to be fed.

I sent the following account of a pied variety to the
Zoologist for March 1867 : —

' I saw a curious variety of the common Blackbird,
yesterday, at a bird-stuffer's shop in Eton. It was
shot, I am informed, at Wingfield Park, which is not
far from Windsor, a few days ago (about the 2Qth of
January). On its head it had the feathers on the
crown of a pure white colour, the white being con-
tinued in little streaks and spots on the left cheek, but
not on the right. One of the feathers of the right
wing was pure white, and the one next to that was
half white, all the others being black. Under the
lower mandible of the bill it had some white marks,

1 6 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

and the whole of the breast of the bird was of a light
yellow colour, more like the breast of a Song Thrush.
The bill was light brown. This specimen was a
female, probably a last year's bird. I saw it in the
flesh ; it was of the usual size of the Blackbird, and
in tolerably good condition, irides yellow, and eyes of
the usual colour.'

This was probably one of the pied brood which
frequented Wingfield Park during 1866.

Another pied Blackbird was seen some years since
near Ditton Park ; and Mr. Drye, a bird-stuffer, of Eton,
informed me that about ten years ago he had several
nearly white birds of this species. An egg of this
bird, hardly larger than that of a house sparrow, was
found in a nest with other eggs of the usual size and
colour. I have in several instances found this bird's
nest built on the ground, and I discovered one in
1863, in Hertfordshire, which was entirely composed
of dry leaves, with a few hairs as a lining.

• In 1860, a pied Blackbird was killed near the
cavalry barracks at Spital. In 1 862, . several black
and white birds of this species were observed in
Ashridge Park, the seat of Earl Brownlow. A male
and female of this species, almost pure white in
plumage, had been observed frequenting a particular
spot in Windsor Forest for the greater part of 1866.
One of these was shot by a rat-catcher in December,
1866, and was taken to Mr. Hasell, at Windsor, who
ascertained it to be a young male.

SYLVIAD&. i;

Another, a pied female, was killed about the same
time ; this bird had been known in Windsor Park to
have preserved the same variety of plumage for the
three years, 1864, 1865, and 1866.

Mr. R. B. Sharpe has told me of a variety of the
Blackbird, which was shot at Cookham in 1864. It
was above the ordinary size, and had a ring of white
feathers completely encircling its neck. At the base of
the bill it had some more white feathers, which con-
trasted prettily with the jet black plumage. In January,
1868, a pied Blackbird was taken near Clewer.

Family — SYLVIAD^E.

HEDGE ACCENTOR (Accentor modularis}. Local
names, Hedge Sparrow, Hedge Warbler, Dunnock.
The plain, unobtrusive little Hedge Sparrow is ex-
ceedingly common, and breeds abundantly. I once
found a nest in a hole in a tree, but the most usual
site is in a thick hedge : often it builds in ivy-
covered trees and walls, generally near the ground.
The eggs never vary in colour, but are always pure
bright blue. A few years ago I discovered a nest
which was snugly placed on the seat of an arbour ;
and I have heard of another instance in which the
parents fed their young in the presence of spectators,
when the nest was placed in a similar position.

A pair of Hedge Sparrows, in whose nest a Cuckoo
had laid an egg, as if to show that their neat little

c

1 8 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

nest was not intended to hold a stranger, forthwith
summarily ejected it. Instances in which the Hedge
Sparrow has turned out the young Cuckoo, after being
hatched, have been often recorded, but I had never
previously heard of its throwing out the egg. I once
discovered a nest in an old basket, and have been
told that a pair built a short time ago in the roof
of an out-house. Occasionally a haystack is chosen
as a site.

REDBREAST (Erythaca rubeculd). The pretty little
Robin sings all the year, and is universally beloved
— so much so, indeed, that it is thought to be ' bad
luck' to kill one of these inoffensive songsters. I have
known a country boy to be greatly concerned when he
had ' shied' a stone at a bird, and by accident killed
a Robin, and I believe there are few who could take
pleasure in seeing a Robin fall dead to the ground.

The eccentricity displayed by this bird in choosing
out-of-the-way places to build in, has been remarked
by many writers. Its attachment to the neighbour-
hood of man's dwelling is singular, and as if to claim
our protection it frequently nests close to our houses.
In winter the Robins will come daily to pick up the
crumbs outside the windows, and occasionally one
is bold enough to enter the room and carry off what-
ever he can find in the way of food. They are not
often so tame as this, except in the severest winters,
when their hunger is great, the snow deep upon the
ground, and food scarce.

SYLVIAD&. 19

With regard to the Red-breast building in odd
nooks and corners, the following cases have come
under my notice. When at Brighton, in April 1867,
I was told by Mr. Pratt, of Ship Street, that he knew
of a pair of Robins then building their nest in an old
Wellington boot, which had been thrown aside by the
owner. They had not quite finished the nest when
I left Brighton, and I never heard whether they laid
any, eggs. At Mr. Swaysland's shop on the New Pier,
at Brighton, I saw the nest of a Robin, which had
been built in a cracked earthenware jar.

During the summer of 1866, a person told me that
he had found a young Cuckoo in a Robin's nest, in an
ivy-covered oak at Charlton, in Kent ; when the young
monster was about a week old it threw from the nest
the poor little Robins, who were killed by their fall to
the ground, and the usurper appropriated the whole
nest to himself. Such instances, however, have
occurred and have been recorded before. I found a
nest several years since built in a watering-can, which
had been accidentally left in the garden; and about
nine years ago, in Surrey, I observed one which was
placed between some pieces of matting and a bundle
of sticks against a brick wall. I have frequently found
the nest in a faggot stack, which is no uncommon
site, and have known cases in which a flower-pot has
been chosen. I once discovered a nest under an old
garden roller ; and I have lately been informed that a
pair of Robins built their nest in a tattered hat, which

C 2

20 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

was stuck up in a garden near Woolwich, and though
the hat used to swing about in the wind the parent
birds did not appear to mind it. A similar instance
has come to my knowledge where a nest was built in
the coat of a 'scare-crow.' In the summer of 1862,
while walking along a shady lane near Berkhamp-
stead, I saw a Redbreast fly out of a hole in the
bank. On looking for and finding the nest, what was
my surprise to discover in it four pure white eggs,
which had a lovely pink hue before being blown, but
which they have since lost. White varieties are pro-
bably not often met with, but Mr. T. E. Gunn, of Nor-
wich, has informed me that they are not uncommon
in Norfolk. The nest in question was built in a low
bank over a small stream of water, and this is an
instance in which the theory of Mr. Harvie Brown may
hold good, namely, that all eggs are lighter in colour
when laid in a damp situation. This observation has
been confirmed by an acquaintance who found a nest
with white eggs in a damp ditch near Eton Wick
in 1864.

One cold November night in 1856, a Robin entered
a house in Slough and remained until the following
spring, when it left, and was never seen again. This
bird was exceedingly tame ; it roosted upon the top
of a bedstead, ate up the crumbs on the table, flew
upon the tenant's shoulder, and in fact was as tame as
a bird could be.

The food varies considerably : Meyer gives a long

SYLVIAD^E. 21

catalogue, such as earth-worms, beetles, insects, elder-
berries, blackberries, earwigs, &c. ; but he omits the
snail, which I have seen Robins eat with apparent
relish, after having broken the shell.

Meyer says that he had a caged Redbreast which
used to sing beautifully, which is somewhat unusual :
I have seen several caged Redbreasts, none of which
ever sang, but were mute and melancholy. I once
found a nest with eggs early in the month of March.
Mr. Sharpe states that as early as the /th of January,
1866, a Robin was sitting on five eggs on Mr. Peto's
farm, near Cookham.

STONECHAT (Saxicola rubicola). The Stonechat
is a resident species, but a great addition to its num-
bers takes place in April, and a similar decrease in
August and September : a few only remain with us
all the year. It frequents commons and waste lands,
and builds its nest on the ground under some slight
cover, as a tuft of grass or a small bush. I found a nest
in a furze-bush on a common, in 1862, which was quite
four feet from the ground, but this is unusual.

It breeds in the neighbourhood of Eton and Wind-
sor, and the eggs are by no means rare. I have
noticed very few Stonechats in the colder months
but they are occasionally observed in December on
Dorney Common : I saw a pair there in January,
1866.

Towards the latter end of March and beginning
of April flocks of these birds arrive with Whinchats,

22 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

but many pass onwards and do not remain here to
breed. I have occasionally found the nest in the long
grass which grows on the banks of the South Western
Railway near Datchet. Varieties of this species occur
every now and then, which have more or less white
intermingled with their plumage.

This bird is observed at Cookham, as Mr. Sharpe
writes me word ; it is also thinly distributed around
Wantage, and a correspondent from Aylesbury re-
marks that it is not uncommon in that neighbourhood.

DARTFORD WARBLER (MelizophilusDartfordiensis).
A very local species. It is resident throughout the
year with us, but is nowhere numerous.

The only locality* in the two counties in which
this species is at all numerous is a common in the
vicinity of Sunninghill, where it is found breeding
every summer, and from whence a person in the
neighbourhood obtains specimens at all times of
the year with which to" supply the London bird-
stuffers. The Dartford Warbler is a bird which is
very liable to be overlooked, and I have no doubt but
that it occurs on many furze-clad wastes and open
commons in both counties, but Sunninghill is the
only place where I have hitherto been enabled to
authenticate its appearance. Colonel Montagu states
of this species that young males begin to sing with

* Since writing the above, I heard of a pair of Dartford Warblers
which were shot in the summer of 1 866, near Frogmore, where the nest
and eggs were at the same time taken.

PARID^E. 23

the appearance of their first mature feathers, and
continue singing all the month of October, some-
times with scarcely any intermission, for several hours
together.

GOLDEN CRESTED REGULUS (Regulus cristatus).
Local names, Golden Crested Wren, Gold Crest,
Kinglet. Generally distributed throughout both
counties. This pretty little warbler frequents large
woods and fir plantations, and has a pleasing gentle
song. A few remain to breed, but the greater number
are winter visitors, at which season of the year many
arrive in small parties of five or six from the north,
apparently unable to endure severe weather.

The nest of this bird is one of the most beautiful of
all nests. It is generally found suspended gracefully to
the end of a fir-branch, supported by three or more of
the over-hanging twigs, and composed of moss, wool,
fibres, and lichens, hair or feathers being used for a
lining. The egg is the smallest laid by any British
bird, but varies in size as well as in shade of colour.

Family — PARID^E.

GREAT TIT (Par us major). Local names, Great
Titmouse, Ox-eye, Tom-tit, Black-cap. One of our com-
monest residents, inhabiting hedge-rows, gardens,
woods, and lanes. This handsome little bird may at
one time be seen ascending an old decayed tree by
the road-side with the agility of the creeper in search

24 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

of its insect food, at another grasping a branch with
its long hooked claws, and swinging to and fro in
mid-air. It is a hardy and courageous bird, and
many a peck have I received from its little bill when
holding one of them captive in my hand.

BLUE TlT (Parus cceruleus). Local names, Blue
Titmoiise, Blue-cap, Tom-tit. An extremely common
species, impudent, bold, and pugnacious. The nest
of the Blue Tit is not an easy one to discover, secreted
as it generally is in the hole of a tree or crumbled
wall ; and if you should happen to find the old bird
sitting on her eggs, beware how you introduce your
fingers, for she will ruffle up her feathers, hiss in an
alarmed manner, and will peck lustily at your hand,
which, she knows well enough, is inserted to take
herself or her eggs.

As an instance of this bird's quarrelsome and hos-
tile disposition, the following scene, which was wit-
nessed by the Rev. Charles Wolley, of Eton College,
may be quoted : — One day, in 1860, while taking a
walk by Ditton Park, he saw a Blue Tit fly out
from a hedge, and attack an unfortunate Hedge
Sparrow which was crossing the road. Like a hawk,
the Tit flew at the enemy, and succeeded in striking
several feathers from the latter's back.

COLE TIT (Parus ater) This species, although not
so numerous as the Greater, Blue, or Long-tailed
Tits, is nevertheless widely dispersed in both coun-
ties. It is a lively bird, and seems to be always in

25

motion, looking for its food high and low, hither and
thither, now scrambling up some old oak, now uttering
its harsh note from a birch-tree, and anon flying off
again to a distant fir, never tiring, ever happy.

The nest is often placed in the hole of a tree
at no great height from the ground, or is sometimes
secreted among the decayed roots of an old pollard ;
but I once found a nest of the Cole Tit in a hay-
stack at Little Gaddesden, near Berkhampstead in
Hertfordshire. This is not an usual site.

MARSH TIT (Parus palustris). Local names,
Black-cap, Tom- tit. Thinly distributed. This Tit,
as appears from its name, is more addicted to low,
damp, and uncultivated grounds than any of its con-
geners. It may be observed frequenting the reedy
ditches and banks of the river around Eton and
Windsor, and Mr. Wolley has seen it in his garden
at Eton.

' The Marsh Tit is immediately distinguished
from the Cole Tit by having no white patch on
the nape of the neck, nor any white spots on either
row of the wing-coverts.'*

LONG-TAILED TIT (Parus caudatus). Local names,
Ragamuffin, Long-tailed Tom-tit, Bottle-tit, and Bum-
barrel. This bird is very common, and, like all its
congeners, is extremely restless, flitting from branch
to branch, from tree to tree. The nest is indeed a
beautiful structure, and an irresistible prize to the

* Yarrell, vol. i. pp. 374, 375.

26 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

juvenile bird's-nester. Ten or a dozen eggs appear to
be the usual complement, but I have known as many
as fifteen to be laid.

Family — MOTACILLID^E.

PIED WAGTAIL (Motacilla Yarrellii). Local name,
DisJnvasher. Very common, remaining with us all the
year. Small flocks congregate in cold weather, but
many individuals disappear in winter, when I have no
doubt they move to a warmer climate, as they do not re-
appear until spring returns. They are, nevertheless,
hardy and pugnacious birds ; I have seen them fighting
when snow covered the ground. The partiality which
this bird seems to evince for building in fagot stacks is
remarkable, and in May 1860, a nest was taken under
the roof of the Formosa boat-house, at Cookham.

GREY WAGTAIL (Motacilla boaruld). A winter
visitor to most of the southern counties of England,
and a summer one to the more northern. I have
seen specimens killed near Windsor, Eton, Surley,
Datchet, and other places. It is often observed on the
banks of the Thames in winter, but a few have been
procured in summer. They are rarely seen in larger
numbers than pairs. I was rather surprised to be
informed by the Rev. Bryant Burgess, of Latimer,
Chesham, that this wagtail annually makes its nest
and rears its young on the banks of the little Buck-
inghamshire river the Chess, where it seems to be

ANTHID&. 27

a summer visitor. On this account I have included
it in the list of residents.

Family —

MEADOW PIPIT (Anthus pratensis). Local names,
Tit-lark, Pipit-lark. One of the commonest of our
resident birds, in winter congregating in small flocks
and frequenting for the most part the banks of the
rivers and the sides of small pools of water. I have
found several nests of this bird in the long grass
which grows by the side of the railway of the London
and South Western Company, between Datchet and
Windsor.

Upon one occasion, in the summer of 1867, I came
unexpectedly upon a Meadow Pipit's nest, containing
five eggs, which I appropriated, together with the
nest itself. Upon revisiting the spot (which I had
marked carefully) about a fortnight afterwards, I
was surprised to see another nest and five more eggs
in exactly the same position as the former, and I
have no doubt that it was built by the same pair
of industrious little birds. This time I left the eggs
undisturbed, and no doubt they were duly hatched.

-— CONIROSTRES. Family— A L AUDIBLE.

SKYLARK (Alauda arvensis). One of the most
numerous of our residents, being dispersed every-
where throughout both counties. This bird begins

28 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

to sing early in the year; I have heard a Skylark
giving forth its joyous song high above my head
before the end of January.

The nest of the Skylark is very carefully con-
cealed. After the young are hatched great flocks
congregate, and late in October I have observed
immense numbers flying over my head. These
birds are annually caught in large quantities by
London bird-catchers, who come to our extensive
commons for that purpose. Many, too, are shot
and trapped, being esteemed for the delicate flavour
of their flesh. What cruelty it seems to keep these
birds in close stuffy cages all the year, when they
ought to be soaring high in the sky singing their
Maker's praise !

Mr. William Harding, of Eton, killed a pure white
Skylark at Eton Wick, between the years 1807 and
1817: he was unable to tell me the exact date.
On the 7th of January, 1868, a pure white Skylark was
shot by Mr. Richard Dover, near Prince's Risborough.
Mr. Goodall, of the 59th Regiment, killed another
white bird of this species within seven miles of Ris-
borough, in 1865. This is recorded by Mr. W.
Goodall, in the Field of January 18, 1868. This
curious variety is now in his possession. During the
month of June 1867, I saw eight or nine young Sky-
larks in a cage, at Eton : some of these were about
a fortnight older than the others, and one of the elder
birds appeared to feed his smaller brothers and sisters

EMBERIZID&. 29

every day ; but the most curious thing was that he fed
them according to a regular routine, always beginning
with the same bird and ending with another.

WOOD-LARK (Alauda arborea). This species is
a resident, and is found in very small numbers in
both counties, but chiefly in the neighbourhood of
large woods and rich cultivated ground. Fulmer
is one of its favourite resorts.

The principal distinguishing points between this
bird and the Skylark are as follows : the former has
a shorter tail, and is smaller in its general size, and
possesses a very conspicuous streak of light brown
over each eye and ear-coverts.

Family — EMBERIZID^:.

COMMON BUNTING (Emberiza miliaria}. Provincial,
Corn Bunting. A common resident, and very gene-
rally dispersed. It congregates in large numbers late
in the autumn, and is gregarious until the return of
spring, when pairing takes place, and the process of
oviposition is gone through. This species frequents
stubbles and corn-fields (whence its name), and may
in early summer be observed delivering its rude
song from a thick hedge, usually perched upon the
topmost spray.

BLACKHEADED BUNTING (Emberiza schceniculus).
Local names, Reed Bunting, Black-cap, Reed Sparrow.
Numerous along the sides of marshy ditches and
streams ; and it is a common bird on the banks of

30 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

the Colne, the Kennet, the Chess, and the Thames.
It breeds annually with us ; the nest is hidden among
long grass or rushes at the river side, and the female
lays five or six eggs of a light purple brown colour,
streaked and marked with dark brown and black. So
curious are these markings that occasionally letters,
X, C, A, and others, are found more or less distinctly
stamped upon the shell.*

YELLOW BUNTING (Emberiza citrinella). Provin-
cial, Yellow Ammer, Yellow Hammer. By far the
most numerous of the Buntings, and one of our
commonest residents, frequenting every hedge, field,
road-side, orchard, or garden in the two counties. The
Yellow Hammer is indeed a pretty bird, and his
bright plumage enlivens many a country walk in
early spring, when he will pour forth his song — which
by the way is not very sweet — from the topmost twig
in the yet leafless hedge.

This bird is not an early breeder : the nest is almost
invariably placed upon the ground, often on a sloping
bank exposed to the sun's rays, and is well concealed.
I have found this Bunting nesting within a yard of
the rails of the South Western Railway, near Windsor,
on a sloping, grassy bank, where Blackheaded Buntings
and Meadow Pipits delight to build, apparently un-
disturbed by the noise and shaking of the continually
passing trains. Some birds do not even leave their
nest when a train passes within two or three yards of

* This remark applies equally to the eggs of the Yellow Bunting.

FRINGILLID^E. 31

them, in all probability having learnt by experience
that the trains will not harm them if they remain still.

Family—

CHAFFINCH (Fringilla coslebs). Besides its usual
name, this bird is locally termed Spink, or Pink.
Extremely numerous, and resident with us throughout
the year. I have never noticed the separation of the
male and female birds in cold weather, in these
counties, although I have often looked carefully at
flocks, but have generally found them to be com-
posed pretty equally of both sexes : many ornitholo-
gists have pointed out that the sexes separate from
each other in the winter months.

Many years ago, Mr. Howard, of Burnham, was out
shooting small birds on the estate of the Duke of
Sutherland, at Cleveland, when he saw in a hedge a
Blue Titmouse and a curious-looking white bird. He
shot them both, and on walking up to the spot, he
found that together with the Tit he had killed an
albino of the Chaffinch. Mr. Howard had it pre-
served, and I had the pleasure of seeing it at his
house.

This bird has, according to my humble experience,
a great partiality for building in laurels. The nest
is generally placed high up, but I have on more than
one occasion found it almost on the ground. The
eggs vary much; I have some nearly white, and
several pure blue, of which one was taken from a

32 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

laurel which overhung a stream of water at Fritten-
den, in Kent: this was in May 1862. Do the materials
of which the nest is composed tend to make the eggs
of a light colour, or can the colour be affected by the
situation of the nest, as for example, damp from the
proximity of water ? I am inclined to favour the
latter view.

TREE SPARROW (Passer montanus). A resident
species, but nowhere numerous, and very local. Many
suppose that every sparrow which builds in a tree is
the Tree Sparrow, but this is not so, as the House
Sparrow often resorts to trees for the purpose of
nidification. The Tree Sparrow has been shot and
seen near Eton, and in Windsor Forest, where a few
are supposed to breed. It has also been noticed at
Wantage, and Mr. Sharpe writes me word that it
has occurred at Cookham and Formosa.

It usually builds its nest in decayed holes in trees,
but it occasionally selects other situations. Mr.
James Dalton, of Worcester College, Oxford, told
Mr. Morris that he had taken the nest of this bird
from a Sand Martin's hole, near the town of Buck-
ingham. Specimens have been killed near Datchet,
Slough, Newbury, and other places : finally, in sum-
ming up, I may observe that although local, it is
not rare. The nest and eggs have been occasionally
taken in, both counties. The following table will
be of use in distinguishing this species from the
common House Sparrow : —

FRINGILLID&. 33

MOUNTAIN, OR TREE SPARROW. HOUSE, OR COMMON SPARROW.

Head. — Chestnut or chocolate- Head. —Bluish grey ; cheeks and

coloured ; a triangular patch of sides of the neck grey- white,
black on the cheek.

Bill. — Rather more slender. .Z?/'//.— Thicker, but of the same

colour as the Tree Sparrow.

General size. — Smaller; the General size, — Rather larger,
female bird is smaller than the
male, measuring about 5§ inches
in length, while the measurement
of the male is 5f inches.

Legs, toes, and claws. — Pale Legs, toes, and claws. — A deeper

brown. brown.

•

HOUSE SPARROW (Passer domesticus). The com-
monest of all birds, and the most independent, seeming
as 'jolly' when the snow lays thick upon the ground,
as on a bright summer's morning. A London Sparrow
cannot aspire to the same bright colours which adorn
the country bird, for the smoke of the metropolis
soon turns the brown feathers black, and the white,
grey. And after all I do not think a country Spar-
row is so very ugly, though he is despised and per-
secuted by all, and shot unrelentingly by those
abominable Sparrow Clubs.

The House Sparrow is very subject to variations
in plumage, albinoes or pied varieties being the most
usual. In the autumn of 1865, a white specimen
was killed near Clewer, and was taken for preservation
to Mr. Hall, of Windsor; and in December, 1867,
another white one was often observed feeding with
the common species in Clewer village. A white
sparrow was shot at Colnbrook, in 1866, and was

D

34 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

preserved by Mr, .Ferryman, of Datchet, who told
me of a fourth, which had, a purely white head and
several wing feathers of the same colour : this last
was killed near Datchet a few years ago, but I was
unable to ascertain the date. An Eton taxidermist,
named Drye, has informed me that he has had
several yellow, or straw-coloured sparrows brought to
him to stuff, which have been taken near Eton and
Windsor. His son, Henry Drye, shot a pied House
•Sparrow in a little garden at Eton, bordering on the
Thames, in 1860.

On the 2 ist of Novemoer, 1867, a House Sparrow
was taken to Fisher, one of the Eton bird-stuffers,
with a pure white head ; it had, however, no other
white feathers about it. This bird was shot near
Windsor, and belongs to the Rev. M. Steele, who
resides in the neighbourhood.

It is said to be the custom with tailors, when they
catch an unlucky sparrow, to tie a piece of red cloth
round its head and to let it fly, when it is immediately
chased and put to death by the other birds.

GREENFINCH (Cocothraustes clitoris}. A common
resident throughout the year, frequenting orchards,
gardens, and hedges, where it does the farmer and
gardener good service by eating up many noxious
insects which infest the trees. It is numerous in
every part of the two counties, and is rather a late
breeder. I have found quite a colony of these birds
nesting in the same hedge, and having some eight

FRINGILLID&. 35

or ten nests close together. The eggs are gene-
rally six in number: Yarrell says, ' from four to
six.' The Greenfinch, or Green Grosbeak, as it is
often called, from the immense size of the bill, is
an easily tamed bird, and is in consequence often
kept in confinement.

Upon the /th of December, 1867, I was shown,
in an Eton bird-stuffer's shop, a white, or more pro-
perly speaking, yellowish white bird of this species
which had just been shot near Surley Hall by a
gentleman who had brought it as a curiosity to
be stuffed.

HAWFINCH (Cocotkraustes vulgaris). Local name,
Grosbeak. This bird has greatly increased in numbers
of late, residing with us all the year, and breeding
abundantly in Windsor Forest. The Hawfinch in
some seasons is numerous at Latimer, near Chesham,
and the Rev. Bryant Burgess says that he has found
the nest and eggs there. Young Hawfinches are ex-
ceedingly destructive amongst the peas in gardens ;
one was caught in a garden at Old Windsor, some
years ago, by getting its feet entangled in the
tendrils of some peas and being unable to extricate
them.

The Rev. H. Harpur Crewe, of Drayton Beau-
champ, tells me that he sees a few pairs almost
every year in the park at Hartwell House, near
Aylesbury, where they breed.

An albino specimen of this bird was taken in the
D 2

36 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

latter end of 1864, in the park at Windsor, and
was preserved by Mr. Hasell, of Bexley Street.
Mr. R. B. Sharpe writes me word that this bird is
met with near Cookham in October, sometimes
plentifully. A few breed in that neighbourhood
every spring, and Mr. Sharpe has seen several
young birds which were shot at Formosa.

The Hawfinch is often seen in Stoke and Langley
Parks, occasionally in the woods near Newbury and
High Wycombe. Yarrell says that it had been
known in his time to breed in the neighbourhood of
Windsor ; and Mr. Wolley told me that it used to be
numerous near Eton when he was a boy. It has
a partiality for nesting in whitethorns. Its food
consists of the common pea, the seeds of the horn-
beam, hawthorn, yew, and other trees, and its strong
bill is admirably adapted for breaking the hard shell
which many of these possess. Mr. Morris was in-
formed that Hawfinches are common in Stowe Park.
It is a common resident at Bradfield, near Reading ;
and Mr. Frank Collins states that he has met with
this bird at Betterton, near Wantage, where one
was caught in a gooseberry-net in the autumn of
1867. It occurs also at Cliefden, and Woburn.

GOLDFINCH (Carduelis elegans). Generally dis-
tributed throughout the two counties, where it re-
mains all the year. This pretty bird has greatly de-
creased in numbers during the last ten years, partly
from the rapacity of bird-catchers, and in a great

FRINGILLID&. 37

measure from the non-abundance of thistles on which
it loves to feed, and which are not so plentiful as
heretofore. Nevertheless, one may occasionally see
the bright-plumaged Goldfinch singing merrily from
a spray in a tall hedge in the spring. A few remain
to breed, but the species is more numerous in spring
and autumn, at which seasons it appears to augment
its numbers.

COMMON LINNET (Linota cannabina). A com-
mon species, residing with us all the year. This
bird has many local names, most of which are de-
rived from its various plumages, as Rose Linnet,
Grey Linnet, Broivn Linnet, Lintie, and Red-breasted
Linnet. The Linnet builds in low bushes, often
selecting the furze-bush, but I have known a nest
to be placed at the unusual height of six feet from the
ground.

BULLFINCH (Pyrrhnla vtdgaris}. This pretty
species is resident all the year, but is not nearly so
numerous as was the case a few years ago. I do
not mean to say that it is by any means a rare
bird, but many localities where it used to be very
common, now know it no more. I have often seen
Bullfinches in the osier-beds which border the
Thames, and their nests, eggs, and young are every-
where indiscriminately taken. Many are annually
captured by the London bird-catchers, and this,
doubtless, has greatly diminished their numbers.

This bird is occasionally subject to variety. A

38 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

remarkable specimen was shot at Colnbrook in
1865. It was fawn-coloured, with a little brown
upon the head. I saw it at Mr. Ferryman's house
in. Datchet. In 1860, a man named Skinner killed
a white Bullfinch near White Waltham, and took
it to Windsor, where it was preserved.

Family — STURNID^E.

COMMON STARLING (Sturmts vulgaris). Local
names, Stare, Starling. A very plentiful species, and
resident all the year. It is an interesting sight to
see a large flock of these birds performing their
remarkable evolutions in early spring, and to witness
the wonderful precision with which they turn, and
twist, and wheel, first in this direction, then in that,
now towering so as to resemble a spiral column, now
lowering themselves, and again looking like a black
sheet. These amusing and complicated manoeuvres
may be witnessed by anyone who will take a stroll
through Queen Anne's Drive, in Windsor Park, to-
wards the end of February, or early in March.

This species is not unfrequently subject to variety.
A Starling with seven white tail feathers was killed
near Eton, in 1865, and is now in the collection of
Mr. Drye. Another variety of this bird, a male of
a pure cream colour, was shot in a field near Spital,
by David Hall, towards the latter end of October
1864.

CORVID-E. 39

Mr. W. R. Tate has recorded in the Naturalist for
1866, that an albino Starling is in the possession of a
carpenter named Craig, at Enfield, which was shot
at Slough.

Family — CORVID^E.

RAVEN (Corvus corax}. Though common many
years ago, this fine bird is very sparingly dispersed in
the counties at the present time.

A few pairs have bred in Windsor Park from
time immemorial. They generally select the loftiest
trees as a site for their nests. The Rev. C. Wolley
informed me that some of these birds bred in the
Royal Heronry twenty years ago, and a few still
continue to do so. I am not aware of any other loca-
lity in either county where they have nested of late
years, but stray birds are occasionally seen and killed
in various places.

CARRION CROW (Corvus corone). Common in all
parts of the two counties where wood abounds, but rare
elsewhere. This species keeps in pairs the whole
year, and its great powers of vision enable it to dis-
cover a carcase from an immense height. The Carrion
Crow certainly does not belie its name ; nothing comes
amiss to it ; pheasant's and partridge's eggs, young rab-
bits, leverets, dead sheep, snails and grubs, pigeons
and mussels, grain, and stinking fish, are all esteemed
as the greatest delicacies by this sable robber.

The topmost boughs of some tall hedgerow tree are

40 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

generally chosen as a fitting site for its nest, which is
composed of wool, down, hair, and suchlike materials,
supported on a rough platform of twigs and sticks.
Macgillivray states that if the male bird be killed,
the female soon procures a new mate.

ROOK (Corvus frugilegus). This well-known and
much-abused bird is numerous everywhere, there
being a great number of Rookeries in the two coun-
ties, one of the oldest and most interesting of which
is in the Eton playing-fields. The first Rook's nest
was observed here in the spring of 1838, and after
that year the number of nests visibly and steadily
increased. Some few years aferwards, as Mr. Wolley
informed me, nearly all the trees in the ' fields' were
occupied by black denizens ; but several pairs of birds
deserted certain old trees which they had before
nested in, and which were blown down before the
close of the year. What wonderful instinct was it
that led these birds to seek more secure abodes ?

White and pied varieties are occasionally met with.
A pied Rook was often observed in the Home Park,
Windsor, in the summer of 1845, and was eventually
shot by Mr. James Barfield, at Horton, near Datchet.
Worms, grubs, caterpillars, chafers, and other noxious
nsects, constitute their chief food.

JACKDAW (Corvus moneduld). This active and
sociable species is very common ; and the Round
Tower, and many of the belfries and ruined arches of
Windsor Castle afford to these noisy Daws excellent

CORVID&. 4i

building accommodation. They generally select
chimneys, or holes in trees, for a site ; and in some
parts of Scotland a popular superstition exists, that if
a pair of these birds build their nest in a chimney of
the house belonging to an heir, the same spring that
the latter comes into possession of that house and his
property, no ill-luck can ever befall him.

