s. IZ \ % 1 4 f f f % I « # r 1 I 1 V y British Birds AN ILLUSTRATED MONTHLY JOURNAL Editors Stanley Cramp I. J. Ferguson-Lees P. A. D. Hollom E. M. Nicholson Photographic Editor Eric Hosking Volume 6o 1967 H. F. & G. Witlierby Ltd 61/62 WATLING STREET LONDON EC4 Printed in England by Diemcr & Reynolds T^d,, Bedford List of illustrations Plates 1-8 Plates II Plate 12 Plates I}- 1 6 Plates 17-19 Plate 20 Plates 21-28 Plates 29- j 2 Plates British bird-photographers — John Markham: Coots Fitlica atra, Norfolk; Chaffinch Fringilla coelebs, Devon; Little Owl Athene noctna, Norfolk; Woodcock Scolopax rusticola, Inverness; Stone Curlew Bnrhlnus oedicnemus, Suffolk; Dotterel Endromias morinellus, Inverness ; Woodlark Eullu- !a arhorea, Suffolk; Bullfinch Pyrrbula pyrrhtda, London; Wood Warbler Pbylloscopus sibilatrix, Monmouth; Linnet Acanthis cannabina, Suffolk; and Willow Tit Pants mont anus, Hertfordshire (John Markham) . . . . . . facing Little Bustards Otis tetrax, female on nest, and nest with eggs, Portugal (M. D. England and A. N. M. Peach); downy chick (P. Gdroudet) . . . . . . facing The late Dcnzil Dean Harbcr (1909-1966) . . . . facing Subalpine Warblers Sylvia cantillans, male and female at nests with young, and male incubating, Portugal (M. D. England) . . . . . . . . . . . . facing Laughing Gulls Earns atricilla, adult perched, and imma- ture in flight. North America ( Mian D. Cruickshank); in flight and standing, Sweden (Peter Lindberg) . . facing Olive-backed Pipit Anthus hodgsoni, in hand. Fair Isle (Roy H . Dennis) . . . . . . facing More examples of the best recent work by British bird- photographers : Kestrel Falco tinnunculus, Cornwall (J. B. and S. Bottomley); Gannet Sula bassana, Bass Rock D. M. Ettlinger) ; Hobby Falco subbuteo, Surrey (J. A. W. Jones); Kestrel Falco tinnunculus, Denbigh (D. A. P. Cooke); Buzzard Buteo buteo, Sutherland (R. H. Hallam); Hen Harrier Circus cyaneus, Norway (A. N. H. Peach); Tengmalm’s Owl Aegolius fttnereus, Norway (K. J. Carl- son) ; House Martin Delicbon urbica, Essex (C. P. Rose) ; Kitti wakes Kissa tridactyla, Pembroke (C. Stockton); Dunnock Prunella modularis, Glamorgan (Harold Edwin Grenfell); Blackbirds Turdus merula, Ayr (William S. Pa ton); Marsh Sandpiper Tringa stagnatilis, Tanzania (J. F. Reynolds) ; and Sanderlings Calidris alba. Dunlins C. alpina. Knots C. canutus z.nd Turnstones Arenaria interpres, Cheshire (Maurice R. Tibbies) . . . . . .facing Thick-billed Warblers Phragmaticola aedon, male and female at nest with young, habitat, nest with eggs, U.S.S.R. (I. Neufeldt) . . . . . . . . . . . . facing Little or Whitc-rumped Swifts Apus affinis, on nest, and leaving nest, Malaya and Spain (F. G. H. Allen) . . facing PAGE 32 80 81 1 20 160 161 200 242 284 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Plates )J-i6 Plate Plate ;? 19^0- High residues of organochlorine insecticides have recently been found in British Great Crested Grebes (Moore and 8 STATUS CHANGES AMONG BREEDING BIRDS Walker 1964), but, although local population decreases, for example in Northampton (Webster 1966), have been attributed to the effects of toxic chemicals, there is no evidence to suggest that these have had any marked or widespread effect. Slavonian Grebe Podiceps auritus. Recently colonised and somewhat increasing Scotland (A & L). Still increasing slowly. Very scarce, probably fewer than 50 pairs, in northern Scotland. Although its numbers are still very small, the species has continued slowly to increase and gradually extend its range, despite the activities egg-collectors. Its main breeding station remains a group of lochs in Inverness, centred on the one where breeding was first discovered in 1908. In this area Dr. I. D. Pennie (in Bannerman 1953-63) put its population at about 15 pairs in 1958, since when it has increased and colonised some neighbouring lochs. Smaller numbers continue to breed more or less regularly in Sutherland and Caithness, and also, more lately, in Moray and Aberdeen. A corresponding increase has taken place in Sweden, while in Norway the species has recently extended its breeding range farther to the south (Curn'-Lindahl 19*59, Hafthorn 1958). Black-necked Grebe Podiceps nigricollis. Small but steady increase in England and Scotland, and probably much increased Ireland (A & L). Marked recent decline and now extinct in Ireland. Very scarce, regular nesting now confined to about three sites in central Scotland, where probably fewer than 20 pairs. The recent marked decline has been almost as sudden as was the species’ appear- ance as a breeding bird earlier this centur)'. Outside its few Scottish breeding sites, the chief of which has been occupied regularly since at least the early 1950’s, it has probably never become firmly established anywhere in Scotland, or in England and W ales. In the last decade, for example, odd pairs have nested in five widely separated counties from Scotland south to Kent and west to north W’ales, but it has nowhere persisted for more than a year or two, presumably because few entirely suitable breeding waters exist. Until the 1950’s its stronghold was in Ireland. Here breeding first took place in 1915 ^ shallow water near Briarfield, Roscommon, which remained the summer haunt of up to 1 5 pairs until it was drained in 1957, since when no further breeding has occurred in Ireland. In the interim, a remarkable colony was established at Lough Funshinagh in the same county, where up to 250 pairs bred from 1929 to 1932, with fluctuating but much smaller numbers thereafter. Small numbers also bred elsewhere in Roscommon and in three or four other counties. But drainage of these sites led to its extinction (Ruttledge 1966). 9 BRITISH BIRDS Kalela (1949) cited the Black-necked Grebe as providing one of the most striking examples of range extension in Europe as a direct result of changing climatic conditions. As with several other aquatic birds dependent on shallow freshwater lakes for breeding, the dessication of the steppe lakes of the Caspian region earlier this century led to a series of invasions west and north-west across Europe in the years of greatest aridity (see also Frieling 1935). The invasions of Black-necked Grebes were particularly marked around 1918-20, in approximately which period breeding first occurred in England, Ireland, the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden, and again around 1929-32, which period saw the colonisation of Scotland and Swit7.erland, and the discovery of the large colony in Ireland. Little Grebe Podiceps ruficollis. No evidence of marked change (A & L). Some evidence of increase since end of 19th century, but probably little change in recent years. A not scarce and widely distributed breeding bird, nesting in every county except Pembroke and Shetland. Although little alteration in range occurred during the period covered by Alexander and Lack, the literature contains several consistent reports of increased numbers from about 1880 onwards, particularly in parts of central and southern Scotland and in northern England (e.g. Baxter and Rintoul 1953, Oakes 1953, Temperley 195 1). A general increase may also have occur- red farther south. For example. Noble (1906) recorded a ‘remarkable increase’ in Berkshire in the last two decades of the 19th century, at which time several of the central London parks were also colonised (Homes et al. 1957). The species also increased in Warwick (Norris 1947) and perhaps elsewhere. Though the evidence is far from con- clusive, that which is available is consistent with the idea that it in- creased during the main period of climatic amelioration. Its present trend may now be downward, though the evidence on this point is even more meagre. It disappeared from central London soon after 1950 (Cramp 1966), while within the last 30 years it has gone from some of its former breeding lochs at higher altitudes in Ayrshire, possibly because of the effect of severe winters such as those of 1941, 1947 and 1963 (Richards 1964). Following the 1963 winter numbers were certainly diminished in the country as a whole, particularly in northern areas (Dobinson and Richards 1964). On the other hand, recent increases have been noted in west Cornwall, as well as in parts of central and eastern England where flooded gravel pits have created additional habitats. Leach’s Petrel Oceanodroma leucorhoa. No marked change (A & L). 10 STATUS CHANGES AMONG BREEDING BIRDS Little positive information, but possibly increased on North Rona and the Flannans. Not scarce, but largely restricted to only four breeding stations on remote island groups off north-west Scotland, where Atkinson and Ainslie (1940) estimated a total population of about 2,000 pairs, though this figure has doubtful significance. Recent evidence from two of these stations suggests an increased population since the mid-i 930’s, while at the other two the numbers either appear to be unchanged (Sula Sgeir) or have never been adequately estimated (St. Kilda). On the Flannans, however, the colonies now extend over a wider area than before (Andrew and Sandeman 1953, Robson and Wills 1959), and on North Rona, where 380 pairs were reckoned to be breeding in 1936, a differently based estimate in 1958 put the population at about ten times this number (Bagenal and Baird 1959). Small numbers may also now breed on Foula, Shetland, and perhaps occasionally elsewhere on islands in the Hebrides and off the coast of western Ireland, though there has been no proof of breeding in the latter area for many years. Williamson (1948) recorded an enormous increase in the Faeroes where the species was first discovered breeding as recently as 1934. Storm Petrel Hjdrobafes pelagicus. No marked change (A & L). Present trends not known. Numerous but local breeding bird, mainly on rocky west coast islands from Scilly north to Shetland. The inaccessibility of the main colonies and the difficulties involved in censussing a nocturnal species make it likely that even quite major population changes would have gone undetected. Possibly some decline occurred towards the end of the 19th centur}' when the species disappeared from several Scottish islands and decreased markedly at its main colony in the Isles of Scilly (Baxter and Rintoul 1953, Parslow 1965); but conceivably these birds had merely moved elsewhere. In the present century it is said to have decreased in Cornwall (Ryves and Quick 1946) and has disappeared from three Irish islands (Ruttledge 1966). Interspecific competition with the Leach’s Petrel Oceanodroma leucorhoa has been held to be res- ponsible for its decline on the Flannan Isles (Andrew and Sandeman 1953), while increased predation of adult petrels by Great Black- backed Gulls Larus marinus led to a marked decrease on an island in the Minch (Gordon 1965) and may also be having a more widespread effect. Records of colonies where numbers have increased are few, but new breeding stations are still being discovered, and clearly too little is known about the histor}^ of the species to say whether or not any significant changes have occurred in its status in Britain and Ireland. Manx Shearwater Puffinus puffinus. Decrease; many colonies reduced or II BRITISH BIRDS extinct due to human persecution or introduced rats, but others now protected and flourishing (A & L). Information scanty: decline at some smaller Scottish colonies, but certain large colonies, such as two in south Wales, continue to flourish. • Numerous but local breeding bird, mainly on certain vegetated islands oft the western sea-board, from Scilly north to Shetland. Although rather more is known about the history of some of its colonies than of those of the similarly distributed Storm Petrel Hydrobates pelagicus, there is little reliable information concerning its numbers at many breeding stations. It is, for example, impossible to be certain whether its present population of perhaps 2,000 breeding pairs on Annet, Isles of Scilly, represents an increase or a decrease since the beginning of the century, when the population was variously ‘estima- ted’ from ‘hundreds of pairs’ up to ‘100,000-150,000 birds’, though from other evidence a decrease seems the more likely possibility. At its other southerly colonies, in Ireland and Wales, there is little or no evidence of any recent widespread decline. Indeed, at Skokholm and Skomer off the Pembroke coast, it is flourishing, and estimates of its population on the former island — about 55,000 breeding pairs in 1964 (Harris 1966) — are now higher than ever before. In recent years, birds have returned to the Calf of Man, where they are now almost certainly breeding again after an absence of more than 150 years. Little is known about status changes at the main Scottish colonies (including those on Rhum, Canna and St. Kilda), but at some of the smaller ones the species may still be decreasing. In Shetland it is probably extinct on Unst, has declined on Foula, and is believed to have decreased generally throughout the group (Venables and Venables 1955, Jackson 1966). In Orkney the numbers at its only colony on Hoy appear recently to have dwindled (E. Balfour in litL), while on Eigg, in the Inner Hebrides, a marked decrease since 1930 appears to be con- tinuing (Evans and Flower in press). On Eigg the Brown Rat Kattus norvegicns is believed to be responsible for the decline, and it was through the accidental introduction of this mammal that several island colonies were reduced or made extinct in the last century'. On Foula the decline has perhaps been due to inter- specific competition for nest sites with the Puffin Frafercula arctica. In several parts of Britain predation by Great Black-backed Gulls luarus marinus must have increased markedly this century, and on some ‘protected’ islands the numbers of gulls are now controlled ; however, although the problem has not been studied at the smaller colonics, there is no evidence that this predation has caused a serious depletion in any shearwater population. Fulmar Fulmarus glacialis. Huge increase and spread (A & L). Increase 12 STATUS CHANGES AMONG BREEDING BIRDS Still marked, though it has slowed somewhat since about 1950, partic- ularly in northern areas. Fairly numerous; probably now slightly over 100,000 occupied nest sites (rather fewer breeding pairs) at about 500 colonies, mainly in the north, but also on nearly all suitable clift'-bound coasts of the British Isles (Fisher 1966). There is an extensive literature on the remarkable spread of the Fulmar in Britain and Ireland; the brief summary given here is taken from Fisher’s (1966) paper on the sixth and latest (1959) enquiry into its status, which includes a re-assessment of historical data in a series of previous publications (Fisher and Waterston 1941, Fisher 1952a, 1952b, etc.). Until 1 878 the only British breeding station was St. Kilda, but in that year Foula, Shetland, was colonised, probably by birds from the Faeroes. By the end of the century the species had begun breeding at other sites in Shetland and in the Outer Hebrides, and it has since spread progressively southwards to almost every suitable part of the British and Irish coastline, except south-east England. Until the 1950’s the rate of increase was so great that colonisation from outside must almost certainly have occurred in all areas. Away from St. Kilda, the breeding population increased by nearly 160% in 1929-59, over 100% in 1939-49, and about 38% in 1949-59, colonisation having slowed earlier in the northern regions than in the newer, more southerly ones. The British and Irish population as a whole is now believed to be increasing at a rate of about 3 % a year. The increase in the Iceland-Faeroes-Britain population of the Fulmar probabl}^ began in Iceland more than 200 vears ago. The initial in- crease and the subsequent spread have been connected directly with the Fulmar’s adaptation to the role of a scavenger of offal provided first by the northern whaling industr}- and later by the trawling industrjq the significant drop in the rate at which the population increased in the 1950’s is consistent with a fall in the amount of offal available to each Fulmar (Fisher 1951, 1966; and others). However, both Wynne- Edwards (1962) and Salomonsen (1965) believed that the spread occur- red independently of man’s fishing activities, probably through a genotypic change (cf. argument and discussion in Fisher 1966). Gannet S///a bassana. Somewhat increasing (A & L). Steady increase, still continuing. Fairly numerous, breeding at one mainland and twelve island colonies in Britain and Ireland, where its total population is probably now close on 100,000 breeding pairs. A series of papers, particularly by Fisher (with Vevers, 1945, 1944, 1951; and in Bannerman 1953-63), have dealt at length with the numbers and population trends of the Gannet in the British Isles and the North Atlantic as a whole. The 15 BRITISH BIRDS numbers have increased steadily since the end of the 19th century. The last complete survey of the gannetries of the eastern North Atlantic was in 1949, when the 13 British and Irish colonies held about 63,500 out of the total of about 82,400 occupied nests at the 23 gannetries in the area. Although no new British or Irish colonies have been estab- lished since 1949, recent evidence from ten of the 13 existing ones Table i. Recent estimates of the size of certain British and Irish colonies of Gannets Sula hassana compared with 1939 and 1949 The data for 1939 and 1949 are from Fisher and Vcvers (195 1) refer to numbers of occupied nest- sites. The recent counts wer e not standardised, but also relate to the number of apparently occupied nest-sites, except at Ailsa where the figure refers to the number of ‘pairs’. The actual number of breeding pairs will normally be smaller than these totals; Nelson’s (1965) coimts on the Bass Rock in June 1962 showed 5,300-3,700 breeding pairs and an additional 1,300-1,500 pairs with nests or sites but not breeding. The St. Kilda estimate for 1959 is not directly comparable with the earlier ones, though there is additional evidence of an increase (Boyd 1961). Of the six British and Irish colonies not given in the table, a continuing increase is reported at both Noss and Hermaness in Shetland (R. Tulloch in that on Sula Sgeir is probably increasing (Bannerman 1953-63); and there is no change (or no recent information) at Bull Rock and Little Skellig in Ireland and Sule Stack in Orkney Approximate number of nests Recent count or estimate of Colony 1939 1949 occupied nest-sites Bass Rock, East Lothian 4,374 4,820 6,600-7,200 1962 (Nelson 1963) Bempton, Yorkshire 4 2 18 1964 {Y.N.U. Orn. 'Kepi) Grassholm, Pembrokeshire 5,875 9,200 15,500 1964 (Barrett and Harris 1965) Great Saltee, Wexford 0 2 100-150 1964 (/r/VA 'Bird Report, R. F. Ruttlcdge) Scaur Rocks, Wigtownshire I 100 0 0 1964 (B.O.U. Survey) Ailsa Craig, Ayrshire 5,419 4,947 11,699 1963 (Richards 1963) St. Kilda, Outer Hebrides 16,900 17,035 44,526 1959 (Boyd 1961) 14 STATUS CHANGES AMONG BREEDING BIRDS indicates that the marked upward trend in population has continued (table i). The steady growth of the entire North Atlantic population is attributed to the almost complete cessation of its exploitation by man as a source of food; over a period of about 6o years, during the last century, man’s persecution reduced the world Gannet population by about two-thirds (Fisher and Lockley 1954). The only British colony which is still harvested is Sula Sgeir, and here there is now a control on the numbers of young taken. The recent work of Nelson (1964) at the Bass Rock colony indicates that, in summer at least, the species is still well below its food level, and there is no indication when the present phase of expansion will come to an end. Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo. No marked change (A & L). Probably decreased through human persecution in 19th centur^^ Present trends not clear: decrease in some areas, but marked increase in north-east England and south-east Scotland. Not scarce colonial breeder, widely distributed on rocky western and northern coasts, but very local east coasts (absent south-east England) ; single colonies just inland in Scotland and Wales, a few well inland in trees in Ireland. Its main Scottish breeding sites have been mapped by Mills (1965). Persecution during the 19th century led to the extinction of a number of colonies, notably those in trees in Norfolk, but also on several parts of the British coast from Ayrshire south to Dorset. Since the end of the 19th century it has apparently continued to decrease in some areas, though, because of its habit of shifting its breeding site from time to time, it is not always certain whether reduced numbers at one colony reflect a genuine decrease or merely mean that the birds have gone elsewhere. In some places, however, where relatively isolated popula- tions exist, recorded decreases may be genuine. For example, general decreases took place in Shetland after about 1890 (Venables and Venables 1955), in the Isles of Scilly during approximately the same period (Ryves and Quick 1946), at the isolated colonv on Lambay Island, Dublin, after about 1930, and probably also at the inland colonies in Ireland which have grown steadily fewer (Ruttledge 1966). On the other hand, in common with other sea-birds, the species has certainly increased in north-east England. On the Fame Islands Cormorants increased steadily from 40-50 pairs in 1865 to a peak of over 400 pairs in the early 1950’s, while on the north Yorkshire coast several sites once abandoned through persecution have now been recolonised (Watt 1951, Chislett 1952, and Local Reports). More recently, the population on the Fames has been reduced by a half (perhaps through more frequent disturbance by trippers), but at the same time a new D BRITISH BIRDS colony has been established 50 miles away on The Lamb, East Lothian, which had grown from five pairs in 1957 to 177 pairs by 1965 (Smith 1961, Anon 1965). While the general long-term trend of the British population has probably been one of decrease, it is not clear whether there has been any recent significant change. Cormorants are still persecuted in several areas, particularly by freshwater fishing interests, a reward being paid for their beaks by several River or District Fishery Boards in England and Scotland (Mills 1965). Hafthorn (1958) recorded a pro- bable long-term decrease in Norway, but at its tree-nesting colonies in the Netherlands and in Poland it has generally increased, assisted at least in part by protection. Shag Phalacrocorax aristotelis. No evidence of marked change (A & L). Marked recent increase. Fairly numerous colonial breeder, widespread on rocky western coasts, but local on east coasts and absent from south-east England. Alexander and Lack’s assessment probably held true until about 1930, although during the 19th century the Shag decreased at least locally in north-east England — where colonies at Flamborough Head, York- shire, and the Fame Islands, Northumberland, both died out (Chislett 1952, Watt 1951) — as well as in Dorset (Blathwayt 1934) and perhaps elsewhere. More recently, numbers breeding in south Devon fell during the 1950’s, but otherwise virtually all reports of changed status since about 1930 refer to an increase. During the last 20 years especially, this increase has been very marked in some areas, and nowhere more so than in north-east England and south-east Scotland. Two of the main colonies in this area, the Fame Islands (recolonised 1931, perhaps a little earlier) and the Isle of May, Fife, have been counted fairlv regularly over the last 50 years (table 2). The steady increase on the Fames has averaged about 15% per annum since 1945 and has been supported by immigration from south-east Scotland (Potts 1965). Table 2. Breeding populations (in pairs) of Shags Phalacrocorax arislolelis on the Fame Islands (Northumberland) and the Isle of May (Fife) Data are from Watt (1951), Eggeling (i960), G. R. Potts in lilt, and Local Reports. The years selected are mainly those for which counts or estimates arc available from both stations. The Isle of May figure for 1957 is a minimum and the number may have been as high as 315 1918 1924 1931 1936 1939 1946 1950 1953 1957 1961 1965 Fame Islands (o) (0)1 7 15 41 59 108 164 203 362 Isle of May i 2 ? 10 ? 12 30 140 301 35c 787 16 STATUS CHANGES AMONG BREEDING BIRDS farther south on the east coast, the Flamborough Head region was recolonised probably around 1949 and numbers there have since increased to more than 50 pairs; farther north, there has been a recent colonisation of north-east Scotland, breeding having occurred in Band since about 1947 and Aberdeen since about 1950; and a general increase has taken place on the islands in the Firth of Forth. On the western side of the countr}', marked increases have occurred on some islands in the Inner Hebrides, in the Clyde area (where strong colonics have been formed on certain islands off Kintyre since about 1930), and in the Solway (the species having spread during the last decade into Kirkcudbright, where it now breeds at several sites). Deane (1954) noted it as increasing in Northern Ireland, and a marked increase has occurred during the past ten years at the colony at Howth Head, Dublin. Breeding was first recorded on Bardsey Island, Caer- narvon, in 1930, and numbers subsequently increased (Norris 1933); a marked increase probably occurred on Lundy, Devon, between about 1923 and 1939, after which the population remained stable at a high level (Davis 1954, Snow i960). The Shag and several other sea-birds have increased markedly during the present centur}'’ and, particularly in the period since the 1939-45 war, these increases have been especially noticeable on the North Sea coasts of north England and south Scotland. The precise causes are obscure. In the case of the Shag, protection (and a gradual lessening of persecution) has been suggested, but, although this may have con- tributed, it scarcely explains either the timing or the rapidity of the increase. Changes in abundance or distribution in the species of fish on which this and the other increasing sea-birds feed, perhaps connected with the environmental or climatic changes which caused the dis- appearance of the Firth of Forth Flerrings Clitpea harettgus in the early 1940’s (Beverton and Lee 1965, Saville 1963), seem a more plausible explanation, though there is no direct evidence to support tWs view. In contrast with the recent increase in the British Isles, Hafthorn (1958) recorded a general decline of the Shag in southern Norway since the second half of the 19th centurv'. Heron ylrdea cinerea. No evidence of marked widespread change (A & L). Fluctuates; numbers fall after each hard winter, but then rapidly regain their former level. There was an especially marked and widespread decrease after the 1963 hard winter. A general decrease has occurred in the southern half of Scotland (and probably also in north- east England), which in some counties began in the 1920’s. Not scarce. Herons nest annually at the present time in all British and Irish counties except Northumberland and five in south-east Scot- land, Shetland, and Denbigh and Flint. National heronry censuses in BRITISH BIRDS 1928 (Nicholson 1929, 1930), 1954 (Burton 1956, 1957; Garden 1958) and 1964 (J. Stafford in preparation), and partial annual censuses since 1929, have provided a longer series of data on the size and fluctuations of the breeding population of the Heron in Britain than is available for any other species. The pattern of the main fluctuations is now well known : a marked decrease occurs after each hard winter, but numbers then regain their former level within a few years, providing no further cold winters inter^'^ene (cf. Lack 1954)- ^ severe decrease occurred over the whole of the country following the exceptionally hard winter of 1963. But, even including the unprecedented low numbers of nests in 1963, the limits within which the population has fluctuated since 1928 have been relatively narrow, probably between rather over 3,000 and under 8,000 nests in the whole of Britain and Ireland. By 1965, at least in England and Wales, numbers were gradually regaining their former strength (J. Stafford in preparation). Ignoring the short-term effects of hard winters, the population as a whole has probably remained nearly constant since 1928, and probably also for some considerable time before that (Nicholson 1929). Regional fluctuations have occurred, but, in general, decreases in one area have been balanced by increases elsewhere. Disturbance and tree-felling has led to the abandonment of many long-standing heronries, but new ones have also been founded. However, Garden (1958) showed that a marked decrease occurred between the 1928 and 1954 censuses in the numbers of Herons nesting in a wide area of south and south-west Scotland. This decrease appears to have continued steadily in many parts of the country from Perth south to the Borders. Persecution, particularly the killing of the young by fishing interests, has been held as the main cause of the decline (Baxter and Rintoul 1953). In Ayrshire, where there has been a steady marked decrease since the 1920’s, many young have been killed in recent years and there are now no large heronries left in the county (Richards 1965). A fairly general decrease may also have affected parts of north-east England. All heronries in Northumberland are now extinct, and the two in Durham are in a precarious state. Numbers are also greatly reduced in parts of Yorkshire, and have been decreasing for some time in Nottingham and Lincoln. A recent survey of residues of organochlorine pesticides in British birds showed the Heron to contain the largest amounts (Moore and Walker 1964), but there is no evidence to suggest that these chemicals are having a marked adverse effect on the species, particularly since it appears to be recovering its losses caused by the 1963 winter. Unfor- tunately, the detailed results of the annual heronry censuses since 1962 have not yet been published, but at least up till 1961 (Stafford 1963) they did not suggest that any general decline was taking place. 18 STATUS CHANGES AMONG BREEDING BIRDS Little Bittern Ixobrychus minutus. Probably bred sporadically in 19th century, and also in 1947. Although there are no confirmed British breeding records. Little Bitterns are believed to have nested occasionally in East Anglia in the 19th century, in southern England in 1947 and, doubtfully, in Surrey in 1956, when a pair summered. The species breeds right across central and southern Europe as far west as the Netherlands, and occasional breeding in southern England seems conceivable in the future, though the number of suitable localities is very small. Bittern Bolaurus stellaris. Huge, widespread decrease, and extinct in most areas by middle of 19th century; re-established itself in Norfolk Broads in early 20th century and has spread in recent years (A & L). This increase and spread has continued, but with set-backs after hard winters. Very scarce and local breeding species. Its main centre of population is still in East Anglia where it was generally slowly spreading and in- creasing (particularly in the Suffolk coastal strip) until its numbers were diminished by the 1963 hard winter. Up to that time there were pro- bably about 100 ‘booming males’ in the region. Some recover}' is taking place, but the species has not yet returned to all of its previous breeding sites. Outside East Anglia its main phase of expansion appears to have occurred during and shortly after the 1939-45 war when small numbers became established in at least four other counties, north to Leighton Moss, Lancashire, where it has persisted, as many as five pairs breeding in 1965 . It has also bred in at least three other counties (making nine in all) since 1940, though in only one of these was breeding regular over a period of years. Its decrease during the 19th centurv' was attributed mainly to drainage and human persecution. Its increase and spread this centur\- have been assisted by the creation (through various causes) of a limited number of new reed-bed habitats, such as those at Minsmere, Suffolk, and Leighton Moss, and by increased protection. Because it is vulnerable to cold winters it is perhaps significant that its main period of re-establish- ment in East Anglia occurred when these were fewest, i.e. between about 1900 and 1939. The Bittern has recently become re-established in Sweden following its extinction there earlier this centun,- (Curr}-- Lindahl 1959). Mallard Anas platyrhjnchos. No evidence of marked change. A numerous and widespread resident, breeding in all parts of the British Isles. The best evidence on present population trends is pro- vided by the National \X ildfowl Count indices, which, though referring to the wintering population, including immigrants, do also provide by BRITISH BIRDS February and March usable indices of the size of the native population which then predominates. The results of these counts indicate that the resident population remained virtually unchanged from 1949 to 1964 (Atkinson-Willes 1963, Atkinson- Willes and Frith 1965). Changes in breeding numbers have been recorded in various parts of the country, but these have been local in nature, without any marked trend being apparent in any one broad region. Decreases have occurred as a result of changes in land-use, such as building development and drainage, while local increases have also taken place through the creation of new waters or in some cases through birds being reared or preserved by shooting interests. Teal Anas crecca. No evidence of marked change (A & L). Little definite evidence, but perhaps slightly decreased. Not scarce; widely distributed in breeding season except in southern England and Wales where much more local. Atkinson-Willes (1963) has suggested that no great changes have occurred in the breeding population, except possibly in parts of eastern and central Scotland where some former strongholds have been almost abandoned in the last 30 years. In the same period the species has probably also decreased in parts of Galloway (J. D. Brown in li/t.). This evidence apart, there is little indication of changed status within its main British breeding range. In southern England and south-east Wales (south of a line from the Humber to Carmarthen) it has a scattered distribution and in many counties, particularly inland, breeds only sporadically. Breeding in such counties as Cornwall and Dorset seems to occur even more sporadically now than it did 30 and more years ago, while in such counties as Essex and Suffolk, where breeding is still regular, there appears to have been some decline over the same period. The changes are not marked, however, and, although the present trend of the British population may be towards a decrease rather than an increase, this cannot be asserted with any confidence. Garganey Anas qnerqueditla. Small but definite increase in southern England (A & L). Gradual increase and spread continued till about 1952, but has since been halted. Very scarce summer resident. The breeding population probably totals not more than 100 pairs (in some years considerably fewer) and is concentrated mainly in six south-eastern counties from Norfolk to Sussex. At the present time the species also breeds regularly in York- shire and Somerset and sporadically elsewhere. The British Isles are on the extreme western edge of the Garganey’s range and the numbers breeding here each year are largely determined by the very variable size of the arrival in early spring. The gradual increase and spread noted by 20 I STATUS CHANGES AMONG BREEDING BIRDS Table 3. Number of English counties in which Garganey Anas qnerquedula were proved to breed in each of five periods from the 19th century to 1965 r.lscwhcrc the species has bred at least once each in Scotland (1928) and Wales (1956) and twice in Ireland (Armagh 1956, Kerry 1959) pre-1900 1900-19 1920-39 1940-J2 1955-65 2-3 5 9 10 8 5 4 4 13 12 7'*^ 9 13 23 20 Alexander and J,ack continued for a time after the 1959-45 war, pro- bably until about 195 2. Expansion during 1945-48 appears to have been considerable and in this period the species nested in eight more English counties for the hrst time, though in several of these breeding has not since been repeated. After 1953 there seems to have been a slight con- traction of range. Despite a great increase in the amount of field obser- vation and recording, and a marked influx of Garganey in 1959 which led to temporary nesting in several new areas, notably in south-west England, breeding was actually proved in fewer English counties during 1953-65 than in the previous 13 years (table 5). In the breeding season the species favours marshy areas with shallow pools. Drainage of such areas in parts of Kent, Sussex and the Fens is said to have led to a recent decrease in the numbers of breeding Garganey. Temporarily, at least, the Fenland breeding population was as high as 40-52 pairs in 1952, but has since declined markedly. The species’ earlier increase in Britain has been attributed to the cessation of spring shooting, but it may also have been connected with a general north-westwards extension of breeding range in Europe. The Swedish population also increased markedly during the 1940’s, while in the previous decade the Garganey recolonised parts of Finland from which it had been absent since the 19th century (Merikallio 1958 Voous i960). Gadwall Anas sfrepera. Colonised and increasing Scotland; increasing East Anglia; has also nested in northern Ireland since 1935 (A & L). Continued increase in England, partly assisted by introductions. Scarce resident with patchy, ver}’ local distribution (due in part to introductions) and a total population of perhaps 200 breeding pairs. These are concentrated mainly in East Anglia where the species has increased steadily from stock originally introduced into west Norfolk m about 1850. In recent years it has spread into north Norfolk and the Broads, while it has also become much more abundant on the Suffolk coast which it colonised as recently as the 1950’s: now 40 or more .'\iimially or almost annually Occasionally Tot.u.s 21 BRITISH BIRDS pairs breed at Minsmere alone. Smaller groups have also been founded elsewhere in England, often by deliberate introductions or by escapes from waterfowl collections. In the last ten to 1 5 years small numbers have begun to breed regularly in Essex, Kent, Somerset and Yorkshire, and more sporadically elsewhere. The isolated breeding group estab- lished before the war in the Isles of Scilly has recently increased. Although the Gadwall has increased in Scotland since first nesting there in 1906, it is not certain that it is continuing to do so. Upwards of zo pairs breed regularly at Loch Leven, Kinross, and a few more at waters near-by in Fife and Perth, but elsewhere in Scotland, despite occasional breeding in several areas during the last 50 years, it has nowhere become permanently established. In Ireland it has bred in four northern counties since 1933, but here, too, it does not yet appear to be firmly established. Although the spread in Britain has been due partly to artificial dis- persion, it is worth noting that the species has also extended its range northwards in Scandinavia and has increased greatly in Iceland this century, presumably in connection with climatic changes (Gudmunds- son 1951, Hafthorn 1958, Voous i960). Wigeon Anas penelope. Very marked increase Scotland and northern England, and has nested in recent years sporadically in north Wales and northern Ireland, and in Kent and Essex (A & L). Little further change, and possibly some recent contraction of range in Scotland; appears never to have become permanently established elsewhere. Scarce breeding bird Scotland, occasionally elsewhere. The marked expansion of breeding range which occurred in the second half of the 19th century, and which probably continued in southern Scotland until about 1950, seems recently to have been halted. Although the species has been found breeding in Stirling only since 1954, it now nests in only one or two Scottish counties farther south (Selkirk and, possibly, Kirkcudbright), compared with the seven southern counties in 1950 named by Baxter and Rintoul (1953). Little recent information is available from within its main breeding range in northern Scotland, though in Sutherland no significant change in distribution has occurred since 1901 (Pennie 1962). A decrease appears to have taken place in Orkney since the 1940’s and the species no longer breeds there regularly. Outside Scotland it remains very largely a sporadic nester. Breeding records in England and Wales are probably less frequent now than 20-30 years ago, while some of the few more recent ones from south-east England are believed to have involved escaped or injured birds. It has been recorded breeding only twice in Ireland, in 1933 and 1953. Pintail /bias acuta. Colonisation and marked increase in Scotland, also STATUS CHANGES AMONG BREEDING BIRDS in Ireland, and has bred sporadically in England in 20th century (A & J.). Now breeds regularly in the southern half of England, but is sporadic in Ireland; probably little general change in Scotland. Ver)’ scarce breeder, with curiously scattered British distribution, few sites being occupied persistently over a long period of years. This last factor increases the difficulty of assessing changes in status. In Scotland, for example, Baxter and Rintoul (1955) named three ‘settled colonies’, at Loch I.even (Kinross) and in Orkney and Shetland. Yet at the first, formerly its Scottish stronghold, there was no confirmed breeding from 1946 till 1962 (since when one or two pairs have again bred annually); at the second it now nests only irregularly; and in Shetland (where breeding has, in fact, probably never been regular) it appears not to have nested for several years. Instead, regular breeding in Scotland now occurs in three quite separate areas — Caithness, Inverness and Aberdeen — and very occasionally elsewhere, such as in Kirkcudbright. Whether these changes in distribution represent any changes in abundance is uncertain, but it seems^unlikely that the species has become markedly more or less numerous in Scotland in recent years. In England sporadic breeding has occurred in several areas since about 1910. In 1951 it was much more widespread than usual and the species nested in five or six counties in the southern half of England. Breeding groups have since become established in two separate areas. In Ireland it bred sporadically in five northern counties between 1917 and 1938, and for a time became established in the Lough Neagh area (Deane 1954). But this group presumably died out and the only recent known breeding was in Derry in 1959. Shoveler Anas cly peat a. Huge increase and spread throughout England, Scotland and Ireland; perhaps an earlier decrease (A & L). Gradual increase probably continued until the early 1950’s, perhaps later, but present general trend not clear. Not scarce breeding bird, widely but somewhat locally distributed throughout Britain and Ireland. A shortage of suitable lowland marshes accounts for its absence or scarcity in central and western Scotland, while it is also very sparsely distributed in Wales and over central southern England: south-west of a line from the Cheshire Dee to Dungeness, probably the only places regularly supporting more than the occasional breeding pair are the Shropshire meres (where it has increased markedly in recent years) and the new Chew Valley Lake in Somerset (recently colonised by up to 50 pairs). The Shoveler’s main phase of expansion in Britain and Ireland occur- red early this centuty and was matched by a similar spread in con- tinental western Europe, possibly in connection with increased 23 BRITISH BIRDS summer temperatures (Voous i960). In. Scotland the expansion was probably at its height between 1900 and 1920 (Berry 1939) with a sub- sequently slower rate of spread continuing probably at least until the early 1950’s; it is uncertain, however, whether its absolute numbers also went on increasing until that time. Nor is the present trend of the Scottish population known, though it seems unlikely that any major change has occurred in recent years. In Ireland, while the Shoveler is clearly more widespread and numerous than at the beginning of the century, there is also little indication of any recent marked change in status. In England and Wales, although more evidence is available on changes in local populations, it is not clear whether there has been any general change in abundance in the last 20 or 30 years. Local increases in some parts of the country may have been balanced by decreases else- where, neither trend being particularly apparent in any one region. Apart from the increases in Shropshire and Somerset, mentioned above, the species has also increased general!}' in East Anglia since the 1939-45 war, though the large-scale fluctuations which occur at its strongholds in the Fens, Breckland and the Broads make it difficult to assess how extensive this increase has been, or whether it is continuing. On the other hand, losses of habitat, particularly through drainage, have led to widely scattered records of locally decreased populations. Since the 1930’s, for example, it has ceased to breed regularly in Durham and Glamorgan, has declined on Romney Marsh (Kent) and some Essex coastal marshes, and, more recently, has somewhat decreased in parts of Cumberland and Westmorland. In Nottingham, where about 40 pairs were nesting in 1947, drainage of marshland in the Trent Valley and the modernisation of Nottingham sewage-farm have so reduced the amount of suitable habitat that now only a few scattered pairs still nest. [Mandarin Duck y\ix galericulata. Introduced. Increased since becom- ing established earlier this century in southern England, but little recent change. Scarce. Feral populations of this introduced species — not admitted to the official British and Irish last — have been established very locally in southern England during this century. Savage (1952) estimated its population at rather more than 500 birds, mostly in Surrey and east Berkshire. Its distribution is limited by a shortage of suitable habitat, and there is no evidence to suggest any marked recent increase or spread (Atkinson-Willes 1963).] Rcd-crcsted Pochard Netia rufiiui. Although this species has s[-)read westwards across Europe during this century, reaching the Netherlands in about 1942, the only British breeding records — in Lincoln in 1957 ^4 STATUS chanc;es amonc; ureeding birds and Rssex in 1958 — probably involved escaped birds from waterfowl collections. Scaup Ajthya marila. Sporadic. Mas bred sporadically in northern Scotland since the end of the 19th century. One or two pairs nested in Orkney during the 1950’s, and since the 1959-45 war occasional breeding has occurred in Wester Ross, probably in the Outer Mebrides and perhaps elsewhere in northern Scotland. Breeding may occur slightly more frequently now than in the past. But this is uncertain and there has evidently been no major change in status. (i)n the Continent, the southern edge of the breeding range has been receding northwartls, presumabh' in association with climatic changes (Voous i960). Tufted Duck Aythya fiiliguhi. Huge increase and spread throughout British Isles (.'\ & J,). Continued marked increase, particularly in England. Not scarce; widely distributed over much of Britain and Ireland, but absent from parts of north-west Scotland and much of Wales and south- west England. Evidence from Local Reports suggests that more than 500 pairs now breed in England south of a line from the Mersey to the Humber; elsewhere there is much less quantitative information, but what there is suggests a total population in Britain and Ireland of over 1,000 breeding pairs. The earlier increase referred to by Alexander and Lack was most marked in Britain in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and was presumably connected with the species’ expansion in western Europe as a whole; Kalela (1949) attributed this increase to climatic changes. In England the population continued to increase, and bv the late 1950’s Tufted Ducks probably occupied most of the suitable breeding waters then available, and they had also begun to nest sporadicallv in several areas— notably in parts of south-west England and Wales— where breeding has not since been repeated. Like the Great Crested Grebe Podiceps crisfafus, the Tufted Duck has been quick to exploit the many new reservoirs and gravel pits which have been flooded in the last 20 years, and this has led to further marked increases in manv parts of central, eastern and southern England, while farther west, in Somerset, a notable concentration of up to 100 pairs now breeds at the new Chew Valley Lake. In Scotland, too, there appears to have been some further spread since Berry (1959) wrote that ‘only Shetland, the N.W’. Highlands and parts of Argyll remain to be occupied’. Breeding now occurs occasion- ally in Shetland (since 1952) and probably in Skye (since 1954), and the species has increased in north Sutherland and probably also in Argyll. 25 BRITISH BIRDS Further increases have been noted in several counties around the Firth of Forth, and there is still a concentration of several hundred breeding pairs at Loch Leven, Kinross. In Ayrshire and Galloway (and also in north Cumberland), however, the increase and spread seems to have slowed up, and in some areas here there may even have been some recent decline. Since the 1939-45 war the Tufted Duck has continued to extend its range in Ireland, though it is less certain whether it has become more numerous. Deane (1954) suggested that a decrease occurred in Northern Ireland after 1945. The only recent information, however, comes from Lough Beg, where the species has increased during the last ten years. Pochard Aythja ferina. Marked increase and spread throughout England, Scotland and Ireland, still continuing (A & L). Continued increase England, particularly Kent, but probably some decrease Scot- land, and still not established anywhere in Ireland. Scarce breeding bird with fairly wide though very local distribution, nesting only sporadically in many areas, particularly in western Britain. The breeding population in England and Wales is probably of the order of 200 pairs. The only county with a sizeable population is Kent, where it has increased markedly: numbers fluctuate, but up to 70 pairs have bred in some recent years, concentrated mainly in the shallow, reed-fringed, coastal fleets in the north of the county, where it was only an irregular nester until after the end of the 1939-45 war (Gillham and Homes 1950, Harrison 1953). This increase is difficult to understand for in neighbouring Essex little change has occurred in its numbers at the coastal marsh near Tollesbury which has remained its headquarters in that county since breeding was first discovered there in 1886: here, where the habitat has probably remained little changed over the years, 17 pairs bred in 1888, about 1 5 pairs around 1927, and between five and 15 pairs today (Glegg 1929, Local Reports). Taking East Anglia and the Thames Basin as a whole, the Pochard has generally increased over the past 20 years, particularly on certain park lakes in the London area and elsewhere, which, however, were probably originally colonised by ‘escapes’. Although gravel pits are sometimes occupied for breeding, this habitat appears to be generally unsuitable, and the species has consequently benefited much less from the growth in the gravel industry than has the Tufted Duck A.fuligula. The total number of counties in England and Wales in which the species now breeds regularly has increased since the late 1930’s (table 4), though it should be remembered that in several of these it is extremely local and restricted to one or two sites. The data for Scotland are less strictly comparable, but from table 4 it certainly appears to be much less widely distributed now than it was in the 1930’s. Ba.xter and Rintoul 26 STATUS CHANGES AMONG BREEDING BIRDS Table 4. Number of counties with breeding Pochard Aythya ferina in about 1938 and in 1964 Data for 193® adapted from those given in The Handbook, which may have regular breeding range in Scotland. Note that the two sets of data for irregular breeding cover unequal periods. The total number of counties in each region is given in brackets Regular breeding counties 1938 1964 Irregular breeding counties 1900-38 1955-64 S and SW England (7) Thames Basin (9) E Midlands and Anglia (10) W Midlands (7) N England (8) 0 5 5 0 2 I 5 6 I 3 3 3 3 2 3 i 1 i All England (41) 10 16 16 12 Wales (12) I I 2 I S Scodand (19) 8 4 2 N Scotland (14) 9 2 2 Ireland (32) 0 0 3 3 (1953) also considered that it had become less numerous following its increase earlier in the century. Even though it first bred in Ireland as long ago as 1907 it remains no more than a sporadic nester in that country. Like the Tufted Duck, but less markedly, the Pochard also extended its range westwards across Europe during the first half of this centurv' (Kalela 1949). Goldeneye Bucephala clangula. Nested Cheshire in 1951 and 1932, and these are the only records of breeding in Britain and Ireland. Long-tailed Duck Clangula hjemalis. Sporadic (A & L). Is believed to have bred once or twice in Shetland in the 19th century and bred in Orkney in 1911, but no recent nesting records. Velvet Scoter Melanifta fusca. Probably bred in Shetland in 1945, but there is no confirmed British breeding record. Common Scoter Aflelaniita nigra. Colonised and increasing in northern Scotland and north-west Ireland (A & L). Continued gradual increase in Ireland; probably little change in Scotland. Scarce; small numbers continue to nest in Sutherland, Ross and elsewhere in Scotland, probably south to north Perth, irregularly in Shet- land, Orkney and the Inner Hebrides. There is little information con- 27 BRITISH BIRDS cerning the species’ recent trends in Scotland, but probably no major changes have occurred. In Ireland, however, numbers have gradually increased to over 50 breeding pairs in Fermanagh (where it first bred in 1905) and to 20-30 pairs in Mayo (where breeding was first proved in 1948) (Ruttledge 1966). Eider Somateria niollisinia. Very marked increase and spread; colonised northern Ireland in 20th century (A & L). Has continued to increase (after temporarily decreasing in many districts during the 1959-45 war), spreading south to Walney Island, Lancashire, and further south-west in Ireland. Not scarce resident, nesting on coasts and off-shore islands in Scot- land and northern Ireland, and also in England in Northumberland and, since 1949, at Walney Island, Lancashire. Recent surveys by Taverner (1959, 1963) have traced the species’ increase in Britain and have shown that this has been paralleled elsewhere in western Europe and also in eastern North America. A marked rise in the Dutch population has led to increased numbers of non-breeders around English coasts. Almost everywhere the increases have been attributed to protection at the breeding colonies. The spread of the Eider in Britain began with the colonisation of the Scottish mainland about 1850 (it having been known previously on only a relatively few islands), but its main phase of expansion appears not to have started until towards the end of the 19th century when protection measures were introduced at colonies in many districts. In Shetland, for example, after a marked decrease in the early 19th century, it began gradually to regain its numbers from 1890 onwards, becoming com- mon again by 1922 (Venables and Venables 1955). It continued to in- crease gradually both in numbers and range up till the 1930’s. Ireland was colonised in 1912. During and immediately after the 1959-45 war several colonies in Scotland and at the Fame Islands, Northumberland, were drastically reduced when large numbers were taken for food. Subsequently, how- ever, with renewed protection, these colonies regained their former strength, and many increased still further. Yet, apart from the now substantial new colony at Walney Island, and a marked south-westward spread in Ireland as far as Sligo, where it is continuing to increase (Cabot 1962, Ruttledge 1966), there has been little southwards exten- sion of breeding range over the past 20 years. In some areas, not only in Britain hut also in Sweden, the Eider has generally managed to con- tinue to increase despite increased predation of its young by the larger gulls Larus spp.\ hut some local decreases during this century, for example on the Flannans and on North Rona, may possibly have been due to this cause. 28 STATUS CHANGES AMONG BREEDING BIRDS I Ruddy Duck Oxjura jarnaicensis. Introduced ; perhaps not yet estab- lished, and not admitted to British and Irish List. Vcr\’ scarce. Within the last few years small numbers have begun to breed regularly at Frampton (Gloucester) and Chew Valley Lake (Somerset), the original colonists having almost certainly come from the waterfowl collection at Slimbridge. Atkinson- Willes (1963) has sug- gested that further small colonies might be established elsewhere in future years, and it is therefore of interest that a pair bred at Tring reser\’oirs (Hertford) in 1965.] Red-breasted Merganser Aler^/ts serrutor. Verv marked increase in Scotland and Ireland (A & L). Increase has probably continued in some areas, though on a much reduced scale; since 1950 the species has colonised northern England and north Wales. Not scarce, breeding over much of Scotland and Ireland, and now also in northern England and north Wales (fig. i). Between about 1885 and 1920 the Scottish population expanded rapidly, and several regions were occupied for the first time, notably the Moray Basin and Galloway. After 1920 the numbers increased more gradually. In parts of Galloway Figs, i and 2. Spread of breeding ranges of the Red-breasted Merganser Mergus senator since 1950 (left) and Goosander M. merganser since 1940, shown by hatched areas in each case. Regular nesting was previously confined to the black areas. Isolated breeding records arc marked by dots 29 BRITISH BIRDS this increase has continued to the present day. Although large numbers are shot throughout Scotland by freshwater fishing interests, the species has suffered no obvious decline and its status over much of the country has remained largely unchanged in recent years (Mills 1962). In Ireland it has also become more numerous and widespread -since the beginning of the century and it now nests in all but a few, mainly southern, counties ; however, no marked change in status appears to have occur- red in recent years. The first proved breeding in England took place as recently as 1950 when a pair nested in Cumberland. The species has since increased con- siderably and has spread to Westmorland, north Lancashire and north- west Yorkshire. Exceptionally, a pair bred as far south as the Lincoln fens in 1961. North Wales was colonised in 1953 when a pair bred in Anglesey. Here, too, it has subsequently increased (to seven pairs by 1965), and has spread to the mainland of north Wales, breeding in Merioneth by 1 9 5 7 and in Caernarvon by 1 9 5 8, while birds are now also present during the breeding season in Montgomer}''. Goosander Mergus merganser. Colonised and increasing Scotland (A & L). Has since colonised south-west Scotland and northern England, but has somewhat decreased recently in north-west Scotland. Scarce, breeding on inland waters over much of Scotland and also in northern England (fig. 2). Breeding was first recorded in Scotland in 1871. Many nested after a large winter influx in 1876 and by the end of the century the species was widely distributed as a breeding bird over the whole of northern Scotland (Berry 1939). There followed a more gradual expansion and it was not until the 1940’s that it began to breed regularly in south-west Scotland and (until the population was shot out by fishing interests) also on the River Tweed in Berwick (Mills 1962). By 1941 it had spread over the border into Northumberland; and Cumberland was colonised in 1950. It has since increased in both these counties, but has not spread farther south. Despite the systematic shooting of large numbers on most rivers where Salmon Salmo salar are fished for in Scotland, it appears to be maintaining its status in many districts. This persecution has, however, led to a recent decrease in the numbers breeding in the extreme north- west and also in Selkirk, while the species would doubtless increase more rapidly in the Border counties were it not for the bounty placed on its head by local fishery boards (Mills 1962). Shelduck Tadorna tadorna. Increasing throughout Britain (A & L). Despite local decreases in some areas, it has continued to increase in Britain as a whole; inland nesting is becoming more frequent. Fairly numerous, breeding in coastal areas in virtually every maritime 50 STATUS CHANGES AMONG BREEDING BIRDS county in Britain and Ireland, and regularly in two inland counties of England. The total British population (including non-breeders, but excluding birds of the year) is possibly in the region of 50,000 birds, a figure which is based on the numbers in late summer on the main moulting grounds on the north coast of Germany (Atkinson- Willes 1963). The Shelduck decreased locally in the 19th century, reaching a low point in Suffolk, for example, in about 1886 (Ticehurst 1932). But it is not clear whether it declined significantly over Britain and Ireland as a whole. Plainly, however, the increase this century has been consider- able, and so widespread that it has been commented upon by almost every regional avifauna of the last 30 or 40 years. It appears to have been most marked in eastern and southern England. In Sussex, for example, the species first bred in 1904, had increased to about 500 pairs in the west of the county by 1938, and has spread further since, includ- ing to one locality 20 miles inland in 1963 (Walpole-Bond 1938, des Forges and Harber 1963). Since the last war it has colonised several parts of the coast of eastern, southern and south-western England, spreading in recent years to the extreme west of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. A marked feature of its recent spread — reflected also on the Continent, in southern Sweden and Denmark — has been the tendency to colonise inland areas. These nesting sites are usually within a few miles of the sea (such as the New Forest, Hampshire, several sites in Lincoln, the East Anglian fens, the new large reservoirs in Somerset and Essex, freshwater lochs in south-west Scotland, and so on), but are occasionally much farther in- land, as in the Trent Valley, Nottingham. However, this last county and Cambridge apart, Shelduck do not yet breed regularly in any other inland county in England. Against this background of general expansion, increased coastal disturbance has led to recently reduced populations in some areas, notably in south \Xales (Glamorgan, Carmarthen) and in parts of Lancashire, Northumberland and Ayr; it has also decreased at the inland colony on Loch Lomond. The primar\' initiating cause of the current expansion is not known, but presumably protection, both here and at the species’ moulting grounds in the Heligoland Bight, has been of considerable importance. Grey Lag Goose Atiser anser. Extinct in England and Ireland in i8th century and decreasing in Scotland in 19th century (A & L). Further decrease this century in Scottish wild population, but under recent pro- tection this decrease has now probably been halted; feral populations have tended to increase. Wild population scarce, restricted to the Hebrides and the extreme 31 BRITISH BIRDS north of Scotland. Prolonged persecution caused the native population to decrease at an ‘alarmingly rapid’ rate in the 50 years to i959> ^7 which time its range was very restricted and it was believed to be in danger of extinction (Berry 1939). According to J. W. Campbell (in Bannerman 1953-63), there were hy 1956 probably not more than 175 breeding pairs of wild stock in the whole of Scotland; of these, be- tween 125 and 145 pairs were in the Outer Hebrides. At its head- quarters on South Uist it had declined from about 200 pairs in 1920 to 45-50 pairs by the early 1950’s. Special protection measures were by then beginning to take effect, however, and the population in the Outer Hebrides is now regarded as being in a ‘fairly healthy’ state (Atkinson- Willes 1963). Small populations of wild birds also survive in Wester Ross (numbers now partly maintained by introductions), Sutherland (numbers augmented by surplus stock originating from a large feral flock) and Caithness. Flocks of feral origin also exist in some other parts of Scotland and in northern and eastern England. Birds originating from such a flock in \X'igtown have recently dispersed over a wide area of south-west Scotland, where they now breed in four counties. Other small colonies have recently been established in the Lake District and elsewhere by the Wildfowlers’ Association. As in Britain, special protection and artificial dispersion has led to the Grey Lag Goose’s revival in some other European countries, following a general earlier decline through persecution. Canada Goose Crania canadensis. Introduced. Increase and spread in recent years due to artificial dispersion. Scarce; artificially distributed in many parts of England, and in a tew localities in Wales, Scotland and northern Ireland. Jones (1956) organised a national census in 1953 which indicated a July population of 2,600-3,600 adults and young, distributed locally in East Anglia and central England from Berkshire north to Dumfries, with some smaller isolated populations elsewhere. It was then still largely restricted to the lakes in private parks where it had been introduced in the i8th and 19th centuries, its sedentary behaviour appearing to limit the discovery of new waters. On some estates its numbers were controlled and the whole popu’ation had probably remained unchanged for some years. At its main British colony, however, at Holkham, Norfolk, it increased from about 200 birds in 1941 to 700-1,000 in 195 5, and as many as 1,500-2,000 have been recorded there more recently (Atkinson-Willes 1963). Since the early 1950’s its numbers have almost certainly increased, due to much artificial redistribution of stock by the Wildfowl Trust and others. Several new colonics have been established on flooded gravel pits, lakes and other waters, mainly in England but also in Anglesey and 32 Plate i . Coots FuHca atra changing over at nest, Norfolk, May 1958 {]ohn Markham) (pages 47-49) L Plate 2. Male Chaffinch Vringilla coelehs, Devon, April 1951 {]ohn Markham) ; Plate 3 . Little Owl Athene noctm with worm, Norfolk, June 1955 {John Markham) Plate 4. Above, Woodcock Scolopax rusficola on eggs, Inverness, May 1948. Below, Stone Curlew Biirbinus oedicnemus nearing nest, Suffolk, June 1956 {^]ohn Markham) 1 »jfF ■ ■^EvSa^li^BK 4 ■ 4 1 JTi. Plate 5. Above, Dotterel Eudromias mor'wellus, Inverness, June 1945. Below, Woodlark EuUula arhorea at nest with young, Suffolk, June 1959 {]ohn Markham) Plate 7. Female Linnet Acanthis cannabina feeding young, Suffolk, July 1953 E 6. Upper, juvenile Bullfinch Pyrrhula pyrrhula at honeysuckle, London, August Lower, Wood Warbler Phylloscopus sibilatrix, Monmouth, June 1966 {John Markham) Plate 8 . Willow Tit Pants montanus, Hertfordshire, January 1954 ( /oZi« Markham) STATUS CHANGES AMONG BREEDING BIRDS south-west Wales. Some spectacular increases have been noted. In Devon, for example, the species was almost unknown until 1949 when ten artificially reared goslings were released at Shobrooke Park; by 1963 this flock had grown to about 160 and the geese have since spread to several other waters in the county. The species’ recent British dis- tribution, including many of the new colonisations, has been mapped by Atkinson- Willes (1963). Mute Swan Cygmis olor. Spreading and increasing Scotland and Ireland (A & L). Continued general increase until 1959, since when slightly reduced in some areas. Not scarce, breeding over the whole of Britain and Ireland, except Shetland and parts of north-west Scotland. It breeds most numerously in the southern halt of England and has increased almost evcrvwherc since the end of the 19th century, including in Ireland where it now nests in every county. One notable exception to tlois pattern of increase has been at the unique colony at Abbotsbury, Dorset, where a marked decrease to a present population of about 800 birds has been due mainly to artificial control of the numbers. A census in the springs of 195 5 and 1956 showed that the total num- ber of breeding pairs in England, Wales and Scotland was probably about 4,000, out of a total population, including non-breeders, of 17,850-19,250 birds (Campbell i960, Raweliffe 1958). Numbers were believed to have recently increased and were continuing to rise. A repeat sample census in spring 1961 indicated that no significant change had occurred, though an analysis of winter counts for the intervening years showed that the population had continued to increase markedly to a peak in 195 9» but had then fallen almost to the 1955 level (Eltringham 1963). The reasons for the fluctuation are not known. More predictably, numbers fell again in 1963 following the hard winter (Boyd and Ogilvie 1964). Huge and spectacular population increases have occurred over the last 20-30 years over the whole of the species’ range in north-west Europe. Whooper Swan Cjgnus cjgnus. Became extinct in Orkney in i8th century; colonised and slightly increasing north Scotland in 20th century' (A & L). No recent published records and, at best, not more than a sporadic breeder this century. Alexander and Lack’s summary and The Handbook’s ‘a few pairs breed Scotland’ seem to have overstated the case; in fact, there are only a very- few published records of breeding in Scotland this century-, none of them more recent than 1939. Small numbers remain in Scotland everv 33 BRITISH BIRDS summer and breeding has occasionally been attempted, perhaps slightly more often than the published records suggest. Golden Eagle Aquila chrjsaetos. In 19th century marked and wide- spread decrease, becoming extinct in Ireland and some Scottish counties, due to human persecution ; local increases in 20th century due to protection (A & L). Possible slight increase, and extension of range into south-west Scotland, following 1939-45 war. Recent sharp decline in breeding success in many parts of Scotland due probably to toxic chemicals, but so far only a slight decrease in adult population. Scarce resident, confined to Scottish Highlands and Western Isles with a few pairs in south-west Scotland. Non-breeders are again resident in the English Lake District, and a pair bred in Northern Ireland from 1953 to i960. Independent surveys of the Scottish popula- tion, summarised by Nicholson (1957), each suggested that in the early 1950’s it was in the region of 190 breeding pairs. The recovery of the Golden Eagle, following the intense persecution to which all birds of prey were subjected in the 19th century, probably dates from about the time of the 1914-18 war. There is, however, little quantitative evidence to indicate quite how much more numerous it became during the first half of this century, and in terms of total breeding numbers the increase was probably relatively small. Despite legal protection, it was (and still is) persecuted by game-keepers, shepherds, egg-collectors and others in some parts of the country, while elsewhere it has thrived on the protec- tion afforded to it by sympathetic land-owners. Assisted by the absence of active keepering during the 1939-45 war, and in western areas by an increase in the amount of sheep and deer carrion available, which has tended to offset a long-term reduction in live natural prey (Lockie and Stephen 1959, Lockie 1964), the breeding population probably increased in some districts in the immediate post- war years. In Sutherland there were more eagles by 1947 than there had been for a hundred years, though they have since decreased again, per- haps owing to the lack of Rabbits Oryctolagus cmiculus since 1954 (Pennie 1962). There was a notable increase in the Hebrides around 1946, and several former, long-deserted sites were reoccupied. Since 1948 a few pairs have recolonised two counties in south-west Scotland — Ayr and Kirkcudbright — after a long absence. One pair even bred on the Antrim coast of Northern Ireland from 1953 to i960 (Deane 1962) ; they were the first to do so in Ireland since the population in the west of the country became extinct about 1914. In England the species has returned to the Lake District, but although nests have been built in recent years there has been no actual breeding (Stokoe 1962). On the other hand, the war-time increase was not a universal one, and in some areas, notably the Cairngorms, there was a decided 54 STATUS CHANGES AMONG BREEDING BIRDS decrease between the 1930’s and 1946 (Gordon 1935, Brown 195 5). Annual surveys in four widely separate mainland regions during 1944-62 indicated that the breeding population maintained a relatively constant, high density throughout, the average area per pair var}dng from about 1 1,000 acres in the east Highlands to about 18,000 acres in parts of the west (Brown and Watson 1964). In one study area on Upper Deeside, the population remained stable at eleven pairs from 1944 to 1965 except that there was one extra pair in the late 1940’s and early 1950’s, and one pair less from 1957 onwards (Watson 1966). Recent studies have shown that the breeding success of eagles has tallen sharply in the last few years in many parts of Scotland. In a sample population over a wide area of west Scotland the number of ^ pairs rearing young declined from 72% during 1937-60 to 29% during 1961-63 (Lockie and Ratcliffe 1964). Chlorinated hydrocarbon residues, acquired by the eagles from sheep carrion, and by the sheep from sheep- dips, are believed responsible, and relatively large amounts have been found in eagles and their eggs. Unlike the eagles studied in the rest of I Scotland, those on Deeside have continued to breed as successfully as before, probably because the birds there hardly ever eat dead sheep (Watson 1966). So far, except perhaps locally in Inverness and Easter Ross, there has been no obvious decline in the numbers of adult pairs, but the latest indications are that a general and gradual decrease has now begun. Buzzard Bnfeo buteo. Huge decrease in 19th centur}' and extinct over much of Britain, due to human persecution; since 1914 beginning to 1 recover markedly, especially in west of England and Wales (A & L). > Increase continued till about 1954, but then sudden marked decline J following myxomatosis of Rabbits; in most regions, numbers have j somewhat recovered and the population as a whole is perhaps now fairly constant, though smaller than in 1954. ; Resident, not scarce. Widely distributed in Scottish Highlands ' (including Hebrides) and Wales, and in western districts of Scottish : Lowlands and England. Absent Ireland and from much of eastern half of England. Moore (1957) suggested that the Buzzard’s period of 1 greatest abundance since the early 19th centur}' was during 1949-34, at I the end of which he estimated the total population as approximately 1 2,000 pairs. Following the mj-xomatosis of Rabbits Orjctolagus cuniculus in 1934 there was a sharp decline in the Buzzard population and also in breeding activity the following year. In some of its strongholds, such as in south-west England, population decreases of up to 50% or more were recorded, while in Shropshire, and in some counties on the eastern edge of its English range, decreases were proportionately even greater. The small number of pairs which in the late 1940’s and early 1930’s had 35 BRITISH BIRDS begun to colonise several Midland counties, east to Oxford and Derby, and perhaps to Huntingdon and Nottingham, disappeared about 1955 or soon after. Breeding in Sussex has ceased to occur annually. In northern Ireland, recolonised about 1951 or a little earlier, ten pairs were breeding by 1954 in Antrim; but these had dwindled to one pair by 1961, and by 1964 the species was believed to be again extinct as an Irish breeding bird (Ruttledge 1966). Except in the New Forest, Hampshire, where after a temporary check about 1955 the numbers continued to increase markedly until 1961 (Cohen 1962) and only then fell, the general population trend in most regions of England and Wales followed a similar basic pattern; a sharp fall in 1955, followed by a gradual recovery in the next few years, and then relative stability at a density below that of the early 1950’s. The rate and degree of recovery varied from region to region, while in some areas numbers in recent years appear to have fluctuated rather more than they did when Rabbits were abundant. Local reductions in some areas of England about i960 were reported by Prestt (1965), but these were perhaps only temporary. As pointed out by Moore (1957), the history of the species in Britain during the last two centuries is closely correlated in both time and space with the activities of game-preservers. Persecution remains consider- able in many parts of Britain, particularly in Scotland. In that country, although the Buzzard population was reduced by m^-xomatosis, the effect appears to have been less marked than farther south, and in some parts, notably in Galloway, Arran, Bute and the Outer Hebrides, the species has continued to increase, perhaps through greater protection. Prestt (1965) discussed some other possible reasons for recent local changes, but the general influence of m^ocomatosis overrides all others. Sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus. Though undoubtedly decreased through persecution, it is still not uncommon (A & L). Increased in many areas during 1939-45 war; sudden, sharp and widespread decline, particularly in eastern England, since about 195 5. Resident, not scarce, breeding throughout Britain and Ireland except Outer Hebrides and Northern Isles. In recent years has virtually dis- appeared from a wide area of eastern England. Although it remained a widespread resident and its distribution was little changed, the fortunes of this species were, until recently, controlled very closely by the degree of persecution it received from game-preservers. When game-keeping lapsed in both the 1914-18 and 1939-45 wars, Sparrowhawks increased and during the second of these periods there were widespread reports of larger numbers from almost all parts of Britain. It was apparently only in parts of south Wales that they decreased at this time (Ingram and Salmon 1954). There is some evidence to suggest that in many 36 STATUS CHANGES AMONG BREEDING BIRDS regions the greatest numbers were reached in 1946 and 1947. In the late 1950’s reports suggesting a widespread decrease led to an enquiry being held into the status of the species in i960. Organised by R. S. R. Fitter, this survey showed that its numbers had fallen over virtually the whole of Fingland and Wales. Only two counties — Flint and Pembroke — reported that no change had occurred (Cramp 1965), though in the latter it was in fact believed to be decreasing (Lockley 1961). The number of nest records submitted to the British Trust for Ornithology fell sharply in 1955 and remained low in succeeding years (Cramp 1963). The number of nestlings ringed annually also showed a similar marked decline from 1955 onwards and, although it is impos- sible to make precise and completely unbiassed comparisons, this evidence suggests that the numbers of young Sparrowhawks reared during the decade 1955-64 were probably only one-fifth to one-tenth the numbers reared in each of the previous two decades, presumably owing to a decline in the adult population. Regular observations by Ash (i960) on an estate in Hampshire showed a steady decline in the num- bers of Sparrowhawks seen after 1953. A further survey in 1963, this time also including Scotland and northern Ireland, confirmed the extent and severity of the Sparrow- hawk’s decline (Prestt 1965). In many areas the decrease had become most evident about 1959-60, and by about 1960-63 the combined evidence from Prestt’s surA'ey and from Local Reports suggested that the species was then virtually extinct in several eastern counties (Lincoln, Leicester and Rutland, Huntingdon, Bedford, Cambridge, Essex, Middlesex, Oxford and Northampton) and had been reduced to a handful of pairs in several others. Numbers had also been reduced over much of Scotland and Northern Ireland, and even among the few counties mentioned by Prestt as showing little or no change— for example, Dumfries and Kirkcudbright — other evidence suggested that there, too, the species had decreased. Only in Cornwall (where it may actually have increased recently), Devon and parts of south Wales (notablv Cardigan) have its numbers remained largely unchanged, although it should be added that, despite a decrease in Hampshire generally, the population in the New Forest has also been unaffected. In Ireland it has evidently decreased considerably in some eastern counties (Ruttledge 1966). A cause other than persecution is clearly responsible for the Sparrow- hawk’s recent decline, which has also been noted in Continental countries. Since the mid-i95o’s the only widespread ecological changes which might conceivably have affected this species would seem to be the introduction of myxomatosis and the advent of chlorinated hydro- carbon pesticides. The reduction in the numbers of Rabbits Orjctolagus cuniailiis as a result of myxomatosis may have had indirect effects on the 37 BRITISH BIRDS Sparrowhawk, but it seems unlikely that these would have been so marked. It is not surprising, therefore, that most contributors to Prestt’s (1965) survey attributed the decrease to toxic chemicals, residues of which have been found at relatively high levels in both the adult birds and their eggs. The fact that the Sparrowhawk’s sharpest decline has occurred in eastern England, especially in lowland agricul- tural areas, lends support to this view. There is some evidence to sug- gest that a partial recovery may now be taking place in some southern and Midland counties, but, as with most birds of prey, the breeding success of this species fluctuates and the apparent small improvement may be the result of a single relatively successful breeding season. Goshawk Accipiter gentilis. Bred sporadically in 19th century and apparently regularly in earlier times (A & L). Has nested occasionally since 1938, perhaps earlier. Up to three pairs bred in Sussex from 1938 (perhaps as early as 1921) until 1951, but they were persecuted by game-keepers and there was no subsequent proof of breeding (Meinert2hagen 1950, des Forges and Harber 1963). Occasional nesting is believed to have occurred in at least one other area within the last ten years, and there are suspected or unsubstantiated records from three more parts of the country. Whether the birds that bred in Sussex had escaped or been released is not known, but the female of a pair that nested in Shropshire in 1951 was certainly one that had escaped from a local falconer. Slijper (1963) has recorded a sharp, sudden decrease in recent years in the population in the Netherlands. Kite Aiilvus milvus. Huge and widespread decrease; now extinct in most of Britain, due to human persecution and decrease of carrion (A & L). The small population in Wales has increased very slightly in the last decade. ' Very scarce, confined to a few counties in central Wales, where now about 20 breeding pairs. This represents a higher population than at any previous time this century. Up to the 1939-45 war the number of known pairs fluctuated between about four and ten. An apparent increase from about six known pairs at the end of the war to 1 5 known pairs during 1951-53 was probably due mainly to the discovery of birds that had previously been overlooked. Since then, however, apart from a slight set-back in 1955 following myxomatosis, the numbers have increased slightly and some Welsh localities have been reoccupied after a long absence. Breeding success varies considerably from one year to another. Nest failures during 1960-63 were generally the result of human inter- ference, but there was also some circumstantial evidence of dieldrin poisoning (Salmon 1964). Even so, seven young fledged from 17 knowm 38 STATUS CHANGES AMONG BREEDING BIRDS nests in 1964, and eleven young flew the next year, which was the most successful since 1954 when 15 young were reared. Despite protection, some nests are still robbed of eggs or young. The future of the Kite in Wales remains in some doubt, for it may be threatened by the wide- spread felling of deciduous woodlands and their replacement with conifer plantations, as well as by the afforestation of sheepwalks. White-tailed Eagle Haliaeeftts albicilla. Widespread decrease and now extinct, due to human persecution (A & L). No confirmed breeding since the last nest was found in Skye in 1916. Honey Buzzard Pernis apivorus. Decrease due to human persecution; formerly rare but regular, now only occasional breeder (A & L). In fact, has probably always remained a regular breeder, though in vet}'- small numbers. Very scarce summer visitor. There is now sufficient evidence to show that this unobtrusive species, which is easily confused with the Buzzard Buko buko, never completely disappeared as a regular breeding bird in Britain. For at least the last 30-40 years it has maintained a population of several pairs and has bred very locally in southern England north to the Welsh border, as well as almost certainly in Fife in 1949. Marsh Harrier Circus aeruginosus. Huge and widespread decrease, in nearly all counties extinct (A & L). Increase after 1939-45 war, but sharp decline after 1958 almost to level of pre-war population. Very scarce, currently confined to three breeding pairs on a Suffolk reserve and an equal or smaller number elsewhere in England. Persecu- tion and destruction of habitat led to the species’ extinction in Ireland by 1917 and to its temporar}- extinction in England by the end of the 19th century. The occasional pair attempted to breed in Norfolk from 1908 onwards, but it was not until the 1920’s that it again became estab- lished there; assisted by protection, up to four pairs nested in the county from 1927 onwards. The species began to settle in the Suffolk coastal marshes in the 1930’s and, although not actually proved until 1945, probably started nesting there before the 1939-45 war; by 1958 eight pairs were nesting at four localities (Payn 1962). By 195 1, perhaps earlier, a few pairs had begun breeding in Dorset (Moule 1965). More sporadic breeding has occurred in four or five other counties in England and one in north Wales since 1945. By about 1957-58 the British breeding population was probablv higher than at any time since the middle of the 19th century, with 12-14 pairs in East Anglia and about five pairs elsewhere (Axell 1964). After this, however, numbers slumped dramatically; the species is not known to have bred in Norfolk since 1959, nor has it nested in Suffolk awav 39 BRITISH BIRDS trom Minsmere since 1961. From 1963 to 1966, including the three to four pairs at Minsmere, the total population in the whole country was probably only about six breeding pairs each year. Rooth and Bruijns (1964) noted a similar sharp decline in the Nether- lands, which they attributed to a lack of prey, especially Rabbits Orjctolagus cimiciihis. Increased human disturbance may be one reason for the decrease in East Anglia: Marsh Harriers still prospect apparently suitable reed-beds each summer, without nesting. Axell (1964) sugges- ted that the destruction by Coypus Mjoccis/or coypus of extensive areas of reed-bed habitat since the late 1950’s may have contributed to the decline, while there also exists the possibility that the species may be affected by agricultural chemicals. Hen Harrier Circus cjaneus. Huge and widespread decrease, becoming extinct almost everywhere, due to human persecution; remnant in Orkney, etc., somewhat increasing, thanks to protection (A &: L). Marked increase since about 1940; the species has recolonised many Scottish counties and several in Ireland, and more recently has begun breeding again locally in England and Wales. Scarce; now breeding quite widely in Scotland (including its estab- lished strongholds in Orkney and the Outer Hebrides); also in at least six counties in Ireland and three in England and Wales. Its total popula- tion certainly exceeds 100 breeding pairs and is perhaps much higher; but detailed information is sparse. This species is the only bird of prey breeding in Britain and Ireland which has increased considerably in the last 20 years and which appears to have succeeded in maintaining this increase. By the beginning of this century it had become extinct over much of the British Isles and until the 1959-45 war it was confined as a regular breeder to Orkney and the Outer Hebrides, with the addition of a pair or two in Ireland. Starting about 1939 it began to recolonise one part of central Scotland, and between then and the mid-1950's it re- occupied a further live areas of the Scottish mainland. The initial colonisation may have taken place from Orkney, where the species had increased markedly during the war and a peak population was reached in 1949 and 1950 (Campbell 1957, Balfour 1963). It continued to increase and spread and by about i960 was breeding in yVyr, Galloway and occasionally elsewhere in southern Scotland, as well as in most High- land counties. A parallel increase occurred in Ireland, where bv 1964 a total of 34 pairs were nesting in six counties (Ruttledge 1966). Recently a few pairs have also returned to breed in Wales and one county in England. Campbell (1957) attributed the 1 Icn 1 larrier’s re-establishment on the Scottish mainland to the relaxation of persecution during the war. One- factor which has affected its recent increase has been its tendency in 40 STATUS CHANGES AMONG BREEDING BIRDS many districts to occupy young conifer plantations, which, being un- keepcred and relatively undisturbed, have afforded it a safe refuge. Montagu’s Harrier Circus pygargus. Although sometimes stated to have greatly decreased, there is no real evidence that this species w is ever much commoner than it is at the present time (A & L). Increase in decade following 1939-45 war, but marked decrease since late 1950’s. Very scarce; probably now about 20 pairs breeding in widely separ- ate parts of England and Wales, with perhaps one or two pairs in Ireland. The British population of this summer visitor has certainly fallen in recent years from Nicholson’s (1957) estimate of 40-50 pairs and, though the data are incomplete, the present total of 15-25 pairs is probably roughly similar to that in the 1930’s. Following the 1939-45 war the species increased markedly in south-west England (where for a time around 1950 up to 20 pairs bred in Devon and Cornwall), probably also in north-east England and perhaps elsewhere, while it also returned to north V( ales after a long absence. In all areas where an increase was recorded the favoured breeding habitat was young forestr\- plantations. In the early 1950’s there were also several records of nesting outside its usual haunts, and these included the first for Scotland (1952, 1953, 1955 in Perth and 1953 in Kirkcudbright) and Ireland (195 5 and subsequently, one or two pairs in two counties). Already by the mid-1950 s, however, a decline had begun to take place in several of the six main breeding areas, and by about i960 the species had decreased to some extent in almost all of them. It decreased most sharply in East Anglia, where since 1958 it has ceased to breed regularly; this population, nesting mainly in reed-beds, was probably the only one in Britain which had bred more or less continuously since the beginning of the century. Since about 1 960 this harrier has bred annually in probably only three counties of England and Wales, though almost annually in about three others. During 1956-65 it bred at least once in a further 12-14 count- ies, plus two more in Ireland. As the young forestry plantations in which it nests mature there is inevitably some movement from one area to another, and this may account for the sporadic nature of breed- ing in some counties. In one of its strongholds in south-west England there is evidence of an increase in 1965 and 1966. Booth and Bruijns (1964) noted a recent decrease in the numbers of pairs breeding in the Netherlands. Osprey Pdtuiion haliaetus. Widespread decrease due to human persecu- tion, and now extinct (A & L). One and later two pairs have bred in Inverness since about 1954. The history of the recolonisation of Scotland after an absence of 41 BRITISH BIRDS almost 50 years has been detailed by Sandeman (1957) and Brown and Waterston (1962). Increased numbers of Ospreys were seen in summer in Scotland from 1951 to 1954, and there is strong circumstantial evidence that a pair nested in the last of these years. Since 1955 one pair (more recently, two pairs) has bred with varying success on Spey- side under the watchful eye of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. Despite rumours, reports of breeding elsewhere in Scotland are unsubstantiated. This recolonisation came at a time when the species had shown a recovery in its numbers in Scandinavia. Hobby Yalco suhbuteo. Decrease in 19th centur}' due to collectors and gamekeepers, but doubtful if ever abundant; perhaps now holding its own (A & L). Probably little recent change. Ver}^ scarce; 75-100 breeding pairs, virtually restricted to southern England, where concentrated mainly in Hampshire and the five coun- ties adjoining (see table 5). Numbers of this summer visitor fluctuate from year to year, but there appears to have been little substantial change in status during the past 25 years, or indeed during the present century. Sporadic breeding to the north and north-east of its normal range has perhaps become rather less frequent since about 1950, but this is not certain. On the other hand, the species has bred more fre- quently in Devon and recently, for the first time, has nested twice in Cornwall. In many parts of its main breeding range, its numbers appear similar to those in the 1930’s. However, Ash (i960) recorded a drop in numbers seen in one part of Hampshire from 1952 to 1959, which he suggested might have been due to the activities of egg-collectors or, alternatively, to reduced breeding success following a series of bad summers. Brown (1957) estimated the total British breeding population at 60-90 pairs, but Richmond (1959) thought this figure was too low and pointed out that there were ‘well over 30’ pairs in one county (presumably Hampshire) in 1958. Simson (1966) reckoned that in 1963 there were probably 5 7 pairs in the six main counties, but his estimates for three of these (Hampshire, Sussex and Berkshire) were certainly too low. A revised estimate based mainly on the regional literature, but partly also on Simson (1966) and correspondence, is given in table 5. It has not been possible to provide figures for a single year in the period 1962-64 as the data contained in most Local Reports are too incomplete. For the main areas the maximum number of probable breeding pairs for any of these three years has therefore been given. When lireeding, however, the Hobby is extremely elusive and, although in some years its total population may be smaller in some counties than that given here (notably in Sussex, where it declined from 1962 to 1964), nesting pairs are almost certainly overlooked, particularly in the more northerly 42 STATUS CHANGES AMONG BREEDING BIRDS Table 5. Breeding population of the Hobby Fako subbuleo in England and Wales during 1962-64 Sporadic breeding may also have occurred in as many as five other counties, though proof of this was not obtained in these three years (c.g. bred Worcestershire in 1965) Regular breeding Probable number of pairs Frequent breeding Minimum number of pairs Irregular breeding Number of years 1962-64 i larrpshire 25 + Devon 2 Radnor 2 Sussex 13 Gloucester 2 Cornwall I Surrey 12 Hereford 1 Somerset I Wiltshire 10 Oxford 1 Warwick I Dorset 9 Buckingham 1 Northampton I Berkshire 5 Kent 1 Huntingdon 1 TOTAL 74+ pairs TOTAL 8 -i- pairs AVERAGE 2-3 pairs counties. In most recent years the breeding population has probably totalled 75-100 pairs. Peregrine Fako peregrinus. Marked and widespread decrease due to human persecution; less marked decline in 20th centurt' and probably holding its own by 1959 (A & L). War-time reduction locally, due to persecution, followed by a rapid recovery; since about 1955 a sudden, marked and widespread decrease, leading to extinction in many south- ern counties by the early 1960’s. Scarce; apart from a few pairs in south-west England, Wales, the Lake District and south-west Scotland, most are now confined to the Scottish Highlands and parts of Ireland. Ferguson-Lees (1951) showed that in the late 1940’s there was little reliable evidence of a widespread desertion of ancient breeding sites, so that any decline due to persecu- tion in the 1 9th century was probably much less severe than had been claimed. Between about 1900 and 1955 the population in most parts of Britain remained relatively stable, except that locally during the 1939-45 war large numbers were killed by the y\.ir Ministry in the interests of carrier pigeons. When this persecution ceased, the population re- covered rapidly. In Cornwall, for example, where the Peregrine had been completely exterminated in the war, 1 7 eyries were again occupied by 1955 (Treleaven 1961). Beginning about 1955 in southern England, however, and spreading north to all parts of the British Isles in the next few years, an alarming and drastic decrease then took place (Ratclifte 1963). A national census (excluding Ireland) in 1961 and 1962 showed that by 1961 two-fifths of the pre-war population of about 650 pairs had disappeared. In the whole countr}' only 82 pairs were known to rear young in 1961, and only 68 pairs in 1962. The regions most severely affected were southern 43 BRITISH BIRDS lingland and Wales, where the species completely disappeared from more than half the counties in which it had been breeding a few years earlier. Only in the Scottish Highlands were Peregrines still present' in 1962 in more than half the territories known before the war. A sample census in 1963 and 1964 (Ratcliffe 1965) showed that numbers had fallen further bv 1965, but that in 1964 there were some signs that the decline had been halted. A survey in Ireland in 1950, when the species was believed to be increasing, indicated a population of about 190 breeding pairs. But there, too, a decline began and in recent years the population is thought to have fallen to less than 70 pairs, while the species has become extinct in some southern and eastern counties (Ruttledge 1966). Ratclift'e (1963) has given convincing circumstantial evidence that agricultural toxic chemicals are the cause of the decline, which has affected not only the British population but also those in several Continental countries and eastern North America. Merlin ¥aIco columbarius. Widespread decrease due to human persecu- tion, but in some areas now probably holding its own or increasing where land no longer preserved for game (A & L). In manv places there has been a general decrease extending over the past 30-60 years, and recently a more marked and widespread decline. Scarce; widely but thinly distributed in upland areas of western and northern Britain, and Ireland. Although there is little quantitative information, much indirect evidence suggests that a gradual long-term decrease occurred in several regions during the first half of this centur}% though locally, for example on some of the Scottish islands, the species probably maintained its numbers quite well, while in south-west England it actually increased on Exmoor and perhaps also Dartmoor. Areas affected by the general decrease included probably much of Ireland (Kennedy et al. 1954, Deane 1954) and Wales (Ingram and Salmon 1954, 1955, 1957, Condry 1955; etc.) and parts of northern England (Chislett 1952, Oakes 1953) and the Scottish mainland (Baxter and Rintoul 1953, Pennie 1962; etc.). It is not clear why this general decrease occurred, nor why, if the 19th century reduction was simply due to persecution, the species did not increase after about 1900 when persecution became less intensive. Changes in habitat, such as the encroachment of forestry on to the open moorland breeding grounds in Northumberland, Durham and Fife, have been held responsible for local decreases, while greater disturbance was probably the cause of the disappearance in about the 1930’s of Merlins which bred in some low- lying western areas, for example among the coastal dunes of south Wales and north-west Devon, and on the mosses of south Lancashire. Since about 1950 a more marked and widespread decrease has occurred, affecting the species througlu'ut almost the whole of its 44 STATUS CHANGES AMONG BREEDING BIRDS British range. Excluding Ireland, for which little recent information is available, there is evidence of a decrease in the last 10-15 years in at least 3 1 different counties. In many of these, including six of the seven southernmost in Wales, almost all those in northern England and south- east Scotland, and Sutherland, Caithness and Shetland in the extreme north, the decrease has been recorded as ver^• marked. By 1964 numbers were particularly low in some areas. In that year no Merlins could be found at five former breeding sites in one area of north Yorkshire, no nests were located in Durham where ten rears earlier there had been several, many eggs failed to hatch in the six nests found in Northum- berland, and on one island in Shetland there was only one successful breeding pair compared with ten to twelve in the mid-i95o’s. Despite the widespread nature of the decrease, there appear to be few counties where breeding has ceased altogether since 1950 and during this period nesting has actually been proved for the first time in Corn- wall (in 1954). These results agree with those of Prestt (1965) in that they show that the species is generally diminishing, but they also suggest that the recent decline has been much more widespread than he indicated. Prestt suggested that the decrease had been due mainly to the loss of satisfactory breeding areas, but clearly other factors are also involved. Kestrel Valeo thinunculus. No evidence for marked change (A & L). Fluctuates, but a general marked decrease in eastern England from about 1959 to 1963, though locally with some recoverv since. Fairly numerous, breeding in all parts of Britain and Ireland except Shetland (where it ceased about 1905). Apart from local changes in abundance, usually attributed to increases or decreases in persecution, the Kestrel’s status over the countrv* as a whole appears to have remained largely unchanged during much of this century. Especially after 1930, nesting in urban areas, notably in Lancashire (Oakes 1953) and central London (Homes et al. 1957), became increasingly more common. There is some evidence for a general increase in southern districts in the decade following the 1939-45 war. Reports of local increases up to the early 1950’s were widespread from Surrey west to the Isles of Scilly (recolonised in 1956 after an absence of many rears) and far outnumbered reports of decrease. Recent surveys by R. S. R. Fitter (in Cramp 1963) and Prestt (1965) have shown that between about 1959 and 1963 Kestrels declined very markedly in eastern England, particularly in agricultural areas from Nottingham and Lincoln south to Hampshire, Sussex and Kent. VC’ithin this region the decline was less severe in such localities as the New Forest in Hampshire, and the Brecks in East Anglia, than in areas of pure farmland. The only outstanding cause suggested for the 45 Per cent of ringed nestlings of all species BRITISH BIRDS F t G . 3 . Numbers of nestling Kestrels Valeo tinnunculus and Barn Owls Vyto alba ringed annually in Britain and Ireland, 1947-64, expressed as a percentage of the annual totals of ringed nestlings of all species. Because of a national survey into its status, special attention was paid to the Kestrel in 1963 and 1964, and the dotted line may better indicate the extent of the fluctuation in these two years compared with previous ones decline was toxic chemicals, and this was associated with decreased i breeding success (Prestt 1965). Less marked declines in the same period were also reported from parts of central England, south-east Scotland and eastern Ireland, but at least in some counties these decreases proved only temporary. In most , eastern counties the population has remained depressed. Numbers appear not to have fallen further since 1963, however, while in some of the hardest hit areas of Kent, Surrey and Lincoln, and perhaps else- where, there was a decided recovery in 1964 and 1965. In most parts of the country the population and breeding success of the Kestrel (and also the Barn Owl Tyto alba) fluctuates cyclically according to the abundance of its main prey, the Short-tailed Field Vole Microtus agrestis. Some indication of the fiuctuatitins since the war is provided by the annual totals of young Kestrels ringed by the British Trust for Ornithology (fig. 3). These data generally parallel those for 1950-61 based on the numbers of nest records submitted to another B.T.O. scheme (Cramp 1963), with the notable exception of 1961 for which Cramp’s data indicated a sharp fall. Though they need inter- preting with caution, these ringing data do suggest that at least some of the fluctuations in numbers and breeding success, which in recent years have been attributed to other factors, may have been part of this 46 bird-photographers: JOHN MARKHAM normal short-term cyclical effect. The data are too incomplete to indicate any general trend in the Kestrel population as a whole over the last 20 years. All that can be said is that, unlike those for the Barn Owl, they provide no indication of a decline. Rooth and Bruijns (1964) showed that the Kestrel decreased markedly in the Netherlands from 1961 to 1963, in one area from 28 breeding pairs to only one; the most important single cause was considered to be the decline of voles owing to land improvement. (To be con finned in the March issue) British bird-photographers 8. John Markham (Plates 1-8) As MOST OF THIS ISSUE is dcvoted to the first instalment of an im- portant survey of the status of the birds which breed in Britain and Ireland, it seems appropriate that the plates should be a selection taken in the British Isles by an outstanding bird-photographer who has resisted the temptations of foreign travel and has always set his sights at common species showing characteristic behaviour in typical sur- roundings. John Markham’s interests are actually much more widely based than those of many other bird-photographers and he would probably prefer to be known as a naturalist-photographer, for he is equally at home with mammals, insects, spiders, animals in zoos, fish in aquaria, trees, and flowering plants. He is perhaps the most versatile British photographer in this field today and his knowledge of natural history is as wide as his knowledge of the techniques of photography and photographic apparatus. Anyone who looks at illustrated natural history books or magazines will be familiar with John Markham’s work. He is a professional whose results have been reproduced in countless places. Few people, on the other hand, know John Markham himself, for he is something of a lone wolf who shuns meetings and conferences and prefers to do his photography alone. Only once, in fact, in his whole career has he spent a summer season with another photographer. This was in Norfolk in 1955 when he and Walter E. Higham photographed Little Owls Athene noctua at the nest (plate 3). 47 BRITISH BIRDS Because he works so much on his own, it is not easy to say much about the man himself. He claims that his interest in birds began at the age of three, when he was shown a Starling Sturnns vulgaris singing on a chimney pot opposite his north London home. As soon as he was able to read, the books of the late Oliver Pike reinforced this interest and it was a red-letter day when he met the great man, who promptly advised him to get a camera. John Markham duly bought a Box Brownie and, with the aid of a tripod and such home-made gadgets as a spectacle glass over the lens to reduce the focal length, he managed to get more or less recognisable pictures of nests and eggs, and eventually of birds. His sphere of attention spread to the insects eaten by the birds and, in turn, to the plants on which the insects lived. His interests have always been with the common rather than the rare and with behaviour and basic ecology rather than simple portraiture. Sometimes he spends weeks, even months, on one particular species as, for example, the Dotterel Eudromias morinelltis (plate 5 a) in the Scottish Highlands ; year after year he climbed to its breeding grounds and frequently stayed out all night in June when, of course, it never becomes really dark at that latitude. Another season he devoted most of his time to getting to grips with the Woodcock Scolopax rusticola (plate 4a) and after that turned his attention to the Nightjar Caprimulgus europaeus. Several of his most striking photographs of this last species, including a unique one of a singing male and an unusual shot of a female fluttering away and showing the patterning of spread wings and tail, have already been published in this journal {Brit. Birds, 54: plates 13, 1 6b and 17). The same applies to some of John Markham’s other outstanding results. For instance, a particular challenge was the Grass- hopper Warbler Eocustella tiaevia which he wanted to photograph sing- ing; he spent practically the whole of the 1962 season watching this species in Anglesey to find the favourite song posts and established a method of stalking the singer until close enough to photograph it {Brit. Birds, 56: plate 31). Even without these, however, we think that the selection now published is a fitting tribute to John Markham’s ability. Bird-photographers are renowned for their patience, but few are as patient as John Markham. He will sit by his camera for days on end until he gets the photograph he wants. He had, for example, to wait three whole days for the juvenile Bullfinch Pjrrhuia pyrrhula feeding on honeysuckle berries (plate 6a). Similarly, long hours in a hide by a tree stump baited with food resulted in photographs of a variety of birds; his shot of the Willow Tit Parus montanus (^late 8) is, to my mind, among the best of them. I le is also an opportunist. One day in April 1951, while driving along a narrow country lane in Devon, he stopped to eat his sandwiches. Almost at once a Chatfinch Vringilla coelebs came 48 NOTES down to look for crumbs and then flew up to perch on a spray of apple blossom; the resulting photograph (plate 2) is one of the best ever obtained of this species. The remaining pictures are of birds at or near their nests and, here again, John Markham shows his skill. Outstanding is the one of the female Coot Fulica atra (plate 1) edging her way on to the nest as the male stands over the eggs; it is not easy to photograph a pair of Coots at the nest and in this case the shape of beak and frontal shield are beautifully illustrated from both front and side, while the lobed feet are thrown in for good measure. The Stone Curlew Burhwus oedicnenius approaching her eggs (plate 4b) is clearly oblivious of the photo- grapher; the Linnet Acanthis camabina and young (plate 7) are absolutely sharp in spite of all the movement which a hungr)^ brood makes, and the same applies to the Woodlarks Fullula arborea (plate 5 b). Finally, in the Wood Warbler Phyl/oscopus sibilatrix at its nest (plate 6b) we have one of John Markham’s most recent photographs. Like most bird- photographers, he is now exploring the use of roll film instead of the traditional plate camera, even at the nest, and this Wood Warbler, showing not only the bird but also the surrounding ferns and beech leaves, is indicative of his success in this field. If this short biographical note seems to be lacking in personal detail, it serves to illustrate John Markham’s unassuming nature and his firm wish to go his own way alone. His photography is entirely self-taught, which perhaps makes his results all the more remarkable. Incidentally, he is also a bachelor and, at the age of 64, now considers himself out of danger. Eric Hosking Notes Heron apparently fishing in deep w'ater.— The observations below were made by us independently on two separate days, but, because the behaviour was so similar on each occasion as to suggest that it might be the not infrequent habit of one individual, the two records are des- cribed together. On 1 2th and 1 5 th July 1966, at one of the gravel pits near Chichester, Sussex, a Heron Ardea cinerea was seen to fly low over the water, circling and hovering some four to six feet above the surface, until it eventually splashed down chest first and floated. It then looked from side to side and stafibed its beak several times into the water as if trying to catch something, but it did not appear to be successful and on each occasion it soon flew ofl. This particular pit is about six feet deep and is reported 49 BRITISH BIRDS to contain Roach Kutilus rutilus, Rudd Scardenius erjthrophthalmus and Pike 'Esox lucius. It is interesting to note that the ‘Supplemental:}' Additions and Corrections’ to The Handbook refer to this species ‘hover- ing over surface of water in attempt to catch surface-swimming fish . . . recorded exceptionally’. Jean V. Stacey and G. R. Gervis Feral Pigeon trapped without food or water for six days. — For a number of years Feral Pigeons Columha livia have been resident in the loft of an old outbuilding at Ilminster, Somerset. On 28 th March 1962, at about 13.00, the time at which I enter the building each day, I noticed that one of the pigeons, a blue-bar male, was missing. I heard scratching sounds, but assumed that they were made by a rat. It was not until I had heard these sounds for six days that I realised they always came from the same area — some wooden planks stacked on the floor and against the wall. On closer inspection I found that they had been produced by the missing pigeon which had somehow slipped down and become tightly wedged between two of the planks, able only to move the toes of one foot which produced the sounds. Although its crop was empty, it was in quite strong condition and its eyes were clear and bright. Unfortunately I could not weigh it. On releasing it, I found that one wing was stiff and that it had lost the use of the toes on one foot, which it held clenched. Within a few days, however, its flight powers returned almost to normal and the use of leg and toes recovered after about two weeks. David E. Paull Feeding behaviour of migrant Collared Dove. — In their usual suburban and agricultural habitats Collared Doves Streptopelia decaocto normally feed on grain, poultry meal, bread and other foods associated with man and domestic animals. The following observations, although meagre, seem worth recording because they relate to the natural foods acquired by a migrant Collared Dove in the more rigorous conditions of a small island. From i2th to 14th October 1965, on Cape Clear Island, Co. Cork, R. M. Curber, K. A. Hawkins, W. Upton and I spent some time watch- ing a Collared Dove which had had an ‘assisted passage’ from the main- land on a small motor boat. During this time the soft green seeds of such short grasses as Cynosurus cristatus and Holium perenne provided its staple diet and it obtained these by ‘munching’ the seed heads. We also saw it securing fresh water, especially in the early morning or after heavy rain, by sipping the drops which had collected in the flowers of some of the wild plants. In conclusion, I wish to convey my thanks to R. Ross, Keeper of Botany at the British Museum (Natural History), for kindly identifying the grass specimens collected. Bernard King 50 NOTES The short apparent incubation period of the Cuckoo. — Several members of the Cuculiformes have very short apparent incubation periods for the sizes of the birds concerned; in fact, some of the shortest incubation periods recorded come from this order. I have long heard it said that the European Cuckoo Cuculus canorus retains its egg in the oviduct for a longer period than is usual in most other species of birds and therefore lays it ‘part-incubated’. If this suggestion is cor- rect and the egg is then laid among completely fresh eggs of its host, it will hatch slightly in advance of the latter. In fact, advance hatch- ing usually does happen and so either the Cuckoo’s egg has a faster rate of development or else it is partly incubated in the oviduct. Fitting the latter view is the fact that the Cuckoo lays its eggs at 48-hour intervals and thus could, if necessary, retain an egg in the oviduct for a day. I am unable to trace a reliable source for the above suggestion, but in 1961 R. Liversidge (Ibis, 105a: 624) showed that an egg of the Jacobin Cuckoo Clamator jacohhius (an African and southern Asiatic species) collected within about two hours of laying and unincubated by the host showed signs of development equivalent to nearly 20 hours of incubation. It should be stressed that in many species some embr}^onic development occurs before the fertilised egg is laid, but the develop- ment recorded by Liversidge was equivalent to 20 hours of true post- laying incubation. In view of all this, the following is perhaps of interest. During the summer of 1966 I collected under licence a small number of eggs of several common species in order that the egg-whites might be used for protein analysis. For such analysis it is necessar}'^ that the eggs be as fresh as possible. I located many nests of the Reed Warbler Acrocephalus scirpaceus in the Oxford area and some of these contained eggs of Cuckoos. Eventually I collected what I believed to be the freshest clutch, of three Reed Warbler eggs and one Cuckoo egg, at about 08.00 hours on 22nd May. The eggs were cold and those of the Reed Warbler sank quickly in water, which is, of course, a well-known indication of freshness ; the Cuckoo’s egg also sank, but more slowly. When the eggs were broken open for the contents to be removed, I found that the Reed Warbler ones were indeed fresh without any macroscopic signs of development. The Cuckoo egg, however, had clearly started to deve- lop, there being a circular area of some four millimetres in diameter which had differentiated from the yolk. I am not able to say how many hours the development represented, but it was unlikely that the Reed Warbler had started incubation and, since the Cuckoo egg had already begun to develop an embr}"o, presumably this had occurred inside the female Cuckoo. Even if this is correct, it may be dangerous to conclude that the 51 BRITISH BIRDS habit has evolved as an adaptation for parasitism, because there is evidence that some of the non-parasitic members of this order (of which there are many) also have a very short apparent incubation period. Nevertheless, such an adaptation would have potential advan- tages to a parasitic species. C. M. Perrins Magpie singing at nest. — In the spring of 1966, on the Calf of Man, I visited a nest of Magpies Pica pica daily from the middle of the incuba- tion period until the young fledged. The young hatched on 21st May and were brooded regularly until they were nine days old. At first the adult Magpies were rather shy, rarely approaching within 50 yards when I was at the nest, but when the nestlings were 20 days old the female parent suddenly began to be very much bolder and to come within six feet while I was measuring and weighing them. The male also became tamer, but never approached as closely as the female. It should be added that the sexes were known because the male had been ringed as a nestling in 1965 (and was therefore breeding when one year old, which in itself is unusual for this species). The female used first to perch about 20 yards away on a stone wall and then to walk and hop along the wall towards me, uttering the normal chack chack call. When she got nearer, she interspersed this with a sharp pee-ak and at the same time flirted her tail. She also pecked, often quite violently, at stones on the wall and at twigs on the tree in which the nest was, and frequently wiped her bill. While doing this, she often uttered a prolonged succession of bubbling, churring and chuckling notes, resembling a softer and more rambling version of the song of a Starling Sturnus vulgaris. This performance was repeated every time I visited the nest over a period of five days when the young were 20-24 days old, but both parents then became shyer again. I have regularly weighed and measured nestlings from several other Magpie nests, but the adults have never reacted in this wav ; usually they have remained at a distance, often flying about calling. The Handbook men- tions a ‘kind of babbling “song” interspersed with whistling and piping notes’, but the latter were absent from the utterance described here. David Holyoak Blue Tits nesting in bus stop indicator. — On 29th March 1966, at Virginia Water, Surrey, I saw a Blue Tit Pants caeriileus carrv moss to a bus stop indicator and then disappear inside it. This tvpe of indicator, fixed to a ten-foot post, is made out of a piece of sheet metal some ^6 inches long by 20 inches high and folded vertically in the middle to form two sides with the words bus stop and the bus numbers on each. The folding of the metal leaves a gap about half an inch wide at the fold and about three inches wide at the other end by the post. This gap 52 is plugged at the top and bottom by two more strips of metal with a semicircular hole about one inch by three inches at the broader end of the bottom one (the hole is standard and is to enable the block inside to be held firm when the sign is being fixed to the post). It was into this hole that the nesting material was taken. Later I saw the Blue Tits carrying in food and removing faecal sacs on a number of occasions up to 31st May, when the young are believed to have fledged. The accompanying photograph by Frank Blackburn shows some nest material hanging out of the hole. y\s there are a number of bus stop indicators of this pattern in the neighbourhood, it seems likely that they mav become increasingly used as nest sites by tits and other birds. In fact, an official of London Transport informed me that it is already not uncommon to find nests in Douglas Carr A Blue Tit s nest in a bus stop at Sanderstead, Surrey, was reported in the Young Ornithologists’ Club magazine {BirdLife, \ : 13). Though tits often nest in strange sites, the widespread opportunities provided by these indicators is of interest. — Eds. Blackbird building four nests and rearing brood on tractor in regular use. — On 3rd May 1966, on his farm at Barnoldswick, York- 55 BRITISH BIRDS shire, my half-brother, William H. Hartley, found that a pair of Black- birds Turdus merula had built a nest on one of his tractors. The tractor is a diesel and the nest was on the side of the engine on top of the air intake extension of the manifold. He pulled the nest out and used the tractor, returning it to the same place later in the day. Next morning he found another nest on the manifold and this, too, he removed. The following morning, 5 th May, a third nest was in the same site and he left it there because he did not need the tractor for several days. When he came to use it again, he found that the now completed nest contained eggs and so he took it out whole and placed it partly concealed on a ledge near-by, but the birds ignored it. In an attempt to stop this happening again, my brother parked the tractor that evening about a hundred yards from the original place but this did not deter the Blackbirds from building a fourth nest in the same site as before and laying a clutch of five eggs over the ensuing days. It was decided to leave this fourth nest where it was. The tractor had to be used on most days, but my brother brought it back to the same spot in the lunch period and again in the evening. The Blackbirds incubated when the tractor was parked and I assume that the heat from the engine kept the eggs warm the rest of the time. In any case, all five eventually hatched and the nestlings then travelled round on the tractor when it was in use; my brother returned it as often as possible to its parking place so that their parents could feed them. The young kept quiet while being driven about, but became very vociferous when they got back to base. All five finally left the nest about 27th June. A. PiLKINGTON Blackbird laying eggs on bare brickwork. — R. A. Frost’s note on a Blackbird Turdus merula nesting in an unlined hollow {Trit. Birds, 5 9 : 541) reminded me of an occurrence at Stornoway, Isle of Lewis. On 23rd April 1965 R. MacIntyre showed me the nest of a Blackbird at the entrance to a ventilation shaft of a house. He had found it completed but empty the previous week and, as he was working close to the shaft at the time, had moved it to a spot near-by in the hope that the birds would not desert. Two days later, however, three eggs had been laid on the bare bricks where the nest had originally been built. Fle im- mediately fetched the nest, put the eggs inside, and replaced the whole in the shaft; ten minutes later the female was incubating. One of the eggs later disappeared, but the other two hatched between 4th and 7th May, and both young flew on the i8th. N. Elkins [These two Blackbird records are both remarkable examples of tenacity to the nest site rather than to the nest itself. In the case des- cribed by Mr. Idkins, the fact that three eggs were found only two days 54 NOTES after the empty nest was moved presumably means that the first was laid soon after that had been done. On the other hand, there may have been some confusion over the earlier dates given to Mr. Elkins as these were based on memory and seem to show an incubation period of 19 days or even longer. The hatching dates are correct, however, as Mr. Elkins himself examined the nest on 4th and 7th May. — Eds.] Grey-cheeked Thrush in Morayshire. — On 26th November 1965 a Grey-cheeked Thrush Catharus minimus was found dying under a gorse bush on the Royal Naval Air Station at Lossiemouth, Morayshire, by P.O. Air Fitter David Careless, one of the Royal Navy falconers. Realising that the bird was unknown to him, he placed it in a deep- freeze and later showed it to Captain J. N. Humphreys, R.N., who sent it to me for identification. When skinned, it proved to be grossly wasted, but with no obvious disease; it was a first- winter male. I compared it with Grey-cheeked Thrushes and Olive-backed Thrushes C. ustulatus in the British Museum (Natural History) and found that it matched the former species in every respect, being darker on the upper- parts and ear-coverts than the Olive-backed Thrushes and lacking any buff eye-ring. The accompanying photograph shows the preserved ; specimen which is now in my collection. The Grey-cheeked Thrush breeds in North America from New- foundland across Canada to Alaska and south to the north-eastern United States, migrating to north-western South America in winter (P. A. D. Hollom, i960. The Popular Handbook of Rarer British Birds). According to Robert Ridgway (i 901-19, The Birds of North and Middle America), two races are recognisable — a larger northern one C. m. minimus (male wing 99-109 mm.) and a smaller southern one C. m. hicknelli (male wing 88.5-98 mm.). The wing of the Morayshire speci- men measures 1 1 1 mm. and it is therefore unquestionably of the north- ern race. This is the fifth British record of this North American thrush. The races of the first two, both at Fair Isle on 5th-6th October 1955 {Brit. 55 BRITISH BIRDS Birds, 47: 266-267) and 29th October 1958 {Brit. Birds, 52; 316), could not be determined. The third, however, which died on Bardsey Island, Caernarvonshire, on loth October 1961, was examined by Dr. Charles Vaurie and assigned to the form C. m. hicknelli {Brit. Birds, 5 6 : 192-195). The fourth, which was discovered on St. Kilda on 29th October 1965, only a month before this one in Morayshire, and which was found dead the next dav, had a wing of 103 mm. and was assigned to the typical race by Ian H. J. Lyster of the Royal Scottish Museum, where the specimen now is {Scot. Birds, 4: 3 10-3 12). The weather charts between 22nd and 26th November 1965 showed a deepening depression moving slowly north on the Atlantic seaboard of North America, with strong offshore winds accompanied by rain, some snow and cloudy skies — conditions which would be ideal for initiating a westerly drift. The Atlantic itself was covered by a complex pattern of anticyclones and depressions, indicating that an assisted passage would be necessary to bring a small passerine to Britain. I am very grateful to David Careless and Captain J. N. Humphreys for the specimen; to J. D. Macdonald for allowing me the use of the skin collection at the British Museum (Natural History); to Dr. Pamela Harrison for the photograph of the specimen; and to R. E. Scott for obtaining the relevant meteorological data. Jeffery G. Harrison [On wing length there can be no doubt that this specimen was of the typical race, but the one which occurred on St. Kilda in October 1965 and which was assigned to this race on its wing length of 103 mm., with Ridgway’s figures as a basis, is perhaps less certain. Ridgway’s maxi- mum wing length for hicknelli was 98 mm., but Kenneth Williamson (jBr/V. Birds, 47: 266-267) quoted a series measured by Dr. Charles Vaurie and Dr. Dean Amadon in the American Museum of Natural History with the maximum as loi mm. A further difference of 2 mm. is a small amount on which to base this rather critical distinction. At the same time, we do not think too much emphasis should be laid on the Atlantic weather conditions immediately before the present bird was found in Morayshire. There seems little reason to believe it had only just crossed the Atlantic and, particularly if the St. Kilda one was indeed of the typical race, we perhaps have circumstantial evidence to suggest that the Morayshire one may even have arrived weeks earlier. It should possibly also be borne in mind that the autumn of 1965 was not outstanding for American birds in Europe, but there were a number of records in late October and November of such Siberian species as Pallas’s Warbler Phylloscopns proregultts and Dusky Warbler P. fuscatus, and the range of the typical race of the Grey-cheeked Thrush does extend to north-east Siberia. It is probably rather un- 56 REVIEWS likely that the one in Morayshire came from the east rather than the west, but we make the point to illustrate the limited value of meteorolo- gical data in connection with single records where the date of arrival is not known. — Eds.) Black Redstart taking blackberries.— R. E. Scott listed 24 species, including the Redstart Phoenicurus phoenicurus, which he had recorded feeding on blackberries Rubus frnticosus at Dungeness, Kent {hrit. Birds, 55: 87-88). On 22nd September 1962, near St. Malo, France, I saw the adult female of a family of Black Redstarts P. ochruros eat several blackberries; mostly she took these when perched, but also twice while hovering. Alan E. F. Rogers House Sparrow eating bumble-bee. — The editorial comment accompanying Miss Mary G. Turner’s note on House Sparrows Passer domsticiis cs^t\ng hive bees Apis niellifica {Brit. Birds, 59: 158-159) quoted Dr. J. D. Summers-Smith, author of The House Sparrow (1963), and inferred that there were no detailed records of this species taking wild bees. In October 1964, at Arbroath, Angus, I was watching several House Sparrows perched on a fence when a bumble-bee Bombus sp. flew past. One male sparrow flew after the bee, hovered close to it, caught it in his bill, and dropped to the ground. I presume that he then killed it and removed its sting, for he soon flew back with it to the fence and proceeded to eat it. Norm. an K. Atkinson Reviews llreland’s Birds : Their Distribution and Migrations. By Robert Ruttledge. Witherby, London, 1966. 207 pages; ii plates .and a map. 30s. llreland has not been specially noted for its ornithology in the past; the birds were known to be there, when people went to look for them,* but the inhabitants had other things on their minds. Except for occasional legendary giants -such as A. G. More, pioneer of regional ornithology, R. M. Barrington, most persistent and methodical of students of migration, and J. P. Burkitt, who started the study of the life of the Robin — ornithological activity rarely rose above the level of shooting 57 BRITISH BIRDS and egg-collecting. In recent years, however, following the solution of some other Irish problems, this long-neglected field has suddenh started to turn into an ornithological garden ; and the gardener has now written us a guide to it. With his usual modesty. Major Ruttledge omits to explain quite how the effect has been achieved; but nobody who has had dealings with this wise, cautious and indefatigable correspondent can have much doubt about it. We have some evidence that the Major was active in Ireland before the war, but my own experience of him started with a memorable visit to Fair Isle in the autumn of i949> where I found him conferring with Kenneth Williamson and the late W. B. Alexander. Soon after this he was a moving spirit in starting Ireland s first obser- vatory on the Great Saltee, which not only did good work, but also served as an important meeting place for native and visiting talent. After this he joined with P. G. Kennedy and C. F. Scroope in producing The Birds of Ireland (1954), the first comprehensive history' of the countryr’s ornithology for fifty years, which he has since kept up to date with the annual Irish Bird Report. Meanwhile, he promoted ex- peditions and then the establishment of observatories in the remoter parts of the country by the growing band of visiting and native ornithologists first recruited on the Great Saltee. The younger Irish bird-watchers have now gone on to help reorganise their national ornithological societies into a more effective federation, and set up a committee to study and conserve their chief and most threatened ornithological treasure, the wildfowl. Altogether it is a remarkable story well deserving study by develop- ers of backward regions, while it may even contain useful lessons for Great Britain. Ireland^ s Birds must be considered against this back- ground, as the base on which the new ornithology of Ireland will be built. The Birds of Ireland of 1954 was a classical work of scholarship in the old style, citing every published reference to Irish birds with copious documentation so thoroughly and at such length that there would be no need to repeat it all for another half century, even if the fact that it contained little accurate information on current status was almost obscured. This was essentially a work of reference, however. Now, after a further dozen years of hard toil, the Major has managed to close the worst gaps in present-day knowledge and has summarised every- thing briefly to show us exactly what is currently known in a book which is much more suitable for carrying about. The book opens with seven short essays — on the topography and habitats by Dr. J. S. Jackson; on the four corners of Ireland, that on Ulster by C. Douglas Deane and that on Kerry by Frank King; on the wildfowl situation; and on migration. The remainder is devoted to 58 REVIEWS condensed summaries for every species in terms of habitat, status, changes in status, distribution, dates, precise figures for numbers where available, races recorded, and ringing data. There are ten plates of photographs of important habitats, mainly by David Cabot, Ian Finlay and the Irish Tourist Boards; and an eleventh of magnificent ruins, including a whole village — the ‘typical breeding places of Tree Sparrows’. This last is probably the most striking thing in the book to the casual observer, if hardly any longer a fair image of modern Ireland (perhaps we should have had Shannon Airport, or the drainage of a bog, instead?). There is an index for species; it might hav'e been useful to include places as well, and maybe also a gazetteer? Regarded as a summary, pared to the bone until it consists of no more than a skeleton of the most useful places and dates and numbers, the work is clearly going to be invaluable to active field-workers for years to come, until it renders itself obsolete, when the fuller documen- tation of Tbe Birds of Ireland will probably prove to have more per- manent value. Meanwhile, it is easier to assess the present situation in Ireland's Birds, though with its extreme compression this also sometimes requires careful study; a few species maps might have been useful in this connection. The amount of information available clearly often represents an advance on The Birds of Ireland, as can be seen by compar- ing the accounts for such diverse species as Cory’s Shearwater, Hen Harrier, Black Tern and Chaffinch; even so, one is often left with the impression that there is still a vast amount to learn, especially in such fields as the distribution of the smaller breeding landbirds, or seabirds out at sea. There also seems room for much more analysis and inter- pretation of the interesting things now being revealed, to bring out the peculiarities of the Irish avifauna. Perhaps this is one of the things the Major’s disciples should concentrate on next? Meanwhile, a quick survey of the book reveals with ever-increasing clarity the accepted features of Irish ornithology, such as a decrease of southerly Continental breeding species but an increase of northern and oceanic species west across the British Isles, with a vast winter popula- tion derived from every direction between north-west and east, all presumably due to proximity to the Atlantic and the consequent low summer and high winter temperatures; many southerly and westerly vagrants arriving over the sea; and a rather bizarre and erratic spec- trum of breeding species (why so many finches yet no woodpeckers or Tawny Owls, for example?). Perhaps the most important feature, now that more evidence is becoming available, is the marked changes over the course of time in the distribution and numbers of many species, including increases of such birds as Great Crested Grebes, various ducks, Whooper Swans, Black-tailed Godwits, Ruffs, gulls. Black Guillemots, pigeons (especially, of course, the Collared Dove), Swifts, 59 BRITISH BIRDS House Martins, and crows except the Rook; but decreases of Black- necked Grebes, Grey Lag Geese, perhaps Bewick’s Swans, some raptors. Corncrakes, breeding Golden Plovers, Common Terns inland and Arctic Terns everywhere. Puffins, Barn Owls, Skylarks, and Swallows. These changes are most interesting and, like the composi- tion of the breeding avifauna, would clearly often greatly repay detailed study. W. R. P. Bourne Shell Nature Lovers’ Atlas of England, Scotland and Wales. By James Fisher. Ebury Press and Michael Joseph, London, 1966. 48 pages of text; 32 pages of maps in colour. 7s. 6d. More and more nature lovers have the time, the money and the motor- car to use Britain’s roads to take them to places where they can watch birds, find plants, study insects, or just enjoy the scenery. It would therefore seem logical to provide them with maps and guides so that more and more of them can reach the best places more quickly and more easily. The trouble comes when they start to use the maps; the nature they love is all too apt to revolt against this disturbance and take itself off to places that are not shown on them. Those who have devoted their energies in recent years to conserving our heritage of wild life are very aware of this problem and are dis- turbed to hear that this atlas is only one among a number of such guides that are in course of preparation in this country. This is not just a dog-in-the-manger attitude. Many places favoured by wild life just will not stand increased pressures from human visitors unless far more manpower and resources than are in fact available can be put into wardening them. Mr. Fisher has obviously came up against this dilemma. At the begin- ning of many county sections you will find some such statement as ‘Blankshire Trust for Nature Conservation has jxr reserves in this area.’ What this reallv means is that the Blankshire Trust has asked him not to publicise its reserves on his maps. He has respected these requests, but the result is that the atlas often gives very inadequate and (perhaps fortunately) misleading instructions to people looking for the best places in which to love nature. The most valuable section of the book is, perhaps, the list of names and addresses of Secretaries of County Trusts (though these can easilv be obtained elsewhere); for a serious enquiry from a naturalist will almost always receive a sympathetic response from these overworked people, especially if the enquirer is a member of his own local Trust. Within these limitations, the atlas is attractively produced and uses skilfully a number of the ingenious iileas that one would expect from this author. R. K. Cornwaluis 60 Letters ‘Meat or sickly sweets’ Sirs, — I entirely disagree with Philip S. Redman (Bri/. Birds, 59: 390). It seems to me that a really comprehensive interest in ornithology' must extend beyond the birds to those who have made outstanding contribu- tions to our knowledge of them and, surely, when a name has grown familiar to us over the years, it is natural curiosity for us to wonder what the man himself looks like. I therefore welcomed the informal portraits from past International Ornithological Congresses (Bri/. Birds, 59: plates 59-49)- K. G. Spencer [The very few other comments we have received as a result of Mr. Redman’s letter have all expressed views similar to Mr. Spencer’s above. — Eds.] Puffinosis among Manx Shearwaters on Skokholm Sirs, — In his paper on puffinosis among Manx Shearwaters Buffinus pnffitms (^rit. Birds, 58; 426-434), Dr. M. P. Harris suggested that this epizootic was overlooked on Skokholm, Pembrokeshire, between 1947 and 1962 with the exception of four probable records in 1954 and a single one in 1956. More information on the y'ears 1954-56 was sub- sequently given by Peter Davis {Brit. Birds, 59: 84-85), but, in fact, puffinosis was regularly recorded on Skokholm from 1947 onwards. Puffinosis first came to the notice of Dr. David Surrey' Dane on the neighbouring island of Skomer in 1946, when the West Wales Field Society ran a field station there. At that time Miss Joan Keighley (now Mrs. T. E. Jenkins) was assistant warden on Skomer and became well aware of this epizootic. In 1947 she was transferred to Skokholm at the same time as I was appointed warden there. That y^ear we helped Dr. Dane with his study of this disease on both Skomer and Skokholm. From 1948 onwards Skokholm was equipped to extract fluid from blisters on shearwaters and regular examination of their webs was made while Dr. Dane was carrying out his investigations. I have some casual notes on the occurrence of puffinosis in 1947 (one case), 1948 (two), 1949 (18), 1950 (four) and 1951 (three). I did not record any further instances in 195 2 or 1953, although this may have been because Dr. Dane had finished his work there by that time. The epizootic never reached the same proportions on Skokholm as it did on Skomer in those years, but it was certainly recorded annually during 1947-51. With regard to the question of whether this disease attacks other species, I might add that blistered feet and other symptoms similar to those of puffinosis were found on an adult Great Black-backed Gull L^rus marintis on Skokholm on 9th July 1948; the bird was dead the BRITISH BIRDS next day. I also recollect extracting fluid from a blister on the web of a Herring Gull h. argentatus, but have no record of this in my personal notes. Peter Cokder News and comment Edited by J. L. F. Far slow Two new Scottish reserves. — The Nature Conservancy has recently declared two new national nature reserves in Scotland. The first is the Monach Isles reserve, which has been set up under agreement with the North Uist Estate Trustees and the Com- missioners of Northern Lighthouses. This reserve lies about six miles west of North Uist, in the Outer Hebrides, and comprises the main islands of Ceann lar and Ceann Ear (which are joined at low tide), the small island of Shillay, the reef of Stockay, and several isolated rocks. It extends to 1,425 acres at low water (but to only 836 acres at high tide) and provides outstanding examples of uncultivated machair and shell sand dune habitats. On Stockay there are breeding colonies of Grey Seals and Cormorants ; other nesting birds on the Monachs include Arctic and Little Terns and several species of waders. The reserve’s greatest ornithological interest, however, is as a wintering ground for Barnacle and White-fronted Geese, and its establishment now provides another link in the chain of wildfowl refuges being set up in Britain as part of an international scheme for wildfowl conservation. The second of the new reserves is the Mound Alderwoods reserve which lies on the estuary of the River Fleet on the east coast of Sutherland. It covers 659 acres of fen, alder woodland, meandering river and drainage cuts, in an area which was once part of a large tidal estuary before it was partially drained and reclaimed early in the 19th century. The main interest lies in the distinctive vegetation, particularly that beside the embankment which separates the reserve from Loch Fleet. Sea-water which still filters through the embankment has resulted in the persistence of certain salt-loving plants, and the vegetation of the reserve is probably unique in Britain. Wildfowl and waders feed on the lagoons as well as on the tidal estuary near-by. This reserve has been established under agreements with the owners. Dungeness Bird Observatory appeals for funds. -Mrs. Mary Waller, J.P., has celebrated her appointment as the first woman chainnan of Dungeness Bird Obser- vatory by launching a domestic ‘blitz’. A constant succession of short-stay visitors more concerned with birding than with housework can be exceptionally hard on the furniture and fittings, and the day inevitably comes when these have to be renewed before they fall to pieces. Mrs. Waller has decided that that day has arrived. But replacements cost money, and Dungeness, with an accommodation fee of live shil- lings a night as its only source of revenue, and rent, printing, rings and nearly every- thing else costing more, no longer has any margin left for capital expenditure. So hundreds of letters signed by Mrs. Waller have gone out to past and present visitors to the observatory. In it she says, ‘The committee have all chipped in, but there is still some way to go to reach our target figure of £300, so that is why we are making this domestic appeal to all friends of Dimgcness, old and new.’ For those friends of the observatory who have not received an appeal direct and who wish to contribute, the treasurer’s address is CL J. Harris, 33 Wickham Ciourt Roatl, West Wickham, Kent. 62 NEWS AND COMMENT B.T.O. raises subscriptions. — On 3rd December 1966, the annual general meeting of the British Trust for Ornithology overwhelmingly approved the council’s recom- mendation to raise the annual subscription for ordinary members from 30s. to 50s. Other membership rates have also been increased. Wildlife artists’ exhibition goes on tour. — The Society of Wildlife Artists has arranged for a selection of pictures from their annual exhibition in London to tour the provinces. They will be on display at public art galleries in the following towns: Loughborough, 7th January to 4th February; Lincoln, nth February to nth March; Stafford, ist to 29th April; Batley (Yorkshire), i8th May to loth June; Swindon, ist to 29th July; and Blackpool, 5th August to 2nd September. Tucker medals for James Fisher and G. M. Tait. — At the annual dinner of the British Trust for Ornithology, held during their annual conference at Swanwick, Derbyshire, on 3rd December, it was announced that the Trust’s council had decided to award two Bernard Tucker medals for 1966. One went to James Fisher and was given primarily for his outstanding contribution to the field investigations of the B.T.O. liowever, as Bruce Campbell reminded the 230 or more members and guests who were present, James Fisher has made many other significant contributions to the work of the Trust, both in its infancy (as a founder-member, then assistant secretary, then honorary secretary-treasurer) and in more recent years. The medal was presen- ted at the dinner by Mrs. Bernard Tucker. Mr. Fisher is also to be congratulated on his appointment on 6th December as vice-chairman of the reorganised National Parks Commission. The second medal was awarded to G. M. Tait, who unfortunately was unable to be present at the dinner. Described by Robert Spencer as ‘our man in Portugal’, G. M. Tait has for a great many years organised the collection of information on foreign- ringed birds recovered in Portugal, reports of which are published with his en- couragement in the local newspapers there. With the assistance of a press-cutting agency, for which he alone has met the cost, G. M. Tait has often supplied the British ringing scheme with over half the recoveries it has received from Portugal in a year. In one year he reported more than 87 British-ringed birds, besides unknown numbers of recoveries to ringing schemes in other countries. Now, ill-health and advancing years have forced him to retire, although not without first having found a successor to continue the valuable work which he and his uncles before him have carried on in Portugal for more than 50 years. All-Ireland conference on bird protection. — During the weekend of 3rd to jth March 1967 a conference will be held at Newcastle, Co. Down, on bird protection and conservation. It is being organised by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds’s Northern Ireland office in conjunction with the Dublin-based Irish Birds’ Protection Society. The conference will have its centre in the superb Slieve Donard Hotel, situated at the foot of the Mourne Mountains. A varied and interesting programme has been arranged, including a number of talks on conservation in Ireland and elsewhere; there will also be films, exhibitions and excursions. For full details of the programme and application forms, please write to Frank Hamilton, R.S.P.B., c/o The National Trust, 82 Dublin Road, Belfast 2. Osprey watchers needed. — In 1 966, it will be remembered, the two pairs of Ospreys on Speyside both lost their nests and eggs during a severe gale in April. It is hoped, however, that both pairs will return this year and, as usual, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds plans another ‘Operation Osprey’ to guard the eyries. A large number of volunteer wardens are required, and offers of help from people prepared to work for at least a week at a time between ist April and 19th August would be 63 BRITISH BIRDS greatly welcomed. Volunteers should be aged 1 7 or over. Only male wardens will be taken on before 27th May, but both sexes after that date. There are also vacancies for volunteer cooks (female) for the whole period. The posts are unpaid, but free meals and tented accommodation are provided. Volunteer wardens will be expected to travel at their own expense to Aviemore; volunteer cooks will receive return rail fares. Anyone interested in helping should write as soon as possible to M. J. Everett, R.S.P.B. Scottish Office, 21 Regent Terrace, Edinburgh 7, who will be glad to supply fuller details. ‘The Birds of the Western Palearctic’ and ‘The Handbook of British Birds’ Our recent editorial about the new project on T/je Birds of the Western Palearctic (Brit. Birds, 59; 321-324) appears to have caused a misunder- standing concerning the value to ornithologists today of The Handbook of British Birds by implying that this work is now out of date. Though it has not been revised since publication, it should be emphasised that The Handbook is in constant use by practising ornithologists and its con- tinuing value was stressed by E. M. Nicholson in a letter to The Times on 3rd August 1966, which is reproduced here by permission; ‘Sir, — In your welcome report of the project for a new handbook of western Palearctic birds you describe it as “essentially an expansion of the Handbook of British Birds which was completed 25 years ago . . .”. To avoid misunderstanding this statement itself needs some expansion. ‘The late H. F. Witherby’s Handbook, on which 1 had the privilege of working ' with him, was conceived as a vehicle for summarizing existing knowledge of the 424 species admitted to the British list at that time, many on the strength of only a few records. It specially emphasized such growing points as migration, reproductive 1 habits, behaviour and voice studies. Its great success brought widespread use as a standard work by ornithologists in other countries, and it continues to be reprinted as of permanent value. ‘Looking to the future, however, it no longer makes sense to plan really major ornithological works in terms of one country’s arbitrary list. The focus of our next big effort at consolidating knowledge and providing a springboard to maintain the pace of ornithological advance must be in terms of the birds of the western Pale- arctic—the great faunal region to which Europe and the Mediterranean belong. , ‘While the new work may be regarded as an expansion of the Handbook in terms of j its much wider geographical scope and ornithological aims it will be radically different in using new techniques of presentation and in treating ornithology as an ■ integral part of modern biology rather than in its own watertight compartment, as t well as in being the product of a much larger and more specialized team drawn from j many countries. As an enterprise in international tcanawork based on a British 1 organizing centre it will follow the good exanaple of the botanists in producing F/ora Europea, but its subject range will be much wider. ‘Your Special Correspondent is, I fear, a little ovcroptimistic in forecasting the first volume by 1970, but the breadth and strength of the support promised at the Oxford International Ornithological Congress last week certainly encourage the promoters to feel confidence that the work will go smoothly. 1 write as chairman of the non-profit company which is being formed to handle the project; the chief j editor will be Mr. Stanley Cramp, senior editor oi British Birds.' * 64 ORNITHOLIDAYS iF<.,d> Principals: Lawrence G. Holloway, Gordon Holloway BIRDWATCHING AND NATURAL HISTORY HOLIDAYS IN BRITISH ISLES AND EUROPE All groups accompanied by an experienced leader who has an extensive knowledge of birds and is usually bi-lingual. Holiday programme for 1967 (all holidays of a fortnight’s duration unless stated otherwise in the brochure): Austria (Lake NeusiedI) — spring and autumn France (Camargue) — spring and autumn Spain (south-west) — spring and autumn Malta — spring (Easter) and autumn Scotland (Orkney and Shetland) — June (Cairngorms) — J une/ J u ly England (Fame Islands, etc.) — spring and autumn (Devon) — August Wales (Pembrokeshire and Snowdonia) — May These holidays cater for the expert and beginner alike. The leader’s help, advice and experience are always at hand. For full details apply to LAWRENCE G. HOLLOWAY, ORNITHOLIDAYS, GRIMSEL, BARRACK LANE, ALDWICK, BOGNOR REGIS, SUSSEX Telephone; Pagham 2827 Irish Naturalists’ Journal A quarterly magazine de- voted exclusively to the botany, geology and zoology of Ireland, and publishing bird records as a regular feature Edited by Miss M. P. H. Kertland Department of Botany Queen’s University Belfast 7 Annual subscription lo/- post paid WOKS DM mos Catalogue on request WHELDON & WESLEY LTD Lytton Lodge Codicote, Hitchin, Herts iii The West Wales Naturalists’ Trust Ltd (formerly the West Wales Field Society) Membership of the Trust is open to all who are interested in the study and conservation of wild life in Wales. The annual subscription of £1 Is. Od. (£1 by Bankers’ Order) entitles members to: (a) free issues of Nature in Wales, which appears half-yearly; (b) field excursions, lectures and meetings; (c) visits, without landing fees, to the island sanctuaries and nature reserves of Skomer, St. Margaret’s, Skokholm, Cardigan Island and Grassholm (owned by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and wardened by the Trust). The activities of the Trust include the co-operative study of animals, birds and seals and the recording of their distribution and habits. PUBLICATIONS (post free): The Birds of Cardiganshire, 8s.; Flora of Merioneth, 8s.; Skokholm Bird Observatory Reports for each year to 1965, 3s. each; Skomer Island, 3s.; Nature in Wales, back numbers 3s. up to vol. 6, no. 4, and 10s. 6d. thereafter THE WEST WALES NATURALISTS’ TRUST LTD 4 Victoria Place, Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire CONNEMARA IRELAND Stay in charming country house, within a 12-mile radius of which is every ele- ment of Irish scenery: bold headland, shelving beach, landlocked bay, open ocean, bog and lowland lake; all presided over by the Twelve Bens which, viewed from any angle, present an outline of such irregularity as to surprise one with every gaze. Glorious walks, with Mergansers, Terns, Curlews, Oystercatchers, Shelducks, Whimbrels, Ringed Plovers, Herons, Cormorants, Wheatears and Corncrakes close to the house: seals on the rocks and Choughs, Black Guillemots and many others within walking distance. Also, for the botanist, an abundance of wild flowers. Good Food — Packed Lunches Open Mid- April to October ERRISAESK HOUSE BALLYCONNEELY Co. GALWAY SMALL ADVERTISEMENTS Skomer Island. Assistant Voluntary Wardens required from Easter onwards. Particulars from Hon. General Secretary, West Wales Naturalists’ Trust, 4 Victoria Place, Haverfordwest, Pembs. Cape Clear Bird Observatory, Co. Cork, Ireland. Manning required throughout the year. Early booking most helpful. Write for free information booklet from R. D. Jackson, 1 7 The Moorlands, Benson, Oxon. For sale. British Birds, 1947 (bound); and 1948, 1951 and 1963 (unbound); and some wartime and many post-war parts. Oilers: Jeffery Boswall, BBC, Bristol. Sale. Bird books surplus to requirements. Send S.A.E. to R. Crossley, 23 Cockerham Avenue, Barnsley. For sale. British Birds, vols. 40-46 complete^ unbound; vols. 41, 42, 47-51, 56-58, 21 issues missing; 22 odd copies 1941-66. R. G. Smith, 22 Park St., Hungerford, Berks. IV Natural History Books SPECIAL OFFER only for duration of National Book Sale (22nd February to 4th March) Limited quantity of The Birds of Prey of the World by Mary Louise Grossman and John Hamlet, originally pub- lished at 6 guineas, offered for this short period at only 60s. PUBLISHED RECENTLY Zoos of the World by James Fisher. 45s. The Original Bird Paintings of John James Audubon. 2 vols. boxed. 25 gns. The Shell Bird Book by James Fisher. 25s. On Aggression by Konrad Lorenz. 30s. Birds of Europe with Gould illustrations. 2 vols. 35s. each. Two in the Bush by Gerald Durrell. 25s. A Field Guide to New Zealand Birds by Falla, Gibson and Tarbott. 36s. In Search of Birds by Collingwood Ingram. 30s. Mammals of Rhodesia, Zambia and Malawi by R. H. N. Smithers 25s. The Oxford Book of Flowerless Plants by F. H. Brightman. 45s. Collins Pocket Guide to British Birds by R. S. R. Fitter and R. A. Richardson. Revised edition. 30s. Britain’s Wildlife: Rarities and Introductions by R. S. R. Fitter and J. L. Pemberton. 21s. Pictorial Encyclopaedia of Plants and Flowers by F. A. Novak, 25s. Animal Paradise (Fauna of Galapagos) by Christian Zuber. 30s. The Snow Bunting by D. Nethersole-Thompson. 45s. Birds of the Atlantic Islands by David A. Bannerman. Vol. 3. Azores. 84s. Animal Magic introduced by Johnny Morris. 21s. Grey Seal, Common Seal by R. M. Lockley. 27s. 6d. Rhino by C. A. W. Guggisberg. 27s. 6d. Available from Witherby’s Bookshop 61/62 Watling Street, London, E.C.4 {telephone City 5405) ALL BOOKS SENT POST FREE Any instrument willingly sent on approval SEND FOR NEW ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE CHARLES F For wildfowling, etc., we recommend the ex-Admiralty 7x42 or 7x50 Barr & Stroud binoculars and can offer these instruments in specially good condition, complete in original cases, at £16 lOs. The Bausch & Lomb (Canadian naval) 7 x 50 is still available at £24. Among general purpose binoculars, which will stand up to a tremendous amount of rough usage, there is little to beat the 6x30 Service Prismatics at £8 I5t.; if reminded, we will probably be able to select a pair in new condition and can provide a web pouch at 4s. 6d. extra. Among heavyweight prismatic bino- culars suitable for mounting, we can offer a host of truly wonderful bar- gains: for instance, a Ross 7 x 50 . I H ■ III Heavy Duty binocular with filters in brand new condition, and complete in 145 QUEEN ST., GLASGOW C.l f«ed box, can be suppUed for 7 gn. CTn n/11 001 (original cost estimated over £120), O I L) I - I DDDD 10x70 model can be supplied for £20. These instruments are too heavy to be hand-held, and mount and tripod can be provided at a moderate charge. YOUNG BIRD WATCHERS up to 18 years of age qualify for special price concessions details on request A SELECTION OF NEW AND USED BINOCULARS SPECIALLY RECOMMENDED BY MR. FRANK NIPOLE binoculars from Japan are made to our specifica- tion and are imported exclusively by us. Performance is excellent and we have sufficient faith in them to guarantee them for five years. The 10 x 50 costs £15 lOs. Od. and the 8x 30 £10 t9s. 6d. (both with case). A SPECIALIST BINOCULAR FOR THE BIRD WATCHER. The Swift AUDUBON 8.5 x 44 designed to the specification of the world renowned Audubon Society of America. Unusually wide field of 445 ft. at 1,000 yards. Extra close focusing down to 12 ft. enables feeding activities, etc., to be watched asfrom 18 ins. Included amongst otherfeatures are retractable eyecups for spectacle users, built-in adaptor to suit any camera tripod. This outstanding binoc- ular has easy positive focusing by cylindrical control, weighs 38.4 oz. and the height closed is 6i ins. Price with fine leather case £36. The new LEITZ TRINOVID is indisputably the binocular of the century. It is of revolutionary design and perform- ance, and the 10 x 40 model, which we particularly like. Is extremely light and wonderfully compact. Price with soft leather case £86 17s. Id. Among good British glasses, we have no hesitation in sugges- ting the ROSS 9x35 STEPRUVA. Compact and weighing only 21 oz. Price £43 4s. 9d. We stock binoculars by Zeiss, Leitz, Barr & Stroud, Ross, Swift, etc. Just a mention of the portable NICKEL SUPRA TELESCOPE. It zooms from I5x to 60x with 60 mm. O.G. and is truly a remarkable instrument. Price £38 9t. Printed in England by Dicmer & Reynolds Ltd., Eastcotts Road, Bedford Published by H. F. & G. Witherby Ltd., 61/62 Watling Street, E.C.4 ’ f Yta ? £>0\ British Birds ,IAT. ^ ‘ , 5AFi^l9C7 i iUrI<2225 3 -i- II. II. 65 Pintail {Anas acutd) (2; 63) De Koog: 53°o6'N. 4°48'E., Texcl, Netherlands South Suffolk Dc Koog, Netherlands Dilham: 52°46'N. i'’29'E. (Norfolk) T.akc Engurc: 57°i7'N. 23°o7'E., Latvian S.S.R. Dunragit: 54”52'N. 4°54'W. (W'igtown) Lake Engurc, Latvian S.S.R. Newton Stewart: 54°57'N. 4°3o'W. (Wigtown) 68 FOREIGN-RINGED RECOVERIES *1 ad. 1.8.57 « 1 + (15.1.63) 1; f.g. b" 9.3.62 >( z6 X 19.1.63 \ f-K- 0 28.6.60 -b 27.10.63 f-g- c? 29.7.63 G X 17.8.63 juv. S 20.8.62 ) : 6 + 15.12.62 , f-g- 11.10.62 > fo + 23.12.62 I f-g.? 25.12.61 : j// + 31.12.62 ad. cJ 26.3.65 1 X 25.4.65 Nakskov; 54°5o'N. ii°io'E. (Lolland) Denmark Lough Corrib: 53 27'N. 9'^i6'\V. (Galway) riaarstceg: 5i°43'N. 3°I5'E. (Noord Brabant) Netherlands Snape: 52"ii'N. i°3o'E. (Suffolk) Biesbosch: 5i°45'N. 4°48'E. (Noord Brabant) Netherlands Silverdale: 34°io'N. 2°49'\V. (Lancashire) Biesbosch, Netherlands West Layton: 54°26'N. 1 47 'W. (York) Biesbosch, Netherlands Lleadford: 53°28'N. 9°o6'\V. (Galway) Naardcrmecr: 52°i8'N. 5’08'E. (Noord I lolland) Netherlands Bodmin: 3o°29'N. 4°43'\\". (Cornwall) Dc Koog: 5 3°o6'N. 4^48 'E., Texcl, Netherlands Ardfert: 32°2o'N. 9 47'W. (Kerry) Merkem: 50°57'N. 2°5iT£. (VC'est Flanders) Belgium Sule Skerry: 59°05'N. 4°2o'W. (Orkney) the recover}- locality of the last-mentioned; the bird was killed at the light- Scaup mar i la) (i; 62) ' juv. 29-7-55 X 9-3-G West Chiltington: 50°57'N. o°28'W. (Sussex) Others were ringed in the Netherlands between October and December, and . ■ found in Britain and Ireland in autumn and winter. The one quoted below is crkable for the rapidity of the recover)*. f.g. 25.12.62 De Koog: 5 3°o6'N. 4°48'E., Texel, Netherlands — 26.12.62 Blythhurgh: 52°i9'N. i°35'E. (Suffolk) Curlew {Numenius arquafa) (8 ; 158) ie were from the usual areas ; Finland (six), Denmark (one) and Belgium (one). Bar-tailed Godwit (Limosa lapponica) (i ; 13) juv. 18.8.56 Revtangcn: 5 8°45 'N. 5°3o'E. (Rogaland) Norway 3 X r. 10. 1 1.64 Wrangle: 5 3°02'N. o°o8'E. (Lincoln) 73 BRITISH BIRDS Redshank (Tringa totanus) (2 ; 23) fig- 24.10.62 Vlieland: 53°i6'N. 4°59'E., Frisian Islands, Netherlands 2004799 X 22.2.63 Aldeburgh; 52°o9'N. i°35'E. (Suffolk) A. ad. 10.9.64 Vlieland, Netherlands 2022191 X 19.2.65 near High Halstow: 5i°29'N. o°37'E. (Kent) Spotted Redshank (Tringa erjthropus) (i ; i) A. ad. 7.4.60 Braakman Polder: 5i°i9'N. 3°44'E. (Zeeland) Netherlands 2002900 X 6.1.63 Hayling Island: 5o°49'N. o°5 8AV. (Hampshire) Dunlin (Calidris alpina) (60; 372) Hki. pull. 27.5.62 near Pori: 6i°32'N. 2i°35'E., Finland P71036 X 12.4.64 Cley: 52°58'N. i°03'E. (Norfolk) The remainder had been ringed as migrants in Finland (four), Sweden (26), Norway (14), Denmark (five), Germany (six), Poland (two) and the Netherlands (two). A multiple recovery is given below. C. juv. 7.8.64 Amager: 55°33'N. 12°36'E. (Sjaelland) Denmark 8021820 V 31.1.65 Cockerham: 53°58'N. 2°49'W. (Lancashire) V 28.7.65 Ledskiir: 6o°3i'N. i7°43'E. (Uppsala) Sweden Great Black-backed Gull (Lar/is marinus) (8; 118) M. pull. 27.4.62 Great Ainov Island: 69°5o'N. 3i°35'E. (Murmansk) U.S.S.R. D486999 X 28.3.65 Bass Rock: 56°o4'N. 2^3 8 'W. (East Lothian) 0. pull. 7.6.62 Tranoy: 69°09'N. 17°25'E. (Troms) Norway 49961 X 17. 1 1.62 Abbots Langley: 5i°43'N. o°25'W. (Hertford) Slav. pull. 29.6.56 near Sola: 58°55'N. 5°3o'E. (Rogaland) Norway 41C494 + 5.12.60 Bishop Auckland: 54°4o'N. i°4o'W. (Durham)' Slav. pull. 13.7.65 near Sola, Norway 034397 X A 27.11.65 North Cotes: 53°29'N. o°02'E. (Lincoln) Slav. pull. 11.7.58 near Klepp: 5 8^44 'N. 5°33'E. (Rogaland) Norway 412184 X 11.1.64 Woolwich: 5i°29'N. o°o4'E. (Kent) Slav. pull. 11.7.63 near Klepp, Norway 312131 X 0.3.64 Teesmouth: 54°39'N. i°io'\V. (Durham) Slav. pull. 25.6.63 near Klepp, Norway 312106 + 11.12.65 River Medway estuary: 5i°24'N. o°43'E. (Kent) C. pull. 4.6.57 Knotterne: 57°i8'N. ii°io'E., Kattegat, Denmark 397265 X 1 1.8.62 Chatham: 5i°23'N. o°32'E. (Kent) Lesser Black-backed Gull (Tarns fnscns) (5 ; 28) Slav. pull. 30.6.63 Lyngoya: 6o°04'N. 5°3i'E. (Hordaland) Norway 414884 X 15.2.64 Sunderland: 54°54'N. i°25AV. (Durham) c. pull. 23.7.62 Mikladali: 62°2o'N. 6°45'W. (Kallsov) Faeroe Islands 330624 X 20.4.63 Portadown: 54°26'N. h'^ay'W. (Armagh) c. pull. 27.6.63 Mikladali, Faeroe Islands 330697 X (21.9.63) Portadown (Arm;tgh) c. juv. Ti.7.63 Mikladali, Faeroe Islands 330723 -1- 0.9.63 Griunard: 57°52'N. 5°;-.6AV. (Ross) c. j uv. 11.7.63 Mikladali, Faeroe Islands 330731 X 13.10.63 Radclifle: ^3°34'N. 2°2o'W. (Lancashire) 74 FOREIGN-RINGED RECOVERIES 1 I I Herring Gull (Lan/s argentatus) (4; 85) ll juv. 17.7.61 )l >// X 7.2.65 1 pull. z-j.6.6i ll X 29.4.65 pull. 1 1.6.63 86 X 28.3.65 i pull. 11.7.55 \^6 X 27.6.63 Great Ainov Island: 69°5o'N. 51'35'E. (Murmansk) U.S.S.R. Alveston: 52°i3'N. i°4o'\V. (Warwick) Great Ainov Island, U.S.S.R. Pitsea: 5i°34'N. o°3i'E. (Essex) Great Ainov Island, U.S.S.R. Druridgc Bay: 53°i5'N. 1 34'W. (Northuntbcrland) Reinoya: 70°: 8 'N. 3i°07'E. (Finnmark) Norway Aialton: 54°o8'N. 0’48'W. (York) ^ f these came from within the breeding range of jL. a. omissus. Common Gull (Lan/s canus) (27; 773) r originated in Estonia (two), Finland (four), Sweden (six), Norway (ten), ^ :nark (one), Germany (three) and the Netherlands (one). Black-headed Gull (Lar/is ridibiiiidns) (137; 1908) i ( ? age) X 12.7.61 17.1.62 Stromo: c. 62°io'N. 7°oo'W., Faeroe Islands Peterhead: 57®3o'N. i°46'V('. (Aberdeen) / pull. X 21.5.63 21.2.65 Neusiedler See: 47^45 'N. i6'’45'E. (Burgenland) Austria Tetney Marsh: 53 '28 'N. 0 00' (Lincoln) 98 pull. X 23.5.65 5.9.65 Etang de Purais: 46^45 'N. 1'05'E. (Indre) France Blo.xwich: 52 37'N. 2^00'W. (Stafford) ‘ .e are, respectively, the first Black-headed Gulls from the Faeroe Islands and I 'cia and the first French-ringed chick to be recovered in Britain. The remain- ;ame from the Soviet Baltic States (15), Finland (31), Sweden (18), Norwav I IDenmark (two), Germany (twelve), Poland (seven), Czechoslovakia (four), the [ i erlands (twelve) and Belgium (four). Kittiwake {Kissa tridacfyla) (2; 37) pull. 18.6.61 Hirsholmene: 57‘’29'N. io°37'E., Kattegat, Denmark Whitby: 54®29'N. o°37'\X’. (York) X 6.7.62 ad. 26.6.59 Hirsholmene, Denmark 0 X 7.11.65 Minsmere: 52°i4'N. i°37'E. (Suffolk) Common Tern {Sterna hirundo) (i ; 25) pull. 4.7.63 near Gamlakarleby : 63°5 2'N. 23°o6'E. (Vaasa) Finland J2I X c. 30.8.65 West Lynn: 52°45'K. 0^23 'E. (Norfolk) Arctic Tern {Sterna paradisaed) (2; 15) ad. 3.6.64 Wangeroogc: 53°4y'N. 7'’5i'E., East Frisian Islands, Germany 15 V 3.8.65 Spurn Point: 53°35'N. 0 06 'E. (York) pull. 20.6.63 Langenwerder: 54°02'N. ii®3o'E., Poel Island (Mecklenburg) io Germany X c. 20.6.65 Minehead: 5i°i3'N. 3°29'W. (Somerset) Sandwich Tern {Sterna sandvicensis) (i ; 13) f-g- 18.1.56 MosscI Bay: 34 12'S. 22^08'E. (Cape Province) South Africa 279 V 19.6.65 Burial Island: 54 29'N. 5°26'Vt'. (Down) tern was recaptured in a breeding colony. Incidentally, it was the first bird 75 BRITISH BIRDS of any species to be ringed south of the Equator and later recovered in the Britis| Isles (though many have done the reverse movement). Woodpigeon {Columba palumbus) (i ; 3) A. pull. 2.7.62 De Koog: 5 3°o6'N. 4°48'E., Texel, Netherlands 401)404 “T 3.2.63 Tillingham: 5i°4i'N. o°53'E. (Essex) H. f-g. Collared Dove {Streptopelia decaoetd) (4; 8) 6.5.64 Heligoland: 54°ii'N. 7°5 5'E., Germany 5119952 X 13.7.63 Southport: 5 3°39'N. 3°oi'W. (Lancashire) A. ad. $ 8.2.64 Wageningen: 5i°58'N. 5°39'E. (Gelderland) Netherlands Lytham St. Annes: 53°45'N. 3°oi'W. (Lancaster) 1019991 X 10.1.65 A. fig- 25.1.64 caught Wageningen (Gelderland), released Barneveld: 32°o8' 3008914 V 2.7.63 5°35^E. (Gelderland) Netherlands Peakirk: 52°38'N. o°i7'W. (Northamptonshire) B. juv. 14.12.64 Wijnegem: 53°i4'N. 4°32'E. (Antwerp) Belgium Ilford: 5I°33'N. o°o6'E. (Essex) T42876 V 12.9.65 The last mentioned was breeding, as were, most probably, the two which were rd covered in July. I Long-eared Owl (As/o otus) (i ; 15) Hki. J I40512 pull. 1.6.62 12.1.64 near Pirkkala: 6i°27'N. 23°43'E. (Hame) Finland 1 Sunderland: 54°5 5'N. i°23'W. (Durham) | P. 2)10)9 fig- d X 1 Swallow {Hirimdo rustied) (6 ; 26) f 14.4.63 Figuig: 32°io'N. i'’i5'W., Morocco ; 015.3.65 Bolton Abbey: 5 3°59'N. i°54'W. (York) f J- V0940 ad. d V 25.5.65 23.6.65 St. Catherine: 49°! 3 'N. 2°02'W. (Jersey) Channel Islands !■ near Stonehouse: 5i°45'N. 2°i7'W. (Gloucester) 1 J- VI033 ad. X 25.4.65 29.4.65 St. Ouen: 49°i3'N. 2°i3'W. (Jersey) Channel Islands | Mooncoin: 52°i8'N. 7°! 7 'W. (Kilkenny) ; 7. Vo 8 44 ad. c? X 13.3.63 24.5.65 Grouville: 49°ii'N. 2^03 'W. (Jersey) Channel Islands 1 Ambleside: 54°26'N. 2°58'W. (Westmorland) , B. 7A33694 ad. V 28.5.65 1 3.6.65 Woumen: 5o°59'N. 2°52'E. (West Flanders) Belgium 1 Holbrook: 3i°59'N. i lo'E. (Suffolk) B. zA)6977 ad. X 11.5.63 2.8.65 Woumen, Belgium Albury: 5i°i4'N. o°29'W. (Surrey') Sand Martin {Riparia riparia) (39; 59) The co-operative enquiry in western Europe into the migration patterns of thij species is continuing. In 1 96 5 , for the first time, the number of reported recoveriej of foreign-ringed birds is too large for them to be listed in full. Quoted below at« the first from Germany, Sweden and south-east France; the others came froni Netherlands (two), Belgium (eight), the Channel Islands (two) and north-wes' France (Morbihan, Calvados, Loiret, I.oire Atlantique) (24). St. acl. 19.6.65 1229301 V 8.8.65 //. ad. cj 27.6.63 9743 V 17.7.65 l.juaghuscn: 5 5°24'N I2°5 5'E. (Malmohus) Sweden Ikirham: 5i°2o'N. o 29T.. (Kent) 1 near Wittimmd: 55°3i'N. 7°44'E. (Niedcrsachscn) Germany 1 Rothicy: 5 2°43'N. I o8'\V. ([.ciccstcr) ’ ' 76 FOREIGN-RINGED RECOVERIES 14.4.65 Le Barcares: 42°4y'N. }°02'E. (Pyrenees Orientalcs) France 25.7.65 Holton: 52°2i'N. i “3 2 'E. (Suffolk) Jackdaw (Corpus woneduld) (2; 10) 25.5.65 war Tonsbcrg: 59°i7'N. io°23'E. (Vestfold) Norway 20.11.65 Peterculter: 57®05'N. 2°i8'W. (Aberdeen) 15.7.64 Knokke: 5i°22'N. 3°22'E. (West Flanders) Belgium 7.3.65 Scdlescombe : 50°56'N. o°32'E. (Sussex) Great Tit (Par us major') (i ; 4) 21.5.65 Kalmthout: 5i°23'N. 4''28'E. (Antwerp) Belgium 7.11.65 Dungeness: 5o°5 5'N. o°59'E. (Kent) Bearded Tit (Pa/iurus biarmicus) (7; 7) 6.8.65 Zwartemeer: 52°37'N. 5°54'E. (Overijssel) Netherlands 31.10.65 Shotton: 53°i2'N. 3°02'W. (Flint) 6.8.65 Zwartemeer, Netherlands 31.10.65 Shotton (Flint) 23.9.64 Veluwemeer Noord: 52°36'N. 5°48'E., Ijsselmeer, Nether- lands '•^6 V 16/23.1.66 Marton Mere: 5 3°49'N. 2°59'W., Blackpool (Lancashire) . w f.g.? V 21.9.65 9.10.65 Knardijk: 52°25'N. 5°29'E. Ijsselmeer, Netherlands Rye Meads: 5i°47'N. 0^00', Hoddesdon (Hertford) -8 f.g. ? V 22.9.65 30.10.65 Knardijk, Netherlands Northfleet: 5i°26'N. o°2o'E. (Kent) * iZ f.g. d V 22.9.65 4.11.65 Knardijk, Netherlands Northfleet (Kent) ■48 f.g. ? V 21.9.65 13.2.66 Knardijk, Netherlands war Birkenhead : 5 3°24'N. 3°04''X'. (Cheshire) t eruption of Bearded Tits in the autumn of 1965 was most spectacular; a \;wbyH. E. Axell of the movements of this species during 1959-65 was pub- d in December 1966 ('Brit. Birds, 59: 513-543). The above recoveries are irst confirmation that Dutch Bearded Tits do cross the North Sea; two records 1 early 1966 are advanced so that they may be seen in context. f-g. V pull. X juv. pull. . 302 V ■^4 juv. 0 V juv. V f-g-$ Fieldfare (Turdus pilaris) (3 ; 77) pull. I-7-65 ■942 X c. 5.12.65 (u'ires) »/. pull. 2.6.61 U -r 26.1 1. 61 pull. 1.7.61 f X 0.1.62 Song pull. 17.6.61 X (cat) 31.12.62 f.g- 19.8.62 10 j X 4.1.63 near Oulu: 64°59'N. 25°28'E., Finland near King’s L>-nn: 52°46'N. 0^26'E. (Norfolk) Sundsvall: 62°23'N. i7°i8'E. (Vaster Norrland) Sweden Norwich: 52°37'N. i°i8'E. (Norfolk) Nordfjordeid: 61'54'N. 6°oo'E. (Sogn og Fjordanc) Norway Mucking: 5i°3o'N. o°26'E. (Essex) Thrush (jPurdus philomelos) (4; 48) Castricum: 52®33'N. 4°4o'E. (Noord Holland) Netherlands Stoke Poges: 5i°32'N. o°35'\X'. (Buckingham) Castricum, Netherlands Herne Bay: 5i°2 3'N. i®o8'E. (Kent) 77 BRITISH BIRDS A. Kr/7j98 f-g. X 12.8.62 14.1.63 Bakkum: 32°34'N. 4°39'E. (Noord Flolland) Netherlands Dawlish: 30°33'N. 3°28'W. (Devon) P. f-g. X 6.1.62 0.8.62 Vannes: 47°4o'N. 2°44'W. (Morbihan) France Danbury: 3i°44'N. o°34'E. (Essex) 0. 46198 pull. X Redwing (Turdus iliacus) (3 ; 77) 30.3.62 «e^zr Baerum: 39°33'N. 1 0° 3 1 'E. (Akershus) Norway (3.3.63) Woodbridge: 32°o6'N. i°i9'E. (Suffolk) A. K1617J9 f-g. X 7.12.62 ^^-4.63 De Koog: 33°o6'N. 4'’48'E., Texel, Netherlands Goole: 33°42'N. o°37'W. (York) A. K16/61/ istW. X 17.10.62 31.12.62 Epse: 32°I3'N. 6°I2'E. (Gelderland) Netherlands West Hartlepool: 34°4i'N. i°i3'W. (Durham) Plki. Azi}j74 pull. V Blackbird (Turdus merula) (33 ; 282) 3.7.64 Helsinki : 6o°i3'N. 24°38'E., Finland 13. II. 63 Carnforth: 34°o9'N. 2°47'W. (Lancashire) Hki. A277602 juv. X (ca/) 20.8.63 4.12.63 near Kakskerta: 6o°2i'N. 22°io'E. (Turku & Pori) Finland Scarborough: 34°i7'N. o°24'W. (York) P. GM3837 ad. cJ V X c. 1.11.64 21. 11. 64 26.9.63 Cap Gris Nez: 3o°32'N. i°33'E. (Pas de Calais) France Dungeness: 30°3 3'N. o°39'E. (Kent) war Oeversee: 34°43'N. 9°z8'E. (Schleswig-Holstein) Germany The Others originated in Sweden (four), Norway (seven), Denmark (eight), Germany (one), the Netherlands (six) and Belgium (four). Sf. f-g. 24.10.60 1033371 X 3.3.61 ff/. f-g. 4.10.62 1086313 V 27.4.63 St. ad. 17.9.63 1200619 X (traffic) c. 19. II. 63 A. f-g. 4.10.63 R69889 X 23.10.63 Gar< B. f-g. 19.8.63 8A94028 X 10.10.63 Spotted II. f-g. 51.3.64 0277702 X 30.3.63 Stronsay: 59°o5'N. 2°35'W. (Orkney) Falsterbo, Sweden HoIme-next-Sca; 5z°58'N. o°33'E. (Norfolk) Karlskrona: 56°io'N. I3°35'E. (Blekinge) Sweden Redruth: 50°i3'N. 5°i4'W. (Cornwall) Wassenaar: 5 2°o8'N. 4°2o'E. (Zuid Holland) Netherlands 23.10.63 Chorleywood: 5i°4o'N. o°29'W. (Hertford) Willebroek: 5i°04'N. 4°22'E. (Antwerp) Belgium Spotted Flycatcher {Muscicapa str'iala) (i ; 6) Heligoland: 54°n TJ. 7°5 3 'E., German v South Ronaldsay: 38°4y'N. 2°36AV. (Orkney) H. 02836^9 Pied Flycatcher {Ficedula hypoleuca) (i ; 2) iuv. c? 21.9.63 Westcrland/Sylt: 34°34'N. 8°i8Ti., North Frisian Islands, Germany 26.9.63 Holme-ncxt-Sca: 32'38'N. o°33'E. (Norfolk) 78 V i ' 1 J.S28 FOREIGN-RINGED RECOVERIES Yellow Wagtail {Mofacilla flava flavissimd) (i ; 3) juv. 4.9.64 lies d’Ouessant: 48 '28'N. 5°05'W. (Finistcrc) France V 26.7.65 Shotton: 53 12'N. 3°o2'W. (Flint) Waxwing (Bombjcilla garrulus) (i ; 4) f.g. 5.10.63 Raksila: 63 00 'N. 25®3o'E. (Oulu) Finland X f. 10.12.63 Oban: 56 25'N. 5°29'W. (Argyll) 1 Starling (i'////7«/4 (64; 1867) ite originated in the usual areas: Soviet Baltic States (ten), Finland (three), ,:len (three), Norway (seven), Denmark (six), Germany (two), Poland (three), ^Netherlands (13), Belgium (15) and north-west France (two). The record n below relates to a particularly aged individual (though the oldest known wild ing, a Belgian one, sundved for 20 years). ; juv. cJ 4.10.48 Loosduincn: 5 2°04'N. 4° 15 'E. (Zuid Holland) Netherlands X 2.12.63 Haverfordwest: 5 i°48'N. 4°5 8 'W. (Pembroke) >70 Greenfinch (Carduelis Moris) (i ; 17) f.g. cJ 28.3.65 Brussels; 5o°48'N. 4°i9'E. (Brabant) Belgium V 27.10.63 Minsmere: 32°i4'N. i°37'E. (Suffolk) c . i ui Goldfinch {Carduelis carduelis) (2 ; 12) f-.g. d 9.5.65 Hem: 3o°5i'N. 2°o6'E. (Nord) France X 29.5.63 Knodishall: 32°i3'N. i°34'E. (Suffolk) ad. 10.4.64 Renteria: 43°2o'N. i°53'W. (Guipuzcoa) Spain Chilcompton: 5i°i6'N. 2°3i'W. (Somerset) X 7.5.65 Linnet {Acantbis cannabina) (3; 17) 146 ad. d X 30.3.64 19.7.65 Watervliet: 5i°i7'N. 3°37'E. (East Flanders) Belgium Birchington: 5i°23'N. i°i7'E. (Kent) .YV f-g. 1.3.64 Roeselare: 50°57'N. 3°o8'E. (WVst Flanders) Belgium A 9 X 0.6.65 Stoke-by-Nayland; 3i°39'N. o°54'E. (Suffolk) 38 ad. $ X 21.3.65 c. 30.5.63 Fuenterrabia; 43°2i'N. i°48'W. (Guipuzcoa) Spain Danbury: 5i°44'N. o°34'E. (Essex) Chaffinch {Fringilla coelebs) (26; 195) pull. 12.6.64 near Kristinestad : 62°i7'N. 2i°23'E. (Vaasa) Finland ’07 X (?) 11.1.65 Newtownards : 54°36'N. 5°4i'W. (Down) others were ringed in autumn/winter on Heligoland (three) and in the Nether- G (seven), Belgium (13) and north-west France (two). That given below is r esting from the longevity viewpoint. ad. 6.11.53 Loosduinen: 52°o4'N. 4°i5'E. (Zuid Holland) Netherlands X (5.2.63) Birmingham: 52°3oTSI. i°3o'W. (Warwick) Brambling {Fringilla montifringilla) (5 ; 25) f.g. $ 19.10.63 Wassenaar: 3 2°o8TSJ. 4°2o'E. (Zuid Holland) Netherlands V 21.2.65 Shotton: 5 3°i 2 TJ. 3°o2'W. (Flint) 75 f.g. d 12.10.64 Wassenaar, Netherlands V 31.1.63 Shotton (Flint) 79 BRITISH BIRDS juv. d 1.11.62 R46465 V 10.2.63 B. f-g.? 30.10.64 X (cat) 9.3.65 NFBVV ad. status, changes in status (with historical summaries going back in some . rases to 1830), migration, and breeding (including habitat, changes in lumbers, details of colonial species with, in some cases, excellent maps). The species list is preceded by a series of general chapters covering listor}'-, birding areas, a summary of changes since 1942, a survev of breeding birds, migration, criteria used in accepting records, hurricanes und their effects, and subspecies. One sympathises with the task of tr\-ing to fit as many species as arc bund in western and central Europe into one book, but these general Chapters are tantalisingly short. I should have liked essays on the birds )f the main habitats (especially the urban core where, despite the glories of Central Park’s migratort' warblers, the breeding species ijippear to be much fewer than in the Inner London parks) and the .bhanges in nesting species more thoroughly discussed. Even so, there lire exciting glimpses of what can be done in a heavily populated area, or, though pesticides may have wiped out the Peregrine and caused , Dsprey numbers to drop catastrophically, one can only salute a con- >i.er\^ation movement which has provided the Jamaica Bay rcscree where Glossy Ibises, Snowy Egrets, Great White Egrets and Little Blue Herons, mostly new arrivals, breed in sight of Idlewild airport und within the cit\" limits. There is surely the scope and the knowledge here for another book und perhaps one may hope that John Bull will find time to put us more n his debt by writing it. Stanley Cramp News and comment Edited by J. L. F. Far slow FThe National Cage Birds Show. — As usual, the National Cage Birds Show at .ondon’s Olympia from 8th to loth December 1966 was dominated by canaries and ludgcrigars, and there seemed to be even fewer foreign species of special interest to he British field ornithologist than there were last year. Of less than 300 birds in the i Foreign Birds’ section, the great majority, such as the waxbills, tanagers, parrots and > o on, belonged to mainly tropical families, and relatively few Palearctic species were t epresented. There were, however, half-a-do2en or so birds which were quite un- xpected, notably a beautiful east African flycatcher, Empidornis semipartatus, powder- due above and rufous-orange below; a pygmy kingfisher, probably Ispidina picta-, 1 nd a south-east Asian rock-thrush, Monlicola rufiventris. Eurasian vagrants on the ! Iritish and Irish List were represented by the inevitable Red-headed Bunting, and Vvlorth American ones by the only slightly less inevitable Baltimore Oriole and fose-breasted Grosbeak. 95 BRITISH BIRDS One particularly irritating aspect of this — -and most other — cage-bird shows is the absence of any mention of the species’ names on the cages, and often also in the catalogue. The latter, moreover, contains many errors concerning both the identifi- cation and the numbering of exhibits. At the recent show, for example, an ‘American Migratory Thrush’ turned out to be Turdiis rifopalliatus which, far from being a migrant, is an endemic of west Mexico; and there were several instances where the catalogue completely disagreed with what was actually in the cage. Inadequate labelling spoils the enjoyment of many visitors to the show, and is something which could so easily be improved. Exhibitors had often clearly made no attempt to identify their birds, and one partial remedy might be for the organisers to insist on a correct identification being made before exhibits can qualify for prizes. Most of the dealer’s stands were crowded (both inside the cages and out), but through the general throng on the Saturday it was possible to spot a few interesting species, the most notable of which was a shrike, probably Lanius viftatus, and the most pitiful, a Little Ringed Plover. A further review of certain pesticides. — The Advisory Committee on Pesticides and Other Toxic Chemicals, whose last survey led to restrictions on the use of certain organochlorine pesticides because of their harmful effects on wildlife, is shortly to review the subject again. It will recommend to the Government whether the use of aldrin, chlordane, DDT, dieldrin, endosulfan, endrin, TDE (‘Rhothane’) and ‘Toxaphene’ should continue as at present, or be restricted or cease. Interested organisations are invited to send any relevant evidence to the committee’s secretary, P. N. M. Moore, Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food, Room 569, Great Westminster House, Horseferry Road, London S.W.i, not later than 31st March 1967. One of the main ornithological contributions will be the evidence presented by the Joint Committee of the British Trust for Ornithology and the Ro^'al Society for the Protection of Birds on Toxic Chemicals. Pan African Ornithological Congress. — The council of the South African Ornithological Society has decided to organise the 3rd Pan African Ornithological Congress in March 1969. The congress will be held in the Kruger National Park, probably at Pretorius Kop. Anyone interested in attending should notify the honorary secretary of the S.A.O.S., c/o Percy Fitzpatrick Institute, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch C.P., South Africa. Fuller information will then be sent as it becomes available. Commons Registration Act. — The purpose of the Commons Registration Act 1 965 is to discover and register facts about the estimated i i million acres of common- land (including town and village greens) in England and Wales. In many cases the ownership of the common rights or even of the land itself is in doubt or dispute. Under the Act any common land not registered in the three years from ist January 1967 will cease to be common. Ornithologists and other naturalists have a strong interest in ensuring that land which they know or believe to be common is in fact registered, and they should not assume that registration will be carried out by others. In many areas the existing commons act as important reservoirs of birds and other wildlife, and, as the Council for Nature points out, an active interest at this stage can lead to close association in subsequent management plans for each common, so ensuring that natural history and conservation interests arc properly represented. A free booklet, ‘Commonland’, which explains how to preserve one’s rights is obtainable from the Clerk of Stationery, Ministry of Housing and I.ocal Government, Whitehall, London S.W.i. Among other useful publications should be mentioned the ‘Guide to Commons Registration’ which costs 2s. from the Commons, Open Spaces and Footpaths Preservation Society, 166 Shaftesbury Avenue, London W.C.2. 96 it’s a big job! Faced with the enormous task of satisfying the appetite of baby Cuckoos which can be three times larger than themselves, Meadow Pipits and many ether small birds go about it bravely, and indeed make an excellent job of it. An even greater task is the one cheerfully undertaken by Haith’s who, it is estimated, feed more than a million birds each day. We can offer an unrivalled range of foods and seeds to satisfy the require- ments of birds of all species, and to please even the most demanding of ornithologists. Just a few of our products are listed here, but a comprehensive list will gladly be sent on request. miTH’S WILD BIRD FOODS WILD BIRD FOOD (contains only cultivated seeds — no wild seed used) 5 lb 8/-, 9 lb 1 1/6, 13 lb 14/-, 28 lb 19/6, 561b 34/-, I 12 lb 65/- FOOD FOR THE TIT FAMILY 5 lb 10/6, 9 lb 16 9, 13 lb 21/-, 28 lb 35/9, 56 lb 67/-, 1 12 lb 130/- SONGSTER FOOD for Blackbirds, etc. 5 lb 8/9, 9 lb 13/3, 13 lb 17/-, 28 lb 25/6, 56 lb 46/-, 1 12 lb 88/- SUNFLOWER SEEDS (mixed) 51b 9/9, 9 1b 15/-, 13 lb 18/9, 281b 31/6, 56 lb 57/-, 1 12 lb 1 10/- MONKEY NUTS (in shell) for bird feeding 5 lb I I/-, 9 lb 17/9, 13 lb 22/9, 28 lb 37/9, 56 lb 72/-, 1 12 lb 140/- PEANUT KERNELS for bird feeding 5 lb 10/6, 9 lb 16/9, 13 lb 21/- 28 lb 35/9, 56 lb 67/-, 1 12 lb 130/- ALL POST OR CARRIAGE PAID JOHN E. HAITH LTD DEPT. B.B., PARK STREET, CLEETHORPES iii SMALL ADVERTISEMENTS The Snow Bunting DESMOND NETHERSOLE-THOMPSON The Snow Bunting, a rare bird about the size of a sparrow, is one of the most romantic and elusive birds in the British Isles, and cer- tainly the hardiest small bird in the world. The author gives a full description of the bird, its habits and habitat in Scotland, numbers and movements, covering all as- pects of its life. He summa- rises excellently what he has learnt both from personal fieldwork in the Cairngorms and from relevant literature. 