In the month of May 1842, a Jackdaw built a nest
in the south-east turret of the Eton College bell-
tower : this nest took seventeen days to construct,
and was between nine and ten feet in height, being
composed of an immense accumulation of twigs and
sticks which the industrious birds had collected. The
base was firmly supported on one of the stone steps,
and curved up the spiral stairs to the height of nearly
ten feet, until an exit was obtained by means of a
window, and here it was that the top of the structure
rested. Unfortunately, no eggs were ever laid in
this curious nest, and it was deserted, which was pro-
bably owing to the continuous visits of too many
eager strangers.

The Rev. C. Wolley told me that a pair of Missel
Thrushes, which nested in his garden at Eton one
spring, used to attack and drive away some over-
curious Jackdaws, who doubtless had an eye to the
contents of the former's nest. A tame Jackdaw, be-
longing to Mr. Ernest Griffin, of the Eagle Tavern,
Slough, built a large nest between two beer-barrels,
which were placed on a shelf over the bar of the

42 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

public-house, in the summer of 1864; it laid several
eggs, but was unable to hatch them. This bird
would wander for many miles in the neighbourhood,
and being soon well known, was never shot, and
always returned safely. It cared only for its master,
and used to fly fiercely at any stranger who came in
for a glass of beer. It had one very disagreeable
trick : having searched for and found several worms
and spiders, it would fly on to Mr. Griffin's shoulder
and endeavour to force them down his throat — sup-
posing, probably, that he would like them as much
as itself.

A short time ago I examined a pied Jackdaw,
which is now in Mr. Hasell's collection, and which
was killed by Mr. Cole, Her Majesty's head keeper,
in Windsor Park, in 1857.

MAGPIE (Pica caudata). The handsome and cun-
ning Magpie is but thinly dispersed throughout the
two counties, and is not so common as was formerly
the case, owing probably to the increase of game-
keepers, who, one and all, seem imbued with a deadly
hatred to this bird,

The Magpie is resident throughout the year, and
generally remains in pairs, -though after the young
are hatched ten or more are sometimes seen toge-
ther. Young birds can be made to talk, and are
amusing but very mischievous pets.

JAY (Garrulus glandarius). This handsome bird
' * common in wooded districts of both counties, in

P1CID&. 43

which it resides the whole of the year. All .game-
keepers I have ever known destroy the Jay whenever
it crosses their path, as these birds are supposed to
eat eggs and young pheasants. Except with game
preservers, the Jay is an universal pet, and can be
taught to talk and imitate sounds, such as the
mewing of a cat or the barking of a dog.

Mr. G. W. Edgington, surgeon, of Binfield, Berk-
shire, sent Mr. Yarrell a communication to the effect
that he had, at the time of writing, a male Jay which
became an excellent mimic before it was twelve
months old. The calling of the fowls to their food,
and the noises made by the latter, were given in
perfection, and this interesting bird was able to
mimic the barking of the house-dog exactly.

Tribe— SCANSORES. Family— PlCID^E.

GREEN WOODPECKER (Picus viridis). Local
names, Yaffle, Yaffil, Hew-Hole, Pick-a-tree, and
Woodpie. Our commonest Woodpecker. It is one
of our handsomest birds, and does an immense deal
of good by feeding upon ants and their eggs, and
various insects.

I have occasionally observed these birds in Ditton
Park, and it is a common species in Windsor Forest,
near Cookham, in Langley Park, at Cliefden, and
near Wantage ; further north it is not so numerous.
The Rev. H. Harpur Crewe, an excellent ornitho-

44 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

legist, who has favoured me with many notes, wrote
me word that he has only once seen it at Drayton
Beauchamp.

This bird's tongue is remarkably suited to its mode
of living, and on this subject the reader would do
well to consult vol. ii. pp. 138, 139, of Mr. Yarrell's
admirable work on British Birds.

GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKER (Picus major).
Local names, Black and White or Striped Wood-
pecker, Pick-a-tree. Not a very numerous species,
and chiefly inhabiting parks, forests, and woods,
seldom being observed in open and exposed situa-
tions. It is fairly common in Ditton and Windsor
Parks, and I have seen a pair sitting on a row of
posts near some ornamental water in the first-men-
tioned park, close to each other, and making their
peculiar sound. A gentleman mentioned in the
Zoologist, a few years back, that he had observed
one of these birds frequenting his little garden, in
the heart of the town of Reading, for several Sundays
running. In Cookham, Taplow, Hedsor, and Clief-
den woods, a few may still be seen ; also in the Eton
College playing-fields it occurs rarely. Burnham
Beeches is a favourite resort, and in the vicinity
of Chesham it is sometimes observed.

LESSER SPOTTED WOODPECKER (Picus minor).
Local names, Lesser-barred Woodpecker, Little Spotted
Woodpecker, Black-and-white Woodpecker, and Pick-a-
tree. Resident throughout the year, and fairly

PICID&. 45

numerous, although it cannot be called common. I
have seen the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker in the
Eton College playing-fields, in Windsor Park, and
in Ditton Park. Mr. Wolley informs me that he still
occasionally sees one in the ' playing-fields,' but that
it does not appear to be so numerous there as was
formerly the case.

This species is found in the neighbourhood of
Reading, Newbury, Maidenhead, and Hungerford.
Almost every year examples are obtained at Eton
Wick, and occasionally at Winkfield. Several were
taken at Dorney, near Brill, some years ago, one of
which is now in the collection of the Rev. Bryant
Burges, at Latimer. Upon the 24th of January, 1867,
a specimen with an extremely brilliant red head was
shot at Langley, near Stokes; and in 1865 and 1866
others occurred in the neighbourhood of Windsor.
Lord Clifton, writing in the Zoologist for April 1867,
records that — 'About four Sundays ago I observed
a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker on an elm close to
my window (at Eton), but the sparrows soon drove
it away.' On October 22, 1867, an adult male of
this species was shot at Stoke Park, Bucks; it was
being preserved by Mr. Ferryman, of Datchet, where
I saw it, and I remarked that the feathers about the
breast and vent were very dirty and worn. Mr. R. B.
Sharpe tells me that the breast-feathers of Wood-
peckers received from abroad are usually much worn
by constant friction, and that these feathers, which

46 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

after a new moult are white, soon become very much
discoloured. He has some Woodpeckers from Malacca,
whose breasts and tails are completely clogged with
the gum from the trees which they frequented.

In a letter dated November 26, 1 867, the same
gentleman says, that owing to the mildness of the
early part of November of that year, a pair of little
Spotted Woodpeckers began to build in an old poplar
on Mrs. De Vitrd's grounds at Formosa, Cookham.
Mr. Briggs, the head gardener, had fired at a haw-
finch unsuccessfully, and was reloading his gun when
he heard a tapping above his head, and looking up,
he perceived a little Woodpecker hammering at a
dead branch with all its might. So intent was the
bird on his labours, that the report of the gun had
not frightened him, and he worked hard all that day.
This was on the nth, and on the I3th the hole was
visibly progressing. There was just room for the
bird to get inside the tree on this day, and the pair
worked hard at the interior. Mr. Briggs watched
them for some time, and every now and then a little
head appeared at the opening and dropped a piece
of bark out, and then disappeared, presently re-
appearing with another piece. So the work went
on, till upon the 2Oth the hole was apparently quite
finished, but the cold weather which then set in
prevented them from continuing their operations.

Mr. Gould* has some interesting notes upon the

* 'Birds of Great Britain.'

PICID&. 47

occurrence of this species in both counties, which he
kindly gave me permission to copy : —

'In Richmond and Windsor Parks, the woods of
Taplow and Cliefden and the fine elms of the ' play-
ing-fields' at Eton, it is tolerably numerous.

' To render credit where credit is due, I must first
acknowledge my obligations to Mr. Briggs, gardener
to Mr. De Vitre, of Formosa, near Cookham in Berk-
shire, for the assistance he has rendered me in the
acquisition of the knowledge I desired. During the
last few years several pairs have bred in this beau-
tiful spot, their holes being always made in the up-
right stems of the broken boughs of the loftiest
poplars, at such a height as to be almost inacces-
sible to any one but a sailor, or an Australian ' black
fellow.'

'Aware of my anxiety to become acquainted
with every detail connected with the present species,
Briggs, at considerable risk both to body and limbs,
has mounted several of these mast-like stems, sawn
them off, and lowered them to the ground without
either the least injury to the eggs or young birds.
About the end of April, 1861, a pair commenced
excavating in one of these lofty poplars alluded to,
at which they laboured assiduously for two or three
weeks, bringing the chips one by one to the opening
and throwing them out in quick succession ; after
the work appeared to be completed, a certain time
was allowed to elapse for the deposition of the eggs,

48 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

when the dead branch was sawn off a few inches
below where the bottom of the excavation was sup-
posed to be. A hole perfectly round and an inch
and -a half in diameter had been made about six inches
from the extremity of the branch, the upper part of
which had been blown off by the wind, and was
continued downwards for about a foot, gradually
increasing in diameter to the bottom, where it termi-
nated in a round cavity about the size of a break-
fast cup. Unfortunately, sufficient time had not
been allowed for the deposition of the full comple-
ment of eggs, three only having been laid on a few
chips of wood almost as fine as sawdust.

1 In the year following the same pair of birds
drilled a circular hole through the flinty bark of the
same branch, and excavated down the stem to a simi-
lar depth. On sawing off the branch on the loth
of June, four young birds nearly ready to fly were
found in the cavity. They were very active, fre-
quently ascending to the entrance of the hole and
uttering a loud querulous cry. These young birds
were sent to the Zoological Society, but did not
survive many days. In the spring of 1863, the
same pair made a hole in another of the Formosa
poplars at the height of fifty-five feet, and deposited
four eggs. These delicate finely-coloured eggs were
very beautiful, and measured three-quarters of an inch
in length by half an inch in breadth.'

CERTHIAD^E. 49

Family— CERTHIAD^:.

COMMON CREEPER (Certhia familiaris). Resident
throughout the year, and generally dispersed over both
counties. This little bird is numerous in the Eton
College playing-fields, and often on a quiet Sunday
morning in spring have I watched one running
nimbly up an old tree, so brown in colour as to be
hardly distinguishable from the bark itself — now
climbing this way, now that, first on this side, then
on the opposite, and then off with its pretty jerky
flight to search for its insect food on the next tree,
always commencing the ascent close to the ground.
The Creeper is an early breeder. The nest of this
bird is not an easy one to find, built as it is in
holes and crevices of trees. The pretty little white
eggs, spotted and freckled with brown, principally
at the larger end, are laid in a snug nest composed
of twigs, wool, feathers, hair, dry leaves, and other
soft materials.

WREN (Troglodytes Europeus). Local name, Jinney
Wren. The little unobtrusive Wren is abundant
everywhere, and is a universal favourite, from the
confidence which it reposes in man. It exhibits the
same fearlessness as its congener the Redbreast, but
is more retiring in its habits, loving to hop unseen
among the brushwood, from whence it will fly sud-
denly out to take a short flight, again to disappear
in the hedgerow further on.

E

50 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

'The Robin and the Wren are God's cock and
hen/ says an old rhyme;* and they are certainly
more protected by mankind than most small birds.
The Wren builds early, and the nest is large for
the size of the bird. I have often noticed the simi-
larity of colour between the nest and the surround-
ing trees or ground. For instance, one which was
entirely composed of dry leaves was placed imme-
diately above a large heap of the same hue : another,
placed against a moss-covered stump of a tree, was
composed of green materials. When built in a fagot-
stack it is often brown, to match the colour of the
wood.

Varieties of this species are not frequent. In the
winter of 1863-64, a pied wren, almost pure white,
was shot near Winkfield, and came into the possession
of Mr. Hasell, of Windsor.

NUTHATCH (Sitta Europad). Local name, Nut-
jobber. Remains throughout the year ; but, though
generally dispersed in both counties, it is not very
common. I have often observed these birds on the
old elms in the Eton playing-fields, as they ran
mouse-like up the stem without making any noise.

The nest of this species is not easy to discover,
being generally built in a hole in a tree, and when the
hole is too large, the little bird plasters it up with

* Another version is as follows : —

' The Robin Redbreast and the Wren
Are God Almighty's cock and hen.'

CERTHIAD&. si

mud until he makes it of the requisite size. Dead
leaves, moss, and suchlike substances, are the usual
materials with which the nest is lined ; but some-
times very different articles are employed for that
purpose. One of these bird's nests was taken about
ten years ago by an officer of one of the regiments
stationed at Windsor, who discovered it carefully
hidden in the hole of an old tree in a wood near
Eton : this nest was entirely composed of bits of
Turkey carpet which the birds had collected from a
place not far off where the process of carpet-beating
used daily to go on.

One of these birds was caught in a net-trap placed
on the ground in a small garden at Eton, in November
1867. This specimen was given to me, and I kept it
alive in a cage for three weeks, feeding it wholly
upon nuts ; and the dexterity with which it would
crack the hard kernels with a single blow of its strong
and formidable bill, was quite surprising. It would
fly round and round its prison with great rapidity, and
was very active during the night, when its tapping
might often be heard ; and the person who took care
of it for me told me that its tapping occasionally
bore a wonderful resemblance to a knock at the
door — so much so, indeed, as to deceive him more
than once.

In Black Park, near Langley, a curious variety of
this bird was shot in 1862, and was taken to Mr.
Ferryman, of Datchet, where I had an opportunity of

E 2

52 in*. BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

examining it. The crown of the head was white, as
were several feathers of both wings, and some of the
back, breast, and tail feathers : the lower parts of the
breast and back feathers were slate colour, and the
whole appearance of this specimen was very peculiar.

Tribe— FISSIROSTRES. Family— -HALCYONID^:.

KINGFISHER (Alcedo ispidd). In my opinion, the
species now before us is by far the handsomest of
all our indigenous birds. I love to see one of these
brightly-coloured Kingfishers dart by with quickly-
beating wing, and drop perpendicularly into the
placid water, to reappear immediately with a strug-
gling minnow. The victim is soon quieted by a sharp
tap against its captor's perch, to which the latter
invariably returns, and is then swallowed head fore-
most. While waiting for its finny prey, the King-
fisher sometimes hovers over the water after the
manner of the Kestrel. A few pairs annually breed
along the banks of the Thames, Colne, Chess, and
Kennett, as well as in holes in the banks of small
streams, and larger pieces of water.

A pair of Kingfishers have, for several successive
years, built in the same hole of an old deserted sand-
pit in the middle of Ditton Woods. In this pit there
is very little water, and during a dry season it is per-
fectly devoid of the least damp ; yet here this pair
annually breed : but unfortunately the nest has been

HALCYONIDsE. 53

occasionally robbed by some ardent collector, and it
is to be feared the birds will eventually desert this,
locality for some more peaceful abode.

I have always observed that a perceptible decrease,
in their numbers takes place during the winter
months, when a migration most probably ensues, and
they again return to their old haunts in spring.

Mr. Frank Collins tells me that one day, in the
beginning of November 1867, while taking a stroll
along the banks of a little stream near Wantage, he
saw a remarkably fine Kingfisher lying dead upon the
surface of the water. He fished it out, and was sur-
prised to find that the bird had been choked by a
fish which it had partly gorged.

The Kingfisher does not often approach the dwell-
ings of man, but the Rev. E. Hale informed me that
he has seen this bird in his garden in Eton ; and at
page 267 of the fourth volume of Loudon's ' Magazine
of Natural History/ Mr. James G. Tatem observes
that the Kingfisher has been seen frequently flying
up and down a small stream which is not 150 yards
from the main street of Wycombe.

54 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

ORDER III.— RASORES.
Family — COLUMBID^E.

RING DOVE (Columba palumbus). Local name,
Wood Pigeon, Cushat. A common resident, generally
distributed. No doubt everyone is acquainted with
this bird under the name of Wood Pigeon ; it is
distinguishable from the Stock Dove by its larger
size, and conspicuous white collar.

In winter these Pigeons congregate in immense
flocks, and at that time of the year may be seen
feeding upon the beech-mast, of which they are parti-
cularly fond. Their food varies considerably ; holly-
berries, acorns, beech-mast, wortle-berries, clover, ivy-
berries, charlock-seed, hips and haws, rowans, turnip-
tops, peas, beans, dock-seeds, and various sorts of
grain, constitute in turns their 'bill of fare.'

Mr. Hasell, while out for a walk some few years
ago, saw a weasel attack and fasten on a Wood
Pigeon, which rose up in the air to an immense
height. Both fell down in about a minute, and he
saw the weasel run off apparently unhurt, but the bird
was quite dead, although warm.

COLUMBID^E. 55

f*

STOCK DOVE (Cohimba cenas). Local name, Wood
Pigeon. A resident species, though not so common
as the Ring Dove, with which it associates, and is
often confounded. Yarrell states that it was termed
anas from the vinous claret colour which is visible
upon the neck ; the name of Stock Dove was bestowed
upon it, not because it was supposed to be the origin
of our domestic stock, but on account of its partiality
for nesting in the decayed stocks of trees, particu-
larly those which have been cut down and become
rough and bushy at the top, commonly called
pollards.

This bird breeds in many suitable localities in both
counties, and is to be seen in flocks towards the end
of November and through the winter months, when it
frequents the same open ground, and subsists on the
same food, as its congener the Wood Pigeon. The
nests are sometimes found in Windsor Park, built in
decayed stems of old trees.

The Rev. H. H. Crewe informed me that large
flocks of this species visit the neighbourhood of
Drayton Beauchamp every winter to feed upon the
beechmast, to which they seem very partial. I have
seen great numbers in Ashridge Park, where I have
on several occasions taken the nest : one of these
was placed in a small plantation near the Park, not
far from the ground in an ivy-covered thorn-tree —
a very unusual site.

56 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

Family— PHASIANID/E.

COMMON PHEASANT (Phasianus colchicus}. The
most numerous of our game birds, and a common
resident. Pied varieties often occur, and I have seen
several pure white birds in Windsor Forest.

A hen Pheasant was shot, as Mr. Wolley told me,
from the top of a house in Eton by Mr. John Brad-
shaw, about the year 1837. The bird was sitting
quietly on a chimney when first observed, and re-
mained there for some time before it was killed. The
variety called the Bohemian Pheasant is sometimes
shot in Windsor Park.

The chief food of the Pheasant is grain and various
seeds ; insects and leaves are also sought for, and
Selby says they eat with great avidity the root of the
bulbous crowfoot (Ranunculus bulbosus). Pheasants
are very fond of acorns also, with which their crops
are often distended in autumn.

Family — TETR AONID^:.

BLACK GROUSE (Tetrao tetrix}. In 1815, Mr. H.
M. Thornton, of Chobham, brought two black cocks
and three grey hens from Holland which were turned
out on Hurtwood Heath, between Dorking and Guild-
ford, in Surrey, and some of the descendants of these
birds strayed as far as Finchhampstead, in Berkshire.

TETRAONID&. 57

They have bred near Windsor, in different seasons,
but are rare near that town. Some were turned
down, a few years ago, in Her Majesty's preserves
at Windsor, but many have immigrated and are now
located on Ascot Heath, Woking Common, Bagshot
Heath, and other suitable localities. In October
1867, a good many brace of these birds were shot
in various parts of Berkshire, and in The Field of
October 5, 1867, it is remarked that they bred
freely during the summer of that year, but the great
eagerness of sportsmen to bag them has wonderfully
thinned out the broods.

The last which came under my notice was one of
which the Rev. Bryant Burgess wrote me word, a
fine male, which was killed on Hyde Heath, near
Chesham, in the spring of 1852. This bird is in
the collection of Captain Fuller.

COMMON PARTRIDGE (Perdix cinerea). A well-
known bird, and those who have not seen it in its
wild state can at all events testify to the delicate
flavour of its flesh. It is common throughout the
two counties, although Berkshire and Buckinghamshire
cannot be deemed such good Partridge counties as
many others.

Selby says that this bird varies much in size,
according to the situation and the variety of food.

RED-LEGGED PARTRIDGE (Perdix rubra). Although
a resident species, the Red-leg, or ' Frenchman ' as it
is sometimes named, is not abundant. A few pairs

58 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

breed near Virginia Water and Cumberland Lodge,
Windsor Park.

In the reign of King Charles II. several pairs of
these Partridges were turned out in the park, near
Windsor, to obtain a stock ; and Mr. Yarrell states
he had heard of the occurrence of this bird in Berk-
shire since that time, for all the descendants of the
old stock are supposed to have perished long ago.
My friend Mr. Sharpe told me of one of these birds
which was shot, some years ago, in the neighbourhood
of Cockmarsh, by Mr. Henry Hobbs. The Red-legged
Partridge has occurred near Chesham, Reading,
Cookham, and in various other localities which need
not here be mentioned.

CHARADRIID&. 59

ORDER IV.— GRALLATORES.
Family— CHARADRIID^E.

PEEWIT ( Vanellus cristatus). Although a resident
throughout the year, the Lapwing, or Green Plover, as
it is provincially called, greatly augments its numbers
in spring and late in the autumn. During November
it is common, and between the end of October and
the beginning of March immense numbers pass over
Windsor in a southerly direction. In severe winters,
as that of 1866-67, these Plovers sometimes allow
themselves to be captured by the hand, for the cold
appears to paralyse them and weaken their powers of
flight. They are exceedingly useful in a garden,
where they do good by demolishing worms, slugs,
and other insects. The young birds are able to run
as soon as they leave the nest, and they run very
fast too, frequently lowering their heads to the ground
as they go.

Peewits make their nests (if a slight depression in the
soil, lined with a few reeds and bents, can be called
a nest) in swampy places and fallow lands in various
parts of both counties; some few breed in that portion

60 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

of Windsor Park known as Queen Anne's Drive almost
every year, and in damp ground by the side of the
river their eggs are annually taken.

The name of Lapwing is derived from the slow
and heavy manner in which this bird flaps its
rounded wings.

Family —

COMMON HERON (Ardea cinerea)* Local names,
Hern, Moll Heron, Molly Heron. A resident species,
but more common in the autumn months.

The Heronry in Windsor Park is well worth a visit
from any naturalist who happens to be staying in
the neighbourhood. It is strictly preserved, no birds
being allowed to be shot, and no eggs permitted to
be taken. The Herons begin breeding early in March,
and eggs are often laid before the end of the month.
Young birds may be seen by the end of April.

This bird frequents all small rivulets, and the
banks of the Chess, Kennett, Colne, and Thames,
where one may occasionally, when turning a bend in
the river, come upon a small party of them fishing.
Herons are shot every winter upon Dorney Common :
in 1866-67 as many as twenty were killed there in
the space of a week. There is another small Heronry
near Uxbridge ; and this species is found all the year
at the reservoirs near Drayton Beauchamp. It is
numerous at Cookham, and Mr. F. Collins, of Better-

* Hernshaw was the old name for Heron.

RALLID&. 6i

ton, told me that Herons are not uncommon in the
vicinity of Wantage. Mr. Morris states that a Heronry
exists at Coley Park ; another is near Reading. The
Rev. Bryant Burgess has seen as many as ten Herons
fishing together in the water at Shardeloes, near
Chesham.

Family—

WATER RAIL (Rallus aquaticus}.^ Not very plen-
tiful, but specimens have been killed at all times of
the year in both counties. This bird is very retiring
in its habits, affecting reedy and secluded banks of
rivers, wet ditches, fens, and swampy grounds. It
resides with us, in Berkshire and Buckinghamshire,
during the whole year.

It has been obtained near Newbury, Hungerford,
Reading, Cookham, Maidenhead, Chesham, Drayton
Beauchamp, Aylesbury, and many other localities.

A few are every year killed on the river near
Windsor, and it often occurs at Datchet and Surley
Hall, and, in a word, may be found along both
banks of the Thames, Colne, Chess, and Kennett.
The nest of this bird is a hard one to find, artfully
concealed as it is, generally in willow-beds or among
thick water plants. A nest has on more than one
occasion been taken near Eton, but it is seldom
discovered in either county.

A curious variety was shot in Berkshire, and re-
corded in Loudon's Magazine of Natural History, by

62 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

' A. B.,' who, writing on February 16, 1832, says: —
' Recently a specimen of the Water Rail (Rallns
aquaticTis) was received from Berkshire, every feather
of which was of a pure white. The rich coral colour
of the beak formed a singular and beautiful contrast
to the delicate hue of the plumage. The specimen
was sent for preservation to Mr. Leadbeater, to whom
I am indebted for the information.'

Mr. Morris records having seen the Water Rail near
East Garston.

MOORHEN (Gallinula chloropus}. Local name,
Water-hen. A common species, frequenting the banks
of streams and rivers, ornamental waters, and large
ponds.

The Moorhen is very nimble on land, and I have
often detected it by the white under-tail feathers
bobbing up and down as it walked along at some
distance, without which distinction it would appear
like a rook or jackdaw at the distance of several
hundred yards.

This bird often perches and roosts in trees ; I once
found a nest in Ditton Park, placed in a tree, three or
four feet above the surface of the water.

Family — LOBIPEDID^£.

COMMON COOT (Fulica atra). Local name, Bald
Coot. A common bird on most ponds and lakes
in both counties, but it is not so numerous as the

LOBIPEDID&. 63

Moorhen. The Coot resides with us all the year,
breeding in retired nooks and corners, where it is
not likely to be disturbed. This species breeds every
season among the long reeds and water-plants which
grow by the side of the ornamental water in Ditton
Park ; along the banks of the Thames it is occasion-
ally observed, but being such an exceedingly wary
bird it conceals itself upon the least alarm, and so
is seldom seen. That well-known sportsman Colonel
Hawker observes — ( If a gentleman wishes to have
plenty of wild-fowl on his pond, let him preserve
the Coots, and keep no tame Swans. The reason
that all wild-fowl seek the company of Coots, is
because these birds are such good sentries to give
the alarm by day, when the fowl generally sleep/

The Coot is a capital diver, and flies well : and has
even been observed to climb trees with expertness.

64 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS,

ORDER V.—NATATORES.
Family — ANATID^E.

MUTE SWAN (Cygnus olor). A royal bird is the
Swan — and so it has been considered for many
years. The Kings of England used to have Swan-
herds (Magister deductus cygnorum], to take care
that no harm should happen to the Thames Swans,
and even a Mute Swan cannot be shot in these days
without incurring a heavy penalty.

Eton College has long had the privilege of keeping
Swans upon the river Thames. Yarrell says the
College ' Swan-mark ' (the mark stamped or cut on
their bills) represents the armed point and the
feathered head of an arrow, and the following repre-
sentation is taken from a design cut on the door
of one of the inner rooms of the College.

All along the river the Swans may be seen
disporting themselves with their young cygnets, which

COLYMBID&. 6s

the parent bird often carries upon her back. I
have many a time laid by the river-side and watched
an old Swan lower herself in the water to enable
five or six young ones to climb upon her back,
and settle themselves comfortably among her warm
feathers.

In the summer of 1867 a pair of these birds built
their nest upon the low river bank nearly opposite
the Windsor locks, and had laid half-a-dozen eggs,
when the Thames began to rise rapidly. The Swans,
probably fearing that their nest would be destroyed,
soon collected together a quantity of small boughs
and sticks, and were seen by a man standing on
the opposite shore to place these upon the nest but
under the eggs, raising the latter several inches.
The river eventually subsided, and thus by their
wonderful instinct these birds saved their nest from
destruction, and reared their young in safety.

Family — C OLY MBID^E.

GREAT CRESTED GREBE (Podiceps cristatus).
This curious-looking bird has occasionally occurred
in both counties, and as it has been observed
during the whole year on some of the large re-
servoirs near Drayton Beauchamp, in Bucks, I feel
justified in including it in my list of 'Residents.'

Mr. Morris records that in the year 1808, one was
taken near Hungerford, in the month of February ;

F

66 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

and many years ago several were shot on the Thames
not far from Windsor. Mr. Wolley informed me that
in 1862 he saw a large bird, which he fancies must
have been a Great Crested Grebe, swimming on the
river near Eton. I am glad to be enabled to record
an instance of this Grebe's breeding in Bucking-
hamshire. A nest was found in May 1867, which
contained three eggs, upon one of the large reser-
voirs in the vicinity of Drayton Beauchamp, for the
knowledge of which I am indebted to the Rev. H.
Harpur Crewe, who has favoured me with many
ornithological notes. In a letter bearing date the
1 8th of December, 1867, the Rev. Charles Wolley
observes : ' I have been staying near Tring, and have
seen Mr. Crewe. We were at the large reservoirs
together, and saw one of the Crested Grebes swim-
ming about. Another was shot there in the autumn.
From the evidence of the water-keeper, Mr. Street,
which there is not the slightest cause to doubt, there
were three nests about the reservoirs last spring, all
of which Were hatched out. Both young and old
birds are still about.'

The Rev. Harpur Crewe wrote me word of one of
these birds which he noticed on the reservoir at Mars-
worth, in Buckinghamshire, during the month of
May 1864.

The nest and eggs of one of the pairs that bred
in the spring of 1867 at that piece of water, were
taken by Miss Williams, of Tring Park. The Rev.

COLYMBIDsE. 67

Bryant Burgess wrote me word of a fine Crested
Grebe which was shot a few years ago at Risborough.

LITTLE GREBE (Podiceps minor). Local names,
Dabckicky Dobckick, Blackchin. This droll little bird,
the last on my list of ' Residents/ is common on
our ponds, streams, and lakes, and on the river
Thames. It is a capital diver, and I have often
witnessed its amusing antics from behind an old elm
on the river banks in the playing-fields at Eton.

' There is in the parish of Stanford Dingley,
Berks, a large and beautiful spring of water, clear
as crystal, the source of one of the tributaries of the
Thames. I wras once, bending over the bank of this
spring, with a friend, watching the water some five
or six feet down, as it issued from a pipe-like ori-
fice and stirred the sand around like the bubbling
of a cauldron, when there suddenly passed between
us and the subject we were examining, a form so
strange that we were at first doubtful to what class
of animals we should refer it. In reality, it was a
Dabchick, which, alarmed probably by the noise of
our conversation, was making for a place of safety:
as it passed within two or three feet of our faces, we
could distinctly see that it propelled itself by its
wings ; but it appeared not to have observed us, for
it kept on in a direct course for the head of the
spring. We searched long in the hope of discover-
ing it again, but failed ; and as there were no weeds
among which it could possibly hide above water,

F 2

68 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

and we could examine the bottom of the spring
almost as thoroughly as if it contained air only, we
could but conclude that our apparition had taken
refuge in a hole under the bank.'*

These little birds are sometimes taken alive in
fishing nets ; I have seen several that have been so
captured in small streams near Windsor. Those who
are unacquainted with these small divers in the
wild state, would do well to visit the Zoological
Gardens in the Regent's Park, where there are
always several of this species continually diving for
minnows and other small fry which are placed alive
for them in their pool.

In Mr. F. R. Buckland's interesting and popu-
lar work, 'The Curiosities of Natural History,' it
is stated that Mr. Quekett, while fishing one day at
Great Marlow, saw one of the birds in question floun-
dering about as if something was wrong with it.
Having secured it, the verdict returned after a post-
mortem examination, was, 'Deceased met his death
by being choked by a miller's-thumb in his throat/

* 'British Birds in their Haunts/ by the Rev. C. A. Johns, pp.
534, 535-

' <D« tfcerg Jwwgjj % hxrfrb {jjerfc | sing
froite of attgeU \\\ i\ti Jrarmotiib,
Jrasiefc tljem tijcr jbirbis f0r% 10

CHAUCER.

SUMMER VISITORS.

-<8>>

ORDER L— RAPT ORES.

Family — FALCONID^:.

HOBBY (Falco subbuted]. This miniature Peregrine
is a regular summer visitor, but never occurs in great
numbers. It reaches us about the middle of April
and leaves again for warmer climes in October.
Whenever one of these birds are seen it is certain
to be pursued and, if possible, killed by some ardent
gamekeeper ; or should it, perchance, be fortunate
enough to escape his clutches, some collector will
use his best means to procure it for a specimen.

A pair of these Falcons bui4t their nest in a
wood not far from Datchet in the summer of 1861.
Although the old birds escaped molestation, four
young ones were shot, at Thorney, almost as soon as
they had learnt to fly. I saw two of these at
Datchet, in the collection of Mr. Ferryman, to
whom they had been presented.

70 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

Mr. R. B. Sharpe told me of a fine male of this
species which was killed at Cliefden in 1860, and
which is now in the collection of Mrs. De Vitre, at
Formosa ; and he has occasionally observed one
sailing over the woods in the neighbourhood of
Cookham. The same gentleman records the fol-
lowing striking instance of this bird's courage, which
came under the notice of Mr. Briggs, the head
gardener at Formosa : —

This accurate observer of the habits of the feathered
tribe had discovered a nest of this species in a planta-
tion at Billing Bare, which is some ten miles from
Cookham. He was merely waiting till the young
Falcons were fully fledged before he took them. One
day he climbed up to the nest, and was forthwith
saluted with loud outcries from the young birds.
The male Hobby, on hearing the screams of the
nestlings, sailed over the woods to the spot, and
calmly contemplated the scene of action from a
considerable altitude. Having completed his survey,
as Mr. Briggs was beginning to descend with his
captives, the bird shot down from above with great
velocity, his strong wings cleaving the air with a
loud noise, and dashed within a foot of the intruder's
head ; being carried up by the impetus of his descent,
he remounted into the air as swiftly as he had
stooped, and only paused a second before recom-
mencing the attack. This was renewed in quick
succession as Mr. Briggs descended, and he was in

no ordinary fear lest the hawk should dash at his
face. He, however, reached terra firma without
mishap, and wishing to obtain the old bird, carried
the young into a neighbouring field, where he made
them recommence their pitiful cries in order to entice
the parent to the place. This plan was perfectly
successful, and at the second swoop the fatal charge
stretched the devoted bird ' lifeless on the sward.'
His first descent was so sudden and unexpected that
Mr. Briggs had no time to fire, although he stood
ready with his gun, but the second swoop was the
last the poor Hobby ever made.

Hobbies are occasionally observed soaring above
the trees in Langley Park. Late in the spring of
1866, a beautiful male of this species was killed in
the woods near Virginia Water, and was brought to
Windsor to be preserved. This hawk has also
occurred near Chesham. It was a far commoner
species thirty years ago, and used to be found in
some numbers in all parts of the two counties.

72 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

ORDER II.— INSESSORES.
Tribe — DENTIROSTRES. Family— LANIAD^E.

RED-BACKED SHRIKE (Lanius collurio). Local
names, Bittcher Bird, Red ^Shrike. This is a regular
summer visitant, arriving generally in some num-
bers about the last week of April, or if it be a
backward spring, it does not reach us until the be-
ginning of May. It is numerous over every part of
Berkshire, and Buckinghamshire, and breeds abun-
dantly. Many nests are taken by boys in the woods
and hedges round Eton Wick, Surley, Slough,
Datchet, and other localities. The nest of this spe-
cies is large for the size of the bird, and is roughly
constructed ; I have seen numbers of this bird's
nests ; they were all rudely built, and had gene-
rally a few small bents, hairs, and sometimes some
wool, for the lining.

There is an old woman named Lipscombe who has
for many years sold eggs, taken in the neighbour-
hood of Eton and Windsor, to the Eton boys; this
woman receives about ten eggs of the Red-backed
Shrike, on an average, per diem. A friend of mine has

LANIAD&. 73

informed me that he discovered some years ago the
remains of a Stonechat impaled upon a thorn-tree
by a Shrike of this species. This gentleman is cer-
tain that the bird had been ' butchered ' by Lanius
collurio and not by L. excubitor, as he shot one of
the Red-backs, which was disporting upon the tree,
and, upon dissection, it proved to have been eating
part of the Stonechat. Mr. Hewitson says : ' Seeing
a Red-backed Shrike busy in a hedge, I found, upon
approaching it, a small bird, upon which it had been
operating, firmly fixed upon a blunt thorn ; its head
was torn off and its body entirely plucked.' It is
said by some ornithologists that Lanius collurio does
not 'spike' his prey; but the above facts prove the
contrary, though perhaps this is not its usual habit.

To enumerate all the localities in which this bird
has been obtained would be unnecessary, since it-is
a common bird in both counties during the summer
months.

It usually leaves this neighbourhood in the middle
of September, but I have seen it as late as October.
A friend lately told me that he believed the last
of our migratory birds to leave this country were :
the Red-backed Shrike, the Cuckoo, and the Wry-
neck : he has observed all these birds as late as
the middle of October.

Mr. Gould has taken this bird's nest near West
Dray ton, in 1858.

74 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

Family — MUSCICAPID.E.

SPOTTED FLYCATCHER (Muscicapa grisola). Local
name, Beam Bird. A regular summer visitor to this
country ; it usually reaches Berkshire and Bucking-
hamshire about the I5th of May, but sometimes a
little later, according to the season. It is numerous
in Buckinghamshire, and breeds abundantly, but as
the nest is not an easy one to find, no doubt many
escape detection.

I have known instances of its building against walls,
in low shrubs, and in flower-pots ; occasionally the
cavity between the branches of a large tree is chosen
as a site. I once found a nest in Buckinghamshire
between three branches of a large tree ; there were
several eggs, and the nest was quite damp, and if
the eggs had ever been hatched I expect that the
young would have met an untimely death by
drowning, from the accumulation of rain-water in
the cavity; such instances have occurred. I knew
of an instance in which the birds built several
times over the door of a dwelling-house, after their
nest had been once destroyed.

It is amusing to watch this little bird ' hawking'
for its prey, which consist mainly of flies, blue-bottles,
gnats, small butterflies, and moths. One day, in June
1867, while hiding behind a fine old oak-tree in the
Eton fields, I witnessed a curious sight : — A large
brown butterfly was flying quickly backwards and for-

SYLVIADJ& 75

wards by the river-side, when a Spotted Flycatcher
made a sudden dash at it from a branch above my
head ; it missed its victim, which was too large for its
little mouth to catch easily : the bird continued dashing
at the butterfly, missing it, and turning round sharply
to renew the attack. Each time the bird missed its
intended victim I could hear the bill snap with a
sharp ' crack,' although some twenty yards distant.
The bird at last gave up the pursuit, and returned
to its former perch on the oak-tree, no doubt con-
siderably disappointed.

Its little chirping note is rather pleasing to the
ear, but it can scarcely be called a songster. It
leaves us at the latter end of September.

Family — SYLVIAD^E.

REDSTART (Phcenictira ruticilla). Local names,
Red-tally Fire-tail. This bright-coloured little bird
arrives here about the middle of April. I have
rarely observed it earlier. It is not one of our
commonest birds, yet I cannot call it rare. I have
seen many in Burnham Beeches, which woods they
frequent in the greatest numbers in May and June.
They are occasionally observed in Ditton Park and
in Windsor Forest. I have known but few instances
of their nesting so far south as this ; but Mrs.
Lipscombe, the Eton .vendor of bird's-eggs, tells me
that she generally has a nest every year. This
old lady gets most of the eggs of this vicinity, as

76 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS,

her husband drives round the neighbouring villages
two or three times a week during the season, and he
collects about three hundred eggs on each journey,
exclusive of Thrush's and Blackbird's.

Mr. R. B. Sharpe has informed me that the Redstart
occurs in the woods around Cookham. It has also
been observed in small numbers near Wantage, as
I am informed by Mr. R. H. • Collins, and is occa-
sionally seen in the neighbourhood of Abingdon.

WHINCHAT (Saxicola rubetra). No Whinchats
remain with us through the winter ; the species is
migratory, and is first observed in small numbers
towards the close of April. It is but sparingly dis-
tributed over these counties, and is not so numerous
as the Stonechat ; but it breeds annuafly on Dorney
Common, and in many other parts of the counties.

Mr. R. B. Sharpe tells me that it is seen near
Cookham ; it is not rare in the vicinity of Wantage,
and is observed in the northern parts of Bucking-
hamshire : it occurs sparingly near Maidenhead, and
is seen in summer at Chesham in small numbers.

WHEATEAR (Saxicola CEnanthe]. Local names,
White-tail, White-rump, or Fallow-chat. He who
takes a stroll in the meadows in April, may observe
a little bird with a white tail spring suddenly up
from a stone on which it was sitting, and fly on
before him for thirty or forty yards, when it will
rest on a gate or on the ground until again ap-
proached ; it will again rise and accompany him

SYLVIA D^E. 77

still further, flying perhaps in this way for a mile
or more. This is the Wheatear, one of the earliest
of our summer visitors, generally arriving here about
the end of March or beginning of April. In 1866
they were first seen on the 2oth of March, on which
day a bird in poor condition was knocked down
by a boy with a stone in a field known as the
' Brocas, ' near Eton.

Wheatears are extremely numerous here in
summer, and a few nests are taken on the commons
every year : the district is not wild enough for many
to breed ; they like dreary wastes and hill sides
or moors.

They generally leave us at the latter end of
August, although many stay on until the middle of
September. They assemble in vast flocks on the
southern coasts at the time of their autumnal migra-
tion ; and it is generally supposed that they travel by
night. In many counties they are taken by means
of a horse-hair noose, which is placed in a hole
between two clods of earth. Into this hole the
unsuspecting bird will fly if any danger is at hand,
probably thinking, like the ostrich, that if he cannot
see anyone, nobody can see him. This plan is much
practised by shepherds on the downs, who sell them
for about a penny apiece. For the Wheatear is
considered to be as great a delicacy as the Lark.

The eggs are usually pale-blue, but I have taken
a nest with pure white eggs, in Sussex.

78 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

GRASSHOPPER WARBLER (Salicaria locustelld).
This shy little warbler is a regular summer visitor,
but cannot be called common. It is very retiring in
its habits, living among the thickest undergrowth of
the woods, but is probably local rather than rare.

A few nests are taken almost every summer in
this neighbourhood ; although I have never found
one in either county myself. It is a difficult nest
to find, being secreted among the tangled grass and
thick herbage which usually surround furze and
other small bushes. The eggs of this species are
white, closely freckled with pink or reddish-brown,
and scarcely ever vary.

It occurs at Wantage, Chesham, High Wy combe,
and Drayton Beauchamp ; and in the neighbourhood
of Cookham it is not uncommon in June and July.
Its note is not unlike the ' chirping' of the Grass-
hopper, from which circumstance it has derived its
name.

SEDGE WARBLER (Salicaria phragmites). Local
name, Fan-tail Warbler. In early summer, the
osier-beds on the banks of the Thames, from Staines
to Wallingford, resound with the joyful notes of
this little visitor, which arrives punctually between
the loth and 2Oth of April, to enliven our rivers
and lakes with its variable song. I say variable,
because it has often been noticed that this species
is a regular* 'mocking bird' — imitating the note
of the Yellow Wagtail, the Skylark, and the 'twit-

SYLVIAD&. 79

twit' of the Swallow in rapid succession : it has
been known also to imitate the note of the Starling
and the Missel Thrush, as well as the call of the
Wryneck. It has been argued that these so-called
imitations of the notes of other birds is a part of
the usual song of the Sedge Warbler, and not an
imitation at all : and this opinion is probably the
correct one.

The Sedge Warbler leaves us in the middle of
September : I have occasionally seen a few which
linger on until the end of the month, and Mr.
Yarrell, at page 290 of the first volume of his
' History of British Birds/ relates, that ' on one
occasion a single specimen was observed near High
Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, in winter/ but gives
no date. The Sedge Warbler breeds in tolerable
numbers along the banks of the Thames and Colne,
and in the reeds and flags which surround many
ornamental pieces of water and small streams in
different parts of the two counties. The nest is
usually placed near the ground, often between the
branches of a young osier or willow ; sometimes
it is built upon the bank, and at others, in the
reeds in the middle of a pond or lake. The eggs
are generally five or six in number, but in the
spring of 1867, I found a nest containing the un-
usual number of nine.

Beetles, and various small water insects, con-
stitute the principal food of the Sedge Warbler.

8o THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

In June, 1867, I discovered a nest of this species
in a low laurel in Windsor Home Park, with two
pure white eggs, one with a few brown blotches at
the end, otherwise white, and a fourth of the usual
type. In 1865 I saw a similar variety of the Sedge
Warbler's egg, which was found near Windsor, and
identified. Mr. Crewe says that this bird is very
common in his parish of Drayton Beauchamp, near
Tring, where it breeds abundantly on the shores of
the reservoirs.

REED WARBLER (Salicaria arundinacea). An ex-
ceedingly common bird, arriving in this district in the
month of April, and leaving us towards the end of
September.

It is numerous along the banks of the Thames,
Colne, Chess, and Kennet, as well as by the sides of
large ponds, and among the reed-beds on the banks
of the reservoirs near Drayton Beauchamp. Its
pleasing song, too, may be heard from the osiers
which are so common by the sides of the sluggish
streams and rivulets throughout the district.

This Warbler appears to have first been made known
as British by the Rev. John Lightfoot, who, in a com-
munication to Sir Joseph Banks, which was read
before the Royal Society, and printed in their Trans-
actions for the year 1785, described this bird from
specimens which he had discovered frequenting the
reeds on the banks of the little river Colne from Iver
to Harefield Moor, a distance of some five miles.

SYLVIADJE. 8 1

Thus Buckinghamshire can claim the discoverer of
two British birds, the Reed Warbler and the Lesser
Whitethroat.

Of late years I have remarked the partiality which
this species evinces for nesting high up in lilac-trees,
and generally at some distance from water. I have
had some correspondence with Mr. J. E. Harting
on this subject, for he has remarked the same thing ;*
but on comparing notes, and examining a good series
of eggs, he and Mr. Blyth have come to the con-
clusion that the species thus found nesting in shrubs
at a distance from water, is nevertheless identical
with 6". arundinqcea. It is remarkable that this diver-
gence from the usual habits of the species should have
been unnoticed by all previous writers, but since the
peculiarity was pointed out by Mr. Harting, his ob-
servations have been confirmed by other naturalists.

NIGHTINGALE (Philomela luscinid). This, our finest
songster, is a regular summer visitor, reaching us
about the 25th of April. Males arrive a few days
before the females, and directly the former come,
many bird-catchers are on the qui vive to capture
them, as it is said a male bird will not survive long
if taken after the females have arrived and his song
has gained him a mate.

The nest is, in most cases, built upon a bank, but
in May 1867 I discovered one constructed of oak-
leaves, hair, and wool, placed about two feet from

* Vide ' The Birds of Middlesex,' pp. 45-47.
G

82 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

the ground in a laurel. I took out, on successive
days, four eggs, one by one, and each morning the
hen laid a new egg, thus proving she will not easily
desert her nest.

BLACKCAP (Curruca atricapilld}. This charming
Warbler, second only to the Nightingale, is a regular
summer visitor, reaching this country in April and
leaving in September, although a few in some years
remain until October. This bird is not so common
as many of the other Warblers in either county,
although generally dispersed.

The eggs of the Blackcap are subject to much
variety, some resemblng those of the Garden Warbler,
others those of the Tree Pipit. The nest is generally
placed in a low bush or hedge, about three feet from
the ground. The male bird occasionally relieves the
female during the process of incubation ; I have more
than once seen a male on the nest, in which position
the bird has occasionally been heard to sing. The
Blackcap is partial to wooded and enclosed districts,
rarely being observed on commons or tracts of waste
and open land.

GARDEN WARBLER (Curruca hortensis). Gene-
rally dispersed, but by no means so numerous as
either the Blackcap or Common and Lesser White-
throats.

It reaches these counties towards the end of April,
quitting them again in September. As its name
implies, it frequents gardens, and is of very retiring

SYLVIADJ& S3

habits, although its pleasant note may often be heard
in a thick wood or among straggling bushes. Insects,
berries, peas, and fruit of various kinds constitute
its principal food.

COMMON WHITETHROAT (Ciirruca cinerea). Ar-
rives towards the end of April, from which month
until September it is one of the commonest of our
Warblers. It frequents hedges and woods ; and
nettles, brambles, and other low-growing weeds which
cover many of our country lanes are much sought by
it Male birds usually reach this country before the
females, as is the case with the Nightingale, the
Blackcap, and several other of our summer visitors.
Its provincial name, Nettle-creeper, is no doubt de-
rived from its partiality to localities in which that
plant abounds.

LESSER WHITETHROAT (Curruca sylviella). A
common summer visitor, but not so numerous as the
last-named. This pretty Warbler was first discovered
near Bulstrode, in Buckinghamshire, where it was
procured by the Rev. Mr. Lightfoot, who sent speci-
mens of the bird, then new to Britain, to Dr. Latham,
and this gentleman figured and described it at page
185 of his 'General Synopsis.'

The lesser Whitethroat reaches the neighbourhood
of Eton and Windsor about the end of April, after
which time its pleasing song and pretty form may
be heard and seen in the tall hedges in which it
delights to build. It usually places its nest five or

G 2

84 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

six feet from the ground, and I have found the nest
in a lilac-bush, which fs rather a frequent site. This
bird leaves us about the third week in September.

WOOD WARBLER (Sylvia sylvicola). Local names,
Wood Wren, Yellow Wren. A regular summer im-
migrant, but never appearing in such numbers as the
two following species. It arrives during the last week
in April or early in May. The chief food of this
little bird consists of insects and their larvae. The
nest is a difficult one to find, as it is generally artfully
concealed under a tuft of grass, or among thick and
tangled undergrowth in a wood. The hen lays five
or six prettily marked eggs, white in ground colour,
specked and blotched all over with deep reddish
brown and ash colour; often the eggs are so much
darkened by these markings that it is not easy to
distinguish the ground colouring.

The Wood Warbler leaves us in September.
WILLOW WARBLER (Sylvia trochilus). Local name,
Yellow Wren. Arrives about the second week in
April, but occasionally before this date its gentle
pleasing note may be heard.

In the month of June, 1867, I found a nest con-
taining eggs in one of the lower branches of a holly-
tree in Windsor Home Park, which is an unusual
position, for this bird generally builds upon the
ground.

A pair of Willow Warblers built their nest, early
in the spring of 1 866, among some long grass in front

MO TA CILLID&. 85

of a park-keeper's house on the banks of the Thames.
The female, while sitting on her eggs, never shewed
the least fear when the keeper's children looked in
at her, or even put their hands close to the nest ; nor
did their boisterous laughter and noisy voices alarm
the bird at all, though they were accustomed to
trample about in the grass within a yard of the nest
at all times of the day.

CHIFF CHAFF (Sylvia hippolais}. This small War-
bler is the first of the summer visitors to reach us,
with the exception of the Wheatear. Its sprightly
form may be seen, and its pleasing song heard in
the yet leafless hedges, before March is over ; small
numbers usually arrive about the 2Oth of that month.

The nest is generally placed on the ground, but in
the summer of 1867 I found one built three or four
feet from the ground, among the ivy which grows in
clusters over the Albert Bridge, in Windsor Home
Park. This species leaves early in October.

Family— MOTACILLID^E.

RAY'S WAGTAIL (Motacilla Jlava). Provincial
names, Yellow Wagtail, Yellow Disk-washer. The
Yellow Wagtail was first discovered by John Ray,
and Mr. Yarrell named it after him in order to dis-
tinguish it from the four species of Yellow Wagtails
which are indigenous to Europe.

It reaches us early in April, and departs in Sep-

86 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

tember. A few pairs annually breed by the side of
ponds and small streams, but the nest is a hard one
to find, being generally well concealed among rushes
and long grass.

Family — ANTHID^E.

TREE PIPIT (Anthus arboreus). A common sum-
mer visitor, arriving about the beginning of April,
and leaving in September. This species is not nearly
so numerous as its congener the Meadow Pipit, and,
unlike the latter bird, does not remain in Britain all
the year.

Early in spring one may hear his cheerful song,
the bird itself sitting upon the extremity of the
branch of some large tree. The nest is placed on
the ground, generally artfully concealed under a patch
of grass or a low bush ; I have sometimes almost set
my foot upon the nest before the old bird attempted
to stir.

This Pipit, as well as the other species, is locally
known as the Tit- lark.

Tribe— SCANSORES. Family — PlClD^E.

WRYNECK (Yunx torquilld). This third division
of the Insessores comprises the Scansores, or climbers,
a tribe of birds remarkable, as the name implies, for
their powers of ascending trees, having their toes
arranged in pairs, two before and two behind.

CUCULID^E. 87

The bird now before us is a common summer
visitor, arriving in April, about the same time as
the Cuckoo, whence it has gained one of its provincial
names, Cuckoo's Mate. Another local name is Pea-
bird, which was probably given it from the fact that
about the time of its arrival young peas are springing.

In 1865, a pair of these birds built their nest in a
hole in an apple-tree in an orchard near Burnham.
The female was one day captured by a boy while
sitting on her eggs, and was brought by him to Eton,
and sold to a gentleman who set it at liberty. The
boy who had caught it observed the bird on the apple-
tree the next morning, and as he had marked it, it
could not have been mistaken. What curious instinct
had enabled this bird to find its way back again,
after having been carried in the boy's pocket a dis-
tance of seven miles ?

Family

COMMON CUCKOO (Cuculus canorus}. Every one
is acquainted with the Cuckoo, if not by sight, by its
well-known note. ' Have you heard the Cuckoo
yet?' is as much a household expression as 'When
did you see the first swallow?' It arrives in April:
and the mean date of its advent appears to be the
loth of that month.

I have observed as many as five of these birds on
the wing together in Windsor Park, in June and July,
when they appear to be more gregarious than at other

88 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

times. The Cuckoo generally leaves us in the early
part of September, though I once saw three in Ditton
Park as late as the 2Oth of November. For informa-
tion on certain peculiarities in the life-history of this
remarkable bird, I must refer my readers to a capital
paper by the Rev. A. C. Smith, in the Zoologist*

Tribe— FlSSlROSTRES. Family— HIRUNDINID^:.

SWALLOW (Hirundo rustled). Perhaps no bird is
more anxiously looked for in spring by dwellers in
the country than that harbinger of summer, the
Swallow.

It arrives in this country about the I2th of April, but
in some seasons a few stragglers may be observed
earlier. In 1867, upon the 1st of April, a pair of
these birds were seen hawking about that part of
the Thames which flows through the Eton College
playing-fields ; and some have arrived in the neigh-
bourhood before the end of March. The following
is an extract from a letter from my cousin Mr. John
Kennedy, dated 2 ist August, 1 867, written at Rosetta,
near Launceston, Tasmania: — 'We are now in the
beginning of spring, and as a sign thereof the Swal-
lows are again appearing: they have been seen in
town three or four days. I had the pleasure of see-
ing my first Swallow in Tasmania yesterday (August

* Vide Zoologist^ 1868, pp. 1105-1118.

HIRUNDINID&. 89

20), for they had only then found their way out
here.'

The Swallow leaves us about the loth of October,
though a few stay on until the 2oth of the month,
and the bird has occasionally been seen even in
November. The Rev. C. Wolley tells me that he
observed a single specimen as late as the i6th of
that month, in 1866; and in 1867, one of Her
Majesty's park-keepers informed me that he saw
several Martins and Swallows at the beginning of
November skimming over the river near the Albert
Bridge, Windsor.

A Swallow built her nest in a belfry a few sum-
mers ago, and was always observed to sit perfectly
still upon her eggs when the bell rang, although the
nest was only a foot distant from the bell, which
was a loud-sounding one. Mr. Gould says in his
'Birds of Great Britain:' 'I find by my note-book
that some Swallows were sitting on their eggs under
the little romantic bridge at Formosa, near Cookham,
Berkshire, as late as the 8th of August/ This, how-
ever, does not seem to me very late, and my friend
Mr. Wolley informed me that he had seen young
Swallows not fledged on the 28th of September —
seven weeks later.

A pure white specimen of this bird was for several
days observed flying about Ditton Park by Mr. Paice
in August 1863, and was eventually shot between
Langley and Uxbridge.

90 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

Lord Clifton, writing from Eton to the Zoolo-
gist for 1867, states that one day in August of that
year a Swallow was seen to be caught by the head
in the interstices of one of the gilded weathercocks
which surmount the top of a house at Eton College.
Sympathising crowds of Swallows flocked to see it,
and in a short time two more were captured in the
same manner.

An unusually late stay for the Swallow* is recorded
in Loudon's ' Magazine of Natural History/ where it
is stated that Mr. F. G. Tatem, observed two Swallows
at High Wy combe on the 22nd November.

MARTIN (Hirundo ttrbica}. This abundant species
usually arrives in small companies of from five to ten
or twelve, towards the end of the first or the beginning
of the second week in April. Martins like Swallows
have been always regarded as harbingers of spring,
and their arrival is. eagerly looked for by all. In the
year 1867 they arrived earlier than usual. Mr. Ingram,
Her Majesty's gardener at Windsor, observed several
House Martins during the last week in March.

SAND-MARTIN (Hirundo riparid). A summer
visitor, arriving during the first week in April in
little bands, larger flocks following in a few days.
It is common everywhere during the summer months,
and large numbers may be seen along the banks of
the Thames, where a few remain to breed. About

* For a capital account of the habits of this bird, vide pp. 324-327
of Mr. Henry Stevenson's 'Birds of Norfolk,' vol. i.

HIRUNDINID^E. 91

seven years ago many annually had their nests in an
old sand-pit near Salthill, but they have now for-
saken this locality.

The Sand-martin, which is the smallest of the Hirun-
dines, is not so numerous as the Swallow or common
Martin in the neighbourhood of Windsor. A few
stragglers have been observed as early as the end
of March, and they leave us in August. In 1856 an
immense quantity of these birds were seen in the Eton
College playing-fields.

In August 1867, an albino specimen of the Sand-
martin was shot on the river near Marlow, by Mr. F.
Wheeler.

COMMON SWIFT (Cypselus apus). This long-
winged, strong-flying bird is a regular visitor to the
two counties in summer, generally arriving at a locality
on the banks of the Thames known to Etonians as
' Lower Hope,' about the 3rd of May ; though in
some seasons a few Swifts are observed before the
end of April. This species leaves England for
Africa towards the end of August, very few being
seen here in September.

The Swift is numerous in the vicinity of Windsor
itself, but has sadly decreased in numbers in many
places throughout the two counties where it used to
be common. A few pairs remain to breed every year,
usually choosing an old and lofty church-tower or
barn as a site for their nests. The local name for
this bird is Screech or Shtiek Martin. The skeleton

92 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

of a Swift, with two eggs and remains of the nest,
were taken a few years since from one of the Eton
College Chapel bell-towers, where the old bird had
probably been entombed while sitting on her eggs
many years previously. These remains are now de-
posited in the school library.

Mr. W. Dalziel Mackenzie informs me that he
observed a Swift at Fawley, in Buckinghamshire,
during a sharp frost on the 22d of December,
1860.

Family — CAPRIMU LGID^E.

NIGHTJAR (Caprimulgus Eur opens}. The Nightjar
is the only nocturnal bird among the summer visitors
to Great Britain. It reaches us about the second
week in May, and departs at the beginning of Sep-
tember. It is partially distributed throughout both
counties, but is nowhere a numerous species * one
of the most favoured localities is Gerrard's Cross, near
Beaconsfield, where these birds may be often heard
on a still summer's night.

The female deposits two beautifully marked eggs,
marbled grey or brown, in a slight depression in the
ground, which serves as a nest. Many of these eggs
are annually taken from the woods near Beacons-
field, and brought to Eton, where they are sold for
a trifling sum.

The Nightjar is locally nameg! Night Hawk^
Screech Hawk, and Goatsucker, the latter name being

CAPR1MULGIDM. 93

given it from its supposed heinous crime of sucking
the udders of goats and cows, whereas the true cause
of its presence near the cattle may reasonably be
attributed to its eagerness to capture the insects
which they disturb. Mr. R. B. Sharpe states that
a Nightjar was killed near Cookham Dean, as early
as the 3rd of March, 1867. Mr. Mackenzie tells me
that the Nightjar is very rare in his neighbourhood,
but that he shot one at Fawley, on the 1 8th of
July, 1863.

94 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

ORDER III.— RASORES.
Family — COLUMBID^E.

TURTLE DOVE (Columba turtur). A regular sum-
mer visitor from Africa, arriving here about the be-
ginning of May, and leaving us again in September.
A few pairs breed every year in Windsor Forest ; near
Wantage the species is annually observed, as well as
in Ditton Woods, and in Langley and Stoke Parks.
The Rev. F. O. Morris states, on the authority of
Mr. Dalton, of Worcester College, Oxford, that the
Turtle Dove breeds in Bagley Wood, in Berk-
shire.

I took a nest, five or six years ago, in Ashridge
Park, which is partly in Buckinghamshire and partly
in Hertfordshire ; these birds were not uncommon
there. It has been procured near Chesham, and Mr.
Sharpe includes it in his list of the birds of Cook-
ham. It is fairly numerous in the beautiful woods
at Cliefden, and in some of the plantations around
Reading its soft cooing may be heard. The Rev.
Charles Wolley told me of a Turtle Dove's nest
which was built in a tree in the Eton playing-fields,

COLUMBID&. .95

in 1865. Specimens are shot every year near Maiden-
head, Aylesbury, Taplow, and Newbury ; in fact,
there is, in all probability, no locality in either county
in which it has not been obtained. Nine were shot
by a man near Eton in a couple of hours one day,
A man named Drye shot nineteen during one
summer in Windsor Park, and persecuted as it is,
it is surprising that this poor bird is not far less com-
mon. The Turtle Dove is a lovely bird, and ought
surely to be protected ; it has ever been regarded
as the emblem of peace, fidelity, and love ; thus that
old lover of nature, Shakespeare, says, —

' Modest as the Dove.'

Taming of the Shrew, Act iii. Scene 2.

* The Dove and very blessed spirit of peace. '

Henry IV. Part I. Act iv. Scene I.

' As true as steel, as plantage to the moon,
As sun to-day, as Turtle to her mate. '

Troilus and Cressida, Act iii. Scene 2.

' So Turtles pair
That never mean to part.'

Winters Tale, Act iv. Scene 3.

There is a paragraph in the Rev. Leonard Jenyn's
f Manual of British Vertebratae,' which I cannot ex-
plain : — 'The spotted-necked variety,* first noticed

* Since writing the above I received a letter on this subject from
my friend Mr. J. E. Harting, of Kingsbury, who says, 'Donovan,
in his work on British Birds, has figured a species of Turtle, under
the name of Columba albonotata, plate 149. Latham, in his " History
of Birds," has referred to it as a variety of the Common Turtle.

96 . THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

by Dr. Latham, appears only to have occurred in
Buckinghamshire.' To what variety can Dr. Latham
have alluded ?

The specimen from which the plate was drawn was said to have been
shot in Buckinghamshire. This is probably the bird to which you
refer. '

CHARADRIIDAZ 97

ORDER IV.— GRALLATORES.
Family— CHARADRIID.E.

GREAT PLOVER ((Edicnemus crepitans). The
Stone Curlew, Thick-knee, or Norfolk Plover, is a
summer visitant to Britain. Formerly it was nume-
rous on the downs and hills of Berkshire, and even
at the present time it cannot be called a rare bird in
either county.

Specimens have been procured in Langley Park
at various times, and young birds have been sold in
Eton. I received a notice of one that was killed near
Newbury. The species used to be very numerous on
the chalk downs in the neighbourhood of Ivinghoe
and Drayton Beauchamp, Bucks ; and my friend the
Rev. Harpur Crewe sent me a note to the effect that
it may still be often heard whistling over head on a
still summer's night near the latter place.

Mr. A. Collins, of the 57th Regiment, in a letter
to me dated November 22, 1867, says: — 'We also
had a Stone Curlew (^. crepitans) for some time in
the walled-garden at Betterton, near Wantage. It
was chopped by our bailiff's spaniel, when half fledged

H

98 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

on one of the stony uplands, and eventually escaped,
when a report was spread by an excited plough-boy,
that he had seen an ostrich running towards WhifftVs
farm.' This young bird was, no doubt, bred on the
downs near Wantage.

The Thick-knee has been seen near Reading, and
Mr. W. Hewet says that the young ones are very
good eating, but the old birds are dry and tough.

It has occurred near Aylesbury and Buckingham ;
and several, specimens have been seen at Slapton ;
and Mr. Burgess tells me that its cry has been heard
in the vicinity of Chesham.

Family — SCOLOPACID^:.

COMMON SANDPIPER (Totanus hypoleucos). Pro-
vincial name, Summer Snipe. A regular summer
visitor. It may be observed on the banks of the
Thames early in April, and it remains by the river-
side during the summer, departing towards the close
of September.