45s. Oliver and Boyd Cape Clear Bird Observatory Report. Latest issue just published; 56 pages, printed. 5s. from Mrs. E. M. Sharrock, 59 Curlew Crescent, Bedford. Wanted. British Birds, vol. 38 no. 12 (December 1944) and vol. 50 no. 8 (August 1957) or complete volumes. Dr. Monk, Goring, Reading, Berks. British Birds, vols. 49 to 59 complete, unbound, excellent condition, covers. Offers lot. A. E. Plait, 57 Town Moor Ave., Doncaster, Yorks. Southern Spain. Modern villa in small village in southern Spain, 16 miles from Cadiz, 60 miles from Gibraltar and within striking distance of the Guadalquivir, available for minimum periods of two weeks during 1967. 200 yards from beach and with over ^ acre of garden, the villa has three bedrooms and well-appointed kitchen and bathroom. Rare opportunity to see the fascinating bird-life of southern Spain. Availability and cost on application. Write Box FY 1212. Brownsea Island. Assistant Warden re- quired by the Dorset Naturalists’ Trust for their Reserve. Resident post April to September. Particulars Hon. Sec., Burnage House, Martello Park, Canford Cliffs, Poole, Dorset. Offers wanted for British Birds, Aug. 1962- Dec. 1965; Bird Notes, 1958-1965; Bird Study, June 1956-Dec. 1966; Bird Migra- tion, vols. 1 and 2 complete; all unbound, in good condition. Also Witherby’s Handbook (1958). Box FY2700. For sale. Bannerman’s Birds of British Isles, 12 vols. Mint condition. £31. Box FY2312. British Wild Birds. Set of six colour prints 8" X 6", 10s. Panda Publications, 63 West Garth Road, Exeter. Cape Clear Bird Observatory, Co. Cork, Ireland. Manning required throughout the year. Early booking most helpful. Write for free information booklet from R. D. Jack- son, 17 The Moorlands. Benson, Oxon. IV Notice to Contributors i/ish Birds publishes material dealing with original observations on the birds of : itain and western Europe or, where appropriate, on birds of this area as observed other parts of their range. Except for records of rarities, papers and notes are ormally accepted only on condition that the material is not being offered to any her journal. Photographs (glossy prints showing good contrast) and sketches are celcomed. Proofs of all contributions are sent to authors before publication. After publication, 25 separates of papers are sent free to authors (two or more iuhors of one paper receive 15 copies each); additional copies, for which a charge made, can be provided if ordered when the proofs are returned. Papers should be typewritten with double spacing, and on one side of the sheet "illy. Shorter contributions, if not typed, must be clearly written and well spaced. 'Notes should be worded as concisely as possible, and drawn up in the form in ihich they will be printed, with signature in block capitals and the writer’s address cearly written on the same sheet. If more than one note is submitted, each should ;; on a separate sheet, with signature and address repeated. 1 Certain conventions of style and layout are essential to preserve the uniformity f ' any publication. Authors of papers in particular, especially of those containing >stematic lists, reference lists, tables, etc., should consult the ones in this issue as a :iide to general presentation. English names of species should have capital 1 itials for each word, except after a hyphen (e.g. Willow Warbler, Black-tailed r odwit), but group terms should not (e.g. warblers, godwits). English names are r;nerally those used in A Field Guide to the Birds of Britain and Europe (revised ilition, 1966). The scientific name of each species should be underlined (but not Lit in brackets) immediately after the first mention of the English name. Sub- viecific names should not be used except where they are relevant to the discussion. is sometimes more convenient to list scientific names in an appendix. Dates Mould take the form ‘ist January 1967’ and no other, except in tables where they ay be abbreviated to ‘ist Jan.’, ‘Jan. ist’ or even ‘Jan. i’, whichever most suits !..e layout of the table concerned. It is particularly requested that authors should iiy attention to reference lists, which otherwise cause much unnecessary work, "hese should take the following form: UCKER, B. W. (1949): ‘Species and subspecies: a review for general ornitholo- . gists’. Brit. Birds, 42: 1 29-1 34. 'iTiiERBY, H. F. (1894): Forest Birds: Their Haunts and Habits. London, p. 34. 'Various other conventions concerning references, including their use in the text, ; lould be noted by consulting examples in this issue. Tables should be numbered witli arabic numerals, and the title typed above in !-e style used in this issue. They must either fit into the width of a page, or be resigned to fit a whole page lengthways. All tables should be self-explanatory. 1 Figures should be numbered with arabic numerals, and tire captions typed on a parate sheet. All line-drawings should be in indian ink on good quality drawing tper (not of an absorbent nature) or, where necessary, on graph paper, but this ust be light blue or very' pale grey. It is always most important to consider how ch drawing will fit into the page. The neat insertion of lettering, numbers, rows, etc., is perhaps the most difficult part of indian ink drawing and, unless he IS had considerable experience of this kind of work, an author should seek the d of a skilled draughtsman. Natural History Books PUBLISHED RECENTLY The Territorial Imperative by Robert Ardrey. 36s. Poisonous Plants and Fungi in Colour by Pamela North. 80 plates in colour. 21s. The Last Eagle by Daniel Mannix. The story of an American Bald Eagle. Illustrated with drawings. 18s. Plants of the World edited by Professor H. D. C. de Wit. Vol. 1 (the work will be completed in 3 vols.). This volume contains 1 89 colour plates, 195 black-and-white plates and 30 line drawings. 84s. Beasts in my Bed by Jacquie Dunell. The authoress describes her ownexperienceof life with her husband Gerald’s family of animals. Illustrated. 21s. The Peregrine by J. A. Baker. An account of 10 years’ watching Peregrines in East Anglia. March/April. 21s. The Trout by W. E. Frost and M. E. Brown. A ‘New Naturalist’ volume. April. 25s. Ireland’s Birds by Robert F. Ruttledge. 30s. Zoos of the World by James Fisher. 45s. The Original Bird Paintings of John James Audubon. 2 vols. boxed. 25 gns. The Shell Bird Book by James Fisher. 25s. On Aggression by Konrad Lorenz. 30s. Birds of Europe with Gould illustrations. 2 vols. 35s. each. Two in the Bush by Gerald Durrell. 25s. A Field Guide to the Birds of New Zealand by R. A. Falla, R. B. Sibson and E. G. Turbott. 36s. In Search of Birds by Collingwood Ingram. 30s. Mammals of Rhodesia, Zambia and Malawi by R. H. N. Smithers. 25s. The Oxford Book of Flowerless Plants by F. H. Brightman. 45s. Collins Pocket Guide to British Birds by R. S. R. Fitter and R. A. Richardson. Revised edition. 30s. Britain’s Wildlife: Rarities and Introductions by R. S. R. Fitter and J. L. Pemberton. 21s. Pictorial Encyclopaedia of Plants and Flowers by F. A. Novak. 25s. Animal Paradise (Fauna of Galapagos) by Christian Zuber. 30s. The Snow Bunting by D. Nethersole-Thompson. 45s. Birds of the Atlantic Islands by David A. Bannerman and W. Mary Bannerman. Vol. 3. Azores. 84s. Animal Magic introduced by Johnny Morris. 21s. Grey Seal, Common Seal by R. M. Lockley. 27s. 6d. Rhino by C. A. W. Guggisberg. 27s. 6d. Available from Witherby’s Bookshop 61/62 Walling Street, London, E.C.4 ALL BOOKS SENT POST FREE Printed in England by Diemer & Reynolds l.td., Eastcotts Road, Bedford Published by U. F. & G. Witherby Ltd., 61/62 Watling Street, E.C.4 r 4 V A- British Birds Principal Contents Changes in status among breeding birds in Britain and Ireland J J. L. F. Parslow (Part 2) Ml J Studies of less familiar birds : 143— Subalpine Warbler Geoffrey Beven and M. D. England (with four plates) Food of Long-eared Owls in north-east Ireland J. S. Fairley Notes News and comment List of county and area recorders in Britain and Ireland Vol. 60 No. 3 March 1967 FOUR SHILLINGS British Birds AN ILLUSTRATED MONTHLY JOURNAL Editors Stanley Cramp, I. J. Ferguson-Lees, P. A. D. HoUom, E. M. Nicholson Photographic Editor Eric Hosking Editorial Address lo Merton Road, Bedford ‘Nem and Comment’ J. L. F. Parslow, i Wick Hall, Radley, Abingdon, Berkshire Rarities Committee F. R. Smith, Telford, Hill Barton Road, Exeter, Devon Contents of Volume 6o, Number 3, March 1967 Page Changes in status among breeding birds in Britain and Ireland. By J. L. F. Parslow. Part 2 . . . . . . • • • • • • • • 97 Studies of less familiar birds: 145 — Subalpine Warbler. ByDr. Geoffrey Beven. Photographs by M.D. England (plates 15-16) .. 1*5 Food of Long-eared Owls in north-east Ireland. By Dr. J. S. Fairley ^ Notes : — Lesser Kestrels feeding after dark on insects attracted to artificial light (Bryan L. Sage ; and I. J . Ferguson-Lees) H 6 Mutant Partridges in Yorkshire (G. Y. Thompson) *57 Rooks burying pine cones (G. H. Forster) .. .. .. •• •• tJ7 Whitethroat in Nottinghamshire in December (G. R. Hickton) . . . . 138 White Wagtail eating grasshopper (M. L. Richards) 1 59 Late season song in the Reed Bunting (B. D. Bell) 1 5 9 Requests for information: — Autumn and winter influx of Rough-legged Buzzards (R. E. Scott) . . 159 Birds of Flintshire (C. Done) .. .. .. .. .• •• •• *4° News and comment. Edited by J. L. F. Parslow 14° List ofcounty and area recorders in Britain and Ireland 14* Annual subscription £z 13s. (including postage and despatch) payable to H. F. & G. Witherby Ltd., 61/62 Watling Street, London, E. C. 4 A Sound Guide to the Birds of Southern Europe hy Jean-Claude Roche Thirteen discs, 7-inch, 33;^ rpm, in case. Eighty- three species of Alpine and Mediterranean Birds, with full English text. Obtainable through member- ship of ECHO (L’lnstitut pour I'Enregistrement et Etudes des CHants et Cris d'Oiseaux). Eor details of ECHO membership and Sound Guides, apply to E. D. H. Johnson, Crabiere Cottage, St. Ouen, Jersey, Channel Islands ORNITHOLIDAYS K.d) Principals: Lawrence G. Holloway, Gordon Holloway We are pleased to announce the following leaders for our birdwatching and natural history holidays in 1967: Austria (Lake NeusiedI) — Lt. Col. J. K. Stanford obe, mc, MBOU and D. W. Taylor France (Camargue) — Dr. J. V. Tranter and Mrs. Joan Walton Spain (south-west) — Noble Rollin mbou, aaou, mraou and John G. Beliak ma Malta — Mrs. E. Coxon Scotland (Orkney and Shetland) — Dr. J. T. Hughes (Cairngorms) — Lawrence G. Holloway (North Uist) — J. D. Magee England (Fame Islands, etc.) — Law rence G. Holloway (Devon) — Ian Taylor Wales (Pembrokeshire and Snowdonia) — Major W. W. A. Phillips MBS, MBOU For full details of these holidays send for our illustrated 1967 handbook. LAWRENCE G. HOLLOWAY, ORNITHOLIDAYS, GRIMSEL, BARRACK LANE, ! ALDWICK, BOGNOR REGIS, SUSSEX (Pagham 2827 or Chichester 85028) 1 A SELECTION OF NEW AND USED BINOCULARS SPECIALLY RECOMMENDED BY MR. FRANK NIPOLE binoculars from japan are made to our specifica- tion and are imported exclusively by us. Performance is excellent and we have sufficient faith in them to guarantee them for five years. The lOx 50 costs £15 lOs. Od. and the 8x 30 £10 19s. 6d. (both with case). A SPECIALIST BINOCULAR FOR THE BIRD WATCHER. The Swift AUDUBON 8.5 x 44 designed to the specification of the world renowned Audubon Society of America. Unusually wide field of 445 ft. at 1,000 yards. Extra close focusing down to 12 Ft. enables feeding activities, etc., to be watched asfrom 18 ins. Included amongst other features are retractable eyecups for spectacle users, built-in adaptor to suit any camera tripod. This outstanding binoc- ular has easy positive focusing by cylindrical control, weighs 38.4 oz. and the height closed is 6i ins. Price with fine leather case £36. The new LEITZ TRINOVID is indisputably the binocular of the century. It is of revolutionary design and perform- ance, and the lOx 40 model, which we particularly like, is extremely light and wonderfully compact. Price with soft leather case £86 17$. Id. Amonggood British glasses, we have no hesitation in sugges- ting the ROSS 9x35 STEPRUVA. Compact and weighing only 21 oz. Price £43 4s. 9d. We stock binoculars by Zeiss, Leitz, Barr & Stroud. Ross, Swift, etc. Any instrument willingly sent on approval SEND For wildfowling, etc., we recommend the ex-Admiralty 7x42 or 7x50 Barr & Stroud binoculars and can offer these instruments in specially good condition, complete in original cases, at £16 lOs. The Bausch & Lomb (Canadian naval) 7 x 50 is still available at £24. Among general purpose binoculars, which will stand up to a tremendous amount of rough usage, there is little to beat the 6x30 Service Prismatics at £8 ISs.; if reminded, we will probably be able to select a pair in new condition and can provide a web pouch at 4s. 6d. extra. FOR NEW ^ ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE CHARLES FRANK LTD, 145 QUEEN ST., GLASGOW C.l STD 041-221 6666 YOUNG BIRD WATCHERS Up to 18 years of age qualify for special price concessions details on request Among heavyweight prismatic bino- culars suitable for mounting, we can offer a host of truly wonderful bar- gains: for instance, a Ross 7x50 Heavy Duty binocular with filters in brand new condition, and complete in fitted box, can be supplied for 7 gns* (original cost estimated over £120): the lOx 70 model can be supplied for £20. These instruments are too heavy to be hand-held, and mount and tripod can be provided at * moderate charge. TELESCOPES— just a mention of the portable NICKEL SUPRA TELESCOPE. It zooms from 1 5x to 60x with 60 mm. O.G. and is trulya remarkable instrument. Price £38 9$. dinner is served ! Haith’s have not yet in operation a department for the r^oduction of nice juicy worms, but we are able to satisfy almost wery other requirement of birds of all species. Our range of foods rid seeds will please the most demanding of ornithologists. Just a few of our products are mentioned here. A com- r'ehensive list will gladly be sent on request. FAITH'S mio BIRD FOODS V/ILD BIRD FOOD (contains only cultivated seeds — no wild seed used) 5 lb 8/-. 9 lb 1 1/6, 13 lb 14/-, 28 lb 19/6, 56 lb 34/-, 1 12 lb 65/- (OOD FOR THE TIT FAMILY 5 lb 10/6, 9 lb 16/9, 13 lb 21/-, 28 lb 35/9, 56 lb 67/-, 1 12 lb 130/- CONGSTER FOOD for Blackbirds, etc., 5 lb 8/9, 9 lb 13/3, 13 lb 17/-, 28 lb 25/6, 56 lb 46/-, 1 12 lb 88/- lUNFLOWER SEEDS (mixed) 5 lb 9/9, 9 lb 15/-, 13 lb 18/9, 28 lb 31/6, 56 lb 57/-, 112 lb 110/- IIONKEY NUTS (in shell) for bird feeding 5 lb II/-, 9 lb 17/9, 13 lb 22/9, 28 lb 37/9, 56 lb 72/-, 1 12 lb 140/- EANUT KERNELS for bird feeding 5 lb 10/6, 9 lb 16/9, 13 lb 21/-, .28 lb 35/9, 56 lb 67/-, 1 12 lb 130/- ALL POST OR CARRIAGE PAID JOHN E. HAITH LTD DEPT. B.B., PARK STREET, CLEETHORPES iii With or without spectacies Eric Hosking F.R.P.S.the celebrated ornithologist and bird photographer, writes ‘‘I have recently found thatfor the most exacting observations particularly at twilight or over the sea or misty terrain, I need a binocular with greater brilliance of illumination. Consequently, after testing various types, I have changed to the new 8 x SOB Zeiss binocular which I find to be a really marvellous production ; not only is the quality of illumination and optical correction beyond criticism. butthis binocular gives a remarkably wide field of view for both the spectacle wearer and the naked eye.* The price is high butthe Zeiss 8 X SOB binocular is beyond compare and I am delighted with it." * Actually 130 yards at 1000 which has never been equalled in a spectacle wearer’s model of this specification. Degenhardt & Co. Ltd., Carl Zeiss House, 20/22 Mortimer Street, London, W.1. MUSeum 80S0 (1S lines). British Agents for Carl Zeiss West Germany IV British Birds Vol. 6o No. 3 March 1967 Changes in status among breeding birds in Britain and Ireland J. L. F. Pars Ion/ {Continued from page 47) lied Grouse Luigopus lagopus. Fluctuates ; no evidence of marked wide- p^read change (A & L). General widespread decrease since about 1940; n Ireland decrease has continued since early in 20th century. Numerous; widespread resident in moorland areas of Scotland, •'eland, Wales and borders, and England from central Stafford north- I "ards ; small numbers on Dartmoor and Exmoor where introduced in ^9th centur}'. Shooting bag records and other evidence make it clear iiat this species has decreased in many parts of Scotland, particularly in he north and west, since the early 1940’s, after a period of abundance etween the 1914-18 and 1939-45 wars. Reduced numbers since the 930’s have also been noted in most parts of Wales (though there has 'leen some recovery in recent years in Cardigan, Glamorgan and pro- bably elsewhere) and over much of northern England. Disturbance and destruction of habitat led to the species’ disappearance from many low- i.nd mosses in Lancashire before the 1939-45 war. It has also declined enerally in Ireland during the present century, despite the frequent ' itroduction of birds and eggs from Britain. By about 1950 it seemed ) be nearly if not quite extinct in parts of south Ireland, as well as aving become much scarcer in the north (Mackenzie 1952). Except II some parts of Ulster, the decrease has been very marked all over rceland in the last few years (Ruttledge 1966), though there seem to be ;w counties from which the species has gone altogether. Studies into the cause of the decline in Scotland were started in 1956, nd this and other research on the species is being continued by the Jature Conservancy’s Unit of Grouse and Moorland Ecologv in 97 BRITISH BIRDS north-east Scotland. The long-term decline appears to have been due mainly to a gradual deterioration in habitat, and particularly a reduction in the productivity and quality of heather Callma vulgaris^ on which the species depends for food and cover. Less efficient management, notably the burning of too much or too little heather, is believed to be pri- marily responsible for the general impoverishment of moorland studied in the east of the country (Jenkins, Watson and Miller 1963, 1964). Heather growth also depends greatly on spring and summer weather, being better in sunny summers than in wet ones, and this has a crucial effect on the numbers of Red Grouse breeding in the following year. But there is no evidence of any appreciable change in summer weather over the period during which this species has declined in east and central Scotland (Jenkins 1962, 1966). Ptarmigan "Lagopus mutus. Widespread decrease and extinct in many areas (A & L). Fluctuates greatly once every decade, but no long-term change this century. Fairly numerous; restricted to hill ranges in Scottish Highlands, including Skye and Mull. The distribution has been mapped and fully described by Watson (1965b), on whose papers (Watson 1965, 1965a, 1965 b) this summary is based. In the main Scottish Highlands there is no evidence of any change in numbers or range during this century. The population in the Cairngorms fluctuates greatly once every ten years, possibly through changes in behaviour or food; high numbers have occurred in the early years of each decade since the 1910’s. Ptarmigan have been extinct as breeding birds in the English Lake District, south-west Scotland, Arran and Rhum since the 19th century, and in the Outer Hebrides since 1938. In recent years, however, the species has been seen again on both Rhum and Harris, and Watson believes that the contraction of range in the Hebrides is only temporary. He explains the decrease in this area as being due to the fact that the areas of suitable habitat are very small and isolated, so that there is a distinct risk of total extinction in years of low numbers. Such local temporary extinctions also occur on isolated small hills in east Scotland. A recent sharp increase in human disturbance by tourists in some parts of the Highlands has had no apparent adverse effects on Ptarmigan numbers, even in the vicinity of ski-lifts. Black Grouse l-.yrurus tetrix. Very marked and widespread decrease, due to human destruction and to disappearance of breeding haunts; extinct in most of southern portion of former range (A & L). Evidence of recent increase in new conifer forests in Wales and Scotland. Fairly numerous; resident Scotland, northern England and Wales, with more isolated populations on the south Pennines, and on Exmoor 98 STATUS CHANGES AMONG BREEDING BIRDS land the Quantocks in Somerset. Apparent changes in status during this (century are summarised on a regional basis below. Southern 'England. Extinct in most counties before 1900, and in several I more (Cornwall, Wiltshire, Dorset and Hampshire) by 1920. Last seen lin the Braunton area of north Devon in 1933 and on Dartmoor in 1959. iNow confined to a few pairs on Exmoor and the Quantocks, where (decreasing. Wales and borders. Indigenous in some eastern districts, but elsewhere {probably mainly the descendants of birds introduced in the 19th (century. In all parts a general decrease this century, especially in the 11930’s, when the species became extinct in Hereford and Glamorgan ((perhaps also at this time in Monmouth and Flint). Since about the late 11940’s it has increased again and has extended its range in many Welsh (counties as a result of the planting and growth of much new conifer tforest. With the exception of the counties named above, and also IPembroke and Anglesey, it now breeds in every Welsh county. Small inumbers may still bree(i in south-west Shropshire. Central and northern England. Disappeared from several Midland (counties in last century, from Nottingham and Norfolk early this (century, and from Lincoln after 1935. Now breeds in an area of the ssouth Pennines (north Stafford, north-west Derby and east Cheshire) sand more widely in northern England. Numbers fluctuate, but appear tto have decreased generally in the decade following the 1939-45 war, sand locally at least both before and after this period. In some parts, Ihowever, numbers have been maintained or have recently increased. Scotland. Between the end of the 1914-18 war and about 1950 the sspecies decreased generally over most of Scotland and in some dis- ttricts, particularly in the west, it disappeared altogether. Since about the (middle or late 1950’s it has become more common again, especially in (the new conifer forests, from the border counties north to Sutherland. ILocally, however, numbers are still depressed and have shown no ssigns of increasing. Macken2ie (1952) published game bag figures sshowing long-term trends in south and central Scotland, and these indicated short-term fluctuations superimposed on longer waves of .general abundance with a period of about 30-50 years. Since the mid- 119th century the two highest peaks were 1860-70 and 1910-1 5. Between 1191 5 and 1949 numbers declined markedly except for a smaller peak in 'i933"34- Mackenzie suggested that, if the long-term trend was natural (perhaps due to climatic factors), then numbers should be rising again in the 1950’s. (Capercaillie Tetrao urogallus. Extinct Scotland and Ireland before 1800; re-introduced Scotland 1837 onwards. Decrease during both 1914-18 aand 1939-45 wars; some increase since about 1950. 99 BRITISH BIRDS Fairly numerous; restricted mainly to east Highlands, from Stirling north to south-east Sutherland. Pennie (1950-51, and in Bannerman 1953-63) has described the species’ history and distribution. Following several introductions into Scotland in the 19th century, it increased and achieved a maximum spread by about 1914. Between then and 1949 there was little further colonisation, and in many areas a decrease in numbers or actual extermination, due mainly to the felling of large areas of conifers during the 1914-18 and 1939-45 wars. Recently there has been a tendency for it to spread into younger conifer plantations. By 1959 it had begun to increase again in many areas, though locally its numbers were still depressed. Red-legged Partridge Akctoris rufa. Introduced (A & L). Slight con- traction of range in western districts since the 1930’s, and numbers perhaps reduced in some other areas, but no certain indication of any marked change; local (and temporar}'’ ?) increase in East Anglia since 1959. Numerous; distributed mainly in east and south England, west to Somerset, north-west to Shropshire and north to north Yorkshire. Howells (1963) suggested that the most important factor limiting the distribution of this species is probably high rainfall. In western districts a maximum distribution appears to have been reached before about 1930, since when it has decreased in Devon (now breeding only doubt- fully in the extreme south-east) and probably also in west Dorset; since 1935 it has ceased to breed in Glamorgan. On the other hand, its range limits elsewhere appear to be little changed and may even have exten- ded slightly farther north in Yorkshire, almost to the Westmorland border, in recent years. There is little definite evidence of a general decline in numbers in southern England, although the species is said to have decreased in several parts of Sussex, Kent and Essex in the last 15-20 years, and in some central counties over a longer period. It is most abundant in East Anglia, where Payn (1962) noted a marked decline in Suffolk beginning about 1945, with a partial recovery in 1959 and i960 follow- ing two dry summers and successful breeding. Middleton and Huband (1966) have shown that the breeding densities on three estates in Norfolk increased markedly after 1959, the average per 1,000 acres rising from 17 pairs in 1953-55 to 63 pairs in 1960-65. An increase of similar proportions was recorded on an estate in Lincoln, while there was also a gradual increase in East Anglia generally from 1961 to 1965, the cause of which is not known. In other parts of the country there was no evidence of an increase. Partridge Perdix perdix. Great decrease in Ireland, but recovering as a 100 •STATUS CHANGES AMONG BREEDING BIRDS I result of special legislation for protection, 1932 (A & L). Fluctuates, but I steady long-term decrease over most of Britain this centur)', particularly since about 1940 and accelerating in recent years. Numerous; widely distributed throughout Britain and Ireland, but local in north-west Scotland and south-west Ireland, and absent from most Scottish islands. The regional literature indicates that this species has decreased widely and markedly over virtually the whole of England, Wales and southern Scotland since the 1930’s. Except for temporary and only partial recoveries in some areas, such as in Suffolk in 1959 and i960 following two good breeding seasons (Payn 1962), the downward trend has become even more marked in recent years. Regional surveys of game-book records, especially for Wales (Matheson 1953, 1956, 1956a, 1957), have indicated that in some areas this trend began towards the end of the last century. G. Howells (in preparation) has shown that this decline has affected all parts of Britain, with the possible exception of northern England and Scotland, and also that it became sharper after the late 1930’s; Ireland was not included in his survey. The results of the National Game Census indicate that by 1965 the Partridge population in Britain as a whole was lower than ever before (Ivliddleton and Huband 1966). Howells suggests that the decline is most likely to be the result of human activity (notably changes in agricultural methods brought about by increased mechanisation, such as the grubbing up of hedgerows, rapid ploughing in of stubbles and mechanised hay-cutting) rather than part of a long-term fluctuation due to climatic or other natural factors. The evidence on present trends in Ireland is conflicting, but it seems possible that the recovery which followed protective legislation in 1930 and the introduction of fresh stocks was only temporar}'. D. D. Walker (in Bannerman 1955-63) has suggested that the decline there has continued, due mainly to changing methods of agriculture, but perhaps also to climatic changes. Quail Coturnix coturnix. Very marked and widespread decrease, and now extinct in many former haunts except sporadically in good years; attributed to changed methods of agriculture (A & L). Fluctuates, but since about 1942 at a higher level than earlier this centurv; it was exceptionally numerous and widespread in 1964. Scarce; summer visitor breeding regularly in about eight counties in southern England and two in south-east Ireland, fairly regularly in several others, and sporadically north to Shetland. Moreau (1951) traced this species’ early historj" in detail, showing that its numbers reached a low ebb about 1865 and remained low except for occasional ‘good years’ well into the present century. A slight upwards tendency, noted here and in western Europe generally, began about 1942. In 1947 probably twice as many visited Britain as any earlier year this centur}^ A special lOI BRITISH BIRDS enquiry in 1953 (Moreau 1956) showed that in that year probably twice as many occurred in Britain as in 1947, numbers having declined in the interim, reaching a low point in 1951. No obvious correlation was found between the numbers visiting Britain and the weather in the respective springs in France. No survey has been made since 1953, but the regional literature indicates that numbers have continued to fluctuate considerably, though at a much higher level than in the first three decades of this century. Breeding has probably occurred at one time or another since 1954 in every English county except Middlesex (and perhaps Durham and Devon, where birds were present in summer in 1964 only), though the species is believed to have nested near-annually only in Cornwall, Wiltshire, Hampshire, Sussex, Berkshire, Oxford, Hereford and Cambridge (including the Breck). In addition, it has probably bred at least once in six Welsh counties, in seven in the southern half of Scot- land, in Caithness in the north, and in the Western and Northern Isles. In Ireland it breeds regularly in Kildare, Carlow and probably Offaly, and perhaps occasionally elsewhere. Since 1953, notably poor years for Quail were 1956 and 1962; good numbers occurred in i960 and 1961 and from 1963 to 1965. In 1964 exceptional numbers were recorded over a wide area of Britain and Ireland, and breeding took place in many counties north to Shetland : altogether, well over 600 individuals were heard calling — probably almost twice as many as were present during the ‘invasion’ of 1953. Pheasant Phasianus colchicus. Introduced (A & L). General widespread increase due to artificial rearing and dispersion. Numerous; resident in all parts of Britain and Ireland, including several islands where numbers are often maintained by fresh introduc- tions and artificial rearing. Except for some regional variation, this species has increased in almost all areas in the last 20 years. G. Howells (in preparation) has shown that numbers have probably increased generally in all parts of England and Scotland (but not Wales) since the end of the last century, though there have been short-term fluctua- tions, and also temporary decreases during the 1914-18 and 1939-45 wars. The National Game Census figures show that in recent years a peak was reached in about 1960-61, and that there has been a steadv increase in numbers reared and released for shooting. In Ireland, re- stocking is taking place extensively and the population is also increasing (Ruttledge 1966). Water Rail Kallus aquaticus. No evidence of marked change (A & L). Decreased locally through drainage, but little evidence of any general change. 102 STATUS CHANGES AMONG BREEDING BIRDS Not scarce; distributed generally but ver\^ locally in Britain and |r reland, though absent as a regular breeder from many counties, t-rspecially in the English Midlands. The regional literature contains I ittle information on status changes of this elusive species, apart from f. everal records of local decrease or extinction as a result of alterations : o its breeding haunts, particularly through drainage. Where habitats t',.iave remained largely unchanged, so, too, has the status of the Water |llail, though there is very little quantitative information on this point. I n Sussex, Walpole-Bond (1938) estimated that up to about 30 pairs laested annually before the 1939-45 war, and a special survey by the bussex Ornithological Society during 1962-64 showed that the species v/as still present in summer in at least six or seven widely separated ureas, though its numbers appeared to be considerably fewer and onlv vwo cases of breeding were proved. The species is still common in Ireland, where it apparently continues OD breed in every county (Ruttledge 1966), and in parts of East Anglia, m England, Scotland and Wales it is known to nest regularly in fewer hban half the counties in each countr}-^ and, although doubtless much »werlooked, it is absent from some areas which appear to be suitable lor breeding. ifpotted Crake Fort^ana port^ana. Decreased with drainage of breeding uaunts (A & L). Only occasional breeding during the past 30 years. Occasional breeder, perhaps just annual at the present time. The main decrease took place before the middle of the 19th century, but the poecies appears to have lingered on in some eastern counties until the aarly 1900’s. Since then it has remained for the most part a sporadic icester, though for a short time between about 1926 and 1937 it K.ccurred slightly more numerously and probably bred at least once in bbout ten counties in England and Wales. In one of these years, 1930, Dur or five pairs bred in Somerset alone (Lewis 1952). There is some ^vidence to suggest that it has become slightly more frequent again in cecent years, with certain or probable breeding in Somerset (1963), uffolk (1963, 1964) and Sutherland (1966), possible breeding in three tther southern counties and one northern one, and a few records of lirds seen in summer, for example in Kirkcudbright in 1963 and at two laces in Somerset in 1964. Curry-Lindahl (1959-63) mentioned a recent icrease and spread in Sweden. Laillon’s Crake Porspina pusilla. Bred, apparently only sporadicallv, ri East Anglia in 19th century. Last nest in Norfolk in 1889. orncrake Crex crex. Very marked and widespread decrease, probably ue to changed methods of agriculture; western Ireland and Scottish 103 Fig. 4 . Contraction of the range of the Corncrake Crex crex. The various shadings show the counties ir which the species ceased to breed annually before 1900 (^dashes), after about 1914 (hatched) and after about 1939 (cross-hatched). Breeding still occurred annually in 1964 in the blacked-in counties, although in most of these the numbers have much decreased and in some are now reduced to a few pairs. A very few pairs still breed fairly regularly (but are not known to do so annually) in west Yorkshire, Durham, and perhaps some counties in central Scotland. Irregular breeding occurs in some Welsh counties, and sporadic nesting still takes place in certain counties in central and southern England. 'I’he species was never common in Essex and Norfolk, and may in fact never have bred annually in these counties STATUS CHANGES AMONG BREEDING BIRDS islands apparently not affected much as yet; numbers also vary much ■■ with the season (A & L). Long-term decline has continued and the s species has withdrawn steadily westwards. Not scarce; for present breeding distribution and contraction of rrange see fig. 4. A special enquiry into the status of the Corncrake in 11938 and 1939 (Norris 1945, 1947) confirmed that the species had .decreased greatly over almost the whole of Britain and Ireland. The ^decrease began in south-east England and parts of east and central :'Scotland during the second half of the 19th century', began in eastern 1 Ireland and became especially marked in southern England in the early 11900’s, and spread progressively westward to affect most areas by 1939. IThe species also decreased generally in Europe after about 1920. The .decline is generally attributed to changed methods of agriculture, esspecially the introduction of mechanical hay-cutters. Other factors imay have contributed, however. For example, as pointed out by >Nicholson (1951), it coincided with the erection of a network of over- head wires in western Europe. He suggested the possibility that the imany migrant Corncrakes killed flying into wires might have been ssufficient to cause a decrease in breeding numbers. In Britain the decline has continued at a steady rate over the past 25 years, and may even have become more rapid since the early 1950’s, Darticularly in Scotland. Places affected have included Orkney, Shetland und many in Ireland. The species still remains relatively numerous in western districts of Ireland and in parts of the Hebrides, although ' ocally at least it has also decreased in both these areas. The pattern of a itteady long-term decline has sometimes been interrupted locally by a partial recovery' in numbers, such as in the Severn valley and elsewhere rn the 1930’s. Occasional breeding still occurs in central and southern England, and in ‘good’ years (such as 1959) the odd pair may breed as '.ar south as Cornwall or Hampshire, or as far east as Suffolk. ^^oorhen Gallinula chloropus. Marked increase Scotland and probably mcreasing generally, but always common (A & L). Perhaps decreased i.gain Scotland, but no real evidence of any marked change. Numerous and widespread resident, breeding in all parts of Britain i: nd Ireland, except some islands in the Inner Hebrides. Apart from the mainly temporary effects of hard winters — the frequency of which ince about 1940 appears to have caused a general decrease in Scotland IBaxter and Rintoul 1953) — there is no evidence of decreased or in- rreased numbers in recent years other than on a purely local scale. No >me trend is apparent in any region, except perhaps for the slight decrease in Scotland. But the evidence for this, and indeed for the ■pecies’ earlier increase, is very meagre. 105 BRITISH BIRDS Coot Fulica atra. Marked increase Scotland (A & L). Little evidence of marked change, but probably decreased Scottish islands and increased England. Fairly numerous, breeding in all mainland counties (but ver}'^ scarce north-west Highlands), also Outer Hebrides and Orkney; now absent or only occasional in Shetland and Inner Hebrides. This species is relatively easy to census, yet practically no counts of its breeding numbers have been made anywhere in the country. In Scotland, such information as there is comes mainly from the islands (e.g. Baxter and Rintoul 1953) and this suggests that in at least the last 50 years the numbers have if anything decreased {cf. Alexander and Lack’s statement above). Since the mid-i95o’s the species has ceased to breed regularly in Shetland (where it was fairly common early this century) and has decreased in Orkney. An earlier decrease was noted on several of the Western Isles. No clear trend is apparent on the Scottish mainland. Published information from England is almost as sparse, although there is some indication that in certain counties in the south-east the species has become more numerous this century (e.g. Glegg 1929, Harrison 1953, Payn 1962). In central London, where pinioned birds were introduced in 1926, it has increased markedly and has spread to lakes in most of the Royal Parks (Homes et al. 1957, Cramp and Tom- lins 1966). In the wider London region it has increased generally, aided by the great growth since the 1939-45 war in the number of flooded gravel pits. It is a highly successful and abundant species on these new waters and, although there is little positive information on this point, it must certainly have increased in eastern England as a whole. Elsewhere in Britain and Ireland, apart from purely local changes — for example, increases in Monmouth, where the species first bred after 1939 (Humphreys 1963), and in Cornwall, where it has increased and spread since about 1950 — there is little indication of any alteration in status. On the Continent there has been a tendency for it to spread northwards this century (Voous 1962) and it may also have recently increased generally over western Europe as a whole. Great Bustard Otis tarda. Extinct before middle of 19th century through enclosing of waste land, and human destruction (A & L). Oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus. Marked decrease in eastern and southern England in 19th century; partial recovery in 20th century; possibly increasing in northern Scotland and north-west England (A & L). Very marked increase and expansion of range, particularly in northern areas, but also elsewhere. Some local decreases (e.g. on Welsh mainland) owing to human disturbance and destruction of habitat. Fairly numerous; breeds round almost whole coastline; widespread 106 STATUS CHANGES AMONG BREEDING BIRDS inland in Scotland and parts of northern England. The species’ present distribution has been mapped by Dare (1966) who recently carried out a detailed survey of its status. The following summary'’ is based almost .entirely on his work. At least 19,000 pairs— and possibly 30,000 to 40,000 pairs — breed in '.Britain and Ireland, the great majority in Scotland. The population as a •whole is currently expanding, particularly in northern England and s southern Scotland, where a remarkable spread in range during this ccentury has led to the colonisation of completely new inland nesting I'habitats — initially river shingle beds and latterly also surrounding [.rarmland up to a mile or more from the nearest river (see also Buxton 11962). This spread inland is continuing and the species now nests over a vwide area north and south of the border counties. Marked increases hiave also occurred in coastal and inland populations in northern Scot- land, where the species has likewise colonised inland areas this century. FRecent increases have been especially marked in Orkney and Shetland. During the last 30 to 40 years several former breeding sites in eastern and southern England have been recolonised. This increase has been I'.Tiost marked in Norfolk, where the establishment of bird sanctuaries at Sbcolt Head and Blakeney Point was probably largely responsible for an irncrease in the local population from a mere handful of pairs in 1924 xo 200-250 pairs at the present time. In parts of East Anglia Oyster- batchers have developed a new tendency to nest in coastal fields rather ihan on the shore itself, thus following a similar pattern of spread in Belgium and the Netherlands. Although some populations in the southern half of England and in Wales appear still to be increasing — -for example, in Essex and north ^Cent, and on certain islands off the Welsh coast — others have recendy t lecreased owing to human disturbance, particularly through the growth [of tourism. On the mainland coast of Wales, for instance, the species is i teadily decreasing almost ever^xvhere. Away from sanctuaries, human ilisturbance will probably have an increasingly adverse effect. Oystercatcher populations elsewhere in western Europe have also oecently increased and extended their ranges (Dare 1966). In Iceland a udden colonisation of the north and east coasts since 1920 has been correlated with climatic amelioration (Gudmunsson 1951). Elsewhere, Ihe increase may be due largely to greater protection. --.apwing Vanellus vanellus. Widespread decrease due to decrease in »vaste land and extensive taking of eggs; marked recovery since the Massing of the Lapwing Bill in 1926 (A & L). General increase in north 'icotland and Northern Isles this centur}'; widespread decrease else- > inhere in 1940’s, and in most places more recently as well, probably as a esult of changes in agriculture. 107 I BRITISH BIRDS Numerous; widely distributed in all parts of Britain and Ireland. Apart from the extreme north of Scotland, where it increased during the first half of this century, the Lapwing appears to have been generally decreasing here since the middle or end of the 19th century. In many areas this trend has been more or less continuous, though locally in parts of England its numbers recovered temporarily between the 1914- 18 and 1939-45 wars. In the 1940’s, however, it decreased again almost everywhere and, with the possible exceptions of Hampshire and Monmouth where it is said to have increased (Cohen 1963, Humphreys ^9^3)> its numbers have recently declined even further or remained at a low level. Even before the 1963 hard winter, it had disappeared almost completely as a nesting bird Eom a wide area of south-west Suffolk and central Essex. In most, if not all, counties of Wales there has been a marked decrease since the late 1920’s (e.g. Ingram and Salmon 1955, 1957, Lockley 1961). The species was formerly common on hills in central and north Wales at 1,400 feet, but by the 1950’s it had become very scarce at this altitude and most of the small numbers still breeding were below 1,000 feet (Condry 1955). According to Ruttledge (1966), it has also decreased in Ireland and now nests only rarely on arable land. In Scotland numbers decreased markedly following the hard winters of the early 1940’s, 1947 and 1963, with a recovery in most areas during the milder periods in between, particularly in the 1950’s. In Shetland the species was continuing to increase and spread in the 1950’s, several islands having been colonised since 1930 (Venables and Venables 1955). The subsequent fluctuations there are not known, but on Fair Isle there was a steady increase in the numbers breeding, from two pairs during 1950-5 5 to 16 by 1961, then a sharp fall to three pairs in 1963 and two the next year (Davis 1965). At least in England and Wales, changes in agriculture — particularly the war-time conversion to ploughland of much permanent pasture and marginal land, increased mechanical farming methods, more intensive grassland cultivation and the drainage of rough lowland pastures — ■ seem to have been largely responsible for the decrease since 1940 (see also Nicholson 1951, Spencer 1953). The increase in northern Scotland is presumably connected with the species’ general tendency to spread northwards in Europe since the beginning of this century, which Salomonsen (1948) and Kalela (1949) have attributed to the gradual amelioration of the climate. Ringed Plover Charadrius hiaticula. No evidence of marked wide- spread change (A & L). Much decreased in many coastal areas of England, Wales and parts of south Scotland, due mainly to human dis- turbance. 108 I STATUS CHANGES AMONG BREEDING BIRDS I Not scarce. Breeds round almost entire coastline of Britain and [Ireland, as well as inland in the Brecks (East Anglia), on river shingle Ibeds in parts of northern England and Scotland, and by several Irish Hakes. Coastal development — particularly bungalows, caravan sites j ■land sea-defence works — and greatly increased human disturbance have ccaused the abandonment of many former breeding sites. As a result, on 1 'the coasts of practically every maritime county in England and Wales j I the numbers of Ringed Plovers are now fewer than at any other time j tthis century. In many areas the species started to decrease well before j tthe 1939-45 war. In east Dorset a decline between about 1930 and 1949 ■ \was blamed partly on increased disturbance and partly on the spread of .Spartina which destroyed its breeding sites in Poole Plarbour. On the j 'Yorkshire coast the numbers of nests at Spurn decreased from 70 in 11914 to 36 in 1936 and, after a temporary' respite during the war when i jaccess to civilians was prohibited, to about 20 in 1949 (Chislett 1952); j rnumbers have since declined to about half this figure. In Devon the ^ sspecies is now restricted to a handful of pairs at two sites on the north ' ccoast and one in the south, while on the Cornish mainland it appears to 1 lhave disappeared altogether in the last year or two. Several other I lexamples of decreases due to disturbance could be given. On the few parts of the English coast where it is still relatively' un- cdisturbed its numbers have been maintained, while in such sanctuaries aas those at Blakeney Point and Scolt Head in Norfolk it has increased rmarkedly. At Blakeney' Point, where fewer than 20 pairs bred 50 years sago (Rowan 1917), the total of nests in recent y'ears has varied between ^45 and 1 14, with the lowest numbers in 1963 and 1964, perhaps because ■of high mortality during the 1963 hard winter; at Scolt Head, where up tto 150 pairs or more have nested in recent y'ears, there were 67 nests in 11924 (Riviere 1930). In some counties, for example Kent, there has been -a recent tendency' for more pairs to nest in fields a short way' inland rfrom their former nesting beaches ; but the habit does not appear to be -well developed. There have also been rather more instances in recent years of nesting well inland in some counties from Yorkshire and [Lancashire southwards. The unique population which breeds inland in tthe Brecks has declined markedly' this century from an estimated 400 'pairs about 50 y'ears ago (Clarke 1925) to fewer than ten pairs at the •present time (Easy 1965), owing mainly to the growth of agriculture . and forestry. In northern England the species was increasing and spreading farther t inland up rivers in the 1950’s in both the Lake District and in north f 'Northumberland (Tyer 1954, Robson 1957). This tendency has been 1 . likened to the inland spread of the Oystercatcher Haematopus ostrakgus ; in the same areas, though it appears not to have developed to the same extent. 109 1 BRITISH BIRDS Except in parts of southern Scotland, where the Ringed Plover has decreased in some coastal districts as a result of human disturbance, there is little evidence of any marked widespread change in Scotland or Ireland. Venables and Venables (1955) suggested that it had decreased generally in Shetland, particularly in the previous 20 years ; in the last few years, however, it appears locally to have increased there (R. J. Tulloch in litt.). Little Ringed Plover Charadrius duhius. Very marked increase and spread since first bred in Britain in 1938; is continuing to increase, especially in the northern half of its range. Scarce; probably 170-200 breeding pairs, distributed in eastern England from Kent north to Durham and west to Cheshire (fig. 5), almost wholly at gravel pits and other ‘artificial’ sites, with only one or two pairs on river shingle beds (in Yorkshire). Parrinder (1964 and earlier) has traced in detail the increase and spread of the Little Ringed Plover as a British breeding bird. It first nested in 1938 in Hertford, and next in 1944 in both that county and Middlesex. By 1947 three other counties in the Thames province and one site in central Yorkshire had been colonised. After that numbers continued to increase steadily: by 1950 about 30 pairs summered in eleven counties, by 1956 about 74 pairs in 20 counties, and by 1962 about 157 pairs in 23 counties. Latterly the greatest increase has occurred in the northern half of the range. In Yorkshire numbers increased from 18 pairs in 1962 to 29 pairs in 1964. From 1962 to 1964 the species also extended its range northward to include the two northernmost Hce-counties of Yorkshire, and also Durham. There has been little westward extension of breeding range in the last few years, although between 1962 and 1964 or 1965 its numbers increased greatly in several counties on the western periphery of its range, from Derby south to Berkshire. Parrinder (1964) showed that the spread had been aided by a parallel increase in the number of ‘artificial’ habitats, especially gravel pits, which are usually occupied by this species while they are still being worked and before the banks have become overgrown. He suggested that the rate of increase had been held up by the high degree of dis- turbance at such sites, rather than by a lack of them. In certain counties, however, numbers of Little Ringed Plovers have tended to fluctuate as more or fewer suitable sites become available to them. Parrinder (1964) knew of only one record in Britain — in Derbyshire in 1950 — of nesting on a river shingle bed, but in 1964 two such sites were occupied in west and north-west Yorkshire. It will be interesting to see if this habitat— a common one on the Continent and in various other parts of the species’ range — is exploited more fully in the northern counties of England in future years. 1 10 STATUS CHANGES AMONG BREEDING BIRDS Fig. 5 . The spread of the Little Ringed Plover Charadrius dubius. Information based on Parrinder (1964) and Local Reports for 1963 and 1964 (also earlier years for Yorkshire). The various shadings show the counties (vice-counties in Yorkshire) in which breeding first occurred during 1944-49 (black), 1950-54 (cross- hatched), 195 5-59 (hatched) and 1960-64 (dashes). Nesting also occurred in Hertford in 1938. In recent years (1960-64) the species has bred only irregularly in Hampshire and Sussex (in neither in 1964) and Suffolk. The continuous line delimits the approximate breeding range in 1964 1 Kentish 'Plo'vet Charadrius alexandrinus. Always local, decreased steadily and now almost extinct; important causes have been the commercial development of seaside resorts, and egg-collectors (A & L). Now apparently extinct as a British breeding species with no record of nesting in the last decade. Ill BRITISH BIRDS Up to 40 or more pairs bred in the early years of this century, mainly | at Dungeness (Kent) and in east Sussex. Numbers dwindled in the 1920’s and breeding occurred only sporadically in the 1930’s and 1940’s. One or two pairs bred annually in east Sussex from 1949 to 1956, and one pair in Suffolk in 1952. There are no further breeding ( records. The small population in the Channel Islands has also decreased markedly in recent years as a result of human disturbance (R. Arnold verbally). Golden Plover Vluvialis apricaria. Decreasing both in Ireland and Scotland, cause unknown (A & L). Decrease in many parts of Britain and Ireland, perhaps general. Fairly numerous; distributed quite widely, mainly on higher moor- lands from Pennines north to Shetland, more locally in Wales and Ireland, with isolated population on Dartmoor. The species was said to be decreasing in 1957 and 1964 in Orkney, but otherwise there is little evidence to show whether it is still decreasing generally in Scotland north of the Forth. It continues to breed in every Scottish county, except Fife where it was formerly regular but ceased to nest after 1947 (H. Boase in MS.). Farther south in Scotland and in northern England its numbers have decreased in many counties, and probably generally, since about 1950. In Ayrshire there was a decrease between about 1945 J and 1964 (G. A. Richards in lift.) and in Roxburgh numbers were much reduced between about 1953 and 1962 (Medlicott 1963). Stokoe (1962) recorded a reduction in several parts of Cumberland since 1950, particularly on the central fells and the border moors, while the species has disappeared altogether as a breeding bird from the coastal mosses. Numbers decreased by about one-third in north Westmorland between 1950 and 1965 (R. W. Robson in lift.). Small numbers still breed on the Pennines south to Derby and north Stafford, but these, too, are cur- rently decreasing. During this century the species has probably declined over much of Wales and the Welsh borders. It formerly bred in Monmouth and Glamorgan, and at least occasionally in Hereford, Shropshire and Carmarthen, but in most of these counties it has not nested since the 1939-45 war or earlier. It also ceased to breed in Somerset (Exmoor and, occasionally, the Mendips) more than 50 years ago. On Dartmoor, however, two or three pairs have bred regularly since 1950 after an absence, apart from occasional suspected breeding, of more than 100 years. In Ireland the species has ceased to breed in many counties during this century and is now confined to about six counties in the north and north-west where numbers are small and greatly reduced (Ruttledge 1966). Although the evidence is meagre, it appears that the Golden Plover 1 12 STATUS CHANGES AMONG BREEDING BIRDS is continuing to decrease in many areas, if not generally over the whole 1 of Britain and Ireland. Loss of habitat has been given as the reason for a Irrecent decline in Sweden (Curry-Lindahl 1959-63), but this factor seems (.unlikely to be responsible for any widespread changes here. iDotterel Eudromias marine lltts. Widespread decrease, attributable to former extensive shooting of birds on migration and to collectors i'A & L). No evidence of further change except for recent decrease on iCairngorms, due probably to increased human disturbance. Very scarce ; virtually confined as a regular breeder to central Scottish IHighlands and perhaps a few sites in Ross. Numbers var\^ from year to ^year. D. Nethersole-Thomson has estimated the British population at ;6o to 80 pairs (Bannerman 1953-63, Darling and Boyd 1964). The main (.decline probably occurred during the second half of the 19th centur}% iby the end of which the species had ceased to breed in Sutherland, and ihad virtually gone from northern England and probably also south- '.west Scotland. D. A. Ratcliffe records that it probably bred annually ssomewhere in the Lake District until about 1927 (Bannerman 1953-63), ssince when it has nested only irregularly (Robson 1957, Stokoe 1962). lit may also have bred in Kirkcudbright more than once since the 1939- 45 war, though there are no actual records. The only evidence of a rrecent decrease within its main range comes from the Cairngorms, where numbers have diminished owing to increased human disturb- •iince (D. Weir in litti). The recent colonisation of the new polders in the Netherlands by mesting Dotterels (Marra 1964, 1965) represents a remarkable extension lof breeding range for a species which is otherwise restricted to moun- t:ainous regions and arctic tundras. SSnipe Gallinago gallinago. Decrease at beginning of 19th century', but n.-narked increase in southern England about end of that centurv- and toeginning of 20th, when it colonised a large area in the south Midlands ,us well as many districts in southern counties where breeding was previously unknown (A & L). Marked decrease, especially in last 15-20 ' /ears, in Midlands and south-east England, though still breeds in most counties; probably little change elsewhere. Numerous ; widely distributed, breeding in ever\- county in Britain ■ ind Ireland except Middlesex and the Isle of Wight, though now scarce : n several other southern counties. The increase and extension of range which affected many southern counties earlier this centuty appears to 1 lave petered out in the 1930’s, although locally — for example, in parts ' )f Hampshire (Cohen 1963) and Warwick (Norris 1947) — it may have Lcontinued until the 1940’s. In the last 15-20 years this trend has been r reversed in practically all counties south of a line from Cheshire to “3 BRITISH BIRDS Norfolk, except possibly those in south-west England. In many (e.g. Kent, Essex, Hertford, Wiltshire and Nottingham) it is now restricted to a very few pairs and in Bedford it may no longer nest annually. But only in Middlesex, where the last nest was recorded in 1956, does it appear to have ceased to breed altogether. Drainage of marshland and other losses of habitat are responsible for the decrease in many areas. As a breeding bird it has also decreased locally in parts of northern England and south-west Scotland, but elsewhere in Scotland and in Ireland and Wales there is no evidence for any recent or long-term change in numbers. Numbers fluctuate according to the severity of the winter and there was, for example, probably a heavy^ reduction all over { the country after the hard winter of 1963 (Dobinson and Richards 1964). Woodcock Scolopax rusticola. In 19th century rapidly increased in England and colonised many parts of Scotland, Ireland and Wales; in 20th century colonised the Isle of Man and continued to increase in Scotland and northern England, but decreased in southern England, Ireland and extreme north of Scotland; main cause of increase probably the cessation of shooting in the breeding season and the protection of coverts in the interests of Pheasants Phasianus colchicus (A & L). Little general change, but has probably increased and spread in the new conifer forests in Wales, south Scotland and East Anglia. Fairly numerous ; widely distributed in woodlands (and in a few tree- less areas) over much of Britain and Ireland, but not in south-west England, Pembroke, Anglesey, Outer Hebrides and Northern Isles, and doubtfully in Donegal. This distribution corresponds closely with that shown by Alexander’s detailed survey in 1934 and 1935 (Alexander 1945-46), except that there has probably been some westwards exten- sion of breeding range in Wales. Nor is there much indication that the breeding numbers have altered appreciably in the last 30 years. In some counties in southern England the species has decreased locally where woodlands have been felled. A recent decrease has also been noted in Wester Ross. In East Anglia, however, particularly Breckland (Payn 1962, Easy 1964), and in parts of north Wales (Harrop 1961) and south- west Scotland (A. D. Watson in lift.), it has increased over the past 20 to 30 years owing to the spread of new conifer plantations. It is also believed to have increased recently in the Chilterns and central Cots- wolds in central southern England. There is no evidence from Ireland that the decrease noted in the 1930’s, and attributed to the break-up of estates, has continued. Curlew Numenius arquata. Marked increase in Northern Isles, Inner Hebrides and many parts of England in 20th century; in parts of north 114 STATUS CHANGES AMONG BREEDING BIRDS ;..anJ west England, where breeding was formerly almost confined to I'rhigh ground, now breeds regularly in river valleys and on low moors; (ccause unknown (A & L). Increase and spread has continued in almost •all parts ; several more counties in eastern England have been colonised iind breeding now occurs widely in lowland areas, including cultivated ffarmland. Fairly numerous, now breeding in every county in Britain and Ire- l.and except Outer Hebrides and seven in south-east England (Kent, lEssex, Middlesex, Hertford, Bedford, Huntingdon and Cambridge). -A notable feature of the expansion this century has been the occupation tof many lowland areas in England and Wales. Already by 1939 the s^pecies was nesting on lowland pastures and rough meadows in many >5laces where it was previously unknown. There was no decrease when fhese were ploughed in the 1959-45 war, and in Northumberland and (Durham, for example, pairs took to breeding in cultivated clover and rcereal crops. Elsewhere, too, the species has since spread to arable t/armland. As well as a continued increase and spread to low ground irn almost all those counties in which it was already established before I (939, it has since colonised several in the east Midlands and East Anglia, including Oxford, Berkshire, Buckingham, east Norfolk, Smftblk, Northampton, Warwick, Leicester and Nottingham. In most ?)f these it now breeds regularly, though still only locally. Cambridge »vas also occupied for a time, but breeding ceased there in the early i<95o’s owing to drainage and disturbance in the areas concerned. In addition to the increases on low ground. Curlews have colonised ::ompletely new chalk upland areas in the Yorkshire Wolds since 1955, Rvhile their numbers in more typical habitats on upland moors in northern England have at least been maintained during this century or uave even increased too. In parts of south Wales, however, Ingram and iialmon (1954, 1955, 1957), suggested that the remarkable spread on ower ground since the 1920’s had occurred at the expense of the 'copulations on the higher hills. The species has also spread considerably in Scotland and Ireland i luring this century. With the colonisation of Armagh in 1948 (Nesbitt 955) it now nests in every county in Ireland, though it is uncertain whether the increase continues. In Scotland it is believed to be increas- ing still in Ayr, the Lothians and Orkney. In England, particularly, there was already some indication by the . ite 1950’s that the phase of expansion was slowing down, though there was no sign that it had ceased altogether. It is uncertain whether it is : ontinuing now, for in many areas the populations were reduced by the I 963 winter (Dobinson and Richards 1964) and they have not yet : ecovered their former level. A general expansion of range has also occurred in northern Europe, BRITISH BIRDS especially Scandinavia, during this century, although in some coun- tries farther south, notably the Netherlands, the species has decreased owing to habitat destruction (Braaksma i960). Whimbrel Nummts phaeopus. Decreasing markedly; cause unknown (A & L). Now steadily increasing Shetland. Very scarce; confined to Shetland and Outer Hebrides (Lewis); very sporadic breeding elsewhere in northern Scotland. Small numbers bred regularly in Orkney in the 1 9th century, but ceased to do so soon after the i88o’s. Venables and Venables (1955) stated that the Whimbrel decreased or ceased to breed in most localities in Shetland between 1889 and 1930, but increased again after that. By the early 1950’s a total of 50-55 pairs was breeding in four areas. Since then, although no revised population estimate has been published, it has continued to increase gradually and recolonised Whalsay and Yell in the early 1960’s. From 1957 one or two pairs have also bred regularly on Lewis in the Outer Hebrides. Elsewhere, however, nesting remains sporadic, and the only recent records are from Sutherland (i960) and St. Kilda (1964). Merikallio (1958) showed that the species disappeared from several districts in southern Finland at the end of the 19th century. Black-tailed Godwit Limosa limosa. Huge decrease and eventual extinction before middle of 1 9th century, due mainly to drainage of fens and increasing accessibility of breeding haunts; has bred four times 1937-42, so possibly about to become re-established (A & L). Since 1952 it has bred annually in increasing numbers in one area of East Anglia; occasional or sporadic breeding has occurred in six other areas since the 1939-45 war. Very scarce. One regular breeding site in East Anglia, colonised by one pair in 1952, increasing to about twelve pairs by 1959-61 and to perhaps three times this number at the present day, assisted by protec- tion (P. J. Conder in Brown and Waterston 1962, and in Hit.). Since the end of the 1939-45 war the species has bred occasionally elsewhere in England and Scotland, most often in Shetland (one or two pairs in several years since 1948 or 1949), but also in Caithness (1946), Orkney (1956) and south-east Scotland (1964, 1965), and almost certainly in west Suffolk (1947, 1949) and Somerset (1963). The races concerned are not known, but it is possible that, as suggested by Williamson (1958), the breeding records in north Scotland refer to the Iceland form E. /. islandica. One factor which may limit any further spread away from the present breeding site in East Anglia is a shortage of suitable habitat — wet, rough, lowland meadows. The species has decreased in many parts of central Europe owing to changes in agriculture, but it has slightly ex- I STATUS CHANGES AMONG BREEDING BIRDS r tended its range northwards during this century (Voous i960). It increased in the Netherlands from about 1920 until at least the early 1950’s, probably bred in Finland for the first time in 195 5 and 1956, and has increased and spread in Iceland since 1920 (Morley and Price 1956, Merikallio 1958, Gudmundsson 1951). ' Green Sandpiper Tringa ochropus. Sporadic. The only confirmed breeding records come from Westmorland (1917) and Inverness (1959), .and there is no evidence to suggest that this species has ever bred I regularly in the British Isles. 'Wood Sandpiper Tringa glareola. Sporadic (A & L). May now be 1 becoming established in north Scotland where a very few pairs have I bred since 1959. Very scarce. A pair bred in Northumberland in 1853 and until 1 recently this stood as the only British breeding record. In 1959, Ihowever, and then in most years until 1965, a pair nested at one docality in Sutherland. In a different part of the same county a pair ! probably nested in 1961 and certainly did so in 1962, while single pairs '.bred in west Inverness in i960 and probably in north Perth in 1966. Although these are the only published records of confirmed breeding, tthe species has almost certainly bred in at least one other part of northern .‘Scotland in recent years. (Common Sandpiper Tringa hjpolencos. No evidence of marked change i(A & L). Apparently decreased in some parts of England, Scotland and Wales since 1950 or earlier, perhaps only locally. Fairly numerous ; widely distributed in Scotland, Ireland (not extreme ssouth-east), Wales (not extreme south) and west and north England. western cantillans, either as a result again of overshooting in spring or of j post-juvenile dispersal in autumn. The species has also been recorded in the Netherlands at least twice and three times on islands off the I north coast of Germany. HABITAT 'The main habitat of the Subalpine Warbler is xerophytic and often : thorny scrub characteristic of the sun-baked, stony and arid soil on the 'slopes of hills and mountains in the Mediterranean area. Such vegeta- I ttion can be divided into two main types of ‘maquis’ and ‘garrigue’. The I maquis consists of the small trees and evergreen shrubs which remain i after the destruction of oak woods and usually contains the short, I evergreen, spiny-leaved holm 02.)s. Ouercus ilex and the stunted, thorny ilkermes oak O, coccifera with such other trees as myrtles, Myrtus com- I munis, wild olives Oka europaea, junipers Juniperus and strawberry trees Arbutus unedo, often bound by thorny creepers into an impenetrable I thicket. In places such habitats have degenerated even further as a result of drought or repeated forest fires into garrigue, a sparse and scrubby growth that is a prelude to bare, stony wasteland. Garrigue is also favoured by this warbler whose habitat may then consist mostly of cistus Cistus, broom Cytisus and other small shrubs or a kind of low heath scrub with such fragrant plants as thyme Thymus, rosemary Kosmarinus and lavender Tavandula and perhaps with the odd kermes oak and dwarf palm Chamaerops humilis. Nevertheless, the Subalpine Warbler also breeds not infrequently in less arid situations, such as thick hedgerows with oak, bramble Kubus 125 BRITISH BIRDS and bracken Pteridium aquitinum, and alongside streams among rush and oleander Nerium oleander, while near Portel in southern Portugal its partiality to small ravines in the neighbourhood of streams is very marked (H. W. Coverley unpublished, Voous i960, Witherby et al. 1938-41). It may also be found breeding in open woodland with luxuri- ant undergrowth, and Snow (1952) recorded it in north Tunisia and north-east Algeria in forests of cork 02k. Ouercus suber and also in pure forests of Atlas cedar Cedrus atlantica, inhabiting bushes between the large well-spaced trees. Voous (i960) has pointed out that the Sub- alpine Warbler inhabits higher and more hilly regions than the Spec- tacled Warbler, and it nests as high as 7,000 feet in the High Atlas in Morocco (Bannerman and Priestley 1952). It inhabits garrigue more frequently and pure dense maquis less frequently than the Hartford Warbler, but may occur in the maquis beside Hartford and Spectacled Warblers. The Sardinian Warbler prefers high maquis with taller shrubs, but there may be some competition with the Subalpine Warbler; when the sedentary Sardinian Warblers almost vanished from the south of France in the severe winter of 1947, most of their habitats were occupied in that spring by Subalpine Warblers (Voous i960). Coverley (1939) has remarked that the breeding habits of these two species are closely associated in Portugal and we certainly found them side by side there in maquis scrub; I noted the same association in a similar type of scrub near Arles, France, in May 1948, since recorded by Hoffmann (1958). GENERAL HABITS Since it spends so much of its time actively searching dense low scrub, this little warbler is difficult to glimpse more than momentarily as it suddenly appears and then quickly vanishes in the depths of a bush. In its flight and movements it resembles a Whitethroat S. communis, and the crown feathers are often erected to form a slight crest (plate i6b). When excited it raises its tail much like a Hartford Warbler does and it sometimes keeps it continuously cocked while feeding in tree tops (Sharrock 1962). In summer and winter its food consists mainly of insects and their larvae collected in scrub and also in the foliage of olives, oaks and other trees. Witherby et al. (1938-41) could specify only beetles and cater- pillars and also a few small grass seeds, but Armitage (1930) noted fragments of the wings of moths below the nest. Bannerman (1933) mentioned a fondness for Salvadora berries in winter quarters in West Africa, and Williamson (1952) recorded that a migrant on Fair Isle fed industriously on gnats (Chironomidae). At nests in Portugal we saw the young being fed on caterpillars and the larvae of flies (Hiptera). on crickets and spiders and at least five times on green stick-insects fPhasmidae) between li and 2 inches long, though on many visits the 126 SUBALPINE WARBLER STUDIES rDundles of small insects brought by the adults defied identification. I Noisy alarm notes are frequently uttered and have been variously jirranscribed as tac-tac, tec-tec, or chit-chit, or likened to a clicking sound; tihese notes may be run together to produce a quick chattering alarm. TThe song is Whitethroat-like and lively, but more sustained and musical, with some rather prolonged and sweet notes, sometimes including narsh squeaky and rattling ones as well, although often without these, irhe bird usually sings from the cover of scrub or lower branches of trrees, but sometimes from an exposed spray or while performing a ^^retty dancing flight from one bush or tree to another. A sweet but ssubdued warbling subsong was often heard from males perched close tco hides (Armitage 1930). Yeates (1946) described how in courtship display ‘the cock makes rconspicuous use of the attractive black and white pattern on the iiunderside of his tail. This in posturing he keeps cocked up in the ^ittitude of a blackbird alighting and it is fanned open to full stretch so t:hat the white outer tail feathers are shown to full advantage. Thus, with shimmering wings, he moves about the female.’ ‘Injury-feigning’ bas been observed when nestlings are being handled, the female flutter- irng among the plant stems and over the ground with wings and tail o)utspread and head held out in front, gliding along as if driven by rdockwork (Armitage 1930). BREEDING IThe nests are usually in low bushes, especially in gorse Ulex, myrtle or bjrambles, and often in cistus or even among rush and oleander, between tone and three feet from the ground; they may occasionally be in the I ower branches of small scrub oaks or even stone pines 'Pinus pinea. We |l>:ound three nests in Portugal in 1965. One was about 18 inches above trhe ground in the centre of a small patch of dwarf holm oak about two keet high (plates 13-15); a second was 22 inches above the ground and smpported by branches of broom and bracken in a large patch of broom iibout four feet high (plate 1 6a) ; and the third was about twelve inches uip in bramble, bracken and scrub oak by the side of a road. The first tvwo were neat cup-shaped structures of coarse grasses, lined with much [finer ones, and incorporating a certain amount of white vegetable down bind a few small leaves, including prickly ones from the holm oak; the ^lest in plates 13-15 was three inches across and z\ inches deep, with I he inside of the cup two inches wide and two inches deep. The third ^aest was much more bulky and coarsely constructed with thicker and 1 onger grass stems, and also corn stalks, sticking out round the edge |.ind with dry leaves and bracken incorporated. Armitage (1930) also i. lescribed a more bulky nest in gorse and a more compact one in cistus, ' :he latter lined with wool and goat hairs; Sharpe (1897) mentioned 127 BRITISH BIRDS the inclusion of thistle leaves in the main structure and a lining of long horse hairs. In Portugal and southern Spain the breeding season starts in early April. Full-grown young have been seen on the wing at 3,000 feet in the Sierra de Credos on 6th June, while eggs have been found there as late as 8th June and in the Middle Atlas in Morocco as late as i6th June (Armitage 1930, Bannerman 1954, Snow 1952). Our third nest was incomplete and unlined on 22nd May, but contained three eggs by 31st May. These were whitish, heavily blotched with reddish-brown especially at the obtuse end. According to H. W. Coverley, this ery- thristic type is the rule rather than the exception in Portugal. Armitage described two types in Spain : (i) drab, pale buff or greenish with brown and grey spots; and (2) white or pink with reddish spots and small frecklings. Pure white eggs also occur. Coverley considered three or four to be the usual clutch (five in only one instance), but Armitage found that three to five eggs were common in the first clutch, whereas four to five were ‘invariably’ laid in the second. Armitage never saw a male close to a nest with eggs and it seems to be generally considered that incubation is chiefly by the female, although H. Lynes once flushed a male from eggs (Witherby et al. 1938-41). It is of interest, therefore, that over a period of at least six hours’ observation from the hide at our second nest on ist and 2nd June M. D. England noted that the male and female took alternating sessions of almost exactly 30 minutes each in incubating the three eggs (plate 1 6a). Similarly, during a two-hour watch on 3rd June I found that the male incubated for a total of 5 2 minutes in four sessions varying from seven to 19 minutes, and the female for 54 minutes in four sessions varying from three to 25 minutes. Each sat very closely and would not leave until approached within three feet; they both flew off quite quietly when flushed, but soon returned. At each of the two nests with four young which we watched from hides, one in the first week of May and the other in the last week, the young were fed by both sexes and it actually appeared to us that the male took the greater share. On the other hand, Armitage found that the male fed the nestlings only on rare occasions and he put this down to the close proximity of his hide. The food brought at both our nests sometimes seemed rather too large for the size of the young; this applied particularly to the green stick-insects which tended to remain protruding from a nestling’s gape like a cucumber and then be gradually swallowed in a series of gulps. When it was very hot the female would stand on the nest, gasping in the heat, with wings partly outstretched to shield the young from the sun (Armitage 1930). With young in the nest, both male and female scolded persistently while skulking among the bushes. 128 SUBALPINE WARBLER STUDIES ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS II am extremely grateful to Derrick England for helpful advice and for jallowing his observations to be incorporated. We had much patient Ihelp in the field from other members of the party, especially Jack and IBeryl Hulbert. John Armitage kindly sent us information and we were tfortunate in having access to the unpublished records of the late IH. W. Coverley. It is also a pleasure to thank Miss Maisie Collyer for [translations from the German; and R. W. J. Uffen and the staff of the iBritish Museum (Natural History) for help with the identification of 1 insects and botanical specimens. REFERENCES -‘Armitage, J. (1930); ‘Field notes on the Subalpine Warbler’. Brit. Birds, 24: 176-178. IBannerman, D. a. (1953): The Birds of W^est and Equatorial Africa. Edinburgh and London, vol. 2: 1017-1019. (1934): The Birds of the British Isles. London, vol. 3:152-155. and Priestley, J. (1952): ‘An ornithological journey in Morocco in 1951’. Ibis, 94: 406-433, 654-682. cCovERLEV, H. W. (1939): ‘Nesting notes from Portugal, 1937-8’. Ibis, 23 : 149-15 2. (Gibb, J. (1951): ‘The birds of the Maltese Islands’. Ibis, 93: 109-127. IHoffmann, L. (1958): ‘An ecological sketch of the Camargue’. Brit. Birds, 51: 321- 350. -NMoreau, R. E. (1961): ‘Problems of Mediterranean-Saharan Migration’. Ibis, 103a: 373-427,580-623. SSharpe, R. B. (1897): A Hand-book to the Birds of Great Britain. London, vol. 4: 299- 300. ^Sharrock, j. T. R. (1962): ‘The field identification of Sardinian, Subalpine and Spectacled Warblers in autumn’. Brit. Birds, 5 5 : 90-92. SSmith, K. D. (1965): ‘On the birds of Morocco’. Ibis, 107: 493-526. S5now, D. W. (1952): ‘A contribudon to the ornithology of north-west Africa.’ 94: 473-498- Swift, J. J. (1959): ‘The separation of Subalpine and Spectacled Warblers in juvenile and first- winter plumages’. Br//. 52: 198-199. \V^aurie, C. (1959): TheBirds of the PalearcticFauna. London, vol. i : 266-z6j. ''Voous, K. H. (i960): Atlas of E-uropean Birds. London, pp. 227-244. Williamson, K. (1952): ‘Subalpine Warbler at Fair Isle’. Brit. Birds, 45 : 260-261. (1964): Identification for Kingers. 3. The Genus Sylvia. B.T.O. Field Guide No. i 9. 0.xford. jVWiTHERBY, H. F., et al. (1938-41): The Handbook of British Birds. London, vol. 2. pfE-^TES, G. K. (1946): Bird Eife in Two Deltas. London, p. 123. 129 Food of Long-eared Owls in north-east Ireland J. S. Fairley INTRODUCTION AND METHODS Although the Long-eared Owl Asia otus is the most common owl in Ireland, detailed knowledge of the nature of its food is limited to a single analysis of pellets (L. E. Adams, in Standen 1897). Adams col- lected these, so far as is known, from the Ballycastle area, Co. Antrim, in May 1 897. The present study is intended to give a picture of the food of this owl in north-east Ireland as a whole, allowing for possible local differences and to indicate any seasonal variation of the prey. Pellets were collected from the 1 6 sites listed in table i . Sites i to 6, 1 3 , 14 and 16 were in coniferous woodland; site 8 in a peripheral area of pines Pinusspp. in mixed woodland ; sites 7, 1 1 and 1 2 in isolated conifers in mixed woodland strips; site 10 in a series of isolated yews Taxus haccata ; site 1 5 in laurels Paurus nohilis, and site 9 in yews and laurels, in an overgrown garden. Thus all were associated with evergreens and usually with conifers. Times of collection were irregular since some of the sites are some distance from Belfast and could be visited only occasionally. In conifer forests pellets were normally found in large numbers around a few adjacent trees and in smaller numbers under those further away. Unfortunately, Long-eared Owls seem to shift their main roosts now and again, and in a large forest or in undergrowth these are consequently difficult to locate. It is certain in some cases that owls left an area for some months. In a few instances, the material was sent to me by other people and thus the precise date of the collection from Newtownards in 1963 is uncertain. Pellets were dried on a hotplate and then broken up for analysis. The numbers of mice and rats were estimated from the maximum number of left or right dentaries (lower jaw bones) present in a batch of pellets. Initial counts of crania showed that these never exceeded the number of right and left jaw-bones, probably because of their tendency to fragment and lose teeth. Counts of both crania and jaws were, on the other hand, made for shrews as shrew dentaries are minute and can be missed. Birds were taken as being equal to the highest of three figures which were, in fact, almost always approximately the same: (i) the total number of upper and lower halves of the bill divided by two, the answer being taken to the nearest whole number ; (2) the total number of right humeri ; and (3) the total number of left humeri. As the prey species are by no means all of the same weight, use was made of ‘conversion factors’ to create a more realistic picture of the FOOD OF LONG-EARED OWLS IN IRELAND ITable i. Contents of pellets of Long-eared Owls Asio oius collected from i6 sites in north-east Ireland, April 1963 to November 1964 iThe sites were located as follows: Co. Antrim (i) North Cam Forest, Carrickfergus; (2) Magherahoney, Armoy; (3) Glenone, Portglenone; (4) Moyknock, Portglenone; 1(5) Eden, Ballymoney; (6) Shane’s Castle, Randalstown; Co. Down (7) Newtownards; i(8) Killynether, Newtownards ; (9) Carrowdore Castle, Carrow'dore;(io) Ringdufferin, iToye; (ii) Ballymacashen, Killinchy; (12) Saintfield; (13) Castleward, Strangford; I (14) Castleward again; (15) Mourne Park, Kilkeel; Co. Londonderry (16) Moyvanagher, .‘•Kilrea. The ‘conversion factor’ takes a 20-gram rodent as standard and thus corrects for differences in si2e (see text) Site number Wood House Brown Pygmy and date Mouse Mouse Rat Shrew Birds «7) summer 1963 6 I 4 4 ((16) April 1963 30 1 2 I 3 «7) December 1963 I I ((8) December 1963 25 2 2 {(16) January 1964 267 22 9 6 January 1964 I I «9) January 1964 15 '(9) February 1964 2 I 2 ((8) Febmary 1964 40 I I 4 ((2) February 1964 7 ((10) February 1964 40 3 3 2 ((II) March 1964 3 2 4 1(12) March 1964 74 I 3 ((13) March 1964 8 I ((14) March 1964 41 4 7 4 ((2) March 1964 28 I 3 ((2) March 1964 33 3 3 5 ((15) April 1964 9 15 2 I '(13) April 1964 66 4 I I ((8) April 1964 6 (,'l2) April 1964 6 I 2 !(8) May 1964 6 I ((15) May 1964 9 4 I ((3) June 1964 I I ((16) June 1964 77 3 I I i'a) July 1964 6 1 Ij) July 1964 16 4 I 3 (■6) August 1964 33 I I I (ii6) October 1964 7 4 ((J) October 1964 19 4 5 1(2) November 1964 23 2 i-s) November 1964 2 I ^'13) November 1964 30 4 8 4 Total prey 955 79 56 10 57 ' Conversion factor X I X I X5 X0.2 X I ' Prey units 955 79 280 2 57 1 Percentage prey units /O 6% 20% — 4% BRITISH BIRDS total prey each species represents. This method of correcting difference, taking a 20-gram rodent as a standard prey unit, was suggested by Southern (1954) for the Tawny Owl Strix aluco. As pellets were collected at irregular intervals, it was important to obtain some idea of their maximum possible age. To do this a batch was collected from a roost which was in use at the time and, immediately afterwards, placed in another well sheltered conifer plantation and left to decay. No work seems to have been done on the rate of decomposition of the pellets of any owl. It is thought that it is controlled mainly by (a) rainfall, (b) insects feeding on the pellets and (c) also, possibly an important factor, the action of bacteria; free2ing may help to break up pellets, but in dry weather and in a sheltered conifer wood frosty nights alone would have little effect. The pellets were observed over a period of eight weeks, from 12th January to 8th March 1965. Over this period one would expect insect activity to be minimal ; at the same time the weather was unusually mild and under 4.7 inches of rain fell. At the end, however, they were in an advanced state of decay and were judged to be at least as old as any in the collections. It seems correct to say, therefore, that none of the pellets examined in this analysis had been regurgitated more than eight weeks before. Many were probably fresher than this. RESULTS The results of the analyses are given in table i . From these it is clear that Wood Mice Apodemus sjlvaticus form the staple food of the Long-eared Owl in north-east Ireland and that the remainder is mostly Brown Rats Kattus norvegtcus. House Mice Mus musculus and birds account for only 10%. Pygmy Shrews Sorex minutus are caught occasionally. There are several accounts of bats having been eaten in small quantities both here (Standen 1 897, Ussher and Warren 1900) and in England (Ticehurst 1939), but no bat remains were recovered from the present collection of pellets. In addition to vertebrate food, the remains of beetles (mainly Geotrupes) were sometimes found. The pellets usually had numerous conifer leaves adhering to them; it is possible that some of these may have been originally ingested and this was definitely the case in the pellets from one of the roosts in yews, where yew fruits had also been consumed. DISCUSSION An attempt was made to assess the seasonal fluctuations in the abundance of the foods eaten by these Long-eared Owls. The results of the collec- tions over the periods of two months were considered as follows: (1) December- January (4) June- August (2) February-March (5) October-November (3) April-May 132 FOOD OF LONG-EARED OWLS IN IRELAND ) The three months of June, July and August were combined because of |tthe lack of material; the results for the last of these months differ little I : from those of the other two. The corresponding percentages of prey are shown in table 2. The /.percentages of birds and of House Mice are small and the fluctuations can I • therefore hardly be regarded as significant. The two maj or prey species — |:the Wood Mouse and the Brown Rat — do, however, show marked and jssignificant fluctuations. The percentage occurrences for the Wood j'Mouse, the main food, are substantially the same for periods i, 2 and 3. The April-May figures differ slightly because of the large numbers of IHouse Mice in the first batch of pellets from Kilkeel (locality 1 5 in table 11). This is the only sample of pellets that contained anything like such a Ihigh proportion of House Mice and could be explained by the destruc- itdon of buildings in the vicinity leaving the mice in the open and un- tfamiliar with their surroundings. In summer the proportion of Brown fRats is low, while in autumn they appear to be the main prey taken. These differences are not correlated with the annual fluctuations in the I numbers of Wood Mice, since the latter are most numerous in autumn .a.nd scarcest in late spring. They are probably related to the availability I of rats, for even a small increase in the numbers available will be reflected lin a Long-eared Owl’s diet simply because an average-sized rat will pro- wide about five times as much food for the predator as will an average- ssized mouse. A tentative explanation of the seasonal variation in prey indicated here iis as follows. During the summer there is heavy cover available in the Ii'fields, both from crops and from uncultivated vegetation. In autumn, Kwhen crops are harvested and other vegetation is beginning to die down, Itfood and cover become much scarcer. Rats, temporarily unfamiliar with ITable 2. Seasonal fluctuations, in percentage prey units, of the main foods in rpellets of Long-eared Owls Asia otus collected from 16 sites in north-east Ireland, April 1963 to November 1964 •All the batches of pellets listed in table i are included here with the exception of the irst. The figures in brackets represent the results if the batch from site 1 5 in April 1964 is omitted (see text) Total Percentage prey units prey Wood House Brown Period units Mouse Mouse Rat Birds ■ December- January 388 79% 6% 12% 3% : Febmary-March 375 74% 4% 16% 6% April-May 230(197) 66% (71%) 9% (3%) 22% (23%) 3% (3%) June-August 158 84% 6% 6% 4% October-November 189 43% 5% 50% 2% 153 BRITISH BIRDS their surroundings, will be moving over strange terrain in search of food and towards farm buildings, where they take up residence in ricks and other places. During this time they must be particularly vulnerable to attack from owls. By the end of the year the feral and farm populations will be more or less stable with the former minimal. The rat population in the open (and therefore available to owls) will increase as the weather improves and as the rats from the farm buildings move out in the fields again. Comparison of the present results with those of Adams (in Standen 1 897) is interesting. His material contained almost 508 prey units and his results, expressed in percentage prey units, were Wood Mice 70%, House Mice i %, Brown Rats 22%, birds 6%; and bats and shrews i %— strikingly similar to those obtained in the present survey. The food of Long-eared Owls in England has been studied in some detail by Ticehurst (1939) and, more recently, by South (1966). The results of both these authors are summarized, as calculated percentage prey units, in table 3 . The former author, who examined material from seven different sites, showed that the proportions of the various prey species varied and that this was, to some extent, correlated with the type of terrain in the locality of each site. Thus, knowing the habitat prefer- ence of the British small mammals (Southern 1964), it is hardly surprising to find that Field Voles Microtus agrestis predominated where there was plenty of rough grassland, but Wood Mice in plantations and in a park. Again, Bank Voles Clethrionomys glareolus were most commonly found in the pellets of owls inhabiting plantations. South’s material, which was obtained from coastal pine forest and mossland woods, contained more Wood Mice and Bank Voles and less Field Voles than that of Ticehurst, which was largely from owls roosting in fir coverts and hunting over more open and often cultivated ground. Table 3. Summary, in percentage prey units, of analyses by Ticehurst (1939) and South (1966) of pellets of Long-eared Owls A.sio otus in England Ticehurst South Field Vole 28% 22% Bank Vole 2% 9% Water Vole 2% Wood Mouse 25% 53 % Brown Rat 26% 3% House Mouse > T 0/ present Bats J I /o - . . Pygmy Shrew — present Birds 16% 13% Approximate total prey units c. 1,307 c. 717 134 FOOD OF LONG-EARED OWLS IN IRELAND South’s Study was carried out in April and May but, unfortunately, Ticehurst has indicated only ‘summer’ or ‘winter’ for times of collection! So far, therefore, information about possible seasonal variations in the prey of Long-eared Owls in England is incomplete. The differences between the English and Irish results are largely • explained by the complete absence of voles from north-east Ireland, i although the figures for House Mice are higher and for birds lower thari < one would have expected. This absence of voles, too, probably accounts I for the consistency which, apart from the variation in, roughly, the latter I half of the year, marks the results in the present study. The chief prey in 1 Ireland, Wood Mice and Brown Rats, are much less specialised rodents I than voles and consequently occupy a much wider spectrum of habitat. The proportion of rats will be affected by the proximity of human dwell- lings and water. This is illustrated by the high proportion of rats in the ^admittedly small sample from Newtownards ; the roost in this case was in .a woodland strip on the edge of marshy ground adjoining a built-up area. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS II should like to thank all those who made this work possible by telling rme of roosts, by helping me to collect pellets or by actually collecting rpellets: J. V. Bateman, Arnold Benington, R. Carhsle, C. D. Deane, 'M. Gilbertson,' G. Greaves, A. Green, J. Mackie, W. Stewart and ^especially A. McLean. Finally, thanks are due to Professor R. A. R. (Gresson and Professor G. Owen for facilities provided in the Depart- ment of Zoology at the Queen’s University of Belfast. SUMMARY (Collections of pellets of Long-eared Owls Asia oius w-ere made in Cos. Antrim and '.Down in north-east Ireland and analysed for prey content. Wood Mice (70% by cestimated weight) were the main prey and 'R.2.t%Kattusnorvegkus{zQ%) the second most j: important. House Mice Mus mumdus (6%), birds (4%) and, rarely. Pygmy Shrews u^orex minuius were also taken. The seasonal fluctuation in prey species is indicated and kithe results compared with those available from England. REFERENCES SSouTii, G. R. (1966): ‘Food of Long-eared Owls in south Lancashire’. 'Brit. Birds, 59- ^ 495-497- Southern, H. N. (1954): ‘Tawny owls and their prey’. Ibis, 96: 348-410. f (19(54): Handbook of British Mammals. Oxford. Jtanden, R. (1897) : ‘Some observations by English naturalists on the fauna of Rathlin ^ Island and Ballycastle district, i. General observations’. Irish Nat., 6: 173-178. iTicEHURST, C. B. (1939): ‘On the food and feeding-habits of the Long-eared Owl (Asio otus otus)I Ibis, 1939: 312-520. UssHER, R. J., and Warren, R. (1900); The Birds of Ireland. London. 155 Notes Lesser Kestrels feeding after dark on insects attracted to artificial light. — At dusk each evening during 13th-! 5th May 1964, at Titov Veles, Yugoslavia, I watched up to 43 Lesser Kestrels ¥alco naumanni hawking for moths and other insects in the vicinity of a small group of tall trees close to the Hotel International. The trees were brightly illuminated by street lamps and were also used as a roost by large numbers of Jackdaws Corvus monedula. The Lesser Kestrels occasionally varied the proceedings by diving at the Jackdaws, but, so far as I could ascertain, they themselves never roosted there and disappeared from the scene quite suddenly after an hour or so. F. N. Chasen recorded crepuscular gatherings of Lesser Kestrels over a breeding site in Macedonia and also individual nocturnal flights (Brif. Birds, 14; 170- 174), but this crepuscular feeding seems sufficiently unusual to be worth recording. Bryan L. Sage [Some birds are stimulated to song and other diurnal activity by artificial lighting and we recently published a note on Robins 'Erithacus rubecula feeding by night in these circumstances (Brit. Birds, 59; 501). We commented then that birds are opportunists and that in southern Europe and Africa such insectivorous species as Swallows Hirundo rustica and Lesser Kestrels may feed after dark on insects attracted to lights. The following observations seem to be worth recording in this connection. — Eds. ] On 1 8th November 1962, at intervals over an hour or more from 21.30 onwards, and therefore long after dark, Peter Conder and I, among others, watched several Lesser Kestrels circling round the cathedral in Sevilla, Spain, by the light of the floodlights which shine on the Giralda; there were also many moths flying about in the light and the Lesser Kestrels were seen to be taking these. November seemed rather late for a summer falcon still to be in the south of Spain, but it was not cold and presumably the abundant food supply available in the circumstances enabled these birds to stay later than would other- wise be the case. The same thing was happening on the nights of 22nd and 23rd November 1962, and Peter Conder informs me that he again watched Lesser Kestrels circling there after dark in May 1965 and May 1966. Evidently it is normal behaviour and this is perhaps supported by the fact that in The Presence of Spain (1^64) James Morris described the Giralda and went on to say that ‘at night-time when the floodlights pick it out, big eagle-like birds, bleached by the light, sail and waver eerily around the angel on its summit.’ I. J. Ferguson-Lees 136 NOTES Mutant Partridges in Yorkshire. — With reference to the paper by Dr. J. S. Ash on partridge mutants (Br/V. Birds, 59: 15-22),! should like to record two further examples of the rare Montana mutant of the Partridge Perdix per'dix. The first was seen at Northallerton, Yorkshire, in September 1961 and shot in December that year, and the second was seen about five miles away at klutton Bonville in a covey of five Part- ridges on 27th January 1967. Both were seen by R. Metcalfe as well as myself and the one that was shot was also examined by Lord Bolton. Details of these birds, which were coloured like Rhode Island Red chickens, have also been con- sidered by Dr. Ash and he agrees that they refer to this mutant. G. Y. Thompson Rooks burying pine cones. — In the autumn of 1963 J. R. Hunter drew my attention to the fact that Rooks Corvusfrugilegus were removing cones from pine trees in the vicinity of Porton, Wiltshire. Each autumn and early winter since then I have observed Rooks doing the same thing at Boscombe Down, also in Wiltshire. In October, when the habit is most pronounced, one can see several Rooks with cones in their beaks in the air at one time. Sometimes they appear to be carrying them in their gular pouches as their throats are distended. The pine trees on Salisbury Plain are mainly Corsican pines Finns nigra planted in groups or belts, and only the smaller cones are removed while still in the green, hard and unopened condition. The Rooks take the cones to open ground at various distances up to half a mile from the trees and there peck at them or carry them about looking for places to bury them. When a Rook finds a suitable spot, which may take several minutes, it buries the cone with a deft movement of its head and then flies off to obtain another. My first impression on seeing this was that the Rook must have swallowed the entire cone, but after much observation I have twice succeeded in finding a cone which I have watched being buried. This was possible only because the Rook concerned each time chose a conspicuous mole-hill for the burial place, which I was thus able to mark down fairly easily from a distance. Another buried cone which I found in a general search had been inserted in a mouse run, and yet another in the centre of a cow pat. The Rooks appear to have a preference for well-defined markers or soft soil, but this may be an observ^ational bias. Examination of some 1 5 to 20 mole-hills produced only one other cone, but most of the activity takes place in fields where mole-hills are not present and which are lacking in markers conspicuous to the human eye. Two other places in Wiltshire where I have seen Rooks near pine trees and then watched them carrying cones are the rifle ranges at Bulford and another range at Porton. I could not spot any buried ones. 137 BRITISH BIRDS but at the Porton site, where the grass is hard and matted, I found a number of cones on the ground sufficiently far from the trees not to have been wind blown. Although there was ample evidence under the trees that Grey Squirrels Sciurus carolinensis had been eating cones there, these mammals appear to concentrate on the ripe cones and leave the green ones untouclxed. It seemed likely, therefore, that the Rooks were responsible for the scattered green cones and that they were unable to bury them because of the nature of the ground, which is largely flint underneath. Forster [We showed this note to Dr. C. J. F. Coombs, who has made a special study of the Rook in Cornwall, and to Dr. I. J. Patterson of Culterty Field Station, Newburgh, who is currently working with Dr. G. M. Dunnet and Dr. R. A. Fordham on the behaviour and population ecol- ogy of this species in Aberdeenshire. Dr. Coombs replied to the effect that Cornish Rooks commonly use coniferous trees for nesting and roosting, but that he has never seen or heard of their taking cones. Dr. Patterson commented as follows : ‘All three members of the Aberdeen University team studying Rooks have seen them taking pine cones on several occasions. We have observed them actively tearing cones from trees, carrying them in flight and bringing them into the rookery where they hold them on branches with their feet and hammer at them (New- burgh Rooks commonly bring to the colony such large food items as potatoes and ears of grain and deal with them in this way). On the other hand, none of us has seen Rooks burying cones, though a captive juvenile in my possession frequently hides surplus food in cavities around its enclosure and so it is quite probable that wild Rooks, like Carrion Crows Corvus corone and Jays Garrulus glandarius, do the same. It may well be that there are local traditions in this behaviour since it does not appear to occur in Dr. Coombs’s population.’ — Eds .] Whitethroat in Nottinghamshire in December. — On loth Decem- ber 1966, at Attenborough Nature Reserve, near Nottingham, Dr. A. K. Kent, R. Hornby, G. Cox and I caught a female Whitethroat Sylvia communis. We ringed and measured it and found its weight to be 12.6 grams. It seemed tired and on release remained for some time in a bush before disappearing. The Handbook gives only one record later than loth November and that was in Essex on 22nd December 1886. G. R. Hickton [Dr. J. S. Ash comments that a weight of 12.6 grams is probably low for a Whitethroat at this time of year. His mean figure for 200 newly- arrived spring migrants is 14.3 grams (range 11.0-17.4 grams) and autumn weights are likely to average i. 5-2.0 grams more. This in- 158 REQUESTS FOR INFORMATION ividual may therefore have been 20% or more below the average iveight at this season. — Eds.] lil^hite Wagtail eating grasshopper. — On 27th October 1966 one of a mall party of White Wagtails Motacilla alba on the concrete of the lirfield at Luqa, Malta, was carrying a grasshopper in its beak. It put own the insect which then started to hop away, but the wagtail aught it as it jumped and proceeded to beat it on the concrete, after- i.'ards swallowing it. I estimated that the body of the grasshopper :jxcluding antennae and legs) was just over an inch long, but I could (ot identify the species. M. L. Richards -ate season song in the Reed Bunting. — Observations at Atten- I orough Nature Reserve, near Nottingham, have shown that male Reed I'Untings Emberlza schoeniclus normally sing from late January to early !,iugust (compared with late February to early August quoted in Tbe Handbook). At about 10.00 hours GMT on 50th September 1966, owever, I observed two colour-ringed males which had not been ecorded there since early July, despite regular visits, singing in their lormer territories for about five minutes. One repeated over two- ninute periods the first one or two notes of the full song tweek-tweek- 'iveek-tititick while the other responded with a more complete song i-thich included the terminal phrase. The weather was mild and the lumber of Reed Buntings in the area that day was unusually high for ute September. Regular late season song was recorded in the Yellowhammer E. itrinella by Noble Rollin(Br/’/. Birds, 51 : 290-303) who thought that it i/as possibly induced by the absence or passiveness of the females. B. D. Bell Requests for information k utumn and winter influx of Rough-legged Bu2zards. — Since October 1966 ; tusual numbers of Rough-legged Buzzards Bu/eo lagopus have been widely scattered ‘ eastern and south-eastern counties with some also well inland and others as far r est as Cornwall and Scilly. It is proposed to examine their numbers and distribution p^inst a background of the species’ breeding success and food supply in Fenno- t :andia in 1966 and subsequent passage and winter records there and elsewhere in estem Europe. Anyone who has seen Rough-legged Buzzards in the British Isles oring the autumn and winter of 1966/67 is asked to contact R. E. Scott, Dunge- ( ess Bird Obsen-atory, Romney Marsh, Kent. Details required include dates, ^39 BRITISH BIRDS localities and numbers of individuals with, if possible, any information on food or relevant behaviour. Unpublished records from the winters of 1956/57 onwards would also be useful as it is hoped to provide a ten-year standard for comparison. Birds of Flintshire. — The Flintshire Ornithological Society is currently compiling a check-list of the birds of Flintshire. Anyone with records for the county, par- ticularly information on breeding status, is asked to contact C. Done, San Remo, Cefn Bychan Road, Pantymwyn, Mold, Flintshire. Original documents will be returned promptly on request. News and comment Edited by J. L. F. Far slow Formation of echo Institute. — echo (L’Institut pour I’Enregistrement et Etudes des CHants et Cris d’oiseaux) is a non-profit-making, scientific body recently formed on the initiative of J.-C. Roche for the recording and study of bird voice. One of its objects will be to publish annually a ‘Sound Guide’ covering a selected part of the Old World and containing up to ten or more discs. The first of these — a set of 13 discs (7-inch diameter, 33 J r.p.m.) by J.-C. Roche and others on the birds of southern Europe — was published in February 1967. North African birds (six discs) will be covered in 1968, and northern European ones in 1969 and 1970 (ten discs each year). These and all other publications from the institute will be free to members. The objects thus served will be the easier publication of recorded material and the provision of an ever-growing set of discs which will be of infinitely greater value ornithologically than is possible where commercial considerations impose the necessity to appeal to a mass market. Support for echo has been received from a large number of recordists and special- ists throughout the world. Ordinary membership is open to all persons and bodies interested in its work and wishing to receive its publications. The British annual subscription is 4 guineas, with an entry fee of 5 guineas. Further details may be obtained from E. D. H. Johnson, Crabiere Cottage, Route des Mielles, St. Ouen, Jersey, Channel Islands. Special protection for Barn Owl and other species.— Under a Wild Birds Order that came into effect in England and Wales on and Januar}', the Barn Owl, Red- backed Shrike and Sparrowhawk were added to the schedule givdng special protec- tion to certain rare species under the Protection of Birds Act 1954. Anyone found killing or taking one of these birds, destroying its nest or taking or destroying its faces a fine of up to £25. By the same order, the Collared Dove, which gained special protection in 1961, was removed from the schedule, although it still continues to have the general protection afforded to most wild birds under the Act. The Birds of East Leicestershire’. — Under this title, the Loughborough Naturalists Club has published the third in its series of surveys of the county’s natural history. Written by Jack Otter, the work comprises mainly the author’s personal reminiscences of the birds of one part of Leicestershire (roughly, a strip ten miles wide from Market Flarborough to Melton Mowbray) over the last 40 years; in the main annotated list each species, however rare, is also accorded a line of verse, while many have a black-and-white portrait drawn by John Stacey. The birds of the 25-ycar-old Eye Brook Reservoir arc dealt with in a separate section. Within 140 LIST OF COUNTY AND AREA RECORDERS ac limitations of the printing process employed, a real and successful effort has leen made to produce the book attractively, and locally it should have considerable lOpular appeal. Complete with an autographed frontispiece of the author, it costs ,:ts. 6d. post paid from the club’s publications officer at 66 Outwoods Drive, 'Oughborough. lird films at Royal Festival Hall. — A special film programme arranged by the ■ ouncil for Nature at the Royal Festival Hall, London, on 28th April will include the ijlour premiere of the remarkable prize-winning film, twice shown on television, |:’he Private Life of the Kingfisher’ by Ronald and Rosemary Eastman. The •rogramme also includes John Taylor’s ‘Sea Sanctuary’ which shows the seals and :,tabirds of the Fame Islands, and Arne Sucksdorff ’s classic, ‘The Great Adventure’, ■he films begin at 8 p.m. and will be introduced by David Attenborough. Tickets ill be on sale after 28th March from the Box Office, Royal Festival Hall, (ondonS.E.i. lupplement to list of Ayrshire birds.— G. A. Richards (29 Fullarton Road, rrestwick, Ayrshire) has recently published a supplement to his Check-Ust of the "rds of Ayrshire (see Brit. Birds, 59 164) which comprises mainly additional records '■>r 1965 and 1966. iiew bird club founded in Bristol. — The growth of Bristol as an ornithological ,::ntre is reflected in the membership of the organising committee of the newly ■rirmed Bristol Ornithological Club. Included are ornithologists connected with r -ofessional institutions as diverse as the B.B.C. Natural History Unit and the (cpanding zoological side of the Psychology Department at Bristol University, and lith mainly amateur bodies such as the active ringing and research stations at Chew .alley Lake and on the Bristol Channel island of Steepholm. The new club aims to irromote, encourage and co-ordinate the scientific study of ornithology’ in the area. c:veral co-operative surveys are in hand, regular indoor and field meetings will be i-;ld throughout the year, and there are plans to publish an annual report containing - lort notes and articles by members, as well as a monthly bulletin. The membership r. cretary is M. J. Allen, King Edward’s School, North Road, Bath, Somerset. ifew appointments. — Peter Corkhill succeeds D. R. Saunders as warden of Skomer, lembrokeshire; Michael Alexander, formerly assistant warden on Skomer and then Uokholm, has been appointed warden of the bird observatory on the Calf of Man; id Nicholas Dymond, assistant warden of Fair Isle Bird Observatory- last year, has ■ ined the staff of the British Trust for Ornithology', where his duties will include ■ sponsibility for bird observatory records. List of county and area recorders in Britain and Ireland Ieveral readers have suggested that we publish a list of the I ames and addresses of the county bird recorders and editors. Those I 'ho are collating records for special analyses often need such a list and ' jmetimes they approach the wrong persons or else follow the only BRITISH BIRDS Other list of this kind, the British Trust for Ornithology’s Regional Representatives, but the latter are already overworked and, in any case, are often not the people to contact for county records. The coin has another side, too, in that many observers on holiday away from their home areas have no idea to whom they should send their records. Consequently, we believe that the periodic publication of a list of this kind would be of value to observers, recorders and collators alike. The list which follows is as up-to-date as possible in that we have written to each county to check the name and address of the current recorder. Several counties are divided into areas for recording pur- poses, but the list includes one name only for each county for reasons of space and because we believe it is less confusing, but observers already knowing the names of area recorders in any county should continue to submit records to them. Titles of publications are added only when they do not include the names of the county or counties concerned. ENGLAND Every English county is covered in the following list (all except Cum- berland and Westmorland produce reports annually, though Bedford- shire has now regrettably switched to quarterly bulletins) : Bedfordshire M. D. Wortley, 55 Ninesprings Way, Hitchin, Hertfordshire Berkshire J. W. Brucker, 65 Yarnton Road, Kidlington, Oxford Buckinghamshire Miss R. F. Levy, Bramblings, Frieth, Henley-on-Thames, Oxford- shire (Bird Report in The Middle-T homes Na/uralis/) Cambridgeshire G. M. S. Easy, Braemar, 1 1 Landbeach Road, Milton, Cambridgeshire Cheshire G. A. Williams, Rose Cottage, Manning Lane, Hoole, Chester, Cheshire Cornwall Rev. J. E. Beckerlegge, St. Crowan Vicarage, Pra2e, Camborne, Cornwall Cumberland R. Stokoe, 4 Fern Bank, Cockermouth, Cumberland (The Birds of the Lake Counties') Derbyshire C. N. Whipple, 3 Oaklands Road, Etwall, Derby Devon F. R. Smith, Telford, Hill Barton Road, Exeter, Devon Dorset T. Hooker, Riversdale, Tarrant Monkton, Dorset Durham D. G. Bell, 18 Rosedale Crescent, Guisborough, North Yorkshire Essex Mr. and Mrs. J. K. Weston, 63 Woodberry Way, Walton-on-the-Naze, Essex Gloucestershire C. M. Swaine, Mill House, Rendcomb, Cirencester, Gloucestershire Hampshire E. Cohen, Hazelhurst, Sway, Lymington, Hampshire Herefordshire R. H. Baillie, Wyche House, Kington, Hereford Hertfordshire B. L. Sage, 1 1 Deepdene, Potters Bar, Hertfordshire Huntingdonshire B. S. Milne, 76 Ramsey Road, St. Ives, Huntingdonshire Kent W. F. A. Buck, The Hill Farm, Stockbury, Sittingbourne, Kent Lancashire K. G. Spencer, 3 Landseer Close, off Carr Road, Burnley, Lancashire Leicestershii e Miss K. M. Kirton, 41 Laburnum Road, Garden City, Leicester Lincolnshire A. D. Townsend, 1 1 Bassingham Crescent, Lincoln London F. H. Jones, 28 Jordan Road, Greenford, Middlesex Middlesex see London Monmouthshire D. F. Tansley, 8 Augustan Way, Caerleon, Newport, Monmouthshire 142 LIST OF COUNTY AND AREA RECORDERS Norfolk M. J. Seago, 33 Acacia Road, Thorpe, Norwich, Norfolk NOR'yiT Norlhamptonshire J. L. Moore, 1 1 New Road, Geddington, Kettering, Northampton- shire Northumberland see Durham Nottinghamshire A. Dobbs, 4 Hereford Road, Woodthorpe, Nottingham Oxfordshire see Berkshire Rutland see Leicestershire Shropshire Lt. Col. H. R. Perkins, The Batch, Bridgnorth, Shropshire Somerset Miss E. M. Palmer, Highfield, Sandford Hill, Bridgwater, Somerset Staffordshire J. Lord, Orduna, 133 Tamworth Road, Sutton Coldfield, Warwickshire {Vil'est MidlandBirdReport) I Suffolk W. H. Payn, Hartest Place, Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk I Surrey D. D. B. Summers, Gallinula, Longmoor Road, Greatham, Liss, Hampshire I Sussex M. Shrubb, Fairfields, Sidlesham, Chichester, Sussex ' Warwickshire see Staffordshire ' Westmorland see Cumberland Wiltshire Mrs. R. G. Barnes, Hungerdown, Seagry, Wiltshire ' Worcestershire see Staffordshire ! Yorkshire Athol J. Wallis, 13 Raincliffe Avenue, Scarborough, Yorkshire The London Bird Report deals not only with London and the now defunct county of Middlesex, but also with those parts of Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent and Surrey which are within 20 miles of St. Paul’s Cathedral. Similarly, a number of other reports overlap with county ones to a greater or lesser extent by covering parts of one or more counties. They include the Bristol Bird Report (P. J. Chadwick, 6 Goldney Avenue, Clifton, Bristol 8), the Hastings and East Sussex Naturalist (L. R. Conisbee, i Shaftesbury Avenue, Bedford), the Isle . of Wight Bird Report (J. Stafford, Westering, Moor Lane, Brighstone, Isle of Wight), the Proceedings of the Liverpool Naturalists’ Field Club (G. A. Tyrell, Lynfield, Parkgate Road, Neston, Wirral, Cheshire), the Report of the Liverpool Ornithologists’ Club (Dr. R. J. Raines, 34 Beryl Road, Noctorum, Birkenhead, Cheshire), the Loivestoft Field Club Report (C. P. Barsted, 112 Colville Road, Oulton Broad, Lowestoft, Suffolk), I the Manchester Ornithological Society BirdReport if. P. M. Whipp, Abbotts Moss Cottage, Oakmere, Northwich, Cheshire) and, last but not least, I the Merseyside Naturalists’ Association BirdReport Hardy, 47 Wood- sorrel Road, Liverpool 15). In addition, several local natural history societies, bird observatories and reserves publish annual reports. In most of these cases, but regrettably not all, there is complete inter- change of information with the county or counties concerned and so the list set out above should serve most purposes. ISLE OF MAN The Isle of Man produces its own annual report in The Peregrine, and bird records are collected by E. D. Kerruish, 3 High View Road, Douglas, Isle of Man. 143 BRITISH BIRDS WALES The local report system in Wales is under review. At present, annual reports cover the following counties : Anglesey A. J. Mercer, Llywenan, Merddyn Gwyn, Brynsiencyii, Anglesey {Annual Report of Cambrian Ornithological Society) Caernarvonshire see Anglesey Denbighshire see Anglesey Glamorgan D. Griffin, i Dovedale Close, Pen-y-lan, Cardiff, Glamorgan Montgomeryshire Miss V. J. Macnair, Lower Garth, Welshpool, Montgomeryshire Radnorshire see England, Herefordshire Bird records for Cardiganshire, Carmarthenshire, Merionethshire and Pembrokeshire are published twice-yearly in the journal Nature in Wales (J. W. Donovan, The Burren, Dingle Lane, Crundale, Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire), and for Breconshire three times a year in the printed bulletin Breconshire Birds (J. Griffiths, 26 Gwaelodygarth, Merthyr Tydfil, Glamorgan). The only Flintshire Bird Report was for i960, but it is hoped to produce cyclostyled annual reports based on a county check-list now being compiled (C. Done, San Remo, Cefn Bychan Road, Pantymwyn, Mold, Flintshire). The territory of the Merseyside Natura- list’s Association Bird Report (see under England) extends into Wales, and there are separate observatory reports for Bardsey, Caernarvon- shire, and Skokholm, Pembrokeshire. SCOTLAND There is no system of county reports in Scotland and, although there are one or two observatory reports and other local publications, the whole country is catered for by the quarterly journal Scottish Birds (Andrew T. Macmillan, 12 Abinger Gardens, Edinburgh 12). IRELAND There is again no system of county reports, but the whole country is covered by the Irish Bird Report (Major R. F. Ruttledge, Moorefield, Ballybrack, Co. Dublin). In conclusion, it might be added that the British Trust for Orni- thology appointed a small sub-committee in early 1966 to examine problems of differing standards and incomplete coverage of local reports. This led to a successful preliminary meeting on 3rd December 1966 during the B.T.O. Annual Conference at Swanwick, Derbyshire, as a result of which it is planned to hold a week-end conference for editors and recorders at Swanwick during 15th- 17th September 1957. It is hoped that as many counties as possible will be represented. Details from the B.T.f)., Beech Grove, Tring, Hertfordshire. M U o. . , - -F.O > ,.'T. 144 Bird: Red Billed Quelea Size: 5 inches long Weight: i oz. Binoculars: Wray ‘7’ Size:3ix4ls Weight: 51 ozs. So small, yet so perfect Literature from: Wray {Optical Works) Ltd., Bromley, Kent. Ravensbourne 0112 Nature puts infinite care into the creation of its smallest creatures to ensure they will function as perfectly as any of its larger ones. Wray too, have lavished infinite care on their miniature binoculars to provide an optical performance comparable with much larger, more cumbersome instruments. So for fine workmanship that just slips in your pocket, yet gives big binocular performance, carry with you the Wray ‘j\ V The West Wales Naturalists’ Trust Ltd (formerly ihe West Wales Field Society) Membership of the Trust is open to all who are interested in the study and conservation of wild life in Wales. The annual subscription of £1 Is. Od. (£1 by Bankers’ Order) entitles members to: (a) free issues of Nature in IVales, which appears half-yearly; (b) field excursions, lectures and meetings; (c) visits, without landing fees, to the island sanctuaries and nature reserves of Skomer, St. Margaret’s, Skokholm, Cardigan Island and Grassholm (owned by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and wardened by the Trust). The activities of the Trust include the co-operative study of animals, birds and seals and the recording of their distribution and habits. PUBLICATIONS (post free): The Birds of Cardiganshire, 8s.; Flora of Merioneth, 8s.: Skokholm Bird Observatory Reports for each year to 1965, 3s. each; Skomer Island, 3s.; Nature in IVales, back numbers 3s. up to vol. 6, no. 4, and I Os. 6d. thereafter THE WEST WALES NATURALISTS’ TRUST LTD 4 Victoria Place, Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire SMALL ADVERTISEMENTS I2j- fot J lines (minimum); 4j. for each extra line or part thereof. For the use of a Box Number there is an extra charge of //- Essex Bird Report 1964 & 1965, 5s. plus 6d. postage, from J. Weston, 63 Woodberry Way, Walton-on-Naze, Essex. British Wild Birds. Set of six colour prints 8" X 6". lOs. Panda Publications, 63 West Garth Road, Exeter. Wanted. British Birds, vols. 51, 52 and 54, bound or unbound. J. J. Latham, Manor House, Wiisford, Lines. For sale. British Birds, unbound, Jan. 1940 to Dec. 1966, 7 parts missing. Offers to Bagenal, 5 Bankfield, Kendal. Week-end course about bird-ringing at Mis- senden Abbey, Great Missenden, Bucks, 2lst-23rd April. Lecturers C. J. Mead, M.A. Ogilvie and J. .1. M. Flegg. Full details avail- able from the Warden. (More stitall advertisements on page viii) Irish Naturalists’ Journal A quarterly magazine de- voted exclusively to the botany, geology and zoology of Ireland, and publishing bird records as a regular feature Edited by Miss M. P. H. Kerthnd Department of Botany Queen’s University Belfast 7 Annual subscription 10 j- post paid VI I I i t Natural History Books PUBLISHED RECENTLY I The Territorial Imperative by Robert Ardrey. 36s. Poisonous Plants and Fungi in Colour by Pamela North. 80 plates in colour. 21s. The La.st Eagle by Daniel Mannix. The story of an American Bald I Eagle. Illustrated with drawings. 18s. I Plants of the World edited by Professor H. D. C. de Wit. Vol. 1 (the work will be completed in 3 vols.). This volume contains 1 89 colour plates, 1 95 black-and-white plates and 30 line drawings. I 84s. I Beasts in my Bed by Jacquie Durrell. The authoress describes her own experience of life with her husband Gerald's family of animals. Illustrated. 21s. I The Peregrine by J. A. Baker. An account of 10 years' watching ' Peregrines in East Anglia. March/April. 21s. The Trout by W. E. Frost and M. E. Brown. A ‘New Naturalist’ volume. April. 25s. I Ireland’s Birds by Robert F. Ruttledge. 30s. ! Zoos of the World by James Fisher. 45s. The Original Bird Paintings of John James Audubon. 2 vols. boxed. 25 gns. The Shell Bird Book by James Fisher. 25s. On Aggression by Konrad Lorenz. 30s. Birds of Europe with Gould illustrations. 2 vols. 35s. each Two in the Bush by Gerald Durrell. 25s. A Field Guide to the Birds of New Zealand by R. A. Falla, R. B. Sibson and E. G. Turbott. 36s. In Search of Birds by Collingwood Ingram. 30s. Mammals of Rhodesia, Zambia and Malawi by R. H. N. Smithers 25s. The Oxford Book of Flowerless Plants by F. H. Brightman. 45s. Collins Pocket Guide to British Birds by R. S. R. Fitter and R. A. Richardson. Revised edition. 30s. Britain’s Wildlife: Rarities and Introductions by R. S. R. Fitter and J. L. Pemberton. 21s. Pictorial Encyclopaedia of Plants and Flowers by F. A. Novak. 25s. Animal Paradise (Fauna of Galapagos) by Christian Zuber. 30s. The Snow Bunting by D. Nethersole-Thompson. 45s. Birds of the Atlantic Islands by David A. Bannerman and W. Mary Bannerman. Vol. 3. Azores. 84s. Animal Magic introduced by Johnny Morris. 21s. Grey Seal, Common Seal by R. M. Lockley. 27s. 6d. Rhino by C. A. W. Guggisberg. 27s. 6d. Available from Witherby’s Bookshop 61/62 Watling Street, London, E.C.4 ALL BOOKS SENT POST FREE vii SMALL ADVERTISEMENTS Zoological Record Section Aves 1964 (vol. 101) This indispensable biblio- graphy, compiled by the staff of the Zoological Society of Lon- don, is an annual list of orni- thological literature in all parts oftheworld. Full references are given with authors and titles, and they are indexed under species, subjects and countries. The latest issue covers approxi- mately 3,200articlesand books published mainly in 1964 and is obtainable, at a cost of 20s. (postage extra), from The Zoological Society of London REGENT’S PARK LONDON, N.W.I SOOICS ON Eim Calalogue on request WHELDON & WESLEY LTD Lytton Lodge Codicote, Hitchin, Herts 121- for 3 lines {minimum); 4j- for each extra line or part thereof. For the use of a Box Number there is an extra charge of Ij- Lundy Field Station and Bird Observatory. | Open from early March to October. Special course ‘Bird recognition for beginners’ will H be run at end of June. All details from A. J. S Vickery, 4 Taw View, Bishops Tawton, Barnstaple, Devon. Bardsey Island Bird Observatory, N. Wales, ! welcomes bird-watchers of all ages, whether ) novices or experts. During spring and j autumn large numbers of migrants occur, and lighthouse ‘attractions’ are studied. Excellent facilities for ringing. Two resident i wardens. Courses on island birds during J June and July. Enquiries to booking ^ secretary: Mrs. Walton, 51 Mount Road, i St. Asaph, Flintshire. , j Binocular dealers need customers! Help by wearing out your binoculars quickly at Cap Gris Nez. Many birds want experienced observers to see and ring them in 1967. Enquiries: Secretary, 53 Ember Farm Way, East Molesey, Surrey. Suffolk. Hill Cottage, Westleton, near Saxmundham — the perfect centre for Minsmere, Walberswick marshes, heaths and woodland. Excellent bird library. Food good. Terms reasonable. Apply Miss M. S. van Oostveen (tel: Westleton 245). Binoculars. 20 “o cash discount, all leading makes. Nascroft Trading Co., 164 Manor Road, Chigwell, Essex (tel. 01-500-0033). Modern 15X60 l>eitz binoculars and case, recent overhaul, £35. 4 Church St., Harwich, Essex. Bird Study, vols. I-II (March 1954- Dcccmber 1964), cloth bound in 3 im- maculate volumes. Offers? Box MHI71. ( More small advertisements on page vi) Notice to Contributors \,. British Birds publishes material dealing with original observations on the birds of I t Britain and western Europe or, where appropriate, on birds of this area as observed ^ in other parts of their range. Except for records of rarities, papers and notes are I normally accepted only on condition that the material is not being offered to any I cother journal. Photographs (glossy prints showing good contrast) and sketches are ( ^welcomed. Proofs of all contributions are sent to authors before publication. After publication, 25 separates of papers are sent free to authors (two or more I I authors of one paper receive 15 copies each); additional copies, for which a charge i lis made, can be provided if ordered when the proofs are returned. Papers should be typewritten with double spacing, and on one side of the sheet I c only. Shorter contributions, if not typed, must be clearly written and well spaced. 1 Notes should be worded as concisely as possible, and drawn up in the form in [ twhich they will be printed, with signature in block capitals and the writer’s address I cclearly written on the same sheet. If more than one note is submitted, each should I tbe on a separate sheet, with signature and address repeated. I Certain conventions of style and layout are essential to preserve the uniformity I cof any publication. Authors of papers in particular, especially of those containing I ssystematic lists, reference lists, tables, etc., should consult the ones in this issue as a I kguide to general presentation. English names of species should have capital I (initials for each word, except after a hyphen (e.g. Willow Warbler, Black-tailed I (Godwit), but group terms should not (e.g. warblers, godwits). English names are i {generally those used in yi Field Guide to the Birds of Britain and Europe (revised I tedition, 1966). The scientific name of each species should be underlined (but not fput in brackets) immediately after the first mention of the English name. Sub- ! ^specific names should not be used except where they are relevant to the discussion. lit is sometimes more convenient to list scientific names in an appendix. Dates , sshould take the form ‘ist January 1967’ and no other, except in tables where they rmay be abbreviated to ‘tst Jan.’, ‘Jan. ist’ or even ‘Jan. i’, whichever most suits tthe layout of the table concerned. It is particularly requested that authors should ;pay attention to reference lists, which otherwise cause much unnecessary work. 'These should take the following form : 'Tucker, B. W. (1949): ‘Species and subspecies: a review for general ornitholo- gists’. Br/V. B/Wr, 42: 1 29-1 34. 'WiTHERBY, H. F. (1894): Forest Birds: Their Haunts and Habits. London, p. 34. Various other conventions concerning references, including their use in the text, I sshould be noted by consulting examples in this issue. Tables should be numbered with arable numerals, and the title typed above in the style used in this issue. They must either fit into the width of a page, or be designed to fit a whole page lengthways. All tables should be self-explanatory. Figures should be numbered with arabic numerals, and the captions typed on a separate sheet. All line-drawings should be in indian ink on good quality drawing paper (not of an absorbent nature) or, where necessary, on graph paper, but this must be light blue or very pale grey. It is always most important to consider how each drawing will fit into the page. The neat insertion of lettering, numbers, arrows, etc., is perhaps the most difficult part of indian ink drawing and, unless he lhas had considerable experience of this kind of work, an author should seek the aid of a skilled draughtsman. In Search of Birds by COLLINGWOOD INGRAM 'A real joy. ... It is many years since I have read such an intriguing book about birds. I cannot imagine any bird-lover not being fascinated by it' — Birmingham Post 'Delightful reminiscences ... his pages are never for an instant dull' — Times Literary Supplement 'A fascinating study of birds, so packed with interest that the reader needs to delve again and again into each chapter for fear of missing some new fact' — News Letter of Worcestershire Naturalists Club 'Informative, stimulating and a delight to read' — Country Life 30s. net Published Ireland’s Birds by ROBERT F. RUTTLEDGE 'The appearance of a new book on any aspect of the wildlife of Ireland is always welcome and when it is as interesting as Ireland's Birds by Major Robert F. Ruttledge, M.C., it is worth having. . . . There are chapters on the topography of Ireland in relation to birds and a fascinating chapter on migration, but the bulk of the book deals with a systematic list of species, sub- species and geographical forms known to have occurred in Ireland. What makes this book so important that it should be on everybody's bookshelf is that there has been a critical examination of every record of every species. The book is illustrated by a map of Ireland by Robert Gillmor and 14 photographs of bird habitats' — Birds 30s. net by Witherby Printed in England by Diemcr & Reynolds Ltd., Eastcotts Road, Bedford Published by H. F. «Sc G. Witherby Ltd., 61/62 Watling Street, E.C.4 British Birds A bird community of accreting sand dunes and salt marsh Kenneth Williamson Laughing Gull in Kent W. F. A. Buck and D. W. Taylor (with two plates) Field-characters of the immature Laughing Gull Tomas Albrektsson and Peter Lindberg (with one plate) Olive-backed Pipits on Fair Isle Roy H. Dennis (with one plate) Notes Reviews Letters News and comment Principal Contents Vol. 6o No. 4 FOUR SHILLINGS British Birds AN ILLUSTRATED MONTHLY JOURNAL Editors Stanley Cramp, I. J. Ferguson-Lees, P. A. D. Hollom, E. M. Nicholson Ehotoiraphic Editor Eric Hosking Editorial Address lo Merton Road, Bedford ‘News and Comment’ J. L. F. Parslow, i Wick Hall, Radley, Abingdon, Berkshire Rarities Committee F. R. Smith, Telford, Hill Barton Road, Exeter, Devon Contents of Volume 6o, Number 4, April 1967 Page A bird community of accreting sand dunes and salt marsh. By Kenneth Williamson . . . . . . . . • • • • • • • • • • ^45 Laughing Gull in Kent: a species new to Britain and Ireland. By W. F. A. Buck and D. W. Taylor. Photographs from North America by Allan D. Cruickshank (plates 17-18) .. .. .. .. •• •• •• I57 Field-characters of the immature Laughing Gull. By Tomas Albrektsson and Peter Lindberg (plate 19) .. .. .. •• •• •• ^59 Olive-backed Pipits on Fair Isle: a species new to Britain and Ireland. By Roy H. Dennis (plate 20) . . . . . . • . • • • • • • Notes : — ■ Sand Martins feeding from the ground (Richard Frost Lee and Julian C. Rolls) •• •• . •• Sand Martins nesting in drainage holes by main road (P. L. Williams) . . 167 Song Thrush atucking Slow-worm (C. I. Husband) 168 Nest of Whinchat with twelve eggs (Lawrence Eccles) . . . . . . 169 Unusual accident to Lesser Whitethroat (Mr. and Mrs. A. Pettet) . . . . 170 Review: — The Snow Bunting, by Desmond Nethersole-Thompson. Reviewed by Dr. Adam Watson .. .. .. .. .. •• •• •• ^7^ Letters: — Eruptions of Great Tits and other species (Dr. Gunnar Svardson) . . . . 175 Swallows mobbing Pipistrelle Bat (Bryan P. Pickess, W. G. Teagle and Dr. D. W. Yalden; and Michael Tugendhat) . . . . . . . . i74 Requests for information : — Irish Peregrine Survey (John Temple Lang and the Irish Society for the Protection of Birds) .. .. .. .. .. •• •• •• ^75 Status of birds in Corsica (Raymond Ldveque) .. .. .. .. i75 News and comment. Edited by J. L. F. Parslow. . .. .. .. •• i75 Annual subscription 13s. (including postage and despatch) payable to H. F. & G. Witherby Ltd., 61/62 Watling Street, London, E. C. 4 A magnificent enchanting book from Australia ANIMALS AND BIRDS IN AUSTRALIA by Graham Pizzey A glorious quarto volume of text and hundreds of photographs m colour and monochrome by one of Australia’s leading naturalists 1 0^000 miles in search of the continent’s unique wildhfe, from the great inland grasslands to the lily-covered billabongs of the far north, the coral cays of the Great Barrier Reef and the rain forests of the coastal plains. 184 pages IS xpi , 24 full-page photographs in colour, over 2^0 monochrome photographs. CASSELL Principals: Lawrence G. Holloway, Gordon Holloway We are pleased to announce the following leaders for our birdwatching and natural history holidays in 1 967 ; ^ Austria (Lal^ NeusiedI) — Lt. Col. J. K. Stanford obe, mc MBou and D. W. Taylor ’ France (Camargue)— Dr. J. V. Tranter and Mrs. Joan Walton Spain (TOu^-west)— Noble Rollin mbou, aaou, mraou and John G. Beliak ma Malta — Mrs. E. Coxon Scotland (Orkney and Shetland)— Dr. J. T. Hughes (Cairngorms) — Lawrence G. Holloway (North List)— J. D. Magee England (Fame Islands, etc.)— Lawrence G. Holloway (Devon) — Ian Taylor Wales (Pembrokeshire and Snowdonia)— Major W W A Phillips MBE, MBOU For full details of these holidays send for our illustrated 1967 handbook. LAWRENCE G. HOLLOWAY, CRNITHOLIDAYS, GRIMSEL, BARRACK LANE ALDWICK, BOGNOR REGIS, SUSSEX (Pagham 2827 or Chichester 85028) I A SELECTION OF NEW AND USED BINOCULARS SPECIALLY RECOMMENDED BY MR. FRANK NIPOLE binoculars from Japan are made to our specifica- tion and are imported exclusively by us. Performance is excellent and we have sufficient faith in them to guarantee them for five years. The lOx 50 costs £15 lOs. Od. and the 8x 30 £10 19s. 6d. (both with case). A SPECIALIST BINOCULAR FOR THE BIRD WATCHER. The Swift AUDUBON 8.5 x 44 designed to the specification of the world renowned Audubon Society of America. Unusually wide field of 445 ft. at 1,000 yards. Extra close focusing down to 12 ft. enables feeding activities, etc., to be watched asfrom 18 ins. Included amongst otherfeatures are retractable eyecups for spectacle users, built-in adaptor to suit any camera tripod. This outstanding binoc- ular has easy positive focusing by cylindrical control, weighs 38.4 oz. and the height closed is ins. Price wi’ h fine leather case £36 The new LEITZ TRINOVID is indisputably the binocular of the century. It is of revolutionary design and perforrn- ance, and the (Ox 40 model, which we particularly like, is extremely light and wonderfully compact. Price with soft leather case £86 17s. Id. Among good British glasses, we have no hesitation in sugges- ting the ROSS 9x35 STEPRUVA. Compact and weighing only 21 oz. Price £43 4s. 9d. We stock binoculars by Zeiss, Leitz, Barr & Stroud, Ross, Swift, etc. Any instrument FOR NEW ’ ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE CHARLES F 145 QUEEN ST., GLASGOW C.1 STD 041-221 6666 YOUNG BIRD WATCHERS up to 18 years of age qualify for special price concessions details on request For wildfowling, etc., we recommend the ex-Admiralty 7x42 or 7x50 Barr & Stroud binoculars and can offer these instruments in specially good condition, complete in original cases, at £16 lOs. The Bausch & Lomb (Canadian naval) 7 x 50 is still available at £24. Among general purpose binoculars, which will stand up to a tremendous amount of rough usage, there is little to beat the 6x30 Service Prismatics at £8 15s.; if reminded, we will probably be able to select a pair in new condition and can provide a web pouch at 4s. 6d. extra. Among heavyweight prismatic bino- culars suitable for mounting, we can offer a host of truly wonderful bar- gains; for instance, a Ross 7x50 Heavy Duty binocular with filters in brand new condition, and complete in fitted box, can be supplied for 7 gns. (original cost estimated over £120); the 10x70 model can be supplied for £20. These instruments are too heavy to be hand-held, and mount and tripod can be provided at a moderate charge. TELESCOPES Just a mention of the portable NICKEL SUPRA TELESCOPE. It zooms .from I5x to 60x with 60 mm. O.G. and is truly a remarkable instrument. Price £38 9s. II British Birds Vol. 6o No. 4 April 1967 A bird community of accreting sand dunes and salt marsh Bj Kenneth Williamson British Trust for Ornithology INTRODUCTION AB.T.O.FiELDSTUDYCouRSEon Common Birds Census methods was held at Gibraltar Point Field Research Station, at the north-eastern corner of the Wash, during June 1965. A primar}- aim was to discover if the concentrated efforts of a team of observers, during a selected week in mid-season, could produce results which would give a realistic picture of the structure of the bird community, together with informa- tion of an ecological nature which would be of some value in drawing up a management plan for the area. Although the week chosen (5 th- 12th June) was rather late for the early-nesting resident species, it was thought to give the best chance of success for recording territories of the later ' summer visitors, since the risk of confusion with migrants singing whilst on passage through this coastal region would be much less than m middle or late Mav. The Gibraltar Point and Skegness Nature Reserve is administered bv the Lincolnshire Trust for Nature Conservation on behalf of the owners, the Lindsey County Council and the Skegness Urban District Council It covers some 1,200 acres of beach, dunes and saltings. North of Skeg- ness the coast is being eroded and thousands of acres of land have been lost to the sea since the 13th century. After the disastrous flooding of ^953) miles of concrete sea-walls were constructed to combat this mcroachment. By contrast, the Gibraltar Point area is one of accretion md much of the land in the Nature Reserve is of relatively recent for- nation. This process is still proceeding through the deposition of sand BRITISH BIRDS and silt brought by tidal action into the mouth of the Wash. No part of the area surveyed during the census work is more than 250 years old. THE CENSUS AREA The most recent part of the census area comprises the ridge-and-runnel beach, the outermost mobile dune ridge, and the strip-salting on its landward side. Northwards of the census area is an extensive develop- ment of dunes which have built up over the past 50 years ; southwards, jutting out into the entrance to the Wash, is a sand and shingle spit which, though constantly changing shape, is a quasi-permanent feature 1 of the shoreline. It is probably the continual deposition of sand and silt on spits of this kind that has enabled the whole dune and salt-marsh system to build up over the last three centuries. Tidal debris and the early plant colonists, especially sand couchgrass Agropyron jmceiforme and sea rocket Cakile maritima, collect the wind-blown sand on the higher ridges, while tidal flow tends to deepen the runnels between them. The j outermost (or newest) of the dune ridges is still unstable. As well as sand | couchgrass, the shoreward slope is bound by lymegrass Elymus arenarhis, j while the deeply-rooted marram Ammophila arenaria has colonised the j top and landward side. The height of this dune ridge is increasing every | year. Inland of this ridge is a strip-salting a hundred yards wide, covered i with sea meadow-grass Poa pratensis and other salt-marsh plants, and ! this in turn rises to an older line of dunes (the East Dunes) which pro- bably formed on the beach about 1860-70 in much the same way as the , outermost ridge is now doing. Here the marram is rapidly being replaced i by shrubby growth, among which sea buckthorn Hippophae rhamtioides • is dominant, though a good deal of elder Sambuciis nigra has also colonised. The field-layer is largely dewberry Rnbns caesius and sand sedge Carex arenaria. The East Dunes give way to a reach of salt-marsh which, though flooded by most springs between August and April, remains relatively dry during the summer months. The vegetation is mainly glasswort Salicornia europaea and sea-blite Suaeda niaritima on the barer and lower ' patches; and sea meadow-grass, sea X’xv&nd&tEin/oniuM spp., sea purslane Haliniione porttdacoides (especially along tidal creeks) and sea couch- grass Agropyron pungens on the slightly higher ridges. In the northern part of the census area. Bulldog Bank, a 19th century reclamation bank, crosses the salt-marsh from east to west; it has sealed ofi' the tides and created a fresh- water ‘marsh’ to the north of it. Here the growth of grasses is more varied and luxuriant, and there is extensive colonisation of sea buckthorn, elder and dewberry from the East Dunes. Inland again, a now entirely stable dune-system borders the salt-marsh (the West Dunes). This line of dunes existed at the time of the first 146 BIRD COMMUNITY OF DUNES AND SALT MARSH Ordnance Survey map in 1824, but then directly in front of it lay the beach and sea. The dominant vegetation is still the extensive and in parts itnpenetrable sea buckthorn, with islands of elder and privet L,i^usiruw vnlgare here and there, and a dense field-layer of dewberry’ and fescues Vestuca spp. Towards the southern end, however, trees such as sycamore /Acer pseudoplatanus and hawthorn Cratuegus nionogyna have colonised, ■ probably from the near-by hedgerows of Sykes’ Farm, which lies between the dunes and the high retaining bank of the River Steeping. This farm- land, part of the area known as Croft Marsh, was reclaimed from salt- marsh at some time during the i8th century. A cross-section of 200 acres was chosen for the study (fig. i). The L-igncultural land comprised about 29 acres, made up of fallow fields 18 acres), rough grassland (six acres), a stretch of reeds and water along :he northern border (three acres), and the ruins of Sykes’ Farm and its ':ree-grown enclosure and approach road (two acres). The area of the iVest Dunes, from the Mill Pool in the north to the car-park adjoining he Field Research Station in the south, covers 28 acres ; the salt-marsh is ibout 5 8 acres, and the fresh- water grassland to the north of it (beyond ' Bulldog Bank) approximately 1 7 acres. The East Dunes, from Shoveler’s ^ool in the north to the main track across the southern part of the 'leserve, accounts for 58 acres; and the strip-salting and outer mobile 1 lune ridge make up about ten acres. CENSUS METHODS The Common Birds Census, when on an agricultural area of similar size o this, requires a number of visits, ideally from eight to twelve, depend- ng upon the complexity of the area and the densip- of the bird popula- X ion, and these visits should be evenly spread throughout the whole 1 'reeding season, giving opportunity to register each species at the peak ' fits song period. Since the course had only six full days’ field-work at -ie beginning of June, which is already past the peak song period of wVeral species, observations were necessarilv more intensive. Parties •ere in the field from about 06.00 to 07.30 hours GMT and again from bout^ 09.00 to 1 1 .00 hours, with more desultory observations continuing Iter in the day. Despite this concentrated study, the results are almost ertainly less reliable than would have been obtained by the orthodox -chnique. However, the main aim of the census work was to provide itals which, though they must be regarded as approximate, are suffici- ^tly realistic to render comparisons between different species and ifferent sections of the habitat valid. \X e believe this aim was achieved. There were fifteen obsen^ers, all with some census experience. They irmed five teams, as follows: (i) A. B. and Mrs. Bailey, Miss Carolyn ratt and R. B. \X ilkinson; (2) J. G. Cook, G. R. Gervis and Mrs. P. K. adley; (3) H. Hawkins, L. Gower-Hemmings and G. R. Jacobs; 147 W £ 0 2 . Map of census area at Gibraltar Point Nature Reserve, Lincolnshire, showing the chief physical features and the >ution of sea buckhorn Uippophae rhamnoides, elder Sambuem ni^ra and more mature trees (drawn hv Madeleine Wheeler^ BIRD COMMUNITY OF DUNES AND SALT MARSH (4) Moule, N. Sills and R. Woods; and (5) Miss R. S. Hunter, Mrs. M. Tugendhat and Kenneth Williamson. The area was divided into five sections: (a) the farmstead and fields west of the road, (b) the full length of the West Dunes, (c) the central salt-marsh, (d) the fresh- water ‘marsh’ to the north of it, and (e) the East Dunes, strip-salting and adjacent shore. The five parties covered the five . areas by rota during the morning spells on days A-E, the final day F being left for the investigation of any special problems. In the event, much additional observation took place during the afternoons and evenings, without restriction on where parties or individuals should go L ind, as a result of this, members developed a special interest in certain problems as the week progressed. For example, Messrs. Moule, Sills and 'Woods concentrated on the distribution of Reed Bunting territories, . ind spent many hours in the afternoons, and the whole of the final day, ■working on this problem. The Reed Bunting situation proved so corn- ilex that it is doubtful if any headway could have been made without this I extremely thorough watching and nest-finding. Each morning’s observations were plotted on to individual species naps, so that we were able to build up a picture of the territorial distri- Hition as the week progressed. In plotting symbols from visit sheets, the etters A to F were used for consecutive days’ observations, followed by ||: he appropriate party number ; this was necessary- since more than one r'Jarty might visit the same section on the same day, and ‘double registra- ions’ arising from this cause required to be identified. Although the F tasis of the field-work was recording the positions of singing males, . mportance was also laid on nest-finds, birds gathering nest-material or ■ ceding newly-fledged young, territorial combats and, to a lesser extent, .tght records. The totals given are those suggested as realistic by group- -Yg the symbols in the manner normallv used in C.B.C. analysis (William- on 1964). Accurate plotting in the field was possible only as the result of a good ' eal of preliminarj’ work by the research assistant of the ReserY^e, R. ■arrie Wilkinson, who mapped the extent of the sea buckthorn cover n elder clumps and a number of physical features not on the O.S. 5 inch rnap, and also fixed up a useful ‘grid’ of long white poles at 00 j.ard inter\ als, two or more of which could be aligned to pinpoint a articular observ^ation. The course personnel owe to him, and also to • E. Smith, who gave us a thorough briefing on the history, physiog- iphy and vegetation of the census area, grateful thanks for their keen iterest and practical help. v\t a later stage they both gave valuable Yticism of this paper in draft. Thanks are also due to Miss Madeleine ee er for preparing the habitat map (fig. i); to the reserve warden, rthur Lodge, for help in a number of ways; and to several junior embers of Gibraltar Point Observatory who assisted in the field. 149 BRITISH BIRDS Table i. Number of territories of each species in the main habitats of 200 acres of cen area at Gibraltar Point, Lincolnshire, 5 th- 12th June 1965 The polygamous and non-territorial Cuckoo has been omitted from the individual habitats and total of 4 represents the number of active males in the whole area. A list of non-breeding spe recorded is given at the end of the table FIELD-LAYER ONLY Shore and strip Salt salting marsh SEA BUCKTHORN AND ELDER TREES Fresh Dune ridges Farmland water and slopes and marsh 'East West roadsides tota] Red-legged Partridge Alectoris rufa Partridge Perdix perdix Pheasant Phasianus coUhicus Moorhen Gallinula chloropus Ringed Plover Charadrius hiaticula Little Tern Sterna alhifrons Woodpigeon Columba palumhus Turtle Dove Streptopelia tiirtur Cuckoo Cuculus canorus Little Owl Athene noctua Skylark Alauda arvensis Swallow Hinmdo rustica Carrion Crow Corvus corone Magpie Pica pica Blue Tit Partis caeridens Wren Troglodytes troglodyte! Mistle Thrush T Urdus viscivorns Song Thrush T Urdus philomelos Blackbird T Urdus menda I i| 12 I 2 6| I 96 5 18^ I I I 1 I 4| 3i I 25 b 13 1 5 3 I 8 25 10 18 2 2 3 I I I 3 I I I 3 1 41 '( I 6j I 4; J I , I 6 5 4 5 l! 2 13 8 28 150 BIRD COMMUNITY OF DUNES AND SALT MARSH i' ''hacus rubecula q; . Warbler I icephalus schoenobaenus n Warbier ):ia borin ’throat ia communis < ' Whitethroat Ja curruca I^Dck lella modular is [ )w Pipit hus pratensis [ti finch iuelis chloris j '.nch • iuelis carduelis i • nthis cannabina I'.ch ' hula pyrrhula I ach ; rgilla coelebs 1 1 '/hammer I 'eris^a citrinella I ^ hunting -eris^a schoeniclus ! 'parrow ■er mon/anus ' t Sparrow ' er domesticus TOTALS FIELD-LAYER ONLY Shore and strip Salt salting marsh SEA BUCKTHORN AND ELDER TREES Fresh Dune ridges Farmland water and slopes and marsh IBast West roadsides totals 3 5 4 0 2 2 21 ?i ?i 8 56 23 3 94 ?i ?i 6 29 36 3 76 3 18 3 26 2 2 3 2 7 2 I 4 31 21 I 60 I I 2 I 3 4 I 2 6 9 4 19 10 29 8 3 73 6 6 12 1 2 26 65 46 227 137 81 586 -•corded in the area were Teal Anas crecca, Shelduck Tadorna iadorna. Mute Swan Cygnus olor, catcher Haema/opus ostralegus. Lapwing Vanellus vanellus. Redshank Tringa Manus, Swift Apus ^ louse Martin Delichon urbica. Sand Martin Riparia riparia. Rook, Corvus frugilegus. Great Tit ^ wayor. Grasshopper Warbler Locustella naevia. Blackcap Sylvia atricapilla. Willow Warbler ; ^opus irochitus, Chiffchaff Phylloscopus collybita. Spotted Flycatcher Muscicapa striata, \'ello-vr ' II MoiaciUa flava and Starling Sturnus vulgaris. The census area formed part of the hunting territory of Montagu’s Harrier Circus pygargus and Short-eared Owl Asio flammeus 151 BRITISH BIRDS DISTRIBUTION OF THE BIRDS The full list of species holding territory within the census area, showing their distribution by habitat, is given in table i, which also includes the scientific names. Not the least important aspect of the field-work is that it threw inter- esting light on the correlation between the bird community and the plant succession as new land is acquired from the sea. As the ridge-and-runnel beach is formed, small groups of Little Terns and isolated pairs of Ringed Plovers settle, while outside the census area Oystercatchers also nest. Only the Ringed Plover appears to follow through to the next stage, re- presented by the strip-salting inside the low and still unstable eastern- most dune ridge ; here (but again outside the census area) the Shelduck appears as a breeding bird. The first passerines. Skylark and Meadow Pipit, colonise the outer dune ridge when marram becomes established, and also the adjacent strip-salting. They extend southwards along the ridge even where it is narrow. As soon as this low outermost ridge is invaded by sea buckthorn high enough above the surrounding grasses to provide prominent song- posts the Reed Bunting becomes interested, at first ‘prospecting’ from territories along the more stable dune-ridge west of the strip-salting. The occasional Linnet territory may be set up under these conditions, and the Partridge appears. The next line of dunes inland (the East Dunes proper) has a prolific covering of sea buckthorn with clumps of elder, occasionally up to ten feet high, and here both Whitethroat and Dunnock are strongly' estab- lished. It is likely that the Whitethroat’s requirements are met first, since we found that a quarter of an acre or so of isolated sea buckthorn will serve for a territory^ whereas the Dunnock requires about twice this area. (There were, in fact, about twice as many Whitethroat as Dunnock territories between the two outermost ridges of the East Dunes, where the sea buckthorn is relatively unrelieved by other shrubby' vegetation.) Although the three field species of the early dune-ridges disappear, their associate the Reed Bunting remains. More Linnets, the first Sedge Warblers and Pheasants appear at this stage ; but it may be that the Sedge Warblers are an ‘overflow’ from the fresh-water grassland zone, and that a development of this ty'pe is a pre-requisite for colonisation by' this species. The more varied shrubby' growth offers suitable conditions for Black- birds and fewer Song Thrushes, and also for Turtle Doves, while the occasional pair of Blue Tits settle when the elders are sufficiently old and gnarled by exposure to the sea-winds to provide nesting-holes. In the middle section, where the scrub was particularly well developed, two pairs of Yellowhammers and a pair of Bullfinches had territories: the dependence of the former on a ‘vertical component’ in the environment, 152 BIRD COMMUNITY OF DUNES AND SALT MARSH as compared with the needs of the Reed Bunting (see the discussion in Kent 1 965), was exemplified in this case. It is interesting that a Chaffinch (probably unmated) sang regularly over a considerable part of this section, indicating that this species— together with the Woodpigeon, which was also active in this region — is likely to colonise as soon as the cover is sufficiently mature. The vigorous colonisation by elder also provides opportunities for the first predators to establish a permanent base. In a large clump at the south end a pair of Magpies had nested, and a ‘playground’ and earth of Foxes \ ulpes vulpes had remains of Rabbits Orjcio/agus cuniculus and birds, including hen Pheasant and Shelduck. The Foxes ranged over the salt- marsh and shore, their nocturnal raids doing much damage to eggs and young in the Little Tern colonies. Farther inland, the true salt-marsh succeeds the East Dunes and, except for isolated patches straggling outwards along low sandy ridges, > the sea buckthorn disappears. Apart from the Reed Bunting, the scrub birds disappear from the fauna, and this species and the Skylark seem to prefer the areas of old sand couchgrass which produces a more matted effect at ground level than the sea couchgrass. Skylarks and Reed Bunt- ings are dominant, with Meadow Pipits well distributed but favouring the areas of shorter grass ; indeed, the last species is absent from the more luxuriant growth of grasses beyond Bulldog Bank. A few pairs of > Partridges replace the Pheasants on the salt-marsh, but the latter remain north of Bulldog Bank, where the outward spread of sea buckthorn from the dune-ridge is more extensive in the absence of salt-w^ater flooding. The extensive salt-marshes outside the census area, w'est of the River I ' Steeping, have a large community of breeding Redshanks and Lapwings (both of which w-ere regular nesters in the census area until their numbers w ere depleted by the severe wdnter of 1 962/63), and other regular visitors to our own part from this region included a male Montagu’s Harrier and a Short-eared Owl. The long-established Vv est Dunes inland of the salt-marsh and the northern fresh- water section, though again dominated by sea buckthorn and elder, have been invaded in the southern part by sycamore and haw- thorn, many of the former reaching a height of 25 feet. The road to Skegness skirts the west side of these dunes and is flanked by similar trees on the side adjoining the farmland, while some taller ones (mainly elm Vlmussp., with a few beech ¥agus sylvatica and ash Fraxims excelsior) surround the ruined farm buildings. The West Dunes in general have much the same bird community as the younger East Dunes, with ' iitethroats, Dunnocks, Linnets and Reed Buntings the commonest birds, and also scattered pairs of Blackbirds, Song Thrushes, Yellow- hammers and Turtle Doves. The Woodpigeon is certainly established here (nesting among the outer dunes is doubtful) and the Goldfinch BRITISH BIRDS appears for the first time; both are probably largely dependent on the farmland for their food supply. In the southern section the Whitethroats are noticeably fewer than elsewhere, the cover probably being too vigorous : indeed, along the West Dunes as a whole this species is slightly less common than the Dunnock, a reversal of the situation on the more uniform East Dunes. All the typical scrub species (with the sole exception of the Yellow- hammer) extend to the farmland environment, particularly the tangled growth of brambles, nettles and bushes around the buildings, and (in the case of the Sedge Warbler) the reed-fringed pool on the northern edge of the fields. A strong woodland element is firmly established in this region, attracted bv the trees and hedgerows, and this includes Chaffinches, Wrens, Robins, Greenfinches, Tree Sparrows and Carrion Crows; there were probably breeding pairs of Garden Warblers and Lesser White- throats, and possibly a pair of Great Tits. Although four Mistle Thrush families fed regularly in the census area (one of them on the strip-salting), it is doubtful if any had bred other than in the trees at or near Sykes’ Farm. The fallow fields added only two species. Red-legged Partridge and Little Owl. The ruined buildings at Sykes’ Farm and the roof of the Sailing Club headquarters beside the road sheltered small groups of House Sparrows, while the scattered ‘pill-boxes’ and similar defence works among the East and West Dunes attracted four pairs of Swallows. Four pairs of Moorhens were known, associated with the pools, and probably four male Cuckoos were active in the census area: this species showed much more interest in the sea buckthorn zone than in the open regions, and perhaps Whitethroats and Dunnocks are the chief fosterers there, though there was no direct e'vidence of this. BIRD DENSITIES IN THE CENSUS AREA The sample area proved to have not only an unusual bird community, but also an extraordinarily high density, with about 5 86 pairs represent- ing 35 different species, i.e. a density of 2.9 pairs per acre. The bulk of the population, about 3 70 pairs, consisted of one dominant (Whitethroat) and four sub-dominant species (Dunnock, Reed Bunting, Skylark and Linnet). Of these the Whitethroat, Dunnock and Linnet are almost entirely dependent upon the sea buckthorn and associated scrub which smothers the dune ridges and slopes, while the Reed Bunting is partly dependent upon this habitat. The Skylark occurs in this zone only where open spaces are found. The dune ridges and slopes, with their sea buckthorn and elder, cover approximately 86 acres in the census area. In this habitat it is estimated that the above species had the following totals and densities (in pairs per acre): Whitethroat 89 (i.o), Dunnock 71 (0.8), Linnet 56 (0.7) and Reed Bunting 47 (0.5). This congenial habitat therefore supported 263 pairs 154 BIRD COMMUNITY OF DUNES AND SALT MARSH ! ( of these four species, to which must be added 1 09 pairs of all other species ; . occurring there, making a grand total of 3 5 3 pairs — a density of 4. i pairs I ; per acre. This extraordinary carr\dng capacity can be attributed in part to I the abundance of well-protected nest-sites for birds nesting on or near I the ground, but the major attraction must be its richness as a food source, I i probably due in large measure to its being the host-plant of the larvae of a I ' small moth, Gelechia hippophaella. It was noticeable that several of the I Whitethroats, watched while gathering food for their young, did not i : range more than a few feet from the nest-site. Among the sub-dominant birds the Skylark, together with the Reed 1 Bunting, was widespread on the salt-marsh, the fresh- water grassland, •the newly-formed strip-salting and the more open parts of the dune rridges — even when such open sandy areas were quite narrow and res- rtricted in extent. Only one other species, the Meadow Pipit, was im- qportant in this association, the 26 pairs being scattered over the Skylark’s irrange, except for the fresh- water zone where the more luxuriant growth l(of grass did not appear attractive to it. The Partridge is a relatively I -unimportant member of this group. On the 58 acres of the salt-marsh ijalone the Skylark (25 pairs), Reed Bunting (19) and Meadow Pipit (18) I L totalled 62 pairs, giving a density here of roughly one pair of birds to the ; -acre. On the new strip-salting the same three species totalled 17 pairs, a -density of 1.7 to the acre, but made up largely of Skylarks, j The cultivated fields with hedgerows and trees around Sykes’ Farm !aand on the roadside verges can be assessed at about 29 acres. This more mature and varied habitat attracted the widest variety of species, 27 as Iccompared with 18 in the sea buckthorn zone (14 were common to both) J iand only 4 on the salt-marsh; and the total number of 81 pairs gives a ;■ density of 2.8 pairs to the acre. COMPARISON WITH DENSITIES ELSEWHERE i 'Seven of the species present at Gibraltar Point occurred at an unusually ■ high density, in some cases unparalleled in any habitat so far represented . by Common Birds Census returns sent to the B.T.O. in respect of some 300 sample plots. In the case of the Skylark, for instance, the closest ^approach to the Gibraltar Point figure of 32.5 pairs per 100 acres is made ; by chalk grassland with hawthorn scrub at Pitstone Hill, on a spur of the ' Chilterns, with 28.0. Other heath and downland returns show less than : half this density, but a few farmland census areas 3’ield good figures, the ^highest (interestingh' enough) being 26.0 in Lincolnshire on reclaimed ; fenland at Bardney (K. Atkin, P. Prince and A. D. Townsend). The ; average density over nearly 10,000 acres of farmland in 1962 was only i 0.4 (Williamson and Homes 1964). The salt-marsh density of 1 3 .0 for the !Meado w Pipit is bettered only b}' 1 the chalk grassland of Pitstone Flill where a figure of 19.7 was recorded. 155 BRITISH BIRDS and it may be that these two diverse habitats harbour the best concentra- tions of Meadow Pipits in lowland Britain. In the case of the Whitethroat, no figure available from the B.T.O. census studies nearly approaches the 47.0 of the Gibraltar Point area. Young conifer or mixed plantations in their earliest stages support a high population, densities of 3 2 having been recorded in Essex (J. A. Cowlin) and Berkshire (G. H. Spray), while Lullington Heath in Sussex has 27.7. Farmland figures are generally much below these (average 3.6 over 9,980 acres in 1962), though 20.6 has been noted on one farm in Buckingham- shire. In the case of the Dunnock, the 38.0 for Gibraltar Point stands out as fairly high, but it has been surpassed by a few widely varjdng habitats. Thus, common land with scrub of oak spp. and birch Befula spp. near Hertford has one pair per acre (G. Whitwell), and several woodland census plots with good secondary cover show figures in excess of 30.0, while a density of 20 or more is fairly common in woods and parkland ; suburban gardens at Tring, Hertfordshire, averaged 43.3 in 1964-65. Although the Linnet density at Gibraltar Point, about 30, is only half of that estimated by R. J. Wilmshurst for the gorse Ulex spp. of Lullington Heath, Sussex (and probably falls short of the population in thorn scrub on the Chilterns downland), it is nevertheless higher than in most heathland census areas. The main interest in the unexpectedly high density of Reed Buntings at Gibraltar Point, 37.5, is that the habitat must be classed as an abnor- mally dry one. During the summer, both the salt and fresh- water marshes are ‘marshy’ in name only and, although a few pairs were associated with the reed-fringed water on Sykes’ Farm and pools among the dunes, the greater part of the population was scattered over relatively dry grassland with sea buckthorn and marram. Kent (1964) recorded a density of 4.6 in a ‘dry’ habitat, a Forestry Commission replanting of various conifers, with a well-developed shrub and field layer, in Nottinghamshire. It is doubtful if the Reed Bunting achieves a comparable density to Gibraltar Point even in its more ‘normal’ habitats, where 20-30 pairs per 100 acres is fairly usual. As with the Reed Bunting, the Sedge Warbler figure of 10.5 is of interest because the habitat is relatively dry: this density is greatly exceeded at a few ‘wetland’ places for which figures are available. SUMMA RY B.T.O. Common Birds Census methods were employed during the week 5 th- 12th June 1965 to determine the structure of the bird community inhabiting the coastal dunes and salt-marsh of the Gibraltar Point-Skegness Nature Reserve, Lincolnshire. A cross-section of the Reserve (no part of which is more than 250 years old) of about 200 acres was taken to give the widest variety of habitats, from the ridge-and-runncl beach inland to farmland reclaimed from the marsh in the i8th century. The census area is described with reference to its vegetation, and the census methods arc outlined. 156 LAUGHING GULL IN KENT A list of the 35 species holding territory, together with the numbers in different types of habitat, is given in table i, and an attempt is made to correlate the bird coloni- sation with the accretion of land and the plant succession. The sample area proved to have a high bird density (approximately 2.9 pairs per acre) with Whitethroat dominant; and Dunnock, Reed Bunting, Skylark and Linnet sub-dominant. The greatest density (4. 1 pairs per acre) was found in association with sea buckthorn and elder on the dune ridges and slopes, though the neighbourhood of the farm, with its hedgerows and trees, had the widest variety of species. A comparison is made of the densities of seven of the species (Skylark, Meadow Pipit, Whitethroat, Dunnock, Linnet, Reed Bunting and Sedge Warbler) with densities recorded by B.T.O. Common Birds Census work in a variety of other habitats. REFERENCES vKen i', a. K. (1964): ‘The breeding habitats of the Reed Bunting and Yellowhammer in Nottinghamshire’. n; 123-127. 'Perking, F. H., and Walters, S. M. (eds.) (1962): Atlas of the BrUish Flora. London. ■WtELiAMSON,^ K. (1964^: ‘Bird census work in woodland’. Bird Study, ii : 1-22. ■ and Homes, R. C. (1964) : ‘Methods and preliminar)' results of the common birds census, .Bird Study, ii: 240-256. I Laughing Gull in Kent: a species new to Britain and Ireland By W. F. A. Buck and D. IT. Tay/or 3n the morning of iith May 1966 we discovered an unusual gull at •est in one of the gravel diggings at Lade Pits near Dungeness, Kent. had initially passed it over as another Black-headed Gull Litrtts idibtmdns, but a closer look revealed characteristics not associated with lat species. Detailed notes were made during some five minutes of )bservation. We then disturbed the bird and in flight it bore little esemblance to any British gull. It was not seen again, but was sub- equently identified from our field notes as an adult Laughing Gull L. tncilla, a North American species not previously authenticated in intain or Ireland. The following description is compiled from those lotes : larger than Black-hcaded Gull. Head and neck: head entirely black, with white eye-hds giving the impression of a white eye-ring; neck pure white. Upper-parn: mantle, scapulars, back, wing-coverts and secondaries all slate grey; a slight white crescent in the closed wing formed by the white tips of the secondaries; primaries black; tail pure white. Under-parts: throat, breast belly and under tail-coverts all pure white. Soft parts: bill deep red; legs appeared D7 BRITISH BIRDS At rest it was similar to the Black-headed Gulls present, though slightly larger and its bill also appeared to be bigger. It had a black rather than brown head, with a noticeable white ‘eye-ring’ and its immaculate slate-grey mantle contrasted sharply with black primaries. When it flew, any similarity with Black-headed Gulls ended. It was noticeably larger, more like a Common Gull L. canus in size, and its flight seemed more leisurely. Its mantle and wings appeared dark grey (with the primaries showing darker still) and were similar in colour to those of a Lesser Black-backed Gull L. fuscus. A white trailing edge to the wings was distinctive and there were no white tips or mirrors on the leading primaries. ADDITIONAL NOTES ON THE SPECIES (Plates 17-18) Since the Laughing Gull is not featured in most British or European text books and is not even briefly described among the accidentals in the revised edition of the Field Guide (1966), it may be useful to give some additional notes compiled from A. C. Bent’s Fife Histories of North A.merican Gulls and Terns (1921), R. T. Peterson’s N. Field Guide to the Birds (1934) and R. H. Pough’s Nudubon Bird Guide: l-E ater Birds (195 This is a small gull about the size of a Common Gull and dis- tinguished from other small gulls on both sides of the Atlantic by the combination of the dark mantle blending into black wing-tips and the conspicuous white border along the trailing edge of the wings (plates 17 and 18). In the breeding season the adult’s head is black and in the winter white with dark markings (plate 17); the legs and the rather large bill are deep red in summer and blacker in winter. The immature, which is described more fully below by Tomas Albrektsson and Peter Lindberg, is very dark above and has a triangular white rump, a dark breast and blackish legs. The common call, as the species’ name implies, is usually written as ha-ha-ha and the full ‘laugh’ is a strident, hysterical series of such notes ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-haah-haah-haah, the last ones being prolonged and higher-pitched. The Laughing Gull is a partial migrant which breeds mainly on the eastern seaboard of America from Nova Scotia south to Yucatan, the Lesser Antilles and Venezuela and also has a limited distribution on the western seaboard from south-east California into western Mexico. The northern populations migrate south and the winter range is from South Carolina down to Brazil and Chile, especially in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean. It is essentially a warm water bird that seldom ranges into cold areas at any season of the year. Although pre- dominantly a coastal species, it is found along some of the larger rivers of America and will range inland to fresh water where it drinks, preens 158 CHARACTERS OF IMMATURE LAUGHING GULL and bathes. It is less of a scavenger than many gulls and catches fish, shrimps and crabs ; it also commonly follows the plough and feeds on earthworms after heavy rain. Field-characters of the immature Laughing Gull Bj Tomas Albrektsson and Veter Tindberg i (Plare 19) From 1 8th to 20th January 1964 an immature Laughing Gull Icarus ahicilla was observed at the port of Goteborg, on the west coast of Sweden. According to the Inventaire des Oiseaux de France (1963) by N. Mayaud, FI. Heim de Balsac and H. Jouard, a specimen was obtained in breeding plumage at Le Crotoy, at the mouth of the Somme, France, I on 29th June 1877, but this old record seems to have been overlooked I by later authors of European literature, including the Field Guide. i Two or three possible occurrences in Britain are insufficiently authen- I ticated (I. J. Ferguson-Lees in liif.), while 19th century records of one in Switzerland and another in Austria are without precise date or locality and so best ignored. Accepting only the French record of 1 877, therefore, this one at Goteborg was the second European record and the first in this century. Already, however, there have been two more — an adult near Breles, Finistere, France, on 22nd April 1965 (C. Clapham, J. and Goachet, F'Oiseau, 36: 67-68) and the adult at Dungeness, Kent, described above by W. F. A. Buck and D. W. Taylor. In view of these three records in successive years, it seems likely that this gull may occur more frequently than has been supposed on this side of the Atlantic. Immaturcs ate perhaps more likely to be overlooked, and so the following summary of the field-characters and behaviour of the one in Sweden may be useful to other observers (the full details have been published in I 'ar Fdgelvdr/d, 24: 289-293). The Swedish bird was probably in second-winter plumage. W hen we first saw it, it was standing with some Black-headed Gulls L. ridibundu.<: on a pier and its dark plumage made it look strikingly different. Plate 139 BRITISH BIRDS 1 9b shows its pointed black primaries, its blackish legs and rather large bill. The neck, mantle and back were grey-brown, the feathers being dark with lighter, mud-coloured edges, while the forehead was white, the back of the head brownish and the breast also brown. The white eye-rims were quite conspicuous and the iris was black. The rump was white, contrasting with grey sides to the tail and a broad black band at the end. The rump and tail pattern can be seen in plate 19a, as can another important feature — the white trailing edge to the wing, which showed in flight from above and below. From below, too, the dark marks on the axillaries were also characteristic (see plate 18). The flight was more like that of a tern than a Black-headed Gull and twice we saw the bird ‘snapping’ its bill along the surface of the water after the manner of a Black Tern Chlidonias ntger. It had just been bathing when it was photographed and that is why it looks rather ruffled. The combination of uniformly blackish primaries, generally dark upper-parts, dark breast, white rear edge to the wings and grey sides to the tail is sufficient to distinguish the immature Laughing Gull from any European species. In addition, the black band on the end of the tail is broader than that on any other small European gull except the Common Gull E. canus and the Mediterranean Black-headed Gull E. melanocephalus (see Br/V. Birds, 57: 250-252, plates 39-40). The species with which there is most likely to be confusion is another American bird, Franklin’s Gull E. pipixcan, the adult of which has a similarly dark head with white eye-rims and dark wings, but also white on the pri- maries separating the black from the grey. The resemblance between these two species is still more marked in the immatures, but the young Franklin’s Gull has a pale forehead even in the first winter, a pale breast and whiter sides to the tail. It is also smaller with a shorter bill and legs and, as a result, looks more thick-set than the Laughing Gull which, as can be seen in plate 19b, is elegantly tapering. Even so, when the young Laughing Gull loses its dark breast late in the second year and becomes whiter on the forehead and the base of the tail, the possi- bility of confusion with the corresponding plumage of Franklin’s Gull is very strong. A fuller and illustrated account of the similarities between these two species can be found in D. J. Dwight’s The Gulls of the World (1925)- Although the Laughing Gull does not breed further north in America than Maine and Nova Scotia, it has been recorded as far north as Greenland (A. Wetmore in lift.). 160 I Plate 17. Adult Laughing Gull Lari/s atriciHa in winter plumage, North America, “^ote the dark mantle, black primaries, white-tipped secondaries and white eye-rim. The legs and largish bill are black in winter and deep red in summer, when the ’ imudgy head also turns nearly black (pages 157-160) (^/;o/o.- Allan D. Crnickshank) Plate i8. Adult Laughing Gull hams atriciUa in Hight, seen from below, North America. Useful characters include the white rear edge to the wing, the blackish marks on the axillarics, the dark breast and the blackish legs; note too the wide black band at the end of the tail (sec plate 19a) {photo: Allan D. Cmicksbank) Plate 19. Immature Laughing Gull Larits a/ricilla, Sweden, January 1964. Above, a useful comparison with plate 18 in showing from behind the white wing-edge, the grey-sided and black-ended tail, and the white rump. Below, note the large black bill, the blackish legs and the dark breast and primaries {photos: Peter Lindberg) Plate 20. Olive-backed Pipit Anthus hodgsoni, Fair Isle, September 1965. These photos show the lightly-streaked greenish upper-parts, the short supercilium edged above and below with blackish, the pale-tipped wing-coverts, the white outer-tail and the white breast with bold black spots (pages 1 61-166) {photos: Roy H. Dennis) Olive-backed Pipits on Fair Isle: a species new to Britain and Ireland fy Roy H. Dennis (Plate 20) At MIDDAY ON 17th October 1964 my wife and I heard a pipit calling from the cliffs of the Landberg, a headland beside the Bird Observatory on Fair Isle, Shetland. We were unable to find it or identify it from the call. A few hours later, however. Miss P. Adams saw a strange pipit near the Double Dyke trap about half a mile from the Observatory. E. p Wiseman and I then searched this area and heard the same un- familiar call when we flushed a small pipit from the cliff top at the mouth of the Gully. This call was a loud tseee or tseeet, rather like that of a Red- throated Pipit A.nthus cervinus, but louder and more strident, resembling to some extent the reep of a Richard’s Pipit M. mvaeseelandiae. The bird landed at the top of a 200-foot cliff, where it searched for food in the short grass. On the ground it was silent and rather wagtail-like, striding [ along and wagging its tail more often than our common pipits. We ‘ were able to approach within thirty yards and compile a field descrip- tion (see below). The pipit was very partial to these high cliffs and only with difficulty . did we next persuade it to go towards the traps. We missed catching it in the Gully by inches, but a few minutes later caught it in the Single Dyke trap as it followed the line of a stone wall. We showed it to G. J. Barnes, who had by then arrived on the scene, and afterwards carried It back to the Observatory where we ringed, weighed and measured it and took a full description. The bird was also seen in the hand by Miss P. Adams, Bernard Hardy and my wife. It was released early next morning at the Obsen-atory and flew off to the cliffs. On 19th October It was frequenting a rocky area on Buness, a few hundred yards from the Observatory. Nearly a year later, on the afternoon of 29th September 1965, A. Heath and L. Tucker found a very greenish-looking pipit haunting the banks of the small gully leading to the Vaadal trap on Fair Isle. They walked it into the trap and then brought it back to the Observatory where I examined it. It was identical with the one trapped the previous year. A description was recorded and the bird was ringed, weighed, measured and photographed (plate 20). It was seen in the hand bv G. J. Barnes, Miss W. Dickson, M. Kristersson, D. Putman, R. Rhodes, E. Salholm, E. J. Wiseman and my wife. It was kept in a roosting box overnight and released early the following morning. 161 BRITISH BIRDS FIELD DESCRIPTION Only the 1964 bird was observed well in the field and the following notes were made on that occasion. It was a small pipit, about the size of a Tree Pipit A. trivialis or Meadow Pipit A. pratensis and with a similar stance. The first impression was of a strikingly contrasted pipit, the upper-parts being greenish-olive lightly streaked with blackish and the under-parts very white for a pipit and boldly spotted with black on the breast. The spotting on the breast seemed nearly as bold, in fact, as that on a Song Thrush Turdus philomelos. The spots and streaks coalesced on each side of the neck to form a noticeable black mark. The short supercilium was broad and obvious, being white behind the eye and orange-buff in front of the eye. There was some white on the outer tail-feathers and the bill appeared heavy. DETAILED DESCRIPTION The recorded descriptions of the two birds in the hand were so similar that the following is a combination of both, the minor differences indicated by the ring numbers (N32349 in 1964, and AS88363 in 1965) : Upper-parts-, crown, nape, mantle and back greenish-olive, rather lightly streaked blackish ; liner blackish mesial streaks on crown more pronounced at sides of crown to form a blackish stripe above the supercilium (N32349 less heavily streaked on crown) ; rump and upper tail-coverts uniform greenish- olive with no noticeable streaking; supercilium broad and distinct, short and white behind eye and orange-buff in front; blackish mark through eye; ear- coverts olive-brown with dark rear edge. Under-parts-, chin and throat yellowish- white with blackish moustachial streaks (N32349 more orange-buft on throat); upper breast buffish-white tinged yellowish and with large black mesial spots; lower breast white and with similar streaks, these coalescing at each side of neck to form blackish mark; belly pure white; under tail-coverts white with slight buff tinge; flanks white with huffish tinge and some blackish shaft streaks; axillaries yellowish-buff (N32349 greyish with yellowish-olive tinge), lai!