This pretty little wader is common by the sides of
ditches and large streams all through the summer.
It occurs near Wantage ; and Mr. H. Harpur Crewe
tells me that one or two pairs remain about the
reservoirs at Marsworth and Wilston all the year.
They are numerous by the banks of the Paddington
Company's canals in summer; and the Rev. Bryant
Burgess was good enough to write me word that he

RALLID&. 99

has repeatedly observed a pair of these Sandpipers
in the summer months near Chesham and at Slapton,
from both of which places he has a specimen in his
collection. It frequents the Chess, the Colne, and
the Kennet, and breeds near all these rivers, but the
nest is a hard one to find.

Family — RALLID^.

LANDRAIL (Crex pratensis). Local name, Corn
Crake. Reaches these counties about the middle of
April, after which month it is a very numerous
species.

Mr. Lillywhite, jun., of Eton Wick, told me that a
Landrail allowed herself to be taken up in his hand
without offering any resistance, on the 24th of Sep-
tember, 1867. This species leaves us towards the
end of August, but a few are sometimes killed in
September by gentlemen out partridge shooting.

It rarely remains with us through the winter ; but
on Christmas Day, 1865, one of these birds, in very
poor condition, was picked up in a field on the banks
of the Thames, near Eton.

SPOTTED CRAKE (Crex porzand). This is by no
means a common bird, and of local habits, but a
great number escape notice by hiding themselves in
dense reeds and overgrown ditches.

A pair were shot between Eton and Surley about
three years since, and were preserved in Windsor.

H 2

ioo THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

Another, now in the collection of Mr. Ferryman, at
Datchet, was found dead one day in the spring of 1864
under the electric telegraph wires near the Slough
station, against which it must have flown with great
violence, its neck being gashed across. One was
taken near Newbury a few years ago ; this Crake
has also occurred at Datchet. It has been shot at
Maidenhead, and in the neighbourhood of High
Wycombe. The species has been frequently killed
on the banks of the Thames, where it is no doubt
far more common than is usually supposed, as, by
reason of its retiring habits, it is rarely seen in the
daytime.

It usually arrives here in the beginning of April
or towards the end of March, leaving us again in
October. Water insects, seeds, and worms form
this bird's chief food. The following extract from
a letter from Mr. W. H. Power to Mr. J. E. Harting,
is extracted from the latter gentleman's work upon the
' Birds of Middlesex :'—

'I shot one of these birds/ says Mr. Power, 'at
West Drayton, as it was crossing the river Colne,
which here divides the counties of Middlesex and
Buckinghamshire. My dog started it from an osier-
bed full of tall reeds, and I killed it under the im-
pression that it was a young Moor-hen. This was on
the 2d of August, 1860.'

Mr. Harting justly claims this bird, and so do I ;
for it was shot on the borders of the two counties.

RALLID^E. 101

A male of this species was shot by a man named
Bunce, as late as October 1867, near Monkey Island;
and Mr. Shergold killed another there in September
1864.

fooekome j§prittg ! 0|y, fcreltome bernal ftotes !
§, foelr0mer t^an all, i^e merrg birb
mt foarbliitg mwsk — earnest 0f bright fyanu —
fa % first Ijgmn t0 Spring bg foanaerittg p0et fyearb,

CALDER CAMPBELL.

WINTER VISITORS.

rfVfh
•OYO-""""

ORDER L— RAPT ORES.
Family — FALCONID^.

MERLIN (Falco ^Esalon}. The Merlin is not a
common hawk here, although individuals have been
observed and taken at various times, and generally
in the winter months, in different parts of the two
counties.

I find by a reference to my note-book, that upon
the 2 1st March, 1867, I saw a fine male Merlin which
had been trapped by one of the keepers in Windsor
Great Park a day or two previously. This bird,
which I saw in the flesh, was in excellent condition.
Mr. Fisher, of High Street, Eton, had procured it
for the purpose of preserving.

Another fine specimen was shot in Berkshire in
the early part of the year 1 867 : it was an adult male
in full plumage, and was taken by the person who
shot it to Mr. Hasell, of Windsor, by whom it was
preserved.

FALCONID^E. 103

Mr. R. B. Sharpe informed me that the Merlin has
occasionally been observed in the neighbourhood of
Cookham ; and he has received the eggs from Woburn
a village about two miles to the north-east of Cook-
ham. At Billing Bare, which is some ten miles from
Cookham, Mr. Briggs has noticed that it was not
uncommon, and he was once witness to a remarkable
instance of this bird's audacity. He was standing near
a thick bush on the Billing Bare estate, when a Chaf-
finch dashed into the thicket, closely pursued by a
male Merlin. Nothing daunted by his presence, the
hawk as quickly followed, and, dragging the unfor-
tunate Chaffinch out, was carrying it off, when a
well-aimed shot from Mr. Briggs put an end to his
career. In this case the Chaffinch was quite dead,
perhaps killed by the shot; but Mr. Briggs stated
that in many instances when he had seen hawks
flying with a bird in their talons, and had fired at
them — though far out of shot — in order to make
them drop their prey, he had seen the birds fly away
unhurt when released by the hawk.

Mr. Frank Collins, of Wantage, informed me of the
occurrence of a Merlin near Wantage, in the month
of October 1867 ; his brother shot it, aitd had it
preserved. A bird-stuffer in Windsor told me that
he had had several specimens from various parts of
the county of Berkshire; and Mr. HaseJl informed
me that a fine male was brought to him in the
summer of 1867, which had been shot by a person
at White Waltham.

104 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

The Rev. F. O. Morris, in his work on British
Birds, states that he shot a beautiful female Merlin,
many years ago, while walking along the side of a
brook in Berkshire. Its plumage was very similar
to the stones on which it fell — a novel interpretation
of one of its local names, Stone Falcon.

Family — STRIGID^:.

SHORT-EARED OWL (Otus brachyotos). This bird,
although not numerous in either of the two counties,
is still far from uncommon in winter. I have . seen
them in the woods near Ditton Park ; they are pro-
cured occasionally in Windsor Forest, and many other
localities. It is locally named the Woodcock Owl.
Mr. Ferryman, of Datchet, informed me that many
were brought to him in 1860 and 1861, but few since.
Specimens have been killed at Chesham, and in the
neighbourhood of Drayton Beauchamp. This bird
arrives towards the end of October, and may then
often be seen in stubbles. It visits England about
the same time as the Woodcock, whence its name.

Mr. R. B. Sharpe states that it is rare in the
neighbourhood of Cookham, but Mr. Darby killed
a specimen of this Owl, some years since, near
Cockmarsh, which was stuffed by Mr. J. Ford, of
Cookham.

MERVLIDJE. 105

ORDER IL— INSESSORES.
Tribe— DENTIROSTRES. Family — MERULID^:.

FIELDFARE (Turdus pilaris). Local names, Felt,
Feltfare. This is a regular winter visitant to this
country. It usually arrives in Berkshire and Buck-
inghamshire during the first week of November; in
some seasons it visits us in small flocks during
October. Upon the morning of the 25th of Sep-
tember, 1867, while standing in Mr. Fenwick Hele's
garden at Aldeburgh, in Suffolk, I was greatly sur-
prised, on looking up accidentally, to perceive a small
flock of Fieldfares flying towards the south-east ;
several persons saw them besides myself, and I am
fully persuaded as to their identity. Several friends
informed me that they saw birds of this species in
various parts of England during the last week of
September 1867. This very early migration from the
north is said to be a certain sign of an unusually
severe winter.

In 1866, I saw the first Fieldfare at the end of
October; and in 1867, I was informed that some
were seen in Buckinghamshire in September. This

106 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

was probably correct, as they were observed in other
counties about the same date.

They generally leave us towards the end of March.

REDWING (Turdus iliacus). Local name, Red
Thrush. This bird arrives here from the north in the
middle of October ; it generally makes its appearance
about the 2Oth of that month, but I have occasionally
known them to arrive earlier.

They are often to be seen in the neighbourhood
of Windsor, feeding in flocks on the moist ground
bordering on the Thames, and I have observed large
numbers of this species in a part of Windsor Great
Park known as ' Queen Anne's drive,' as late as
the beginning of April. They leave us for the most
part at the end of February, or early in March.

Tribe — CONIROSTRES. Family — FRINGILLID^E.

BRAMBLTNG (Fringilla montifringilld). Locally
called Bramble-finch or Mountain- finch. A regular
winter visitor, appearing in far larger numbers in
some years than in others. The first flocks usually
arrive towards the end- of November, occasionally
being observed in October, and leaving us again at
the close of winter. The Rev. H. H. Crewe states
that this bird appears in vast flocks during the late
autumn, winter, and early spring months in the
neighbourhood of Drayton Beauchamp, Buckingham-
shire, for the purpose of feeding on the beech-mast.

FRINGILLID&. io;

In very severe weather it feeds and associates with
Sparrows, Chaffinches, and other birds in the farm-
yards. Large numbers visit Windsor Forest every
winter, and a great many are shot for specimens.
I have seen birds of this species which had been
shot near Eton, at Chalvey, Eton Wick, Surley, and
Datchet. Numbers visit Burnham Beeches annually,
and there they find an ample feast of their favourite
food. In mild winters they are not so numerous, but
I never knew a season in which some did not occur.
I have seen them in the beginning of April, although
the greater part leave us in March.

A great number are taken by bird-catchers every
season. The birds are observed -near Newbury, at
Chesham, Hungerford, Maidenhead, and Reading,
and I might give a long list of places at which I
have received notices of their occurrence. Mr. Gould,
in his ' Birds of Great Britain,' observes that ' tens of
thousands of Bramblings may now (25th March, 1865)
be seen at Stoke, Cliefden, and Dropmore, in Buck-
inghamshire ;' and he states that they may be found
at Reading any spring, when they throw off their
shyness. Mr. F. Collins sends me word that they
are seen at Betterton, near Wantage, every year.
The following is an extract from a note from my
friend Mr. J. E. Harting, the author of the ' Birds of
Middlesex :' —

1 With reference to the occurrence of the Brambling
(F. montifringilla) in Stoke Park, Bucks, this letter

io8 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

from Mr. A. G. Atkins of Farnham Court, Slough,
appeared in the Times of the 23rd of March, 1865;
" Some of your readers may be interested by the
mention of a fact which in this neighbourhood, at
least, 'is without parallel in the memory of the oldest
inhabitant. A large flock of Bramble-finches have
taken up their residence in Stoke Park. Their numbers
may be estimated when I state that the flight, which
was seen starting from their roosting-place one morn-
ing, continued streaming on without interruption for
thirty-five minutes. The person who noted this killed
forty-five at one shot. I may mention that before they
came to their new quarters, thousands of Starlings
congregated there nightly, but since this invasion of
northerners the ancient inhabitants have been dis-
possessed ; but they have not forgotten their former
homes, and now that returning spring has warned our
new friends to seek more quiet quarters before pairing
and building time comes upon them, the Starlings
are again making their appearance in great numbers." '

The Brambling is found at Pangbourne and Abing-
don, and Mr. R. B. Sharpe informed me that in winter
these birds frequent the woods at Dropmore and
Cliefden, where they roost, but as soon as it is light
they fly off in flocks to Quarry Wood, near Marlow,
where they find plenty of beech-mast.

Bramblings are taken at High Wycombe annually,
as well as near Uxbridge and Aylesbury. A remark--
able fact connected with this bird occurred at Etort

FRINGILLID^E. 109

some time ago. I give the extract verbatim, from
my note-book : —

'Upon the evening of the loth of March, 1867, at
a little past eight o'clock, a bird flew into a room in
this house, at Eton, through the open window : I
found that it was a Brambling. It is a curious thing
for one of these little birds to fly straight into a room
at night, and I am inclined to think that it had been
caged before, as it made no effort to escape, although
there were no signs upon its plumage to justify the
supposition that it had been kept in confinement.
It is now in a cage, and apparently in excellent
health.'

Bramblings often resort in winter to Langley Park,
near Slough, and they have been observed at Beacons-
field and Fulmer, and on the Chiltern Hills.

SISKIN (Cardiielis spinus). Arrives here towards
the end of November from the north, and remains
with us throughout the winter months, taking its
leave as spring returns.

During severe winters it is more plentiful than in
mild ones, and in some seasons it comes in immense
flocks, while in others very few are to be seen. Many
are taken by professional birdcatchers in the vicinity
of Eton and Windsor every season. It is a tame-
able and very active bird, forming an attractive addi-
tion to an aviary. It is sometimes seen in flocks,
consorting with linnets and other small birds. Mr.
Sharpe writes me word that this species is not

i io THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

uncommon near Cookham during the winter ; and it
has been seen near Reading, Surley, Maidenhead,
and Wantage. The Rev. B. Burgess tells me that
it occurs at Chesham and Slapton ; and Mr. H. H.
Crewe states of this species that Baldwin, a bird-
catcher who lives near Drayton Beauchamp, not
unfrequently captures the Siskin in his clap-nets,
during the winter months, in that neighbourhood.

In the winter of 1857 a great number of Siskins
were captured in Windsor Great Park, and the species
were likewise numerous in the hard winter of 1866-7.
Mr. Wolley saw five of these birds near Surley lock,
for several days in the month of February 1867.
In Mr. Gould's work on the ' Birds of Great Britain/
he observes that he has often known large troops
of Siskins to frequent Taplow and Cliefden woods.
In the parks at Langley and Stoke it is not uncom-
mon in cold weather.

The food of the Siskin consists chiefly of various
seeds, and it is an interesting sight to see a flock
flying from tree to tree and passing from branch to
branch, eagerly searching the alder, birch, larch, and
other trees, for the hidden food. It very rarely
breeds in this country, but the nest has been taken
in Aberdeenshire, near New Abbey in Galloway, and
in some other parts of Scotland.

LESSER REDPOLE (Linota linaria). Provincially
called the Common Redpole. A winter visitor. It
is never very common, but small flocks begin to

FRINGILLID^E. in

frequent the banks of some of our smaller streams
and rivulets about the end of November. These
flocks leave again for their northern breeding stations
in March. Though instances have been recorded
of this species nesting in southern counties, I have
never been able to meet with an authenticated nest
in either Berkshire or Buckinghamshire.

This bird may be distinguished from the Mealy
Redpole by having its tail feathers not nearly so
long or so deeply forked as that bird : it is also
smaller in size.

MOUNTAIN LINNET (Linota montium). Like the
last-named species, this is also a winter visitor, but
not so abundant. It is more frequently found on hill-
sides and moors, and is on this account less common
in Buckinghamshire and Berkshire. Its food consists
almost wholly of seeds. This bird is distinguished
from the common Linnet, and both the Redpoles, by
its yellow bill, by the greater length of its tail, which
is also more forked, and by possessing a reddish
throat, without any red on the breast or head which
is characteristic of the other species.

COMMON CROSSBILL (Loxia curvirostrd). This
remarkable-looking bird is a winter visitor, but never
appears in. any great numbers, although in some
seasons it is more common than in others. As it is
not a regular visitor, it may be interesting to enume-
rate here the dates and localities of its occurrence
which have come under my notice.

1 12 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

Mr. Sharpe tells me that a few are seen in the
neighbourhood of Cookham nearly every winter, but
it is not common there at any time. About the
year 1847, several birds of this species were shot
in the grounds of Drayton Lodge, and were placed
in the collection of Mr. S. W. Jenney, for a notice of
which I am indebted to the Rev. H. Crewe. It has
been observed in the plantations at Fulmer, and is
reported to have been seen in Burnham Beeches.
Five were shot late in the autumn of 1857 near
Virginia Water, and were taken for preservation to
Mr. Hasell, of Windsor, who told me that a single
bird of the same species was brought to him from
the same locality in the winter of 1866. A male
Crossbill flew into a room in a house near Reading
a few years ago, and a female bird of this species
was seen sitting in a tall hedge in the road between
Eton and Datchet, by Mr. J. Clayton, of Eton, early
in the morning of the 3Oth of November, 1867. Mr.
James Williams shot a pair near Aldbury a short
time ago, and it has been taken at Risborough.

Family — CoRViD^E.

HOODED CROW (Corvus comix). Locally termed
Royston Crow. May be observed along the banks
of the Thames every winter. This crow is exceed-
ingly wary, as those who have attempted to get a
shot will doubtless have discovered. A few, however,

THE HOODED CROW.
Cor v us comix.

[UNIVERSITY]

OF

CORVID^E. 113

are generally killed during the winter season in the
neighbourhood of Windsor, Cookham, and Maiden-
head.

At the large reservoirs near Drayton Beauchamp,
this species is common in winter. It is also found
during frosty weather in the neighbourhood of Ches-
ham. Besides being wary, the Royston Crow possesses
a great amount of cunning, as the following anecdote
will show.

A friend was driving home one evening, when he
observed one of these Crows feeding on a dead sheep
by the roadside : he shot it, picked it up, and placed
it carefully in the bottom of the carriage — apparently
quite dead. He had not proceeded far when on
hearing a noise behind him, he looked round and
was surprised to see the bird sitting on the back-
rail of the vehicle ; on stretching out his hand to
recapture it, to his amazement the Crow flew away.
He watched it for some distance, and as it flew
strongly and well, it appeared evident that the bird
had been only shamming.

H4 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

ORDER IV.-GRALLATORES.

Family— CHARADRIID^:.

GOLDEN PLOVER (Charadrius pluvialis). A re-
gular winter visitor to our open marshy grounds and
the banks of the Thames. Flocks generally arrive
in November, at which time two or three hundred
may be occasionally observed feeding on the fallow
lands near Datchet and Slough; and great flocks
continue flying over Eton at intervals throughout
the winter, until March.

In cold weather the Golden Plover may be found
throughout the two counties, and the Rev. H. Crewe
told me that it is particularly common about the low
meadows in the vicinity of Drayton Beauchamp in
winter ; and it is not rare at Chesham, Cookham, and
Risborough.

Family — SCOLOPACID^.

WOODCOCK (Scolopax rusticold). There is no good
Woodcock shooting to be had in either county,
although this bird is a regular winter visitor, arriving
towards the end of October in small detachments.

SCOLOPACID^E. 115

The Woodcock is an early breeder, but does not
often remain to breed in this country. However, the
nest has been occasionally taken here. Mr. Royce
found a nest of this bird, in 1857 or 1858, with eggs,
in Winkfield Park. The eggs have been taken near
Beaconsfield, and I procured a good example from a
wood near Burnham in the spring of 1867. A few
pairs have been known to breed for several successive
years near Stoke ; and /this bird has nested in New-
woods, Burnham, for several seasons. The Rev. H.
Burney, of Woburn, wrote Mr. James Britten word
that the Woodcock breeds in the woods at Brickhill,
near Woburn, nearly every year. This bird leaves us,
as a rule, about the end of February.

Mr. Dalziel Mackenzie tells me that he saw eight
Woodcocks on the I3th of December, 1859, near
Fawley, and one of these birds he saw perch on a
large oak, where it remained until disturbed.

COMMON SNIPE (Scolopax gallinago}. This well-
known bird is a winter visitant, and in hard weather
a good many couple are shot along the banks of
the Thames and other rivers, and it may generally
be obtained wherever there is any marshy ground.
The nest of the Snipe is a very slight structure,
and is placed on the ground, well concealed in
long grass, generally in the vicinity of water. A nest
has been several times discovered on East Burnham
Common, where eggs of the Woodcock have also been
taken. Snipe's eggs have been procured from open

I 2

ii6 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

commons in the vicinity of Reading and on the
southern borders of Berkshire. In the severe winter
of 1866-67, during the hard frosts which then prevailed,
Snipe were so tame as to sit on cottage door-steps,
and when disturbed did not fly far.

They are sometimes killed by flying against tele-
graph wires, and in a similar way I have known Land-
rails, Redwings, Blackcocks, and Larks to meet their
death. On the 7th of December, 1867, I was shewn
a Snipe which had been killed in this way, near
Windsor, one wing being cut clean off, and a deep
gash on the head.

The following is from a letter from Mr. Mackenzie : —
1 1 saw a Snipe shot out of a flock of Larks at sixty-
three yards on the hills near Fawley, on the 1st of
November, 1862. I saw a Snipe on the 2Oth of July,
1862, which is unusually early, or late, unless it
was breeding.'

JACK SNIPE (Scolopax gallinuld}. A beautiful and
well-known species, but not so numerous as the last-
named, although, like it, a regular winter visitor. So
far as I am aware, no authenticated instance of its
breeding in Great Britain has ever been recorded.

It reaches us in October, and remains until February.
In the neighbourhood of Chesham it is rare, but Mr.
Bryant Burgess told me of one which was shot near
there, at Missenden, in the month of February, 1842,
and of another which was killed near Slapton in
December, 1848.

ANATIDsE. 117

ORDER V. - NATATORES.
Family — ANATID^E.

BEAN GOOSE (Anser segetum). All the geese which
have occurred in these two counties were observed in
winter, and I am enabled to include in my catalogue
no less than eight species ; viz. the Grey-lag Goose,
the Bean Goose, the White-fronted Goose, the Ber-
nicle Goose, the Brent Goose, the Egyptian Goose,
the Spur-winged, and Canada Goose, a list of which
any inland county may well be proud.

The Bean Goose not unfrequently occurs m hard
weather on the Thames, and is one of the commonest
of the wild geese which have been observed here.
Small flocks are occasionally seen in winter flying
high in air in the shape of the letter < placed hori-
zontally, and I believe that in the majority of cases
a near inspection would have proved these -to be
Bean Geese. Several of this species were seen and
killed in the vicinity of Windsor and Surley in the
hard season of 1866-67 > indeed, almost every winter
a few are shot in this neighbourhood. It is not rare
in cold weather, on the canal at Slapton, and has also
occurred at Chesham and other places.

n8 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

BRENT GOOSE (Anser torquatus). This, the smallest
of the British geese, has been shot in many localities in
the two counties, but it will perhaps not be uninterest-
ing if I enumerate the instances of late years of its
occurrence. In 1865, a person named Bunce shot a pair
of these geese near Datchet ; and it has been obtained
on many other occasions in the vicinity of Windsor and
Eton. One was killed on the Thames near Eton during
the hard winter of 1866-67. Mr. Sharpe told me of one
which was shot in the winter of 1866, on the river near
Cookham. In severe weather small flocks visit the
large reservoirs in the neighbourhood of Drayton
Beauchamp, as the Rev. H. Harpur Crewe was good
enough to write me word. Two were killed at Surley
by an Eton waterman in January, 1867, and many
more were seen at the same time.

Colonel Hawker observes : ' To kill Brent Geese by
day, get out of sight in a small punt, at low water,
and keep as near as possible to the edge of the sea ;
you will then hear them coming like a pack of hounds
in full cry, and they will repeatedly pass within fair
shot, provided you are well concealed, and the weather
is windy enough to make them fly low. Before you
fire at them spring suddenly up, and these awkward
birds will be in such a fright as to hover together, and
present a mark like a barn door.' *

HOOPER (Cygnus ferus). The Hooper, Wild, or
Whistling Swan, is a winter visitor to this country

* ' Instructions to Young Sportsmen.'

ANATID&. u9

and the harder the weather the more numerous is the
species. This bird is more common in the northern
parts of our island than in the southern counties ;
nevertheless a few specimens are- procured every
now and then, even in localities at some distance from
the sea.

I received the following letter from ' a Windsor lad
of 1831 :' — ' I remember about twenty-five years back
a Mr. Hughes, connected with the Royal household?
and well known in Windsor as ' old Buffy Hughes/
shooting in the neighbourhood of Clewer Point,
Windsor, a couple of Hoopers or Wild Swans ; and I
well remember that one was converted into soup, and
most of the people who partook of it were very much
disturbed in their internal economy.'

In the winter of 1835, a man named Kitson shot a
Hooper near Eton, which was taken home by him and
cooked for supper. Another was killed by Mr. G. S.
Lillywhite, of Eton Wick, about the year 1837, on a
piece of ground known as Aldridge's Copse. Some
were procured, twenty years since, in the neighbour-
hood of Burnham, by Mr. Howard of that village. In
the winter of 1862, a couple of Hoopers were killed at
Wraysbury, and stuffed by Mr. Hasell, of Windsor.
Another specimen was shot on the river in the winter
of 1865-66. Others have been brought at various
times to the Eton and Windsor birdstuffers, but the
dates of their occurrence have been forgotten.

I am told by Mr. D. Mackenzie, that seven were

120 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

seen for some days in some meadows near Fawley
and Greenlands, Bucks, during December, 1860, and
January, 1861. Two were afterwards shot at Med-
menham.

One was killed on the Thames, on a cold day in
1 86 1, not far from Windsor; and the Rev. F. Morris
states on the authority of Mr. Wilmot that a flock of
five appeared in January, 1855, between the village of
Cookham and Maidenhead, of which two were shot.
A few occasionally rest for a time on the river in
winter before continuing their journey, but this is not
often the case. This Swan has been procured near
Chesham, and at Surley, where several have been shot
in severe seasons by the Thames watermen. It has
also occurred at Cookham.

In the winter of 1838, a couple of Hoopers were
shot by a bargeman named Plumbridge, just above
Surley Hall; and I am indebted to the Rev. Bryant
Burgess for the notice of one which was killed on the
water at Latimer a few years ago, and which is now
in the collection of Lord Chesham.

On the 2 ist of February, 1864, five Wild Swans
were seen at Fawley, and with them were two Mute
Swans, which they had probably enticed away from
some private water. The two latter were killed, but
the Hoopers flew westward over the Chiltern Hills.

The Rev. H. H. Crewe states that the Hooper
occasionally visits the reservoirs at Wilstone and
Marsworth in severe winters.

ANATID&. i2i

Many do not know the Wild Swan from the Mute
or tame species, but the chief distinction is the bill,
which in the domestic bird has the base brownish-
black and the extremity yellow, and in the Wild Swan
vice versa, the base being yellow and extremity black.

SHOVELER (Anas clypeatd}. This handsome bird
has occurred in various parts of the two counties, where
it is a winter visitor, although not a common one.

In 1855 a male was killed by Mr. Newman, on the
river Thames at Datchet. Another male Shoveler
was shot by Mr. Howard, of Burnham, in the winter
of 1862-63, at Hay mill-pond in Burnham parish; he
had it stuffed, and I examined it at his house. In
1867 an adult female of this species was procured
near Wraysbury towards the end of September — an
early date for this bird to come so far south. I am
informed by the Rev. H. Harpur Crewe that small
flocks of the Shoveler visit the reservoirs at Wilstone,
Marsworth, and Weston Turville, during inclement
seasons, but it is never a common bird there.

GAD WALL (A nas strepera). The Gad wall, or Grey
Duck, is an uncommon bird, and is only introduced
here as a winter visitant on the authority of the Rev.
H. Harpur Crewe, of Drayton Beauchamp, who wrote
me word that this species has occasionally been killed
on the reservoirs at Marsworth and Wilstone.

Montagu says that this bird is supposed to breed
in Sweden and Russia, and probably in Siberia, being
found in those countries in spring. The Gadwall is

122 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

an excellent diver, and like most long-winged ducks
is a bird of powerful flight. It feeds chiefly during
the night, and has a loud note, not unlike the noise
made by the Mallard.

PINTAIL (Anas acutd}. Although this duck is a
common winter visitor on our shores, it is not so often
met with inland. The following instances of its occur-
rence in these counties have come under my notice.

A male Pintail, in first-rate plumage, is in the col-
lection of Mr. Ferryman, at Datchet ; it was shot on
a sheet of ice in Stoke Park, by a man named Gregory,
in the winter of 1863. The female bird which was in
company with it contrived to escape.

The Rev. H. H. Crewe states that this species visits
the reservoirs at Marsworth, Wilstone, and Weston
Turville, every winter in considerable numbers.

Colonel Montagu states that the note of this bird
is very soft and inward ; the courting note is always
accompanied by a jerk of the head, and its other note
bears a striking resemblance to the cry of a young
kitten. The flight of the Pintail is very rapid.

WILD DUCK (Anas boschas). Although a few pairs
of the Wild Duck remain in these counties to breed
every summer, for the most part this species is only
a winter visitor, and in inclement seasons immense
flocks pass over, occasionally dropping down on the
rivers and secluded ponds to rest, until driven away
by the persecutions of sportsmen. White varieties
have occasionally been procured, and I have met with

ANATID^E. 123

pied specimens which have been killed in the neigh-
bourhood. A purely albino drake of this species
was shot on the ornamental water in Stoke Park a few
winters ago by Mr. Newman, of Datchet ; and a pied
Wild Duck is in the possession of Mr. Howard, of
Burnham, which was killed in that vicinity.

The common Wild Duck has been known to breed
in confinement with the Egyptian Goose, the Pintail
and Muscovy Ducks, and the Shelldrake.*

GARGANEY (Anas querqueduld). Not a common
species, but my friend the Rev. H. H. Crewe, of
Drayton Beauchamp, has enabled me to place it on
my list of winter visitants to these counties.

The Garganey has been several times obtained on
the reservoirs at Marsworth and Wilstone in cold
weather, but I believe it has never been known to
frequent these sheets of water during the summer
months.

TEAL (Anas creccd). This handsome little duck is
a regular winter visitor, and is often shot on the reser-
voirs, streams, and rivers of both counties. The Teal
does not often remain to nest in England, but I am
happy to be enabled to give more than one authen-
ticated instance of its breeding in Buckinghamshire.
In the summer of 1861 two nests of this species
were discovered among some moss and rank herbage

* A capital account of the system of working the decoys, as prac-
tised formerly (and now to a certain extent) in Lincolnshire, Essex, &c.
is given by Yarrell in his ' British Birds,' vol. iii. pp. 265 — 268.

124 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

growing by the side of a pond near Burnham : it is
probable that the birds had bred there previously.
The Rev. H. H. Crewe, from whom I have received
so many interesting ornithological notes, informed
me that he had taken the nest of this bird by the
banks of the Wilstone and Marsworth reservoirs,
where this species breeds in limited numbers almost
every season. This statement is confirmed by the
Rev. James Williams, of Tring Park, who has also
taken the eggs at Wilstone.

WlGEON (Anas penelope}. This species appears in
limited numbers every winter on the Thames, Colne,
Chess, and the Kennett. Wigeons have been shot
at various times near Windsor, Eton, Cookham,
Datchet, Maidenhead, Surley Hall, and other places,
and have occasionally been killed on the water at
Latimer, near Chesham. The Rev. H. Harpur Crewe
states that immense flocks appear during winter on
the large reservoirs at Weston Turville, Marsworth,
and Wilstone, and I have received notices of the
occurrence of this bird in many other localities. The
late Mr. Waterton observed that contrary to the usual
habit of ducks the Wigeon feeds by day, and its food
consists chiefly of grass. 'The Wigeon,' says that
accurate observer, ' is a much more familiar bird than
either the Pochard or the Teal. While these congre-
gate on the water, beyond the reach of man, the
Wigeon appears to have divested itself of the timidity
observable in all other species of wild-fowl, and ap-

ANATID&. 125

preaches very near to our habitations. A consider-
able time elapsed before I was enabled to account
satisfactorily for the Wigeon's remaining here during
the night ; a circumstance directly at variance with
habits of its* congeners, which, to a bird, pass the night
away from the place where they have been staying
during the day. But, upon paying a much closer
attention to it than I had formerly been accustomed
to do, I observed that it differed from them all, both
in the nature of its food, and in the time of procuring
it. The Mallard, the Pochard, and the Teal, obtain
nearly the whole of their nourishment during the night.
On the contrary, the Wigeon procures its food in the
day time, and that food is grass.'

My friend Captain Henry Elwes, of the Scots
Fusileer Guards, tells me that a pair of Wigeons were
observed frequenting the reed and osier beds on the
banks of the Thames, between Windsor and Datchet, as
late as the month of May, 1860. They were supposed
to have a nest there, but it was never discovered.

COMMON SCOTER (Oidemia nigra). Like the last-
named, a winter visitor, but of more rare occurrence.
The flesh of this bird has a very fishy taste, and is
but little esteemed for the table. Mr. Yarrell gives
an interesting account, which I shall quote, of the
manner in which these birds are taken on the salt-
lakes near Martignes, at the mouth of the Rhone.
He says : 'These numerous salt-lakes are frequented
in winter by large flocks of aquatic birds. With the

126 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

first appearance of frost the Scoters and other ducks
arrive in small flocks, and a destructive sort of battue
takes place, in which all who can are induced to par-
ticipate with great eagerness. About Christmas, when
the Scoters have made their appearance, printed bills
are posted at Marseilles, Aix, and all the principal
places in the vicinity, stating the intended order of
attack upon the birds, and the day and hour at which
it is to take place. The mayors of two or three of the
principal places make the necessary arrangements ; on
the eve of the day fixed upon all the shooters are
divided into parties, and each has a boat, a pilot, and
a commander appointed.

'The assemblage is large, filling the inns and the
lodgings to be had at private houses. In the morning,
at the sound of a drum, the embarkation takes place
on the lake named for the first attempt. The boats
filled with sportsmen form an extended circle around
the flocks of birds at one part of the lake ; the boats
then draw in, diminishing the circle by degrees till the
crews are within gunshot of the intended victims.

' At a well-known and preconcerted signal, a par-
tial discharge takes place at the unfortunate birds
while swimming on the surface of the water. Many
are killed on the spot ; those which escape this first
fire attempt to save themselves by flight, when a
second discharge assails them in the air ; many more
fall, and with broken wings and loud cries are picked
up by the shooters, who divide the spoil, not without

ANATID&. 127

many altercations, and return to land. After a short
respite, the birds having again collected together on
that or some .other neighbouring lake, a second
advance takes place in the same manner, and the
day is passed in making a succession of attacks, each
followed by a retreat for a time to allow the birds to
reassemble.'*

The Scoter has been observed on the reservoirs
near Tring and Drayton Beauchamp ; and in trie
winter of 1862, a specimen of this bird was shot
while flying over a piece of ornamental water at
Datchet, and was taken for preservation to one of the
Eton birdstuffers. Another was procured near Cook-
ham, in Berkshire, in the winter of 1865, by a man
named Godden, who is employed as a ferryman
below Cookham bridge, and passed into the possession
of Mr. Charles Venables, by whom it was unfor-
tunately not preserved : this bird was a male, in full
plumage. Mr. R. B. Sharpe wrote me word of
another good example of this species, which was
shot on Mr. Palmer's estate, near Reading, in the
month of July, 1867, an unusual date for the appear-
ance of this bird inland. It was sent to Mr. Briggs,
at Cookham, in order to be stuffed, but by the time
it reached him it was so much decomposed as to
render its preservation hopeless.

POCHARD (Fuligula ferina). The Rev. H. H.
Crewe states that this duck is a common winter

* YarrelFs ' British Birds,' vol. in., pp. 319, 320.

128 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

visitor to the reservoirs near Drayton Beauchamp,
but it is rare on our rivers, although a few have at
various times been obtained during severe winters.
In a letter bearing date the 6th February, 1868,
my friend Mr. R. B. Sharpe observed that he had a
fine male of this species in his collection, which was
killed some years ago at Cookham. The Rev.
Bryant Burgess informed me of another Pochard, also
a male, in his possession, which was shot at Ivinghoe
Aston in February, 1847. Several birds of this
species were obtained near Windsor in the inclement
winter of 1858, and others have been met with in that
neighbourhood more recently. The last Pochard
which came under my notice was a male bird, now in
the collection of Mr. Sharpe, which was shot on the
river at Cookham on the I3th of January, 1868. The
Rev. H. H. Crewe states that the Pochard has, on two
occasions, been known to breed on the water near
Drayton Beauchamp. A nest containing eggs was
taken in June, 1850, at the Marsworth reservoir by
a gamekeeper of the Rev. James Williams, of Tring
Park : and a few years later, a pair of Pochards
nested on the banks of the same piece of water. For-
tunately, these birds were allowed to hatch out their
eggs in security. The Rev. J. Williams, to whom I
have just referred, has taken Pochard's eggs at the
Wilstone reservoir, where he believes that this species,
in common with the Teal, breeds in limited numbers
every year.

ANATID&. 129

SCAUP DUCK (Fuligula mania). An uncommon
winter visitor here, although often enough procured
during hard weather on the sea-coast, and at the
mouths of rivers. It is a very expert diver, and its
food consists of aquatic plants, insects, and mussels.
From the nature of its food its flesh is naturally
coarse and tough, and hence it is held in no estima-
tion for the table. On the 26th of January, 1855,
the Rev. B. Burgess observed a female Scaup Duck
swimming about in company with Coots and Dab-
chicks on the water in the park at Latimer, near
Chesham, which was not frozen ; and a few days
afterwards Mr. Elliott, of Chesham Bois Mill, sent
him a Scaup which he had just shot on the stream.
The Rev. H. Crewe states that it is an occasional
winter visitant to the Wilstone reservoir ; and I have
no doubt but that specimens have been killed on the
Thames at various times.

TUFTED DUCK (Fuligula cristata). The Tufted
Duck, or Tufted Pochard, is a common winter visi-
tant at the Marsworth and Wilstone reservoirs, but it
does not so often occur on our rivers. The Rev.
B. Burgess informed me that Mr. Elliott, of Ches-
ham Bois, sent him a Tufted Duck one day in
February 1855, which had been shot on a stream of
water in the neighbourhood. Mr. Burgess states
that he has repeatedly observed these ducks on the
water at Latimer. Mr. Hasell, of Windsor, received
some Tufted Ducks for preservation which were shot

K

130 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

in Berkshire in the winter of 1858-59, and he told me
of others which were obtained on the river near
Windsor in 1864 and 1865. Mrs. DeVitre's collection
of stuffed birds at Formosa contains a fine male
Tufted Duck, which was shot by Mr. J. Ford during
severe weather some few winters ago.

Mr. Dalziel Mackenzie, of Henley, has informed
me that he has known of several ducks of this species
which have been killed on the Thames in severe
winters.

GOLDEN-EYE (Fuligula clangula). A winter visi-
tant, but never appearing in any great numbers. It
is a handsome species, and an expert diver. Owing
to the nature of its food, the flesh is not very palata-
ble, and the Golden-eye therefore, is held in little
estimation for the table.

The Rev. H. Harpur Crewe informs me that it is
a regular visitor, in winter, to the reservoirs near
Drayton Beauchamp, appearing in larger numbers
according to the severity of the season. About the
year 1854, three of these birds were shot out of a
little flock by Mr. S. Hall, of Windsor, on the
Thames at Boveney Lock. Mr. Hasell told me that
he had a pair of Golden-eyes about ten years ago
which were shot at Wraysbury. I have seen several
preserved birds which had been killed near Eton,
Datchet, Surley, and Windsor. My friend, Mr. R.
B. Sharpe, told me that the Golden-eye is often found
in the neighbourhood of Cookham during severe

ANATID^E. 131

weather and when floods are prevalent. Mrs. De
Vitre's collection at Formosa contains a fine male of
this species which was procured in the immediate
neighbourhood, and Mr. Briggs once saw a flock of
five of these ducks swimming about some flooded
meadows near Cockmarsh.

RED-BREASTED MERGANSER (Mergus serrator).
A winter visitor, though not common. The Rev. H.
Harpur Crewe informs me that small parties of four
or five are observed upon the reservoir at Wilstone
almost every year. Occasionally individuals are shot
on the Thames.

A pair of Red-breasted Mergansers are recorded
as having been killed near Reading, so long ago as
1785. A female of this species was shot at Wrays-
bury in the winter of 1854, and was stuffed by Mr.
Hasell of Windsor. I am indebted to Mr. R. B. Sharpe
for the notice of a female Red-breasted Merganser,
which was kilted during a frost a few years since in
the neighbourhood of Cookham, and is now in the
collection of Mrs. De Vitre*.

GOOSANDER {Mergus Merganser). Local names,
Saw-billed Diver and Dun-Diver. An uncommon
winter visitant. Of late years the following parti-
culars of the occurrence of this species have come
under my notice.

In 1847 a carpenter killed a fine male on the
Thames, near Monkey Island : this bird is now in
the collection of Mr. Harding. An adult male was

K 2

132 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

obtained at Wraysbury in the winter of 1856: this
specimen was preserved by Mr. Hasell, of Windsor.
A female, in excellent plumage, was procured on the
river near Datchet, in the winter of 1860. Many
years ago several were taken near Windsor, and
brought to the Windsor taxidermists for preservation.
A female was shot by Mr. G. Lillywhite, of Eton
Wick, at Boveney Locks, in January, 1864, while
endeavouring to elude the attack of some Swans.
A man named Godden, who has charge of the lock at
Cookham, has a Goosander which he shot in that
neighbourhood in the winter of 1866. One was seen
on the Thames, near Eton, by a working man, late
in the afternoon of the 3ist of October, 1867.

Scarcely a winter elapses in which a few Goosanders
are not shot on the Thames ; and in hard weather this
species is often found on the reservoirs near Drayton
Beauchamp.

Family — COLYMBID'^:.

SCLAVONIAN GREBE (Podiceps cornutus}. Also
called the Horned and Dusky Grebe, the latter name
being probably given to it from the sombre colour of
the immature plumage.

In the winter of 1858 a Sclavonian Grebe was shot
in the neighbourhood of Windsor, and was taken for
preservation to Mr. Hasell of that town, who in-
formed me that he had had several which had been
taken at various times in Berkshire, but none of these

COLYMBID&. 133

were in the summer dress. Another specimen, in very
fair plumage, was killed on i/th January, 1861, on
a quiet pool known as Charley Tull's pool just below
the Windsor weir on the Thames. This bird was
shot by Mr. H. Taylor, and is now in the possession of
Mr. Harding, of Eton. A birdstuffer at Windsor, by
name Hall, was driving by the Victoria Bridge, on the
Thames, in the early part of 1858, and observed a
Sclavonian Grebe on the wing ; wishing to obtain it
for his collection, and not knowing at the time what
bird it was, he went home and returned in about half
an hour with his gun. He then saw the bird swim-
ming about in the middle of the river, and was about
to shoot it, when his brother, who had accompanied
him, advised him to send in his retriever to endeavour
to catch it, or make it rise, and thus get a better
shot. The dog accordingly went in and swam up to
the Grebe, which, curiously enough, did not attempt
to escape by flying or diving, but allowed itself to be
caught and brought to land. It was then found to be
a fine male Sclavonian Grebe. It is still, I believe, in
Mr. Hall's possession.

With respect to the present species, Mr, Sharpe
writes to me as follows : —

'My friend Charles Venables, Esq. bought a nice
specimen of the Sclavonian Grebe, which had been
shot in the winter of 1865. It was procured by a
man named Godden, close to Cookham Bridge, and
is still in the possession of Mr. Venables.'

134 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

On the Qth of December, 1867, a Grebe of this
species was killed upon the Thames at Datchet, and
passed into Mr. Ferryman's hands for preservation.
About the same time I heard of another specimen of
this bird which was shot on the Thames, close to
Eton.

RED-THROATED DIVER (Colymbus septentrionalis).
Local name, Silver Grebe. This is the commonest of
the three species of Divers, and some are killed on
the river nearly every winter, especially if the weather
happens to be severe. A male bird of this species,
in good plumage, was killed by Mr. S. Hall, of
Windsor, on the water opposite Clewer Mill : this
was in the depth of a severe winter, about fifteen
years ago. A young one was shot on the Thames,
close to the village of Datchet, in the winter of
1863-64, and was stuffed by Mr. Ferryman. Several
examples have occurred near Maidenhead and Surley ;
others have been shot on the river at Windsor,
always in winter. Individuals have been taken at
Reading and Hungerford; and a single bird of this
species was procured near Burnham some years since.

A Red-throated Diver is preserved in the fine col-
lection at Formosa, near Cookham, which was shot
in the immediate neighbourhood by Mr. Briggs, a
few winters ago.

An immature bird was shot opposite Tull's Lock,
Windsor, by a man named Joel, in 1864; it was
described to me as a ' Silver Grebe,' but on inspection

LARID&. 135

turned out to be a Red-throated Diver. Old birds of
this species are seldom met with ; in the majority of
cases the birds obtained have been immature. An
Eton birdstuffer, named Drye, informed me that he
generally received a few of these Divers every year
from the vicinity of Eton, Surley, and Datchet.

Family — LARIM:.

HERRING GULL (Larus argentatus}. This Gull,
which is numerous on many parts of our coast,
occasionally strays inland during severe weather, and
may then be found upon the river. Mr. Morris states,
on the authority of Mr. Thomas Wilmot, that a
Herring Gull was captured between Maidenhead and
Windsor, on or about the 25th of January, 1855. In
the hard winter of 1866-67 several were observed
flying over the flooded fields between Surley and
Eton : and this species has occurred at other times,
but I am. ignorant of the dates.

j c|jms|jeb fblbs put on %ir fainter robe
purest foljite. fjje fofals of

bg t^e cmel season, trofeb
binnoioing stort, anb tiaim fyt little boon

tjj ^robibntce assigns t^m/

THOMSON.

SPRING AND AUTUMN VISITORS.

rQ'VQv

KJyO-"""

ORDER II.— INSESSORES.
Tribe — DENTIROSTRES. Family — MERULID^E.

RING OUSEL (Turdus torquatus}. A passing visitor
in spring and autumn, but never appearing in any
numbers, and generally considered a rare bird in
these counties.

A female of this species was shot at Risborough in
the spring of 1840, and is now in the collection of
the Rev. B. Burgess ; who informed me that he saw a
male in his garden, at Latimer, near Chesham, on the
9th of September, 1862. A pair of Ring Ousels were
observed during the same autumn at Dundridge, and
in the neighbourhood of Wendover.

In 1865, a fine male Ring Ousel was killed on the
Bath Road, Burnham, by the gamekeeper of Mr. G.
Howard. Several of the Eton birdstuffers state that
specimens of this bird have passed through their
hands at various times, but they are unable to
specify any dates. Mr. George Lillywhite shot a

MERULID^E. 137

Ring Ousel a few years ago at Eton Wick ; and I
have lately examined two stuffed specimens which
were procured near Windsor about twenty years
ago. A male Ring Ousel was procured at Cookham
Dean, near Cookham, early in the spring of 1867, as
I was informed by my friend Mr. R. B. Sharpe ; who
added that Mr. Brown, of Cookham Dean, had an-
other specimen in his possession, which was shot a
few years since in the neighbourhood of Stoke.

The Rev. H. Crewe states that a few Ring Ousels
are observed every year during the vernal and autum-
nal migrations, in the neighbourhood of Drayton
Beauchamp;

The Rev. F. O. Morris says that he has seen one
or two Ring Ousels in the parish of East Garstone,
near Lambourne, in Berkshire. One of these was
killed by the late Rev. Henry Boys.

138 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

ORDER III.— RASORES.

Family — TETRAONID^E.

COMMON QUAIL (Coturnix vulgaris). A visitor
in spring and autumn, arriving in May and leaving
this country again in the autumn. Though not
common, a few are shot every autumn in both coun-
ties : a number of Quails were turned out by some
gentlemen residing in the neighbourhood of Windsor,
and this fact may account for the statement that
the Quail is more common here than in many other
localities.

The majority of the Quails which are obtained in
Berkshire and Buckinghamshire are shot either in
May or September, few, except semi-domesticated
birds, being seen or procured in the intervening
months. On the 6th of September, 1842, the Rev. B.
Burgess put up a Quail in a wheat stubble near Bled-
low, but did not kill it, and was unable to flush it a
second time. A female of this species, in the same
gentleman's collection, was shot near Eddlesborough
on the 1st of September, 1846. Three or four Quails
were killed in the parish of Wargrave, during the

TETRAONID&. 139

autumns of 1861 and 1862. On the 2d of September,
1867, a single Quail was shot by Mr. J. T. Brown,
of Eton, while out partridge-shooting on Skippit's
farm, near the New Lodge, Windsor. Others have
been procured near Eton in the autumn, and occa-
sionally the species has occurred at Cookham, East
Ilsley, Wallingford, Newbury, Reading, Langley
Park, and Chesham. Mr. Morris states, on the
authority of Mr. Hewet, that this bird is common
in some parts of Berkshire, while in others it is
hardly ever seen. Mr. D. Mackenzie shot one and
flushed three Quails near Fawley, Bucks, on the 5th
of October, 1867. The nest has been taken on the
moors about the Harbridge flats, on the borders of
Berkshire and Surrey. A nest was cut out of a hay-
field near Bolney Harpenden, in the spring of 1866.

The Rev. H. Harpur Crewe informed me that a
few Quails are killed near Drayton Beauchamp al-
most every September. The Formosa collection
contains a Quail, which was shot by Mr. Briggs, on
some chalky ground near Cockmarsh, where these
birds were not uncommon a few years ago.

THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

ORDER IV.— GRALLATORES.
Family — CHARADRIID^:.

DOTTEREL (Charadrius morinellus]. At the end
of April and beginning of May, small flocks or 'trips'
of Dotterel begin to frequent many of the hills and
chalky uplands of the two counties.

Mr. Gould states that they are usually found be-
tween April 15 and May 15, on the Chilton ranges
of hills in Berkshire. In the spring of 1857, a f£W °f
these birds were shot in a field near Burnham. They
are rarely seen in the vicinity of Eton and Windsor ;
but a man named Hall has occasionally killed one or
two in May, and specimens have been obtained near
Datchet, and at Boveney Locks. One of the Eton
birdstuffers has had Dotterel brought to him at
different times, and Mr. Hasell, of Windsor, has
procured a few in the month of April. Dotterel
have been shot in the neighbourhood of Maiden-
head and Surley. The species has occurred in
Berkshire according to Yarrell, and Mr. Sharpe has
known instances of its appearance near Cookham.
The Dotterel has been procured in the neighbour-
hood of Aylesbury and Drayton Beauchamp.

CHARADRIID&. 141

The Rev. H. Harpur Crewe has an adult male
of this species, which was killed by a keeper of Earl
Brownlow's, on the I4th of August, 1862, in a corn-
field near Ivinghoe, Buckinghamshire. The female
bird was shot at the same time, but it dropped in
a dell among some rushes, and was for a time lost.
Some children subsequently found it, and took it
home to their mother, who cooked it for dinner.

A Dotterel was shot near Reading some time
since ; and another was procured near Beaconsfield.

In 1856 and 1858, several birds of this species were
killed by Mr. Henry Taylor, on the banks of the
river near Windsor.

Mr. Frank Collins has frequently observed these
birds at Betterton, Wantage : he says they are exceed-
ingly silly birds, and that many are shot there. As
to its foolish qualities, Drayton, in his ' Polyolbion/
quoted by Yarrell, says : —

' The Dotterel, which we think a very dainty dish,
Whose taking makes such sport, as no man more can wish ;
For as you creep, or cower, or lie, or stoop, or go,
So, marking you with care, the apish bird doth do ;
And acting everything, doth never mark the net,
'Till he be in the snare which men for him have set.'

I am informed by my friend Mr. R. B. Sharpe
that a ' trip ' of Dotterel was seen some years since
on Cockmarsh Common, near Cookham.

RINGED PLOVER (Charadrins hiaticula). The
Ringed Dotterel, or Stone-runner, is a regular visitor
to the banks of the Thames and the large reservoirs

142 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

during the vernal and autumnal migrations : it usually
arrives at the end of April or early in May. George
Hall, of Eton, has often shot this bird near Windsor,
and it is not unfrequently brought to the Eton and
Windsor birdstuffers for preservation. It has been
observed near Wantage and in the vicinity of Reading,
and I believe on the Chiltern Hills. Specimens have
been obtained near Aylesbury, and in open fields near
the large reservoirs at Drayton Beauchamp. It has
been observed also at Datchet and near Maidenhead.

One was killed by Mr. H. Daly, about the year
1848, in a field called the 'Brocas,' on the banks of
the river near Eton.

I am indebted to Mr. Sharpe for a notice of a
Ringed Plover which was shot by Mr. J. Ford, of Cook-
ham, on Cockmarsh Common about five years ago.

Family — SCOLOPACID^E.

COMMON CURLEW (Numenius arquatd). Provin-
cial, Whaup. Visits the banks of the Thames and
the large sheets of water near Drayton Beauchamp
while on its annual migration in the spring and
autumn ; and occasionally a few are observed in
the winter months. This bird has been shot near
Chesham, Cookham, Maidenhead, Surley, Windsor,
and Datchet, and from other localities along the
river I have received notices of its occurrence. Mr.
Howard has occasionally shot Curlews near Woburn,
and on the Chiltern Hills.

SCOLOPACID&. • 143

While walking late in autumn in the neighbourhood
of Slough and Chalvey, I have listened with pleasure
to the wild and plaintive note of the Curlew, which
may usually be heard before the bird which utters it
is seen ; and I have occasionally seen a Curlew flying
high in the air, over Windsor Park.

WHIMBREL (Numenius ph&opus)* Not so common
a species as the last-mentioned, but occasionally a
specimen is killed on the river in spring and autumn,
at which season, as is the case with most of the Oral-
latores, a regular migration takes place.

The Whimbrel has been met with near Cookham
and Surley ; and the Rev. Harpur Crewe sent me
the following note on the occurrence of this species
near Drayton Beauchamp : — ' A few specimens of the
Whimbrel are seen almost every winter on the banks
of the reservoirs here ;' that is to say, the Marsworth
reservoir, belonging to the Paddington Canal Com-
pany ; the Weston Turville sheet of water ; and the
canals at Halton and Wilstone.

GREEN SANDPIPER ( Tetanus ocliropus). The Green
Sandpiper is not a common bird, but is occasionally
seen during the period of the vernal and autumnal
migration. Mr. Gould-f- says that he is indebted to
the Duke of Argyle for the opportunity of examining

* In some counties the local name for this bird is the Titterel, from its
note which Yarrell renders by the words * tetty, tetty, tetty, tet,' which
are quickly repeated.

+ ' Birds of Great Britain.'

144 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

a very fine specimen of the Green Sandpiper, which
was shot by His Grace in the spring of 1859, at
Chenies, in Buckinghamshire ; which, he adds, ' does
not seem a suitable locality for such a bird.' The
plumage of this bird was remarkably beautiful \ the
white of the lower parts, and the upper and under
tail-coverts, were of a spotless purity. A second was
shot on Dorney Common, near Eton, by Mr. S. Hall,
of Windsor, in the autumn of 1863 : this was a male,
but Mr. Hall saw another bird, probably the female,
at the same time. Mr. D. Mackenzie informs me
that he very frequently observed a pair of these birds
near Fawley, in December, 1864. He shot one on
the 24th of December, and the other on the nth of
February, 1865. Early in the winter of 1865, two
of these Sandpipers were seen on the same common
by Mr. Ferry, of Eton, who shot one of them, and
has preserved it in his collection.

My friend Mr. R. B. Sharpe informed me that a
fine male of this species, now in the collection of
Mrs. De Vitre, was shot in the winter of 1865, while
flying along the Thames, near Cookham. In the
spring of 1867, another example was killed on the
banks of the Thames near Surley : I examined this
bird, and the man to whom it belonged gravely
informed me that it was a Godwit ! The Rev. H.
Crewe wrote me word that the Green Sandpiper is
observed to frequent the reservoirs and canals near
Drayton Beauchamp in small parties every winter.

SCOLOPACID^E. 145

And a bird of this species, in the collection of the
Rev. B. Burgess, was shot many years ago in the
neighbourhood of Risborough.

When flushed at a brookside, the Green Sandpiper
utters a shrill note, and generally follows the windings
of the stream, flying at no great height above the
surface of the water. It may always be recognised
on the wing by its white upper tail-coverts, the spot-
lessness of which contrasts strongly with the dark
greenish colour of the back and wings.

GREENSHANK (Totamis glottis}. An uncommon
species, although occasionally obtained during the
spring and autumn months, when, like many others
of the Totanidce, it performs its usual migration.

It is sometimes, though rarely, observed on the
banks of the Thames ; and I have heard of some
specimens which were obtained near Windsor, and
preserved by one of our local birdstuffers. The Rev.
B. Burgess, of Latimer, near Chesham, has a Green-
shank in his collection which was shot in his neigh-
bourhood many years ago. Yarrell states that Mr.
Jesse forwarded him a note of one of these birds
which was killed on Ascot Heath, not far from the
house of Mr. Davis, the well-known hunter of Her
Majesty's stag-hounds.

DUNLIN (Tringa variabilis). During the spring
and autumn the Dunlin is a passing visitant to the
banks of the Thames ; where, however, it is never
very common. It is locally called the Summer Snipe,

L

146 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

a name which is also bestowed upon the Common
Sandpiper. The Rev. H. H. Crewe states that small
flocks of Dunlins frequent the Wilstone and Mars-
worth reservoirs every year during the early spring,
and a few are again observed in the autumn. The
Windsor bird-stuffers occasionally receive specimens
for preservation which have been obtained in the
neighbourhood. The Rev. George Jeans records in
the Naturalist that he has shot the Dunlin near
Windsor and at various places along the banks of
the Thames.

LARID&. 147

ORDER V.— NATATORES.

Family — LARID^E.

COMMON TERN (Sterna hirundo). There is perhaps
scarcely a more graceful bird on the wing than the
Tern, or Sea Swallow as it is called ; and it is a
pleasing sight to watch a party of these birds on a
calm day hovering over the receding waves, and
anon darting down to secure their slippery prey for
their young further up on the beach.

This species, like the Arctic, Black, and Lesser
Terns, is a passing visitor in spring and autumn,
though individuals are occasionally seen during the
winter months. A common Tern was killed by
Mr. Hall, of Windsor, in the month of November,
1865, as it was skimming over the Thames near
Boveney Locks. Specimens have been obtained at
Amersham ; and Mr. Burgess informs me that it has
been met with near Slapton. In the autumn of the
year 1848, Mr. H. Daly killed one of these birds in a
field near Eton, called the * Brocas.' Another was
shot by Mr. Howard, in 1851, at a place called Lake-
end, not far from Burnham. This Tern is occasionally

L 2

148 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

observed flying over the reservoirs at Drayton Beau-
champ at the time of its migration. Several others
have come under my notice which have been procured
in this neighbourhood in autumn, but the exact dates
of their occurrence could not be ascertained. An
immature Common Tern, in the collection of Mr.
Sharpe, was shot a few years since at Cookham.
Another, in the possession of Mr. Mills of Bisham,
was killed near that place by himself. Mr. Gould
told me that while on the river near Maidenhead,
towards the end of May, 1866, he shot a common
Tern together with an Arctic and Black Tern, all of
which are now preserved in the collection of Mr.
Grefell, at Taplow Court. Mr. Dalziel Mackenzie
wrote me word that this bird has been observed
flying over the Thames near Pangbourne.

ARCTIC TERN (Sterna arcticd). This species had
long been confounded with the Common Tern, which
it closely resembles, but the distinctive characters of
both have been pointed out by Mr. Temminck (Man.
d'Ornith.), and more recently and clearly by Mr.
Harting, in his ' Birds of Middlesex.' It is occasion-
ally obtained in the counties of Buckinghamshire and
Berkshire during the periodical migrations in spring
and autumn, but it is never at any time numerous.
The Arctic Tern is occasionally seen at the Mars-
worth and Wilstone reservoirs, and at other large
sheets of water in the two counties. Many years
ago Mr. H. Daly shot one of these birds in autumn,

LARIDAL. 149

near Eton ; and in November, 1865, an Arctic Tern
was obtained at Boveney Locks. I have seen seve-
ral preserved specimens which had been killed at
various times in the immediate neighbourhood of
Windsor. Towards the end of May, 1866, Mr. Gould
killed one near Maidenhead,* which he afterwards
preserved.

LESSER TERN (Sterna minutd). Local name, Little
Sea Swallow. This Tern is a summer visitor to
England, and has on several occasions been shot
on the Thames in spring and autumn. It does not
appear to be at all an uncommon bird, and the fol-
lowing is a summary of the more recent instances of
its occurrence in these counties, so far as I have been
able to ascertain.

One was killed while flying about the canal at Slap-
ton, in May, 1850, as I was told, by the Rev. Bryant
Burgess, of Latimer, near Chesham. In the month
of July, 1867, I examined a bird of this species which
had been shot a few days previously on the river near
Windsor. Others occurred about ten years since near
the same place, and I have seen several more which
have been procured in the vicinity of Eton at different
times. Mr. R. B. Sharpe informed me that an imma-
ture specimen of the Lesser Tern was presented to
him, which had been shot at Cookham Grove a few
years ago.

BLACK TERN (Sterna nigra}. Local name, Black

* Vide Common and Black Terns.

150 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

Sea Swallow. This handsome Tern is not such an
uncommon bird as is usually supposed, and is a
visitant here in spring and autumn, while on its way
to and from its breeding stations.

The Rev. Bryant Burgess, of Chesham, informed
me that a Black Tern was taken at Risborough not
long since ; and the Rev. George Jeans says that he
has seen this species at Windsor. He records in the
Naturalist, vol. ii. p. 75, that a shoemaker named
Wrigginton, shot one of these Terns at Eton in 1825,
and had it preserved there.

In the spring of 1847, a good specimen of this bird
was shot by an Eton birdstuffer named Fisher, while
it was flying over the Thames between Surley Hall
and Eton Wick. A few years since, in autumn,
during the prevalence of an equinoctial gale, Mr.
Drye, of Eton, shot a young bird of this species on
the river near Windsor ; and he has in his collection
another, an adult bird, which was procured in the
same neighbourhood some years later. A male Black
Tern was killed by Mr. George Lillywhite, of Eton
Wick, in the last week of September, 1866, as it was
flying along the banks of the Thames just above
Surley ; and an Eton taxidermist, named Hall,
informed me that he had received several of these
birds for preservation, most of which had been pro-
cured in the spring.

The Black Tern has occasionally been observed near
Maidenhead and Datchet. Towards the end of May,

THE BLACK TERN.

Sterna nigra.

LARID&. i5 1

1866, five Terns were seen by Mr. Briggs, of Cook-
ham, flying about the river Thames, near Woburn,
and two of these were shot, and are now in the col-
lection of Mr. R. B. Sharpe. They proved to be a male
and female of the Black Tern, and the ovary of the
latter contained minute eggs. Mr. Gould happened
to be on the river, near Maidenhead, the same after-
noon, and killed the three remaining birds ; which, as
he told me, were curiously enough, all of different
species, the Common, Arctic, and Black Terns. These
are now in the possession of Mr. Grefell, of Taplow
Court, to whom Mr. Gould presented them.

BLACK-HEADED GULL (Larus ridibundus). A
bird of this species in the fully adult plumage, is surely
one of the prettiest of the Laridce. For the last four
years I have observed small parties of them on the
Thames in spring, and a few are again observed in
autumn on their return from their breeding grounds.
I have seen several preserved specimens which had
been shot in both counties. This Gull, more than any
others of the genus, appears to prefer the neighbour-
hood of fresh water. The Rev. Bryant Burgess wrote me
word that the Black-headed Gull had been taken near
Chesham, in summer plumage. It has also occurred
on the reservoirs near Drayton Beauchamp, and in a
few other places where ah abundance of water offered
a tempting resting-place.

KlTTlWAKE GULL (Larus tridactyhis). In Buck-
inghamshire and Berkshire the Kittiwake is not a

152 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

common Gull, but a few specimens are occasionally
obtained in spring and autumn. In March, 1867, I
saw one of these birds flying over the river near
Datchet. Mr. Drye, of Eton, possesses one which
was killed in that neighbourhood in 1865 ; he tells me
that since his residence in Eton he has had several
Kittiwakes sent to him for preservation, and that
the majority of these were procured after equi-
noctial gales. I have examined some half a dozen
of these Gulls preserved in various local collections,
but have been unable to obtain any particulars
respecting them. My friend Mr. Sharpe informed
me that the Kittiwake had occurred at Cookham ;
and specimens have been procured near Chesham.
Small flocks are occasionally seen near Fawley and
Pangbourne.

COMMON GlJLL(Laruscanus). As its name implies,
this Gull is pretty generally distributed along our
coasts, but seldom ventures far inland, except in
severe weather, or during the period of migration in
spring and autumn.

The Common Gull has been taken at Chesham, and
I have seen it flying over the Thames in autumn, at
which season specimens are occasionally shot near
Windsor. Mr. Wolley tells me that he observed a
flock of five of these birds near Chalvey in 1863. One
was killed in the neighbourhood of Fawley, by Mr.
Mackenzie's game-keeper in 1863. Mr. James Britten,
the Honorary Secretary to the Natural History

LARID^E. 153

Society of High Wycombe, informed me that a Com-
mon Gull was seen, in 1867, in Wycombe Rye;
shortly afterwards one, believed to be the same, was
killed in Buckinghamshire, near Uxbridge.

to %m, feit^ottt profusion, kino,
prop-er organs, proper p0fo,er assigntb ;
stcming foant tamgtnsnitti of tonm,
hify begras of sfeifimss, fym of fora/

POPE.