-. tail-feathers blackish fringed and tipped green on outer webs, centre pair browner; outer pair with whitish on outer webs for two-thirds of length from tip and large white wedges on inner webs at distal end; penultimate pair with small white wedges on inner webs and small white marks on outer webs (N32349 with slightly more white on outer webs and small white tips to next pair of feathers). W''ings-. Hight-feathcrs dark brown with greenish edges to outer webs of primaries (except 2nd on both, and possibly 3rd on AS88363, which were more yellowish-green); greater and median coverts blackish, tipped and broadly fringed on outer webs yellowish-green (N32349 tipped creamy-olive); lesser coverts blackish with greenish fringes; primary coverts and bastard wing with slight green fringes on outer webs. .Soft parts-, upper mandible and tip of lower dark horn, rest of lower flesh; iris dark brown; legs and feet pinkish (N32349) or flesh (AS88363), rather yellowish from behind. MEASUREMENTS AND STRUCTURE The measurements (in millimetres) and weights (in grams) of the two birds were as follows (time GMT) : 162 OLIVE-BACKED PIPITS ON FAIR ISLE Wing Bill Tarsus Tail Hind toe Hind claw Weight Time N32349 82 15 21.5 60 10 7 AS88363 86 15 21 68 8 7, Their wing-formulae were very similar (length of each primary ex- pressed as number of millimetres less than longest): 2nd 3rd and 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th N32349 AS88363 — 2 Longest —2.5 — 1.5 Longest — 2 — I I — I I — 16 -H-5 -19 -19 In both, the 3rd to 5th primaries were emarginated on the outer webs; and the ist primary was minute. The longest tertial was 6.5 mm. shorter (N32349) or 5 mm. shorter (AS8 8 3 63) than the longest primary; the secondaries were equal to the 7th primary (N 3 2349) or fell between the 6th and 7th(AS88363). The tail was slightly forked; and the distance between wing-tip and tail-tip was 38 mm. The bill was larger and wider than that of a Tree Pipit, being 5 mm. wide at the feathers in each case. IDENTIFICATION On 17th October 1964 G.J.B., E.J.W. and I were certain that the bird we had caught was not a Tree Pipit of the typical race A. t. trivialis because of the greenish coloration, the heavily spotted under-parts, the unusual supercilium, the call and the fact that the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5 th primaries were rather similar in length. We handle Meadow and Tree Pipits regularly. In the Observ-atory collection we had skins of i Red- throated Pipit and Pechora Pipit A. gnsfavi and it was clearly I neither of those species. \X’e decided that it either belonged to an I unfamiliar race of the Tree Pipit or else was an Olive-backed Pipit. A. bodgsoni*. Hodgson’s Pipit, A. roseafus is also greenish, but this was ruled out by the measurements and lack of lemon-yellow axillaries. \X e could find little information in the Fair Isle library. Peterson, *Thc name ‘Indian Tree Pipit’ has often been used for this species, but we regard that as rather confusing. In the first place, it sounds misleadingly like a geographical race of the Tree Pipit Anthus trivialis. Secondly, Anthus hodgsoni is actually no more than a winter visitor to most of India, whereas its breeding range covers a large part of central and eastern Asia north to about 64'N and also extends westwards into north-eastern European Russia. In consultation with the Records Committee of the British Ornithologists’ Union, we have therefore considered the various other ver- nacular names which have been used for the species. Most of these combine a geo- graphical term, such as ‘Oriental’ or ‘Siberian’, with the words ‘Tree Pipit’ and so still seem like a race of Anthus trivialis. \X’e are thus adopting the only established name which is based on the bird’s colour. — Eds. 163 BRITISH BIRDS Mountfort and Hollom (1954) described the Olive-backed Pipit as smaller than a Tree Pipit, more olivaceous above with softer streaking, and more heavily streaked on the breast. We were fortunate to have Hall (1961), but this work is designed for use in the museum rather than for the identification of a single pipit in the wild. The wing formula of our bird suited both A. hodgsoni and eastern race(s) of A. tr malts. As, however, we could find no mention of any field characters and we did not have a criterion to judge the greenness of the upper-parts, we decided to regard it as some eastern race of A. trivialis until it was proved otherwise. In early 1965, through the generosity of the Royal Scottish Museum and Ian H. J. Lyster of the bird room there, we were able to examine some sldns of A. hodgsoni, A. trivialis (^'■arious races) and A. roseatus. All three of us immediately identified our bird as an Olive-backed Pipit on account of the greenish upper-parts, the distinctive breast markings, the unusual supercilium, the large bill and the wing-formula. The first Olive-backed Pipit to be recorded in Europe outside Russia was shot at Utsira, Norway, on 8th October 1937. The record was published by Schaanning (1939) and, through the good offices of George Waterston, we received a photocopy of his paper from the library of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Girvan MacKay, the mis- sionary on Fair Isle, very kindly translated this paper and I was then able to compare it with our notes ; I was surprised how similar the two descriptions were. Another Olive-backed Pipit was found on Heligo- land, Germany, on 8th May 1961 (Grafe, Requate and Vauk 1962). Our capture of a second individual on 29th September 1965 finally confirmed our belief that tbe bird we had trapped the previous year was the first Olive-backed Pipit for Fair Isle and Britain. The fact that we were so certain that the one in 1965 was almost identical with the one in 1964 indicates that this species is easier to identify in the field than might be expected. I suggest that the combination of the rather lightly streaked greenish-olive upper-parts, the clean but heavily spotted breast, the neck smudge, the pure white under-parts and the unusual supercilium are diagnostic in the field. The call also appears sufficiently different to distinguish the bird from other European pipits. The habitat preference for gullies and cliffs may be distinctive; Tree and Meadow Pipits at Fair Isle tend to frequent longer grass and marshy areas. The Norwegian one lived in the only coniferous plantation on Utsira and foraged by itself in the surrounding fields ; the Fair Isle birds were also solitary. DISCUSSION OF WING-FORMUUA In the hand, the relative length of the 5th primary is important. For A. trivialis Hall (1961) gave the 2nd, 3rd and 4th primaries as equal and 164 OLIVE-BACKED PIPITS ON FAIR ISLE longest, and the 5 th about 5 mm. shorter in western birds and 1-2 mm. shorter in eastern ones. The Handbook put the 2nd to 4th about equal (greatest difference i mm.) and the jth 2.5-5 inm. shorter. For A. Mgsonl N^z}4<) had the 3rd and 4th longest and equal, the 5th 2.5 mm. shorter and the 2nd 2 mm. shorter; AS8 8 3 63 had the 3rd and 4th longest and equal, the 5 th 2 mm. shorter and the 2nd 1.5 mm. .'hotter. The fact that the 2nd primaries were 1.5 mm. and 2 mm. shorter than the longest primaries suggests that this may also be a distinctive feature of the Olive-backed Pipit. The 5th primaries at 2 mm. and 2.5 mm. shorter are outside the range of nominate trivialis, but within the range of the eastern race haringtoni. According to Hall, this race of the Tree Pipit (which breeds in Turkestan and the north-western Himalayas) has heavier markings on the head, mantle and breast and, in any case, does not undertake vast migrations. In A. trivialis the 3rd and 4th primaries are distinctly emarginated on the outer webs and the 5 th is less well marked. Both our birds had distinct emargination on all three of the 2:>rimaries ; the Norwegian one was similar in this respect. RANGE AND SUBSPECIES Hall (1961) gave the range of the Ohve-backed Pipit as breeding from the Pechora in north-eastern Russia, eastwards across Asia to the Kurile Islands and Japan, and southwards to the Himalayas and Szechwan; and wintering in India, Burma, Siam, Indo-ChinK Japan and the Philippine Islands. The races show a certain amount of variation and Ripley (1948) has demonstrated that the birds of the most northern breeding population jtmnanensis (those most likely to occur on Fair Isle) are the least heavily streaked. Hall also found that in ymnanensis the 5 th primary is usually 1-3 mm. shorter than the longest, whereas in nominate hodgsoni the difference is usually less than i mm. These plumage and structural characters agree with the Fair Isle birds and suggest they are both referable to jtmnanensis. WEATHER AND ASSOCIATED MIGRANTS In 1964 a southerly wind at Fair Isle backed to south-east on 15 th October and continued from this general direction until the i8th. The 17th was a fine sunny day, after a hazy start, and the wind was light and south to south-east. The second Steppe Grey Shrike Hanius excubifor palhdtrostris to be recorded for Fair Isle and Britain arrived on the 17th, but was not trapped and identified until the i8th. Other newly arrived migrants included a Richard’s Pipit, a Yellow-browed XK’arbler 1 hjlloscopus tnornafns iind 175 Br^mUmgs Fringilla motif ifringilla. It is also 165 BRITISH BIRDS interesting that an Eye-browed Thursh Turdus obscurus was recorded on North Rona, in the Outer Hebrides, on the i6th (Picozzi 1965). The arrival of the Steppe Grey Shrike, Eye-browed Thrush and Olive-backed Pipit in northern Scotland was probably due to a large anticyclone over northern Europe, which was producing strong and sustained easterly winds across Europe from the ranges of these birds in Asia. In 1965 the wind at Fair Isle was south-easterly from 24th September, reaching gale force on 25 th and 26th. On the 28th it backed to north-east and in these conditions the second Olive-backed Pipit was found on the 29th. We recorded a Yellow-browed Warbler on the 25 th, an Ortolan Bunting Emberi^a hortulana on the 26th, and a Great Snipe Gallinago media and many thrushes on the 27th. Newly arrived on the 29th with the Olive-backed Pipit were a Yellow-browed Warbler and a Marsh Warbler Acrocephalus palustris. In this connection, it is interesting that on the same day as Schaanning shot the Olive-backed Pipit on Utsiia on 8th October 1937, he also shot a Marsh Warbler, the first for that island. REFERENCES Grafe, F., Requate, H., and Vauk, G. (1962): Anthus hodgsoni yunnatiensis auf Helgoland’./. Or«., 103: 399-400. ^ Hall, B. P. (1961): ‘The taxonomy and identification of pipits (genus Anthns) Bull. Brit. Mus. Nat. Hist., 7: 245-289. . , ^ Peterson, R., Mountfort, G. and Hollom, P. A. D. (1954): A Field Guide I0 the Birds of Britain and Furope, Fondon. Ip. loi. Picozzi, N. (1965): ‘Eye-browed Thrush at North Rona: a new Scottish bird’. Scot. Birds, 419-420. , , , •. 7 Ripley, S. D. (1948): ‘Notes on Indian birds, i. The races of Anthus hodgsom . J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc., 4J: Gzz-Gzj. Schaanning, H. T. L. (1939): ‘Fortsatte trekkresultater fra Utsira 1937 med beskrivelse av 6 for Norges fauna nye fuglearter’. Stavanger Mus. Arsbefte, 48: 113- 124. Witherby,FI. F. f/ <7/. (1938): The Handbook of BrilishBirds. London, vol. i: 195-199- Notes Sand Martins feeding from the ground. — With reference to the notes by Mrs. E. M. Trevor and P. J. Oliver on House Martins Delicbott Hrbica and Sand Martins Riparia riparia apparently feeding from the ground {Brit. Birds, 58:511; 59: 499), the following may be of interest. On 17th and 28th July 1966, at Fairford gravel pits, Gloucestershire, we observed between 250 and 300 Sand Martins feeding on a gravel area from which the top soil had recently been removed. They confined themselves on both days to sections about 1 5 yards across and the technique most of them used was to run aiong the ground for a short 166 NOTES distance and snap into the air; others made short flights and hovered momentarily at a height of about a foot. We did not see any of the martins pecking at the ground and each time they dispersed after about half an hour. Their eagerness indicated a recent catch of insects, but we were not able to examine the actual spot on either occasion. These observations were made in mid-morning and late afternoon respectively and the weather was sunny on both days, following a night of light rain in one case and a dry spell in the other. Richard Frost Lee and Julian C . Rolls [K. G. Spencer has drawn our attention to several earlier observations on this subject, all involving Swallows Vlirundo mstica or Mouse Martins (Br/V. Birds, 44; 65; 44; 69), and has added that D. Dawson and he watched numerous Swallows alighting to feed on lawns at Burnlev, Lancashire, on 2nd Setember 1965 and 3rd September 1966.— Eds.] * Sand Martins nesting in drainage holes by main road. — On 50th May 1966, at Marlborough, \)C’iltshire, I saw several Sand Martins Ripariariparia entering at least three of a row of drainage holes in a brick wall facing on to George Lane, a b road which passes through the town. The road at this point runs parallel with the River Kennet, but is about a hundred yards from it with a garage and a coach park in between. The accompanying photographs, taken by G. W. Alington, show the residential nature of the road and the actual site of the holes which are less than two feet above the pavement. In early June at least three Sand Martins were in the vicinity and three holes were seen to be Fig. I . View ot George [.ane, Marlborough, showing the unusual habitat in which a pair of Sand Martins Kiparia riparia reared young in 1966. The nest was in a hole in the wall on the lower right (see fig. z)[photo: G. IF. AUngton) 167 BRITISH BIRDS Fig. 2 . The passage way on the right (leading to steps up to a house) is the one which appears at the bottom right of hg. i. The nest was in the drainage hole on the left {photo : G. W. AUngtoti) entered. Tn July, however, only one pair was actually feeding young and so we presume that the others either did not nest or were un- successful. During their frequent visits to the hole to feed their brood, the adults appeared to be completely unconcerned by the traffic; eventually they succeeded in rearing four young. Other observers who saw the nest included W. J. Earp, A. W. Harvey, C. J. Kennedy and M. E. Manisty. It should be added that the nearest Sand Martin colony known to us is at least seven miles away. R. A. O. Hickling and I. J. Ferguson-Lees subsequently informed us that drainage holes and other artificial sites overlooking water were common enough in their experience, but that they knew of no com- parable record of such a site by a road. The Birds of the Tondon Area (1964: 229) referred to several colonies in drainpipes and among particularly unusual sites included one in a private road cutting in 1917, another in the military trenches at Gidea Park Station in the same year and a third in the brickwork of the platform of Rye House Station in 1923. The Marlborough site seems to be unique, however, in that it combines a man-made hole with facing on to a main road and being quite some distance from any water. P. L. \X'illiams Song Thrush attacking Slow- worm. — With reference to the notes by A. O. Chater and C. Simms on thrushes and other birds attacking lizards, it may be of interest that on 19th May 1966, at Hcngistbury Head, Hampshire, I watched a Song Thrush Turdiis philomelos attacking a Slow-worm Angitis fragilis. The bird was thwarting the reptile’s attempts to escape by fluttering in the air a few inches above it, landing 168 NOTES I in front of it and pecking at its head. The attack seemed to be concen- > trated on the head and along the spine of the Slow-worm, particularly r at the bases of the skull and tail. On several occasions the thrush tried . to grasp the reptile as if to pick it up, once by the upper body and three . times by the base of the tail. Throughout the attack, the bird uttered a i low warbling note. After about five minutes, the Slow-worm was I apparently dead, but, instead of carrying it off as I expected, the thrush I merely pecked at it perfunctorily a few times, preened itself and then' f; new away. When I inspected the corpse of the Slow-worm, I found that its eyes I had been destroyed and its skull shattered. There was a gaping hole at the base of the skull where the main attack had been directed and this I had probably caused death. The epidermis was torn down the length I of the spine and there were minor wounds on flanks and belly. The I spine was severed and the tail torn from the body at a point just above I the base. During the previous three weeks, I had found no less than four other ' coyses of Slow-worms with similar wounds, all with damaged skulls I ^ and spines severed at the tail and some with tails completely pecked off 1 1 had attributed this work to a pair of Magpies Pica pica, but the simi- larity of the injuries and the fact that all the corpses were found at or ' near Song Thrush ‘anvils’ suggest that the one bird was probably - r responsible At the time of the attacks this Song Thrush and its mate had nearly fledged young from a third nest after their first two nests ad been lost to predators. The Slow-worm is reasonably numerous on Hengistbury Head, but it seems remarkable that one bird should have 'lolled five m three weeks and then made no attempt to eat them. Perhaps the most likely explanation is that the snake shape of the Slow-worms was sufficient a stimulus to elicit attack as on a predator. C. I. Husband [Derek Goodwin has commented as follows: ‘I think that this was primarily feeding behaviour. It is not unusual for birds and mammals to 111 things that they do not afterwards consume. In this case, perhaps he fact that the attacks did not break up the Slow-worms into pieces at could be swallowed, as would happen with earthworms, was the mam reason why they were not eaten. The rest of the behaviour, with a -ombination of apparent partial fear and considerable excitement is ■ >imilar to that which I have seen exhibited by other species when stacking unusually large prey. — Eds.] West of Whinchat with twelve eggs.— On 14th May 1966, near eston, Lancashire, I found a female Whinchat Saxicola rubetra lining ler nest, but by the 22nd the nest and two eggs had apparently been 169 BRITISH BIRDS deserted. On the 28th what I took to be the same bird was sitting on four eggs in a new nest near-by and on 2nd June was incubating a complete clutch of six eggs. By the 5 th this nest also had an air of desertion, with one or two threads of gossamer near the entrance, and the female was not seen at all during 78 minutes of observation in inclement weather. On the nth, however, I flushed her from this same nest which now contained nine eggs and on the i8th she was sitting on no less than twelve eggs, the last resting on top of the others. The nest was still intact on the 26th, but the number of eggs had been reduced to nine and the female did not put in any appearance during 2J hours. By 2nd July the male also had vanished. Unusually large clutches may result from a variety of causes. In the cases of hole-nesting species a shortage of sites may induce a second pair to annex a deserted nest, but Whinchats breed in habitats which provide an abundance of natural sites. Another possibility is polygamy between a male and two females, but in this case there was no evidence of two females in the territory at any time. A third possibility is that some mishap befell one female after she had laid six eggs and that the male then paired again quickly, but one would then expect the second female to build a new nest. Perhaps the most likely explanation here is that all the eggs were laid by one female, the first clutch being deserted for some reason and the second laid on top. Lawrence Eccles Unusual accident to Lesser Whitethroat. — On i ith November 1966, at our house in Khartoum, Sudan, we saw a Lesser Whitethroat Sylvia curruca drop to the verandah floor from some creeper about eight feet above. It remained where it had fallen, sitting in a hunched attitude with closed eyes. On picking it up we found that its upper mandible, forced back and down, had pierced the skin between the rami of its lower mandible and was projecting obliquely beneath for 5-10 milli- metres. The bird was clearly unable to extricate its upper mandible from this position and so could not feed, its light weight of 10 grams and very low heart rate of 5 8 beats per minute (timed half an hour after we found it) suggesting that it had been in this state for some time. In fact, we believed it to be the same Lesser Whitethroat which had been living in our own and neighbouring gardens for at least three weeks and which had failed to appear during the previous three days. It was in first-winter plumage and from the abraded state of its tail we thought that it had probably been dragging itself about in the creeper before its weakened state caused it to fall. With the aid of forceps we withdrew the upper mandible from the lower and returned it to its usual position. The tongue was damaged at the tip, however, and afterwards tended to stick out through the hole at the base of the lower mandible. Realisiig that the bird was probably 170 [review severely dehydrated as well as starved, we fed it with a weak sugar solution and after about 30 minutes it opened its eyes and seemed stronger. Twice it flew a short distance, but on each occasion it soon collapsed and it eventually died about three hours later, perhaps through a combination of shock and starvation. Starvation alone appears unlikely to have been the cause since Lesser Whitethroats arriving in Khartoum after crossing the Sahara often weigh as little or less than this one and seem hardly the worse for it. A. Pettet and S. J. Pettet [The weight of this Lesser Whitethroat was certainly not exception- ally low; the average of 208 Lesser Whitethroats ringed on migration at Azraq, Jordan, in April and May 1966 was only 10.9 grams (range 8.4-15.9 grams) and 39 of them were under 10 grams. It seems that the most likely cause of the accident was the impact of crashing into woody vegetation or some other immovable object. In October 1955, on Fair Isle, Shetland, I and others picked up a Snow Bunting Plecfrophenax nivalis in a similar state underneath some wires; in that case the accident had probably only just happened and, after the upper mandible had been withdrawn from the lower, the bird seemed in good enough condition to release. In his paper on ‘Birds with abnormal bills’ {Prit. Birds, 55; 49-72), D. E. Pomeroy referred briefly to this Snow Bunting and mentioned three other cases of what he called ‘locked bills’, involving a Pheasant Phasianus colchicus, a Partridge Perdix perdix and a Fantail Pigeon Coltmha sp. ; he suggested that these were probably the result of such accidents as crash-landing bill first on a hard surface. In addition. Dr. j. S. Ash tells me that he has seen at least one Wood- pigeon Coluffiba palumhus and also one or two game-birds in this state after being shot and then hitting either a tree or the ground in falling. — I.J.F.-L.] Review The Snow Bunting. By Desmond Nethersole-Thompson. Oliver & Boyd, Edinburgh, 1966. 316 pages; i coloured and 18 black- and-white photographs ; ii text figures. 45s. A most arduous scientific project has at last come to fruition in this book. The challenge of studying one of Britain’s rarest breeding birds in the appallingly difficult weather of the Cairngorms was the author’s driving force. Fle and his family spent 263 nights camping on the summits, with meagre food and equipment. The work was done on a shoestring, isolated from fellow ornithologists for most of the year BRITISH BIRDS and far from libraries and other facilities usually considered essential for research. This book could have been shorter and cheaper by omitting many personal stories in the scientific chapters, and in three chapters about the author’s early days of bird-watching and egg-collecting and about his life’s experiences. It is these personal details, however, that make this a highly readable and colourful book. There are nine chapters on the Snow Buntings he got to know so well, on the people who have looked for Snow Buntings, on the birds’ courtship, territorial behaviour and voice, and on their nests, incubation, eggs and young; five on their breeding habitat, on their enemies and food, on their numbers and distribution in Scotland, on the racial origin of Scottish Snow Buntings, and on their changes in status; and one on world distribution, numbers and movements. Another chapter by Derek Ratcliffe gives an excellent description of Scottish mountain vegetation, and there are detailed appendices about nests in Scotland, testis size and roosting. Surprisingly, the bibliography has several hundred titles, but Snow Buntings are common in the Arctic and many people have written about them there, including detailed studies by Dr. N. Tinbergen and others. The book covers this literature very well. The striking thing is how much the author found despite the very few Snow Buntings available to him in Scotland; this was made possible only by intensive work on birds that he identified individually, mostly by their plumage and some- times by their behaviour and egg type. There are many differences between Scotland and the Arctic. Male Snow Buntings in Scotland generally have less well defined territories than in the Arctic, perhaps because they do not occupy all the available ground. Cairngorm birds often rear two broods, whereas one is usual in the Arctic. Breeding males from Iceland have dark rumps, but those from Greenland or Scandinavia have white rumps; in Scotland both types occur and the proportions vary greatly from year to year, suggest- ing that there is no distinct Scottish race, but that in some years more Iceland birds stay and in others more Scandinavian or Greenland ones. In some summers only unmated males and no females were seen; thirteen birds were located in the Cairngorms in 1947, which was the best year, but in the poorest years only one or none. The species was probably commoner on Scottish hills around the turn of the century when winters were colder and summer snow beds larger. Since meteorologists predict more cold winters, the author suggests that Snow Buntings will increase. There is little information from the winter months in the book, although Snow Buntings are common then on Scottish farms, shores and hills. One can see other gaps and points for criticism and at times the information lacks the detailed quantitative backing now expected 172 LETTERS from work on more common species. The author himself ends modestly about how much remains unknown, pointing out that he has merely revealed the tip of an iceberg. Considering the challenge that was presented, however, this book is an outstanding achievement. More- over, it breathes a feeling of colourful life, enthusiasm and exploration too rare in modern bird books. Adam Watson Letters Eruptions of Great Tits and other species Sits, I was interested in Dr. C. At. Perrins’s paper on the effect of the seed crop of the beech F agus sjlvatica on the populations and move- ments of the Great Tit Parus major (Br/V. Kirds, 59: 419-432). To strengthen his comment (page 422) that the Great Tit fluctuates in a parallel way in areas where there is no beech, I should like to quote some observations of my own from Sweden. The winter of 1948/49 was rich in seeds of almost all trees in Sweden (though there is no beech at all north of Scania), whereas the winter of 1949/50 was poor. In both these winters I was ringing Great Tits on my' office window sill at Drottningholm, just outside Stockholm, and was struck by their much smaller numbers during 1949/50 as well as by the correlation between this and the large passage of Great Tits which had been noted at Ottenby and Falsterbo in the autumn of 1949' Therefore, when the seed crop was again rich, in the winter of 1954/55, and I saw several species of tits feeding in the spruce Picea abies (perhaps searching for insects in the cones), I thought it worth making a forecast of what would probably happen the next autumn, and the following is a transla- tion of a note of mine which was published in March 1955 {Vdr Fdgelvarld, 14: 64): 'Big emigration this autumn'i~\i my hypothesis about the cause of invasion migration is correct, the autumn of 1955 will produce an unusually heavy emigration of some Scandinavian birds which feed on the seeds of perennial plants. The autumn might be a parallel to those of 1943 and 1949 and result in high passage figures (or attempts to fly across the sea) for some of the following species: Magpie Pica pica, Nutcracker Nucifraga caryocatactes , Jay Garrulus glandarius, Greenfinch Carduelis chloris, Siskin C. spimts, Limtet Acanthis cannahina, Redpoll A. flammea, Bullfinch Pyrrhtda pyrrhula, possibly Crossbill Loxia enrvirostra, Ycllowhammer Emberiza citrinella, House Sparrow Passer domesticus, Tree Sparrow P. montanus, Great Tit Panes major, Blue Tit P. caendeus, possibly other tits. Great Spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopos major, possibly other woodpeckers. Stock Dove Columba oenas and Woodpigeon C palumbus. The purpose of this short note is to stimulate studies of the frequency and behaviour of these species during the spring, summer and autumn. So far. 173 BRITISH BIRDS both emigrations from this country and invasions into it have been studied from effect to cause, that is to say that one has had to try to reconstruct the beginning of a sequence which has not been noted until it is in its final stage. The species were those which, according to my observations during many seasons at Ottenby, fluctuated annually in a way that indicated more or less eruptive behaviour. At least four of these species actually arrived in large numbers at Falsterbo in the autumn of 1955, among them the Great Tit (S. Ulfstrand, 7«/. Orn. Congr., 13 : 780-794). It was also satisfying to find that the number of wintering Great Tits in the Stockholm area was low during the winter of 1955/56. Therefore, although I did not mention the Great Tit in my paper on ‘The “invasion type of bird migration’ in 1 9 5 7 50: 314-543), I certainly had it in mind as a species which makes minor eruptions. Gunnar Svardson ‘Swallows mobbing Pipistrelle Bat’ Sirs, — No competent ornithologist risks submitting records of critical bird species for publication without providing adequate field notes, nor does any reputable ornithological journal accept material not sub- stantiated in this way. One would expect the same standards to be applied when animal species other than birds are mentioned in orni- thological notes. It was with some surprise, therefore, that we read that a flying bat seen by Michael Tugendhat was confidently recorded as a Pipistrelle Pipistrellus pipistrellus{Brit. Birds, 59: 435) when there are few mamma logists in this country who would presume to identify this species or any of the other Vespertilionidae in flight. We may be doing Mr. Tugendhat an injustice, but in the absence of further detail should not this animal have been recorded simply as ‘a small bat’ ? Bryan P. Pickess, W. G. TEAGLEand D. W. Yalden [We publish this letter as a warning (which affects us too) to those who would be careless about the identification of other animals and plants in observations on birds. Mr. Tugendhat’s reply is printed be- low.— Eds.] Sirs, — It is true that the bat which was endeavouring to evade some Swallows hlinmdo rnstica was seen only in flight and should therefore have been described simply as ‘a small bat’. One colony of Pipistrellus pipisirelhis has, however, been positively identified at Greensted Hall, where the observation in question was made, and other bats of the same size were seen in the summer of 1966 hanging above the chancel of the old Saxon church beside the gate. As the only other small British bat at all comparable in size and manner of flight, and likely to be seen 174 NEWS AND COMMENT flying in daylight, is the Whiskered Bat Mjofis mystacinus, which is not found in this part of England, I had no reasonable doubt that the bat I saw was one of ‘our’ bats. Nevertheless, I regret this carelessness and am grateful to Bryan P. Pickess, W. G. Teagle and Dr. D. W. Yalden for pointing it out. Michael Tugendhat Requests for information Irish Peregrine Survey.— The Irish Society for the Protection of Birds is organising a survey of Peregrines Fako peregritius in the Republic of Ireland in 1967. The main objects are to arrive at an accurate estimate of the number of nesting pairs and, if possible, to ascertain breeding success ; it is also intended to collect available informa- tion on prey species. Anyone who sees a Peregrine near a suitable cliff is asked to send detai s to the Society and the exact locality of any eyries found should be given. Locality details will be treated in strict confidence by the organisers, and it is hoped that observers will be equally careful about divulging sites to other people. As manv parts of the country arc not well covered, anyone planning a holiday in Ireland is ^ked to help if they can. Enquiries and information should be addressed to John Temple Lang, Irish Society for the Protection of Birds, 21 Merrion Square, Status of birds in Corsica.— Raymond Levcque is currently collecting data on the • I ^ eventual publication of a revised avifauna of the island^ Observations on breeding species, migrants and winter visitors are all much needed. In the case of breeding birds, he is anxious to have details of nests found (including height above sea level, habitat and nest site) of even the more ordinari- species; also particularly wanted are observations on breeding birds above the tree limit because this zone has been little studied in Corsica. Proof of breeding is acking for such species as Short-toed Eagle Circae/tis galUcus, Honev Buzzard I enus apworus, Bonelli’s Eagle Hieraaet us fascia! us, Eleonora’s Falcon Fako ekomrae I Little Bittern Ixobrychus miuufus, Golden Oriole Oriolus oriolus and Rock Thrush Mo^tcola saxatihs, and very little has been recorded about the colonies of most of the -seabirds. Breeding places of scarcer species will not be published. VC’e should be ^pteful if anyone who has kept records of birds in Corsica would write to Raymond ILcveque, Vogelwarte Sempach, 6204 Sempach, Switzerland. News and comment Edi/ed by J. L. F. Varslow ■Army Bird-watching Society.— Of the bird-watching societies run by the three armed services, that of the Army is perhaps the least well known. Its main aims arc to promote and encourage bird-watching in the service and to co-operate with other ornithological bodies in their special investigations and work, including conserva- tion. Quite how' well this last aim has been achieved is shown bv the record of 175 BRITISH BIRDS practical and very valuable conservation work carried out over the last two years by the Royal Engineers at the Havergate, Minsmere and Leighton Moss reserves of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (see Brit, Birds, 58: 525). Clearly, there is great scope for further extensive co-operation between the owners of nature reserves and the Royal Engineers, since the tasks that the army are able to tackle with their heavy machinery and experience would generally be beyond the resources of the average conservation body. The Army Bird-watching Society plays an import- ant role in the planning of projects, while the Sappers themselves gain valuable practical training. Among those projects currently being organised or investigated at nature reserves up and down the country are water-level control and pond or stream clearance at sites in Dorset, Sussex, Surrey and Renfrewshire, the creation of artificial lakes at places in Bedfordshire and Lincolnshire, and the building of a shelter on Handa, Sutherland. The committee of the society has recently been re- organised and a drive is being made for new members, who should have some connection with the British, Commonwealth or Colonial armies. The annual sub- scription is ten shillings; further information can be obtained from Major (Retd.) C. Worrin, c/o Army Apprentices College, Harrogate, Yorkshire. Seabird breeding distribution survey. — In 1969 the Seabird Group intends to conduct ‘Operation Seafarer’, a general survey of breeding seabirds combining the censuses of Fulmar, Gannet and Kittiwake which fall due in that year with ones of selected other species. As part of the preparation for this project the Group is this year organising ‘Seafarer’s Pilot’ — a preliminary survey of the distribution of breed- ing seabirds throughout Britain and Ireland. This project, approved by the British Trust for Ornithology, aims to establish the presence or absence of each seabird as a breeding species in every ten-kilometre square of the National Grid along all coasts and, if possible, the order of abundance of the species in each area. Information from past years is also sought and reports from Scotland and Ireland will be particularly welcome. Ornithologists living in coastal counties or spending holidays in these areas during this year’s breeding season are invited to participate in the survey. Forms for this purpose have been devised by the Group’s Breeding Censuses Committee and copies can be supplied by the Secretary, Raymond O’Connor, Department of Physics, Birkbeck College, Malet Street, London W.C.i, from whom further details may also be obtained. Bird courses at Bardsey. — Three special courses on the theme ‘Birds of an off-shore island’ are again being held at Bardsey Bird Observatory, Caernarvonshire, this summer. Each lasts one week, beginning on 3rd June, 17th June and ist Jul)f, and is open to anyone interested in birds. An inclusive charge of i 9s. covers the cost of return boat fare and island landing fee, as well as board and tuition. Applications for the first course, which is being organised jointly with the Populations Section of the British Trust for Ornithology, should be made to Mrs. M. Bonham, B.T.O., Beech Grove, Tring, Hertfordshire, and for the other two to Mrs. G. F. Walton, 51 Mount Road, St. Asaph, Flintshire. Wildlife photographic competition. — An amateur photographic competition to choose the ‘Wildlife Cameraman of 1967’ is being sponsored by the Council for Nature and its associated magazine W''ildlife and the Countryside, the April issue of which contains full details of how to enter. One aim of the competition is to en- courage young naturalists to take up wildlife photography and, as well as a first prize of an £80 camera, there is to be a special prize for the best entry from a competitor under the age of 16. WOlCS A l\'V\C Ct>(^itctiM^ Buy the books you have always wanted, including: Witherby’s Handbook of British Birds (5 vols.) The Birds of the British Isles, by David A. Bannerman (12 vols.) The World of Birds, by .lames Fisher and Roger Tory Peterson Animals and Birds in Australia, by Graham Pizzey (just published) Birds of the Atlantic Islands, by David A. Bannerman and W'. Mary Bannerman (3 vols. now published) or any other title on ornithology which is in print, and take advantage of our deferred payment scheme Simply complete the coupon below and return to us with a note of titles in which you are interested GLOBE BOOK SERVICES LIMITED Brunei Road, Basingstoke, Hants. •Please arrange supply of books listed in my accompanying letter and open an account for me •Please ascertain prices and availability of books listed in my accompanying letter and give me details of the cost under vour deferred payment scheme • Delete as applicable Name Address BB 14B Witherby’s THE HANDBOOK OF BRITISH BIRDS in five volumes A new reprint of this work has now been published. It may be obtained either as a complete set (£21) or volume by volume (four guineas each). There are no text differences from previous impressions H. F. & G. WITHERBY LTD 111 The Snow Bunting DESMOND NETHERSOLE-THOMPSON The Snow Bunting, a rare bird about the size of a sparrow, is one of the most romantic and elusive birds in the British Isles, and cer- tainly the hardiest small bird in the world. The author gives a full description of the bird, its habits and habitat in Scotland, numbers and movements, covering all as- pects of its life. He summa- rises excellently what he has learnt both from personal fieldwork in the Cairngorms and from relevant literature. 45s. Oliver and Boyd Zoological Record Section Aves 1964 (vol. 101) This indispensable biblio- graphy, compiled by the staff of the Zoological Society of Lon- don, is an annual list of orni- thological literature inall parts oftheworld. Full references are given with authors and titles, and they are indexed under species, subjects and countries. The latest issue covers approxi- mately 3,200articlesand books published mainly in 1964 and is obtainable, at a cost of 20s. 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Available from Witherby’s Bookshop 61/62 Watling Street, London, E.C.4 {telephone City 5405) ALL BOOKS SENT POST FREE Printed in England by Diemcr & Reynolds Ltd., Eastcotts Road, Bedford Published by H. F. & G. Witherby Ltd., 61/62 Watling Street, E.C.4 u I British Birds Vrincipal Contents Changes in status among breeding birds in Britain and Ireland J. L. F. Parslow (Part 3) More examples of the best recent work by British bird- photographers Eric Hosking (with eight plates) Birds in Ireland during 1963-65 D. I. M. Wallace Notes Reviews News and comment Vol. 60 No. 5 FOUR SHILLINGS British Birds AN ILLUSTRATED MONTHLY JOURNAL Editors Stanley Cramp, I. J. Ferguson-Lees, P. A. D. Hollom, E. M. Nicholson Phoiograpbic Editor Eric Hosking Editorial Address lo Merton Road, Bedford ‘News and Comment' J. L. F. Parslow, i Wick Hall, Radley, Abingdon, Berkshire Rarities Committee F. R. Smith, Telford, Hill Barton Road, Exeter, Devon Contents of Volume 6o, Number 5, May 1967 Page Changes in status among breeding birds in Britain and Ireland. By J. L. F. Parslow. Part 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177 More examples of the best recent work by British bird-photographers. Photographs by Mr. and Mrs. J. B. Bottomley, D. M. T. Ettlinger, J. A. W. Jones, Dr. D. A. P. Cooke, R. H. Hallam, Dr. A. N. H. Peach, Dr. K. J. Carlson, C. P. Rose, C. Stockton, Harold Edwin Grenfell, William S. Paton, J. F. Reynolds and Maurice R. Tibbies (plates 21-28). Text by Eric Hosking 203 Birds in Ireland during 1963-65. By D. I. M. Wallace .. .. .. .. 205 Notes: — Winter breeding of Shags (Michael Tong; and Dr. G. R. Potts) . . . . 214 Heron fishing in deep water (Geoffrey Boyle) .. .. .. .. 215 Courtship displays between Smews and Goldeneyes (L. A. Urquhart) .. 215 Trigamy in Lapwing (John Wilson) .. .. .. .. .. .. 217 Woodcock uttering roding call from perch (Captain Collingwood Ingram) 217 Collared Dove feeding on fallen snowberries (Dr. A. P. Radford) . . 218 Polygamy in the Reed Bunting (B. D. Bell) .. .. .. .. .. 218 Reviews : — The Bird Faunas of Africa and its Islands, by R. E. Moreau. Reviewed by Dr. D. W. Snow .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 219 Collins Pocket Guide to British Birds (revised edition), by R. S. R. Fitter; illustrated by R. A. Richardson. Reviewed by D. G. Andrew . . . . 221 News and comment. Edited by J. L. F. Parslow . . . . . . . . 222 Annual subscription £z 13s. (including postage and despatch) payable to H. F. & G. Witherby Ltd., 61/62 Watling Street, London, E. C 4 superb fuli-colour BIRD BOOKS from LADYBIRD by the famous bird artist John Leigh Pemberton 2/6 each from all bookshops or 3/3 each with postage and packing from PV/LLS & HEP WORTH LTD Loughborough Leics . 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B.B., PARK STREET, CLEETHORPES 11 ' British Birds I Vol. 6o No. 5 I May 1 9 6 7 Changes in status among breeding birds in Britain and Ireland , Bj J. L. F. Farsloiv I (Continued from page 123) j.Wrctic Skua Stercorarius parasiticus. Somewhat decreased 19th century, jcHue to human disturbance; somewhat increased in 20th century where fporotected (A & L). Increasing Orkney and Fair Isle; little information (frfom elsewhere. Not scarce; restricted to Scottish islands and Caithness. Venables I .nd Venables (1955) stated that it had certainly decreased in recent ;./ears in Shetland in the vicinity of large colonies of Great Skuas Vitercorarius skua. Foula was cited as an example, but Jackson (1966) i:oonsidered that the breeding population there of about 130 pairs had I lot altered appreciably between 1948 and 1963, although towards the nd of this period it was being replaced by Great Skuas in some parts )f the island. On Fair Isle, recolonised in the early 1920’s, there was a teady increase from 15 to 70 pairs between 1948 and 1962 (Davis 9^5)- There has also been a considerable increase and expansion in Orkney, which was still continuing in 19^3’ ^94^ the species was relieved to be increasing on Hoy and was nesting on two other islands ; >y 1961 it had increased further on Hoy (to about 200 pairs) and in ali vas nesting on eleven islands (Bannerman 1953-63). For a species with such a restricted British breeding distribution, it ' 5 curious how little published information exists on the sizes and trends •f many of its colonies. The present position of most of the colonies in ' 'hetland and the smaller ones in the Outer Hebrides is not known ' except that at one colony on Lewis 40-50 pairs— ‘about usual numbers’ —were present in 1964). Relatively small and fluctuating numbers still I lest on Coll (Inner Helsrides) and in Caithness. 07 BRITISH BIRDS Great Skua Stercorarius skua. Marked decrease in 19th century due to human destruction; marked increase in 20th century due to protection, and extending range southwards (A & L). Continued marked increase; in the past 20 years has spread to the Outer Hebrides (including St. Kilda) and the Scottish mainland (Caitliness). Not scarce; restricted to Scottish islands and Caithness ; has bred once in Sutherland. In the early i88o’s the species was confined as a British breeding bird to two islands in Shetland — Foula (probably about 60 pairs) and Unst (about five pairs). Since then, and especially since about 1920, it has increased steadily and become widespread and numerous in Shetland (see Venables and Venables 1955)- On Foula there were about 900 breeding pairs in 1963 (Jackson 1966). Orkney was colonised in 1915, the numbers on Hoy increasing to over 20 pairs by 1941, to 60-80 pairs by 1961, and yet further by 1965 ; small numbers have also bred on several other islands during the past 20 years. The chief period of in- crease on Fair Isle occurred between 1950 and 1963 (Davis 1965). Since about 1945 small numbers have bred on Lewis (Outer Flebrides) and in 1962 the species spread to St. Kilda. Attempted breeding has occur- red regularly at two places in north Caithness since about 1 949, and in 1964 a pair tried to nest on the island of Handa in west Sutherland. Dickens (1964) has suggested that the marked increase which has occurred in Scotland and Faeroe (see also Bayes et al. 1964), especially since about 1930, is balanced by a conspicuous decrease in the Iceland population over the same period, and that as a whole the North Atlantic population of the Great Skua has probably not increased during this century. Great Black-backed Gull Icarus marinus. Very marked and widespread increase since about 1880; before that was decreasing (A & L). Has continued to increase markedly in all areas. Fairly numerous, breeding widely on coasts (especially islands off-shore) except in the east from Hampshire to Kincardine. Special enquiries into the breeding status in England and Wales were held in 1930 (Harrisson and Hurrell 1933) and 1956 (Davis 1958). The first of these showed that a remarkable increase had taken place from near- extinction towards the end of the 19th century to an estimated total population in 1930 of between 1,000 and 1,200 breeding pairs, ihe second indicated that by 1956 there had been an almost threefold increase in many areas compared with 1930, but that this was confined mainly to island populations (notably in the Isle of Man, Anglesey, Pembroke and the Bristol Channel) while mainland ones had remained largely unchanged. (An estimate of 1,600 pairs was given for the total breeding population in 1956, but th’s figure was probably much too low because it allowed for only 370 pairs in the Isles of Scilly, compared 178 STATUS CHANGES AMONG BREEDING BIRDS .vith 600-800 pairs in 1930 and over 1,200 pairs at the present day.) 'Since 1956 the breeding populations on several islands, especially in he Bristol Channel and Pembroke, have continued to increase. Jn Skokholm and Skomer, however, recent control measures rave reduced the adult populations so that they now number about he same as they did in 1956. The substantial colonies in the Isles )f Scilly have also increased, certainly since i960 and probably since 956. Although there are less numerical data from Scotland and Ireland, : t is clear that in both these countries the Great Black-backed Gull has I ilso increased considerably during this century. In Scotland there was ’ lot the same drastic reduction in the 19th century as there was farther outh and in many areas the species appears to have remained numerous, hough many colonies fluctuated (and have continued to do so) owing ■ o the activities of man. Its main increase in Scotland seems to have occurred since about 1920, in which time it has colonised or recolonised . everal parts of south-west Scotland. The increase is continuing, at ^ east in the west and north, and some idea of present abundance can be : gained from the fact that just one of several very large colonies in Orkney is estimated to number close on 2,000 pairs (E. Balfour in lift.). I The largest colonies in Ireland are considerably smaller — Ruttledge I 1966) cited Little Saltee, Wexford, as the biggest with 200 pairs — and I he fluctuations there closely parallel those recorded in England and Wales. Considerable increases have occurred at several of the larger I rrish colonies, such as on the Saitee islands and Inishkea, Mayo, over I he past 10-20 years, and numbers around much of the Irish coastline re probably still increasing (Cabot 1963, Ruttledge 1966). The species is still absent as a breeding bird from large areas of the ast and south coasts of Britain. It has bred for the first time in Aberdeen nd on the Isle of hlay, Fife, since 1962 and, more atypically, the odd jair or two have nested occasionally at sites in Poole Harbour, Dorset, ince 1957 and at Havergate Island, Suffolk, since 1959. Increasing lumbers are now being recorded in summer at seabird stations in lorth-east England, and it seems only a matter of time before they >egin to breed there. The increase in Britain and Ireland this century is part of a general xpansion in the populations of Great Black-backed Gulls on both ides of the Atlantic. The probable main cause has been their exploita- ion of the abundance of edible refuse now provided by man at such •laces as fish-docks, rubbish dumps and coastal sewage outfalls, •articularly during the winter months. A secondary factor has perhaps •een the relaxation of the persecution that the species received in the 9th century, and in part the present increase may represent a return to former population level. BRITISH BIRDS Lesser Black-backed Gull harus fuscus. Increasing in Wales, Scotland and Ireland (A & L). Trends have varied from one region to another; the population as a whole is probably increasing at the present time, though because of a marked decrease in Scotland at and after the end of the 19th century it is doubtful whether the species is currently more numerous than it was 60-70 years ago. Fairly numerous; widely but locally distributed on western and northern coasts of Britain and Ireland (very local on British east and south coasts), with a few scattered — though sometimes large — colonies inland. Although two surveys have been held into the status of the species as an increasing winter resident (Barnes 1952, 1961), and the histories of a few colonies are known quite well, it is difficult to assess changes in total breeding numbers. In many areas there has been much shifting of colonies, and of populations between adjacent colonies, but the following trends appear to be the main ones. They are summarised by countries since they partly disagree with Alexander and Lack’s conclusions. Space does not permit the inclusion of details of many local variations. 'England and Wales. A general increase has occurred in most coastal colonies in west England and Wales during this century; several of the more southerly ones, however, were plundered for eggs during the 1939-45 war and the populations at some (but not all) of these have remained depressed ever since. The total numbers breeding in England and Wales have increased since the war, if only through the spectacular growth of the colony at Walney Island, Lancashire, which was founded in about 1930, has now reached a strength of over 10,000 pairs, and is still increasing. The two largest (and long-established) inland colonies in north-west England were abandoned between the 1920’s and 1940’s in favour of Walney Island, Rockcliffe Marsh in Cumberland, and a new inland colony on the Lancashire Pennines. A substantial inland colony in Cardigan was also abandoned in the mid-i92o’s. The only permanent east coast colony is on the Fame Islands, Northumberland, where a decrease is said to have taken place in the 1930’s. Scotland. Very substantial decreases occurred both inland and in western and northern Scotland during the late 19th and early 20th centuries (e.g. Mackenzie 1918, Gibson 1952, 1956, Baxter and Rintoul 1953, Venables and Venables 1953, Pennie 1962). Locally, numbers have been increasing again in parts of this aiea, but there is no indica- tion that they are doing so generally, while in the Northern Isles they may still be decreasing. In east Scotland, however, a steady increase has been recorded on the Isle of May, Fife, since the island was first colo- nised in 1930, while nesting was first recorded in Aberdeen in 1949 and in Kincardine in 1965. Ireland. According to Deane (1954) the species has increased as a 180 STATUS CHANGES AMONG BREEDING BIRDS coastal nester in Northern Ireland while decreasing inland. Kennedy, tRuttledge and Scroope (1954) referred to an ‘undoubted increase’ in • Ireland as a whole. In the last 10-15 years it has increased greatly at the few colonies where checks have been made, and one new colony has been established well inland (Ruttledge 1966). More than 500 pairs now nest on the Saltee islands, Wexford, but other Irish colonies are much 5 smaller and only two or three are known to hold more than 100 pairs. Although the British and Irish population as a whole may be currently . expanding, the species has evidently not increased to the same extent .as the Herring Gull L. argentatus and Great Black-backed Gull L. imarinus have done. Indeed, it is uncertain whether it is more numerous now than in the second half of the 19th century. Human interference -land disturbance, changing methods of fishing, interspecific competi- tion with Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls, and other factors, :have been suggested as reasons for local declines, but it is uncertain '^whether any one single factor is responsible for the more widespread f rchanges which have occurred. Unlike the Herring and Great Black- backed Gulls, this species is mainly migratory and is also much less of a i: scavenger. During this century it has colonised Iceland (simultaneously ■with the Herring Gull), presumably in connection with climatic cchanges. \\ IHerring Gull luirus argentatus. Has increased in Scotland and probably j c elsewhere, but always abundant (A & L). Greatly increased in virtually i .all parts of its breeding range, especially during the last 20 years. I Numerous; breeds on all coasts of Britain and Ireland, mainly in I west and north, and only locally in east and south-east England; has I colonised some areas inland, mainly in Ireland. Although this species I has always been numerous, it has undoubtably increased generally I during the 20th century and particularly over the last 20-25 years. 1 .There are very few records of decreases, but even where numbers have I .idiminished, this has always been due to exceptional local circumstances : for example, increased human disturbance and predation by Foxes Vulpes vulpes at Dungeness, Kent, and changes in the fishing industry in Shetland. Records of increase are so numerous that they cannot be given in detail. The most spectacular has been the growth of the colony at Walney Island, Lancashire, where Herring Gulls first nested in 1904, had become established by 1928, and subsequently increased to 35 pairs by 1934, 120 pairs by 1947 and between 10,000 and 20,000 pairs by about 1964 (Oakes 1953, Local Report). This colony must now rank among the largest in Britain and Ireland, though the record appears to be held by the one on 5 9-acre Puffin Island, Anglesey, where Harris (1963) estimated that 20,000 pairs were breeding in i960. 181 BRITISH BIRDS Other notable increases have occurred this century on islands in the Bristol Channel (main colony at Steepholm, where numbers grew from about 700 pairs in the 1930’s to 1,250 in 1949 and to about 3,600 in 1956), the Firth of Forth (several islands colonised, including the Isle of May where the first pair bred in 1907, 45 5 pairs by 1936, 3,000 by 1954, and still increasing), and elsewhere. Any assessment of the scale of the increase in the total population in England and Wales can only be guessed, but it seems probable that numbers have at least doubled over the last 20 years. Nesting on buildings was almost unknown before the 1939-45 war, but in the 1940’s and 1950’s this became an established habit on the roofs of houses and factories in many seaside towns in south-west England, Sussex, Kent, Yorkshire, south Wales and elsewhere. The tendency is probably continuing, and in 1965 a pair nested in the town of Inverness for the first time. Another increasing tendency, noticed also in Scandinavia, is for birds to nest inland. This has been particu- larly noticeable in Ireland where there are now colonies on several lakes and bogs often far inland (Ruttledge 1966), but it has also been apparent elsewhere. Since the 1939-45 war small inland colonies have been established in Scotland, and in England and Wales at places as diverse as china clay pits in Cornwall, an inland cliff in north Gloucester, mountain lakes in Merioneth, a factory roof at Merthyr Tydfil, Glamorgan, and even, since 1961, at the London Zoo. The increase in the population here has run in parallel with a general and spectacular increase in the North Atlantic population as a whole. This expansion has probably been due primarily to the species’ exploitation of the abundance of edible refuse now provided by man at rubbish dumps, fishing ports, harbours and so on, particularly in winter (see Voous i960). Common Gull lumts canus. Very marked increase in Scotland and Ireland in 19th century still continuing; in 20th century extended its range to north-east Ireland and established small colony near Dunge- ness (Kent and Sussex) (A & L). Perhaps still increasing, but little real evidence in recent years. Fairly numerous; breeds widely in Scottish Highlands and Isles, more locally in south-west Scotland and in north and west Ireland, and at single localities in England (Dungeness) and Wales (Anglesey). Numbers appear to have continued to increase within the main breeding range in Scotland and Ireland until perhaps 1950 (Baxter and Rintoul 1953, Kennedy, Ruttledge and Scroope 1954). Since then little infor- mation has been published, though what there is points a further small increase in some areas (for example Kirkcudbright and Mayo) and perhaps generally. Some expansion of range has taken place and small 182 1 STATUS CHANGES AMONG BREEDING BIRDS I lumbers have been found nesting for the first time in Stirling (since ' (954), Berwick (since i960), Dumfries (since 1962), and Longford and r Anglesey (since 1963). In England, apart from sporadic breeding by one >r two pairs in Cumberland and Northumberland between 1910 and » 1 940, the species has bred only in the Dungeness area. Here, numbers ' lave decreased from about 30-40 pairs in 1939 to about twelve pairs . low, owing mainly to increased predation. L^BIack-headed Gull learns ridibundus. Great decrease during 19th ^ .century, but widespread increase began about the end of the century >.ind has continued (A & L). Much regional and local variation, but as r i whole the population has continued to increase, especially on coasts of ) south-east England. h Numerous; breeding colonies scattered widely in Wales, northern i : ind eastern England, Scotland and Ireland (except extreme south and I • south-west), and locally in central and southern England; mainly r> absent from south-west England. National surveys of breeding , colonies (excluding Ireland) were held in 1938 (Hollom 1940) and 1958 vGribble 1962, Hamilton 1962). Both surveys indicated that despite t ■ nany local and regional fluctuations the total breeding population in ‘. ' England and Wales had increased this century, although there is some evidence to show that it is still less than in the early part of the 19th I :entury. By 1958 approximately 50,000 pairs were breeding in England ■ and Wales, representing an increase of roughly 25% on the 1938 ■ revised) estimate. However, the increase was by no means evenly ■ spread. The largest colony in both years was the one at Ravenglass, Cumberland, which increased from about 10,000 pairs (Marchant 1952) o between 13,000 and 16,000 pairs. But of seven other colonies ■lolding more than 1,000 pairs in 1938, five (in Cumberland, Lancashire, Lincoln, Norfolk and Dorset) has been deserted by 1958 and the other :wo (in Montgomery) had decreased. Instead, most of the eight colonies which held more than 1,000 pairs in 1958 were newly estab- ished ones situated in Hampsliire (three), Kent (two), Essex (two), 'Suffolk and Westmorland. At least some of the colonies in south-east England have continued to increase. For example, in north Kent ' where breeding did not begin until the 1940’s) colonies sited mainly on :urf saltings on the estuaries of the Medway and Swale totalled about 2,000 pairs in 1955, about 2,500 pairs in 1958, and 4,000 pairs by 1961 J. N. Humphreys 1963). In Scotland numbers probably increased between about 1900 and 1938, but again with much regional variation (Hollom 1940, Baxter and Rintoul 1953). The 1958 sun^ey showed that a further great increase occurred in Sutherland, but most other counties were covered too incompletely to indicate trends over the country as a whole (Hamilton 183 BRITISH BIRDS 1962, Pennie 1962). No full survey has been carried out in Ireland, though numbers have almost certainly increased generally during this century. It is uncertain whether they are continuing to do so. In Ulster, Deane (1954) noted that the main increase occurred after about 1920. Fluctuations at individual colonies have been attributed to many different local factors, such as changes in habitat, increased or de- creased human interference, competition with other species, and so on (see Gribble 1958). The general increase this century, however, is probably connected with the species’ expansion in western Europe as a whole (see Voous i960, Higler 1962). This, in turn, is probably connected partly with its more varied feeding habits in winter, partly with the greater protection of breeding sites, and partly with the climatic amelioration which has led to a marked north and north- westwards extension of breeding range, including the colonisation of Iceland. Kittiwake Rissa tridactjla. Has increased in Scotland in 20th century (A & L). Steady increase (which continues) in all areas since about 1900, following a decrease during the 19th century due to persecution. Numerous; breeding colonies are situated mainly on cliffs on all coasts (though only one exists — in Suffolk — between Hampshire and south Yorkshire) with the majority on the North Sea coasts of Scotland and northern England. This and the following statements are based on the results of a national survey carried out in 1959 (see Coulson 1963). This survey showed that the total British and Irish breeding population numbered at least 173,000 pairs, of which about 37,000 pairs nested in England and Wales. Coulson demonstrated that the number of new breeding stations increased at the same rate (3 %) as the breeding population between 1920 and 1959. He suggested that the present increase began about 1900, though initially it was confined to existing breeding sites. There was no indication in 1959 that the rate of increase was changing. Coulson regarded the increase this century as representing a return to the population level which existed before the numbers were heavily reduced by persecution in the 19th century. A relaxation of persecution has led to the recent colonisation of low cliffs in many areas, and even to the use of buildings and harbour walls as nesting places, particularly on the east coast. The only colony on the southern part of the east coast was founded by two pairs which nested on the Pier Pavilion at Lowestoft, Suffolk, in 1938; numbers had increased to 26 pairs by 1965. An even more remarkable event has been the nesting since 1962 of a few pairs on a building overlooking the River Tyne at Gateshead, Durham, more than nine miles inland. The present increase has not been confined to Britain and Ireland, 184 STATUS CHANGES AMONG BREEDING BIRDS but IS also taking place on west European coasts from south Norway to France (see Coulson 1963). Tetn CMdonias niger. Extinct before middle of 19th century itthrough drainage of breeding haunts and extensive taking of eggs ly,A & L). Has bred once this century, in addition to the supposed Imesting at Pett Level, Sussex, in 1941 and 1942 which has since been l>questioned (dcs Forges and Harber 1963). (Gull-billed Tern Gelochelidon nilotica. The only British breeding rrecord is from Abberton Reservoir, Essex, where a pair bred in 1930, iind probably also in 1949. ^ Common Tern Sterna hirundo. Local decreases, particularly through iuma.n persecution, in 19th century, and local increases where pro- jected in 20th century (A & L). Very marked fluctuations at inany .,,0 omes, and present trends of population as a whole are uncertain, L hough a small decrease may have occurred over the last 20-30 years rn England. ^ Fairly numerous; breeds on all coasts of Britain and Ireland, but Dnly very locally in some regions (especially Wales and south-west L.ng and); also breeds inland in many Scottish counties and in a few :n Ireland and England. No recent checks have been made at most of ne Scottish and Irish colonies, and since numbers fluctuate erratically rrom colony to colony, it is impossible to ascertain present trends in .xiese two countries. In England, the sites and sizes of practically all colonies are known . nd the present (1964-66) total population can reasonably be estimated 5,500-6,000 pairs. This is certainly more than were breeding in England at the beginning of the century, before the main colonies I v-egan to^ receive protection, but it is probably somewhat lower than in 1930 s. Since the 1939-43 war, and particularly during the last ten ' - ears there has been an increasing tendency for small numbers to nest : Hand m eastern England, particularly at gravel pits. Such records have ome from twelve or more different counties from Kent to south Yorkshire and as far inland as east Staftbrd, and although several have -eterrcd to isolated pairs, the numbers at some inland sites— such as in -incoln — -are increasing. The population in Scotland (as well as the number of colonies) is wch greater than in England, and the fluctuations seem to be even colonies have been abandoned or have larkedly decreased during this century and, although others have been taoiished, the total population seems more likely to have decreased lan increased, at least over the past 20 years. Some northwards BRITISH BIRDS extension of range may have occurred, however. Venables and Venables (1955) suggested that Shetland was possibly not colonised until about 1890; numbers subsequently increased and were probably still increasing in the 1950’s, although the species was still less numerous then than the Arctic Tern paradisaea. In Ireland there has been a very marked reduction in the numbers of Common Terns nesting inland, and several large colonies have disappeared. A number of coastal sites have also been abandoned, though there is little evidence to indicate whether the present trends are towards an increase or a decrease (Ruttledge 1966). Arctic Tern Sterna paradisaea. No evidence of marked change (A & L). Has decreased markedly in Ireland during this century, but there is no evidence of widespread changes elsewhere despite local fluctuations. Fairly numerous, breeding somewhat locally around Scotland and Ireland, and more locally still in northern England and Wales (no permanent colonies south of Northumberland and Anglesey) ; very few breed inland. The standard works on the birds of Ireland make it plain that the numbers of Arctic Terns breeding both on the coasts and inland in that country are now much lower than at the beginning of the century, or even during the 1930’s; except for one colony now holding a few pairs in Fermanagh, all inland sites have been abandoned during this century. Confusion in the older records between this species and the Common Tern i". hirmdo, and the marked short-term fluctuations which have occurred at many colonies, make it difficult to assess whether any major changes have taken place in Scotland or northern England. One of the largest and best known populations is that on the Fame Islands, Northumberland, where no marked changes appear to have occurred and the species still far outnumbers the Common Tern. Numbers may currently be decreasing on Anglesey, though they are probably higher now than ever before in north-west England owing to the growth in the colony at Foulney Island, Lancashire. Farther south, although the odd pair or two nests sporadically among Common Terns (most often in Norfolk), the only permanent colonies appear to have been those in the Isles of Scilly in the last century. The Arctic Tern was then said to predominate over the Common Tern, but in this century it has been recorded breeding there only infrequently, though between 40 and 60 pairs did so in 1964. Roseate Tern Sterna dougalUi. Always local, but great decrease in first half of 19th century; marked increase in 20th century, when recolo- nised Ireland (A & L). Further increase during and after 1959-45 war, but uncertain whether this increase continues. Not scarce, but very local, being confined to about 20 colonies 186 STATUS CHANGES AMONG BREEDING BIRDS mainly on shores of Irish Sea, and in the Isles of Scilly, Northumber- land and the Firth of Forth; also breeds occasionally in west Ireland land west Scotland, though probably not at the present time. Like the other terns, it is erratic in its occupation of breeding sites, and in the . absence of complete censuses its present population and trends are I more difFicult to assess than they should be for so local a species. The i most recent year for which colony counts or estimates are most ccomplete is 1962 and, after allowing for colonies not covered in that :tyear (but which were occupied in 1961 or 1963), the total population 4tthen may be reckoned as approximately 3,500 pairs. Some estimates :vwere doubtfully based, however, and the total figure is heavily de- ' ppendent upon the accuracy of an estimate of 2,000 pairs for the main iccolony in Wexford. I Even so, the present population represents a remarkable increase issince the end of the last century, by which time the species had been rceduced almost to the point of extinction in Britain. Ireland was necolonised by a few pairs in about 1906 and the numbers of birds and jjc.olonies have since increased steadily. The Irish east coast now forms tlhe headquarters of the species in Europe. During and after the ■1:939-45 war small numbers recolonised several islands in the Clyde ir.rea of west Scotland and the Isles of Scilly, while there was a marked mcrease in the Firth of Forth and on the Fame Islands, Northuniber- .aind (see especially Sandeman 1963, Hickling 1963). Some colonies, iracluding the mam one in Wexford and several in Down, Anglesey iund west Scotland, have decreased in the last few years, though it is uncertain whether the population as a whole is also now declining. i-uittle Tern Sterna albifrons. Decreasing, especially where bungalows occupy former breeding grounds (A & L). Has continued to decrease ocally through greater human disturbance and development of the oastline. Not scarce; about 100 known colonies scattered on almost all low- . Tng coasts of Britain and Ireland (absent south-west England, south ' 7ales, and the mainland of north-west Scotland) north to the Outer Hebrides and east Sutherland. The present (1963-65) breeding popula- on in England and Whales may reasonably be estimated at about 800 iirs, the majority of which are concentrated in south-east England om Dorset to Lincoln. Information from Scotland and Ireland is >arse and incomplete, but it seems unhkely that the total population i . these two countries exceeds that of England and Wales. Few colonies lywhere have ever exceeded 100 pairs (those at Scolt Head and iakeney Point in Norfolk are the only ones known to have done so) id the great majority number less than about 30 pairs. The largest at e present time are at Blakeney Point (73 nests in 1964, but 120 as 187 BRITISH BIRDS recently as 1961), Foulness in Essex (95 nests in 1965), and one in Wexford (75-100 pairs in 1963). Following a decline at many colonies in the 19th century, numbers appear to have built up again in the early part of the 20th century, and may have reached a peak in the 1920’s or early 1930’s. Since then, except for a period of respite during the 1939-45 war when several beaches were closed to the public, they have decreased wherever the holiday industry has become more developed. There are few former breeding counties from which the species has disappeared altogether, though Glamorgan and Cardigan were deserted soon before the 1939-45 war and it has now ceased to breed annually in Yorkshire. In several former strongholds in East Anglia and south-east England, however, it has decreased or disappeared altogether in recent years and, although precise comparisons are impossible over the whole area, its numbers in several counties appear to be down to about one-half of those 30-40 years ago. Sandwich Tern Sterna sandvicensis. Always local. Decrease in 19th century, local marked increase in 20th century (A & L). Still local and erratic at many sites, but range now more extensive (colonised Shetland, Hampshire and Kerry in mid-i95o’s) and total population, though fluctuating, is probably higher than at any other time tlfls century. Not scarce, but very local, being confined to about 40 rather un- stable colonies, situated mainly on the east coast and the shores of the Irish Sea. Although the total numbers have fluctuated, they have cer- tainly generally increased during this century and are probably currently higher than ever before. The regional literature indicates a minimum total population in 1962 of about 5,400 pairs; allowing for colonies not counted in that year, the actual total may be nearer 6,000 breeding pairs. A number of counties have been colonised since about 1920, while few appear to have been abandoned completely. The bulk of the population is found in the area of the Firth of Forth and Fame Islands and in East Anglia. The main fluctuations in these regions are shown in table 6, which also demonstrates the way in wliich the main colonies may shift from one region to another. Even within the same region the site of the main colony often changes from year to year. In East Anglia, for example, the most numerous colony was at a completely difterent place in each of the five years from 1955 to 1959- The decrease that occurred in the 19th century was probably due mainly to human predation, and the increase this century probably represents a recovery to a foimer population level. This recovery has been greatly assisted by the protection of many of the breeding sites. There is some evidence to suggest that the British population decreased 188 STATUS CHANGES AMONG BREEDING BIRDS Table 6. Estimated numbers of pairs of Sandwich Terns Sterna sandvicensis in certain years since 1920 on the east and south coasts of Britain south of Fife The years selected are those for which the data are most complete and which show most clearly the fluctuations both between the different areas and in the population as a whole. The Fame Islands figure for 1920 is an interpolation (see Sandeman 1953 and Watt 1953 for fuller details of changes in the Forth-Farnes area), and the accuracy of some other figures is uncertain. Norfolk was first colonised in 1920, Suffolk not uittil 1951, and Hampshire in 1954. At the present time, Sandwich Terns also breed in six Irish counties and in Lancashire, Cumberland, Ayrshire, Shetland, Orkney, Caithness, Nairn, Aberdeen and Angus; several of these counties have been colonised since 1920, but the main population is still found in the area covered by the table Year Firth of Forth area Fame Islands East Anglia Hampshire Total south and east coast north to Fife 1920 few 1,000 1 1,000 1923 400 0 640 1,000 1932 50 2,000 820 2,900 1939 500 2,000 1,000 3,500 1946 1,500 120 1,900 3.500 1954 400 960 0 00 10 1,800 1957 400 800 1,520 80 2,800 1959 700 1,250 1,220 0.3 3,200 1962 r,i2o 1,480 1,460 37 4,100 1964 500 1,500 2,010 5 4,000 temporarily in the 1950’s. In the Netherlands, where between 30,000 and 40,000 pairs bred up till 1955, there has been a very sharp decline over the past ten years, and only 600 pairs nested in that country in ^9^5 j poisoning by pesticides has been suspected as the main cause (Anon 1966). Razorbill Aka torda. No evidence of marked widespread change; ceased to breed Sussex about 1878 (A & L). Alarked decrease in south- west England and south Wales, but apparently not elsewhere. Numerous; colonies are widely distributed round coasts of Britain and Ireland, but not between Yorkshire and the Isle of Wight, and only very locally in north-west and north-east England and on the Irish east coast. The extent of the species’ range has remained unchanged during this century. At its southernmost colonies in England and Wales there has been a marked decrease over the past 20-50 years. Recent counts at two colonies— Freshwater Clifts, Isle of Wight, which held about 1,000 birds in i937> Lundy, Devon, where there were about 10,500 pairs in 1939 — showed that by 1962 the numbers breeding at each had been reduced by about 90%. At another colony— Skokholm, Pembroke there were 800 pairs in 1928 and 670 in 1947, but only 343 in 1965. Marked decreases have also been recorded at Portland Bill in 189 BRITISH BIRDS Dorset, the few mainland colonies in Devon, the Isles of Scilly, and other islands and the mainland of Pembroke. Although the decline has been marked and widespread throughout this southern area, there is little evidence of reduced numbers elsewhere in Britain and Ireland. Indeed, on several islands in the Inner Hebrides the species has increased (Boyd 1958, Evans and Flower in press). The decrease at the southern colonies appears to have become notice- able first during the 1939-45 war and to have continued ever since. Lockley et al. (1949), Saunders (1962) and others have attributed the losses to oil pollution. But it seems possible that other factors (per- haps a change in the abundance of food) may also be responsible. Greak Auk Pinguinus impennis. Formerly bred on St. Kilda; species extinct by early 19th century due to human destruction (A & L). Guillemot \]rta aalge. No evidence of marked widespread change; ceased to nest Sussex about 1878 and Kent about 1910 owing to cliff falls (A & L). Marked decrease in southermost colonies in England and Wales during this century, and especially in the last 20-30 years, when local decreases have also been recorded elsewhere. Numerous (perhaps abundant); breeding distribution much as for Razorbill Alca torda, but usually in far larger numbers where the two occur together. There is some evidence to suggest that the Guillemot has declined rather more widely and over a longer period than has the Razorbill, though like that species the greatest decreases appear to have occurred at the southernmost colonies, particularly those on the English south coast. In Dorset, the Isles of Scilly and perhaps else- where, a decline had already become noticeable during the first two decades of this century, though it appears to have accelerated after the 1930’s. Numerical estimates from four areas give some indication of this decline. The figures are mostly very approximate, and all southern colonies did not necessarily decrease to the same extent. Except for the Isle of Wight (Freshwater Cliffs) the figures relate to the numbers of pairs, not birds; Isle of Wight 1937: 3,000 1946: 1,200 1962; 80 Purbeck, Dorset 1932: 3,000 1948; 500 1962: (< 250) Lundy, Devon 1939: 19,000 1951: 5,000 1962: < 3,000 Skokholm, Pembroke 1937: 220 1947: 1 10 1963: 60 Particularly in the period during and si nee the 1 9 3 9-4 ^ war, diminished numbers have been recorded at several colonies from Pembroke north to the Hebrides in the west, and in the Flamborough Head region of Yorkshire in the east. At some the decreases are thought to have been only temporary, due possibly to excessive oil pollution at sea during the war, but at others, such as on certain of the Inner Hebrides, the 190 STATUS CHANGES AMONG BREEDING BIRDS decreases may be part of a longer trend and appear still to be continuing. Numbers are also believed to have declined in Ireland over the past 20 years (Ruttledge 1966), but there is little evidence on this point. On the other hand, at many Scottish colonies the numbers are known, or thought, not to have changed significantly. Among the many huge colonies in Shetland, Venables and Venables (1955) knew of only one obviously decreasing colony, and that was at Noss where Gannets Sula hassana were spreading and occupying the Guillemots’ nesting ledges. On the Isle of May, Fife, several estimates of breeding numbers between 1921 and 1955 showed that little general change had occurred (Eggel- jng 1955)- Many thousands of Guillemots are killed by oil pollution every year, ; and it seems probable that this has been the main cause of the decline I in the south. Yet this may have begun in the last century, for apart from I the desertion of the chalk-clift' sites in Kent and Sussex the species also (decreased and then disappeared from similar sites on the French side of the English Channel. More recently it has decreased in Brittany. At : least locally, the decreases in Britain have been attributed partly to increased predation by the larger gulls luirus spp. Though there is little ; evidence on this point, it also seems possible that changes in fish (abundance and distribution have occurred, perhaps in association with the warming of the sea during the present century. IBlack Guillemot Cepphus grylle. Widespread decrease and extinct in tformer parts of range on coasts of Yorkshire, east Scotland and north 'Wales; cause unknown (A & L). No evidence of marked change within ■main breeding range, but is increasing in the Irish Sea area where several rnew colonies have been established. Fairly numerous; breeds on almost all coasts of Ireland and Scot- land (but not on east coast south of Caithness), also in Isle of Man and (a few pairs only) in Anglesey and at St. Bees Head, Cumberland. A pair bred in Yorkshire in 1958, once ‘recently’ in Kincardine (Baxter and Rintoul 1953), and one to three pairs have done so in Anglesey since about 1962, but otherwise the few former, small and ver}^ isolated colonies mentioned by Alexander and Lack have remained untenanted -since about the middle of the 19th century, or in some cases earlier. Apart from the colonisation of Anglesey, Black Guillemots have also increased elsewhere in the Irish Sea area this century, most markedly ' on the east coast of Ireland where several new breeding colonies have been established, often in holes on piers and in old harbour walls, but also in natural sites. The increase and spread in this region appears to be continuing. On the Caernan^on coast birds have been present in recent summers at three places, but breeding has not been proved, while at St. Bees Head up to three pairs have bred since 1940 or BRITISH BIRDS earlier. On the Isle of Man, however, numbers may have decreased slightly during this century (Slinn 1965). Within the main breeding range— in west and north Scotland and Ireland — there is little evidence that any changes have occurred, other than purely local fluctuations. Puffin Fratercula arctica. Great decrease in some colonies in southern part of range; ceased nesting on cliffs of Kent early in 19th century (A & L). Continued marked decrease at many colonies, especially in south and west, but little change (and locally even some increase) at some in north and north-east. Abundant; breeding colonies distributed mainly on western islands and coasts from Scilly north to Shetland, and only locally on east and south coasts (none between Yorkshire and Isle of Wight). A number of once large colonies, ranging from the Isle of Wight and the Isles of Scilly north to Lundy, Pembroke, north Wales, Ayr (Ailsa Craig) and the Outer Hebrides (Haskeir Rocks, North Uist), have been abandoned or reduced to negligible proportions during this century. Including those colonies that were similarly reduced in the 19th century, it is clear that the numbers of Puffins breeding in western Britain (and prob- ably also Ireland, where a general decrease is recorded after 1925) must have decreased enormously over the last 100 years. The decline appears to have been most marked and widespread in the southern part of this area, where the greatest reductions probably occurred between about 1920 and 1950. Among the several colonies which are now extinct (or virtually so) or which contain only tens or hundreds of birds, instead of thousands or tens of thousands (if not actually the ‘hundreds of thousands’ that were claimed for some) at the turn of the century, may be mentioned: Annet, Isles of Scilly (100,000 birds 1908 ; under 100 pairs now), Lundy (‘incredible numbers’ 1890; 3,500 pairs 1939; 93 pairs 1962), St. Tudwal’s Islands, Caernar- von (‘hundreds of thousands’ 1902-07; ‘thousands’ 1935 ; none 1951 nor since), Ailsa Craig (‘huge numbers’ 1871; now probably extinct), and Haskeir Rocks (‘innumerable’ 1881; under 50 pairs 1953). The acci- dental introduction of Brown Rats Fattus norvegicus was almost certainly the cause of the decline or extinction at some of these island colonies, while at others oil pollution and perhaps increased predation by Great Black-backed Gulls Fanis marinus may also be to blame (Lockley 1953, Thearle et al. 1953). A further possible reason for the decline of these more southerly populations is that there has been a reduction in the abundance of food, perhaps owing to climatic amelioration (see Lockley 1953). Recent evidence suggests that many colonies, including those on the Pembroke coast and islands, in the Isle of Man, the Inner Hebrides and parts of Ireland, arc still decreasing, although a few, such as those 192 STATUS CHANGES AMONG BREEDING BIRDS 1. n the Isles of Scilly and on Great Saltee, Wexford, may now be {maintaining their numbers — but at a very low level. In contrast with ithc decreasing trend in tlhs area, there is little evidence of any marked .. ;hanges in the extreme north and north-east of the British range during his century. Indeed, on Fair Isle and at several other colonies in Shet- .^nd the species has probably increased, and may still be doing so •Venables and Venables 1955, Davis 1965). It is certainly currently mcreasing on islands in the Firth of Forth, perhaps also on the Fame >slands, Northumberland, while there is little evidence of any changes m the Flamborough Head region, Yorkshire. Shortage of space 'ffrohibits discussion of the histories of several other colonies. But no icccount of the Puffin in Britain would be complete without mentioning hhe largest colony of all — that on St. Kilda, where the species is so numerous that no satisfactory estimate of its numbers (or fluctations) uas yet been made. The effects — if any — of the former intensive human persecution and the recent heavy gull predation are unknown (Lockley >95 3, Williamson and Boyd i960). *3een reached in several areas. By the early 1940’s, perhaps associated with a series of cold winters, decreased numbers were noted in some [■counties south of mid Wales, central England and East Anglia; I particularly in some western areas the species has never again attained I t he high population level of the 1930’s. Following the hard winter of U947 there were reports of further decreases, particularly in counties along the Welsh border, but also as far north as Westmorland. In RRadnor, although individuals have been recorded, there has been no pertain breeding since 1946, but there appear to be no other counties :rom which the species has disappeared altogether. Then, in the period between about 1955 and 1962, many counties, Jicluding several in south-east England where the Little Owl popula- 199 BRITISH BIRDS tion was probably still at an optimum, reported marked and quite sudden decreases. In one area of Essex where 28 pairs nested success- fully in 1950, only seven did so in 1961, five in 1962 and two in 1963 • (M. Meadows in Essex Bird Report). Few comparative figures are avail- able from elsewhere, but the decrease at this time appears to have been fairly general, and perhaps similarly severe, over practically the whole of England and Wales, the winter of 1963 evidently causing a further reduction. There is some evidence (for 1965) of a gradual recovery in numbers in parts of central and south-east England. The dechne beginning in the early 1940’s appears to have been partly connected with a succession of severe winters, though it seems possible that it would have occurred in any case since in many areas the initial expansion was already petering out. The more recent severe decline | has an unknown cause. Like that of the Barn Owl Tjioa/ha, the Sparrow- hawk A.ccipiter nisus and several other birds of prey, it appears to date from about 1955 or 1956 and has been attributed to the effects of : pesticides. I Tawny Owl Strix aluco. Decline in 19th century due to human persecution; increase in 20th century, particularly noted in southern Scotland (A & L). General increase this century, continuing in some areas until 1950 or later; no evidence of marked changes in recent years. Numerous; widely distributed throughout mainland Britain, but entirely absent from Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Northern Isles and many of the Hebrides. A general increase over much of England, Wales and southern Scotland took place between about 1900 and 1930. It continued until 1950 or later in some counties in south Wales (Ingram and Salmon 1954, 1957), in Lancashire (Oakes 1953) and Suffolk (Payn 1962), and probably in several other counties from Hampshire north to Cumberland and Northumberland, as well as into Scotland. In most parts of Britain numbers appear to have remained largely unchanged in recent years. They may decrease somewhat (and certainly fewer breed) in years of low density of small rodents, and recorded declines in parts of southern England and Wales in 195 5, 1958 and 1962 were probably due to this cause. Other recent but small decreases were reported to Prestt (1965) or are contained in the local literature. These involve places scattered fairly widely over Britain north to west Ross; nearly all concern very localised areas and only slight and probably temporarily reduced numbers, and their significance is believed to be unimportant. On the Continent, for example in Finland which was colonised in the late 19th century and where a considerable expansion occurred in the 1920’s and 1930’s, the Tawny Owl has tended to increase its range northwards during this century (Kalela 1949, Merikallio 1938). 200 I A. Kestrel Fa/fo //>;«////f///OT hovering, Cornwall, August 1966 (/. B. S. Bof/omlej) IB. Gannet S/i/a bassana, Bass Rock, June 1964 (D. ^l. T.Ettlinger) (pages 203-204) Pi, ATE 22. I lobby V'alco snbhu/eo with young, Surrey, yVugust 1966(7. A. II Jones) Ideate 23. Male Kestrel Falco tiimimciiliis, Denbigh, June 1966 (D. .r- Buzzard Jiuteo buteo and young, Sutherland, May 1964 (R. H. Hallam) Male Hen Harrier Circus cyaneiis, Norway, June 1966 (A. N. H. Peach) I J Plate z6a. House Martin Delichon urbica with young, Essex, June 1966 (C P. Kose) Plate 26B. Kittiwake Kissa mdactyla drinking, Pembroke, March 1 964 (C. i" tockton) E 2 7 A . Dunnock Prunella modiilaris, Glamorgan, February 1966 {Harolef Edwin GrenJtU} TE 27B. Blackbird T nrdns menda wkh whkc female, Ayr, May 1965 'ATE \ Plate 28 a. Marsh Sandpiper Tringa s/agnatilis, Tanzania, October 1965 (/. F. Reynolds) Plate zSb. Mass of Sanderlings Calidris alba, Dunlins C. alpha, Knots C. canutus eixA Turnstones Arenaria inlerpres on Plilbre, Cheshire, September 1966 {Maurice R. Tibbies) STATUS CHANGES AMONG BREEDING BIRDS ILong. eared Owl Asw otus. Has decreased in parts of England prob- ably through human persecution, and increased in many parts of 'Scotland with spread of plantations (A & L). Very marked decline :^roughout practically the whole of England, Wales and probably ssouthern Scotland, though not certainly in northern Scotland and doubt- rfully in Ireland. ^ Not scarce; distributed thinly but widely over much of Ireland, >>cotland (not Outer Hebrides, only irregularly in Shetland) and north Ibngland, but only very locally farther south in England and Wales. Although obviously much overlooked, this species has clearly suffered u marked decline during the present century over practically the whole o ritam north to south-west Scotland. The decrease appears to have oegun around the turn of the century— particularly in Wales and the ■ outhern half of England — ^and to have continued steadily ever since, rn many counties the species had already become scarce by the 1930’s i:.nd in several of these where it was formerly regarded as not uncom- mon It has since disappeared altogether or been reduced to the odd pair 'or two. Practically no county in this area appears to have escaped the idechne. ^ Areas farther north appear to have been affected rather later, though )oy the 1950’s a marked decrease had been recorded in virtually all ■ ounties in northern England. In Yorkshire, for example, the popula- ) ; on appears to have been more or less maintained up until about 1937 I .--ut then decreased rapidly (Chislett 195a). Tyer (1954) noted that the ’foecies had become rare and almost completely displaced by the Tawny wl Strix aluco in part of north Northumberland, and Stokoe (1962) .ported a similar state of affairs in the Lakeland counties where a learch in 1958 of former haunts on peat mosses revealed only Tawny ')wls. ^ ^ Baxter and Rintoul (1953) mentioned several instances of diminished umbers in various parts of Scotland, including Wigtown where the decrease was attributed to competition with Tawny Owls. Since the ' become much scarcer in Ayr and Kirk- . idbright, and they are also currently believed to be decreasing in east 'iverness. It is uncertain, however, whether the species has declined generally in Scotland, for its status in many of the now mature new JOifer plantations is not known. At least locally, such as on Bute and >me of the Inner Hebrides, it is believed to have increased. Some crease with the spread of conifer plantations has also been recorded in eland, where there is little evidence of any general decline. Jespersen (1946) noted an apparent decrease in parts of Denmark though locally it had spread with the growth of new conifer forests’ attorn (1958) recorded a general increase and spread in Norway. The use of the decline in Britain is not known, though it seems possible 201 BRITISH BIRDS that interspecific competition with Tawny Owls (which have undoubt- ably increased) may have contributed. In this connection, it is of interest that no great changes appear to have occurred in Ireland, where there are no Tawny Owls. One of the few places in southern England where the Long-eared Owl is still locally common is the Lydd area of south Kent; it may not be coincidence that, until the first pair arrived in 1965, Tawny Owls were unknown there too. Short-eared Owl Asio flam mens. No evidence of widespread change; marked fluctuations, correlated with numbers of voles (A & L). Somewhat increased in parts of central and north Wales, Yorkshire and Scotland (mainly in newly afforested areas) and a few pairs have recently colonised certain coastal areas in south-east England; perhaps a slight general increase, but evidence uncertain. Not scarce; breeds regularly in three or four counties of central and north Wales, and in most from mid Lancashire and mid Yorkshire north to Orkney (not Outer Hebrides); also, very locally, in East Anglia and south-east England, and occasionally or sporadically else- where, including at least once (in 1959) in Ireland. The erratic breeding and marked short-term fluctuations of this species make it difficult to assess long-term changes, but the evidence suggests that no decline and perhaps some increase has occurred. Although Short-eared Owls have bred occasionally in the past in East Anglia and southern England, the regular nesting of a few pairs since the early or mid-i95o’s in coastal areas of north Kent, Essex and Suffolk is a new feature. A few pairs have also bred regularly in Breck- land since about 1947, and fairly regularly in Norfolk over a rather longer period. In Wales the species has undoubtably increased in the centre and north of the country as the result of recent afforestation (Condry i960), while in Yorkshire, where it formerly bred only occasionally, it has also become a regular breeder since the 1940 s (Chislett 1952, Local Reports). In Scotland, apart from marked population fluctuations associated with the abundance of Short-tailed Voles Microtus agrestris (e.g. Lockie 1955), no widespread changes are recorded. Locally, it has benefited from the planting of new conifer forests, which it occupies in the early stages of growth, for example in Ayrshire where it did not become established until the 1940’s (Richards 1965) and in Sutherland where it is believed to be currently increasing (Pennie 1962). An earlier increase in Orkney was believed to be due to protection (Lack 1942-43). The species colonised Iceland in the 1920’s and thereafter increased rapidly (Gudmundsson 1951), but few marked changes appear to have occurred on the continent of western Europe. (To be continued in the July issue) 202 More examples of the best recent work by British bird-photographers (Plates 21-28) ' HIS IS THE EIGHTH annual selection of the best contemporary ork by British bird-photographers. The final choice was particularly i fficult this year because it had to be made from a preliminary selection I no less than 67 prints of a comparably high standard. It is sad that \e have room for only 13 of them here. 'In making our selection we have once again tended to give some Reference to photographs of species which have not previously ap- pared in the series and also to ones by new or less well-known photo- traphers. Indeed, the final choice includes photographs by four people f-hose work has not been featured before. The first of these is the I obby ¥alco suhhuteo with young by J. A. W. Jones (plate 22); owing to ^ p rarity and habit of nesting in high trees, this species has not been p lotographed in Britain on more than half a dozen occasions, but Mr. ■ >nes took the opportunity of obtaining a long series from when the >.'ung were small until they were almost ready to leave the nest. Then c; have the Dunnock 'Prunella modularis by Harold Edwin Grenfell .late 27a); this common species has rarely been photographed well f cause of its unobtrusive habits and this is, in fact, the first time that it ^s appeared in the series. The Marsh Sandpiper Tringa stagnatilis iate 28a), showing the characteristic long legs and slender build, was -cen in Tanzania and it was only the fact that J. F. Reynolds has been ; . leave in this country that enabled us to see this photograph and ■tain a print; we hope that he will continue to make good use of his 'nera in Africa and let us see some of his results. The mass of rnderlmgs Calidris alba, Dunlins C. alptna, Knots C. canutus and Turn- I mes Arenarta inferpres (plate 28b) was photographed by Maurice bbles at that well-known resort of wader-photographers, Hilbre iand in the Cheshire Dee; more and more photographs of this kind ' : now being taken, but few reach this standard and it is not easy to . four species in one. The size reduction involved in showing so •ny birds on our width of page means that the reproduction of '.ssed wader photographs does not always do justice to the original uch, in this case, is quite outstanding. We hope that these four otographs will encourage other new photographers to submit ex- ples of their work in future years. ^^Imost half the photographs are of hawks and owls. Yet in i960 and :>2 the series included only one and two respectively, and in 1961 none ■ill. Perhaps this reflects the increasing interest in birds of prey at a le when the numbers of several species have been so badly aflected 203 BRITISH BIRDS by toxic chemicals, persecution and other factors. We have already mentioned J. A. W. Jones’s Hobby. Of the others, the male Kestrel Valeo tinnnnculus by Dr. D. A. P. Cooke (plate 23) is outstanding in two respects : the depth of focus necessary to cover the distance between the perched bird on the ledge and the eggs inside the hole; and the fact that the ‘nervous’ male does not visit the eggs nearly as often as the female. Another male which is seldom photographed at the nest is the Hen Harrier Circus ejaneus, but Dr. A. N. H. Peach has secured an excellent portrait (plate 24b). Many bird-photographers have attempted to photograph hovering Kestrels, but we do not think that anybody else has succeeded as well as have Mr. and Mrs. J. B. Bottomley (plate 2 1 a); such a result was not achieved easily, but only after three days of careful observation and planning. R.. H. Hallam’s Buz2ard Buteo huteo and young (plate 24a) has everything that a good portrait should have; the birds themselves are sharp and clear, and the nest and surroundings combine to form a pleasing composition. Owls generally make attrac- tive photographs and the Tengmalm’s Owl Aegolius funereus by Dr. K. J. Carlson (plate 25) is no exception; this was taken by flash in the short arctic night. Contrast is provided by William S. Baton’s photograph of a male Blackbird Turdus merula with an albino female (plate 27b). C. P. Rose has done well to get such a fine picture of a House Martin Delichon urbica (plate 26a) since the nesting sites of this species under the eaves of houses are difficult to work. Carl Stockton has obtained a number of unusual photographs over the past few years and one of his pair of Kittiwakes Rissa tridactjla (plate 26b) is drinking drops of water as they roll down the rock. Finally, we have D. M. T. Ettlinger’s unusual flight study of a Gannet Sida hassana peering at him as it soars by on almost the same level (plate 21b). It is doubtful whether such a representative selection of photographs would have been possible without the help of the Zoological Photo- graphic Society, the Nature Photographic Society and the Nature Photographers’ Portfolio Society, and we are particularly grateful to the secretaries of these organisations for so kindly recommending photo- graphs to us. We are also indebted to the photographers themselves for their enthusiasm and collaboration. Three of them, for example, sent us several prints of the same subject so that we could pick out the one which would make the best reproduction. Our sorrow has been to have to return unused such a large number of excellent photographs, but we do hope that will not prevent those concerned from submitting their work to us another year. Eric Hosking 204 I Birds in Ireland during 1963-65 Bj D. I. M. Wal/ace f HE MORE SIGNIFICANT (observations on Irish birds during the iMars 1960-62 were reviewed in January 1964 by D. G. Andrew I'p'r/V. Birds, 57: i-io). The information that he summarised came mainly jiom the h ish Bird Beports which have continued to appear promptly 1 Pider the expert hand of Major R. F. Ruttledge. The present paper j ttempts to repeat the task for the following three-year period of 1963- b . In some ways, the publication in 1966 of Major Ruttledge’s I inland s Birds has made the summary of recent events easier and shorter, ( nt I have tried to avoid mere duplication by maintaining the method of I L\;atment used in the earlier paper. I ID. G. Andrew began his review by drawing attention to the un- ( rrtunate situation which developed in i960 concerning the submission I Irish rarity records to the Rarities Committee. Although the vetting I such observations remains strictly a national matter, most important ( chords are supported by full details and there is ample evidence I ait expert international opinion is invariably obtained for rare or ( f-hcult species. Furthermore, in the cases of all species covered by the Icrities Committee in their 1964 and 1965 Reports {BriL Birds, 58: ' 59- Major Ruttledge gave much help to I. J. I rrguson-Lees and myself in our efforts to secure the simultaneous 1 .“ntion of all relevant Irish rarities. A compromise has thus been I i.-<:hed and Ae total spectrum of rarities in Britain and Ireland is once I aiin visible in one publication. BREEDING AND SCMMERING BIRDS !-.e tiny breeding population of the Red-throated Diver Gavia stellafa l i nages to persist; there were single pairs at two Co. Donegal waters < 11963-64 and breeding continued in 1965. A census of Great Crested I -ebes Podiceps cristatus on Northern Irish waters in the early summer ^ ^9^5 gRve a total of about 680 birds, of which over 500 were in the ugh Neagh basin; this is the acknowledged stronghold of the cies, which remains scarce and ven* local in the south. The Black- ked Grebe P. nigricollis has apparently ceased to breed. . The upsurge in seabird observations in Ireland has provided more Kmation on tubenose populations. Thus the large numbers of •rm Petrels Plydrohates pelagicus and Manx Shearwaters Puffinus puffinus No. 12, 1964 f43 pages]; No. 13, 1965 [40 pages], ted by Major R. F. Ruttledge. Published by the Irish Ornithologists’ Club, 'ues obtainable from the Honorary Secretary, J. R. Dick, c'o 45 Kildare et, Dublin. 4s. 3d. each Jincluding postage]. 205 BRITISH BIRDS breeding on Great Skellig, Co. Kerry, are now defined at about 4,000 and about 3,000 pairs respectively. Observations in August 1965 indi- cated that I.each’s Petrels Oceanodroma lencorhoa were also visiting this huge seabird station. The Gannet Sula bassana colony on Great Saltee, Co. Wexford, has increased since 1962; up to 500 adults were seen on the nesting cliff in May 1964 and there were at least 150 young in mid- July. With thirteen records in 1963-65, the Garganey A-tias qmrquedida is no longer a rare vagrant, but there has been no evidence of breeding since 1959. Another duck that continues to nest very rarely is the Gadwall A. strepera, young being seen (in Co. Donegal) only in 1964. A further marked increase in the population of the Eider Somateria mollissima in Co. Donegal was noted in 1964, but on the debit side it appears that the Common Scoter Melanitta nigra is losing ground in Co. Mayo. June, July or August records of Whooper Swans Cjgnus cygnus in northern and north-western Ireland were annual in 1963-65; they totalled twelve and featured up to five birds in a group. Information on breeding raptors is rather sparse, perhaps purposely so for Ireland is still popular with egg-collectors. The Golden Eagle Aquila chrjsaetos has not returned to Co. Antrim since i960 and it now appears that the Buzzard Bufeo huteo has also ceased to breed there. The Hen Harrier Circus cjaneus presents a better face with breeding known in six counties in 1963. As in Britain and many other parts of Europe, the numbers of Quail Coturnix coturnix in 1964 were above normal. In the same year, too, Corncrakes Crex crex were noted in unusually great numbers in the western regions. As persistent as the Red- throated Divers already mentioned, the Red-necked Phalaropes Phalaropus lohatus that breed in Co. Mayo survive, but the population remains around two pairs; how- ever, there were June and July records for another west coast locality in 1964-65. With the spread of the larger gulls a growing international concern, it is depressing to note that the number of Great Black-backcd Gulls Carus marimis nesting on Little Saltee, Co. Wexford, in 1963 was, at 200 pairs, four times the figure for 1934 quoted in The Birds of Ireland (1954) by P. G. Kennedy, R. F. Ruttledgc and C. F. Scroope. The tirceding populations of terns Sterna spp. continue to fluctuate, but each year has produced some encouraging discoveries; for instance, an exceptionally large colony of 75-100 pairs of Little Terns S. albifrons was found in Co. Wexford in 1963. A dock of 86 ‘pure wild’ Rock Doves Columba livia in Co. Kerry warrants mention in 1965 and inexorably the Collared Dove Streptopelia decaocto continues to fill in the map of Ireland. In general, the breeding status of non-passerines seems fairly bal- anced, the few losses being already marginal species. It is to be noted. 206 V I BIRDS IN IRELAND DURING I963-65 j Aowever, that an Irish Wildfowl Committee has been formed to I promote, among other things, the conservation of wetland habitats I MOW fast shrinking in Ireland as elsewhere in Europe. , Turning to passerines, it is sad to note that the Redstart Phoenicurus ^^hoenkurus has once again ceased to breed. Conversely, the Blackcap k^ylvia atricapilla seems to be extending from its previously restricted Mange, particularly in Co. Down. The Yellow Wagtail Motacilla flava maintains its foothold, with one or two pairs of flavissima in Co. Wicklow in 1963-65 and one pair oi flava in Co. Kerry in 1965. The iitarling Sturnus vulparis is continuing to widen its distribution along hhe south-western seaboard, breeding for the first time on Achill ssland, Co. Mayo, in 1965. Although present in Co. Wicklow during rtie breeding season in 1963-64, Crossbills Loxia curvirostra have not ween proved to nest in Ireland in recent years. The explosive increase m the distribution of the Tree Sparrow Passer montanus, first noted in 5961, continued in 1963-65 and the species is now widespread in Ireland. WINTER VISITORS It is clear that Ireland’s importance as a wintering resort for both com- mon and unusual birds is as great as ever. The winters of 1963/64 and 1964/65 are stated to have produced more Slavonian Grebes Podkeps ■ ut 'itus than for five years, though a closer look at the given dates per- i.iaps indicates more passage occurrences. No doubt products of the treat freeze of early 1963, four Bitterns Botaurus stellaris were recorded •mtween 6th January and 30th March that year. One or two Spoonbills '"lataka kucorodia were seen in all three winters. \\ ildfowl records indicate that the wintering populations of some p:>ecies are increasing. On 12th December 1965, totals of 30,445 Tufted ))ucks Ajthjafidigtda and 28,161 Pochard A.ferina were counted in the ■ough Neagh basin; these numbers are respectively 8,555 and 14,161 lore than the previous highest in i960. Lough Neagh also produced the imiarkable figure of 1,000 Scaup A. marila on 14th March 1965 ; this lust surely be the biggest inland flock ever recorded. Velvet Scoters lelaui tta fusca remain scarce at any season and records of true wintering 1 the 1 963-65 Reports number only about eight, though later comment \ Ireland’s Birds suggests that up to 20 were present off the Co. Dublin last in November 1963; unfortunately, the shellfish populations in lat area were greatly reduced later in the 1963/64 winter. Loss of ■eding grounds is also aftecting Common Scoters in a number of laces, notably at I.ough Foyle, Co. Derry; pack sizes have noticeably ecreased. Smews Alergns albellus and Goosanders Al. merganser remain ire, but Lough Neagh provided annual records of the former in 1963-65 . Grey Lag Geese Anser anser show no sign of regaining their former 207 BRITISH BIRDS numbers, the largest flock being 140 in Co. Wicklow in 1964, and Pink-footed Geese Anser fabalis hrachyrhynchus are as ever rare. No Bean Geese Anser f. fabalis have been seen since i960. The common grey- goose of Ireland, the Greenland Whitefront A. albifrons flavirostris, is now the object of specific conservation measures; the flock on the Wexford slobs contained 7,060 birds on 15 th November 1964 and autumn arrivals were noted as early as 3rd August in 1963. The population of Brent Geese Crania bernicJa appears to have decreased from the peak of i960 and 1961, but at over 7,000 in November 1965 was still higher than in 1956. A survey of Barnacle Geese B. leucopsis in the spring of 1962 (not covered in that year’s report) gave a figure of 4,400; 1963 records indicated a further increase, but 1964-65 counts were lower. The Whooper Swan continues to overtake the Bewick’s Swan Cygnus bemckti. Spotted Redshanks Tringa erythropus are now following the example of the Black-tailed Godwit Limosa limosa and becoming rarely but regularly seen in winter (and much more commonly on passage). Ruffs Philomachus pugnax, too, are more often seen in winter; a flock of 20 was present on the South Slob, Co. Wexford, on 25 th December 1965. There is even some evidence to show that Curlew Sandpipers Calidris ferrnginea may winter; one or two have been seen at five localities in mid-winter in 1962/63, 1964/65 and 1965/66. Conversely, the small number of Avocets Recnrvirostra avosetta wintering in Co. Cork collapsed to one in 1964/65 and, very surprisingly in view of their changed status in England, there is as yet no evidence of an increase in wintering Lesser Black-Backed Gulls Rarus fusciis. 1964 produced the fourth Irish record of Shore Larks Erewophila alpestris, two on 9th February at Tacumshin Lake, Co. Wexford; there is an obvious parallel with that species’ prominence in Britain in the same winter. Reading between the lines, it is clear that a considerable number of Blackcaps Sylvia atricapilla now winter in Ireland, but Chiftchaffs Phylloscopus collybita are either overlooked or remain rare. Evidently decreasing as a wintering bird is the Black Redstart Phoeni- citrus ochrnros, there being no records for Co. Dublin in 1 964/6 s . A male Redstart was seen at Oysterhaven, Co. Cork, on 19th December 1965. Records of the irruptive Waxwing Bombycilla garrnlus were as low as six in 1963, but the 1965/66 winter saw a reflection in Ireland ot the unprecedented invasion throughout Europe. The peak arrival was between 18th and 28th November and the birds reached practically every county and all western coastal areas; most flocks contained under 20 birds, but one of 300 was recorded. Although regular on passage, the J.apland Bunting Calcarins lapponicus still has not been recorded in winter, even in 1963 when Snow Buntings Plecfropbenax nivalis were unusually common in the south. 208 birds in IRELAND DURING I963-65 AMERICANBIRDS the western bulwark to our island group, Ireland may be expected •lO stop a lot of American birds. It is therefore not surprising that 1963- i'5 provided records of about 55 individuals of 19 species or forms, I lade up of a heron, two geese, three ducks, ten waders, a cuckoo and vwo passerines. Considering the comparatively small number of observers that strive so manfully to cover Ireland, one’s mind boggles !t the thought of how many American birds actually occur. of all was the Pectoral Sandpiper Calidris mlanofos. ^dneteen were seen during the three-year period and it is interesting to lOte that of a grand total of four spring records, three have been since <--963. The records of the other species were as follows: janerican Bittern holaurm lentiginosus . Lough Corrib, Co. Galway, i6th December ^>64. lanada Goose Branta canadensis. Single birds belonging to one of the smaller races corth Slob, Co. Wexford. i6th March 1964 and 26th December 1963. wow Goose Anser caerulescens. South Slob, Co. Wexford, loth and probably 28th 'Ovember 1965. rceen-winged Teal Anas crecca carolinensis. Between Blenner^dlle and Annagh ! iand, Co. Kerry, 19th January 1964. nmerican Wigeon Anas americana. Strangford Lough, Co. Down, 31st January ) 63 ; 1 rawbreaga Bay, Co. Donegal, 26th September 1964. wng-necked Duck Ajthya coUaris. Lurgan Park, Co. Armagh, October and tovember 1963, October to December 1964, and November 1965. All records irnccrn an adult drake and it seems certain that it was the same individual that was •Jgmally reported at that locality on 20th March i960 (Bri/. Birds, 54: 72-73). Ksser Golden Plover Bluvialis dominica. Ballyheigue Strand and Akeagh Lough ;•). Kerry, 13th to 22nd September 1963. ' ’ western Sandpiper Calidris mauri. Akeagh Lough, Co. Kerry, 17th to 23rd pptember 1961. The second Irish record, delayed pending expert confirmation, sast Sandpiper Calidris minntilla. Toome sandpits. Lough Neagh, Co. Derrv, •th August 1963; Akeagh Lough, Co. Kerry, 13th August 1963. The first Irish :cords. hlut^rumped Sandpiper Calidris fuscicollis. Trabeg, near Dingle, Co Kerry 'rh October 1963; Duncme Street Marsh, Belfast, Co. Antrim,' 13th and i6th tober 1963; Akeagh Lough, Co. Kerry, 20th September 1964; Akeagh Lough . Kerry, 28th February to 14th March 1963. ' ’ nff-breasted Sandpiper Tryngites submficollis. Two, Tory Island, Co. Donegal 1 and 9th and another 13th September 1963 ; Duncruc Street Marsh, Belfast Co! itnm, i8th September 1963. < on-Wx\\cdUoxvhchcvUmnodromnsgriseus. Lough Funshinagh, Co. Roscommon to loth October 1963; Rahasanc Furlough, Co. Galway, four 2nd, three 3th’ loth and two 20th October 1963. ’ rng-billed Dowitcher Limnodromus scolopaceus. Lough Beg, Co. Derry 2nd to h October 1963; Akeagh Lough, Co. Kerry, 26th and 27th September 1963. Iringa melanoleuca. Tory Island, Co. Donegal, 3th October ■)4- I nis brings the number of Irish records to six. 209 BRITISH BIRDS Lesser Yellowlegs Tringa flavipes. South Slob, Co. Wexford, 19th September 1963; Tacumshin, Co. Wexford, iith to 13th September 1964; Swords estuary, Co. Dublin, 25th October to loth December 1964; Tacrunshin Lake, Co. Wexford, 8th May 1965. These bring the total of published Irish records to five, but I under- stand that, in fact, the number is eight (O. J. Merne in lill.). Yellow-billed Cuckoo Coccyt(us americanus. Keel, Achill Island, and Owenduff, Curraun, Co. Mayo, 30th September and ist October 1964. Perhaps two birds. American Robin Turdus migraiorius. Off Skelligs, Co. Kerry, 28th January 1965. The sixth Irish record and of especial interest ; the bird made a brief stop on board a trawler during a west-to-east weather movement of Redwings T. iliacus. Tanager Piranga sp. Copeland Bird Observatory, Co. Down, 12th October 1963. Although recorded as a Scarlet Tanager P. olivacea, the description does not apparently exclude the possibility that it was a Summer Tanager P. rubra. PASSAGE MIGRANTS AND EASTERN VAGRANTS The over-shooting of Little Bitterns Ixobrjchus m'mutus into Britain in the spring of 1 964 (Brit. Birds j 58:356-357) was reflected in Co. Wexford in early May. The Little Gull Larus minutus has continued to appear regularly and in all months, so that it can hardly be classed as a vagrant much longer; furthermore, a closer look at its occurrence pattern indicates that passage in May and September is responsible for over 40% of recent records. Hoopoes Upupa epops and Golden Orioles Oriolus oriolus continued to be recorded annually; between 28th March and 8th April 1965 Ireland received its biggest recorded influx of Hoopoes and at least 42 were noted, mainly in Co. Cork and Co. Wexford. To exemplify the many contrasts between the Irish and British avifaunas, one may compare the status of the Hoopoe with that of the Great Spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopos major, recorded under 60 times altogether and not at all in 1964-65. Cape Clear Bird Observa- tory produced three Wrynecks jjnx torqidlla in 1963-64 and yet there were only nine Irish records of this species before the founding of bird observatories in Ireland. A Woodlark l^uUula arborea at Cape Clear on 2nd September 1965 was only the eighth since 1927. Carrion Crows Corvus corone continue to be noted frequently, particularly in the north-east; as pointed out by D. G. Andrew, these birds are likely to be the forerunners of an even- tually resident population. A few more movements of tits were recorded, notably of Blue Tits Paras caerukus at Malin Head in October 1964. A Nightingale Luscinia megarhjnchos on Great Saltee on 1st May 1963 was apparently only the eleventh for Ireland (and is not listed in Ireland’s Birds). A note in the 1963 Report results in the deletion of the record of a Marsh Warbler Acrocephalus palus/ris from Cape Clear in 1962; this species has yet to be definitely identified in Ireland. The two ‘green-and-yellow’ Hippolais have become remarkably regular vagrants. With most records coming from Cape Clear, 1963-65 produced no less than 22 generic identifications, of which eight were 210 BIRDS IN IRELAND DURING 1965-65 |(:Ielodious Warblers H. poljglotta and nine Icterine Warblers H. t ierma. With the British records of these species once more sadly dis- jtersed in local reports, no direct comparison is easily possible, but , .early the occurrences of Hippolais in Ireland, Scilly and on the eastern ( ^aboard of the Irish Sea merit combined analysis. The three years produced only one Lesser Whitethroat Sjlvia ciirruca 1 1 . spring and, in contrast to its mounting prominence in England in j itumn, this species remains scarce then too. Ireland’s run of Greenish { ^arblers Phylloscopm trochi hides continues: a total of four in 1964-65 I r ings the grand total to nine, all since 1952. Conversely, the three I ...ars produced only one Yellow-browed \X arbler P. itiornatus. I 'Shrike records in 1963-65 were limited to si.x Red-backed Shrikes k .wius collurio and one \X oodchat P. senator. Although January and \ ^-ecember are the months in which the Great Grey Shrike L. excubitor j iss most often occurred, there is no evidence of regular wintering in or I isssage through Ireland ; this is surprising when one considers the 8 : imbers of immigrant passerines. Malin Head has continued to receive ( rdking passages of Linnets A.canthis cannahina, over 1,000 coming in l orn the north-east on 17th October 1964; Linnets and Twites \ vtrostris have now been seen coming in of!' the sea there on many 8 icasions. Fifteen House Sparrows Passer domesticus Hew out of sight < I the south-west from Cape Clear on 14th October 1964, a record of nnarkable adventure as far as that particular species is concerned. All the Palearctic rarities, other than seabirds, recorded in Ireland » irring the three-year period are detailed below, even though some of I lem are also mentioned above: I nle Bittern Ixobrychus minntus. Rosslare, Co. Wexford, 9th to nth May 1964; I -more Quay, Co. Wexford, 12th May 1964; Leathernstown Reservoir, Crumlin i Antrim, 13 th May 1965. ’ I Rght Heron Nycticorax nycticorax. Lissard Lake, near Skibbereen, Co. Cork I ' d June to 3 th July 1964. ’ I tile Egret P.gretta garze/ta. North Bull channel, Co. Dublin, 15th May 1963. I r:-ple Heron Ardea purpurea. Cape Clear, Co. Cork, 2nd Mav 1963. Only the * md Irish record. I >-^ssy Ibis Pkgadis falcinellus. Near Clarinbridge, Co. Galwav, 3th December 3. Only the second record in the last twenty years. r- Falcon Vako rusticolus. Luggala, Co. Wicklow, 2nd February 1925. An old :imen recently traced and not previously published. t:le Crake Porzana parra. Cape Clear, Co. Cork, 14th April 1964. The third • n record. ' itish Plover Charadrius alexandrinus. Lough Neagh, Co. Antrim, 7th October 4- -nmmek’s Stint Calidrh lemminckii. Akeagh I.ough, Co. Kerry, 12th September 5; i6th August and 17th September 1964; 14th and 13th August 1963 ; Duncruc ct marsh, Belfast, Co. .Xntrim, 3th September 1963. 2 1 1 BRITISH BIRDS Broad-billed Sandpiper h,imicola Jalcinellus. Duncrue Street marsh, Belfast, Co. Antrim, iith to i8th May 1963. Lough Beg, Co. Derry, 15th and i6th June 1965. The second and third Irish records. White-winged Black Tern Chlidonias leucopterus. Akeagh Lough, Co. Kerry, 3rd October 1963; Donegal Bay, Co. Donegal, 15th July 1964. Alpine Swift A^pm melba. Ballycotton, Co. Cork, 6th and 7th August 1965. Needle-tailed Swift Hirimdapus caudacutus. Cape Clear, Co. Cork, 20th June 1964. The first Irish record (Br//. Birds, 59: 109-111, plate i8a). Bee-eater Merops apiaster. Crosshaven, Co. Cork, 26th April 1964. Short-toed Lark Calandrella cinerea. Tory Island, Co. Donegal, 5 th September 1963; Inishtrahull, Co. Donegal, 17th to 21st October 1965. Richard’s Pipit Anthus novaeseelandiae. Cape Clear, Co. Cork, 13th October 1961. The fifth Irish record, not published until 1964. Tawny Pipit Anthus campestris. Cape Clear, Co. Cork, 17th October 1963. Woodchat Shrike l^anius senator. Cape Clear, Co. Cork, 4th August 1964. Aquatic Warbler Acrocepbalus paludicola. Cape Clear, Co. Cork, 17th to 24th September 1963. The eighth Irish record and the fifth in the last eight years. Great Reed Warbler Acrocepbalus arimdinaceus. Cape Clear, Co. Cork, loth to 26th June 1964. The second Irish record. Arctic Warbler Phjlloscopus borealis. Cape Clear, Co. Cork, 29th August 1961. A record subject to long delay in expert confirmation and not published until 1964. Greenish Warbler Pbylloscopus irochiloides. Cape Clear, Co. Cork, 25th to 29th September, loth October and 4th November 1964; Malin Head, Co. Donegal (not Inishtrahull as stated in Ireland’s Birds), i8th to 21st October 1965. These records bring the total recorded in Britain and Ireland during 1963-65 to twelve. Yellow-browed Warbler Pbylloscopus inornatus. Tory Island, Co. Donegal, 30th September 1964. Firecrest Kegulus ignicapillus. Cape Clear, Co. Cork, 20th to 22nd November 1964' Since it is a relatively common migrant to Scilly in late autumn, its extreme scarcity in Ireland is surprising. In Ireland’s Birds there is an error of date concerning an influx of up to seven at Cape Clear in October 1964: the year was, in fact, 1962. Black Wheatear Oenantbe leucura. Portnoo, Co. Cork, loth June 1964. The first Irish record. Red-headed Bunting Emberi^a bruniceps. Ballycotton, Co. Cork, 23rd and 24th June; Cape Clear, Co. Cork, 14th September 1964. These bring the Irish records to a total of seven and are published with the usual caveat about escapes. Arctic Redpoll Acanthis bornemanni exilipes. Malin Head, Co. Donegal, 21st October 1964. The wording of this record leaves some doubt as to whether it merits ful acceptance, but square brackets are not used. Scarlet Rosefinch Carpodacus erytbrinus. Inishtrahull, Co. Donegal, 25th September 1965. The third Irish record. The above list includes 1963-65 records of 37 individuals of 25 species or forms. It is worth noting that, while the latter figure clearly eclipses the total of American species noted in those three years, the sum of individual birds concerned is lower by at least 18. s F. .v B I R D s The intensification of seabird studies in Ireland is clearly demonstrated 212 BIRDS IN IRELAND DURING I963-65 \ f the multitude of records obtained in 1965-65. In the 1965 Report, a i;ipcr by Dr. W. R. P. Bourne on the ‘Irish sea-bird situation’ sets some i .teresting benchmarks, and a summary by O. J. Merne of seabird I. ovements oft Ireland in 1965 paints a remarkable picture of the great i-'ents of that autumn. The number of Great Shearwaters Vuffinus gravis ven ran well into five figures, while thousands of Sooty Shearwaters • ■ and hundreds of Cory s Shearwaters Procellaria diofnedea were sso noted. The seabird movements, no doubt due in some measure to lurricane Anna, were most visible in the south-west, but were also t :ominent right round the west and north-west coasts. Turning to scarcer species, one notes that, of four records of Little i:uk P/oti/s alle, one at Malin Head on 27th September 1963 and two at John’s Point, Co. Down, on the early date of 13th August 1965 all Avolved groups of two or three. Balearic Shearwaters P. puffinus ujuretanicus have now been recorded at various points on the western ;iaboard, but surprisingly only two were noted amongst the huge ■ ovements of 1965. A pronounced passage of Pomarine Skuas : ercorarius potmrinus was recorded oft' Cape Clear in April and May >1)65 ; nineteen, including a party of seven, passed on 6th May alone. 'O Long-tailed Skuas S. longicaudm were recorded in the three years, )wever. Records of Sabine’s Gull Paras sabini for the three years It tailed nine out of a grand total of 34. : Details of the rarest seabirds seen in the the three years are as follows ; lack-browed Albatross Diomedea melanopbris. Cape Clear, Co. Cork, 24th potember 1963; Brandon Bay, Co. Kerr}', 15th August 1964. The first Irish - -ords. An albatross off Malin Head on 26th September 1963 was either this L -'cies or, more probably, the Yellow-nosed D. chlororhjnchos. irry’s Shearwater Procellar ia diomedea. In July, August and September 1963 and I J4 the number of records for Co. Cork and Co. Down alone reached double -..ures ; on 14th J uly 1 963 over 200 flew west at Cape Clear {Brit. Birds, 5 7 : 200-202). the spring of 1965 there were, as in Britain, several records: single birds off ulin Head, Co. Donegal, on iith April, and off Cape Clear on 22nd and 23rd >ril. In the late summer and autumn of 1965 occurrences of this species were )re widely reported than ever before and records came from six observation ints; the biggest visible passage took place off Inishtrahull, Co. Donegal, with . naximum of 39 ott tst October. Also published in 1963 was an earlier record of < c off Dunquin, Co. Kerr\', on 29th August 1961. t ttle Shearwater Pa^m/s baroli. Two, Malin Head, Co. Donegal, 22nd October )4 (Brit. Birds, 38; 189-190); Brandon Point, Co. Kern', 28th August 1965; diet Head, Co. Mayo, i8th September 1963. The onlv previous Irish record s in 1833. Iwer’s Petrel Bulweria bidmrii. Cape Clear, Co. Cork, 26th August 1963. The •t Irish record, but not one in which the supporting notes sound the ring of th; they do not comntand the confidence of the reviewer. iditerranean Gull Lams melanocephalns. Old Head of Kinsale, Co. Cork, 3th tober 1964. Only the third Irish record, suggesting that this vagrant gull ys mainly in inshore waters, avoiding the crossing of sea areas Sole and Finisterre. 213 Notes Winter breeding of Shags. — On 19th February 1966, on an islet off Llanddwyn Island, Anglesey, I found eight nests occupied by Shags Phalacrocorax aristotelis and could see eggs in two of the lower ones. By 27th February heavy seas had washed away all except one nest, but that contained a newly hatched chick which was being fed by one adult. Nearly a year later, on 4th February 1967, J. E. Bebbington, R. Curtis, B. Wood and I located at least four occupied nests at the same site and saw two young birds, one partly and the other fully fledged. These records seem to indicate the continuation of breeding through the winter months on this islet and suggest either several broods or a marked variation in the nesting season. Michael Tong [We showed these interesting records to Dr. G. R. Potts, who for some years has been studying Shags on the Fame Islands, Northumber- land, and he has contributed the note which follows. — Eds.] These are almost certainly the earliest recorded nesting attempts by Shags in Britain and Ireland; the Mediterranean race P.a. desmaresUi has Table i. Summary of recorded early layings in the Shag Phalacrocorax aristotelis The estimated dates of first eggs are, with the exceptions of the 1907 and 1890 records, extrapolated from hatching dates or other information, the calculations being based on data collected on the Fame Islands, Northumberland. The references to ‘B.T.O.’ concern the British Trust for Ornithology’s Nest Record Cards Estimated first egg Year Locality Authority 20th November 1966/67 Anglesey Michael Tong (above) 2 1 St January 1966 Anglesey Michael Tong (above) 7th February 1964 Calf of Man A. H. Morley and R. E. Rayment (B.T.O. and in litt.) 1 6th February 1933 Cornwall W. R. Taylor (Br/V. Birds, 27:32) 20th February 1963 Calf of Man A. H. Morley (B.T.O. aitd in litt.) 24th February 1907 Sule Skerry H. W. Robinson {Ann. Scot. Nat. Hist., 1908: 31) 27th February 1959 Calf of Man E. Brun {Peregrine, 3 : 42-48) ist March 1902 St. Tudwal Islands 0. V. Aplin in R. F. Thearle et at. {Brit. Birds, 46: 182-188) I St March 1957 Maughold Head IVIanx ornithological notes {Peregrine, 2: 17) 8 th March 1954 Great Saltee P. W. P. Browne (B.T.O.) 9th March 1965 Calf of Man P. Bennett {in litt}) 1 2th March 1890 Great Saltee R. J. Ussher {Zoologist, 1890; 436) 1 6th March 1914 Scilly Isles H. W. Robinson {Brit. Birds, 16: 312-313) 1 6 th March 1961 Fame Islands T. H. Pearson {in litt.) 214 NOTES (Cen known to lay early in January (D. A. and W. M. Bannerman, Ards of Cyprus, 1958). I have calculated laying dates for these and other itrly records in Britain and Ireland, and they are listed in table i. The L lovember date depends on the fact that one of the chicks recorded by 'lichacl Tong was only partly fledged; the one described as fully wedged could have been rather older since Shag chicks will very oc- jusionally associate with their parents on or near the nest for many Months after fledging, though this appears unlikely to be the case in lis instance. It remains to consider the possibility of continued breeding through- ;at the winter. There is considerable evidence from the work of aarbara Snow on Lundy {Ibis, 102: 554-575), and from our own ludies on the Fame Islands, to show that the Shag (like other sea- irrds) cannot in the normal sense be regarded as double-brooded, lioreover, I have been unable to find any evidence of egg laying after iiid-August. The sites on the Fame Islands are occupied at the end of imvember and, given favourable conditions, nest-building begins in unuary. I suggest, therefore, that the November laying was early itther than late. It is a further indication of the Shag’s protracted and uriable nesting season— first noted by Rev. F. C. R. Jourdain as long >'iO as 1913 (Brit. Birds, 7: 94-100) — rather than of continued breeding. G. R. Potts [teron fishing in deep water.— The note by Miss J. V. Stacey and . R. Gervis on ‘Heron apparently fishing in deep water’ {Brit. Birds, : 49-50) prompts me to record details of a similar occurrence. • At 4.30 p.m. on 27th July 1966 I saw a Heron Ardea cinerea flying to a fairly strong wind over Chew Valley Lake, Somerset. Several mes it dropped with legs extended as though to land, but, as soon as i; feet touched the water, it regained height. However, on four I :>;casions the bird actually settled on the lake and remained there for ‘few seconds before taking off again, shaking its plumage while in : id-air. When it alighted on the water for the last time, it was apparently I =. ccessful in obtaining a fish because, as it took to the air, I saw in its i 11 a fairly large, light-coloured object which it dropped with a I ' sounding splash from about six feet up. I The four occasions on which the Heron actually landed on the water i ere each in a different place and right out in the middle of the reser- )ir at the deepest point. Geoffrey Boyle ourtship displays between Smews and Goldeneyes. — On 2nd pril 1966, at Rowbank Reservoir on the border of Ayrshire and enfrewshire, I was watching two red-head Smews hUrgm albellus hen they flew to join a flock of twelve Goldeneyes Bucephala clangula BRITISH BIRDS about 350 yards from me. The latter included two males, one entering first-summer plumage and the other an adult. Singling out the adult male, the Smews began persistently to swim in pursuit, quiet and relaxed for the most part but with occasional surges of speed, weaving in and out around the other ducks. After about five minutes there was a pause in the swimming and one of the Smews assumed a soliciting posture, head and neck stretched forward at about 30° from the sur- face and tail elevated at the same angle or a little higher. So far as I could see, the male Goldeneye did not respond in any way, but when the Smew relaxed to a normal attitude, after about 30 seconds, the Goldeneye dipped his head and flapped his wings. The Smews then resumed their pursuit of the Goldeneye, but I saw no further display that day. Some days later, on nth April 1966, I found two red-head Smews following an adult male Goldeneye at Barr Loch, Renfrewshire, which is only two miles from Rowbank Reservoir. They were rather distant and the light was poor. After I had watched them for a little while in a similar swimming pursuit, the three birds suddenly put on speed, paddling vigorously forward and raising themselves in the water. The Smew immediately behind the Goldeneye displayed by drawing back its head, pushing it upwards and forwards, then retracting it downwards, and repeating this ‘gulping’ movement quickly several times. The Goldeneye responded with the familiar throw of its head backwards and upwards and this elicited more excited head-jerking from the Smew. I was not clear whether the second Smew made any similar movements, but it surged forward with the others. This sudden burst of display was over in about half a minute and there followed washing and wing-flapping actions by both the Goldeneye and the displaying Smews. A little more swimming pursuit took place, but no further display, and in another ten minutes the chase flagged and halted. The Goldeneye began diving and the Smews rested, but they were still near the Goldeneye when I left shortly afterwards. L. A. Urquhart [Goldeneyes and sawbills arc generally considered to be related, in spite of bill differences, and this note suggests that in the absence of an adu't-plumaged male of their own species the Smews were aroused by the similar black-and-white coloration (although diflbrent pattern) of the male Goldeneye. We showed this note to Dr. Janet Kcar, of the Wildfowl Trust, who commented: ‘Goldeneyes are thought to be linked to the true mergansers by way of the Smew and the Hooded Merganser Merg/is cuaiUatiis; Smew and Goldeneye ducklings arc ^Try alike and the only Smew hybrids known seem always to have been with Goldeneyes. The second paragraph above describes typical inciting behaviour of the female Smcvv, but the action in the first 216 I NOTES : .'aragraph is more unusual. In normal soliciting the female lies com- r,-letely prone with only the tail raised at about 30° to the water, so the r osture described may have been incomplete.’ — Eds.] Jingamy in Lapwing.— In the spring of 1966 Lapwings Vamllus ..melius nested for the first time on an acre of reed stubble in front of t ne of the hides on the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds’ t jserve at Leighton Moss, Lancashire. , Lapwings were first seen in the area in the second week of March hid by the first week in April it was evident that there were two pairs •ut It was observed that there was frequent chasing and fighting ' cetween the two males. By 15 th April only one male remained and he ■aas nest scraping with the two females; on the next day he was seen to laate with both of them. One female was incubating by 23rd April and lae other on 26th April, the nests being only 26 yards apart. On 25 th ..pril the male was nest scraping with a third female, mating took place ue following day, and by ist May tins third female had laid about 40 itrds from the other two nests. The male was never recorded incubat- ^g on any of the three nests. He was seen nest scraping with a fourth ■ ^ no attempt to line the scrapes ud left the area after four days. Other males occasionally trespassed on • ce area, but were soon driven off by the resident male. Unfortunately, the eggs of the first two females were lost— the first ' an unknown predator on 9th May, and the second because of a rise water level two days later— and both birds left shortly afterwards wo young were, however, reared from the third nest. IK. G Spencer, author of The Lapwing in Britain (1953), informs me ut, although records of bigamy in this species are fairly numerous, - e only published record of trigamy known to him is recorded in a per by G. L. Rinkel 29: 108-147). John Wilson *oodcock uttering roding call from perch.— Early in April 1963, Benenden, Kent, a neighbour of mine, Mrs. R. Kellett, telephoned ■ : to say that a few minutes before sunrise that morning, at about 113 a.m a sound which she recognised as the roding call of a Wood- ' ck Scolopax rusticola had caused her to rush to her bedroom window. • her surprise, she saw two Woodcock not more than 20 yards away, le was perched on an old gatepost wliile the other sat only a few feet •m It on top of a dense and closely clipped hawthorn hedge. Knowing ' ^ Jonathan Kellett, would be greatly interested, she called and he arrived just in time to focus his field glasses on the two ° J^oding call had continued all the time both Mrs.Kellett and her son are almost certain that the sound came m the Woodcock on the gatepost and not from the one on the hedge. 217 BRITISH BIRDS It should be added that this was the croaking call and not the tshvick note. w j 1 u I believe this to be the first and only occasion that a Woodcock has been observed uttering this roding call from a sitting position. On the other hand, considering the number of other waders that regularly produce their spring songs from perches, such an occurrence is not really so very surprising. The fact that Woodcock have not previously been recorded doing so is probably due to their crepuscular habits. COLLINGWOOD InGRAM Collared Dove feeding on fallen snowberries. — At 3.30 p.m. on ist February 1967 I saw a pair of Collared Doves Streptopelia decaocto beneath a snowberry bush Symphoricarpus rivularis in a garden at Brentry, Bristol. Whole and shredded snowberries were lying on the ground and one of the birds was seen to eat portions of these. No complete berries were taken, only fragments which had been torn off previously by other feeding birds. Radford Polygamy in the Reed Bunting.— During the summer of 1966 I proved one case of polygamy among Reed Buntings Emberiza schoemclus in a colour-ringed population of over 80 pairs at Attenborough Nature Reserve, near Nottingham, and suspected a second. The first i^^cor involved a male which was ringed there as a nesding in 1964, which was paired normally with an unringed female in 1965, and which returned to occupy the same territory with two females, one unringed and one ringed, in 1966; the ringed female had nested about 150 yards away in 1965. The neighbouring males, all colour-ringed, were Paired normally in 1966 and at no time was another male seen with either ot the females. j • u c On 31st May the nest of the unringed female was found with fa\e nestlings two days old; these were ringed on 6th June and on each occasion both male and female were seen feeding them. The nest o the ringed female was never found, but on 8th June, when the five nestlings were still in the other nest, three newly-fledged young about twelve days old were located. Both females were feeding their own young, but the male, though showing alarm when either brood was approached, apparently now fed only the ones which had left the nest. The unringed female’s brood had also left the nest by 14th June and she remained in the area until at least two of the young were flying well, after which she was not seen again. The ringed female stayed with the male and laid a second clutch of four eggs by 17th July. On the 21st, however, the nest was empty and, though the female remained in t re area until 8th August, the male was not seen again after 22nd July. The suspected record involved a ringed male which I saw feeding 2T8 REVIEWS ' of each out of the nest, with two unringed females. , eighbouring birds seemed to be paired normally, but some were t unringed and so individual identification was not always possible. In 'I . another territory, however, I watched a free-flying juvenile being fed j by two females, though less regularly by one than by the other, and it I therefore seems that adult Reed Buntings may not always be too dis- I criminating when feeding young if there are other broods of similar || . ages in the vicinity. j ,T> f*°|ysaniy is well-known and of regular occurrence in the Corn i IBunting E. ca/andra and was first described by J. Walpole-Bond (Wit k 'Wds, 25 ; 292-300) and Lt.-Col. and Mrs. B. H. Ryves (Br/V. Birds, 28: • 12-26, 154-164). It has apparently not been recorded in the Yellowham- ; Bunting E. cirhis, but it would have been very j idifficult to detect in the Reed Bunting without colour-ringing. Even < iso. It is clearly not common, since it has been recorded only once or i ttwice in a population of over 8o males. B D Bft t I Reviews 1 I IThe Bird Faunas of Africa and its Islands. By R. E. Moreau. -Academic Press, London, 1966. 424 pages; 65 figures (including many maps and a number of habitat photographs). loos. FReg Moreau— as he is known even to those who have not the pleasure I Df knowing him has stood for African ornithology for as long as I most of us can remember. Readers of the leading ornithological and I i biological journals will know that a very fruitful period of long I >.esidence in Africa, marked by a large number of important bird 'lapers on ecological, zoogeographical, evolutionary and behavioural . opics, has been followed by 20 years in which, from his base at the idward Grey Institute at Oxford, he has produced a succession of comprehensive papers reviewing diverse aspects of African ornithology ■-vith a breadth which is rare in an age of specialisation. Breeding masons in Africa, migration in relation to Africa, past climatic and ' )iological changes m Africa, the distribution, systematics and evolution )f various African families and genera— all these are subjects to which ue has made leading contributions. To a remarkable extent, by wide eading and a profuse correspondence with specialists, he has drawn pon knowledge gained in other fields in order to produce authorita- ive syntheses of complex subjects; and though these papers have been ull of facts and close reasoning, they have never been heavy going. I remember several years ago hearing Reg say with characteristic- Jly humorous vehemence, when tackled on the subject, that there were BRITISH BIRDS already too many bird books and in any case he did not want to write a book, he had ‘not got a book in him’. Luckily he was eventually persuaded, and the outcome, the book under review, should be as satisfactory to him as it will be to others : he certainly had a book in him, but, equally certainly, he has not simply added another to the growing number of bird books. This book is so different from other books on birds as to constitute a totally new genus. The Bird Faunas of ^Africa and its Islands is, in the author s words, a ‘dynamic zoogeography’ which might have been appropriately subtitled ‘an eco-geographical discussion with its roots in the past . It is over 400 pages long and ranges very widely, so that it is not possible in a short review even to mention all the subjects covered. Briefly, the author begins by describing the present geography and environment of Africa, and then reconstructs its past history, as far as can be inferred from existing clues, showing how climatic and vegeta- tional changes have been far more rapid and sweeping than was supposed only a few years ago. The Sahara itself in its present form is only a few thousand years old. He then examines the main problern, basic to the whole book, of how the present distribution and composi- tion of the African avifauna can be explained on the basis of these past changes, and in the course of this examination new light is thrown on some problems, while other problems, as yet insoluble, are revealed. He discusses the way in wiffch the Palearctic migrants fit into the African ecosystem, again raising some problems as well as answering others. One of the outstanding puzzles here is how to rationalise the fact that the northern tropical savannas and dry woodlands become progressively more desiccated throughout the northern winter, but at the same time serve as winter quarters for the greater part of the Palearctic land-bird migrants, wMch nearly all avoid the apparently rnore favourable forested areas further south. Four chapters are devoted to the bird faunas of the off-lying islands, of which Madagascar emerges as by far the most peculiar and puzzling. Madagascar’s combination of present-day relative poverty in land-bird species, with evidence of a long past liistory of evolutionary radiation in some groups, appears to be explicable only by postulating a period, or periods, of extensive extinction in the past, not caused by man. An extraordinary fact, for which no explanation is available, is that the entire world populations of Eleonora’s Falcon Falco ekonorae (a Mediterranean species) and the Sooty Falcon F. concolor (a mainly Saharan species) appear to winter nowhere but in Madagascar. In order to reduce his material to manageable proportions, the author has treated the birds mainly by families; individual species are of course mentioned frequently, but their ecologies arc not discussed m detail. It might be thought that this would lead to a certain dryness, but 220 REVIEWS this is not so, thanks to a stimulating variety of language and to the fact that facts and figures are not simply presented but are always discussed and evaluated. Five pounds is now a normal price to pay for a book like this, but it seems a pity, since many fewer ornithologists will buy it than if it « could have been priced more cheaply. In any case, for this price the I publishers should surely have eliminated the misprints, of which there are a good number. This is a comparatively trivial criticism, however, < and not the right note on which to end. Apart from its intrinsic I interest, and the stimulus which it will give to African studies. The Bird •Famas of Africa and its Islands is likely to open a new phase in ecological .zoogeography. What would be the result if this approach were applied :to the Palearctic and Oriental Regions? Could South America be t treated in this way? What about other animal groups? One of the (Outstanding results of the African survey was that birds and Lepidop- ! tera appear to have been influenced by very much the same factors in t their present distribution, but the history of mammal distribution has I been very diflcrent. How general is this ? Unfortunately there may not be much more time in which to answer ssuch (Questions. Instead of ‘studying the grand designs of natural Ibiomes’, as is still possible to a large extent in Africa, future zoo- fS^'^gi^^phers may increasingly ‘have to fimck around with the im- ;poverished and lopsided remnants which are the by-products of man’s multiple incontinencies’, as they have to in the developed countries, lit is a depressing thought. D. W. Snow (Collins Pocket Guide to British Birds. By R. S. R. Fitter. Illustrated tby R. A. Richardson. Revised edition. ColUns, London, 1966. 287 fpages, 112 plates (64 in colour). 30s. ■The first edition of this book appeared in 1932 and was then fully rreviewed in Brit. Birds, 46: 222-224. It received a mixed welcome. On the one hand, the standard of both text and illustrations was greatly 'Superior to that of any previous manual on bird identification. On the other, the book adopted a completely artificial system of classification under which the birds were divided into three main groups (land, waterside and water) and then, within each group, into seven or eight subdivisions based solely on size. Even within these subdivisions no attempt was made to put closely-related species together unless they happened to be identical in size. It may be doubted whether the author is justified in believing that such an arrangement is more helpful to the beginner than the familiar scientific classification. Certainly it carries the built-in disadvantage that the reader cannot memorise such an un- natural sequence and, as a result, it is impossible to use the book with- out constant reference to the index. Most ornithologists must have been 221 BRITISH BIRDS thankful to abandon the Pocket Guide in favour of the Field Guide to the Birds of Britain and Europe when this was brought out two years later. For the revised edition a smaller type has been used and this is a marked improvement. No change has been made in the lay-out of either text or illustrations and one must regret that the opportunity has not been taken of adding cross-references from the plates to the text. In a book where it is impossible to get anywhere without con- tinuous reference to the index, it is disconcerting to find that the revis- ion for this new edition is far from complete. In many cases the main index reference (e.g. Goose, Brent) is correctly given, but the subsidiary references (e.g. Brant, Brent Goose) still give the text pages of the first edition. Three of the plates (24, 41 and 105) have been redrawn to correct previous inaccuracies and to include an illustration of the Mediter- ranean Gull. The standard of the black-and-white illustrations is uniformly excellent, and this suggests that the erratic quality of the coloured plates is the fault of the printer rather than the artist. As in the first edition, many of the coloured plates suffer from over- or under- inking, and a fault which seems to be even more pronounced in this new edition is that about half of the plates are quite badly out of register. Amongst the birds illustrated are a number of exotic wildfowl and foreign cage-birds. These would be out of place in a more orthodox textbook on British birds, but here they have a considerable practical value. The text is substantially the same as before, though some corrections have been made and the section on distribution has been brought up to date. The omission of any reference to distribution outside the British Isles is a fair indication of the book’s limitations from the experienced ornithologist’s point of view, and one cannot help feeling that the enthusiastic beginner is best started off on a book which introduces him straight away to a natural sequence of families. For the layman, however, with only a casual interest in birds, this book has many solid attractions. D- G. Andrew News and comment Edited by J. L. F. Farslow ‘Torrcy Canyon’ and after. — Sooner or later the wrecking of a jumbo-tanker had to happen; now it has. Understandably, the first concern of government, press and public alike when the Torrey Canyon went agrouitd on the Seven Stones reef was for the holiday beaches of Cornwall. Off-shore winds (not, as was proudly claimed at the 222 NEWS AND COMMENT , time by Naval Minister Foley, the detergent spraying armada which he had amassed) I kept the oil away from the beaches for a few days. But then it began to arrive. From the first ludicrous attempts by the fire-brigades to hose the first driblets of oil back ^ into the sea to the later mammoth military operations at such places as Sennen Cove, no expense seems to have been spared, and no serious thought given to what was k being done. I Someone, somewhere, had decided that detergent was the panacea to all pollution !i -problems, conveniently forgetting that it itself is not only a pollutant but a highly } ■ toxic one at that. So it was sprayed and sloshed everywhere — on beaches, into har- ( -oours, coves and rock pools, as well as on to the sea itself. VC hen spraying had little I L effect, it was tipped straight from 40- gal Ion drums on to sand, mud, shingle and I I rocks, and even into fresh-water streams flowing down to the beaches. When " ;{i6o,ooo-worth of detergent had merely had the effect of turning one beach into a rmorass of sand, oil and emulsifier to a depth of 18 inches, the whole lot was ploughed I -ip with bulldozers and yet more detergent was tipped neat into the resulting bog. » I Like many other beaches in west Cornwall, no animals now live there, nor are they I i ikely to for years to come. Among the most alarming aspects of the whole affair are : I :hat no account was taken of recommendations made more than four years ago by a rgovernmcnt-financed research team into methods of dealing with oil pollution on Kaeaches, and that scientists were completely powerless in their efforts to stop or iceduce the extent to which emulsifiers were used once the spraying programme was ■ . under way. Yet if the British government (and the French one too for that matter) and local • i luthorities were ineffectual, the Torrej Canyon disaster has also highlighted the weak- '.nesscs and multiplicity of effort of the various official and v'oluntary naturalist, and ^particularly ornithological, bodies in this country. At one stage at least five — and 'probably more — different oiled bird reporting forms were circulating (or meant to be ::;ifculating) in Cornwall. In the event, probably most corpses that were washed ashore avere collected off beaches by local authorities and buried or burnt without being k-.een or reported to ornithologists. The actual size of the kill is therefore unlikely to oe known. Preliminary guesses have varied between 10,000 and 1 00,000 birds, mostly juillemots and Razorbills. Already several different organisations are involved in ' planning surveys of the numbers of auks at their breeding colonies this summer, fs:specially in Cornwall. This information is necessary and important, but at the same . ime it seems essential that proper liaison exists between everj-one concerned so that listurbance at the colonies is kept to a minimum. ' successful Irish bird protection conference.— The first All-Ireland Conference on 3ird Protection took place from 3rd to 5 th March 1967 in the Slieve Donard Hotel, Newcastle, Co. Down. It was organised from the Northern Ireland office of the loyal Society for the Protection of Birds in conjunction with the Irish Society for he Protection of Birds. At least 150 people attended, 40 of whom were from the lepublic of Ireland. This was far more than anticipated and it was especially gratifying for the organisers to see so much interest created. The Mim’ster of Development joined Professor W. D. Finlay (Chairman of the •S.B.P.) and Stanley Cramp (Chairman of the R.S.P.B.) in welconoing delegates and ct the tone for the urgent need for nature conservation in Ireland. Speakers at the :onference included David Cabot on wildfowl in Ireland; Peter Olney on Avocet ■esearch and other problems; Stanley Cramp on conservation in Europe; John jreaves on birds of prey in Northern Ireland; John Temple Lang on conservation n Eire; Peter Conder on reserves in the United States; John Lewis-Crosby on the ole of the National Trust in Northern Ireland; and, finally, David Lea on habitat nanagement. 223 BRITISH BIRDS Everyone expressed how much they enjoyed the conference, not only the formal talks but also the general happy and friendly atmosphere of the whole week-end. New Scottish reserves. — Three new National Nature Reserves, an extension to an existing one, and the establishment of a new Forest Nature Reserve have recently been announced by the Nature Conservancy in Scotland. The main interest in each of the new reserves is primarily botanical. At Glasdrum Wood, Argyll, 43 acres of mixed deciduous woodland, including an area of relatively ungrazed ash-hazel coppice (a community not otherwise represented on a Scottish reserve), have been leased from the Forestry Commission. An agree- ment with the same body has allowed the setting up of Glen Nant Forest Nature Reserve, another area of mixed deciduous woodland, 104 acres in extent and also in Argyll; this is only the second Forest Nature Reserve to be declared in Scotland. Two new reserves in Ross-shire both comprise mile-long canyon-like gorges, that at Allt nan Carnan, near Lochcarron, being thickly wooded with oak, birch and other trees, while the one at Corrieshalloch, near Braemore, includes the well-known Falls of Measach. Also in Ross-shire, a further seven acres have been added to the Rassal Ashwood reserve, bringing its total size up to 212 acres. These establishments bring the total number of Nature Conservancy National Nature Reserves in Scotland to 37, and the total acreage to 182,536. Proposed new natiue reserve in north Norfolk. — The Nature Conservancy hopes soon to be able to declare a large and important new National Natiire Reserve in the Holkham area of north Norfolk. The reserve will comprise some 4,200 acres of coastal marshes and dunes between Burnham Overy and Stiffkey, under an agreement with the Earl of Leicester and his tenants. In addition, a further 5,500 acres of inter-tidal sand and mud flats will be leased from the Crown Estate Commissioners. To the west of Wells-next-the-Sea the proposed reserve consists of an extensive area of reclaimed marshland; fronting this are sand dunes, many of which were planted with Corsican pines and other conifers from about 1850 onwards. The western end of the dune system was not afforested and several animals and plants are found here that are otherwise absent from the north Norfolk coast. To the east of Wells-next-the-Sea the proposed reserve includes one of the most extensive salt marshes in England. Public footpaths and the foreshore will remain open to the public when the reserve is declared, but permits will be required to visit other parts of the reserve away from public rights of way. New bird sanctuary in Essex. — ^Abberton Reservoir in Essex has been established as a bird sanctuary under the Protection of Birds Act, 1954. This important wildfowl refuge lies four miles north of the Blackwater estuary and covers an area of 1,200 acres, with a perirheter no less than twelve miles long. The first part of the reservoir was flooded in 1938 and it soon became the haunt of many thousands of duck, particularly in winter (see Bril. Birds, 40: 79-82). Among its many claims to ornitho- logical fame are more records of wild Red-crested Pochards than any other British water, the only British breeding record of the Gull-billed Tern, and one of the country’s most successful bird ringing stations, operated since 1949 by Major- General C. B. Wainright in association with the Wildfowl Trust. New London venue for National Cage Birds Show. — The sponsors of the Na- tional Exhibition of Cage Birds have decided to hold the event at London’s Alexandra Palace instead of Olympia as previously. The dates of this year’s exhibition arc 7th to 9th December. 224 TP I CC/^/^DCC nickel SUPRA TELESCOPE. It zooms • t LtoV^LJr tO“— O.G. and is truly a remarkable instrument Price £38 9t. A SELECTION OF NEW AND USED BINOCULARS SPECIALLY RECOMMENDED BY MR. FRANK NIPOLE binoculars from Japan are made to our specifica- tion and are imported exclusively by us. Performance is excellent and we have sufficient faith in them to guarantee them for five years. The lOx 50 costs £15 lOs. Od. and the 8x 30 £10 19s. 6d. (both with case). A SPECIALIST BINOCULAR FOR THE BIRD WATCHER. The Swift AUDUBON 8.5 x 44 designed to the specification of the world renowned Audubon Society of America Unusually wide field of 445 ft. at 1,000 yards. Extra close focusing down to 12 ft. enables feeding activities, etc., to be watched as from 18 ins. Included amongst other features are retractable eyecups for spectacle users, built-in adaptor to suit any camera tripod. This outstanding binoc- ular has easy positive focusing by cylindrical control weighs 38.4 oz. and the height closed is 6i ins. Price with ■ fine leather case £36. ^Tlie new LEITZ TRINOVID is indisputably the binocular of the century. It is of revolutionary design and perform- lance, and the lOx 40 model, which we particularly like, is extremely light and wonderfully compact. Price with soft leather case £86 17s. Id. Among good British glasses, we have no hesitation in sugges- ting the ROSS 9x35 STEPRUVA. Compact and weighing .only 21 oz. Price £43 4s. 9d. ■We stock binoculars by Zeiss, Leitz, Barr & Stroud, Ross Swift, etc. Any instrument willingly sent on approval For wildfowling, etc., we recommend the ex-Admiralty 7x42 or 7x5o' Barr & Stroud binoculars and can offer these instruments in specially good condition, complete in original cases, at £16 I Os. The Bausch & Lomb (Canadian naval) 7 X 50 is still available at £24. Among general purpose binoculars, which will stand up to a tremendous amount of rough usage, there is little to beat the 6x30 Service Prismatics at £8 15s.; if reminded, we will probably be able to select a pair in new condition and can provide a web pouch at 4s. 6d. extra. Among heavyweight prismatic bino- culars suitable for mounting, we can offer a host of truly wonderful bar- gains: for instance, a Ross 7x50 Heavy Duty binocular with filters in brand new condition, and complete in fitted box, can be supplied for 7 gns. (original cost estimated over £120); the lOx 70 model can be supplied for £20. These instruments are too heavy to be hand-held, and mount and tripod can be provided at a moderate charge. QUEEN ST., GLASGOW C.l STD 041-221 6666 YOUNG BIRD WATCHERS up to 18 years of age qualify for special price concessions details on request iii ■ '"V Bird: Red Billed Quelea Size: 5 inches long Weight: i oz. Binoculars: Wray ‘7’ Size: 3i x 4 i Weight: Si ozs. So small, yet so perfect Nature puts infinite care into the creation of its smallest creatures to ensure they voill function as perfectly as any of its larger ones. Wray too, have lavished infinite care on their miniature binoculars to provide an optical performance comparable voith much larger, more cumbersome instruments. So for fine workmanship that just slips in your pocket, yet gives big binocular performance, carry with you the Wray ‘f. Literature from: Wray {Optical Works) Ltd., Bromley, Kent. Ravenshourne 0112 IV in Search Ireland’s if Birds Birds i7 by DOLLINGWOOD ROBERT F. I DIGRAM RUTTLEDGE t^ascinating book'— r/?© Field it eal joy. ... It is many years since ' 3Tve read such an intriguing book I ;jut birds. I cannot imagine any 3l-lover not being fascinated by ■ —Birmingham Post liilightful reminiscences ... his l ies are never for an instant dull'— Literary Supplement fascinating study of birds, so •ked with interest that the ier needs to delve again and in into each chapter for fear of ssing some new fact' — News ■ ‘er of Worcestershire Naturalists tb Drmative, stimulating and a ght to read' — Country Life 30s. net 'The appearance of a new book on any aspect of the wildlife of Ireland is always welcome and when it is as interesting as Ireland's Birds by Major Robert F. Ruttledge, M.C., it is worth having. . . . There are chapters on the topography of Ireland in relation to birds and a fascinating chapter on migration, but the bulk of the book deals with a systematic list of species, sub- species and geographical forms known to have occurred in Ireland. What makes this book so important that it should be on everybody's bookshelf is that there has been a critical examination of every record of every species. The book is illustrated by a map of Ireland by Robert Gillmor and 14 photographs of bird habitats'— 30s. net Published by Witherby Natural History Books PUBUSHED RECENTLY Birds of North America by Chandler S. Robbins, Bertel Bruun and Herbert S. Zim. 156 pages of colour plates. Distribution maps in colour of all species. An outstanding guide to field identification. Limp cover. 25s. The Territorial Imperative by Robert Ardrey. 36s. Handbook of New Guinea Birds by Austin L. Rand and E. Thomas Gilliard. 6 gns. The Bird Faunas of Africa and its Islands by R. E. Moreau. 424 pages; illustrated. £5. The Last Eagle by Daniel Mannix. The story of an American Bald Eagle. Illustrated with drawings. 1 8s. Animals and Birds in Australia by Graham Pizzey. Illustrated in colour and black-and-white. 5 gns. Beasts in my Bed by Jacquie Durrell. The authoress describes her own experience of life with her husband Gerald’s family of animals. Illustrated. 21s. The Peregrine by J. A. Baker. An account of 10 years’ watching Pere- grines in East Anglia. 2 1 s. ANNOUNCED FOR PUBLICATIOTS SOON The Birds of North Africa by R.-D. Etch6copar and F. Hue. 606 pages ; 24 colour plates. Publication 31st May. 8 gns. A Wealth of Wildfowl by Jeffery Harrison. ‘Survival’ series. Illustrated. 30s. Great Waters by Sir Alister Hardy. Illustrated. 63s. The Country Life Countryman’s Pocket Book by Garth Christian. Illustrated. 21s. Birds of the Atlantic Ocean by Ted Stokes. Illustrated by Keith Shackle- ton. 6 gns. Studies of Birds and Mammals of South America by the artist Axel Amuchastegui. Text by Dr. Helmut Sick. Foreword by Sir Solly Zuckerman. 24 colour plates. 5 gns. WUdlife of the South Seas by Franz A. Roedelberger and Vera I. Gros- choff. 24 pages of colour, 186 black-and-white photographs. 45s. Seals of the World by Gavin Maxwell. 42s. A Field Guide to the Mammals of Britain and Europe by H. van den Brink. Illustrated in colour. 30s. Pesticides and Pollution by Keith Mellanby. ‘New Naturalist’. 30s. Nature Conservation in Britain by L. Dudley Stamp. ‘New Naturalist’. 36s. A Field Guide to the National Parks of East Africa by J. G. Williams. 45s. The Trout by W. E. Frost and M. E. Brown. ‘New Naturalist’. 25s. The Concise British Butterflies in Colour by L. Hugh Newman. Compan- ion to W. Keble Martin’s Flora in Colour. 35s. Mammals of Britain, Their Tracks, Trails and Signs by G. Kinns. Illustrated in colour. 25s. Penguins by Bernard Stonehouse. 16 colour illustrations. 21s. Mountain Flowers by Anthony Huxley. 112 colour plates. 25s. Available from Witherby’s Bookshop 61/62 Watling Street, London, E.C.4 {telephone City 5405) ALL BOOKS SENT POST FREE Printed in England by Dicmcr & Reynolds Ltd., Eastcotts Road, Bedford Published by H. F. & G. Witherby Ltd., 61/62 Watling Street, E.C.4 British Birds Principal Conte fits Swifts in sea-breeze fronts John E. Simpson Studies of less familiar birds : 144— Thick-billed Warbler I. Neufeldt (with four plates) Ilerritory, behaviour and breeding of the Dipper in Banffshire Raymond Hewson Notes Reviews Letters News and comment British Birds AN ILLUSTRATED MONTHLY JOURNAL Sdilors Stanley Cramp, I. J. Ferguson-Lees, P. A. D. Hollom, E. M. Nicholson Photographic Editor Eric Hosking Editorial Address lo Merton Road, Bedford 'News and Comment' J. L. F. Parslow, i Wick Hall, Radley, Abingdon, Berkshire Pjirities Committee F. R. Smith, Telford, Hill Barton Road, Exeter, Devon Contents of Volume 6o, Number 6, June 1967 Page Swifts in sea-breeze fronts. By John E. Simpson . . . . . . • ■ 225 Studies of less familiar birds : 144— Thick-billed Warbler. By Miss I. Neufeldt (plates 29-32) . . . . . . • • ■ • • • • • • • • • ^39 Territory, behaviour and breeding of the Dipper in Banffshire. By Raymond Hewson . . . . • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • ■ ^44 Notes : — Barn Owl perching on man (Richard A. Straton) . • 253 Swift in Essex in February (Miss P. Harris) 253 Magpie killing juvenile Reed Bunting (B. D. Bell) . . .. .. .. 253 Thrush Nightingales in Northumberland (J. E. Robson) . . . . . . 254 Spotted Flycatchers catching insects after dark by artificial lighting (Bernard King) .. .. .• •• •• •• •• •• ^53 Reviews : — Animal Navigation, by R. M. Lockley. Reviewed by Robert Spencer . . 236 Nesting Birds, Eggs and Fledglings, by Winwood Reade and Eric Hosking. Reviewed by G. K. Yeates . . . . . . . . • • • • • • ^5^ Letter: — Little Ringed Plovers in Britain during 1963-67 (E. R. Parrinder) . . 237 News and comment. Edited by J. L. F. Parslow 238 Annual subscription 13s. (including postage and despatch) payable to H. F. & G. Witherby Ltd., 61/62 Watling Street, London, E. C. 4 tfinner is served ! 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Two glider pilots seeking ‘lift’ independently will often automatically i arrive very close together at the same place, and it is of great interest ‘ also to find groups of birds which have likewise been led in their exploration of the air to the same patch of lift. In thirty years’ soaring experience, the birds I have most often loticed soaring with me in thermals have been large gulls J^arus spp., ' 3ut I have also met Kestrels Falco tinnmculus. Buzzards ^uteo buteo2.nd, occasionally. Herons Ardea cinerea. Heights of these meetings have' varied from a few hundred feet to nearly 5,000 feet. In the case of sea- oreeze lift, the birds most often seen are Swifts Apus apus. Swifts have ‘ ilso been met in thermals, but it is much harder to follow the track of a imall dark bird when one is flying in 15 or zo second circles; in sea- ■oreeze upcurrents, as we shall see, the users are able to fly on much itraighter courses. Although these birds are relatively small and dark and cannot be potted from any great distance, this relationship of Swifts with the ea-breeze is becoming clearer, and in the 1966 season they were noted n sea-breeze lift on five separate days. This was during flights in gliders ■nd powered aircraft from the Lasham Gliding Centre, near Alton, ■lampshire, where a study of the sea-breeze front has been carried on luring the last six years (Simpson 1962, 1964, 1967). 225 BRITISH BIRDS THE NATURE OF SEA-BREEZE FRONTS Sea-breezes are brought about by diurnal changes in the temperature of the air over the land and sea, and occur frequently on many coasts of the British Isles. On sunny, unstable light-wind days in summer, the sea-breeze often starts blowing inland at the coast at about lo.oo hours* and may reach a strength of ten knots by the early afternoon. If the wind is already blowing from the sea, then the sea-breeze effect is to produce a slight increase in the general wind-strength. The most interesting cases are those in which the days start with a light wind blowing from the land towards the sea, and the sea-breeze, as it strengthens, is able to make some progress inland against it. The boundary may then be moving at only five knots, or may even remain stationary, while the sea-breeze behind it continues to blow at about ten knots. As the land and sea winds are converging at this boundary, air must be rising in the frontal zone between the land and sea air. This boundary, or sea-breeze front, may typically move inland during the day perhaps ten miles, even as far as 40 miles when conditions are exceptionally favourable. The furthest penetrations inland in Britain seem to be in south-east England and along the east coast. This front often becomes more distinct as it moves inland and may persist all day until dusk, with air rising vertically at two to five knots all along the front of the wedge of cold moist ‘sea air’. FREQUENCY AND FORECASTING Although very weak sea-breezes can occur at any time of year and have occasionally been recorded on the south coast in mid-winter, sea- breeze fronts are most common from May to August, particularly in June. Fig. i shows the average number of days in which any sort of sea-breeze effect occurred on the south coast, from Watts (1965), and against this the average number of days when a sea-breeze front reached Lasham, near its inland limit. The basis of sea-breeze forecasting is the expected differential rise in temperature between ‘land air’ and ‘sea air’. At Thorney Island, Sus- sex, which is only a few miles from the general line of the coast, sea- breeze forecasting charts have been drawn up by Watts (1955). He found that sea-breeze and non-sea-breeze days could be separated on the basis of the forecasted 3,000-foot wind and the expected excess of the land temperature over that of the sea. A few examples will serve as a very simplified guide. If the offshore wind is greater than 1 5 knots, a sea-breeze is unlikely. If the wind is 1 5 knots, a land-sea temperature excess of 8°C is needed for a sea-breeze to reach the coast. If the wind is ten knots, a temperature excess of 3°C will do. • All times are GMT 226 SWIFTS IN SEA-BREEZE FRONTS 15 - Average number I O. of days er month 5 O mam. □ J F M A M f^JJASOND Now the average temperature excess reached in June is about ^ 5°C ) that a sea-breeze is likely to blow at Thorney Island on any reasonably inny June day with a wdnd at 3,000 feet of less than ten knots. A :a-breeze against a ten-knot wind is likely to start by 1 i.oo hours but Whether this sea-breeze will progress inland in frontal form depends 1 many other factors. In addition to the wind strength and the sun’s -ating during the day, the depth of convection is also important, rnva at Lasham has been most frequent on dry light- wind sunny lys when the relative humidity has fallen to or less (Simpson •05 b). Convection of up to about 5,000 feet is desirable and, if cumulus ouds form their bases should be above 4,000 feet. Sea-breezes have nvcd on cloudless days, but on days with cumulus the cloud tops ould not be much above 8,000 or 9,000 feet. On davs of very deep nvection, the heat may be cut off from the ground later m the day cl progress of the tront is much less regular. On really favourable days the sea-breeze may start blowing a^ the ast as early as 09.00, but for penetration as far inland as Lasham the shore wind must be less than ten knots. On ‘Lasham days’ the erage rate of advance of the front at mid-day has been only just over o knots, increasing m the afternoon and reaching an averaae of five ots near lasham. The maximum speed of any front has been abouJ ;nt knots. Fig. 2 shows the average isochrones, based on observations jainst M knots not until 15.00 or later. , -o'- < tfie 15 stations marked, of the 41 ‘deep sea-breezes sham from 1962 to 1966. which passed 227 BRITISH BIRDS Fig. 2. Average times of passage (GMT) of 41 sea-breeze fronts which passed Lasham, Hampshire, during 1 962-66, based on observations there and at the 14 other localities shown RECOGNISING AND RECORDING THE FRONT On a cloudless day it may be quite difficult to spot the advancing front, but the visibility in the land and sea air may differ. On days when the inversion is low and no clouds form, the visibility in the sea air is generally much less than in the land air. This must be partly due to industrial haze from the Southampton and Portsmouth districts. A very marked effect of this sort has also been seen in the sea-breeze near Middlesbrough, Yorkshire. The first extended soaring flights from I.asham in sea-breeze lift were achieved by following this distinct line of the front of the haze (Wallington 1959). On a day with small flat cumulus clouds, small ragged cumulus of a 228 SWIFTS IN SEA-BREEZE FRONTS difterent texture may act as markers of the front. The most obvious indication is usually some cloud with a base lower than normal by a thousand feet or more. This may build up in quite a narrow strip, forming very rapidly what have become called ‘curtain clouds’ by glider pilots. From the air, just below the normal flat cumulus cloud base, these lower ragged clouds are very readily visible. The basic feature to be recorded on the ground at the passage of a sea-breeze front is, of course, the change in wind strength and direc- tion. Unfortunately wind-recording instruments are both scarce and expensive. Sometimes, however, we have been able to make observa- vations from movements of flags and from smoke plumes; on one almost calm evening the arrival of the front at Lasham was first ob- served from the change in direction of puffs of smoke from a meteoro- logist’s pipe! The other property whose change can be most easily ■ measured at the front is the humidity of the air. A sudden change in the 1 relative humidity, which can be measured by a hair hygrometer, a comparatively cheap and simple instrument, gives a good indication. This property of the air varies with change in temperature, however, and the dewpoint calculated from relative humidity and temperature readings has been found to be the best indication of a change in the ‘air mass’. In the Lasham researches, the recordings from five Meteorological Office anemometers were supplemented by a network of nine thermo- hygrographs. On likely days an hourly plot of the dewpoint was made from these records, and by studying the discontinuities in the graphs the progress of the front inland was plotted. RADAR AND THE SEA-BREEZE FRONT A relationship between radar echoes and the meteorological events at the arrival of the sea-breeze front was shown by Atlas (i960) who concluded that the crucial condition necessary for the occurrence of these echoes on a horizontal beam is a sharp moisture-lapse in the lower levels. Eastwood and Rider (1961) followed the progress of a sea-breeze ■front about 100 miles long as it moved inland from the south and east coasts of England. They concluded that both moisture gradients and irds contributed to the echoes. Very similar lines connected with cold air flowing out from thunderstorms were observed by Harper (1958) and shown to be caused by Swifts; he actually observed the birds in ieeding flight through a telescope. From an estimate of the density of ^wifts in a sea-breeze front by Simpson (1964), it appeared that their density alone was sufficient to give an echo similar to that observed 3y Eastwood and Rider. VCeather radar observations in the United States have shown BRITISH BIRDS ‘thin lines’ associated with the sea-breeze. In a case seen in southern Florida by Boyd (1965), a sea-breeze front intersected another fine line without either being destroyed. A sea-breeze front observed by Senn and Gerrish (1964) by radar, by the weather satellite Tiros VII, and by visual and synoptic means, was unusual as the line was stationary for some hours; in this case, however, it was concluded that the line could not be attributed to birds, insects or other particulate matter. Insects in the sea-breeze have been thought to be responsible for some radar echoes. In a study of ‘angels’ (unidentified radar echoes). Plank (1956) summarised the evidence for concentrations of insects in the air. Some echoes could be due to insects, for even moderate concentrations (one insect per 10,000 cubic metres) can cause ‘moderate’ angel activity. Extremely heavy angel activity could be caused by concentrations that would scarcely cause visual awareness. Geotis (1964) observed echoes associated with many sea-breeze fronts, with radars operating at wavelengths of both 3.2 and 10.7 centimetres. Many of his results could not be accounted for even by incredibly high refractive index gradients, and he concluded that insects and perhaps a few birds chasing them gave a much more satisfactory explanation. RECORDS OF SWIFTS 1 }th May 1^61 This was the third recorded soaring flight made in the sea-breeze front at Lasham, and the first in which Swifts were noted soaring in the lift. As this was the first day of the 1961 National Gliding Champion- ships a great deal of air was sampled by glider pilots flying round a loo-kilometre triangle. There were ‘blue’ thermals only (i.e. no cumulus clouds to cap the upcurrents) and hardly any upcurrents reached above 2,000 feet. The wind was light, mostly five to ten knots and westerly, and the maximum temperature was 22°C. I had been making short passenger-carrying flights all day in a glider, and during an aero-tow launch at 15.50 I noticed a change in visibility from the previous flight 20 minutes earlier. Looking east, I could see a thick brown haze line, with a sharp edge down to the ground, only about three miles away. To the west, towards the sun, the front could be seen in the form of a bluish haze less than a mile south of the runway and about parallel with it. It was not very easy to identify, but I started to fly west, finding lift up to two knots in patches; I then noticed I was flying through groups of Swifts. I flew straight for three or four minutes, amongst the Swifts, covering about two miles between 1,000 and 1,300 feet. I found it very hard to continue along the haze line and lost the lilt. As I returned to the airfield in the required circuit pattern I flew 230 SWIFTS IN SEA-BREEZE FRONTS through a downcurrent of 6 knots all the way along the north boundary of the field. When I was down to 300 feet I began to feel drift from the I south, and noticed that the windsock was showing increased strength and had gone round to the south-west. I jrd June 1962 ! No records were made of Swifts, but this day is included because very full records were made of the strength of upcurrents along a sea- breeze front. Many pilots flying in the 1 962 National Gliding Champion- ships found that this day’s task took them some miles along an active sea-breeze front. Twenty pilots sent me their observations of the front as they saw it near Cerne Abbas, Dorset, and the average strength of the lift, which they found in narrow strips along the front, came to 2^ knots. If we add i| knots, the normal rate of sink of a glider, we get a figure for the actual upcurrent of four knots (or two metres per second). ^ In my 1962 season of full-time study, lift of the same order was found on other days. Usually the band of lift was too narrow to circle in, and it was possible to climb only by flying straight. The strongest lift recorded at any time was six knots. 26th May 1^6 j I made a soaring flight of 45 minutes duration, almost entirely guided by Swifts, and attempted an estimate of their density. This was a day of light easterly winds and at 16.10 GMT, when : soaring conditions seemed to have ended, I had descended from an . aerotow to 2,000 feet down to 1,200 feet without finding any lift. Given a clue to the orientation of a sea-breeze front by three very : small ragged bits of fractocumulus, I picked up some Swifts which ' were using weak patches of lift. Struggling between these weak patches i I was able to keep airborne for 45 minutes and to climb from 1,200 feet : to 2,400 feet. I kept on meeting groups of three or four Swifts together - at intervals along the line I was flying, which extended over three or f four miles. I noticed few Swifts below 1,200 feet, but there may have t been more above 2,400 feet. A rough estimate of the space I could see \ would be 300 X 300 X 300 cubic feet and this usually contained three ' Swifts. If there was a layer of birds extending through 1,000 feet, then ' there must have been about 200 birds per mile of the front. The actual figure may well have been much greater. JOth June ip6j 1 This was a day of light north-east winds, and the sea-breeze front passed Lasham at 17.30. A very long line could be seen, consisting of a haze 'Wall sloping up at an angle of about 60°, capped with curtain clouds 231 BRITISH BIRDS and then thicker cumulus above that. The base of the cumulus proper was at 4, 5 00 feet, and the lower shreds of curtain clouds extended down to 5,300 feet. Another pilot, who did not claim to be able to distinguish Swallows Yiirundo rustica from Swifts, met numbers of ‘Swallows’ flying at about 3,000 feet, not far from the lower edge of the curtain clouds; he described these as small dark birds with swept-back wings and I suspect that they were actually Swifts. On this day the sea-breeze itself was blowing from the south, at about ten knots, and the front was still active as late as 20.10, when it was observed passing Reading, Berkshire. 1st June 1966 A special co-operative effort was arranged to investigate the first sea-breeze to move inland in June and, as it happened, this came about on the ist. That day an anticyclone moved across England into France, and it was sunny with small cumulus clouds and a light WNW wind. In the day most of the aerial observations were made by Henry White from a light aeroplane, chiefly at 60 knots air-speed and at heights between 1,000 feet and 2,000 feet; his observations are included in the first part of table i . In the evening, however, eight glider pilots explored the front, which by then was cloudless though marked by a haze line. Two of these reported by radio and one took photographs; others contributed information about the shape of the front and the distri- bution of lift. M. C. Wooldridge succeeded in soaring for a distance of 20 miles along the front from Lasham westward; eventually he lost track of it near Stockbridge, Hampshire, and had to land. Derek Table i. Observations on Swifts Apus apus at sea-breeze front, Hampshire and Sussex ist June 1966 The first series was by Henry White in an RF3 aeroplane over Hampshire, and the second b; Derek Piggott and Keith Chard in a Condor aeroplane over Surrey. The key numbers on tin left refer to the ‘boxes’ in fig. 3 Key Time (GMT) Number of Swifts Height (feet) Position Remarks (I) 13.08 5 1,500 Near Buriton tunnel Maximum upeurrent 3 knots (2) 16.3T 2 1,900 Bordon camp Upeurrent 2 knots ; narrow bam of turbulence ; downcurrent (3) 16.50 3 1,900 One mile south of Alton Upeurrent 2 knots with nw^' mum 4 knots ; distinct haze lio' (4) 17.08 7 800 South of Leather- head (5) 17.15 2 600 West Horsley (6) 19.01 I — North of Guildford Very rough air 232 SWIFTS IN SEA-BREEZE FRONTS I FROM GLtDERS AND AEROPLANES BY RADAR Winds marked at 1800 GMT CHELMSFORD V ' V; o" _G>.iM.or<, . __/fe • '^.., • .-• ---’^ O ' Peter^field ^ ■ ,-"C^ atwicK FFig. 3. Positions of a sea-breeze front as plotted from gliders and aeroplanes, and by radar, at various times (GMT) on ist June 1966. The six numbers in ‘boxes’ refer to the numbered observations of Swifts Apus apus in table i Piggott and Keith Chard flew in a light aeroplane from 17.35 to 20.15 '-with the object of plotting the position of the front and looking for birds in its neighbourhood. They traced it along to Dorking, Surrey, flying at various heights between 600 feet and 2,500 feet, where they found the top of the haze layer; their observations are included in the ^second part of table i. A successful time-lapse film was made by Marconi’s from their ; 23-centimetre radar display at Great Baddow, near Chelmsford, Essex. ' On this a distinct thin line’ was visible, agreeing closely with the .ground records made available by the Meteorological Office of the passage of the front and also, near the end of its range, with the aerial observations from Lasham (see fig. 3). A similar line was seen along ■ the coast of Essex. 2nd June 1966 'Since the previous day, the wind had shifted more to the north and increased a little, with the result that, although a vigorous sea-breeze front formed during the afternoon, it did not penetrate as far inland as Lasham, and no aerial observ'ations of Swifts were made. As a very t clear record of the movement inland of another ‘thin line’ was made on the radar, however, it is probable that the behaviour of the Swifts was ' similar to that of the previous day (see fig. 4). 