RARE AND ACCIDENTAL VISITORS.

<$&>

ORDER L— R A P T O R E S.
Family — FALCONID^E.

. GOLDEN EAGLE (Aquila chrysaetos). The Golden
Eagle seldom wanders far from its mountain home,
and is consequently one of the rarest visitors to Buck-
inghamshire and Berkshire.

In 1847 an Eagle of this species was shot by a
keeper at Littlecot, the seat of Mr. Popham, near
Hungerford, in Berkshire : ' It had glutted itself on a
dead deer, and was unable to fly away upon the
approach of the keeper, who fired six times before
he killed it.'* Mr. Buckland, in his * Curiosities of
Natural History/ states that ' Three or four years
ago a Golden Eagle was shot in the forest at Windsor,
and presented by His Royal Highness the Prince
Consort to Eton College;' but it is probable that
Mr. Buckland refers to a fine White-tailed Eagle
which was shot in 1851, and presented to the College
by the late Prince.

* Morris's ' British Birds,' vol. i.

FALCONID^E. 155

My friend Mr. R. B. Sharpe informed me that Mr.
Briggs, of Cookham, once observed the Golden Eagle
at Billing Bear, where he was formerly employed as
a keeper. He was walking with another keeper near
the outskirts of a plantation, adjoining a field in which
some pheasants were feeding. Suddenly there was
great excitement among the birds, and several flew
quickly into the woods. But before they could all
reach a place of safety a large Eagle flew swiftly down,
and carried off a pheasant in his talons. Mr. Briggs'
fellow- keeper immediately set a trap near the spot,
and within three days had the luck to secure the
robber, who proved to be, as they had suspected, a
Golden Eagle.

WHITE-TAILED EAGLE (Haliaeetus Albicilla). A
White-tailed Eagle was shot near Windsor upon the
3d of February, 1851. This specimen was preserved
by Mr. H. D. Bartlett, of College Street, Camden
Town, Middlesex ; and it was exhibited in its case
by him in the Great Exhibition of 1851.

It was afterwards presented by His Royal Highness
the late Prince Consort to the collection which was
principally formed by the late Provost at Eton
College. Yarrell records that one of these rare Eagles
was taken at Fawley Court, in Buckinghamshire, since
the first edition of his work was published.

A fine Eagle of this species was procured in Berk-
shire in 1856.

'On the afternoon of the I2th of December in that

156 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

year, as one of the officers of the garrison of Windsor
was riding in the Great Park, not far from the statue
of King George III. at the end of the Long Walk,
he was surprised to see a large bird on the ground,
gorging himself with a rabbit. He advanced towards
it, but the bird flew up into a tree. When on the
tree it appeared to have a chain round its leg, but this
was afterwards ascertained to be a portion of the
rabbit it had just been eating. The pursuer having
clearly made out that this large bird was an Eagle, a
most unusual visitor to the royal forest, rode off im-
mediately to the keeper's lodge with the news. The
keeper, while mounting his pony, stated that the bird
had been seen about the forest for four or five days,
but had always kept out of shot. When they both
got back to the place where the bird was sitting, the
keeper concealed himself and his gun, while the officer
rode round the bird endeavouring to drive him over
the ambush. Off he went at last, but flew wide of the
keeper. Then came the riding part of the business
partaking more of the character of a steeple-chase
than of hunting. By dint of hard and difficult
galloping, among rabbit-holes, thick ferns, and open
drains, the Eagle was again marked down in a clump
of trees. Then followed a little stalking. The keeper
on his pony and his companion on his horse advanced
carefully, but the cunning bird would not allow them
to come near. The keeper then got off his pony, and
walked alongside the horse, which was of a grey colour,

FALCONID&. 157

and seemed not to alarm the bird so much as the pony
which was of a dark colour.

' After a few steps the keeper suddenly and quietly
glided behind a tree, and the grey horse and his rider
advanced farther. To divert the attention of the sus-
picious bird the latter wisely made as much noise as he
could, tapping the saddle with his whip, riding among
the thick ferns, and pretending all the careless uncon-
cern he could assume. In the meantime the keeper got
near, and fired both barrels. The bird flew away, but
had been evidently hard hit, for his flight was laboured
and near the ground. He alighted at last on the
bough of a young tree, where his drooping wings and
fainting form made him look more like an old coat
hung up as a scarecrow than an Eagle.

' Both the pursuers then rode up, and again, although
wounded and bleeding, the courageous bird started
off, but he could not go far ; it was his last flight ; for
in another minute he dropped dead, shot through the
right eye. The former shot had hit him in the body,
but had in no way damaged his plumage. Shortly
afterwards we inspected this noble bird, and found
him to be a fine specimen of the White-tailed Sea
Eagle. He measured with outspread wings eight
feet ; the length of his body from his beak to his
tail was three feet two inches; and he weighed
twenty-two pounds. From his plumage, which was
in excellent condition, it seemed probable that he was
a wild bird ; there being no marks either of cage or

158 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

chain to indicate that he had ever been in captivity.
His skin has been well preserved in a well-chosen
attitude.' *

Another Cinereous Eagle in immature plumage
was shot by one of the royal keepers in Windsor
Great Park in the summer of 1865.

About the same time, another bird of this species
was seen by the keepers about the park. It was
slightly wounded and captured, and is alive at the
present time (1867), under the care of Mr. Cole at the
Sandpit Gate in the park.

OSPREY (Pandion haliceetus). Local name, Fish-
hawk. Like the last-named, an accidental visitant
The Rev. F. O. Morris records the appearance of
this species at Donnington, in Berkshire ; and it has
been observed also at Pangbourne in the same
county more than once.

In February, 1845, an Osprey was killed at
Chequers, in Buckinghamshire. This bird is now in
the collection of Lady Frankland Russell.

I am indebted to Mr. Crewe for the notice of a
third specimen of the Osprey, which was obtained
on the banks of the canal at Halton, during the year
1854. It was shot by a labouring man whilst de-
vouring a dead pigeon which had been thrown on
to the towing-path from a neighbouring dovecot.
This bird is in the possession of Sir Anthony de
Rothschild, Bart., of Aston-Clinton.

* Buckland's ' Curiosities of Natural History, ' vol. i.

FALCONID^E. 159

Mr. Dalziel Mackenzie has informed me that an
Osprey was shot in the Livedon Woods, in the parish
of Hambledon, during the winter of 1858. It was
seen in the adjoining Fawley Woods for several days
previously.

In 1864, as I learnt from Mr. Hasell, of Windsor,
an Osprey was shot by a keeper named Deane, in
Windsor Great Park.

Some time since, Lord Henry Scott informed me
that there was a stuffed Osprey in the hall at Ditton
Park, Buckinghamshire. Upon going over to the
Park to see it, I learnt the following particulars con-
cerning it. On the 26th of September, 1863, the
lodge-keeper saw a large bird flying over the park at
an immense altitude. On returning to the spot with
his gun, which was loaded with No. 2 shot, he
saw the bird settle upon the ground near a tree;
he approached carefully in hope of getting a shot, but
making some slight noise, the wary bird made off, and
recommencing its aerial evolutions, again ascended to
a great height. He watched it for nearly an hour,
until he marked it down again by a clump of trees,
some way off; it was now growing dusk, but the
keeper, being anxious to obtain the bird, made for
the place where he had last seen it settle. He ap-
proached carefully, and this time was more fortunate,
for as the Osprey rose the cruel shot rattled against
his feathers, and ' stretched him almost lifeless on the
sward.' He was soon despatched, and the lucky

160 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

captor made off with his prize, which measured, with
wings extended, five feet four inches.

The bird had been seen for some days previously
hawking for fish over the Thames, near the Victoria
Bridge, and at Willowbrooke. Though several persons
endeavoured to kill it, it always flew at too great
a height, and was exceedingly wary. It was stuffed
by Fisher of Eton, who found the maw distended
with freshly-caught fish.

The Rev. H. Harpur Crewe wrote me word that,
during the greater part of September, 1864, a pair
of Ospreys frequented the large reservoirs of the
Paddington Canal Company, which are situated in
the parish of Wilstone, and hamlet of Tring, Hert-
fordshire, and also in the adjoining parishes of
Weston Turville and Marsworth, Buckinghamshire.
They were exceedingly tame, and used to take fish
from the reservoirs and canals whilst persons were
standing close by, and looking at their proceedings.
It would have been well had these poor birds been
permitted to remain in peace, for even the game-
keepers did not molest them ; but, I regret to say,
their fearless and sociable habits at length proved
fatal to them. On September 3Oth the female bird
was killed, whilst fishing in the canal at Wilstone, by
a country lad. After some trouble, Mr. Crewe suc-
ceeded in obtaining possession of the skin, which he
preserved, and it is still in his collection at Drayton
Beauchamp. It was a young bird of the previous

FALCONID&. 161

year. The male bird left the neighbourhood after the
female was killed ; but as a male Osprey was shot on
the river at Maidenhead a few days afterwards, it
was most probably the same bird.

My friend Mr. Sharpe sent me word that an Osprey
was killed at Cookham, in October, 1864. Mr. Briggs
observed the bird flying slowly along over Lord
Boston's woods, and while intent upon watching it, it
sailed over to the place where he was standing, and
circled around him at the height of about thirty
yards. He called to a man who was near him to
fetch his gun ; but by the time it arrived the bird
was out of shot, and was pursuing its course down
the Thames with graceful flight. A gentleman, who
happened to be out on the river with a gun, observed
the Osprey approaching, and as soon as it was near
enough, fired, and winged it. It fell into the water,
and was then despatched by a blow from a boat-mop.
For several days previously a large hawk (probably
this Osprey) had frequented the Hedsor woods, and
three days afterwards another Osprey was seen near
the same spot by a person named Stanniforth, the
lock-keeper at Cookham.

During the years 1865, 1866, 1867, and the early
part of 1868, an Osprey was frequently observed near
Surley Hall, and although many attempts were made
to shoot it, it fortunately contrived to escape.

A man, who had several times seen this bird hover-
ing over the water in search of fish, told me that

M

1 62 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

' he opined the hawk was a-looking fur his own
shadder ! ' This Osprey was observed to capture
fish at all times of the day, and after taking one it
would fly off to a lofty tree on the river bank to
digest its meal.

PEREGRINE FALCON (Falco peregrinus}. This
noble Falcon has almost entirely disappeared from
localities where formerly it was not uncommon, and
can now only be regarded as an occasional winter
visitant. On the 1st of August, 1846, Mr. Bryant
Burgess, of Latimer, saw a fine Peregrine which had
been shot in Liscombe Park. It was in the possession
of Mr. Bishop. In the year 1853, a young female
Peregrine was captured in a trap in Windsor Great
Park, and was taken to Mr. Hasell, of Windsor, who
preserved it. Mr. Frank Collins, of Betterton, writes
me word that this falcon is occasionally observed
soaring over the downs and woods near Wantage.
A beautiful specimen was killed by Mr. Collins, of
Goosay, in that neighbourhood. A pair have been
on several occasions seen at Wooley Park, the seat
of Mr. P. Wroughton. Mr. James Britten, of the
High Wycombe Natural History Society, informed
me of one of these birds which had been recently
captured in Brickhill Wood, near Woburn.

RED-FOOTED FALCON (Falco rufipes). The In-
spector of the Eton police-force — an intelligent man,
who has a taste for natural history — informed me
that an Orange-legged Hobby was shot by the under-

FALCONIDJE. 163

keeper on Sir Henry Vernon's estate at Steeple
Claydon, near Buckingham, in January, 1858.

The date was an unusual one at which to find this
species here, but my informant is acquainted with the
bird, and is not likely to have been mistaken.

KITE (Milvus vulgaris). The Forked-tailed Kite,
once a common bird in Great Britain, is now scarcely
ever seen in its old haunts, and every instance of its
occurrence here is now of great interest to the orni-
thologist.

My friend Mr. R. B. Sharpe has written me word
that although no recent occurrence of the Kite in
these counties has come under his notice, the species
was nevertheless common within the mefnory of
persons still living at Pinkney's Green, an unenclosed
heathy tract about four miles distant from Cookham.
The Rev. Mr. Crewe informed me that a Kite was
killed several years ago at the reservoir near Drayton
Beauchamp, by Mr. S. W. Jenney. This specimen is
in the possession of Sir John Harpur Crewe, of Calne
Abbey, in Derbyshire.

The Rev. Murray A. Mathew, of Weston-super-
Mare, wrote me word that about the year 1855 a fine
Kite was shot at Abingdon, which is now in his
collection. ' Poor old Osman, the birdstuffer, of St.
Aldates, Oxford,' adds Mr. Mathew, ' has often told me
that when he was young the Kite was quite a common
bird in Oxfordshire and Berkshire, and might be seen
any day by persons taking a country walk ; indeed

M 2

1 64 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

it used often to be observed gracefully sailing in the
air over the very Oxford streets.' Mr. Wolley told
me that while out for a stroll one day many years ago
in the fields near Eton, a Kite flew over his head, and
so low as to enable him to determine easily the
species by its forked tail.

COMMON BUZZARD (Buteo vulgaris}. A Common
Buzzard was shot in Windsor Great Park by one of
the keepers in the summer of 1857. Another speci-
men was procured there about the same time, but by
the time it reached the birdstuffer's hands it was
useless. These two birds had been seen about for
some time together, and were probably a pair.

In 1830 and 1831 a tame female Buzzard, kept at
Uxbridge, in a garden of the ' Chequers ' Inn, showed
a strong inclination to sit, by collecting sticks, &c. ;
her owner then supplied her with the necessary
materials for forming a nest : she sat on and hatched
two chicken's eggs ; and since then she has brought
up chickens every year.*

A fine male of the Common Buzzard \vas shot at
Hollyport in 1862, and was sent to Mr. Briggs
of Cookham for preservation. The way in which it
was captured was curious: — A man named Wells
was trying to shoot some \Vood Pigeons, and had
placed upon the ground a stuffed bird as a decoy.
He had not waited long before the above-mentioned
Buzzard swept down, and was carrying off the stuffed

* Yarrell's ' British Birds,' vol. i. p. 84.

FALCONID.E. 165

pigeon, when he shot it. Mr. Gould states that the
finest pair of Buzzards he ever saw are now living
at Berry Hill, the seat of John Noble, Esq., at
Taplow ; but whether these birds were obtained
in these counties or not, I do not know. In Decem-
ber, 1866, a fine male Buzzard was killed by Mr
Alfred Wellbeloved, in a wood near Sunninghill
The crop of this bird contained the remains of a great
many small birds.

ROUGH-LEGGED BUZZARD (Buteo lagopus}. A
rarer bird than the Common Buzzard, which it re-
sembles in its habits. It is usually obtained either in
the spring or autumn, when migrating from north to
south, or vice versa. The flight is like that of the
common species, and its prey consists of reptiles,
rabbits, and small birds. I am indebted to the Rev.
B. Burgess for a notice of a pair of Rough-leggecl
Buzzards which were shot in Bledlow Woods, Buck-
inghamshire, in the month of November, 1839. The
female of this pair is in Mr. Burgess's collection.

HONEY BUZZARD (Pernis apivorus). As remarked
by Meyer,* ' Selby describes one which appears to be
a male approaching the plumage of the adult, as it had
the head brown, inclining to ash-colour ; and Mon-
tagu's specimen, which was shot in Berkshire, and
since placed in the British Museum, is supposed by
Mr. Selby to be a female, or young bird, having the
under parts of the plumage brown.' The Berkshire

* ' British Birds,' vol. i. p. 86.

1 66 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

specimen was killed at Highclare, the seat of the Earl
of Carnarvon.

I am indebted to the Rev. Bryant Burgess for the
notice of a Honey Buzzard which was captured in
1842, between Chesham and Missenden. A fine
Honey Buzzard was trapped in Windsor Forest by
a keeper in the year 1860. It was preserved by
Mr. Hasell of Windsor, at whose house I saw it some
time since.

MONTAGU'S HARRIER (Circus Montagui}. A rare
species, named in honour of Colonel Montagu, who
first described the bird as the Ash-coloured Harrier.
The Rev. Harpur Crewe informed me that a speci-
men of this bird was killed some years since by Mr.
A. H. Jenney, in the parish of Dray ton Beauchamp,
in Buckinghamshire. It is now in the possession of
Sir J. H. Crewe. Mr. R. B. Sharpe sent me word
that a Harrier of this species was procured by a
gentleman of his acquaintance near Eton in the
summer of 1867, and is now in his collection.

Family — STRIGID^E.

SCOPS -EARED OWL (Scops Aldrovandi}. Mr.
Morris states that a Scops-eared Owl was shot near
Brill, in Buckinghamshire, in the year 1833. In 1858
or 1859, a second specimen was found dead inside
a rotten turnip, which was lying in a field just
above Kingston Lisle Park, the seat of Mr. Martin
Atkins. The cause of its death can only be con-

STRIGID/E. 167

jcctured, for a mere extraordinary tomb could hardly
have been selected. The skin was fortunately pre-
served, and Mr. A. Collins, to whom I have previously
referred, assured me that he saw it stuffed at a bird-
fancier's shop in Wantage.

TENGMALM'S OWL (Noctua Tcngmalmi). Mr.
Hasell, the bird-stuffer of Windsor, had a female
Owl of this species brought to him to be preserved in
the summer of 1 864. It was shot in Windsor Forest
by one of the gamekeepers. Another was killed a
few years previously in the same park, and was also
preserved. Mr. Hasell is well acquainted with the
species, and the above statement may be depended
upon.

1 68 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

ORDER II.— INSESSORES.
Tribe— DENTiROSTRES. Family— LAXIAD.E.

GREAT GREY SHRIKE (Lanins excubitor}. This
species might have been included amongst the winter
visitants, as scarcely a season elapses in which it is
not observed, but since its appearance is not marked
by sufficient regularity, I have preferred to place it
amongst the Accidental Visitants. The Rev. H. H.
Crewe wrote me word that a male Great Grey
Shrike had been shot on the 4th of November,
1854, at Weston Turville in Buckinghamshire. This
bird was brought to him in the flesh. On the i/th
of the same month a female of this species was like-
wise brought to him, which had been shot near Wen-
dover, Bucks, about a week previously.

Mr. Hasell, of Bexley Street, Windsor, informed
me that a fine Grey Shrike, which I have since seen,
was shot in Berkshire about fifteen years ago. The
name of the exact locality whence it was obtained, he
had forgotten. Another example of this Shrike was
killed by a person named Taylor on the banks of the
Thames, at Clewer, in the winter of 1859-60.

MUSCIPA CID^E. 1 69

In 1862, a fine male was shot by a son of the Rev.
M. Gore, near the Almshouses at Stoke. Some
time since, while looking over a collection of birds
shot by Mr. G. Lilly-white, of Eton Wick, Buck-
inghamshire, I was agreeably surprised to see a fine
example of the Great Grey Shrike. It was shot by
Mr. Lillywhite on the banks of the Thames, not far
from Windsor, in the winter of 1865-66, and was
stuffed by Mr. Drye, of Eton.

Another, in the collection of the Rev. Bryant
Burgess, wras killed a few years since at Hampden.
A Great Grey Shrike was shot at Hedsor, near Cook-
ham, in the autumn of 1867, and Mr. Briggs has noted
its occurrence in several instances at Billing Bear,
which is about ten miles from Cookham.

Family— MUSCICAPID.E.

PIED FLY-CATCHER (Muscicapa atricapilld). An
extremely rare visitor to these counties.

Mr. Morris records that a Pied Ely-catcher was
killed many years ago within the county of Bucking-
hamshire, but not far from Uxbridge. A second was
procured in Berkshire about ten years since, and was
taken to Windsor to be preserved. My friend Cap-
tain Henry Elwes, of the Scots Fusilier Guards,
informed me that a well-authenticated nest, contain-
ing eggs, of this rare species, was taken near Eton in
the summer of 1860.

1 70 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

Family — M ERU LID^E.

COMMON DIPPER (Cinclus aquations). Although
the Water-Ouzel, or Dipper, is a common bird in
Scotland and in the north and west of England,
it can only be considered an accidental straggler to
the counties of Berks and Bucks.

Mr. Yarrell states that he heard of a Dipper being
killed at a water-mill tail, on the Colne, near Wrays-
bury (or Wyrardisbury), which is on the borders of
Buckinghamshire. In his ' Birds of Great Britain '
Mr. Gould states that he knew of one example which
was obtained on the little Buckinghamshire river the
Chess. My friend the Rev. Harpur Crewe wrote
me word that he once observed a solitary Dipper on
the canal at Drayton Beauchamp. He saw it fly out
from under a bridge, and was sufficiently near to
determine the species with certainty.

GOLDEN ORIOLE (Oriolus galbula}. A rare sum-
mer visitor. My friend Mr. R. B. Sharpe informed
me that a bird of this species was once observed at
Billing-Bear by Mr. Briggs. He was out walking one
day when his attention was attracted by the note
of a bird which he felt convinced he had never
heard before. Following the direction of the sound,
he traced it to a dense thicket of young ash -trees,
and after having cautiously entered, he managed, by
dint of crawling slowly along, to get within twenty
yards of the bird. On a branch just above his head

THE HOOPOE.
Upupa epops.

SYLVIAD& 1 7i

sat a beautiful Golden Oriole, and he had an oppor-
tunity of watching it for two or three minutes, until
it at last caught sight of him and flew away.

A nest of this bird is said to have been found near
Burnham ; but a supposed Golden Oriole's nest, con-
taining eggs, which was taken near Slough a few
years ago and purchased by the Rev. C. Wolley,
turned out to be that of a Thrush, with the eggs of
a white ground colour instead of blue, and having
the usual black spots.

Family — SYLVIAD/E,

BLACK REDSTART (Phcenicitra Tithys}* The Black
Redstart may be considered a rare winter visitant in
England, and, so far as I arn aware, its claim to a
place in this catalogue rests upon a single instance of
its occurrence in Berkshire.

In a letter to me, dated 2ist of November, 1867,
my friend Mr. R. B. Sharpe, to whom I am indebted
for many ornithological notes from his neighbour-
hood, says : ' I am able to give you an undoubted
instance of the occurrence of the Black Redstart at
Cookham. Mr. Briggs, the head-gardener at For-
mosa, whose name I have before mentioned to you,
and from whom I have received so much interesting
information, tells me that in the year 1861 he was

* The Black Redstart is also known by the names of Blackstart, Black
Redtail (Jenyns, 'British Vert. An.' p. 105), and Tithys Redstart
(Selby, 'Brit. Ornith.' vol. i. p. 193).

i;2 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BLCKS.

out shooting Redwings in company with a man named
Stanniforth, who had charge of Cookham Lock
at the time, and he was much surprised to see what
he thought to ,be a female of the Common Redstart
sitting on a post. It was snowing hard at the time,
and he drew Stanniforth's attention to the singular
fact. On mentioning the circumstance to Mr. Gould
shortly after, that gentleman told him that it must
have been a Black Redstart, as this species only
visits us in winter, when the Common Redstart
has entirely left us. Mr. Briggs says the bird seemed
a little darker than the females he had before seen,
but he attributed this to the dusky appearance which
the state of the weather would naturally give the
bird. For further information respecting the Black
Redstart I must refer you to Mr. Gould's " Birds
of Great Britain," where the subject is thoroughly
treated of.'

SAVI'S WARBLER (Salicaria luscinoides). The
notices of the occurrence of this rare Warbler in
England are few and far between. The species is
included in this catalogue upon the authority of Lord
Clifton, who published the following note in the
Zoologist for April, 1867 : ' Last June (1866), in the
neighbourhood of Eton, I saw a bird which I am
pretty sure was Savi's Warbler : it was in a low hedge
which I am in the habit of passing nearly every
morning, and the favourite resort of Sedge Warblers,
close to the river Thames : having heard a harsh

SYLVIADsE. 173

note, like that of the Sedge Warbler, I looked for the
bird, and got a fair sight of it for a moment while
sitting on the top of the hedge, when I discovered
it was no common Warbler, but a bird with a
reddish-brown back, with (I think) a black line across
the wings : the cheeks and breast were greyish white.
I thought it would prove to be Savi's Warbler, but
I had no idea how closely Morris's plate would de-
scribe my bird.' * I am rather uncertain about this
being the real Savi's Warbler, but I give the state-
ment for what it is worth.

FIRE-CRESTED REGULUS (Regulus ignacapillus}.
A rare visitor ; but doubtless often considered to be
commoner than is really the case, for many persons
suppose that the only distinguishing point between
the Gold-crest and the Fire-crest consists in the latter
having a brighter crest. Were this so, mistakes would
be endless. The three lines which are conspicuous
on the cheeks of the Fire-crest are in the Gold-crest
absent. About three years since, two Fire-crests were
procured near Eton ; and Mr Hasell told me that he
had had the nest and young of the Fire-crested Wren,
together with the old birds, brought to him in 1863.
The nest was built in a yew-tree, nine feet from the
ground, close to Frogmore House in Windsor Park.

* Mr. Harting kindly supplied me with the following note : — ' The
note is not at all like that of the Sedge Warbler, but more like that of
the Grasshopper Warbler. It can scarcely be said to have a reddish-
brown back, the colour being the same as that of the Reed \Vren, and
there is no black line across the wings.'

174 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

Family — CALAMOPHILID^E.

BEARDED REEDLING (Calamophilus biarmicus—
LEACH). As this species appears to be so distinct from
all the Par idee, I have preferred to call it the Bearded
Reedling, and place it in the family Calamopliilidce.
In Yarrell's time the Bearded Reedling had been
found on the banks of the Thames from London
upwards, as far as Oxford. I believe it is more
numerous along the reedy banks of the river than
is generally thought to be the case. Mr. Williams,
of Tring Park, shot a pair of these birds some years
ago on the banks of one of the reservoirs at Dray ton
Beauchamp, as I was informed by the Rev. H.
Harpur Crewe.

Family — AMPELID.E.

BOHEMIAN WAXWING (Bomby cilia garrula). A
beautiful but accidental straggler to Britain, usually
making its appearance in the winter season. An
immense flock appeared along the eastern shores of
our island in the winter of 1849-50, which was very
severe, and several specimens were at that time pro-
cured in different parishes in Buckinghamshire.

I am indebted to the Rev. Bryant Burgess for the
notice of a Bohemian Waxwing which was killed at
Ivinghoe Aston, in January, 1850, and which is now
in his collection. An immense number of Bohemian

EMBERIZID&. T7S

Waxwings were shot in the neighbourhood of Buck-
ingham during the spring of 1867, as Mr. J. W.
Thorpe told me.

Tribe — CoNiROSTRES. Family— EMBERIZID^;.

SNOW BUNTING (Plectrophanes nivalis). During
the winter months this pretty species is not uncom-
mon in some parts of Scotland and in the northern
counties of England, but few comparatively are
observed in the more southern counties, except in
severe weather, when straggling flocks at intervals
make their appearance. As to its occurrence in
Berkshire, I have again to thank Mr. R. B. Sharpe
for a notice of one which was killed at Cookham.

Mr. Joseph Ford, of that village, who is a clever
taxidermist, and takes a great interest in ornithology,
gave him a skin of the Snow Bunting in winter
plumage, which he had preserved ; but he could not
remember any particulars, except that the bird in
question was procured by one of the shoemakers in
Cookham. The skin is now in the collection of Mr.
Sharpe, who is quite satisfied of the authenticity of
the species.

On the 1 4th of September, 1866, an early date for
this bird, I shot one of them close to the sea at
Hunstanton, in Norfolk. It was in that state of
plumage intermediate between the summer and
winter dress, and was exceedingly fat.

175 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

CiRL BUNTING (Embcriza drlus}. In the year
1800, Colonel Montagu added the Cirl Bunting to
the British list, having discovered several in the
winter of that year near Kingsbridge, in Devonshire.

The Rev. F. O. Morris states that in the summer
of 1826, or 1827, he procured one in the grounds of
East Garston Vicarage, near Lambourne, in Berk-
shire. He says that there were a pair, and that his
attention was first directed to them by the peculiarity
of their note, which was uttered from the top of an
elm tree, and which struck him as being different
from anything he had heard before, as there was a
peculiar sharpness in it. He adds that he had the
good fortune to obtain their nest and two eggs.

Some unusually fine specimens of the Cirl Bunting,
in the collection of Mr. Gould, were procured in the
grounds of Formosa, near Cookham. The Rev. H.
Harpur Crewe has informed me of the occurrence of
this Bunting near Drayton Beauchamp. He states
upon the 4th of June, 1864, whilst walking on a rough
grassy down in the parish of Drayton Beauchamp,
he flushed a hen Cirl Bunting from her nest in a wild
juniper bush, which contained three eggs hard set,
and which I believe are now in his collection. In
the winter of 1862-3, a pair of these birds were
brought to him, which had just been caught alive in
a sieve-trap at Pitstone, in Bucks. Mr. Crewe further
assured me that he had observed the male bird on
two other occasions during walks about his parish.

STURNID&. 177

A bird-catcher of that neighbourhood, by name
Baldwin, informed Mr. Crewe that he occasionally
caught birds of this species in his nets during the
autumn and winter months, and obtained a ready sale
for.them in London.

I am not aware that the Cirl Bunting has ever been
observed near Windsor, although I once heard upon
very slight authority that a specimen had been pro-
cured in that neighbourhood.

My friend Mr. Sharpe tells me that the Cirl Bunting
is not uncommon in the neighbourhood of Cookham,
where specimens are procured almost every summer.
One was shot at Risborough in the year 1839, and
Mr. Burgess informs me that he fully believes he has
seen the Cirl Bunting near Amersham.

ORTOLAN BUNTING (Emberiza hortulana). This
bird, which in France and other parts of the Continent
is held in much estimation for the table, is generally
considered a rare and accidental visitor to Britain.

Mr. Sharpe informed me that a few years since
three birds of this species were shot near Cookham
by a man named Nott. These specimens were well
identified, but they were unfortunately not preserved.

Family— STURNID^E.

ROSE-COLOURED PASTOR (Pastor roseus). An
extremely rare straggler. It has generally been found
associating with Starlings, in the company of cows

N

i;8 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

and sheep, and it is from this fact, no doubt, that the
bird has derived the name of Pastor, or shepherd.

Mr. Gould, in his fine work on the ' Birds of Europe,'
states that a Rose-coloured Pastor was shot by his
friend Mr. John Newman, at Iver Court, near
Langley, in Buckinghamshire.

Tribe — SCANSORES. Family — PlGlD^:.

GREAT BLACK WOODPECKER (Picus martins). In
April, 1844, a Great Black Woodpecker was seen on
several consecutive days in the Home Park, Windsor.
The observer in this case was a Mr. Walter, whose
word I have no reason to doubt, and, moreover, he
gave so accurate a description of the bird, as to leave
no room for doubt that it was a veritable Picus
martins. Improbable as it may appear to sceptical
ornithologists, I feel further justified in including this
species in the present catalogue from my own personal
observation. In March, 1867, while walking under
some elms in Ditton Park, I saw a Great Black
Woodpecker busily engaged on one of the tallest trees
within a short distance of me. I was sufficiently
near to identify the bird with certainty, and had an
opportunity of observing its movements for the space
of half a minute, when it flew off with an undulating
flight to a considerable distance, and was seen no
more.

ij'PUPA. 179

Genus — UPUPA.

HOOPOE (Upupa epops}. This very curious bird
has occasionally been killed in both counties. It is
a summer visitor of uncertain and rare occurrence
from warmer climes.

One was caught alive near Eton some six or seven
years since, and became so tame that it would run up
its master's legs and come at his call. This interest-
ing bird was offered to the Zoological Society, but
for unexplained reasons they did not take it. It
died about two years afterwards. Mr. Gould told
me of another which was shot by a man well known
at that time as Shampoe Carter, in a large open field
near the Eton Wick public-house ; it was brought to
him, and he says that it was one of the first birds he
ever preserved : this was forty years ago. Mr. F.
Layton killed a good plumaged bird in the autumn
of 1864, in a brick-field opposite the Spital barracks,
and he once observed a Hoopoe in Windsor Great
Park. One was shot at Wallingford about the i8th
of June, 1867. This was a fine male bird, and was
killed by Mr. J. P. Franklin, of Brook Cottage,
Ewelme, near Wallingford, and was sent to London
for preservation. Mr. R. B. Sharpe wrote me word
of a sixth, which was obtained in the vicinity of
Cookham a few years ago.

My friend Mr. Congreve informs me that another
was killed close to Aldermaston, Berkshire, in the

N 2

i8o THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

early part of the present century. Another, which
was shot at Lacey Green in the year 1838, is in
the collection of the Rev. B. Burgess. Mr. Burgess
had told me of one which was killed at Aston
Abbots in 1851. More recently, specimens have
been captured near Chesham. A fine specimen of
the Hoopoe was killed about two miles from Buck-
ingham during 1867, and is now in Mr. J. W.
Thorpe's possession.

Tribe— FlSSlROSTRES. Family— MEROPID^E.

BEE-EATER (Merops Apiaster). I am glad to be
able to include the handsome Bee-eater in the present
catalogue, and I am indebted to Mr. R. B. Sharpe for
the notice of its occurrence. I cannot do better than
give an extract from his letter to me on the subject.

' In these days it is indeed hardly credible that
such a rare and brightly-plumaged bird as the Bee-
eater could have been allowed to proceed so far
inland as Berkshire ; how much more incredible, then,
will it appear, when I tell you that one of these
beautiful birds not only came so far, but actually
lived for some time unmolested ; yet Mr. Briggs
informs me that Mr. Frost, head-gardener to the
Hon. G. Fortescue, at Dropmore, informed him that
a Bee-eater visited the gardens there in 1866, and
remained there some days. He would on no account
allow the bird to be molested, and it used to sit on

a bare twig, near a wasp's nest, whence it flew down
and seized any insect which approached or left the
nest. The bird was at last shot, having wandered
from the neighbourhood of its kind protector.'

Family — HlRUNDlNlD^E.

ALPINE SWIFT (Cypselus alpimis). But few ex-
amples of this rare Swift have been observed or
taken in this country, and I am fortunate, therefore,
in being able to include the species in the present
catalogue.

I am informed by Mr. J. E. Harting, who has seen
the bird, that in the month of August, 1841, a speci-
men of the White-bellied Swift was shot near Read-
ing, Berks, and was obtained by his friend Mr. Bond,
in whose collection it is still preserved. This was
in all probability the same bird which had been
observed the previous day* sporting with a number of
the Common Swifts over the reservoir at Kingsbury,
Middlesex.

/'/// /.VAV.s- <>/'• /,VA7\-.s AND BU(

ORDER in.— RASORES.

Family— Ti i EtAOKU) ft

CAPBRCAIU.IE (Tetnw un>g<illns}. in tin- autumo
of 1855, a cock ami hen of this fine speeir were

shot in the woods kn. I'm nham I1,.-,-, h,-

The- ,c hints \\viv takrn I,. ;in ! ton stulViT, ami

wen a|«|>au-ntly in good condition, It is most un-
likely th.it thr\- \\cu- • \ i-.ii.M-s from Scamiin.i\ LI,' and
almost equally so that they could have flown from
a Scotch wood ; and the only way, therefore, in vvhu h
i lu ir appearance can be accounted for is by suppo m
ilut th*-\ inu i h, i M- escaped from confinement.
Vik(;tNiAN COLIN (P//n / V/.V////W////). Tlu-u-

us to |H- no doul)t tli.it tin-. :.|>o i, -.. whi, h is also

known u tlu- \ ii mian Quail or Partridge, has littK-
* laim to be considered a British bird. It has frc
nurnily been kept in confinement in this country, and

tin- prolultihty is lh.it tlu- Irw whirh h.ivi- luvn shot

Kere at Intervals were biros which had been restored
to liberty or regained it by accident Solitary huli-
\ Iduall htavt been shot in different localities in lU-ii.

IlilV, aiul in '.S^o Mi. ll.i'.rll ic*ri\rJ somr in thr

.V/-A7 '/'//A ».V//» /.

Ili-.li, win. I. h.i.I been shut in Windsor deal 1'aik.
I I is Uoyal llij'hnev, tin- Lite- I'rinee < onsort tinned
out .1 -leal number ol these (Jnails in the neipjibonr-

hood of Windsor about the year 1840, Of these

m.iiiv, MM (iMtihl, iMiuul then \\.iy int.. Mthci eonnti< .

and those \\lm h were obtained by Mr, Hasell in 1850
were in all probability descendants of this old stock,

Yii K »N 1 1 >/K.
(Otis tarda). This noble species

(iiMW.it is fi'arcil, cxtiiuM in Kiipjand*) \v,is, .ut Mnlin<;
to the l\cv. !•'. ( ). Mon is, in. I \\ illi on th< I am
I M.I 1 1 nc Downs, in Berkshire, up !.» I he )'car I, So.', alln
\\ In. h dale IIMIH-, so lai as I am aware, ha\ < Manned
in < il hei M| (lie I \\o ( oimt H .

LllTl.l'. lU'siAKD (( V/.v tt'tnn ). A very iare visi-
tant t<» Hritain. One \\.r- Killed in September, 1858,
in I'.eil. ,lm. -. I. n! n.. I lai from th(> borders MtOxlord-

shire, by two of the Fellows of St, John's College,

i > .loid. I'MI this addition to mv list I am indebted
to Mr. 1 )al/.iel Mac Ken/.ie.

* rii, i.i.i CuMt Uiwtard ic«>i.i. .1 i.> Imvo been observed in Hritaiu
was one \\-iiii-li \\iis M-I-II ii\ MI. T. A. Ki-.ing, new Horsey, in Nor-
I..IL, \\ini.- IK- \\.i:, ..in \vii.i i..\\i Hhooling, upon the 7th of January,
1807. (S«f il"- /•••..'./', i.-i J.in. 19, 1867.)

1 84 THE BIRD* OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

ORDER IV.— GRALLATORES.

Genus— CALIDRIS.

SANDERLING (Calidris arenarid). A visitor in
spring and autumn to our coasts, but nowhere a
numerous species. It is a bird of pleasing", though
plain appearance, and may easily be distinguished
from all other Sandpipers by the absence of a hind
toe. In this respect, as well as in the shorter bill and
rounded head, it resembles the Plovers. It is rarely
found far inland, but Mr. George Lillywhite informed
me that he shot a Sanderling on the banks of the
Thames not far from Surley Hall in the depth of the
winter of 1 866. This was probably a straggler blown
from the coast by adverse winds.

Family— CHARADRIID^:.

OYSTER-CATCHER (Hamatopus ostralegus). The
Oyster-catcher, or Sea-pie, although a common
species on many parts of the coast, is not often found
inland. Individuals have occasionally been killed on
the Thames, and one was seen in March, 1866, flying

ARDEID&. 1 85

over the river near Surley. Another was shot a few
years since near Windsor, and I am informed that
this species has been observed near Reading.

The Oyster-catcher is one of our handsomest shore
birds, and it would be difficult to find a more
picturesque sight than a flock of these birds feeding
on the rocks at low water, their black and white
plumage contrasting admirably with their orange bill
and pink legs. The note of the Oyster-catcher is loud
and shrill, and is repeated quickly as the bird flies ;
the call-note is said by Meyer to resemble the words
' quip-quip,' but the exact note musically expressed
will be found in Mr. Harting's Birds of Middlesex,
p. 159.

Family — ARDEID^.

PURPLE HERON (Ardea purpurcd). This Heron>
which is a native of Southern Europe and Africa, can
only be considered as a rare straggler to Britain.

An immature female of this species was shot near
White Waltham, not far from Windsor, early in
September, 1861. It was taken by the man who
killed it to Mr. Hasell, one of the Windsor bird-
stuffers, from whom I learnt the particulars of its
capture. The Rev. L. Jenyns, in his ' Manual of
British Vertebratae,' states that the Purple Heron
has been killed in Berkshire. The food of this bird
is in all respects similar to that of its congeners, viz.

1 86 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

small fish, frogs, and insects. The Purple Heron is
very retiring in its habits, preferring thick reed beds
and dense swamps. The Rev. F. Morris says that as
many as fifty fish have been found in the stomach of
one bird.

LITTLE BITTERN (Botanrus minutus). This bird,
the smallest representative of the A rdeida in Britain,
is a rare summer visitor to this country ; but although
so irregular in its appearance here, many examples
have occurred at various times in different counties.
Yarrell records one which was taken in Berkshire,
but he has omitted to note either the date or the
locality. Another was shot on the Thames, near
Monkey Island, ten or twelve years ago, and was
brought to Eton for preservation. The Little Bittern
has more than once been procured near Surley, and
many years ago a few were taken in the neighbour-
hood of Maidenhead. One was killed near Newbury
about twenty years since ; and Mr. Wolley kindly
informed me of a fine specimen which was shot by a
person named Brion, on Queen's Eyot, near Windsor,
in the summer of 1860. The Rev. L. Jenyns men-
tions its appearance on the river near Windsor; it
has once occurred in Buckinghamshire, near Ux-
bridge, on the borders of the county.

There is no reason why this species should not
breed here in favourable localities if unmolested, and
a young specimen which Yarrell states was obtained
on the banks of the river near Windsor in the summer

ARDEIDJE. 187

of 1826, was believed to have been bred there. Two
reasons are given for this supposition ; firstly, from
the fact of the situation being favourable from the
quantity of reeds ; and secondly, from the circum-
stance of a second bird, in the same state of plumage,
being observed about the same spot where the other
was killed, for several days, about the same time.

The food of this bird consists of small fish, frogs,
lizards, and insects.

In the Field of the 2Qth of September, 1865,
there is a notice of a specimen of the Little Bittern,
which was shot at Maidenhead by Mr. T. Marshall, in
the latter end of August in that year.* A Windsor
birdstuffer informed me of some which were procured
in Berkshire several years ago, but he had for-
gotten the dates on which they were brought to him.

I was informed by Mr. Gould that he had a fine
Little Bittern brought to him, which was shot by
Simon Wilder, a fisherman, forty years ago, on the
river Thames, just above Monkey Island. Mr. Ash-
mead observes, in the Zoologist for July, 1867, that
a specimen of this occasional visitor was captured on
Mr. Holmes's pond at Wargrave, on the 4th of May.
It was a female, and eggs were in process of
formation.

BITTERN (Botaitrus stellaris). Were marsh lands
and fens more common, the Bittern would still be a
familiar bird ; but, alas ! the spread of cultivation has

* Mr. James Britten also sent me a notice of this bird.

1 88 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

operated to the destruction of this handsome species,
and to the disappointment of the ornithologist. Many
years since the Bittern was not uncommon on the
banks of the Thames, but now it is rarely to be seen.
One was killed about the year 1855, near Wargrave.

Bitterns have been shot near Maidenhead, and
Mr. R. B. Sharpe wrote me word that there is a male
specimen in the collection of Mrs. De Vitre, at
Formosa, killed in the immediate neighbourhood
by John Wig, about six years ago. I am informed
by Mr. Dalziel Mackenzie that a fine specimen of
the Bittern was shot at Fawley Court, in Bucking-
hamshire, in January, 1864. The Bittern has bred,
within the recollection of the Rev. Harpur Crewe, at
one of the reservoirs near Tring, but just in the
parish of Drayton Beauchamp, Buckinghamshire.
He had unfortunately forgotten the precise year. The
nest was placed among some reeds on the reservoir,
and both nest and eggs were taken by Mr. Williams,
of Tring Park, who I believe still has them in his
possession. The female bird was killed off the nest,
which was a great pity, as the pair would probably
have continued to frequent the reservoir the whole
year, had they been unmolested. One was procured
at Medmenham, during the year 1851, as Mr. D.
Mackenzie was good enough to send me word.

Bitterns have been killed near Windsor, and I was
informed by the Rev. C. Wolley that two specimens
were obtained some years ago in a field near New-

ARDEIDJE. 189

bury, Berkshire. The Rev. Bryant Burgess, of Lati-
mer, near Chesham, sent me word that specimens had
been taken in that neighbourhood.

The last occurrence of the Bittern in these counties
was in the early part of December, 1867, when a fine
male was shot by John Wig, near Cookham. It is
now in the possession of Mr. Robert Hill, who first
saw the bird, and endeavoured, though unsuccessfully,
to obtain it.

NIGHT HERON (Nycticorax Gardeni\ This rare
British Heron is not uncommon in various parts of
Europe, but the notices of its occurrence here are
' few and far between.' I have included it in the
present list on the authority of Colonel Montagu,
who says that Dr. Latham assured him that he had
received an account from the late Mr. Pennant of a
young Heron of this species which was shot in the
vicinity of Cliefden, Buckinghamshire, in 1797.

Colonel Montagu observes that this specimen
'exactly answers to the Gardenian Heron in the
' Planches Enluminees,' No. 939 : the whole colour of
the plumage dusky, the feathers mostly streaked
with white.'

Yarrell says, as also does the Rev. L. Jenyns, that
the Night Heron has been killed in Buckinghamshire,
but as neither of them give any particulars, they
probably refer to Colonel Montagu's bird.

WHITE STORK (Ciconia alba}. The Rev. F. O.
Morris states, on the authority of Mr. James Dalton,

190 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

of Worcester College, Oxford, that a White Stork
was shot a few miles from Buckingham, in the month
of September, 1846.

'The White Stork, from its familiarity, and the
services which it renders to man in some countries
by the destruction of reptiles and the removal of
offal, has ever secured for itself an especial protec-
tion, and an exemption from the persecution which
is the lot of the less favoured of the feathered
tribes. Its periodical return to its accustomed sum-
mer quarters, to its nests, the home of many genera-
tions, has ever been regarded with feelings of pleasure,
and its visits to the habitations of man have not only
been permitted, but sanctioned with welcome. In
various parts of Holland the nest of this bird, built
on the chimney-top, remains undisturbed for many
succeeding years, and the owners constantly return
with unerring sagacity to the well-known spot. The
joy which they manifest on again taking possession of
their deserted dwelling, and the attachment which
they testify towards their benevolent hosts, are
familiar in the mouths of everyone.'

GLOSSY IBIS (Ibis falcinellus}. The Rev. L.
Jenyns says that this beautiful and rare visitor to our
shores has been killed in the counties of Cornwall,
Devon, Kent, Berks, Norfolk, and Northumberland,
as well as in Anglesea and Ireland.

Colonel Montagu was the first ornithologist who
pointed out the identity of the supposed varieties of

SCOLOPACIDsE. 191

this bird (under the names of Glossy, Green, and
Bay), and at p. 181 of the last edition* of his
Ornithological Dictionary, he records a solitary in-
stance of its occurrence in Berkshire. He says that
a Glossy Ibis, which was in the possession of Mr.
Lamb, was shot in the month of September, 1793,
while skimming over the river Thames between
Henley and Reading. This bird was in the company
of another, but whether that was killed or not I am
unaware.

The Ibis lives on the shores of lakes or rivers, and
for the most part subsists on fish and insects.

Family — ScOLOPAClD^E.

COMMON REDSHANK (Totanus calidris). The
Redshank is* an uncertain visitant to these counties,
but it is occasionally met with in the spring and
autumn. In 1854 several were shot near Wraysbury,
and I have seen others which were said to have been
procured on the banks of the Thames in the neigh-
bourhood of Windsor and Surley. The Redshank's
food consists of marine worms and aquatic insects,
and it is an interesting sight to see one of these birds
probing for its food with its long bill. It is an expert
swimmer, and sometimes perches upon trees.

WOOD SANDPIPER (Totanus glareold). An un-
common visitant, generally appearing in spring and

* Vide Mr. Edward Newman's Edition : Van Voorst.

192 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

autumn. A Wood Sandpiper was shot on Dorney
Common, near Eton, a few years since ; and the
species has been observed on the banks of the Thames,
where, however, it is far rarer than its congener the
Green Sandpiper. In the spring of 1867 a Wood
Sandpiper was killed near Surley, and I examined it
shortly afterwards. The man who shot it was
ignorant of the species, calling it a Godwit.

BLACK-WINGED STILT (Himantopus melanopterus}.
The Black- Winged Stilt, or Long-Legged Plover, is
a rare visitor indeed to the British Isles. In the
spring of 1834, a bird which so exactly answered to
the description of this species that it could be none
other, laid two eggs by the side of a large pond in
a wood near Beacbnsfield, and was captured in a net
while sitting upon them. Nobody knew at the time
what this bird was, but a person who saw it told me
it had exceedingly long legs, and was like a Plover
in the shape of its body, which was black and white ;
it was kept alive for some days, being fed upon small
fish, but it eventually died, and was stuffed in Eton.
Both the eggs were sold, and I believe the bird was
also disposed of, but I have never been able either to
obtain a view of it or learn any further particulars.

BAR-TAILED GODWIT (Limosa rufa\ Although
at some seasons of the year this species is not
uncommon on marsh land near the sea, it is rarely
found far inland, and never remains to breed in
England,

SCOL OP A CID&. 1 93

For a notice of the only occurrence of the Bar-
tailed Godwit in Buckinghamshire with which I am
acquainted, I am indebted to the Rev. Bryant Burgess,
of Latimer, who kindly wrote me word that in the first
week of May, 1846, a pair of these birds were observed
to frequent a field on the farm of Mr. Biggs, in the
parish of Slapton. The hen bird was shot by Mr.
Biggs, but unfortunately he neglected to skin it, and
it became putrid. When in this state it was examined
by Mr. Burgess, who found it to be in an intermediate
state of plumage, having nearly acquired the red
breast which is peculiar to this species in summer.
Both birds were very tame, and suffered a near
approach without manifesting any alarm. Unfortu-
nately, this fearlessness proved fatal to one of them.

RUFF — female REEVE — (Machetes pugnax}. ' The
trade of catching Ruffs,' says Montagu,* ' is confined
to a very few persons, which, at present, scarcely
repays their trouble and expense of nets. These
people live in obscure places on the verge of the
fens, and are found out with difficulty, for few, if any
birds are ever bought, but by those who make a
trade of fattening them for table; and they sedu-
lously conceal the abode of the fowlers, so much
that by no art could we obtain from any where
they resided ; and in order to deceive us, after
evading our entreaties, gave us instructions that led
us in quite a contrary direction. The reason of all

* 'Dictionary of British Birds,' p. 275.
O

194 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

this was obvious, for after much labour and search, in
the most obscure places, we found out a very civil
and intelligent fowler, who resided close to Spalding,
at Fen-gate, by name William Burton ; and, strange
to say, that although this man had constantly sold
Ruffs to Mr. Towns, a noted feeder, as also to
another feeder at Cowbit, neither of these persons
could be induced to inform us even of the name of
this fowler.'

The Ruff is a rare bird in both counties; I am not
aware of more than two instances of its occurrence. A
Reeve was shot in the neighbourhood of Chesham
several years ago, and is now in the collection of
Mr. Burgess at Latimer. A few winters ago, as I
am informed by Mr. Sharpe, a second Reeve was
killed near Cookham, and was preserved by Mr.
Briggs of that place.

GREAT SNIPE (Scolopax major]. Pennant was the
first to add this species to the British fauna, but since
his time many examples have been recorded as killed
in various parts of the country. This bird is also
known by the less appropriate name of 'Solitary
Snipe,' since it is as often found in pairs as singly.

' The Great Snipe resembles the Jack Snipe very
much in its habits, lying close, and when disturbed
rarely flying far. It begins to breed early in May.
The nest is similar to, and placed in the same
position as, that of the common species. The eggs
are four in number. These are of a yellow olive-

SCOLOPACID^E. 195

brown, spotted with two shades of reddish-brown ;
the length one inch nine lines, by one inch and two
lines in breadth.'*

My friend Mr. Sharpe told me of a Great Snipe
(now in the collection of Mrs. De Vitre at Formosa),
which was shot by Mr. John Wig, a few winters ago,
in the immediate neighbourhood of Cookham.

BROWN SNIPE (MacrorhampJius griseus}. I have
reason to believe that one specimen of this rare Snipe
has been procured in the county of Buckingham, but
the details which have come to hand are very scanty.
My friend Mr. Way informs me that a few years ago
a relative of his shot a very rare Snipe, which is now
preserved in the possession of this relative. He de-
scribed the specimen to me as a * Yellow Snipe,' and
from his statement I conclude it to have been an
example of Macrorhamphus griseus. Not having
seen the bird, however, I am guided only by the
description.

KNOT (Tringa Canutus).^ This bird is an uncom-
mon visitor so far inland, although, like many others
of the shore birds, it is plentiful on most parts of the
coast in spring and autumn. Mr. R. B. Sharpe
informed me that a single Knot was shot during the
winter of 1865 near Cookham, and was taken to
Mr. Joseph Ford, of that place, for preservation.

* Yarrell's 'British Birds,' vol. iii. p. 22.

f This bird has received its name, Canutus, from the fact that it was
formerly ' a dainty dish to set before the king ' Canute : hence
Canute— Kanute — Knout— Knot.

O 2

96 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

BAILLON'S CRAKE (Crex Baillonii). This bird,
which was named after M. Baillon, who found it
in the marshes of Picardy, is of rare occurrence in
Britain. A single specimen was shot near the town
of Newbury, in Berkshire, several years ago, but I
have been unfortunately unable to gain any further
information respecting it.

CAROLINA CRAKE (Crex Carolina). The follow-
ing note in the Zoologist for April, 1865, was commu-
nicated by Mr. H. S. Eyre, of Newington, near
Sittingbourne.

'In October last, 1864, I shot, on the banks of the
Kennet, near Newbury, a Carolina Crake (Porzana
Carolina). It was exhibited by Mr. A. Newton, of
Magdalene College, Cambridge, at the meeting of the
Zoological Society on the I4th of February, who
remarked on the fact of the species being met with
so far from its usual range as Greenland, and also on
some vagrant habits of some other Rallidae ; for
instance, the common English Corn Crake, which has
not only occurred once in Greenland, but also in the
Bermudas, and several times on the eastern coast of
the United States.' Mr. Eyre sent me notice of this
capture, and it appears that there is no doubt as
to the species, the bird having been examined by
Mr. Gould, Professor Newton, and others. Henceforth,

LOBIPEDID& i97

therefore, the Carolina Crake must rank in the
already long list of rare and accidental stragglers to
Great Britain.

Family — LOBIPEDID^E.

GREY PHALAROPE (Phalaropus lobatus). This
little Lobe-foot, which has been aptly compared to a
miniature Teal, makes its appearance on the British
coast almost every year, when journeying southwards
on its autumnal migration. In the time of Pennant
it was hardly known, but of late years it has occurred
much more frequently. In the autumn of 1866 there
was an extraordinarily large immigration of these
birds, no less than 2 50 specimens having been taken
in Sussex, 86 in Hampshire, and 64 in Devonshire,
besides many others in various counties. Mr. J. H.
Gurney, jun. has published an interesting pamphlet
in which he enumerates the localities visited in that
year by this species, and, so far as could be ascer-
tained, the number of captures, with the particulars of
each*

One was killed at Shinfield, Berkshire, in March,
1794, as recorded by the Rev. F. O. Morris. The
Rev. Charles Wolley informs me that, in December,
1851, a Grey Phalarope was shot on the Thames
while disporting itself under the Great Western

* "A Summary of the Occurrences of the Grey Phalarope in Great
Britain in 1866." London : John Van Voorst, Paternoster Row.

198 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

Railway Bridge, Windsor, by a man named Hall,
who preserved it. Out of the flocks which visited
England in the autumn of 1866, a single specimen
only seems to have occurred in Buckinghamshire.
This bird was seen on the canal at Halton. On the
igth of September, 1866, Mr. Gurney states that a
Grey Phalarope was shot by a fisherman on an
eyot of the Thames between Pangbourne in Berk-
shire, and Whitchurch in Oxfordshire. Its beak
was full of small flies and gnats. Miss Flockton, the
possessor of this specimen, told Mr. Gurney that it
was an old female bird, in that state of plumage
intermediate between the winter and summer dress.

Mr. Gould identified a bird as a Grey Phalarope
which had been observed by a man named Henry
Wilder on the river near Maidenhead, in the autumn
of 1867. It was swimming on the water, and he
struck at it with his oar, but the bird, although much
exhausted, managed to escape.

ANATIDJE. 199

ORDER V.— NATATORES.

Family — AN ATID &.

GREY-LAG GOOSE (Anser ferus). A rare winter
visitor, only occurring in the severest weather. My
friend Mr. Crewe informs me that a few Grey-lag
Geese generally frequent the low inundated meadows
at the commencement of the Vale of Aylesbury, in
the parishes of Hulcott and Aston-Clinton, during
the winter months. Mr. Sharpe states that this bird
has been obtained near Cookham ; and Mr. L. Hall,
of Windsor, once shot a goose of this species, out of
a flock of seven, near Boveney Lock.

WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE (Anser albifrons). A
rare winter visitant here, although it appears in some
numbers on our coasts in cold weather.

It has occasionally been seen and shot on the
Thames. Early in 1867 one was seen flying over the
river by a friend near Surley, and several others of
the same species were observed in that neighbour-
hood about the same time. The White-fronted
Goose has occasionally occurred in winter on the
reservoirs near Drayton Beauchamp ; and, during

200 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

the last ten .years, several specimens have been
obtained near Eton, Windsor, and Datchet.

BERNICLE GOOSE (Anser leticopsis). A rarer
visitor here even than the last-named, although, like
it, numerous on the coast in winter. A few years
since a Bernicle Goose was shot near Datchet, and
is now in the collection of Mr. Ferryman. Indivi-
duals of this species have also been killed on the
river near Surley.

Concerning Wild Geese, Mr. Dalziel Mackenzie
writes me word as follows : — ' There were a good
many Geese seen, and a few shot, on the Thames in
the winter of 1 860-61 ; a flock of about one hun-
dred were observed for some days between Henley
and Medmenham, Bucks ; there are a few generally
obtained in a severe winter/

EGYPTIAN GOOSE (Anser Egyptiacus). Several
specimens of this rare Goose have been taken of late
years in this country ; but although in the majority
of cases the birds are supposed to have escaped from
confinement on private lakes and ornamental waters,
I see no reason for not including it in the present
work, as those birds which have come under my
notice have shown no signs of ever having been kept
in captivity.

In January, 1795, one was shot at Thatcham, in
Berkshire, as stated by Mr. Morris. From that date
until 1863 I have been unable to find any record of
its occurrence here, although doubtless the species

ANA TID^E. 201

must have been met with occasionally during the
intervening years. In the winter of 1863 one was
killed near Datchet, and taken to Mr. Ferryman, in
whose possession it still remains. Another was shot
in the neighbourhood of Colnbrook during the same
year, for a notice of which I am also indebted to
Mr. Ferryman. During the cold winter of 1865-66,
a male of this species was killed on the banks of the
Thames, near Windsor, by Mr. Thumwood of that
town, and was taken for preservation to Mr. Hasell,
at whose house I had an opportunity of examining
it. The plumage certainly exhibited no marks of
recent captivity. Early one cold morning in January,
1867, a man named Alfred Brown, of Eton, killed
two Egyptian Geese at one shot on Dorney Com-
mon ; he took them to Eton, where I subsequently
had an opportunity of examining them.

SPUR-WINGED GOOSE (Anser gambensis). A
single specimen of this rare straggler from Africa
is recorded to have been obtained in this country, a
full account of which may be found in the third
volume of Yarrell's ' British Birds.' I have now
the pleasure of recording the capture of a second
example of this Goose, and have the additional satis-
faction of being able to include it among the birds
of Buckinghamshire and Berkshire.

Early one morning in the winter of 1858-59, as an
Eton waterman named John Haverly was walking
along the Thames near Boveney Weir, armed with

202 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

an old musket, on the look-out for ducks, he saw
a large dark-coloured bird fighting with some Swans
in the middle of the river, and apparently being
worsted in the encounter. On Haverly's appearance
the bird rose, and flew past him towards Windsor,
following the bends of the river in its flight.
Haverly shot at it, but it flew about six hundred
yards before falling, which it eventually did on the
Buckinghamshire side of the river, at a spot called
Clewer Point. It was not quite dead, and showed so
much resistance that it required some considerable
strength to despatch it. It was preserved by a man
named Drye, in Eton, and on dissecting it the
stomach was found to contain some green fresh-
water weeds, and a piece of brass, together with
some small stones and particles of gravel. It is
now set up in a glass case, and is still in the pos-
session of Haverly.

When inspecting the bird at his house I noted
down the following description : — Bill, dull reddish
orange, with horny protuberance at the base of the
upper mandible ; head, on the crown, blackish brown ;
neck white, with dark brown streaks and blotches ;
chin and throat, whitey-brown ; eyes black, with a
yellow rim ; the wings of a lovely dark-green bronze
colour, with white feathers here and there, and the
upper edges of the wings were pure white ; the spur,
horn colour, and darker at the base than at the tip ;
tail, dark bronze, appearing green and bright purple

ANATID&. 203

when exposed in different lights ; under tail coverts,
white ; legs and toes, brownish yellow. The sex
unfortunately was not determined when the bird was
dissected, the man who stuffed it considering this
unimportant.

CANADA GOOSE (Anser Canadensis). Canada Geese
have been so frequently killed in this country without
exhibiting any signs of having escaped from confine-
ment, that the species seems fully entitled to a place
in the list of British Birds. Its occurrence in the
inland counties, as may be supposed, is far less fre-
quent than in those counties which possess a sea-coast,
and in Buckinghamshire and Berkshire accordingly it is
an extremely rare visitant. A single instance only of
its appearance has come under my notice. In this
case a solitary individual was shot on the river near
Windsor in the summer of 1867, and was taken to
one of the local birdstuffers for preservation. The
unusual time of year at which the bird was obtained
would lead to the supposition that it must have
escaped from some park or ornamental water, but
it bore not the slightest trace of having ever been
in confinement.

POLISH SWAN (Cygnus immutabilis). This bird
was first distinguished as a separate species by the
late Mr. Yarrell, who pointed out its distinctive
characters in the ' Proceedings of the Zoological
Society of London' for 1838, p. 19.

It is extremely rare in England, and I am glad

204 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

to have the opportunity of recording a new instance
of its occurrence in this country, and still more
gratified to be enabled to include the species in
'The Birds of Berkshire and Buckinghamshire.'
During the winter of 1854-55, an example of the
Polish Swan was shot by Mr. Vidler, of Clewer, on
the Thames, near Clewer Mill. He took it for pre-
servation to Mr. Hasell, of Windsor, who found it
to be a young male. It is still in Mr. Vidler's
possession.

BLACK SWAN (Cygnus atratus). A few centuries
ago the Black Swan was not supposed to exist, and
doubtless many remember the old line —

' Kara avis in terris, nigroque similima cygno.'

Of late years, however, some half-dozen of these
birds have been procured on our coasts, and I saw,
a short while ago, a young one which had been
killed in Suffolk.

About the year 1852, a man who lives out in the
woods all day, and usually sleeps under a barn or
haystack at night, saw a large dark-coloured bird,
which he supposed was a Swan, flying high up in
the air over some trees near the little village of
Burnham. He told Mr. Gerding's gamekeeper this
piece of news, and the two went together to try to •
get a shot at this curious bird, which eventually they
did, and the bird — a veritable Black Swan — fell to
the gun of the keeper.

ANA TIDJZ. 205

What became of this rare bird I was unable to
ascertain, but I believe the skin was never preserved,
and that, after being admired as a * curiosity' it was
recklessly thrown away.

COMMON SHELLDRAKE (Tadorma vulpanser). For
beauty of plumage and rich contrast of colour,
scarcely one of our wild fowl excels the Shelldrake ;
but unfortunately it is a rare visitor to the inland
counties, preferring a sandy coast, where it rears its
young in the deserted rabbit burrows. Hence the
name of Burrow Duck, by which it is frequently
designated.

I am informed by the Rev. H. Harpur Crewe that
he has several times seen this bird swimming about on
the large reservoirs near Drayton Beauchamp, where
it is an occasional winter visitant. Some years ago
a Shelldrake was shot on the Thames near Cookham,
but the precise date I have been unable to ascertain.
Mr. Sharpe states that during the winter of 1867-68
a Shelldrake was seen for several days in the neigh-
bourhood of Cookham.

EIDER DUCK (Somateria mollissimd). A rare
winter visitant to the southern parts of Great Britain,
although not uncommon in the north.