255 BRITISH BIRDS Fig. 4. Radar display at 15.30 GMT on 2nd June 1966 with sea-breeze fronts near the south coast and north-east of London showing as lines {photo: Photographic Section, Alarconi Kesearcb haboratorj) 26th June ip66 The wind was light WNW, with some sunshine and cumulus clouds. By 14.00 it had increased at Lasham to 15 knots or more, but the direction was unaltered. At 14.30 J. Mackenzie took off in a glider to try to Hv to the sea- breeze front. Half an hour later some curtain clouds were visible to the south, so Derek Piggott and I took off at 1 5.40 from Lasham in a light aeroplane and flew towards Butser Hill on the South Downs. We found that the cloud base there was 1,000 feet, and that the glider was above us at 3,700 feet. We met about a dozen Swifts soaring in the lift at 1,000 feet. At 15.50 this line of sea-breeze cloud lay right along the Downs and the lift was strong and steady at about five knots. The front was advancing steadily and, after reaching Midhurst, we flew north and found it again at 16.10, five miles further inland. We met a few Swifts near Jdss, at 1,400 feet, flying along the front m a narrow band of lift which was still strong in places. The curtain clouds were quite dense and sloped back a little, and the angle of the haze beneath varied from almost vertical to about 45° (see fig. 5). \X'e then tried flying lower down, to sec if we could find more Swifts. This was very successful and for a few minutes we were able to keep some Swifts in sight almost continuously; usually there were four or 234 SWIFTS IN SEA-BREEZE FRONTS Fig. 5. Sea-breeze front near Liss, Hampshire, from the air and looking south-west, at 16.10 GMT on 26th June 1966 {photo: John E. Simpson). The arrow in the key on the left shows the position where Swifts A.pus apus were seen on this occasion; the dots simply mark the haze wall visible below the line of low cloud ive visible at any one moment, all apparently soaring. They were flying nostly between 800 and 500 feet above the ground, where the lift’was till nearly five knots ; Swifts flashed past above and below the aeroplane the way from East Tisted to Selborne, a distance of about three tiles. We left Selborne at 16.35 and flew back to Lasham. There was now ome light ram to the north of the front, and to the north-west it looked ery dark. The weather was deteriorating as a warm front moved in ut the sea-breeze front continued to advance in recognisable form’ assing J.asham at 17.30. oth June 1966 ■homey Island reported the onset of a light sea-breeze as early as 9-00 ; by 1 1 . 1 5 the wind there was west of south and nine knots, and a ^35 BRITISH BIRDS line of towering cumulus up to 7,000 feet could be seen about seven miles inland. Marconi’s started to film their radar display, but there was no line visible on radar as early as this. They were able later, however, to follow the movement of a ‘thin line’ inland from the coast. At Lasham by 16.00 a line of discontinuous curtain clouds could be seen to the south, with clear sky beyond. To the north and west the sky was becoming overcast. There were deeper curtain clouds between Alton and Alresford, and I spoke by radio to Anne Burns who was flying a glider in the lift there; she said that the lift was not very distinct or strong and that she had not noticed any birds. From 16.20 to 16.40 Robert Gillmor flew as a passenger in a light aeroplane in a wide circuit over Farringdon and Alton at heights between 3,000 and 4,000 feet, but did not see any Swifts, At 16.45 the surface wind at Lasham changed to a more southerly direction, with a marked humidity increase. By 17.05 the wind was south-west and five or six knots. From 17.40 to 18.40 David Ker ridge and I flew in a light aeroplane, looking for the front which Marconi’s reported at that time to be near Horsham. It proved very hard to identify the position of the front from the air, but by using clues from a few scattered fragments of curtain clouds and the directions of smoke trails on the ground, we^ eventually picked up a line of rising air between Cranleigh and Guildford. It was with some excitement that, as the strength of the rising current reached its maximum of four knots, I saw the first couple of Swifts flying at our height of 1,300 feet. At this time, 18.05 hours, we noticed some curtain cloud in a rough line, perhaps two miles to the south of us. Flying in a pattern backwards and forwards across the line of lift we met two Swifts again (it could have been the same two), and we were able to trace the line of lift for two or three miles to the west, until we were just south of Guildford. The position marked by the radar display at this time agreed very closely with the line we found in the air. ^rd July 1^166 This was a day of deep inland penetration of sea-breeze fronts both from the south coast and also across London from the east coast. From 1 5.20 to 18.1 5 I made a time-lapse cloud-film from the ground at Lasham, No birds were reported to me by glider pilots flying in the lift, but it is of interest to note that at 18.00, just when the front passed Lasham and the wind shifted, I noticed three Swifts circling overhead. This front was still active quite late in the evening. It passed Reading at 20.05 with a gust to eight knots, and a line of cloud marking the front was still visible from Reading an hour later, eight or nine miles to the north. 236 SWIFTS IN SEA-BREEZE FRONTS CONCLUSIONS In his observations of birds from airliners, Mitchell (1955, 1957, 1964) recorded 5 2 sightings of Swifts, which represented one sighting every 34,000 miles. Our records of twelve groups of Swifts in about eight hours’ flying (or 400 miles), although not strictly comparable, give some idea of the greater density of Swifts in the air we sampled, specially selected in and around upcurrents, even allowing for the differences in speed and altitude of travel. One would expect birds to fly in upcurrents for various reasons and, m a discussion of thermals, Forster (1955) pointed out that birds I normally fly slowly in these (as do glider pilots in order to stay inside the limited area of rising air). He expected that birds would follow thermal lanes (called ‘streets’ by glider pilots) on occasions when ther- mals formed in lines downwind. Radar echoes of these ‘dry thermal streets’ caused by soaring birds have since been described bv Harncr (1958). ' ^ Birds, however, can also use upcurrents in order to increase speed rather than to gain height, so a soaring bird can glide in a straight line ^ at a fixed height with greater speed. Lack (1956) pointed out that the Swift’s wing is adapted for high speedy, but not for rapid and precise manoeuvre, and questioned whether high-flying Swifts would be seriously feeding. Birds are not usually niuch disturbed by gliders near-by (whereas aeroplanes often do disturb them) and the Swifts I have seen from gliders in lift have always ■been in jerky, darting flight, apparently collecting insects. Swifts need to fly in air of the highest possible insect density and clearly it is an advantage to fly faster when upcurrents are available. •An area of rising air clear of ground obstructions will help in avoiding the need for rapid changes of course to avoid obstacles. One would naturally expect the area of highest insect density to be ■ close to the ground, whence the insects are being fed into the air, and f gures of insect density have been given in detail by Johnson (1957) The presence, however, of Swifts at heights of 1,000 feet or more in '.he lift at sea-breeze fronts is of interest as it seems to indicate the ;ftect of the convergence of air currents in concentrating insects in this mne. A similar effect has been described by Rainey (1951) who found hat the inter-tropic convergence zone acts as a concentration mechan- ■sm for locusts. More recently, Pedgley (1965) also recorded concen- rations of locusts in the sea-breeze front near the coast of Africa As the tightening up of the frontal effects grows during the afternoon often find the narrow band of rising air paralleled by a band of trong downcurrent, as some glider pilots have found to their cost' t IS of interest that a description by Gilbert White (1789) of a shower •t aphids near Selborne on ist August 1774 may well have had connec- 237 BRITISH BIRDS tions with the sea-breeze convergence zone. The time he mentioned, 5 p.m., is close to the average time we have found for the sea-breeze front at Selborne, and soon afterwards it spreads along to the other areas to which he referred — ‘about Farnham, and all along the vale from Farnham to Alton’. So the time and place are quite consistent with those of a vigorous sea-breeze front. The behaviour of Swifts I have been describing appears similar to that previously recorded at ‘micro-fronts’ of cold air flowing out from thunderstorms. At these fronts the airflow is probably very similar to that at sea-breeze fronts. Further study of Swifts in the sea-breeze convergence zone should enable more consistent explanations to be given of radar echoes of these important small-scale fronts, and also throw further light on the distribution and dispersal of airborne insects. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My thanks are first and foremost due to the Royal Meteorological Society, whose Scientific Activities Fund has financed much of the work. Dr. E. Eastwood and his team at the Great Baddow Research Station of the Marconi Company have given great assistance, and their willingness to watch us on radar has been much appreciated. Professor F. H. Ludlam of Imperial College has given me his time for much valuable discussion and lent me instruments. I must also thank the Director General of the Meteorological Office for the loan of instru- ments and for permission to consult autographic records ; and, perhaps most of all, I am indebted to the numerous glider pilots who have made special sea-breeze flights and reported their findings to me. SUMMARY Sea-breeze fronts in south-east England are described, with details of their frequency and probable times of passing Lasham Gliding Centre, 30 miles inland in Hampshire. Methods of recognising, forecasting and recording these fronts are discussed. Swifts Apus apus have been seen from gliders and aeroplanes soaring in the band of rising air, apparently feeding on insects which have been concentrated in the convergence zone. The birds have been chiefly at heights of about 800 feet, but have been seen up to 3,000 feet. Radar echoes from some sea-breeze fronts appear to be due to the presence of these birds. REFERENCES Atlas, D. (i960); ‘Radar detection of the sea breeze’. J. Me/., 17: 244-258. Boyd, J. G. (1963); ‘Observation of two intersecting radar fine lines’. Mon/hly Weather B,evkw, 188. Eastwood, E., and Rider, G. C. (1961): ‘A radar observation of a sea-breeze front’. Nature, 189: 978. Forster, G. 11. (1955): ‘Thermal air currents and their use in bird flight’. V>rit. Birds, 48: 241-233. Geotis, S. G. (1964): ‘On sea-breeze “angels’”. \V''or/d Con/. Radio Meteorohey. Boulder, Colorado. 238 THICK-BILLED WARBLER STUDIES Johnson, C. G. (1957a); ‘The distribution of insects in the air’. J. Anim Ecol 26: 479-494. (1957b): The vertical distribution of aphids in the air, and the temperature lapse T2Ae. Quart. J. Roj. Met. Soc., 83: 194-201. Harper, W. G. (1958): ‘An unusual indicator of convection’. Proc. -jth W'eather Radar Conf. Miami, Florida. Lack, D. (1956): Swifts in a Tower. London. Mitchell, K. D. G. (1955): ‘Aircraft observations of birds in flight’. Brit Birds 48: 59-70. ' (1957): ‘Further aircraft observations of birds in flight’. Brit. Birds 50: 291-302. ’ (1964): ‘Further observations of birds from aircraft’. Brit. Birds, 37: 313-324. Pedgley, D. E. (1963): ‘Locusts and the sea-breeze front’. Wor/d Meteorolooical Organisation Technical Note 69. Geneva, pp. 274-276. Plank, V. G. (1936): ‘A meteorological study of radar angels’. Geophys. Research Paper j 2. Air Force Research Centre, Bedford, Massachusetts. Rainey, R. C. (1951): ‘Weather and the movements of locust swarms’ Nature i68: 1057. ’ Senn, H V., and Gerrish, H. P. (1964): ‘Three-dimensional analysis of a precipi- tation free sea-breeze front'. Wor/d Conf. Kadio Alefeoro/og^', Boulder, Colorado. biMPSON, J. E. (1962): ‘Sea breeze summer’. Sailplane ei>' Gliding, 13: 376-381. (1964): ‘Sea breeze fronts in Hampshire’. Weather, 19; 208-220. ■ ■ ^'9^53): ‘Sea-breeze soaringjn Britain’. Sailplane <& Gliding, 16: 196-201. ~ breeze at Lasham’. Aero-Revue, Zurich, 1963: 633-633.* ~ (1967): ‘Three sea-breeze fronts’. Sailplane Gliding, 18:12-16. W ALLINGTON C E. (1939): ‘The Structure of the sea-breeze front as revealed by gliding flights . Weather, 14: 263-270. Vi ATTs, A J. (1933): ‘Sea breeze at Thorney Island’. Met. Mag., London, 84: 42-48. (1905): IF'/W and Sailing Boats. London. W HITE, G. (1789, etc.): The Natural History of Selbornc. London. Letter LIII to Mon. Dames Barrington. Studies of less familiar birds 144. Thick-billed Warbler By I. Neufeldt (Plates 29-32) On 6th October 1955 a bird with some resemblance to a Great Reed Warbler Acrocephalus armdinaceus was captured on Fair Isle Shet- land. and proved to be a Thick-billed Warbler Phragmaticola aedon*, a vagrant from south-east Asia not previously found in Europe (William- ■ now often included in the genus Acrocephalus and it is treated thus n C. Vaurie s Birds of the Palearctic Fauna (1959: 247-248). Here, however we nave retained the genus Phragmaticola since Miss Neufeldt’s text emphasises differences in torm and behaviour. — E d s . BRITISH BIRDS son et al. 1956). Although this is still an isolated record, another occur- rence in western Europe is always possible and the accompanying photographs may then be helpful in identification. The text which follows is intended to supplement and expand the notes on the species which formed part of the paper on the Fair Isle record. The breeding range of the Thick-billed Warbler covers southern Siberia, Amurland and Ussuriland in the Soviet Union and extends to northern Mongolia and Manchuria. The northern limits are Lake Petropavlovskoje north of Khabarovsk (Nechaev 1963), the northern shore of Lake Baikal (Malyshev i960) and the vicinity of Krasnoyarsk and Mariinsk (Yudin 1952, Johansen 1954). The western limit 80 years ago used to be the River Yenisei (Pleske 1891), but now it has spread some 300 miles west to Novosibirsk on the River Ob. In Japan, despite the impression given by the map in Williamson et al., the Thick- billed Warbler is known only as a straggler from central Honshu (Anon 1958) and in North Korea it occurs merely on passage (Austin 1948). During both spring and autumn migration it regularly visits the rest of Mongolia and north-eastern and central China. It winters in Yunnan and south-eastern China, in Burma and Thailand and south- ward to Krabi (Deignan 1963). It is also not a rare winter visitor in eastern Pakistan, Sikkim, Bhutan and eastern India, and sometimes occurs on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (Ripley 1961). The resemblance between Thick-billed and Great Reed Warblers is purely superficial. They are of comparable size (among the largest Palearctic warblers) and both are rufous to olive-brown above and off- white below with a buff tinge on the sides of the breast, but there the similarity ends. Considerable differences in behaviour and habitat are discussed below. In addition, the Thick-billed Warbler lacks the other’s pale supercilium and narrow black throat streaks; it also has a pro- portionately longer and more rounded tail and a deeper and shorter bill. Some of these points are illustrated by plates, 29, 31 and 32, and plate 29 also manages to show what is a diagnostic character in the hand, the unusually long and broad first primary extending as much as 18-25 millimetres beyond the longest primary coverts; in the Great Reed Warbler this feather is rudimentary. The wing formulae of the two species and of the Clamorous Reed Warbler A. stentoreus were illustrated by Williamson et al. In the field the shape and coloration of the Thick-billed Warbler recall a large Garden Warbler Sylvia horin, rather than an Acrocepbalus, and the voice and actions may be likened to those of a Brown Shrike L.anius cristatus. When disturbed, both sexes utter an abrupt and harsh tscbok-tschok similar to the call of the Brown Shrike. When they are excited, these alarm notes are combined into a loud chattering cberr- cberr-tscbok. ... At such times the rather elongated crown feathers are 240 THICK-BILLED WARBLER STUDIES raised to form a conspicuous crest (plate 31b) and the bird moves its tail in a shrike-like manner. This species is strictly a diurnal songster, active even in the hottest part of the day, whereas the Great Reed Warbler frequently sings at night. In the breeding season, especially when singing, the male Thick-billed tends to perch on the tops of bushes and the more exposed twigs of trees. The loud and sonorous song does not resemble that of the Great Reed. It begins with the characteristic tschok-tschok repeated several times and followed by a hurried chatter interspersed with melodious phrases and imitations of the songs and calls of other species living near-by. In Amurland these include the notes of Brown Shrike, Gray’s Grasshopper Warbler Locustella fasciolata, Black-browed Reed Warbler A. bistrigiceps, Siberian Rubythroat Luscinia calliope and Black-tailed Hawfinch Rophona migratoria. The females tend to be rather secretive and therefore difficult to see in cover. Out of the breeding season, especially in the winter quarters, the males also become shy and inconspicuous. Food consists mostly of insects picked from the leaves or stems of plants, but sometimes the birds also catch them in the air after watching them from some high and exposed perch. Thick-billed Warblers do not fly fast, but they flit easily from one plant to another. They are somewhat heavier in flight and less creeping in habits than Acrocephalus species. Their strong feet enable them to cling easily to upright branches and stems (plate 31a), but they seldom sidle up reed stems in the way that Acrocephalus warblers do. In Asia there is a considerable overlap between the ranges of the Thick-billed and Great Reed Warblers and in some areas they live almost side by side, but their habitats are very different. The Thick- billed Warbler prefers thickets of bushes to reed beds and the presence of water is unnecessary to it. In Amurland, for example, it often nests in impenetrably dense growths of hazel Corjlus heterophjlla on hill slopes or lowland well away from water. It also likes thinned forests of birches Betula dahurica and B. plafyphjlla with a luxuriant undergrowth of hazel, lespedeza Respede^a spp. and o-akOuercus mongolicus (plate 30a). In southern Ussuriland the species readily occupies areas of oak on dry hillsides where fire and felling have allowed the growth of thickets of lespedeza, hazel, rose Rosa spp. and oak(Spangenberg 1965). Sometimes, on the other hand, it is found in damp meadows where solitarv trees grow up among thick grass and bushes. It is also known to nest in bushy places on wood edges, in gardens, along roads, on the edges of cornfields, in river valleys and near lakes. Even in its winter quarters the Thick-billed Warbler still preser\^es its attachment for shrubs and bas been recorded from tea and coffee plantations. It leaves its winter quarters very late. In northern Thailand, for 241 BRITISH BIRDS example, it has been recorded up to loth May (Deignan 1945) and in Burma up to 17th May with stragglers into June (Smythies 1953). It sings freely in its winter quarters in May and continues to do so on passage, with the result that spring arrivals in any area are easily noted. Most of the population reaches the breeding range in late May or early June, but some individuals arrive much earlier. Specimens in the collection of the Zoological Institute in Leningrad were collected in north-eastern Mongolia on 5 th April, in southern Ussuriland on ist and 6th May and in the vicinity of Irkutsk on 1 2th May. Soon after their arrival in Amurland the Thick-billed Warblers have occupied territories and begun nest-building, and I saw nearly com- pleted nests as early as 8th June. The nest is built by the female only, accompanied sometimes by the male. Coarse grass stems are used for the foundations and walls, and the nest cup is then lined with finer grasses and rootlets. Taczanowski (1872) stated that the species also used wool and horsehair, but none of the 20 nests I found contained either of these. In shape the nest is more like that of a Sylvia than an Acrocephalus (plate 30b) and from the outside it looks flimsy and untidy. The external measurements of the nests examined by me were 93-130 mm. in diameter and 67-92 mm. in depth, and the internal mea- surements 60-76 mm. in diameter and 46-55 mm. in depth. All the nests I have seen have been at a height of 60-100 centimetres (24-40 inches) above the ground in the forked crowns of shrubs of hazel, oak, spiraea Spiraea spp., willow Salix spp. and rose. Unlike the Great Reed Warbler, the Thick-billed Warbler never builds its nest around vertical reed stems and hardly even fixes it to the supporting bush. First eggs were laid in Amurland from 15 th June to 2nd July and one pair began a second laying (after the first nest with incubated eggs had been destroyed) on 13th July. The nests found by Spangenberg in Ussuriland held full clutches of fresh eggs between 13 th June and loth July. The normal clutch consists of five eggs, rarely six or four. The measurements of 43 eggs from Amurland averaged 21.8 mm. x 15.5 mm. (range 20.0-23.0 mm. x 15.0-16.1 mm.). The eggs are very different from those of any other Palearctic warbler, being light pinkish- violet pencilled with fine chestnut or brownish-red lines. According to Spangenberg, the Thick-billed Warbler is the main fosterer of the Cuckoo Cuculus canorus in the Iman area of Ussuriland. Incubation usually begins on the completion of the clutch and is by the female alone. The male sings near the nest (but not as loudly as before) and sometimes feeds his mate on the nest. The eggs hatch in about 13-14 days. The newly hatched chick — naked, blind and with closed acoustic ducts — is yellowish or pinkish-brown, darker on the back; the tongue and inside of the mouth are orange-yellow with two black spots on the 242 Pi-\TE 29. Thick-billed W arbler Phragma/icola aedon at nest, Amurland, U.S.S.R., July 1961. It is similar in size and coloration to a Great Reed Warbler, but has a shorter and deeper bill, a longer tail and no supercilium; note, too, ’the long hrst primary, well beyond the primary coverts (pages 239-243) {photo: I. Neufeld}) ^67 Plate 30. Habitat of Thick-billed Warblers Pbragmatkola aedon, Amurland, June 1957: a birch forest with an undergrowth of hazel, lespedeza and oak, and no water (page 241). Below, nest and eggs, July 1958: nests are two to three feet up in the tops of shrubs and made largely of grass; the commonest clutch is five (page 242) Plate 3 i . Above, female approaching nest, July 1958; this species does not sidle up and down vertical stems like most Acrocepbalns. Below, male feeding young as female looks on with raised crown feathers, a sign of excitement: both sexes feed the young, which normally leave the nest at 14 days (page 243). This is the same nest as m plates 29 and 32, with a large brood of six young {photos: I. Neufeldt) Plate 32. Male Thick-billed Warbler P/)r(7gw<7//Vo/ir/ Amurland, July 1961. The sexes are alike, being rufous to olive-brown above and oli-white below with buff on the sides of the breast. Note again the lack of supercilium and also ot black throat streaks, both features of the Great Reed Warbler {photo: I. Nei'feldl) THICK-BILLED WARBLER STUDIES tongue spurs, and the external flanges of the mouth are pale yellow. Weights at hatching varied between 2.0 grams and 2.15 grams. The primary sheaths begin to appear on the fifth day and by the eighth day the feathers on the back emerge from their sheaths and the eyes are fully open. The nestlings normally leave the nest at 14 days, but may jump out on the twelfth day if disturbed. They begin to fly at 18 days, but for a long time do not leave the bushy thickets unless forced to do so. The female broods the young after they hatch and for the first two to four days seldom leaves the nest. Later the young are fed by both parents, particularly on small caterpillars, spiders and their cocoons, this diet changing to rougher insects when they are nearly a week old. The food of young twelve days old included large caterpillars of hawk moths (Sphingidae), caterpillars and moths of Noctuidae, Geometridae, Dendrolimus sibiricus and other Lepidoptera, as well as grasshoppers and crickets (Orthoptera) and Ascalaphus sibiricus (Neuroptera). The adults eat many grasshoppers in the summer. If food is abundant they and their brood remain in the vicinity of the nest. The birds leave the breeding area in Amurland at the end of August and the beginning of September, migrating through China in September and into October and reaching the winter quarters only in November, sometimes not until December. REFERENCES Anon (1958): A Handlist of the Japanese Birds. Tokyo, pp. 70-71. Austin, O. L. (1948): ‘The birds of Korea’. Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. Harvard, loi ■ 222- 223. • Deignan, H. G. (1945) : ‘The birds of northern Thailand’. Bull. U.S. Nat Mus 1 86 ■ 482-485. ■’ (1963): ‘Checklist of the birds of Thailand’. Bull. U.S. Nat. Mus., 226; 175. ^ Johansen, H. (1954); ‘Die Vogelfauna Westsibiriens’. J. Om., 95 ; 93-94. Ialyshev L. I. (i960): [‘Records of the ornithological fauna of the north-western shore of Lake Baikal’.] Trudy Vost.-Sib. Filiala Sib. Otd. Akad Nauk SSSK 22- 53-68. [In Russian.] ’ ’Mechaev, V. A. (1963): [‘New data on the birds of Lower Amur’.] Omitologia, 6- 183. [In Russian.] & > ■ Aeske, T. D. (1891): Ornithographia Rossica. II. Sylviidae. St. Petersburg, p. 381. ' ^ ^ d)e Birds of India and Pakistan, together with those of Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan and Ceylon. Bombay, p. 464. 5mythies, B. E. (1953); The Birds of Burma. Edinburgh and London, p 181 >RANgenberg E. P. (1965): [‘The birds of the Iman River basin’.] Shorn. Trudov Zool. Muvi. Mosk. Univ., 9: 191. [In Russian.] Paczanowski, L. (1872): ‘Bericht iiber die ornithologischen Untersuchungen des Ur. Dybowski in Ost-Sibirien’. J. Orn., 20: 333-354. ’ Pe'^guso.n-Lees, I. J., and Axell, H. E. (1956): ^ Thick-billed Warbler at Fair Isle: a new British bird’. Brit. Birds, 49: 89-93. ■udin, K. a. (1932): [‘Observations on the distribution and biology of birds of Krasnoyarsk region’.] Trudy. Zool. Inst. Akad. Nauk .S^SR, 9: 1044. [In Russian ] 245 Territory, behaviour and breeding of the Dipper in Banffshire Raymond Hewson INTRODUCTION Between September 1959 and December 1964 zy adult and 38 nestling Dippers Cinclus cinclus were colour-ringed on the River Isla in Banffshire to investigate their behaviour and movements. Work on this species by Balat (1962, 1964) in Czechoslovakia and on the American Dipper C. mexicanus by Baker (1959a, b) in Montana, U.S.A., involved observations of, respectively, three and 13 miles of water course which were surveyed at regular intervals, but for less than two years in each case. The more frequent (but less systematic) observations made in the present study have been used to provide a detailed local picture over a longer period in a contrasting environment where the winter habitat was never completely ice-covered. METHODS Nine hundred observations, at the rate of about 15 per month, were made along 400 yards of river at Towiemore, about two miles below the source of the Isla and six miles above the end of the fast-flowing and Dipper-frequented section of river at Keith. On each observation I walked slowly along the river bank, noting the presence and behaviour of Dippers, which whenever possible I did not disturb. Within the study area the river was about 1 5 feet wide, between a few inches and about two feet deep (except for a small deeper pool), and fast-flowing with rapids through which rocks protruded. The banks were low and grassy, grazed by cattle and lined with alders Alnus glutinosa. A tribu- tary burn, along which was a roost and nest site beneath a bridge, entered from the west at the upstream end of the study area (fig. i). With 10 X 50 binoculars it was not difficult ot identify colour-ringed Dippers, although the original rings faded rather quickly. Scotchlite reflective tape was bonded on to later rings. This did not fade and remained firmly fixed throughout the study. Robson (1956) found colour-ringing unsatisfactory for Dippers as the rings were difficult to see and were suspected of being lost by abrasion. Other observations were made, as opportunity offered, at roosts, nests and other places along the Isla. From these it was found that ringed Dippers from the study area fed up to 1,000 yards downstream, but less frequently upstream. 244 BEHAVIOUR AND BREEDING OF DIPPERS Vtaiiwa^ (nest site and rooit) above ^st 2nd Srd above pooT 1st uapt^ rapid rapid bridge bridge rapid, pool 25 54 9 5 24 18 52 15 I ^ I 0 ^ 100 200 scale 141 ^ards "IG. I . Study area of Dippers Cinchis cinclus at Towiemore, Banffshire. Rapids (ist o 3rd) and the other river features are marked, and below each is shown the number of occasions on which Dippers were seen there between August 1962 and December 1964 OCCUPATION OF TERRITORY '3alat (1962) showed that the adult Dippers in his study area were ■lormally sedentary. Those occupying shallow creeks which became ^ ce-covered in winter moved downstream. In limestone areas where the water, emerging from warmer underground sources, remained un- tTozen, all of 14 females and 12 of 14 males remained on their summer V errkories throughout the winter. In either case defence of a winter • erritory was exceptional. Bakus (1959b) found that his American dippers established winter territories in November and defended them trongly until February, moving upstream to nesting territories in •larch. The difference in behaviour may be partly due to the higher .ensity of birds obser\'-ed by Bakus who recorded winter territories veraging 380 and 346 yards in successive winters, whereas Balat Dund that a Dipper occupying a section of stream 100-200 yards long light be 700-1,100 yards away from the next Dipper. The number of Aippers in the Isla resembled that found by Balat in Czechoslovakia. At Towkmore, where the river never froze over completely. Dippers • imained in the study area throughout the year. A female ringed in eptember 1959 was seen over 200 times up to November 1962, nesting id roosting beneath the railway bridge in the study area and feeding p to half a mile downstream. A male also occurred regularly from • lovember 1959 to March 1962, when he hit an overhead wire and was tiled. Winter occupation of the study area was by Dippers of either sex t by both of a pair, and was equally shared between the sexes (table (• Where breeding was successful both birds had wintered in the 245 BRITISH BIRDS Table i. Occurrence of resident adult Dippers Cinclus cinclus and unringed or transient birds at Towiemore, Banffshire, from September 1959 to December 1964 Unidentified birds probably included residents on many occasions; for comparative purposes they should be ignored Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Resident dd 14 13 16 18 7 — 5 10 17 14 7 18 Resident $$ 16 17 21 15 8 10 I 9 19 27 12 16 Transient — 2 — — • — — 6 I 7 4 4 I Unringed 5 4 7 I 7 15 18 7 32 19 5 16 Unidentified 14 8 23 14 13 12 19 7 23 22 14 24 Number of observations Dippers seen per 76 65 95 67 71 79 77 50 82 86 63 89 visit 0.65 0.68 0.71 0.72 0.49 0.47 0.66 00 o* 1.20 I.OO 0 1.67 0.84 Study area. Balat (1962) found that pair formation began in December. When one bird of a pair died or disappeared, the survivor of either sex remained in occupation. A replacement male arrived within three days of his predecessor’s death in March and assisted with nest building. He was caught in a second almost completed nest 2,000 yards downstream a fortnight later. Eggs were laid in both nests, but failed to hatch. A replacement female moved into the study area in October. From June to October an increased number of unringed Dippers moved through the study area. These included dispersing juveniles and adults which had failed to breed or which were moving from their breeding areas. The resident Dippers were seldom seen in July and August (the period of the moult, according to Witherby et al. 1938-41) when they skulked close to the bank and did not call in flight. On the other hand, they were more easily seen in winter because of song and courtship activity. BEHAVIOUR Witherby et al. described display in the Dipper as entailing wing- shivering and bowing by both sexes, usually accompanied by song and disp’ay-note. The display-note was not heard at Towiemore, but an attempt was made to classify the other types of behaviour. Rankin and Rankin (1940), studying nesting of the Irish race of the Dipper C. c. Irihertiicm from a hide, found that adults almost invariably displayed or sang on approaching one another. Little aggressive territorial behaviour was seen at Towiemore. As the nearest nest sites to the one studied were 1,100 yards upstream and 246 BEHAVIOUR AND BREEDING OF DIPPERS .2,000 yards downstream, defence of territory boundaries may not have been important. Transient Dippers were seen during most months, but ’ they did not stay and little aggressive display was seen towards them. '.The method of observation was more likely to disturb the birds than if *1 hide had been used, but certain types of behaviour were nevertheless r regularly seen. These were: (1) Upright posturing (2) Bobbing and wing-flicking (3) Dropping into the water, usually from pursuit flight, and then swimming to the shore (4) Song or display flight (5) Perching in trees fames Alder {in lift.') has pointed out that all these types of behaviour '.Tiay also occur in circumstances other than those described below, or may form part of more complex displays. jpright posturing This type of behaviour was elicited by the approach of a male Dipper, owards which the female turned while displaying. The bill was raised i/ertically and the neck stretched upward to display the white breast, »vith the wings slightly open and shivering. Sometimes the female sang, n one case posturing of this sort preceded a song flight; in all other ^ases one or both birds flew away afterwards. This type of behaviour iv^as seen in January, March, June, October and December between the resident birds at Towiemore and in February between two transient "irst-winter birds on another part of the river. It was therefore difficult ' o associate it with any purpose other than courtship. Rankin and Lankin found that upright posturing occurred frequently between ! .lembers of a breeding pair, but that wing-shivering (see below) was ' he commonest display early in the breeding season. fobbing and wing-flicking he characteristic bobbing action of Dippers occurs normally during itervals between feeding or while searching for food. It is speeded up ‘ ^hen a disturbed bird is about to fly. It also forms part of a threat dis- ' lay accompanied by a forward posture and a quick part-opening of the dngs as the bird jerks downward. This was the most frequently seen isplay, and it occurred in January, February', March, June, October, November and December. In two cases it formed the male counterpart of the upright posturing isplay; m another case an unringed Dipper approached and displayed t a resident bird and then flew away, but more usually the displaying ird flew after an intruder. In some cases the intruding bird could not e seen during the display, but flew past the displaying bird and was 247 BRITISH BIRDS then pursued. The Towiemore resident female once displayed towards her mate in this way in November, but upright posturing was more usual. Rankin and Rankin found that bobbing and flicking (equivalent probably to the bowing and wing-shivering described by Witherby et al.) occurred frequently between paired birds early in the breeding season. Dropping into the water from flight During pursuit or fairly intense display a low-flying Dipper often landed with a splash in the water and then swam ashore. Usually two birds were flying close together, sometimes silently, but more frequently with loud calls. Either the leading bird or the pursuer might land in the water and swim to shore. Occasionally a single Dipper approaching another dropped into the water and once drove off another Dipper after doing so. A female flew towards a singing male, landed and flicked her wings, then flew towards the male and landed in the water two yards away. She approached within a foot of the male and adopted the upright posture while he, no longer singing, pecked at or near his feet. Both birds, the joint territory holders, then flew off together. In two cases the female of the pair at Towiemore landed in the water, once after a short flight with the male, once after flying directly towards the male perched on a rock. Bakus (1959a) found that a female American Dipper which was being pursued by a singing male frequently dropped into the stream. Where the Dippers concerned could be identified they were paired, and the behaviour might be attributed, like the earlier forms described, to courtship; but it occurred a good many times in circumstances where its function was not clear. When a Dipper which was being driven towards the presumed boundary of its territory dropped into the water regularly before landing at the river bank, this appeared to be a displacement activity. Song or display flight The song or display flight of the Dipper has been described by Moody (195 5). In March 1961 I saw two Dippers flying parallel with and about 50 yards from the river at a height of about 100 feet. They were a few feet part, flying a straight and level course, and were lost to sight as they moved into the glare of the sun. They sang continuously. A similar flight, in April 1963, was at a height of about 50 feet between the tops of the riverside alders for at least 200 yards, again with loud and con- tinuous song. Robson saw display flights in March and June, and Bakus (1959a) described courtship display which included the male Dipper singing in flight while pursuing the female, but these were com- paratively short and low flights. The display flight, which is striking and not easily overlooked, seems to occur rather seldom. Both sexes sang during winter, and song was heard in every month 248 BEHAVIOUR AND BREEDING OF DIPPERS except July and August. Singing birds, as well as ones which were -preening, feeding or perching, were most commonly found on boulders .at a rapid 30 yards below the tributary burn. This was the highest point in the study area and commanded the best view, as well as the approach to the nest site and roost. On 84 out of 234 occasions when Dippers swere seen in the study area between August 1962 and December 1964 it was at this rapid, and on a further 23 occasions they were at a similar r rapid just above the burn mouth (fig. i). These rapids may therefore : have been used as song posts. Verching in trees 1 Dippers quite often perched on tree roots or branches within five feet Df the water. During the breeding season, however, they sometimes 'oerched at heights of eight to 25 feet in alders at the water’s edge. Once 'ooth adults perched in an alder when there were two eggs in a nest mear-by. At other times the female perched in a tree when fledged young .'were about and after eggs had been lost. An unringed adult which \3erched in an alder also had fledged young near-by. The habit may be i /aluable to the adult in keeping young birds in sight and to the young : n more clearly seeing and hearing their parent. It is not recorded in other work on Dippers. NEST SITES AND BUILDING '^'lests at Towiemore were always built on girders beneath a metal rail- ivay bridge about three feet above the water. Of twelve nest sites on the ' sla five were on railway bridges of this type. Two more were on stone or metal ledges and three in cavities in masonry beneath bridges. Only me was on a rock face and one in a tunnel below a mill lade. This was ■ n marked contrast to Robson’s findings (only seven out of 5 3 nests . inder bridges) and those of Balat (23 out 0^53 nests under bridges, but ' en of those in nest boxes). The difference reflects the absence of rock iaces along the Isla. These were the most favoured sites in Westmorland nd Czechoslovakia. While nests beneath bridges were easily found, 1 indue bias is not likely as there were few natural sites. The low grassy iver banks were accessible to cattle and there was httle waterside nasonry (mills and similar buildings) to provide nest sites. Both sexes took mosses and dried grass to the nest-site, often wetting he material before doing so. The mosses chiefly used in one nest were 'rachjthecium rutabulum, Enrhjnchiufn praelongum , Thuidium tamariscinum , ■•ophocolea hidentata, Eadula complanata, Eurhjnchium ripar hides and Hypnum ’^pressiforma. Only Eurhjnchium riparioides is aquatic, and Dippers ■'’ere often seen gathering the terrestrial mosses from among grass on he river bank. Dippers in Czechoslovakia (Balat 1964) used different losses which grew in or near the water, including ¥ ontinalis , Urepatio- 249 BRITISH BIRDS cladus, Acrocladium and Khjtidiadelphus. Khjtidiadelphus are mostly wood- land mosses, but could extend to stream banks ; the other mosses could have been submerged or exposed according to water level. Except for E. ripar hides, the mosses used at Towiemore are unlikely ever to be submerged (R. Richter in litti). Rankin and Rankin found that, while both sexes built the superstructure of the nest, only the female lined it. Nest building or repairing of old nests began as early as 20th Feb- ruary and proceeded slowly. Eggs were not laid before 14th March; more usually in early April. Later nests were built more quickly, e.g. in 14 days between broods and in nine days following the robbing of an earlier nest. The nine days included an abortive attempt at building beneath another bridge. Balat (1964) found that a nest was built in twelve days and another half-completed in three days. Where the same nest was used for a second brood, laying began four or five days after the first brood had flown. BREEDING SUCCESS There was a good deal of human disturbance at Towiemore and else- where on the Isla. No attempt was made to find all the nests on the river, or to visit nests containing young within a few days of leaving, but it is probable that 25 young flew from eight nests along the river and 20 from seven nests at Towiemore. The combined mean of 3.0 young per nest (i 5 broods) closely resembles the 3.02 found by Robson in Westmorland in a sample of 92 nests. Eggs were occasionally lost during incubation (one or two were seen in the water beneath the nests), but, where the original clutch size was known, nine clutches at Towiemore averaged 3.4 eggs. This rather low figure was due to small clutches laid by one particular female. Elsewhere clutches of four and five were more usual. GROWTH RATE AND FLEDGING Two successive broods at Towiemore, each of two young, were weighed at fairly frequent intervals (fig. 2). They showed a mean growth rate of 4.2 grams per day from three to 15 days old, when the young birds weighed about 47 grams (range 40-5 1 grams). Thereafter there was little further growth. Various authors have pointed out that, al- though young Dippers normally spend about 24 days in the nest, they will leave several days earlier if disturbed, and Balat (1964) found that two young Dippers which left the nest at 14 days survived until adult. If the growth curve of Dippers at Towiemore was typical, the survival prospects of young birds leaving the nest, in so far as body weight is concerned, might be reasonably good from 1 5 days onward. To avoid disturbance no further regular weighing was done. Heavier young birds left the nest two or three days before lighter ones. 250 BEHAVIOUR AND BREEDING OF DIPPERS and in some cases young birds lost a little weight before leaving Young Dippers which left nests disturbed as little as possible at lo- -23 days were tended by their parents until they were 28-31 days old They were seen feeding alone from 33 days (four cases) onwards. •Balat (1962 1964) found that young Dippers left the nest at about 124 days and were independent when five or six weeks old. dispersal of young ’ Of 27 adult Dippers colour-ringed, twelve were seen (some of them many times) more than a month later. Of 38 nestlings colour-ringed - 3nly five were found later, excluding the period when newlv fledged young remained near the nest. The difference, due to mortality and dis- persal, could not be apportioned between these two causes. After becoming independent, young birds moved away from the /icimty of the nest. At six weeks old one had travelled 2,000 yards Jpstream and a brood mate was seen at the same place when eleven veeks old A movement of 9,300 yards at 13 weeks old was the longest ecorded for the post-fledging period. Balat (1962) found that a young ipper moved three kilometres during one day in July, but he did not ay how old this bird was. Probably the most effective way of discovering whether ringed 251 BRITISH BIRDS Dippers were still about was to examine the roosts. Here most of the ringed adults appeared regularly, but only two first-year birds were found during 65 examinations of roosts between January 1961 and September 1964. The identity of all nesting Dippers was not known, but no bird ringed as a nestling was found breeding on the seven miles of river under periodic observation. It was possible that they nested along tribu- tary burns or that some failed to breed. Five first-year Dippers ringed as nestlings by Robson nested at distances up to nine miles from their birthplace and in all cases on a different stream or section of the river from their nest of origin. If this is a general pattern of dispersal it would account for the non-appearance of Dippers ringed as young on the Isla. Balat (1962) considered that young Dippers tended to occupy nest sites not in regular use, and found movements of up to 42 kilo- metres from the nearest suitable nesting area; a nestling ringed in April was recaptured 25 kilometres away in October. Movements of this order on the Isla would take Dippers on to the Deveron and its tribu- taries, well away from the area under observation. As nest sites on the Isla were mainly restricted to bridges, and few in number, it was possible that they were held mainly by resident adults, as at Towiemore. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am grateful to Dr. R. Richter for identifying mosses and for help with the field work. Dr. Ian J. Patterson made helpful criticisms of earlier drafts of this paper, and James Alder commented on the section on behaviour. REFERENCES Bakus, G. j. (1959a): ‘Observations on the life history of the Dipper in Montana’. 76: 190-207. (1959b): ‘Territoriality, movements and population density of the Dipper in Montana’. 61 ; 410-425 . Balat, F. (1962): ‘Distribution and movements of the Dippers Cindus c. aquattcus Bechst. on a creek and their changes during a year’. Zool. L,isty, ii : 1 31-145. Balat, F. (1964): ‘Breeding biology and population dynamics in the Dipper’. Zool. Listy, 13: 305-320. Moody, C. (1955): ‘Display flight of Dipper’. Brit. Birds, 48; 184. Rankin, M. N. and D. H. (1940): ‘The breeding of the Irish Dipper’. Irish Nat. J., 7:273-282. . , Robson, R. W. (1956): ‘The breeding of the Dipper in north Westmorland . Bira Sti/dy, ijo-iio. WiTHERBY, H. F., JouRDAiN, F. C. R., Ticehurst, N. F., and Tucker, B. W. (1930- 41): The Handbook of British Birds. London, vol. 2: 223. 252 Notes ^3arn Owl perching on man. — On 14th December 1966, at 3 p.m., I ‘ digging a ditch on the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds’ . eserve at Leighton Moss, Lancashire, when I saw a Barn Owl Tj/o iba hunting along the hedgerow. It soon dropped on to a Long-tailed •ield Mouse Apodemus sjlvaficus within ten feet of me and then pro- . eeded to devour its prey on the ground where it had lanced, seemingly uite oblivious of my presence. Having eaten the mouse, the owl limbed on to a tussock sedge and looked around. It then took off in i.iy direction and landed on my head where it stayed for approximately 5 seconds before dying to a fence post 20 yards away. As I was wearing uH green clothing and had stood perfectly still throughout the whole ■icident, the owl had evidently taken me as part of the surroundings. Richard A. Straton vwift in Essex in February. — On 3rd February 1967, after a few days if unusually mild weather, I was astonished to see a Swift Apus apus vying to and fro along the cliff face at the Naze, Walton-on-Naze, s.ssex. My first concern was to fetch another observ^er to confirm the record and within 20 minutes I returned with Mrs. D. J. Weston. To ■ly relief, the Swift was still there and we watched it planing over the iffs for about an hour. It flew over our heads several times and came ithin 1 5 feet. Binoculars were hardly necessary, but were used to verify lat it was not a Pallid Swift A. palUdus; it was, in fact, a very dark idividual. I revisited the area at 8 a.m. the next day and found the Swift flying ound some farm buildings about a quarter of a mile from the chfts. ' saw it again at the same time the following day around the chimney >acks of a large convalescent home near the cliffs. The weather turned )ld on 6th February with strong winds from the east, but the Swift as still present in the vicinity of the farm that afternoon. It could not ■ ; found the following day, but was again seen finally on 8th February, i view of the exceptionally early date, I made every effort to get other oserv'ers to see the bird. Those who did included Mr. and Mrs. J. K. eston (Joint Recorders for the Essex Bird Watching and Preservation iciety), Mr. and Mrs. M. Hutchings and T. Haggis. P. Harris -agpie killing juvenile Reed Bunting.— On 17th June 1966, at ttenborough Nature ReserA'e, Nottinghamshire, A. E. Keena and I oserv^ed an adult Magpie Pica pica chasing a juvenile Reed Bunting mheri^a schoeniclus in flight. Though the flight of the young bird was ther low and laboured, it maintained it over distances exceeding 50 253 BRITISH BIRDS yards. It landed several times, but the Magpie repeatedly Hushed it again and, after about three minutes, caught and killed it, then carried it away. Although the young Reed Bunting was one of a colour-ringed population, I could not see the rings on its legs, but I estimated its age at between three and four weeks, partly on its ability at flying and partly by being able to identify it with one of two pairs of colour- ringed adults known to have young of that age in the area. We were surprised that a young Reed Bunting as old as that should still be vulnerable to predation of this kind. B. D. Bell Thrush Nightingales in Northumberland. — On 26th September 1965 G. Bruce, B. Galloway and I were mist-netting in an overgrown garden at Low Hauxley, Northumberland, when we caught a bird whose rounded chestnut tail showed it to be one of the two nightingale species. Suspecting the rarer Thrush Nightingale 'Luscinia luscinia because of streaking on the breast, we took it back to our headquarters where we noted the following details : Upper-parts: forehead, crown and nape olive-brown, darker than mantle and slightly streaked with dark brown; ear-coverts also olive-brown, but brighter than rest of head; mantle, back and rump uniform warm olive-brown. Wings and tail: wings generally warm olive-brown, with paler edges to both primary and greater coverts, and pale spots on greater coverts and tertials; tail con- spicuously rounded and dark brownish-chestnut, with inner feathers darker than outer. Under-parts: chin and throat creamy-buff; breast and flanks buffish- brown, with dark brown streaks on breast; belly and under tail-coverts whitish; feathering on tibiae brownish-grey. Soft parts: upper mandible uniform dark grey-brown, lower mandible pinkish with darker tip; inside mouth yellow; iris very dark brown; legs pale flesh. Measurements: wing 92 mm., tail 70 mm., bill from skull 14 mm., tarsus 29 mm.; weight 35 grams. Wing-formula: 3rd primary longest, 4th —3 mm., 2nd —4 mm., 5th —8 mm., 6th — ii mm., 7th — 15 mm., 8th —17 mm., 9th —20 mm., loth —22 mm., ist 5 mm. shorter than longest primary covert; notch on inner web of 2nd 16 mm. from tip; only 3rd emarginated on outer web. Subsequent reference to The Handbook and Field Guide confirmed that we had trapped a first-winter Thrush Nightingale. The bird was also seen in the hand by S. R. Barret, D. Bradford, B. Little, T. Winter, P. Yeoman and others. It was ringed and photographed, and then released in the garden where it was caught. It immediately took to low cover and became extremely skulking; when flying from one piece of cover to the next it always flew close to the ground and resembled a small Song Thrush Turdus philomelos. It was still present the next day, 27th Sep- tember, when it was retrapped in the same garden by B. G. and myself. It was not seen after that date, but the ringing station was not manned again until ist October. On 2nd October, five days after this bird was last recorded, L- 254 NOTES ' vlacl'arquhar and I were netting in the same garden when we saw what was immediately able to identify, from the experience of the previous . veek, as a Thrush Nightingale. It was perched on a dead branch in a lump of brambles, its tail cocked and flicking from side to side and the 'peckling on its breast clearly visible in the bright sunlight. We were loth amazed to note, however, that it was unringed. Fortunately, it lew along a privet hedge and straight into a mist-net. After careful examination we concluded that it was also in first-winter plumage and Imost identical with the other except that its weight was 30 grams and : had a slightly different wing-formula; the 2nd primary was only 2 im. shorter than the 3rd (notch on inner web 15 mm. from tip), while le 4th was 4 mm. shorter than the 3rd. The bird was released after eeing ringed and photographed, but was not seen again. These are only the sixth and seventh British records of this summer idsitor to Scandinavia, east Europe and Asia; they are also the first for ne mainland of Britain and the first in autumn. All the other five have ceen on Fair Isle (Shetland) in May, including two in May 1965. J. E. Robson ppotted Flycatchers catching insects after dark by artificial light- i|ig.— Following my recent note on Robins Erithacus rubecula feeding ' octurnally {Brit. Birds, 59; 501), it seems worth recording that in July ,)54 I frequently saw a pair of Spotted Flycatchers hiuscicapa striata : btaining food after dark in the form of moths which had been nracted to the light shining through a French window of my house Saltford, Somerset. The Spotted Flycatchers had a nest about seven feet above the ground t the flat top of a post supporting a climbing rose. I found the nest ith four eggs on 25 th June and these hatched about twelve days later, was not until the middle of July, when the young had become well athered, that I noticed the adults catching large moths in the artificial .^ht. This did not go on for very long on any one evening, but I corded it as late as 10.20 p.m. BST (about 20-30 minutes after dark), he moths fell easy prey to the Spotted Flycatchers which killed them a thrush-like manner, beating them on the crazy paving beneath the indow, and then took them to their nest. The behaviour became ' creasingly common as the nestlings grew near to fledging and were esumably capable of swallowing larger items of food. There were vvays plenty of moths flying about after the feeding ceased, but I ■sumed that the young flycatchers were soon satiated with food of is size. The moths caught appeared to be Yellow Underwings Triphaeua onuha, but unfortunately I did not obtain any specimens of them, hen, however, another large insect was killed by one of the flycatchers 255 BRITISH BIRDS but left on the ground, I collected this and sent it to John Burton who identified it as an Oil Beetle Meloe proscarahaeus. It seems surprising that a Spotted Flycatcher should take so large an insect and be capable of killing it, but I understand that Oil Beetles are distasteful to birds and the flycatcher presumably left it for this reason. Bernard King Reviews Animal Navigation. By R. M. Lockley. Pan Books, London, 1967. 205 pages; 25 text-figures. 6s. Ornithologists are apt to think of animal navigation as being about the spectacular homing journeys of birds. In this book the author interprets the term very broadly indeed, and this enables him to relate many interesting and sometimes bizarre facts. We learn, for example, that the female mosquito is able to locate her victim by homing on its infra-red radiations; that the Weddell Seal is able to dive 1,500 feet deep and travel beneath the ice in the blackout of the Antarctic winter; and that during her reproductive years a woman is more sensitive to the body odour of a virile male. Only one chapter, but the longest, is devoted to migrating birds and this covers mainly familiar ground. Unfortunately, it contains several ambiguous statements (e.g. ‘the young cuckoo, reared by sedentary foster-parents, is independent and able to migrate’) and printing errors (e.g. the maximum known height of migrating birds is variously reported as 1,200 feet and 12,000 feet instead of 21,000 feet), all of which might tend to confuse the uninitiated reader. Covering, as it does, so vast a field of natural history, the book is bound to be superficial, so that the reader’s appetite for knowledge is roused but not satisfied. It is to be hoped that in the revised edition (which should preferably be printed on better quality paper) the author will be able to publish a bibliography, thereby enabling the curious to pursue their interest in such creatures as the Weddell Seal and the mosquito. One minor cavil : it is sad to find the author of the standard history of bird-ringing now calling it ‘banding’, not merely to ring the changes, but consistently, as a matter of policy. Robert Spencer Nesting Birds, Eggs and Fledglings. By Winwood Reade and Eric Hosking. Blandford Press, London, 1967. 275 pages; 209 plates (174 in colour); 19 plates of eggs; text-figures and diagrams. 25s. The spate of pocket encyclopaedias, hand-books and field guides 256 LETTERS continues, all indicative of the demand for identification and other hints which may assist the ever-increasing band of budding bird- watchers. This book is yet another in the stream of publication. As its title implies, its emphasis is on breeding biology, which many recognise as one of the most fascinating aspects of ornithology. As such, it does a good job, though, be it said, it adds little to what has been often published. With such a title, there is rightly an emphasis on the part of the sexes in incubation and the care of the young. The raison d'etre of this book, however, is clearly Mr. Hosking’s quite remarkably comprehensive collection of colour photographs. Of these there are no less than 174 plates in colour (out of 209), covering a wide selection of the breeding birds of Britain, and some from I Europe. The ‘European’ species have been chosen somewhat arbitrarily, one suspects on the grounds of those Mr. Hosking has covered with his camera rather than on the likelihood of occurrence. Thus the (Great Northern Diver does not appear, but the Willow Grouse is included. And are all the acknowledgements correct? Surely plate 20 (Grey Lag Goose) and plate 54 (Goosander) were taken by the late A. R. Thompson and G. B. Kearey respectively? Yet the fact remains that no one who has any knowledge of bird photography can but be 'Staggered by the amount of work Mr. Hosking has done in his time — *and in colour, too, which was virtually in its infancy until the end of tthe 1939-45 war. The plates of the eggs, by Portman Artists, are very good. The ^experienced ornithologist knows well that eggs are a very dubious :guide to identification, but they are such beautiful things that it is a pity they ever have to disintegrate in hatching (^pace the oologist) ! i Plates like these take one back to the days of John Wolley. Robert ^Gillmor’s text-diagrams of species-cum-habitat are well done, and he can certainly catch the ‘jizz’ of a bird in his small black-and-white illustrations. One suspects the influence of C. F. Tunnicliffe, which, if ^correct, is both a compliment to the artist and the master. The price of this book is extremely reasonable, and it is in fact a •'pocket encyclopaedia. G. K. Yeates Letter Little Ringed Plovers in Britain during 1963-67 Mrs,— My last report on the increase and spread of the Little Ringed ^lover Charadrius dubius in Britain covered the years 1960-62 (Br/V. ytrds, 57: 191-198), although some information up to 1965 has been 257 BRITISH BIRDS given by J. L. F, Parslow in his review of status changes of the breeding birds of Britain and Ireland (Bri/. Birds, 6o: i lo). I am now preparing a further summary which will cover the five years 1963-67 since my last report. In 1962 the number of summering pairs was just under 160. Provisional figures for subsequent years show little change in 1963 or 1964, but a large increase to nearly 220 pairs in 1965. There is also evidence of a further spread to the north and west of the 1962 range, as well as the recolonisation of at least two counties where breeding had lapsed. As the Little Ringed Plover becomes less of a rarity, it becomes correspondingly more difficult to obtain information about its status, especially in the areas where it is well established. It would therefore be both helpful and appropriate if this year, the thirtieth after the first nesting at Tring in 1938, a special effort could be made to visit all likely sites. A list of habitats was given in my last report {Brif. Birds, 57: 1 94-1 9 5). My wife, Mrs. E. D. Parrinder, is helping me with the collection of information, which should be sent to her at 91 Weald Road, Sevenoaks, Kent. The data required are the number of summer- ing pairs at each site and the type of habitat. Details of localities will n .t be published. E. R. Parrinder News and comment Edited by J. L. F. Ear slow R.S.P.B. launches major appeal fund. — With an eye set firmly on a target of £100,000, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds has now launched what must surely be the most ambitious appeal fund ever made by a voluntary natural history body in this country. The money is needed for the specific purpose of purchasing four important new bird reserves — two in Wales and one each in England and Scotland. Any balance will go towards building up capital from which other new reserves can be bought in the future. The new reserve in Scotland, the 300-acre Vane Farm, lying on the south shore of Loch Leven, Kinross, has in fact been acquired by the R.S.P.B. already. Loch Leven is a National Nature Reserve and is probably the most outstanding breeding area for ducks in Britain. Vane Farm itself is an important resting and feeding ground tor thousands of Pink-footed and Grey Lag Geese in winter, and it provides the best vantage point for overlooking the loch. An observation building equipped with high- powered binoculars is planned for visitors, while a nature trail is to be established on the birch-clad hillside where Redpolls and Redstarts nest. One of the few localities in Britain where Red Kites are still to be found is the Upper Towy Valley in Carmarthenshire, and it is here, amidst magnificent scenery, that the R.S.P.B. has agreed ti) buy some 1,100 acres of land. This reserve will include a variety of habitats ranging from valley-bottom meadows to upland heather 258 NEWS AND COMMENT and grass moors. The several hillside oakwoods abound with Redstarts, Pied Fly- ratchers and Wood Warblers in spring and summer, and besides these and the Red -Kites the area supports many other interesting breeding birds. Also in Wales agree- ment has been reached in principle for the Society to purchase the 700-acre Ynyshir estate on the south side of the Dovey Estuary, Cardiganshire. Here, extensive oak and conifer woods hold a large and varied bird community, including Buzzards and Tavens, and there is a small heronry. In winter many waders and ducks frequent the .-estuary, flocks of White-fronted Geese occur on the estate’s lower fields, and Red- ppolis and Siskins are to be found along an alder-fringed river. In the R.S.P.B.’s special appeal brochure the location of the remaining proposed ixeserve is merely stated to be ‘some low-lying meadows in England’. If the other ' tantalisingly brief, they are sufficient to capture the imagination of ' u ‘3)rd-watchers, for the aim of this reserve will be to provide protection to I :hc Black-tailed Godwit and ‘many other exciting birds’. The subtle promise that ‘if 5'jufhcient land can be purchased this could become one of the most important bird r-xeserves in Great Britain’ with the prospect of other lost breeding species returning ; :here, should alone be enough to guarantee the success of the appeal. r:x)nservationists lose Teesdale battle.-In spite of the outstanding scientific case ^ mt forward by the botanists in their opposition to the Cow Green reservoir scheme n Upper Teesdale (Bn/. Birds, 59; 390-391), the House of Lords has agreed that the ■ instruction of the reservoir should go ahead. Opposition to the project has cost he British conservation movement £zo,ooo. The optimistic-if rather naive— view >s that all has not been wasted, and that authorities ‘will think long and hard before cutting forward proposals that will let them in for another such battle’ Facing facts Mowever, it must be recognised that having won Teesdale, and with successes in the -airngorms, at Dungeness and other unique ecological sites behind them the '•■rivate and nationalised industrial giants know full well that economic argument is |..aramount and that they can ride roughshod over National Parks, National Nature >.eserves, and other lands carrying similarly impressive but completely ineffectual All development proposals in unspoilt country now raise howls of protest from ne quarter or another, and dealing with objections and objectors is part and parcel t every big company’s activities. From the developer’s viewpoint it is better to ave the irritating but small thorn of the conservationist in his side than the more ibstantial spine of the usual alternative— the owner of good agricultural land, who . m also argue his case on straightforward economic grounds. Teesdale will not be the I- St battle to be fought by the British conservation movement. Nor, as legislation ■ ands at the present, will it be the last to be lost. ■ hreat to Aldabra.-Rather farther afield than Teesdale, but nevertheless still decting British scientific and conservation bodies, is the threat of a proposed air -ise and radm station planned by the Ministry of Defence on the Indian Ocean island Aldabra. This large coral atoll, lying 230 miles north-west of Madagascar is one the few sizeable islands left in the world — and the only major one in the'indian cean— whose ecology has not been completely upset by man. As well as having any unique plants, animals and land-birds, the island is important for its vast colo- es of fngate-Nrds, tropic-birds, boobies and other sea-birds, while its population over 30,000 Giant Tortoises is the only one that survives anywhere in the world itside the Galapagos. Apart from the immediate effects on the island’s fauna most certainly including the destruction of ‘millions’ of frigate-birds because of eir hazard to aircraft), there is no doubt that the construction of a base would rmanently wreck the delicate ecological balance that now exists. Nothing short of 259 BRITISH BIRDS total protection is needed, and discussions in an attempt to achieve this end are now taking place involving national and international scientific and conservation societies and the Ministry of Defence. The Royal Society is supporting a scientific expedition to the island to study its ecology and to explore the possibility of establishing a research station there. Conference on local bird reports. — At a preliminary meeting of local report editors at Swanwick, Derbyshire, last December (see Brii. Birds, 59: 392) there was general agreement that a full conference devoted to the subject of county and regional bird reports would be of value to everyone concerned with them. Such a conference has now been planned for the week-end I5th-i7th September 1967, and all editors and recorders of local bird reports are invited to attend. I. J. Ferguson-Lees will be in the chair and, as well as a full business programme, it is expected that several guest speakers will take part, including Robert and Philip Gillmor on the merits and rela- tiy^ costs of different printing and production methods. Accommodation has been rese?^^ at the Hayes Conference Centre, Swanwick, and applications should be sent to thcf^itish Trust for Ornithology, Beech Grove, Tring, Hertfordshire. The in- clusive -W^rge for the week-end is not expected to exceed £,4. It is desirable that as rns^^^ouj^ties as possible be represented and it is hoped that local societies will bear the cost <^f sending the editor of their bird report to the conference. V. y Bi^tooklets for schools. — A series of eight 16-page booklets, each dealing with a j^igte bird species, has recently been published by Longmans. Written by Humphrey Dobinson and colourfully illustrated by Robert Gillmor, these attractive and well- designed booklets are intended primarily for use in junior schools. The species dealt with are Black-headed Gull, Collared Dove, Swallow, Blue Tit, Song Thrush, Robin, Chaffinch and House Sparrow. Each booklet costs two shillings. Private bird haunts in Ireland. — Increasing concern is being felt by leading Irish ornithologists over the number of recent incidents involving trespass by bird- watchers at certain well-known but strictly private bird haunts in the country. Several of these incidents have concerned parties of bird-watchers from Britain and over- seas. At one site, famous for rare birds, disturbance by visiting ornithologists has become so serious that the owner is threatening to withdraw the privilege of entiy from even those local ornithologists who have enjoyed it for many years. This particular site is managed as a wildfowl shoot and it is hardly surprising that distur- bance of the duck immediately before a shoot causes ill feeling on the part of the owner. Places where the problem is already acute include Akeagh Lough, Co. Kerry; Ballymona Bog, Co. Cork; Lough Beg, Co. Derry; and the North and South Slobs, Co. Wexford. A special note on the problem is being published in the Ir/s/j Bird Report. In our turn, we would particularly ask bird-watching visitors from Britain to respect the privacy of those of Ireland’s bird haunts that are on private property. Youth and wildlife conservation. — An international conference on conservation problems and their relation to youth is to take place at the University Museum, Oxford, on 9th and loth August 1967. The conference is sponsored by the Inter- national Youth Federation for the Study and Conservation of Nature and the Youth Committee of the Council for Nature and has as its theme ‘Youth and the Wildlife Crisis’. Principal speakers are to be James Fisher, Garth Christian and Edgar Kes- teloot. There will be places for approximately 400 participants, and for those under the age of 25 special cheap accommodation will be available for the duration of the conference. Further details may be obtained from the Youth Secretary, Council for Nature, Zoological Gardens, Regent’s Park, London N.W.i. 260 With or without spectacies i:ric Hosking F.R.P.S. the :celebrated ornithologist and :>ird photographer, \/rites ‘II have recently found that for fhe most exacting observations ^particularly at twilight or ver the sea or misty esrrain, I need a binocular kfith greater brilliance of llumination. ^(.‘onsequently, after testing aarious types, I have changed ) the new 8 x SOB Zeiss linocular which I find to be really marvellous production ; cot only is the quality of Rumination and optical orrection beyond criticism, but this binocular gives a remarkably wide field of view for both the spectacle wearer and the naked eye.* The price is high but the Zeiss 8x50B binocularis beyond compare and I am delighted with it.” * Actually 130 yards at 1000 which has never been equalled in a spectacle wearer's model of this specification. Degenhardt& Co. Ltd., Carl Zeiss House, 20/22 Mortimer Street, London, W.1. 01-636 8050 (15 lines). Kritish Agents for Carl Zeiss West Germany iii SMALL ADVERTISEMENTS The Birds of North Africa R.-D. ETCHECOPAR and F. HOE Illustrations by Paul Barruel To provide a comprehensive bird book dealing authorita- tively with the huge and varied region of North Africa is no mean feat. This book, a very much revised version of the French edition, does this successfully, describing the amazingly heterogeneous mixture of bird life that the area incorporates. The authors have condensed the matter as much as possible to the basic essentials neces- sary for the rapid identifica- tion of the birds, providing the ideal vade-mecum for the ornithological traveller in North Africa. £8 8s Oliver & Boyd Mj-for 3 lines {minimum) ; 4/6 for each extra line or part thereof. For the use of a Box Number there is an extra charge of 1/-. Secretary/typist urgently required for Ring- ing Officer. Knowledge of birds desirable. Details from Spencer, B.T.O., Tring, Herts. i Binoculars/Telescopes/Cameras. 20% cash i discount, all leading makes. Nascroft ; Trading Co., 164 Manor Road, Chigwell, i Essex (tel. 01-500 0033). Index for 1960 required by subscriber to complete entire edition of British Birds. Can any kind person supply this? Kenneth Pickford, Brunswick Road, Gloucester. For sale. About 1,000 monochrome lantern j slides from bird photographs by the late •' T. M. Fowler, FRPS. Offers Box JE293. I Frohawk’s British Birds & Eggs, 6 vols., ^ 13" X 10^", 15gns. Morris's British Moths, j vols. 1 & 3, 4 gns. Original productions, in ' good condition. Wallace, 76 Maydowns 1 Road, Chestfield, Whitstable. [ Bird books. Bought, sold and hunted. ^ W. D. G. Evans, Shortlands, St. John’s ( Road, Moggerhanger, Bedford. Oiseaux! Beaucoup at Cap Gris Nez ' Observatory. First report available 2s. 6d. i Observers welcome this autumn. Write NOW; P. J. Oliver, 53 Ember Farm Way, ' East Molesey, Surrey. , Cape Clear Bird Observatory. Printed Annual Report for 1966 is now published. Price 5s. Write to: Mrs. E. Sharrock, 59 Curlew Crescent, Bedford. Birds Illustrated, a monthly magazine for all bird lovers, containing articles by experts. Profusely illustrated with the work of foremost bird artists and photographers. Send Is. 6d. for specimen copy to: Dept. JB, 38 The Butts, Brentford, Middlesex. IV Notice to Contributors r.ritish Birds publishes material dealing with original observations on the birds of Britain and western Europe or, where appropriate, on birds of this area as observed 1 1 other parts of their range. Except for records of rarities, papers and notes arc ormally accepted only on condition that the material is not being offered to any r ther journal. Photographs (glossy prints showing good contrast) and sketches are •welcomed. Proofs of all contributions are sent to authors before publication. After publication, 25 separates are sent free to authors of papers (two or more l athors of one paper receive 15 copies each); additional copies, for which a charge i . made, can be provided if ordered when the proofs are returned. Papers should be typewritten with double spacing, and on one side of the sheet ;:nly. Shorter contributions, if not typed, must be clearly written and well spaced. Notes should be worded as concisely as possible, and drawn up in the form in rhich they will be printed, with signature in block capitals and the writer’s address ccarly written on the same sheet. If more than one note is submitted, each should c: on a separate sheet, with signature and address repeated. ( Certain conventions of style and layout are essential to preserve the uniformity I : any publication. Authors of papers in particular, especially of those containing vstematic lists, reference lists, tables, etc., should consult the ones in this issue as a ;aide to general presentation. English names of species should have capital ,;titials for each word, except after a hyphen (e.g. Willow Warbler, Black-tailed ' odwit), but group terms should not (e.g. warblers, godwits). English names are t;merally those used in A Field Guide to the Birds of Britain and Europe (revised i lition, 1966). The scientific name of each species should be underlined (but not ^at in brackets) immediately after the first mention of the English name. Sub- loecific names should not be used except where they are relev^ant to the discussion. IS sometimes more convenient to list scientific names in an appendix. Dates I ould take the form Tst January 1967’ and no other, except in tables where they -iay be abbreviated to Tst Jan.’, ‘Jan. ist’ or even ‘Jan. i’, whichever most suits ve layout of the table concerned. It is particularly requested that authors should y attention to reference lists, which otherwise cause much unnecessary work . 'lese should take the following form: JOKER, B. W. (1949): ‘Species and subspecies: a review for general ornitholo- • gists’. Brit. Birds, 42: 1 29-1 34. itherby, H. F. (1894): Forest Birds: Their Haunts and Habits. London, p. 34. Warious other conventions concerning references, including their use in the text, ould be noted by consulting examples in this issue. Tables should be numbered with arabic numerals, and the title typed above in t : style used in this issue. They must either fit into the width of a page, or be ' signed to fit a whole page lengthways. All tables should be self-explanatory. Figures should be numbered with arabic numerals, and the captions t\ped on a ' Jarate sheet. All line-drawings should be in indian ink on good quality drawing ■ oer (not of an absorbent nature) or, where necessary, on graph paper, but this ist be light blue or very pale grey. It is always most important to consider how ai drawing will fit into the page. The neat insertion of lettering, numbers, ows, etc., is perhaps the most difficult part of indian ink drawing and, unless he ‘ lud considerable experience of this kind of work, an author should seek the of a skilled draughtsman. Natural History Books PUBLISHED RECENTLY Nesting Birds, Eggs and Fledglings by Winwood Reade and Eric Hosking. 158 photographs in colour; 156 pages of text; drawings by Robert Gillmor. 25s. The Birds of North Africa by R.-D. Etchecopar and F. Hue. 606 pages; 24 colour plates. 8 gns. Birds of North America by Chandler S. Robbins, Bertel Bruun and Herbert S. Zim. 156 pages of colour plates. Distribution maps in colour of all species. An outstanding guide to field identification. Limp cover. 25s. The Territorial Imperative by Robert Ardrey. 36s. Handbook of New Guinea Birds by Austin L. Rand and E. Thomas Gilliard. 6 gns. The Bird Faunas of Africa and its Islands by R. E. Moreau. 424 pages; illustrated. £5. The Last Eagle by Daniel Mannix. The story of an American Bald Eagle. Illustrated with drawings. 1 8s. Animals and Birds in Australia by Graham Pizzey. Illustrated in colour and black-and-white. 5 gns. Beasts in my Bed by Jacquie Durrell. The authoress describes her own experience of life with her husband Gerald’s family of animals. Illustrated. 21s. The ‘Country Life’ Countryman’s Pocket Book by Garth Christian. Illustrated. 21s. ANNOUNCED FOR PUBLICATION SOON A Wealth of Wildfowl by Jeffery Harrison. ‘Survival’ series. Illustrated. 30s. Great Waters by Sir Alister Hardy. Illustrated. 63s. Birds of the Atlantic Ocean by Ted Stokes. Illustrated by Keith Shackle- ton. 6 gns. Studies of Birds and Mammals of South America by the artist Axel Amuchastegui. Text by Dr. Helmut Sick. Foreword by Sir Solly Zuckerman. 24 colour plates. 5 gns. Wildlife of the South Seas by Franz A. Roedelberger and Vera I. Gros- choff. 24 pages of colour, 186 black-and-white photographs. 45s. Seals of the World by Gavin Maxwell. 42s. A Field Guide to the Mammals of Britain and Europe by H. van den Brink. Illustrated in colour. 30s. Pesticides and Pollution by Keith Mellanby. ‘New Naturalist’. 30s. ^ Nature Conservation in Britain by L. Dudley Stamp. ‘New Naturalist . 36s. A Field Guide to the National Parks of East Africa by J. G. Williams. 45s. The Concise British Butterflies in Colour by L. Hugh Newman. Compan- ion to W. Keble Martin’s Flora in Colour. 35s. Mammals of Britain, Their Tracks, Trails and Signs by G. Kinns. Illustrated in colour. 25s. Penguins by Bernard Stonehouse. 16 colour illustrations. 21s. Mountain Flowers by Anthony Huxley. 1 12 colour plates. 25s. Witherby’s Bookshop 61/62 Watiing Street, London, E.C.4 ALL BOOKS SENT POST FREE SPECIAL NOTE: A Field Guide to the Birds of Britain and Europe (revised and enlarged edition) is now again in print. 30s. Printed in England by Diemer & Reynolds Ltd., Eastcotts Road, Bedford Published by H. F. & G. Witherby Ltd., 6i/6z Watiing Street, E.C.4 British Birds Changes in status among breeding birds in Britain and Ireland J. L. F. Parslow (Part 4) ^Studies of less familiar birds: 145-White-rumped or Little Swift I. J. Ferguson-Lees and F. G. H. Allen (with two plates) Pied-billed Grebe in Yorkshire John R. Mather (with two plates) Pied-billed Grebe in Somerset D. E. Ladhams, Robin J. Prytherch and K. E. L. Simmons Pri/iapal Contents Notes Review News and comment Vol. 60 No. 7 FOUR SHILLINGS 1 SEP 1967 » British Birds AN ILLUSTRATED MONTHLY JOURNAL EJHors Stanley Cramp, I. J. Ferguson-Lees, P. A. D. Hollom, E. M. Nicholson Photographic Editor Eric Hosking Editorial Address lo Merton Road, Bedford •News and Comment’ J. L. F. Parslow, i Wick Hall, Radley, Abingdon, Berkshire Parities Committee F. R. Smith, Telford, Hill Barton Road, Exeter, Devon Contents of Volume 6o, Number 7, July 1967 Page Changes in status among breeding birds in Britain and Ireland. By J. L. F. Parslow. Part 4 . . . . . ■ • • ■ • • • • • • • • • Studies of less familiar birds: 145— White-rumped or Little Swift. By I. J. Ferguson-Lees. Photographs by F. G. H. Allen (plates 33-34) • • • • Pied-billed Grebe in Yorkshire. By John R. Mather (plates 35-36). . . . . 290 Pied-billed Grebe in Somerset. By D. E. Ladhams, Robin J. Prytherch and K. E. L. Simmons . . . . • • • • • • ■ • • ■ • • ^95 Notes : — Call-notes of Slavonian and Black-necked Grebes in autumn (M. J . Rogers) 300 Winter calling of Black-necked Grebe (Bernard King) 3°° Two Herons killing a House Sparrow (Dr. Estlin Waters) 301 Collision between Brent Geese in flight (Major W. W. A. Phillips) . . 3°' Buzzard stooping at human being (Hubert E. Pounds) . . . . . . 3°i Mutant Partridges in Yorkshire (W. S. Medlicott) . . . . . . . . ioz Whitethroats in London area in winter (B. S. Meadows) . . . . . . 3°^ Complete sex reversal of Pied Wagtail (Derek Washington) . . . . ^02 Masked Shrikes feeding on birds (Dr. G. E. Watson; and I. J. Ferguson- Lees) . . . . . • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 3°5 Flock of Starlings hitting ground (H. E. J. Carter) . . . . . . . . 3<^4 House Sparrows feeding in association with Green Woodpecker (Mrs. P. Walton) 305 Review : — The Shell Bird Book, by James Fisher. Reviewed by Stanley Cramp . . 3°5 News and comment. Edited by J. L. F. Parslow . . . . • . • • Annual subscription £z 13s. (including postage and despatch) payable to H. F. & G. Witherby Ltd., 61/62 Watling Street, London, R C. 4 ■<45 QUEEN ST, GLASGOW STD 041-221 6666 YOUNG BIRD WATCHERS up to 18 years of age qualify for special price concessions details on request Among heavyweight prismatic bino- culars suitable for mounting, we can offer a host of truly wonderful bar- gains; for instance, a Ross 7x50 Heavy Duty binocular with filters in brand new condition, and complete in fitted box, can be supplied for 7 gns. (original cost estimated over £120); the lOx 70 model can be supplied for £20. These instruments are too heavy to be hand-held, and mount and tripod can be provided at a moderate charge. TFI F<:r'r^DCC 1.“*' of the portable NICKEL SUPRA TELESCOPE, It zooms ^^toQ_CJrh5— *'*<’ 40 O.G. and is truly a remarkable instrument. rnC6 cJo TS. A SELECTION OF NEW AND iUSED BINOCULARS SPECIALLY FRECOMMENDED BY MR. FRANK NIPOLE binoculars from Japan are made to our specifica- tion and are imported exclusively by us. Performance is excellent and we have sufficient faith in them to guarantee them for five years. The lOx 50 costs £15 lOs. Od. and the 8 X 30 £10 19s. 6d. (both with case). ■A SPECIALIST BINOCULAR FOR THE BIRD WATCHER. The Swift AUDUBON 8.5 x 44 designed to the specification of the world renowned Audubon Society of America Unusually wide field of 445 ft. at 1,000 yards. Extra close focusing down to 12 ft. enables feeding activities, etc., to be watched as from I8ins. Included amongst other features are retractable eyecups for spectacle users, built-in adaptor to suit any camera tripod. This outstanding binoc- ular has easy positive focusing by cylindrical control ■weighs 38.4 oz. and the height closed is 6J ins. Price with fine leather case £36. riew LEITZ TRINOVID is indisputably the binocular >f the century. It is of revolutionary design and perform- 1 ince, and the 10 x 40 model, which we particularly like, is extremely light and wonderfully compact. Price with •soft leather case £86 17s. Id. ‘Among good British glasses, we have no hesitation in sugees- :ing the ROSS 9x35 STEPRUVA. Compact and weighing anly 21 oz. Price £43 4s. 9d. We stock binoculars by Zeiss. Leitz, Barr & Stroud Ross ■swift, etc. ’ Any instrument willingly sent on approval For wildfowling, etc., we recommenc the ex-Admiralty 7x42 or 7x5C Barr & Stroud binoculars and car offer these instruments in specially good condition, complete in original cases, at £16 lOs. The Bausch & Lomb (Canadian naval) 7 x 50 is still available at £24. Among general purpose binoculars, which will stand up to a tremendous amount of rough usage, there is little to beat the 6x30 Service Prismatics at £8 15s.; if reminded, we will probably be able to select a pair in new condition and can provide a web pouch at 4s. 6d. extra. 1 Bird: Red Billed Quelea Size: 5 inches long Weight: i oz. Binoculars: Wray 'T Size: 3i x Weight: 9i ozs. So small, yet so perfect Nature puts infinite care into the creation of its stnallest creatures to ensure they will function as perfectly as any of its larger ones. IVray too, have lavished infinite care on their miniature binoculars to provide an optical performance comparable with much larger, more cumbersome instruments. So for fine workmanship that just slips in your pocket, yet gives big binocular performance, carry with you the Wray ‘j\ Literature from: Wray {Optical Works) Ltd., Bromley, Kent. Ravensbourne 0112 11 British Birds Vol. 6o No. 7 July 1967 Changes in status among breeding birds in Britain and Ireland By J. L. F. Far slow {Continued from page zoz) of a pair in Shetland in the timmer of 1967 was the culmination of a remarkable recent increase in ae Brmsh records of this arctic owl. Previously known only as a rare inter vagrant one to three have appeared in Shetland in every summer nee 1963 and have remained throughout the year since 1965. Others ive also been recorded at various seasons, including summer, in the ntral and north-east Highlands since 1965. It should be noted, bow- er, that surprisingly large’ numbers have been imported for sale in . e last few years and that some of the recent records, particularly but ' necessarily only those in southern England, may therefore refer mdiMduals that have escaped from captivity (see Harber 1966). -ightj ar Caprimulgus europaetis. No evidence of marked change (A & L) obably decreasing since late 19th century, certainly since about 1930 markedly in nearly all areas over the last 20 years, ot scarce; distributed widely but locally throughout most of Britain d Ireland north to south-west Scotland, but only very sparsely over - rest of Scotland north to Sutherland. The species has declined dely in recent years (see also Stafford 1962) and there is much evi- nce to suggest that it has been decreasing more or less continuously ce about 1930, perhaps considerably earlier. Although the decline ears to have been extensive and the species has disappeared from • y previous haunts, the extent I0 which it has colonised new habitats particularly young conifer plantations— is not known in many parts 2(jr ; BRITISH BIRDS of the country. A general summary by various regions is given below. South-wesi and south E^ngland. Stafford (1962) noted the species as common and its recent status as unchanged in each of the seven coun- ties in this region. Since the late 1950’s, however, it appears to have decreased in Devon and north Somerset and in several parts of Sussex — where locally a decline had begun by 193° (H* Cawkell in liiti). East Midlands and south-east England. A gradual decrease dating from about 1930 (or earlier in several areas) has been noticed in practically every county in this region. It has been particularly marked in the neighbourhood of London and in Suffolk and Essex, while in Oxford and Cambridge the species has probably now ceased to breed. Breeding still takes place regularly in Northampton {cf. Stafford 1962). In Essex 18-19 pairs were known in 1952 and 195 3> only about five pairs by 1958 and even fewer more recently. Although the present trend over the region as a whole is probably still a decreasing one, the numbers are apparently now being maintained in some parts where the habitat is remaining undisturbed, for example in parts of east Suffolk. West Midlands and Wales. A decrease has been recorded in practically every county, dating from the beginning of the century in some areas and since about 1930 in several others. Numbers are still believed to be diminishing in three counties in north Wales and are at a very low ebb in several others in the region. The species is not now known to breed in Carmarthen (where ‘not uncommon’ about 1905), Brecon (‘common’ in 1890’s, ‘fairly common’ till 1920’s) and Radnor (formerly ‘fairly common’), nor regularly in Denbigh and Monmouth. Northern England. The population breeding to the west of the Pennines has decreased considerably during this century. Numbers fluctuate, but the general decline is continuing, several former breeding sites in Cheshire and the Lake District having been abandoned since 1950. On the eastern side of the region there is less evidence for a marked decline, most of the county avifaunas from Lincoln northwards making no mention of any changes in status. Yet, comparing some mid to late 19th century accounts of the species’ status in, for examp e, Nottingham (Sterland and Whitaker 1879) with those of today it seems evident that it has become less common. Scotland. Baxter and Rintoul (1955) mentioned few changes except for a steady decrease in the 1930’s in Strathspey. In recent years, however, a widespread and general decrease has occurred over practically the whole country from Kirkcudbright and Ayr north to Sutherland. The species has become very scarce in some areas, notably in the west Highlands (Darling and Boyd 1964) and in Ross an Sutherland, where it was locally common in the mid to late i9ti century (Pennie 1962). In fact, the decline in Scotland may have been m progress for at least the last 30-40 years, if not longer. 