The only occurrence of this species in either
county with which I am acquainted, is that mentioned
by the Rev. F. O. Morris, at Sunninghill, in Berkshire,
during a very severe frost. The principal food of
the Eider Duck is Crustacea, fish, and various marine

206 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

insects. On the 1 6th of September, 1867, I saw a
young bird of the year, in poor condition, which had
just been shot at the Nore, and which was of an almost
uniform brown colour, without any appearance of
white feathers.

VELVET SCOTER (Oidemia fused}. The Velvet
Scoter, or Black Duck, seldom ventures far inland,
and is only a winter visitant to our sea-coast.

A single individual was procured near Wargrave,
in Berkshire, in January, 1795, as is recorded by the
Rev. F. O. Morris in his ' British Birds.' Mr. Gould,
in his beautifully-coloured work,* says : ' During the
severe winter of 1866-67, a splendid old male was
killed at Cookham, in Berkshire ; and many other
instances of its occurrence inland might be cited.'
Of this specimen I also received a notice from Mr.
Sharpe. The Rev. H. Harpur Crewe tells me that he
has on two occasions observed the Velvet Scoter on
the large reservoirs near Drayton Beauchamp in cold
weather. Mr. Morris, in his ' Game Birds and Wild
Fowl/ states that this species has been taken in the
county of Berkshire, but he unfortunately gives no
dates : possibly this may refer to the one which was
taken near Wargrave.

HARLEQUIN DUCK (Fuligula histriomca). This
rare species has acquired the sobriquet of Harlequin
from the rich and variegated colours of its plumage.

* • Birds of Great Britain.'

ANATID.E. 207

I am only aware of one instance of its occurrence
in these counties, and for this I am indebted to Mr.
Sharpe, who has supplied me with so many interesting
notes. The bird in question was shot during the
winter of 1866-67 on tne river near Maidenhead,
and was preserved by Mr. Wilmot, the birdstuffer
of that town.

SMEW (Mergus albellus). The Smew, or White
Nun, is a rare visitor to Berkshire and Bucking-
hamshire, and when it does occur it is almost in-
variably during very severe weather. Adult males
are very rarely met with, the majority of the
stragglers that are shot being immature birds. In
the winter of 1850-51, however, a very fine adult
male of this species was killed on the Thames near
Boveney Locks by a person named Hall, who after-
wards had it stuffed in Windsor. Stragglers have
occasionally been shot near Surley Hall, and in the
neighbourhood of Maidenhead. In the winter of
1861-62 a flock of five were seen by Mr. Harpur
Crewe at the Wilstone reservoir, where they
remained several days.

Mr. Drye told me of a male in fine plumage,
which was shot on the river near Monkey Island
by Thomas Holeman, of Dorney, who sold it for a
sovereign.

It would appear from a statement in Bewick's
' British Birds,' that in Norfolk Smews used to be
taken in the spring, as a person named Bonfellow,

208 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

of Stockton, in that county, told him that ' Duck
and Mallard are taken from August to June. Teal
and Widgeon from October to March ; Becks, Smee,
Golden-eyes, Arps, Cricks, and Pintails or Sea-phea-
sants, in March and April. Poker Ducks are
seldom taken.'* I have occasionally observed a few
mature males and many young females of this species
on the poulterers' stalls in the London markets. These
probably were received from Holland. Mr. Sharpe
informed me of a fine male of this species, which
was shot a few years ago on Mr. Palmer's estate,
near Reading.

MANDARIN DUCK (Aix galliago}. This rare
duck has never occurred in a wild state, so far as I
am aware, in this countiy, but I am here enabled
to include it as a rare and occasional straggler.

Mr. Sharpe tells me that a very fine adult male
Mandarin Duck, in splendid plumage, was shot by
Mr. Briggs near Cookham, in the month of May,
1866. It might have been, and doubtless was,
an escaped specimen, but it was exceedingly wild,
and gave Briggs a chase which lasted nearly
a whole day before he managed to shoot it.
It is now preserved in Mrs. De Vitre's collection at
Formosa.

* Bewick's ' British Birds.5

209

Family —

RED-NECKED GREBE (Podiceps rubricollis). One
of the rarest of our British Grebes, and only occa-
sionally killed here in severe weather. Its food
consists of aquatic insects and small fish, and it has
the peculiar habit, like all the Grebes, of swallowing
portions of its own feathers. A Red-necked Grebe,
which was killed at Burghfield, Berkshire, in May,
1792, is noticed by the Rev. F. O. Morris in his
' British Birds/ Another fine specimen, in winter
plumage, was shot at Sanderton, near Risborough,
upon the loth of October, 1848.

Yarrell says that, ' like the other Grebes, it is an
expert diver, and very difficult to obtain when at
sea, or in other extensive waters where there is ample
space to exercise its powers. The nest is described
as placed among aquatic herbage and reeds, being
built of similar decayed materials. An egg which
I obtained from Hamburgh is of a dull white colour
tinged with green, two inches in length, by one inch
and four lines in breadth.'

The contents of the crop of an immature bird of
this species, which I examined on the 28th of Decem-
ber, 1867, and which had been sent from Holland to
Leadenhall Market, was a mass of green and rank
herbage, and there was no trace of its more usual food

— small fish and insects.

P

210 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

EARED GREBE (Podiceps auritus). The rarest of
the five species of Grebes found in Great Britain. It
is an inhabitant of the northern and eastern parts
of Europe, and has been found breeding so far south
as Algeria. It resembles the Sclavonian Grebe in
its habits, and lays three or four eggs of a dull
yellowish or greenish white, one inch and nine lines
in length, and one inch three lines in breadth. The
Eared Grebe has occasionally visited the extensive
reservoirs in the neighbourhood of Drayton Beau-
champ, and has been known to nest there, Mr.
Williams, of Tring Park, having taken the nest and
eggs a few years since. It generally visits these pieces
of water during the early spring months. In the
winter of 1861 a man named Allen shot an Eared
Grebe as it was swimming on the Thames opposite
Boveney Locks.

GREAT NORTHERN DIVER (Colymbus glacialis}.
The Rev. F. O. Morris observes that some of these
fine Divers were killed near Pangbourne and Maiden-
head, both in Berkshire, in 1794, but he has omitted
to note the season of the year. In the year 1810, one
was shot near Newbury, as recorded in Morris's
' British Birds.'

A young one was discovered at Chequers Court,
near Risborough, Bucks, upon the Qth of May,
1850. Upon writing for further particulars to Lady
Frankland Russell, she very kindly supplied the
following note: — 'The occurrence of the Northern

ALCAD&. 2ii

Diver at Chequers was quite accidental : it was
supposed to be tired and fell into a deep ditch near
the house, from whence it was unable to rise again.
Its " screams " alarmed a boy who happened to be
passing at the time, and he ran to one of the game-
keepers, Chator by name, and the latter found out
what the bird was/ It was taken to the house, and
Lady Russell determined to send it the Zoological
Gardens, but owing to the railway porters refusing
to supply Chator with any water for the bird, it
died soon after its arrival at the Gardens, and the
Society returned it to Lady Russell, who thereupon
caused it to be stuffed. An immature Northern Diver
was taken in December, 1841, on one of the reser-
voirs near Drayton Beauchamp. A Great Northern
Diver was killed at Virginia Water, near Windsor,
on the 4th of February, 1851. This was an ex-
ceedingly fine specimen, and was presented to the
collection at Eton College by the late Prince Con-
sort. It was preserved by Mr. A. D. Bartlet, and
exhibited in the Exhibition of 1851. In November
or December, 1859, another was procured at Ches-
ham, as I have been informed by the Rev. Bryant
Burgess.

GUILLEMOT (Uria troile). Rarely met with inland,
although a very common bird on many parts of the

P 2

212 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

coast. A male bird of this species was caught in the
river at Fenny Stratford, on the I3th of November,
1852, during the great floods which then prevailed,*
and another was seen near Simpson, in Buckingham-
shire, upon the I4th of November, 1852.

Few eggs of British Birds vary more than those of
the Guillemot ; in an extensive series of many dozens
perhaps scarcely two will be found alike.

LITTLE AUK (Merguhis melanoleucos—^^wwti}.
A scarce winter visitant to our shores, occasionally
driven inland by high winds. The Rev. Bryant
Burgess, of Latimer, near Chesham, informed me
that a single specimen was taken on one of the
large pieces of water in the vicinity of 'Drayton
Beauchamp, in December, 1841. According to the
Rev. F. O. Morris, this bird has also occurred near
Newbury, in Berkshire. It is a truly oceanic bird,
preferring deep water, and seldom approaching the
shore except for the purpose of nidification, or when
driven by high winds from its native element.

PUFFIN (Fratercula arctica}. So far as I am
aware, this remarkable-looking bird has only once
been obtained in Berkshire. Like the last-named
species, it is seldom seen inland, and then only in
stormy weather.

The Rev. F. O. Morris states that a Puffin was
taken alive upon the i6th of March, 1816, in North-
brooke Street, Newbury. It had probably been

* Morris's ' British Birds. '

PELECANIDJS. 213

driven from the coast by storms, and had fallen in
the street from exhaustion.

GREAT AUK (A lea impennis). The following
extract, referring to the appearance of the Great
Auk in Buckinghamshire, must be accepted cum
grano sails. It is copied verbatim from the third
volume of Yarrell's * British Birds/ but it is solely
in deference to the high authority of that naturalist
that it is reprinted in the present work : —

'Mr. Bullock told Dr. Fleming some years ago
that a specimen was taken in a pond of fresh
water two miles from the Thames, on the estate of
Sir William Clayton, near Marlow, in Buckingham-
shire.'

That a bird of such thoroughly oceanic habits, and
with wings so rudimentary as to be useless for flight,
should be found so far inland as stated, seems, if not
physically impossible, at all events highly improbable.
I have no doubt that the species was misnamed, and
that the bird really captured was, in all probability,
one of the Divers — either the Great Northern or
the Black-throated Diver. I need hardly add that
all endeavours to trace a ' Great Auk/ or to gain
any further particulars respecting it, have proved
utterly unsuccessful.

214 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.
Family — PELECANID^E.

CORMORANT (Phalacrocorax Carbo). An extremely
rare visitor so far inland, although numerous enough
on many of our rocky coasts. An example was taken
on Frilham Pond, near Newbury, in November, 1803,
as recorded in Morris's 'British Birds.' Mr. John
Wig shot a good specimen of the Cormorant about
the year 1857, near Marlow Railway Bridge, as I have
been informed by my friend Mr. Sharpe. It gave no
little trouble before it was secured, and showed con-
siderable expertness in diving. It was placed in the
collection of Lord Boston, at Hedsor, but this col-
lection has since become dispersed. In 1858 a
solitary Cormorant was shot on the large sheet of
water at Weston Turville, in Buckinghamshire. It
is now stuffed and in the possession of Mr. T.
Billington, by whom it was killed.

SHAG (Phalacrocorax graculus). Like the last-
named, a rare and accidental visitant, seldom flying
far from the sea.

The Rev. F. O. Morris states that a Shag was pro-
cured near Pangbourne, in Berkshire, in September,
1794. A good female specimen of this bird was shot
on the Thames, near Wraysbury, by Mr. Saunders,
of Staines, in 1850, and came into the hands of
Mr. Hasell for preservation. Those who take an
interest in the habits, food, and variations of plumage
in this species will be well repaid by referring to the

PELECANlDsE. 215

June number of the Zoologist for 1866, in which is a
capital paper on the subject by Mr. Blake-Knox, of
Dalkey, co. Dublin.

Colonel Montagu, writing in June, 1813, says: —
' We have been assured that the Shag was shot as
far inland as Newbury, in Berkshire : a very rare
occurrence for it to desert salt water, but probably
enticed so far by that noble river the Thames, into
which the Kennet flows/

GANNET (Sula alba). The Gannet, or Solan Goose,
like the two last-mentioned species, is numerous on
the coast, but rarely met with far from the sea. As the
time for nidification approaches, great numbers con-
gregate on the celebrated Bass Rock, Lundy Island,
the Isle of Ailsa, St. Kilda, and other favourite
resorts of sea-birds. Several naturalists, and amongst
others Montagu and Bishop Stanley, have maintained
that the bird in question has no nostrils. This, however,
is not the case, as the Gannet has exceedingly narrow
nostrils, well-concealed, and situated at the base of
the bill. Its occurrence has been reported near Eton,
but on somewhat slender evidence. Mr. Morris says
that a young male was shot near Wytham, in Berk-
shire, the seat of Lord Abingdon. It was killed by
his Lordship's gamekeeper upon the I4th of October,
1838. Another was seen at the same time; and a
third, probably of the same flock, was observed at
Weston-on-the-Green, in Oxfordshire, shortly after-
wards. The Rev. Bryant Burgess, of Latimer, near

216 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

Chesham, wrote me word that a Gannet was taken
by the Rev. T. Rogers, at Sherington, near Newport
Pagnell, in November, 1847. By a skilful manoeuvre
he succeeding in securing it, notwithstanding the
desperate resistance which it made with its power-
ful wings and formidable bill. It was kept alive
some time by its captor, and fed entirely upon
fish.

Family — LARID.E.

MASKED GULL (Larus capistratus). Temminck
first distinguished this species from the Black-headed
Gull (Larus ridibundiis) ; it is an extremely rare bird
in this country, being found principally in Baffin's
Bay and Davis's Straits, and only occasionally
wandering to Europe.

The < History of British Birds ' by the Rev. F. O.
Morris, contains the only instance which has come
under my notice of the occurrence of this bird in
the two counties. This notice is very brief: ' In
Berkshire, one in immature plumage was obtained
near Newbury.' This species has been known to
breed at Westra, in the Orkneys.

POMARINE SKUA (Lestris pomarimis). By no
means a common bird on the coast, and still more
rare inland. I was informed by Mr. Gardner, of
Oxford Street, that a Skua of this species was sent
to them for preservation by a gentleman resident in

217

Buckinghamshire, on whose estate it was procured.
The precise date, or further particulars, I was un-
able to ascertain. A second was taken some years
since near Crendon ; and Mr. Burgess told me of a
third which was shot at Chesham, in November or
December, 1859. This last is in the collection of
Mr. Lowndes.

tORKED-TAILED PETREL (Thalassidroma Leachii}.
After a strong gale of wind in the summer of 1847
or 1848, a man named William Hibbs noticed a
bird fluttering against a lamp at the corner of Brocas
Lane, Eton ; he caught it, and it proved to be a
Petrel of this species. He took it to a local bird-
stuffer, who placed it in a hamper for the night.
It appeared extremely thin, and was very weak,
although in good plumage. It was killed on the
morning after its capture, and was preserved for a
gentleman by whom it had been purchased. The
Rev. Bryant Burgess, of Latimer Rectory, near Ches-
ham, sent me an account of one of these rare Petrels
which was taken in that neighbourhood. Upon
the 1st of November, 1859, during a very strong
gale of wind, causing great disasters — not the least
of which was the wreck of the Royal Charter —
Mr. Poulter, gardener to Lord Chesham, found a
Forked-tailed Petrel lying upon the ground in the
deer-park at Latimer. When he first saw it, it
was upon its back, vigorously flapping its wings ; it
unfortunately died almost as soon as it was picked

2i 8 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

up. It was a male bird. The stomach was empty,
the whole frame was very thin and emaciated, and it
was much battered about the head, as if it had been
pecked at by other birds, or come in contact with
boughs of some sort. This bird, which was brought
to and examined by Mr. Burgess, is now in the
collection of Lord Chesham. Another specimen of
this rare straggler was picked up in an exhausted
state at Woughton, in Buckinghamshire.

STORM PETREL (Thalassidroma pelagicd]. This,
the last and least of our web-footed birds, appears
occasionally on the coast in small flocks, and is
sometimes, though rarely, driven inland to some
distance by adverse winds. Yarrell says that Mr.
Bicheno recorded a specimen which was taken near
Newbury, in Berkshire. A second Storm Petrel, a
female, in tolerably good plumage, although thin,
was taken to a taxidermist named Hall, who resides
in Cambridge Terrace, Windsor, about the year
1855. It belonged to Mr. Pidgeon, who killed it
while it was flying over the gravel pits at Clewer.
For some days previously high winds had prevailed.
In a large field in the neighbourhood of Burnham,
in Buckinghamshire, a third example was shot and
preserved by a man named Hebbs ; this was in
1865, and the bird, I am informed, was in very
poor condition.

A few days after the memorable wreck of the
Royal Charter which was lost upon the 26th of

LARID^E. 219

October, 1859, a bird of this species was picked up
by some boys, who found it lying dead, but still warm,
upon the road opposite the Priory, Burnham. It
was presented to Mr. J. Howard of that village, who
had it stuffed at Eton, and at whose house I saw it.
The Rev. F. O. Morris states, in his ' British Birds,'
that Mr. James Dalton, of Worcester College, Oxford,
sent him a note of a Storm Petrel which wras found
dead on the ground not far from the town of Buck-
ingham. In this, as in other instances, he unfortu-
nately gives no date, a practice too common with
many authors, and one which is much to be repre-
hended ; for in determining the migratory habits of
a species, and its geographical distribution, the exact
date at which it makes its appearance in any given
locality is of much importance.

I am indebted to Mr. James Britten, the Hon.
Secretary to the Natural History Society of High
Wycombe, for a notice of a Storm Petrel which
was knocked down in the evening of the 2 1st of
January, 1868, in the London Road, near Wycombe.
It was taken by its captor to Mr. Britten, and
although in good plumage it appeared very weak.
It was enveloped in flannel and placed in a basket
for the night. The next day it enjoyed a bath of
fresh water, to which it was not averse, and it had
an ample feast of cod-liver oil and crumbs of bread.
On the following Friday it appeared weaker, and
sank immediately on being placed in a bath prepared

220 THE BIRDS OF BERKS AND BUCKS.

with 'Tidman's sea salt/ On the next morning it
drank a little oil, and in the evening it flew the length
of the drawing-room several times. On the Sunday
it could scarcely fly, and on the following Monday
it died from exhaustion, having lived in confinement
nearly a week.

% all ge fofols 0f % atr, bless ge %
|jrats* gmt, attfc magnify fum for ctar.'

INDEX.

ENGLISH NOMENCLATURE.

A.

Accentor, Hedge .... 17

Alpine Swift 181

Arctic Tern 148

Auk, Great 213

„ Little 212

B.

Baillon's Crake 196

Barn Owl 8

Barred Woodpecker, Lesser . 44

Bar-tailed Godwit .... 192

Beam bird 74

Bean Goose 117

Bearded Reedling .... 174

Tit 174

Bee-eater 180

Bernicle Goose ..... 200

Bittern, Common .... 187

,, Little 186

Black Grouse 56

Black Duck 206

Black Redstart 171

Black Swan 204

Black Tern ...... 149

Black Woodpecker, Great . 178

Blackbird 14

Black-cap 82

Black-cap 23, 25

Blackchin 67

Black-hexded Bunting ... 29

Black-headed Gull . . . . 151

Black- winged Stilt .... 192

Blue-cap 24

Blue Tit 24

Bohemian Waxwing . . . 174

Bottle Tit 25

Bramble Finch . . . . . 106

Brambling 106

Brent Goose 118

Brown Linnet 37

Brown Owl 8, 10

PAGE

Brown Snipe 195

Bullfinch, Common .... 37

Bumbarrel . •, 25

Bunting, Black-headed . . 29

Cirl 176

,, Common .... 29

,, Corn 29

„ Ortolan .... 177

„ Reed 29

,, Snow 175

„ Yellow 30

Bustard, Great 183

,, Little 183

Butcher-bird 72

Buzzard 4

,, Common. .... 164

„ Honey 165

,, Moor 4

,, Rough-legged ... 165

C.

Canada Goose 203

Capercaillie 182

Carolina Crake 196

Carrion Crow 39

Chaffinch 31

Chatterer, Bohemian . . . 174

Chiff-chaff ...... 85

Cirl Bunting 176

Cole Tit , 24

Colin, Virginian
Common Bittern

Bullfinch ,
Bunting ,
Buzzard ,
Coot . ,
Creeper ,
Crossbill ,
Curlew
Guillemot
Gull . ,
Heron .

182
187
37
29
164
62

49
in

142

211

222

INDEX.

PAGE

Common Linnet 37

Partridge .... 57

Pheasant .... 56

Quail 138

Redpole .... no

Redshank . . . 191

Sandpiper ... 98

Shelldrake . . . 205

Snipe 115

Starling .... 38

Swift 91

Tern H7

Whitethroat ... 83

Corn Bunting 29

Coot, Bald 72

Cormorant, Common . . . 213

Corncrake 99

Crake, Baillon's 196

,, Carolina .... 196

Spotted 99

Creeper, Common .... 49

Crossbill, Common . . , . in

Crow, Carrion 39

,, Hooded 112

,, Royston 112

Cuckoo, Common .... 87

Curlew, Common .... 142

Stone 97

Cushat Dove 54

D.

Dabchick 67

Dartford Warbler .... 22

Dipper 170

Diver,- Great Northern . . 210

„ Red-throated ... 134

Dotterel 140

Dove, Ring 54

Stock 55

Turtle 94

Duck, Black 206

Common Wild . . . 122

Eider 205

Gadwall 121

Gargeney 123

Golden-eye .... 129

Harlequin .... 206

Mandarin .... 208

Pintail . . . . • 122

Duck, Scaup 129

,, Tufted 129

,, Velvet 206

„ Wild 122

Dun -diver 131

Dunlin 145

Dunnock 17

Dusky Grebe .132

E.

Eagle, Fishing 158

„ Golden 154

,, White-tailed . . ^ 155

Eared Grebe 209

Egyptian Goose 200

Eider Duck 205

F.

Fallow-chat ....
Felt, Feltfare, Fieldfare
Finch, Bramble .
,, Mountain
Fire-crested Regulus .
Wren . .
Flycatcher, Pied . .

,, Spotted

Forked-tailed Petrel .

G.

76

106
173
173

169

74
217

Gadwall Duck 121

Gallinule, Common ... 62

Gannet 215

Garden Warbler 82

Gargeney Duck 123

Glossy Ibis 190

Godwit, Bar-tailed .... 192

Golden Eagle 154

„ Oriole 170

,, Plover 114

Golden-crested Regulus . . 23

Wren . . 23

Golden-eye Duck . . . . 129

Goldfinch ....... 36

Goosander 131

Goose, Bean 117

„ Bernicle 200

Brent 118

-INDEX.

223

PAGE

20^

Harrier, Montagu's . . .

PAGE

. 166

» Egyptian ....

200

Hawfinch

35

,, Gray-lag ....

199

Hawk, Fishing ....

. 158

,, Solan

215

Hedge Accentor . . .

17

, , Spur-winged . . .

2O I

,, Sparrow

,, White- fronted . . .

IQ9

Warbler . . .

*7

Wild. . . . . .

199

Hen Harrier

4

Grasshopper Warbler . . .

78

Heron, Common . . .

. 60

Great Auk

213

„ Moll

. 60

,, Black Woodpecker . .

178

,, Molley ....

. 60

,, Bustard

183

Night ....

. TXq

,, Crested Grebe . . .

6S

,, Purple ....

. 185

,, Grey Shrike ....

168

Herring Gull

• J35

,, Northern Diver . .

210

•43.44

,, Plover

Q7

Hobby

. 69

Snipe

194

Honey Buzzard ....

. ,6S

,, Spotted Woodpecker .

44

Hooded Crow ....

. 112

„ Tit

. 118

Grebe, Blackchin ....

67

Hoopoe

179

„ Dusky

Horned Grebe ....

. 132

209

House Sparrow ....

33

,, Great Crested . . .

6S

,, Horned

132

I} J.

„ Little
,, Red-necked ....
,, Sclavonian ....
,, Silver

67
209
132

Ibis, Glossy
Jackdaw
Jack Snipe ......

. 190
. 40
. 116

Greenfinch

34

Jay

• 4*

Green Plover

SQ

,, Sandpiper ....

Green Woodpecker . . .

43

Kestrel

i

Greenshank

i4S

Kingfisher

52

Grey Phalarope

197

Kinglet

• 23

„ Shrike

168

Kite

„ Wagtail

26

Kittiwake

i*!

Grey-lag Goose

199

Knot

. 195

•2C

Grouse, Black

4

L.

Wood
Guillemot, Common . . .
Gull, Black-headed ....

182

211

Landrail
Lark, Sky

. 99

• 59

27

„ Herring
,, Kittiwake
„ Masked

152
135

216

„ Wood
Leach's Petrel ....
••Lesser Redpole ....
,, Spotted Woodpecker

. 29
. 217

. no
. 44

H

„ Tern

49

,, Whitethroat . .

Harlequin Duck ....

206

Linnet, Brown ....

37

Harrier, Hen

4

,, Common . . .

37

i ,, ^Marsh

4

,, Grey

• 37

224

INDEX.

PAGE

Linnet, Mountain „ . . . in

„ Redbreasted ... 37

„ Rose 37

Little Auk 212

,, Bittern 186

„ Black and White Wood-
pecker 44

,, Bustard 183

„ Grebe 67

,, Sea Swallow .... 149

Long-eared Owl .... 5

Long-legged Plover. . . . 192

Long-tailed Tit 25

M.

Magpie 42

Mallard 122

Mandarin Duck 208

Marsh Harrier 4

Marsh Tit 25

Martin, Common .... 90

,, House 90

M Sand 93

Masked Gull ..... 216

Meadow Pipit 27

Merganser, Red-breasted . . 131

Merlin 102

Missel Thrush 12

Montagu's Harrier . . . . 166

Moor Buzzard 4

Moor-hen 62

Mountain Finch 106

,, Linnet . . . . in

,, Sparrow .... 32

Mute Swan 64

N.

Nettle-creeper 83

Night Heron 189

Nightingale 81

Nightjar 92

Norfolk Plover 97

Northern Diver, Great. . . 210

Nuthatch 50

O.

Orange-legged Hobby . . . 162

Oriole, Golden 170

Ortolan Bunting 177

Osprey. . . 158

Ousel, Ring 136

Owl, Barn 8

,, Brown 5, IO

,, Horned 5

,, Long-eared .... 5

,, Short-eared . . ... 104

,, Scops-eared . . . , 166

„ Tawny 10

,, Tengmalm's . . . . 167

„ White 8

Oyster-catcher 184

P.

57

Partridge, Common . .

„ Red-legged ... 57

,, Virginian . . . 182

Pastor, Rose-coloured . . . 177

Peewit 59

Peregrine Falcon . . . . 162

Petrel, Forked-tailed . . . 217

,, Leach's .... 217

,, Storm 218

Phalarope, Grey 197

Pheasant, Bohemian ... 56

,, Common. ... 56

Pied 56

White .... 56

Pied Fly-catcher .... 169

„ Oyster-catcher. . . . 184

„ Wagtail 26

,, Woodpecker 44

Pigeon, Wood 54, 55

Pintail Duck 122

Pipit Lark 27

Pipit, Meadow 27

„ Tree 86

Plover, Golden 114

,, Great 97

Green 59

„ Long-legged ... 192

Norfolk 97

,, Ringed 141

Pochard Duck 127

Polish Swan 203

Pomarine Skua 216

Puffin 2ir

Purple Heron 185

INDEX.

225

Q-

Quail, Common
,, Virginian

138

182

R.

Rail, Land ...... 99

,, Water 61

Raven 39

Ray's Wagtail 85

Red-backed Shrike .... 72

Redbreast 18

Red-breasted Merganser . . 131

Red-footed Falcon .... 162

Red-legged Partridge ... 57

Red-necked Grebe .... 209

Redpole, Common . . . . no

,, Lesser no

Redshank, Common . . . 191

Redstart, Black 171

,, Common. ... 75

Red -throated Diver . . . 134

Redwing 106

Reed Warbler 80

Reedling, Bearded .... 174

Reeve 193

Regulus, Fire-crested . . . 173

,, Golden-crested . . 23

Ring Ousel 136

Ringdove 54

Ringed Dotterel
Ringed Plover . . .
Ringtail . ... . .

Robin

Rook

Rose-coloured Ousel .

,, Pastor .

,, Starling

Rough-legged Buzzard .
Royston Crow . . .
Ruff

140
141

4
18

40

177
177
177
165

112
193

S.

Sand-Martin 90

Sanderling 184

Sandpiper, Common ... 98

„ Green .... 143

,, Wood .... 191

Savi's Warbler 84

Saw-billed Diver . . . . 131

Scaup Duck 129

PAGE

Sclavonian Grebe .... 132

Scops-eared Owl .... 166

Scoter, Common .... 125

,, Velvet 206

Sea-pie 184

Sea Swallow 147

Little ... 149

„ Black .... 149

Sedge Warbler 78

Shag 214

Shelldrake 205

Short-eared Owl .... 104

Shoveler 121

Shrike, Great Grey . . . . 168

„ Red 72

,, Red-backed ... 72

Siskin 109

Skua, Pomarine 216

Skylark 27

Smew 207

Snipe, Brown 195

,, Common 115

„ Great ...... 194

,, Jack 116

,, Summer ..... 98

Snow Bunting 175

Solan Goose ..... . 215

Song Thrush ...... 13

Sparrow, Hedge .... 18

„ House. .... 33

,, Mountain ... 32

Tree 32

Sparrowhawk 3

Spotted Crake 99

,, Flycatcher .... 74

Spur- winged Goose . . . . 201

Stare 38

Starling, Common .... 38

Stilt, Black-winged .... 192

Stock Dove 55

Stonechat 21

Stone Curlew 97

Stork, White 189

Stormcock 218

Storm Petrel 218

Summer Snipe . . . . 98, 145

Summer Teal 123

Swallow, Chimney .... 88

Swallow-tailed Kite . . . 163

Swan, Black 204

Swan, Domestic 64

226

INDEX.

PAGE

. . 118

Warbler, Hedge

PAKE
17

,, Mute ....

. . 64

Keed

80

,, Polish. . . .

. . 203

,, Sedge

78

,, Wild ....

. . 118

„ Savi's

84

Swan-mark, The Eton

Col- 118

Wood

84

lege

. . 64

Water Rail

61

Swift, Alpine ....

. . 181

,, Ousel

170

„ Common . . .

. . 91

Waxwing, Bohemian . . .

174

„ White-bellied .

. . 181

Wliaup

142

Wheatear

76

T.

Whimbrel

143

. . 10

Whinchat

76

Teal, Common . . .

. . 123

Whistling Swan

118

,, Summer . . .

. . 123

White-bellied Swift ....

181

Tengmalm's Owl . .

. . 167

,, Fronted Goose . . .

199

Tern, Arctic ....

. . 148

„ Owl

8

„ Black ....

. . 144

„ Stork

189

. . 147

,, Tailed Eagle . . .

„ Lesser ....

. . 149

Whitethroat, Common. . .

»3

Thick-kneed Plover . .

. . 97

,, Lesser . . .

83

Thrush, Common . .

• • 13

Wigeon

124

,, Missel . . .

. . 12

Wild Duck

122

„ Song . . .

• • 13

„ Goose

199

Titterel, The ....

• • H3

,, Swan . -

118

Til, Bearded ....

. . 174

Willow Warbler . . . .

84

, Blue

. . 24

Windhover

i

, Cole

. . 24

Woodcock

114

, Great

. . 23

182

, Long-tailed . . .

. . 25

Wood Lark

29

, Marsh . . .

. . 25

Woodpecker, Barred . . .

44

7 it-lark .....

. 27, 86

Little Barred .

44

Tree Pipit

. . 86

Great Black .

178

,, Sparrow . . .

. . 32

Great Spotted .

44

Tufted Duck ....

. . 129

Green . . .

43

„ Pochard . . .

. . 129

Lesser Spotted .

44

Turtle Dove ....

. . 94

Pied . . . .

44

Woodpie

44

V.

Woodpigeon, The . . . .

54.55

Velvet Duck ....

. . 206

Wood Sandpiper . . . .

191

,, Scoter . . .

. . 206

„ Warbler

84

. . 182

„ Wren

84

,, Partridge. .

. . 182

Wren, Common

49

Wryneck

86

W.

Y.

Wagtail, Grey . .

. . 26

Yaffle

4e

Pied . . .

. . 26

Yellow Ammer

3°

, Ray's . . .

. . 85

, Bunting

3°

, Yellow . .

. . 85

, Hammer .

3°

Warder, Dartford . .

. . 22

, Wagtail

58

, Garden . .

. . 82

, Warbler

48

, Grasshopper .

. . 78

, Wren

84

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