262 STATUS CHANGES AMONG BREEDING BIRDS Ireland. Knttltdgc (1966) mentioned an earlier westward extension f range but no recent changes, perhaps because very little information , available on the status of the species. Deane (1954) believed it to be :creasing m Northern Ireland, and there is some evidence to show lat It has recently further declined in Down, as well as in Dublin and hcklow. . Destruction of habitat and increased disturbance are the two causes ost commonly given for the decrease or disappearance of this .ecies. While these have certainly contributed, another factor— ossibly a climatic one— must also be operating to account for the idespread nature of the decline. vift Apus apus. Claimed to be increasing, including in Ireland, but idence not quite dehnite enough (A & L). Has perhaps increased in -land, but evidence still very meagre. ^Numerous, breeding in towns and villages throughout Britain and land north to at least north Argyll in west Scotland and to south-east er and in the east; also at Thurso in north Caithness. In Ireland a .refinite increase has been noticed since 1932 in western coastal dis- Northern Ireland, Dublin and perhaps over the country as a whole ^ nnedy, Ruttledge and Scroope 1954, Deane 1954, Hollohan and ^'952) considered that it had increased in the few scattered reports from vhere in Britain mostly refer to a possible increase or maintained ^mbers rather than to a decline. Few significant changes in breeding 1 jge seem to have occurred. ° "mamn- " '5* due to human ■ ruction, local increases in 20th century; numbers fluctuate owinn itS" '.7 "’“‘MS (A & L). Marked decrease in lters^or“m““ "‘"7 P°“'“y ®ore frequent hard JineerserXrr' ' fluctuations but probably no general J)ot scarce ; breeds widely (virtually every county) in England, Wales reland, but in Scotland now occurs only very sparsely (and for most part irregularly) north to south Argyll and Kincardine. The cked^h!r” outweigh all others and are so eked that most reports of mcrease or decrease need treating with tion Mortality during the winter of 196; was exceptionally fevere only m Britain but also over the rest of Europe. Although thl us chaT r T recovering, recent assessments of us changes tenc^ to reflect this probably temporary decline rather tt any possible long-term changes. Leaving aside the influence of 263 BRITISH BIRDS hard winters, there is no evidence to show that the numbers of King- fishers breeding in most parts of Britain and Ireland have appreciably altered. Indeed, many recent county avifaunas stress this point. Breed- ing season surveys carried out by the Oxford Ornithological Society showed that numbers in 1961 were similar to those in 1954, when there was an average of one pair to every 1.8 miles on a 68-mile stretch of the River Thames upstream from Maidenhead ; after the severe winters of 1940 and 1963, however, numbers fell to approximately one pair to every 30 miles and 20 miles respectively (Local Reports; see also Venables and Wykes 1943). In a few places in central and southern England the species is said to have decreased, notably through river pollution, but there is little definite evidence. Local increases have been recorded too. In Scotland, however, where it had locally become common in the Lowlands by the 1930’s, it has recently decreased very markedly. In several counties the main decline appears to have occurred with the hard winter of 1947 (e.g. Richards 1965), while in those in which the species did not then become extinct it has since gradually decreased almost to vanishing point. With the exception of Renfrew, and possibly Dumfries and Kirkcudbright, there appear to be no Scottish counties in which breeding now takes place annually. River pollution, as well as the effects of severe winters, has been blamed for the decrease in Scotland. Bee-eater Alerops apiaster. Sporadic. The only published breeding record involved a group of three pairs that nested, two of them success- fully, in Sussex in 195 5 ; a pair also attempted to breed near Edinburgh in 1920. Hoopoe Upupa epops. Sporadic. Although Hoopoes overshoot on spring migration and reach Britain and Ireland in small numbers every year, only a few have ever remained to breed, and then it has usually taken a fine, warm summer to encourage them to do so. Most breeding records come from the south coastal counties of England. The fre- quency with which proved breeding has been recorded appears not to have changed appreciably over the years, with one record in every decade since the 1830’s, but rather more in the 1890’s and 1900 s (seven between 1895 and about 1904) and four in the 1950’s (the latest 1959 and including two in 1955, the year in which the Bee-eaters Merops apiaster bred in Sussex). Green Woodpecker Picus viridis. No evidence of marked widespread change; colonised Isle of Wight in 20th century (A & L). Increase (beginning in about 1920’s and becoming marked after 1940’s) m 264 STATUS CHANGES AMONG BREEDING BIRDS orthern England; colonised southern Scotland and spread north- /ards rapidly in 1950’s. Not scarce; widely distributed, breeding in every county in England id Wales, and locally in several counties in southern Scotland, north ) Clackmannan and probably Perth. Absent from Ireland and the Isle f Man. Apart from fluctuations caused by severe winters, there is little ddence of markedly changed numbers or distribution over much of ngland and Wales during this century, apart from the colonisation of ae Isle of Wight in 1910. In northern England, however, the species I is increased and spread quite considerably in Durham and Northum- ;rland in the cast, and in Lancashire, Westmorland and Cumberland the west. At least in the two eastern counties, the increase (which ..gan about 191 3> became noticeable in the 1920’s and was most marked the 1940’s) appears to have followed a decline in the mid- 19th ■ ntury. In the west the main increase and spread did not take place itil after 1945 (Temperley and Blezard 1951, Stokoe 1962). In 195 1 the < ecies bred in Scotland (Selkirk) for the first time. It soon spread to most other Lowland counties from Kirkcudbright north to Midlothian, and then, more gradually, as far as Lanark, Stirling and Clackmannan; it now probably also breeds in Ayr and Perth, and perhaps elsewhere. Mortality during the 1965 hard winter caused marked losses in some counties, but appears not to have checked the spread. The cause of the increase in northern England and the subsequent colonisa- tion of Scotland is not known. Temper- ley and Blezard (1951) suggested that the widespread planting of conifers had led to an increase in the Wood Ant Formica rufa — a favourite food of the Green Woodpecker in the area — and that this was a possible contributing factor in the bird’s increase. Curry- Lindahl (1961) recorded a recent in- crease and spread in Sweden; Jespersen (1946) mentioned a decline in Denmark the 19th century, but a partial recent recovery with the spread of intations in Jutland. I G . 6 . Breeding range of Green f'oodpecker P/V//j viridis before 950 (black) and the spread since latched). The dots show the area of possible breeding eat Spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopos major. Became extinct in 3tland and northern England (north of Cheshire and Yorkshire) in 265 BRITISH BIRDS early part of 19th century; during second half of 19th century spread north to central and eastern Scotland and in 20th century colonised Argyll, Inverness, east Ross and east Sutherland; cause of increase unknown (A & L). Further increase and spread in Scotland and northern England until at least mid-i95o’s; a general increase since about 1890 also affected most parts of England and Wales. Fairly numerous; widely distributed, breeding in every mainland county of Britain (except possibly Caithness), also in Isle of Wight and Anglesey. Absent from Ireland, Isle of Man, Hebrides and Northern Isles. The marked increase and spread in northern England and Scot- land first became noticeable in about 1 890 and appears to have continued until at least the mid-i95o’s, if not actually to the present day. Arran, Mull, west Ross, north Sutherland and (for a time) Caithness have all been colonised since about 1940, and in the same period the species has become more numerous elsewhere in Scotland. Locally in south Scot- land (and also in part of Westmorland) numbers may since have fallen from a peak reached in the early 1950’s, but there is no evidence to show that the species is declining generally in the region. As well as the increase in northern districts, there is much evidence to indicate that the period since 1890 has seen a widespread and marked increase in the numbers of Great Spotted Woodpeckers over the rest of England and Wales. Nearly all counties in the southern half of England and in south Wales report a general increase (and none more than very local decreases), especially since the 1920’s. The Isle of Wight was colonised after about 1926. The species has become much more tolerant of man and it spread, for example, into London suburban areas and even the central parks in the 1920’s. As reported by Upton (1962), it has recently become a regular visitor to garden bird-tables in many parts of the country. The scale of the increase appears to have been considerable. In several counties in which the species is now widespread and common it was regarded as a rarity in the 19th century. On one estate in Hamp- shire it increased from two pairs in the i88o’s to between eight and eleven pairs during 1940-45 (see Cohen 1963). It is not known whether an increase is continuing, but apart from locally reduced populations (due usually to tree-felling) in, for example, parts of Sussex and Suffolk, the numbers are probably being maintained. Merikallio (1958) recorded an apparent northwards extension of range in Finland ‘in recent years , but otherwise few changes in distribution or abundance seem to have been noted on the Continent. Lesser Spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopos minor. No evidence of marked widespread change. Not scarce; widely distributed throughout England and Wales, but 266 STATUS CHANGES AMONG BREEDING BIRDS probably absent as regular breeder from Isle of Wight, Pembroke, Anglesey, Durham and Northumberland. Absent from Scotland, Ireland and Isle of Man. Throughout most of its British range this 5pecies occurs only at low densities. It is probably much overlooked, 3ut such evidence as is available suggests that no marked changes have occurred in either its distribution or abundance. Where status changes I ire recorded in the regional literature they chiefly appear to be purely ocal in character and are perhaps often only temporary. Apart from ■narked decreases in orchard areas of Hereford before about 1938 ^ Gilbert and Walker 1941) and Somerset during the 1939-43 war (Lewis :95 2), in each case due to the removal of old trees planted at the time of he cider boom during the Napoleonic wars, the reports of changed • tatus conform to no regional or chronological pattern. Glutz von Tlotzheim (1962) also attributed a decline in Switzerland to the dis- :.ppearance of old fruit trees. ^Vryneck Jynx torquilla. Very marked decrease throughout its British ..ange (A & L). Continued marked decrease and contraction of range, ! f anything accelerating in 1960’s, and species now nearing extinction in '•Britain. Very scarce; regular breeding is now confined to a very few pairs in Tent, though a pair or two probably still breed in Surrey and perhaps •ery occasionally elsewhere in southern England. Monk (1963) ocumented the history of the steady decline of this species over the ast 100 years. In the mid-i9th century it was breeding not uncom- lonly north to W estmorland and west to Hereford and Somerset, and •t least occasionally in almost every county in England and Wales %• ?)• Monk’s special enquiry into its status from 1954 to 1938 produced proof of breeding from only ten counties, in only three of ?^hich did the actual number of nests found average more than one a . ear (Kent twelve, Surrey under two, Suffolk about one). Breeding was . elieved possibly to have occurred in a further eleven counties. In 1938 was estimated that the total British population was between 100 and ^ 00 pairs, only 1 3 of which were actually proved to breed (Monk 1963). Since 1938 there has evidently been a further sharp decline, and utside Kent there has been no certain nesting since 1939 (though the 'oecies is believed to have bred in Surrey). Even within Kent there has ‘ een a sharp decline in numbers. In that part of the county covered by le Kent Ornithological Society numbers fell from 16 certain breeding airs (and a further 69 possible pairs) in 1936 to only one certain breeding pair (and a further eight to twelve possible pairs) in both 1964 ad 1963. Including birds elsewhere, notably in Surrey, it seems oubtful whether the entire British population now numbers more lan about 23-30 breeding pairs. 267 BRITISH BIRDS F I G . 7 . Decline of the Wryneck Jynx torquilla. The various shadings show the years in which the species is last known to have bred in each county. Emphasis has been placed on the recent near-final collapse of the popu- lation, which already by 1940 was only a shadow of its former strength {cf. Monk 1963) To emphasise the recent contraction of range, fig. 7 is based on the year in which breeding was last proved in each county. A series of maps showing the general long-term pattern of decrease may be found in Monk (1963). Although the Wryneck appears to have decreased over most of western Europe, the factors causing the decline are not known. Woodlark L.ullula arborea. Marked decrease southern England and Ireland and complete disappearance from northern England (A & L). Gradual increase in southern England and Wales and some expansion of range after 1920; marked increase in England in 1940’s, reaching peak in many areas about 1951; decrease from about 1954 onwards, becoming very marked after i960, with almost total collapse of popula- tion in many counties following cold winters of 1962 and 1963. Scarce; breeds very locally in most counties south-west of a line from Merioneth to Kent, and in Suffolk, Norfolk and Nottingham. Follow- ing the marked decline during the last few years, the current distribu- tion is uncertain and the species seems to have disappeared — perhaps 268 STATUS CHANGES AMONG BREEDING BIRDS only temporarily— from several counties in various parts of England and Wales (see fig. 8). Only about loo occupied territories were known in the whole country in 1965, but because many must have gone unre- corded it is likely that the actual number of breeding pairs was some- what higher than this. Alexander and Lack’s assessment tended to over simplify the varied liistory of this species which has fluctuated over the last 100 years or more as markedly as perhaps any other British breeding bird. The summary which follows attempts merely to outline the main fluctua- tions. Around the middle of the 19th century the Woodlark disappeared from several counties of north-west England and Ireland in which it was then said to be breeding; apart from pairs which bred in Wexford about 1905 and in Cork in 1954, none of these counties has been occupied by breeding Woodlarks during this century. Within its main range in the southern half of England and Wales some decrease appears to have taken place towards the end of the 19th century, a low point possibly, though not certainly, being reached in the 'i88o’s (Harrison 1961). 'ic. 8. Breeding range of the W oodlark l^ulhda arborea during (a) 1950-5? and V 19 3‘ 5- Hatching shows areas (based mainly on counties) in which breeding ccurred annually in the period concerned. Dots indicate areas in which breeding ■ not known to have occurred annually, but a pair or two per county certainly or probably bred in at least one year in the period 269 BRITISH BIRDS Soon after 1920 the species began to increase in many counties, particularly in south-east England but also west to Somerset and Brecon, and apart from fluctuations (often caused through a heavy mortality in hard winters) this phase of expansion lasted through to about 1951. Curiously, despite the high incidence of cold winters in the 1940’s, this decade, and particularly the latter part of it, seems to have produced the sharpest increase, at least in England if not also in Wales. In the north of its range the species recolonised Yorkshire in 1945 after an absence of 40 years (Chislett 1952), was found to be numerous in Nottingham in the same year (Local Report), and increased and spread in the adjacent county of Lincoln after about 1946 (Smith and Cornwallis 1955). Peak numbers were reached in many areas around 1951 and, although the population remained high for about three years, a decline had already become noticeable in parts of Hampshire, Dorset and other southern counties by about 1954- Breeding results the next year seem to have been poor, and thereafter numbers declined steadily, falling sharply from about i960, and more sharply still after the cold winters of 1962 and 1963. The species has ceased to breed in a number of counties, including Yorkshire (last nests 1958), Lincoln (last nest 1959), Bedford (last nest 1956) and Essex (last nest 1961), while in several others such as Pembroke and Cardigan, where it was well distributed up till 1962, it disappeared after the 1963 hard winter and was still absent by 1965. In England, despite the obvious effects of the hard winter, it is clear that the decline was already well under way; three examples may be mentioned to show its extent. In the area around London, fewer than nine pairs were known in 1961 compared with 45 pairs in 1950, and none at all could be traced in 1964 (Homes et al. 1964, Local Report). In Nottingham, at least 36 pairs were breeding in 1945 and 1950, but there were probably fewer than five pairs by 1961, while in 1963 there was only one report of a single bird (Local Report). On one part of the Suffolk coast, numbers decreased from about 20 pairs in 1956 to two in 1962 (Pearson 1963). Fig. 8 illustrates the recent contraction of breeding range. At least locally, habitat changes have been responsible for a rise or fall in Woodlark numbers. In some parts of the country, particularly in East Anglia, the loss of Rabbits Oryclolagus cmuciilus through myxomatosis in the mid-i95o’s resulted in many Woodlark habitats becoming overgrown with long grass, bracken and scrub. Yet, while this factor may partly account for the more recent decline, and habitat changes of one kind or another may explain local fluctuations, the vicissitudes of this species seem most likely to be linked with climatic changes, as suggested by Harrison (1961). There is a broad correlation between W'oodlark numbers and mean annual temperature, though. 270 STATUS CHANGES AMONG BREEDING BIRDS perhaps because in Britain the species is on the extreme north-western clgc of its range, this correlation is by no means precise. -ikylark Alauda arvensis. No evidence of marked widespread change. Abundant; widely distributed, breeding in all parts of Britain and ■ reland. Apart from fluctuations due to hard winters, few marked •opulation changes have been recorded. Local reductions as a result of osscs in habitat (notably through the ploughing of pastures, and where rban development has occurred) have been reported from some parts f the country. Except in Ireland, where Ruttledge (1966) suggested possible general decrease in recent years, there is no evidence that f. '} arks have declined over a wide area, and most obsen’^ers report no oticcable change in numbers. swallow Hinmdo rustica. Probably decreasing, particularly in Scotland ut evidence not quite definite enough (A & L). Fluctuates; appears to l ive decreased, but changes are poorly documented. Numerous ; widely distributed, breeding in all counties in Britain and I eiand, but only very locally in north-west Scotland, and irregularly in netland and (probably) the Outer Hebrides. There is some evidence to -iggest that the species may have increased slightly in the extreme orth-west of Scotland since the end of the last century, when it was egarded there as a rare transient visitor (Baxter and Rintoul 1953) ith this possible exception, most records of changed status elsewhere main and Ireland refer to diminished numbers, though because the ^ecles fluctuates, and because there are few numerical data, it is . tcertam how real or extensive the decline has been, or when it began, though more than a dozen post-war county avifaunas record a ■ crease, few go so far as to call it marked— Cornwall (Rvwes and Jick 1946), Hampshire (Cohen 1963) and Warwick (Norris 1047) mg among the exceptions. Unfortunately, none of the local censuses of this species made in ' ^950 s (see Boyd 1936) have since been repeated, except for one in : bedbergh area of west Yorksliire that indicated a twofold increase in number of breeding pairs between 1938-42 and 1952-53 (Cuthbert- '1 et al 1954). No wider significance can be attached to these counts, hough they do tend to confirm the general impression gained from’ ; local literature of a temporary increase in some parts of the country the early 1950’s. Most Swallows in Britain nest in farm buildings one kind or another, and it is therefore not surprising that where a al decrease has been recorded it has usually been attributed to icu tural improvements and, more particularly, to the improvement mi 'ing parlours and barns. Voous (i960) recorded an apparent rked general decline in European villages and towns, and suggested BRITISH BIRDS that improved farm hygiene (leading to fewer flies) was the most likely cause. House Martin Delichon urhica. Probably decreasing generally (A & L). Widely claimed to be decreasing, but evidence unsatisfactory. Numerous; widely distributed, breeding in all counties in Britain and Ireland except Outer Hebrides and Shetland, and only irregularly in Orkney. Numbers breeding at cliff and cave colonies in northern Scotland decreased markedly during the latter half of the 19th century, and throughout this area they have continued to fall until the present time (Pennie 1962). Indeed, in Scotland as a whole, Baxter and Rintoul (1953) suggested that House Martins had become much scarcer, particularly in inland areas. There is, however, some contradictory evidence, while in Ayr a decrease noted in the 1920’s has since been reversed (Richards 1965). Elsewhere in Britain the evidence for the long-term decrease that is quite widely held to have taken place is conflicting. Marked local fluctuations have certainly occurred, as indicated by, for example, nest counts at two large colonies on bridges. At one, near Oxford, numbers fell steadily from 513 nests in 1952 to only 65 in 1959, but then rose gradually to 283 nests by 1965 (Radford 1966, Local Report). At the other, in Shropshire, there was a steady increase from 168 nests to 335 nests between 1957 and 1963 (Rutter et al. 1964). While local fluctua- tions of this magnitude are known to occur, it is difficult to know how much credence to give to subjective reports of long-term changes. Although most of these refer to a decrease, they are scattered both in space and time, suggesting (together with the several counties that report no noticeable alteration in the bird’s status) that any diminution must on the whole have been slight. There is no evidence that any decrease has occurred in Ireland; in fact, Ruttledge (1966) recorded a recent increase there. Sand Martin Kiparia riparia. Probably decreasing, but evidence not quite definite enough (A & L). No evidence of marked widespread change. Numerous; widely but locally distributed, breeding in every mainland county in Britain and Ireland and in the Isle of Man; irregular in Isle of Wight, and absent from Outer Plebrides, Orkney and Shet- land. In the last century Sand Martins bred regularly on several islands in the Outer Hebrides and Orkney, but in both areas they had ceased to do so by about 1900 (Baxter and Rintoul 195 3). This evidence apart, no marked changes in the extent of the range of this species have been recorded. Although some redistribution of the breeding population has 272 STATUS CHANGES AMONG BREEDING BIRDS )ccLirrcd, there is no evidence that Sand Martins have become scarcer n Britain and Ireland as a whole. The great majority nest in man-made labitats— most often at sand, gravel or chalk pits— which are quickly xploited and usually relatively short-lived. In some districts the pecics has become adapted to nesting in drainage pipes, and in the .(Ondon area the two oldest existing colonies, occupied permanently or about 50 years, are so situated (^Nau 1^61). In central and eastern mgland the considerable growth in the number of gravel pits over he last 20 years has led to an undoubted increase in the Sand Martin opulation of such counties as Huntingdon. On the other hand, during ais period, and perhaps since the beginning of the 20th century, the umbers nesting in such natural sites as river banks (for example, in outhern Scotland and the Take Oistrict: Baxter and Rintoul 1953, tokoe 1962, Medlicott 1965) and coastal clids (for example, in -ornwall: Ryves and Quick 1946) have almost certainly become nailer. dolden Oriole Oriolus oriolus. Sporadic. For a time in the mid to late 9th century the occasional pair of Golden Orioles bred fairly frequent- in cast Kent (Ticehurst 1909); since then, however, although ■reeding has been suspected more than once and birds are noted ractically every spring, there appear to have been no further cases of iniirmed breeding in that county. Elsewhere in Britain the species is •id to have bred once or twice in about ten other counties in southern ngland and East Anglia between about 1840 and 1890; many of lese records are probably genuine, but in fact very few are fully ithenticated. If anything the species has tended to nest even less often Britain during the present century, though there appears to have .en a slight increase in the number of breeding records during the ‘ ist 20 years. Breeding has been proved in Somerset (1949), Devon 951), north Lancashire (1958-61) and Shropshire (1964), has been rongly suspected in five other English counties, and is believed )ssibly to have occurred in Pembroke (1954) and Cardigan (1964). An ' crease in Denmark and, since 1944, an extension of the regular eedmg range into southern Sweden, have been linked with an crease in mean spring temperatures in northern Europe (Salomonsen 48, Voous i960). It is presumably the climatic factor that prevents ■ e species from becoming established in this country. '^\cnCorvus corax. Great decrease in first half of 19th century, when terminated over a large area of eastern and central England, though cu persisted in Essex till 1890 and in Sussex till a year or so later; :rease in 20th century in west and north (A & L). Further increase ^939'45 war, continuing locally till 1950’s, and in some areas until 273 BRITISH BIRDS present time, with tree-nesting becoming more prevalent; but no marked extension of range. Not scarce; widely distributed in upland and coastal districts of western and northern Britain, and Ireland. A detailed account of breeding density and a general survey of population trends has been given by Ratcliffe (1962). Since about 1914 the species has gradually recovered much of the ground in Wales and western England that it lost through persecution in the 19th century. Although little extension of breeding range has occurred — the reoccupation of Shropsliire (since 1918) and Hereford (since 1924) being among the more notable exceptions — the Raven population in nearly all counties in this area must have increased considerably. The most marked increase appears to have occurred during the 1939-45 war, since when the higher numbers have generally been maintained or, locally, have actually further increased. There have been few signs, however, that the species might recolonise parts of its former range in central and eastern England, The occasional pair or two have nested in Sussex (1938-45), Hampshire (early 1940’s), Worcester (1949-50) and Stafford (1951-52, attempted only), though there is the possibility that some of these records refer to released tame birds. In north-west England and south-west Scotland, as well as in the southern part of the range, tree-nesting, which had locally become almost unknown after the late 19th century, began to be more prevalent again after about 1945, and in some areas in Wales and south-west England the habit was re-established as early as the 1920’s. In the Lake District and the Scottish border counties the number of cliff-nesting Ravens appears to have been relatively stable since the beginning of the 20th century, so the spread of tree-nesting represents an increase in the breeding population (Ratcliffe 1962, Stokoe 1962). Among cliff- nesting populations studied in four separate parts of Britain from 1945 to 1961, Ratcliffe found no indication of a long-term population trend, and there appeared to be only relatively minor short-term and annual fluctuations. In north-east England and many parts of Scotland, Ravens are still widely persecuted, and many old nesting sites have remained deserted (e.g. Temperley 1951, Pcnnie 1962, Ratcliffe 1962). Apart from temp- orary increases during the 1914-18 and 1939-45 wars, and other minor fluctuations, the breeding population in these areas has remained relatively stable. In Ireland the numbers of Ravens are said to have recovered many of their 19th century losses and here, too, tree-nesting is again on the increase (Kennedy 1961, Ruttledge 1966). Carrion/Hooded Crow Corvus corone. Carrion Crow C.c.corone locally decreased (except in vicinity of large towns), especially in south and 274 STATUS CHANGES AMONG BREEDING BIRDS east England; but increased in south and central Scotland (largely replacing Hooded Crow C.c.cornix) and spread to north Scotland and Isle of Man; Hooded Crow decreased in south Scotland and many parts of Ireland (A & L). Carrion Crow very markedly increased in all parts of its British range, with continued northward expansion in ' Scotland (at expense of Hooded Crow), and recent isolated breeding in Ireland though without yet having become established there; Hooded Crow otherwise maintaining its numbers or, in Ireland, increasing again. Numerous; widely distributed, breeding in all parts of Britain and Ireland; the Hooded Crow occupies Ireland and the Scottish Isles and is dominant over the Carrion Crow in the Isle of Alan and throughout most of the Highlands, while the Carrion Crow fills the rest of the • range. The zone of hybridisation between the two races has continued to shift farther north in Scotland, and the Carrion Crow is becoming increasingly prominent even in the northernmost mainland counties, iln south-east Sutherland, sample counts in 1955 and 1956 showed that fCarrion Crows formed less than 1 5 % of the combined Carrion/Hooded tCrow population; by 1964 the proportion had risen to 55%, while many of the remainder were hybrids (Alacdonald 1965). Except where it is being replaced by the Carrion Crow, the Hooded Crow is not declining, and in west Ross and some of the W estern Isles it has recently increased. In Ireland, too, the Hooded Crow has increased considerably over the last 40-50 years in all parts of the country (Deane 1954, \Kennedy 1961). The general increase appears to have been maintained in recent years, and since 1950 the species has extended its range into west Donegal (Ruttledge 1966). There is much evidence to show that the Carrion Crow has increased ■narked'y over almost the whole of its British range during the last 50 /ears, particularly since the early 1940’s. Alany county avifaunas note hat the increase began with the decline in game-preserration at the ■inie of the 1914-18 war, that it continued during the 1920’s and 1930’s, . ind that it became strikingly rapid, particularly in rural areas, with the urther reduction in persecution from game-keepers during and after he 1959-45 war. Except possibly in East Anglia, this increase has ecently been maintained {q.v. Prestt 1965). The general relaxation of persecution has enabled the Carrion Crow o colonise the outskirts of many large industrial towns, while in rural listricts it has spread locally even into sparsely wooded country. On (omney Marsh, Kent, for example, it is now widespread, and in the bsence of trees in the Dungeness area it nests on posts and electricity •ylons or in small bushes only a few feet from the ground. Yet breeding *^as unknown on Romney Alarsh till a pair bred in 1919, while at dungeness— which was not colonised until some time during the 1940’s ^75 BRITISH BIRDS — the breeding density was as high as one pair per loo acres by 1952 (Axell 1956). Rook Corviis fnigilegus Has spread to areas in north Scotland and Ireland, colonising Orkney, Skye and Outer Hebrides (A & L). Has since colonised Shetland; evidence of fairly general increase in England between about 1930 and i960, though uncertain whether this trend continues; no noticeable change in Ireland. Abundant; widely distributed, breeding in all counties of Britain and Ireland, but only locally in extreme north-west mainland and islands of Scotland, while in Outer Hebrides (colonised 1895) and Shetland (colonised 1952) confined to single localities. Although most of the evidence from Scotland suggests a general long-term increase and expansion of range, due largely to 19th century improvements in agriculture and the planting and growth of woodlands (Baxter and Rintoul 1953), there are places, such as north Sutherland, where the species has declined markedly since the end of the last century and where it has continued to do so in recent years (Pennie 1962). On the other hand, censuses in Dumfries in 1908, 1921 and 1963 showed a similar aggregate of nests in each of these years (Skilling el al. 1966). Outside Scotland, changes in range have been slight. The species has, however, withdrawn from the centres and suburbs of many towns as these have spread. A series of sample censuses of rookeries, mainly between about 1930 and i960, give some indication of the probable population trends over England as a whole during this period. The fullest census, covering nearly one million nests over two-thirds of Britain’s land surface, was made during 1944-46, when it was estimated that the total Rook population had increased by about 20% since the early 1930’s (Fisher 1948). Subsequent sample censuses in several different parts of England have suggested that this increase was maintained over the next ten to 1 5 years — and in some counties, such as Essex, Flertford and Nottingham, considerably improved upon. The only contrary evidence during this period comes from north-west England, where a big decline occurred in south-west Lancashire (Holdsworth 1962) and a less marked one in four other parts of the region. In west Cheshire there was a slight fall after 1944 and a more marked drop — of about 50% — between the early 1950’s and the next count in 1964 (Henderson 1965). Unfortunately, there are few counts after about 1961 to indicate the possible present trend over the country as a whole. In Nottingham, however, where previous censuses had shown a threefold increase in population between 1932 and 1958, numbers fell sharply (by 38%) by 1962 to a level of about that of 1944 (Dobbs 1964). The sudden decrease was believed to be due to mortality caused by toxic seed dressings. The 276 STATUS CHANGES AMONG BREEDING BIRDS earlier increase in Nottingham, as in several other parts of England, was almost certainly due to the increasing acreage of cereals, despite the fact that grassland (which has decreased) provides for this species the most important single type of feeding ground throughout the year {q.v. Sage and Nau 1963). Jackdaw Corviis n/onedida. General increase, especially in Scotland, where it has spread west and north and colonised Outer Hebrides and additional islands in Orkney (A & !>). Further general increase over practically the whole of the range; has colonised Shetland, but : remains local and sparse in Outer EIcbrides and north-west Scotland : generally. Abundant; widely distributed, breeding in all parts of Britain and Ireland, including (since 1945) Shetland. Examples of the great increase • and extension of range in Scotland were given by Baxter and Rintoul (1953), and more recent Scottish works suggest that the general increase has probably continued. For example, Richards (1965) recorded a marked increase since about 1950 in Ayr; Evans and Flower (1967) noted a steady expansion on Eigg, Inner Hebrides, from the first six breeding pairs in 1933 to around 100 pairs in 1966; and Pennie (1962) showed that the species had increased generally in Sutherland, though it remained rare in the west. The standard ornithological works for Ireland make it plain that it has also increased generally in that country during this century, and Ruttledge (1966) suggested that this trend ■ was continuing. In England and VC ales, although little numerical evidence is available, the local literature is almost unanimous in recording increased numbers during the 20th century. The increase appears to have continued in many parts of the country at least until the 1950’s and, even if it cannot be determined whether it is continuing today, it seems improbable that there has been any decline. This expansion appears to have affected populations both in inland areas and on coastal cliffs: among the few numerical estimates is that of Saunders (1962) who showed that on Skomer Island, Pembroke, the breeding population grew from about 20 pairs in 1946 to 200-250 pairs in 1961. The reasons for the long-term increase are not known, but especially in Scotland they are probably connected with developing cultivation. In Europe, Jackdaws appear to have expanded generally, including •n Scandinavia and Finland where they have extended northwards, ' ind in Spain where a marked increase has occurred (Voous i960). ^Magpie Vica pica. Marked decrease in 19th century in some parts of England and throughout Scotland; increase in many parts since 1914; ncrease m Ireland which was colonised towards end of 17th century 277 BRITISH BIRDS (A & L). Marked general increase during and after 1939-45 war, continuing or maintained in many districts, but not in East Anglia where a marked decline has occurred since about 1959. Numerous ; widely distributed, breeding in every county in Britain and Ireland north to Forth-Clyde line except in south-east Scotland; also more locally in eastern Highlands north to Easter Ross. Like those of other crows. Magpie numbers were at a low ebb at the turn of the century. Despite a marked increase during and after the 1914-18 war, due to the lapse in game-keeping and probably also to an Act of 1911 that proliibited the use of poisoned bait, the species remained scarce in parts of east and south England through to about 1930 or later. Thereafter, and especially during and following the 1939-45 war, its numbers rapidly increased, and even in some areas where it was previously almost unknown, such as eastern East Anglia, it had become common and widespread by the early 1950’s. Although there are no figures to go on, there can be little doubt that the increase, especially during the 1940’s, was considerable and affected all parts of England and Wales, and probably Scotland and Ireland too. As well as many instances of local range extensions, often into places where the only available nest-sites are in low hedgerows or small bushes, there has been a general tendency for the species to spread into suburban areas. This has been observed in districts as far apart as south-west Cornwall, Sussex and Lancashire, while in Scotland the main strongholds of the species are now in the environs of such cities and towns as Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen. Baxter and Rintoul (1953) attributed the general increase in Scotland largely to the fact that around urban areas the Magpie is safe from persecution from game-preservers. In London the species is on the verge of penetrating the centre itself, as it has done in Dublin and some other large Irish cities and towns (Cramp and Tomlins 1966, Ruttledge 1966). While over most of Britain numbers have tended to continue to increase, or have at least been maintained, a noticeable decline has occurred in some areas of eastern England since the late 1950’s. Particularly in parts of East Anglia, and notably in Essex, west Suffolk, Norfolk, Huntingdon, Lincoln, Bedford and Cambridge, the decrease has clearly been very marked and the species has disappeared almost entirely from some agricultural districts. Elsewhere, for example in parts of Kent and Oxford, the decrease appears to have affected certain rural populations, but not those in suburban areas. The most widely held reasons for the recent decline in East Anglia are the destruction of hedges and the increased use of toxic chemicals (Prestt 1965). Jay Garrnlus glandarins. Marked decrease generally, especially m northern England and Scotland, but with local increases, especially in 278 STATUS CHANGES AMONG BREEDING BIRDS southern England since 1914 (A & L). General increase over the last 50 years and particularly the last 25 years. Fairly numerous ; absent from the Isle of Alan, the extreme west and corth of Ireland, and parts of southern Scotland, but otherwise general- ly distributed north to Argyll, Perth and Kincardine. The long-term uhanges recorded closely parallel those for the Alagpie and, as in the case of that species, seem to be closely linked with human persecution or its cessation. In addition, the Jay has clearly benefited from aflbre- station, particularly in Scotland. Apart from purely local or temporary fluctuations, all the evidence points to a steady and widespread increase since 1914, with a suggestion that this has become even more noticeable since the early 1940’s. In Ireland a marked general expansion has included, since 1936, the recolonisation of five counties in Ulster and, in the west, the occupation of Mayo (Deane 1954, Ruttledge 1966). In Scotland, although the Jay is stfil absent from several southern counties, it has recently spread ..and increased in the new conifer forests of Galloway, Fife and the south Highlands, without, however, extending its range to the Grampians or farther north. The general increase in England and Wales has included a westward spread in Cornwall and Pembroke, and the colonis- ation of many suburban areas. In central London, since first breeding th^cre in 1930, the species has steadily increased and now nests in most of the Royal Parks and in several other open spaces (Flomes et al. 1964). Apart from a noticeable decrease in the woodland areas of south iQmbndge between 1942 and 1963, there is no evidence that the Jay has undergone a recent decline in eastern England similar to that of ■ the Magpie. I Chough Pjrrhocorax pjrrhocorax. General decrease extending over two centuries; in Scotland, where in the i8th century the species •occurred in numerous inland localities as well as on the east, north and west coasts, it gradually disappeared and by about 1940 was confined to Islay, Jura and some other islands in the extreme south-west; in England, where apparently always coastal, it became extinct in Yorkshire, Kent and Sussex in the first half of the 19th century, and n the Isle of Wight, Cumberland, Dorset and south Devon in the atter half; by about 1940 it had gone from north Devon (last bred ibout 1910) and sundved in only small numbers in Cornwall but nore commonly in \X ales, the Isle of Man and Ireland, everywhere -onfined to the coast except in north Wales (adapted from A & L) Lumbers maintained in Isle of Alan, W’ales and Ireland (perhaps now owly increasing in latter two), and probably also in Scotland (Argyll) ■ though a sudden sharp decrease occurred there in 1963 ; has not bred n Cornwall since 1952. BRITISH BIRDS Scarce; a census in 1963 (Cabot 1965, Rolfe 1966) showed a minimum total breeding population of 700 pairs, distributed in Wales (98 pairs, mainly in Pembroke and Caernarvon, but including small numbers in five other counties), the Isle of Man (zo pairs), Scotland (i i pairs, all in Argyll, including the southern Inner Hebrides) and Ireland (567-682 pairs, mainly on western coasts between Donegal and Cork, and also in Antrim and Waterford). The results of the survey indicated that in most areas the populations had recently remained fairly stable or had marginally increased. In Scotland, however, there was a sharp decline in 1963, perhaps associated with the hard winter. In Cornwall, where four to six pairs bred till the late 1940’s, only one bird now remains and no breeding has taken place since 1952; there were actually two Cornish Choughs until spring 1967, but one was then found dead, believed killed by a Pere- grine Valeo peregrlmis (R. D. Penhallurick in Hit.). Several factors that might possibly have accounted for the general long-term decline of the Chough have been discussed by Rolfe (1966), but no single outstanding cause is apparent. A gradual reduction in breeding range has occurred in central Europe in the course of the last few centuries (Voous i960). Great Tit Pams major. Increasing in north Scotland, due to increase in woodland (A & L). Now nests over whole of north Scottish mainland; no evidence of marked changes elsewhere. Abundant; widely distributed, breeding throughout Britain and Ireland except Outer Hebrides (bred 1966) and Northern Isles. Before 1900 it was practically unknown in the three northernmost mainland counties of Scotland, but it now nests widely as far north as the north coast of Sutherland and Caithness. Describing the ‘spectacular colonis- ation’ of Sutherland, Pennie (1962) pointed out that, as with a sudden northward spread in Norway since the 1930’s, the increase was not obviously due to a spread of plantations ; the colonisation of north Norway was, in fact, correlated by Haftorn (1958) with changes in winter climate. Although the outer Scottish isles have not been colonised, there is some evidence that breeding has become more frequent on certain of the Inner Hebrides since the 1930’s. Except for the colonisation of the Isles of Scilly in the early 1920’s and a gradual increase there since, there are no records to suggest that any marked changes in distribution or abundance have occurred over the rest of the British range. Blue Tit Pams caemleus. Increase in north Scotland and colonised Isle of Man; due to increase of woodland (A & L). No marked long-term change; has colonised Isles of Scilly and one locality in Outer Hebrides. 280 STATUS CHANGES AMONG BREEDING BIRDS Abundant; widely distributed, breeding in all counties of Britain > and Ireland except Northern Isles. In Outer Hebrides it is confined to the Stornoway area where small but increasing numbers have bred since 1962 or 1963. As with the Great Tit, the only noticeable changes n range have occurred in Sutherland and Caithness, where the species las evidently increased and spread during the course of this century [Baxter and Rintoul 1953, Pennie 1962), and the Isles of Scilly, which • lave been colonised since the late 1940’s. Although marked short-term Actuations occur, there is no evidence of any long-term population rend over the country as a whole. Goal Tit ?arusater. Spreading in woods of northern Scotland (A & L). expanding wherever new conifer forests have been planted; otherwise ’ 10 marked changes. Numerous; widely distributed, breeding in all of Britain and • reland except Outer Hebrides (bred 1966) and Northern Isles. y\n in- r.rease in Scotland in the 19th century, and in Caithness since 1900, has »ueen attributed to aflbrestation (Baxter and Rintoul 1953). Similarly, Tie recent extensive planting of conifer forests in other parts of Britain nd Ireland has enabled the Coal Tit to occupy much country that was ireviously unsuitable (see Chislett 1952, Condry 1955, Ruttledge 1966, tc.). There can be little doubt that this has led to an increase in the Dtal population. Outside the newly afforested areas there is no indica- ion of any marked long-term change in abundance or distribution, part from a recent spread into certain western coastal areas of Ireland! r^rested Tit Pants cr'istatus. Formerly more widespread in Scotland, ut by second half of 19th century appears to have been restricted to pey Valley; with extensive planting of conifers has now spread to inewoods throughout the Moray basin (A & L). Slowly increasing and as spread as far as, if not actually into, east Sutherland and Aberdeen. Scarce; restricted to east Inverness and four other counties of Moray irth. Nethersole-Thompson (in Darling and Boyd 1964) has estimated lat at least 300-400 pairs of Crested Tits nest in Scotland. Though peyside remains its stronghold, the species has gradually spread to )w-lying coastal as well as upland plantations in Nairn, Moray and • anil, almost to the Aberdeen border. It has also spread north in Ross ^ ad has recently been seen, but not proved to breed, in east Sutherland ennie 1962, Darling and Boyd 1964). Its numbers are reduced after ird winters but they seem quickly to recover. It is generally anticipated lat given sufficient suitable haljitat— notably old pine forests— the secies will gradually regain more of the ground that it lost through le destruction of Scotland’s forests more than a century ago. Jespersen 945) noted a northward spread in Denmark due to afforestation. 281 BRITISH BIRDS Marsh Tit Parus palustris. No evidence of any marked widespread change. Not scarce; breeds widely in England and rather more locally in Wales (probably in all counties except perhaps Anglesey), but in Scotland is confined to Berwick except for a single breeding record from East Lothian in 1966; absent from Ireland. No significant changes in breeding range have been recorded and there is no good evidence of any widespread change in abundance. Apparent local fluctuations are difficult to interpret in the absence of any objective data, but they appear not to be linked with any wider general trends. Willow Tit Parus niontamis. No evidence of marked change (A & L). Apparent decrease and contraction of range in Scotland; no marked changes elsewhere. Not scarce; widely though rather sparsely distributed in England, Whales and the south-west and central Scottish Lowlands ; absent from Ireland. Confusion between this species and the Marsh Tit P. palustris, the low density of its population, and the fact that it was not recognised in Britain until the end of the 19th century, make it particularly ■difficult to assess the few status changes that are reputed to have occurred. More competent observation has gradually extended its known breeding range to most parts of England and Wales, and the same factor may be largely responsible for several apparent or claimed local increases in recent years. In Scotland it seems probable that there has been a fairly widespread decrease. The results of the B.O.U. Distribution Survey indicate that since 1955 the Willow Tit is known to have bred only in the south-west and in the Lowland counties of Lanark, Renfrew, Stirling and West Lothian. Since 1930 a sharp decline has occurred in Ayr and there are no recent breeding records (Richards 1965). Surprisingly, there appear to be no recent instances of nesting anywhere in the Highlands, which, if true, indicates a considerable contraction in range. Before about 1950 breeding was recorded from several counties north to Ross. On Speyside, Inverness, the species was believed to have become scarcer between 1918 and 1948 (Baxter and Rintoul 1953). Long-tailed Tit A.egithalos caudatus. Fluctuates owing to greatly increased mortality in severe winters, but no evidence of marked long-term changes. Fairly numerous; widely distributed, breeding in all counties in Britain and Ireland except Northern Isles, Outer Hebrides (bred 1939) and Caithness (has bred). The species suffers heavily in severe winters, often taking several years to regain its former numbers. These short- term fluctuations apart, however, it shows little evidence of any 282 STATUS CHANGES AMONG BREEDING BIRDS widespread change in status. It is said to have decreased locally in parts of eastern and southern England since the 1^30’s; such records are usually attributed to habitat destruction, for example the loss of hedgerows in south-west Suffolk (Payn 1962). Few changes in range are recorded. The species is generally scarce in the north of Scotland, but has probably increased in north Sutherland and was first proved to breed in the west of that county in i960 (Pennie 1962). Some previous colonisations in north Scotland — in Caithness, on some of the Inner Hebrides and, once, the Outer Hebrides — later proved to be only temporary. '•Nuthatch Sitla enropaea. Increase and extension of range in north-west Wales (Merioneth, Caernarvon, Anglesey) and Cheshire (A & L). ^ Continued gradual increase and spread throughout Wales and over much of the northern half of England. Not scarce; breeds widely in England and Wales south of a line from the Mersey to the Wash, and much more locally north to Westmorland .and Northumberland; absent Scotland and Ireland. Particularly s since about 1940 the species has shown signs of increasing over much of the western and northern parts of the range. As well as the increase in north Wales referred to above, it appears to have become much ■more common and widespread in most counties in mid and south ' Wales and has spread to several places along the west coast from ■ vhich it was previously absent (e.g. Lockley 1961, Peach and Miles : 1961). The earlier increase in Cheshire has continued, with new ground ■ Jtill being colonised in north-western and north-eastern parts, while ' unce 1945 the species has spread into south-west Lancashire and now Dreeds regularly there and occasionally elsewhere in that county. ^ Since about 1955 small numbers have become established in several oarts of south Westmorland. Local range expansions, especially in the oeriod 1945-55, were also recorded in Stafford and Derby, and more •ecently in Nottingham, Lincoln and parts of Yorkshire. In the north- east of the range it seems to have disappeared from Durham by the niddle of the 19th century, but became re-established there after 1927 •nd increased and spread north during and after the 1940’s (Temperley 951). The species has now colonised south Northumberland and has ecently bred at Alnwick in the northern half of that county (Local Icport). Few changes in status have been recorded from counties in the outhern half of England, though what little information there is uggests that some increase may have occurred. Local extensions of ange have been noted in southern England. For example, since about 948 the species has spread into parts of south Dorset, and since 1952 t has probably colonised the Isle of Wight, though breeding has not 283 BRITISH BIRDS yet been proved there. Few areas report any decline in numbers. A disappearance from the central London parks (recolonised in 1958) m the late 19th century and from another London park after 1953 were thought to be connected with atmospheric pollution causing the trees to become contaminated with soot (Fitter 1945, Homes et al. 1957). The same factor may be responsible for the species’ scarcity in the neighbourhood of some other large industrial towns. The causes of the increase in the north and west are not known. A partial explanation may be that in parts of Derby (Miss K. M. Hollick in litt.), Yorkshire (Evans 1964) and other counties, the Nuthatch has become increasingly a bird of gardens, especially in winter when it now makes frequent use of bird tables. Treecreeper Certhia familiaris. No evidence of any marked widespread change. Fairly numerous; widely distributed, breeding in every county in Britain and Ireland except Orkney and Shetland. A few pairs are now resident at one locality (Stornoway Woods) in the Outer Hebrides, where breeding was first recorded in 1962. The species may now also breed more frequently on some wooded islands of the Inner Hebrides. The local literature provides no evidence of marked changes elsewhere, other than short-term fluctuations due to increased mortality in hard winters. Wren Troglodytes troglodytes. No evidence of any marked widespread change. Abundant; widely distributed, breeding in all parts of Britain and Ireland. Numerically, this species probably suffers higher losses than any during hard winters, after which the population often takes some years to recover. These fluctuations apart, there is no evidence of any long-term change in abundance, and the species remains the most widely distributed of all British breeding birds. Dipper Cinclus cinclus. No evidence of any marked widespread change. Not scarce; widely distributed along fast-running streams in western and northern Britain and Ireland, but absent from the Northern Isles and, probably, the Isle of Man. Before 1950 small numbers bred in the Isle of Man and in Orkney (which was colonised in the 1920’s), but lately the species appears to have gone from both these areas. Elsewhere there is little evidence of any widespread changes in numbers or distribution, and it seems probable that none has occurred. Locally, river pollution has caused the species to disappear, but on more than one stretch of river later freed from pollution the birds have returned. In the southern half of England the easternmost limit of breeding 284 I i L -late 33. White-rumpcd Swift nesting in old nest of Pacific Swallows . trimdo tahitica, Malaya, July 1959 — an interesting parallel to this species’ use 3 nests of Red-rumped Swallows H. daurka in Spain in 1966 and 1967 (pages 286- 290). Note the contrast between white throat and dark body {photo: F. G. H. AUen) Plath 34. Whitc-rumped Swift Apns affinis leaving nest, Spain, June 1966. Note the white rump and throat, the light foreheaii and pale-edged under wing-coverts: the tail is unforked (pages 286-2K7). Its exit from this former nest ot Red-rumped Swallows was the hole in the side with feathers sticking o\n{pbo/o: I'. Cj. II. !//<«) Fi. ATE 35. Picd-billecl Grebe Podilymbtis podkeps on nest, America, showing the general shape, stubby black and white bill, white eye-ring and black throat. Rather larger and stockier than a Little Grebe Podiceps ruficollis, it is mainly grey to brown, darker above and blacker on the crown (pages 290-299) {photos: C. D. Deane) Plate 36. Above, habitat of Pied-billed Grebe Podilymbus podiceps, Beaverdyke Reservoir, Yorkshire, June to November 1965 (pages 290-295) {photo: C. Worrin). Below, Pied-billed Grebe at this locality, June 1965, showing the distinctive bill and also the white eye-ring and black forehead and throat {photo: R. C. Parkinson) STATUS CHANGES AMONG BREEDING BIRDS range is reached in Dorset, Wiltshire, Gloucester, Worcester and Shropshire. In the first two of these counties a slight eastwards expansion occurred between about 1910 and the 1930’s, while the few breeding records from counties farther east have tended to come after that period: Hampshire (1938 to 1950), Oxford (several years since 1949; also 1876, 1899), Warwick (1937). The few other examples ■ of local fluctuations tend not to form any general pattern. Among the counties recording a recent local increase are Pembroke and : Shropshire, while those recording a decrease include Cheshire, north Lancashire and Roxburgh. 1 Bearded Tit Pam/nis biarmicus* Marked decrease and contraction of range in 19th century, due mainly to reclamation of marshland, t though also alleged by collectors and hard winters; by about 1900 was [practically confined to Norfolk. Thereafter the species gradually lincreased and recolonised Suffolk, but was nearly exterminated in both (counties by the hard winters of 1917, 1940 and 1947. Since the last of (these, however, it has steadily increased (the 1963 winter causing only •ia temporary check) with some recent expansion of breeding range, r Scarce; until recently restricted to Norfolk and Suffolk, but since I aabout i960 small colonies have become established in Essex and Kent, J ..and breeding has also taken place in at least one other eastern and two ■■ ^southern English counties. Axell (1966) has documented the fluctuations ( of the British population in detail. As well as the earlier history, briefly j ^summarised above, he traced the rapid increase that has occurred in rrecent years, including the recovery from apparent near-extinction iin 1947. Following the hard winter in that year the population had :been reduced to two to four known pairs in Suft'olk and a single male lin Norfolk. Ten years later, however, the number of known breeding [pairs in East Anglia had risen to 108, and bv 1962 to 285. This was cut loy rather more than half the next year, after the severe winter, but another rapid recover}- took place and by 1965 the East Anglian population was estimated at 237 pairs. Eruptive activity was a marked feature of the population in every autumn during 1959-65 (and also I (966) and this led to the recolonisation of several ancient breeding i;ates in Norfolk and Suffolk. Since about i960 small numbers have legun to breed regularly in Essex and Kent, and occasional breeding ■las occurred in at least three other counties. The remarkable recent mcrcase here has been paralleled in the Netherlands {q.v. Axell 1966). {To be continued in the October issue) ♦Bearded Tit or Bearded Reedling, is taken slightly out of the 1952 Check-list ■ rder as it is no longer regarded as one of the titmice (Paridae), but belonging to the imaliinae (Muscicapidae) and so nearer to the thrushes (Turdinae).— Eds. 285 Studies of less familiar birds 145. White-rumped or Little Swift I. J. Ferguson-Lees Photographs by F. G. H. Allen (Plates 33-34) On I2TH June 1967 a small swift with a white rump and a con- spicuous white throat was seen by Dr. J. T. R. Sharrock at Cape Clear Bird Observatory, Co. Cork, and from the details noted seems likely to have been a White-rumped Swift Apus agims, an African and southern Asiatic species which is also variously known as the Little Swift, House Swift, Little African Swift and Indian Swift. If the record should prove acceptable to the editor of the Irish Bird Keport and the Records Com- mittee of the British Ornithologists’ Union it would be a significant addition to the British and Irish List — significant because this is a spreading species in north-west Africa which was first found nesting in Europe in southern Spain in June 1966 (del Junco and Gonzalez 1966, Allen and Brudenell-Bruce 1967). Breeding has again been proved in two localities in southern Spain in the summer of 1967 and, if this species becomes permanently established in Europe, casual wanderers further north will be more likely occasionally to reach the British Isles. The account which follows may therefore be of value since the Field Guide (1966) was able to devote only three lines to this bird which was then defined as ‘Accidental Italy, Malta’. There are a number of swifts with white rumps in various parts of the world, but most of them belong to the distinctive subfamily of spine- tailed swifts (Chaeturinae). Apart from A. affinis, there are three rather larger species of Apus which also have this feature — A. pacificus (known as the White-rumped Swift in eastern Asia and Australia), A. caffer (known as the White-rumped Swift in Africa) and A. horns (the Horus Swift of Africa). The first of these is of the same order of size as the European Swift A. apus and the other two are only a little smaller. Apart from differences in the size and shape of the rump patch and of the white throat patch, as well as the colour of the dark parts of the body, all three have a deeply forked tail. The much smaller A. affinis, which will be referred to as the W'hitc- rumped Swift throughout the rest of this text, has a square tail over an inch shorter than that of the European Swift. It is only three-quarters the size of the latter, being about five inches long compared with 61 286 WHITE-RUMPED SWIFT STUDIES inches, and its wing span is some five inches smaller. The brief descrip- tion in the Field Guide refers only to the white rump among plumage features, while Etchecopar and Hiie (1967) have described it as ‘entirely black with a white rump’, but this is rather misleading as it also has a variable but usually quite large and generally clear-cut white throat (plates 33 and 34), while the sooty-black upper-parts, brown under- parts and rather more slate-coloured wings all have a greenish sheen. This is more marked than in yl. apus and difters from the glossy blue- black coloration of yi. capper and Fi. horns. The head is browner (as in most of these other swifts) and, particularly in the populations of north- west Africa and the Middle East, the forehead is rather paler and greyer. The underwings have a pale leading edge strengthened by pale-edged coverts. In flight the wings look shorter and less pointed than those of A. apus and the action is slower and more fluttery. The trilling or churring calls are weak and high-pitched. Like other swifts, it feeds on 'Small insects caught on the wing. Apart from its recent extension into southern Spain, this species breeds in north-west Africa (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and the Arguin iBank), in many parts of Africa south of the Sahara— south to Port ! Elizabeth (Ferguson 1953)— and in southern Asia from the Middle East across India and Ceylon to southern China, Malaysia, the Philip- pines, Sumatra, Java and Borneo; throughout this range it is largely : resident, but the north-west African and west Asian race galilejensis is i-Dartly migratory and apparently undertakes short journeys to warmer . :juarters in Africa and India (Vaurie i959"^5)- Even so, Etchecopar and 1 Hiie referred to it as sedentary in Tunis, common in Morocco in IDecember and January, and, though sometimes migratory, ‘its ab- sences do not last long and perhaps it merely wanders’. According to Brudenell-Bruce (1958), the species was first reported at labat, Morocco, in 1925 and in the next 25 years it extended its breed- ng range nearly 140 miles northwards to Tangier, becoming common here by 1933 and nesting along the main boulevards; Brudenell-Bruce I idded that ‘it will be interesting to see whether it crosses the Straits to ' ipain in another few years’ time’. Appropriately enough, it fell to him, n company with Commander John Agnew, to find the first nest in ^jpain in 1966. On the other hand, Brosset (1937) cited examples to how that populations which had colonised some towns in eastern ' viorocco had subsequently disappeared within a year or two and con- luded that this was a rather unstable species which was liable to olonise new areas and abandon them as rapidly. . This is a highly gregarious species which often breeds in large colo- aes, but small groups or single pairs can also be found. It occurs in a •anety of habitats from open country to the middles of cities and builds :s nest equally readily on cliffs or houses. In the last 30 years, and 287 BRITISH BIRDS particularly in the last 15 years or so, there has been an increasing tendency to nest on buildings, water towers and bridges in Rhodesia and this has contributed to a spread there (Brooke 1963). Nests may be under eaves, in crevices or on vertical walls and sometimes several are clustered together. They are usually loosely domed structures of straw, grasses, plant down, small twigs, feathers and even bits of paper cemented together with saliva. There is also an increasing tendency for this species to take over the disused nests of various swallows. Brooke (1963) referred to the use of nests of Wire-tailed Swallows Hinmdo smithii and Cliff Swallows H. spilodera in Africa, plate 33 shows the adapted nest of a pair of Pacific Swallows H. tahitica in Malaysia, and all the nests found so far in Spain have been in the nests of Red-rumped Swallows H. daurica as shown in plate 34. If the spread in Spain con- tinues, therefore, the fact that it has been preceded by a rapid extension in the Iberian range of the Red-rumped Swallow (Ferguson-Lees 1963) which has now also nested one or more times in south-west France, Sardinia, Corsica, Elba and Italy, all since 1963— may aid its own spread northwards. The following summary of records of this species in Spain, all in the Province of Cadiz, is based on the references given in the first para- graph above and on subsequent information kindly supplied by F. G. H. Allen and P. G. C. Brudenell-Bruce {in litt.) : 1962. North-east of Laguna de la Janda, a probable White-rumped Swift flying with Red-rumped Swallows on 9th August. 1964. Sierra de la Plata, east of Zahara de los Atunes and halfway between Barbate and Tarifa, up to three on several occasions in summer. Algeciras, one in May. 1965. Sierra de la Plata, up to three from 27th May to 28th September inclusive, but breeding not proved. 1966. Sierra de la Plata, first on 3rd May and up to four subsequently; nests then found on ist, loth and 21st June, all occupied simultaneously, and a fourth with three hard-set eggs was destroyed by children on loth July (all four were in Red-rumped Swallows’ nests and a fifth contained noisy young thought to be White-rumped Swifts, though this was not proved); as many as eight over a feeding area a mile or two away during the summer; four last seen on 20th October. Los Barrios, some 40 miles east of the Sierra de la Plata, four or five on ist June, one pair paying repeated visits to a deep and inaccessible overhang on a rocky outcrop ; breeding regarded as virtually certain, but not proved. Benalud de Sidonia (formerly Casas Viejas), about 20 miles north of Sierra de la Plata, two with a dozen Red-rumped Swallows on 4th September. 1967. Sierra de la Plata, none seen in late and cold spring until 21st May, the first really hot day; subsequently three pairs found nesting in Red-rumped Swallows nests. Los Barrios, two pairs on 27th June and one watched going in and out of a Red-rumped Swallows’ nest. Several points are worth commenting on. First, the species seems clearly to be a summer-visitor to the south of Spain, arriving m May and leaving by October, but in Tangier, only 25 miles across the Straits, 288 WHITE-RUMPED SWIFT STUDIES individuals are likely to be seen throughout the winter; there appears to be no reason why it should not extend much further north as a summer-visitor. Secondly, Mr. Brudenell-Bruce informs me that in Tangier White-rumped Swifts used to be active round their nests from late March, exceptionally even in February, and by April were clearly breeding, whereas in Spain they have probably not laid until late May or early June. Thirdly, in Tangier they build their own nests or reoccupy those of the previous year without competition, but if they are breeding exclusively in Red-rumped Swallows’ nests in Spain they often will not be able to take these over until the swallows have reared their young (many of which are on the wing in early June). On the other hand, one Red-rumped Swallows’ nest which White-rumped Swifts had just begun to occupy in the Sierra de la Plata in late hlay 1967 had two or three recently broken eggs on the ground underneath; these were thought to be the Red-rumped Swallows’ eggs ejected by the swifts. The first three nests in 1966 were in quite a small area, the second being 25 yards from the first and the third a further 100 yards away, but this is still very scattered by this species’ usual gregarious stan- dards. Mr. Allen writes: T had tried the first two nests with a hide, but the birds v ere shy and, rather than risk their deserting, I gave up the idea but managed to get just one single shot by walking up to the third nest and releasing the shutter as the bird dropped from it.’ The original entrance to this nest was damaged and the swifts were therefore using a hole in the side of the funnel; a few feathers can be seen sticking out of hole in the photograph (plate 34). In all the other cases the swifts have used the normal entrance. As one cannot see into a Red-rumped Swal- low s nest without damaging it, it is difficult to be sure which species is in occupation unless the birds arc actually seen leaving or entering. On the other hand, Mr. Brudenell-Bruce has found that, once the swifts have taken over a nest, a ring of white or grey down is visible (and sometimes very striking) round the entrance to the funnel. In most parts of Africa and southern Asia the clutch is usually of two or three eggs. A colony seen by Etchecopar and Hiie at Fort Lamv , Chad, however, had nests with all numbers of eggs up to six, ‘suggesting communal promiscuity’. This colony was unsvnehronised and the nests held everything from fresh eggs to chicks ready to fly, but in another African colony studied by Moreau (1942) the first eggs were laid in 13 of the 17 nests within a space of ten days. The eggs, which arc dull white and elongated like those of other swifts, are only slightly smaller than those of A. apus, with some overlap. The eggs of Red- rumped Swallows should usually be separable by their smaller size, different shape and shinier surface (only a few have reddish-brown spots and some clutches are no larger than those of the WTite-rumped Swift). Information on incubation and fledging periods seems to be lacking. 289 BRITISH BIRDS The localities in Spain where breeding has been proved have been given in this text only because they have already been published. As the nests are very vulnerable, however, it would perhaps be safer to suppress localities in future if the spread continues. REFERENCES Allen, F. G. IL, and Brudenell-Bruce, P. G. C. (1967): ‘The White-rumped Swift Apus ajjinis in southern Spain’. Ibis, 109: 113-115. Brooke, R. K. (1963): ‘Little and Palm Swifts breeding on man-made structures in Rhodesia’. Ostrich, 34: 27-35. Brosset, a. (1957): ‘Remarques sur le comportement du Martinet Apus affinis galilejensis (Antinori). Alauda, 25 : 1 3 o-i 5 1 . Brudenell-Bruce, P. G. C. (1958): ‘Notes on the birds of Tangier’. Mem. Soc. Sci. Nat. Maroc. N.S. Zool., no. 4: 1-46. del Junco, O., and Gonzalez, B. (1966): ‘Una nueva especie para la avifauna Europea: Apus affinis'. Ardeola, 12: 5-9. Etchecopar, R.-D., and Hue, F. (1967): The Birds of North Africa. London, pp. 337- Ferguson, W. T. (1955): ‘Nesting and wintering of Indian Swift {Apus affinis') at Port Elizabeth’. Ostrich, 26: 159-160. Ferguson-Lees, I. J. (1963): ‘Studies of less familiar birds: 125 — Red-rumped Swallow’. Brit. Birds, 56: 416-418. Moreau, R. E. (1942): ‘Colletoptera affinis at the nest’. Ostrich, 13: 1 37-147. Vaurie, C. (1939-65) : The Birds of the Pa/earctic Fauna. London, vol. 2, p. 649. Pied-billed Grebe in Yorkshire John R. Mather (Plate 36 and see also plate 35) On 9TH June 1965 Major C. Worrin saw a small grebe on Beaver- dyke Reservoir, a private water near Harrogate, Yorkshire. The views he had were brief and unsatisfactory, but he suspected from its call that the bird was something unusual. On the following day he obtained better views, took field notes and then telephoned me; as a result, I visited the reservoir that evening with R. C. Parkinson. The bird was out on the open water and swam past us towards some cover at the end of the reservoir. At a range of about 80 yards we were able to see clearly that it had a large white bill crossed with a black vertical band from which we were able to identify it as a Pied-billed Grebe Podilywbtts podiceps. It remained at the edge of the cover and called several times, giving fairly good views for about an hour. The bird, considered to be an adult male, was studied closely for the next few days and appeared to be in excellent condition. It was calling PIED-BILLED GREBE IN YORKSHIRE regularl)^ and seemed to be well settled in a territory, chasing oft' Coots Vnlica atra, Moorhens Gallitmla chloropus and Mallard Anas platjrhyn- cbos from the edge of the vegetation, where it spent most of its time vhen undisturbed. It thus seemed perfectly at home in what was a typical grebe habitat with an adequate food supply. Other observers were informed and during the course of the next few weeks many people were able to see it. It remained throughout the summer and was last seen on 24th November, again by C.W., after which date the reserv^oir was frozen over. There were occasions when it could not be found for whole days at a time; it is not thought, however, that it moved to any of the other waters near-by, but simply that it ‘went to earth’ in the thick cover. C.\X’. walks the reser\mir banks daily, so that 9th June was probably a true arrival date. The bird was in peak condition when first seen and ■ seemed unlikely to have made a recent journey from the New MC’orld, whether ship assisted or not. Possibly it had spent at least part of the I previous winter in British waters and had come inland for the breeding ! season. There was speculation regarding its origin when it was learned nn July 1965 that another Pied-billed Grebe, still in first-winter plumage, I had come into Liverpool on board a ship from Venezuela, but this one ! subsequently died and is now prescr\-ed in the City of Liverpool . Museums (Bnt. Birds, 59:285). description The following description is of the bird in full summer plumage as seen ■ in June and July (plate 36b): Forehead dark blackish-brown. Crown and hind neck darkish grey-brown darker than rest of head and neck which were grey-brown, appearing quite pale greyish in strong light. Mantle dark brown. Large black patch on chin formed triangle with apex at base of bill. Lores also black, as was thin line along base of lower mandible. Front of neck light grey-brown, paler towards breast. Flanks brownish, slightly rufous, and paler where overlying the folded wings. Under ta.l-co verts and vent white and typically ‘fluffy’, appearing huffish in poor light, finest of under-parts (seen when bird stretched or rolled) were white, more so than one would have expected from the literature. Wings generally dark brown • lesser and median coverts very dark brown (darkest part of wing); greater coverts slightly paler; primaries mid-brown; secondaries slightly paler with white trailing edge, narrow and not sharply demarcated, broader towards the body; under-wings uniform greyish-white. Tail dark brown, thin and pointed. Bill white, s ightly creamy, ringed with a broad vertical black band nearer the tip. bye dark brown, with a conspicuous white orbital ring which joined the white of the bill. Legs and feet darkish grey. 1 Detailed observations on 22nd August showed that the white orbital : ring had by then completely gone, that the white of the bill was becom- ng grc) at the tip, and that the black band was turning greyish on the jpper mandible. The plumage was virtually unchanged,' however. 291 BRITISH BIRDS Further detailed observations on 17th October showed that the bill had by then turned much more dingy, being darkest at the tip and along the culmen. The band was still visible, but had become dark grey. Tlie chin was white and the only remnant of the black area was a thin line at the rear edge of the area, forming a crescent on the throat. The crown and nape were medium brown, rather warm in tone, and the cheeks were lighter in colour, fading oft to the white of the chin. The mantle and wings were sepia brown, the flanks lighter brown-buff, and the under tail area conspicuously white and ‘fluffy’. The moult to winter plumage was complete by November, and the bill had become uniform dusky yellowish, showing no bar at all. The general impression was of a very stocky grebe, slightly larger than a Black-necked Podiceps nigricoUis, with a large head, thick neck and prominent bill. Even in winter plumage its plump, stocky build made it stand out amongst other waterfowl. The white at the base of the bill, behind the black band, was very much more prominent than the white tip; apart from this basal area being slightly larger, it was accentuated by being enclosed by black. The white tip was often lost against shining water, giving a peculiar short-faced appearance. W'hen the bird was diving, the thin tail was easily seen, but this was not conspicuous when it was in its normal swimming position. VOICE The calls, which were perhaps one of the most fascinating features, could be divided into three sections ; (a) A deep hollow bark, followed by a rising wail, rendered hwah (with a downward inflection)-ooo/) (with a rising inflection), bwah-oooh, hwah-oooh. (b) A shorter version of (a) rendered bh-aah, bb-aah, the second syl- lable rising but stopping short; this was the commonest call. (c) The real ‘song’, performed with great ‘enthusiasm’, was a series of notes, rising in pitch and accelerating, rendered oo-bwoh, 00- bivoh, oo-bwoh, the second syllable being likened to the second part of the agitation note of the Canada Goose Branfa canadensis but hollower; this was rendered cow-cow-cow-cow by some observers. The bird called regularly throughout June and early July, sometimes at night, but the frequency decreased slowly until it ceased altogether by the end of July. Miss J. Fairhurst obtained tape-recordings of the various calls. BEHAVIOUR During the early stages of its stay the bird spent most of its time at the edge of the large area of cover at the end of the reservoir (plate 36a). 292 I I 1 PIED-BILLHD GREBE IN YORKSHIRE ^ Grebe Podtljmbus podkeps in swimming and display postures averdyke Reservoir, Yorkshire. June to November 1965: a and b. swimming Mtions; c, bill and eye detail; d, calling attitude; e, f and g, display attitudes; and H, diagram of wing pattern {sketches: John R. Mather) 293 BRITISH BIRDS This expanse of thick vegetation, mainly water horsetail Hquiselum fliwiatlle and amphibious persicaria Polygonum amphibium, was frequented by three or four pairs of Coots and Moorhens, and a pair or two of Mallard. Here the grebe was frequently seen feeding and calling, and chiv\''ying the other waterfowl. When disturbed out on the open water it would swim back to the edge of the cover with amazing speed, some- times covering part of the journey under water. In the autumn, how- ever, when it was in moult, its attachment to the vegetation was lost and it spent more time on the open water, feeding and preening. When diving it would quickly disappear by pushing its head into the water and sinking the rest of the body. On one occasion, when sur- prised out in the open, it sank straight down, head last. Often it would resurface quite slowly, keeping low in the water. When seen on the wing, which was very infrequently, it would keep low over the water with trailing legs, and drop in again after only a short distance. It looked very duck-like on the wing. When it was calling, its whole head and upper neck region was inflated, giving the appearance of a cobra. The front part of its body was submerged and its lower neck compressed, accentuating the large- headed look (sketch d in fig. i). Display was seen on several occasions and consisted of the following sequence. First, it would make a series of quick dives, resurfacing immediately each time, over a distance of about 20 yards, this phase terminating with it in a vertical position, half-submerged and vigorously splashing with its wings, sending out a shower of spray at each side (sketch e). After this it would sometimes sit with wings open and ‘hung’ horizontally at its sides, head thrown back between its wings, and bill open (sketch f). On several occasions it was seen to ‘stand’ almost vertically in the water and flap its wings slowdy for as long as twelve seconds (sketch c). Display was frequently performed in the presence of the Coots and Moorhens. The bird would often remain for long periods at the edge of the cover, with only its head above the water, motionless except for an occasional ‘bark’. One evening it responded to my imitation of its call notes by leaving the cover and swimming very quickly straight towards three of us standing behind a stone wall with our heads and shoulders in full view. On reaching the intervening patch of persicaria, it dived and re- surfaced in the middle of it, still nearer to us at a range of ten yards. A cine film was made of this incident, but the light was poor and the result disappointing. On the evening of nth June a pair of Tufted Ducks Ajthjd fuligula landed about 40 yards from the grebe, which was resting in a patch of weed. The grebe immediately became alert, swam a little way towards the ducks, then dived and swam fast just below the surface, still in their direction; its progress could be followed by the ‘V’ on the surface o 294 PIED-BILLED GREBE IN SOMERSET the water. Still moving fast, it raised its head and neck above the water, inflated its feathers as in display, then disappeared below the surface again. The ducks were by now looking alarmed and took off, landing again about loo yards away. The grebe surfaced, turned in their direction and, with feathers again inflated, began to call as it swam towards them. The Tufted Ducks took oft again and flew away, where- upon the grebe ceased calling, but it obviously watched them until they were out of sight. Fifteen minutes later a flock of Canada Geese flew o\er calling and the grebe answered with a great burst of calls. FOOD Food recorded consisted mainly of small fish (up to four or five inches long) and frogs, both of which abounded in the reservoir. Two items ■ resembling frogs could have been underwater vegetation (roots or leaves). One fish which the grebe brought to the surface was about nine ■ ^*^ches long, and was played with on the surface before being left to sswim away. At mid-day on 22nd August, while preening, the bird opened its bill wide, slowly raised it to the vertical, lowered it again to the horizontal, and then brought up’ an orange-red spherical pellet • about one inch in diameter, which it held in its bill for a few seconds ^ before dropping it into the water. acknowledgements I should like particularly to thank Major C. Worrin for first reporting the bird to me; R. C. Parkinson in whose company I made the initial •field notes; and the many obsen'ers who have supplied information. I • am also indebted to the Claro Water Board, together with their ^engineer, J. B. Pooley, and their tenant farmer, W. Baker, for allowing aaccess to the reser^mir. Pied-billed Grebe in Somerset Bj D. E. Ladhams, Robin J. Rrytherch and K. E. L. Simmons \PAKT FROM an old record in Dorset in 1881, wliich has never been generally accepted, the first Pied-billed Grebe Podilymbus podiceps to be ecorded in Britain was obser^'ed at Blagdon Lake, Somerset, in Decem- »er 1963 {Brit. Birds, 58: 305-309). Twenty months later, in August 965, a Pied-billed Grebe was located at Chew Valley Lake, which is Iso in Somerset and less than two miles from Blagdon.'what is assumed BRITISH BIRDS to be one individual was then seen intermittently at Chew Valley until November 1966 and again in 1967. Whether or not this is the same bird as was originally seen at Blagdon can never be known, but it is perhaps significant that there were no observations at all in 1964 or the first half of 1965, while the summer of 1965 also produced another in Yorkshire, which was certainly a different individual as the dates over- lapped (see pages 290-295). The bird’s stay at Chew Valley in 1965 and 1966 was apparently not continuous for the sightings fell into three separate periods; (a) late August to late October 1965, (b) one date in May 1966 and (c) mid-July to early November 1966. This species is extremely secretive at times, however, and it is possible that it was present without being detected between these periods. This report is concerned solely with observations in 1965 and 1966, although the bird was seen again on isolated dates in March (probably), April and May (but not June) 1967. In 1965 the Pied-billed Grebe was first seen on 17th August by G. L. Boyle in Herons Green Bay on the west side of the lake. Its identity was confirmed on 26th August by D. G. Bell and subsequently it was watched by many observers. It remained settled in Herons Green Bay until 5th October when it was seen if miles away near Denny Island at the north-east corner of the lake. On i8tb October it was back in Plerons Green Bay, but on 23 rd October R. Angles saw it near Denny Island again and that was the last occasion on which it was recorded in 1965. Fig. I. Pied-billed Grebe Podilymbus pocliceps in calling posture. Chew Valley Lake, Somerset, July 1966 {draim by Robin J. Pry/bcrch from a cine-film by J. P. T. Rennet t) In 1966 it was seen briefly on 15 th May by D. Shepherd and R. F- Thearle at Herriott’s End in the southern part of the lake H miles from Herons Green Bay and two miles from Denny Island. After a gap of two months it was located again on 22nd July by G.L.B. in Herons Green Bay. On this occasion it was calling and it transpired that J. P. T. Bennett had heard the same call in this area for about four days pre- viously without knowing what bird was making it; subsequently J.P.T.B. filmed the grebe in 8 mm. colour. It apparently remained in Herons Green Bay from then until it was last seen on 2nd November by D.E.L. 296 PIED-BILLED GREBE IN SOMERSET DETAILED DESCRIPTION The Pied-billed Grebe was in summer plumage at the beginning of the August-October period in 1965 and again at the start of the July- November period in 1966, but by the end of each had largely moulted into winter plumage. It was apparently still in winter plumage when seen on 15 th May 1966. The following description concerns the breeding plumage in late August 1965 and has been compiled from notes provided by D.G.B., Miss C. Graham, G. Sweet and many other observers : General appearance grey with slight brownish tinge especially on back and flanks, but shades and colour tended to vary according to the light and oc- casionally the paler areas had a slight silvery effect. Forehead blackish. Crown, nape, hind neck, back and tail dark grey, with brown tinge on back. Lores and area round eyes blackish and connected to black chin and throat by black line at base of lower mandible; the black throat-patch was more or less square in shape and contrasted sharply with the rest of the head. Orbital rings white with yellow tinge. Sides of head and sides and front of neck pale grey with brownish tinge and appearing finely streaked, becoming darker on lower neck and breast; some tine blackish and whitish marks across the breast varied between vermiculations and small, scale-like bars. Flanks darker than breast but not as dark as back; flank feathers often Huffed out, making the texture uneven and producing a barred effect. Belly greyish-white flecked with light brown; under tail-coverts white. Wings dark grey-brown with a thin whitish tmilmg edge which showed when the bird held them out against the light Eyes large with dark brown irides. Bill thick and stubby with culmen decurved to tip, very pale whitish in colour (variously reported as tinged with vellow yellow-green or blue-grey) with a wide, black or very dark brown band around the middle. Legs and lobed feet blackish. In 1965 the grebe began to moult into winter plumage during Septem- ber, the black throat-patch starting to disappear early in the month, and by 5 th October the moult was apparently nearly complete. R. D. Cades noted then that the plumage was generally various shades of buff with a paler throat and that the bill was plain and unmarked. The bird was still in this plumage on 1 5 th May 1966. The summer plumage of 1966 appeared similar to that of 1965 except that K. E. Vinicombe noted the eyes as being red with black pupils. The subsequent progress of the moult back into winter plumage was recorded more fully in this year. On 9th August R.J.P. observed that all the primaries and secondaries were missing and that the whitish sheaths of the new feathers were well developed, though not yet broken. The bird was almost certainly unable to fly at this stage, but this is quite normal as all grebes pass through a flightless period during the autumn moult. The Handbook of JSorfh American Birds edited by Ralph S. Palmer (1962, vol. i : 104-1 1 3) records that in the case of the Pied-billed Grebe this flightless period occurs at the beginning of the moult, the flight feathers all being ‘shed and replaced early . . . before 297 BRITISH BIRDS any apparent loss and replacement of other feathers’. At Chew Valley the first signs of body moult were noted on 21st August when K.E.V. observed some reddish-tawny coloration on the sides of the neck. By early September this colour was also faintly showing on the flanks and there were only blotches of black on the throat. In mid-September the band around the bill was still present, but beginning to fade. The bird was in winter plumage on i6th October (K.E.L.S.). FIELD CHARACTERS The Pied-billed Grebe was larger than a Little Grebe Podiceps ruficollis and slightly smaller than a Black-necked Grebe P. nigricollis , com- parisons being made when all three species were seen close together. When alone and relaxed, however, the Pied-billed often appeared larger than these comparisons suggest, perhaps because of its wide body. On brief views it was occasionally confused with a Little Grebe, especially in winter plumage when the two species are more similar. It had a heavy-headed appearance accentuated by its thick bill. Its long neck was also relatively thick and its eyes very large compared with those of other grebes. The pointed tail, though quite small, was relatively conspicuous. The summer plumage was very distinctive with the con- trasting black band around the bill and the conspicuous black throat. The orbital rings could be seen well at about 30 yards. In some lights the pale tip of the bill was invisible against the background and the bill then had a strikingly short, stubby and black-ended appearance. The pale area at the base of the bill, behind the black band, resembled a large, pale spot at about 200 yards. In winter plumage the most distinctive charaeters were the large (though unmarked) bill, the whitish throat and the generally huffish coloration. When the bird was relaxed the white under tail-coverts contrasted with the darker flanks to give a difterent appearance from the ill-defined, puffy effect shown by Little and Black-necked Grebes. When the bird was alarmed this character could not always be seen unless it cocked its tail. There were no large areas of white on the wings. BEHAVIOUR When not alarmed, the Pied-billed Grebe behaved as any other grebe; it dived, preened (eating the dropped feathers) and shook its plumage like other species. It swam fast and dived for distances of as much as 20 yards under water. The duration of dives was between 3 and 24 seconds ; D.E.L. made a special study of diving times in comparison with those of other grebes and this will be published separately. When it became alarmed, whieh it did at the slightest disturbance, its whole appearance was transformed. All its feathers would be pressed flat, the body lowered in the water (but usually not submerged) and the 298 PIED-lilLLED GREBE IN SOMERSET head Stretched up; in this position it occasionally cocked its tail. Then it would dive so quickly that it was almost impossible to follow the .action and afterwards it would usually surface in a small patch of emer- gent vegetation, often allowing only its head to show and perhaps the top of its back. It might then dive again to surface once more in another patch of vegetation. Some of this ‘cover’ was quite thin, consisting of onl\ a few stems. The bird often spent long periods in cover, only ..appearing for brief spells of feeding, but once any disturbance w'as w'ell past it w'as quite happy to sit on the open water to preen and even to ■sleep. It usually roosted in cover, how^ever, and would then ‘dig’ its bill into the feathers on one side of its neck wdth its head facing for- ward, as is usual among grebes. When swdmming aw^ay from danger, it held its body very low in the w^ater so that its back w^as only just visible ..IS a line on the water. It seemed to feed entirely on small fish, which it usually repeatedly ■nibbled’ and shook at some length before sw^allowdng. Occasionally v.when shaking a fish it wmuld lose its grip and the prey wmuld be ' licked about four feet away, but it ahvays quickly retrieved it. The :grcbc sometimes searched for food with its head almost submerged, -.icanning left and right for a few' seconds before diving. It showed no ntcrest in snatching insects off the surface or from the air, even when a ! Little Grebe w'as doing this near-by. It spent a great deal of time greening during feeding sessions: D.E.L. found that an average of one n fi\ e of the pauses betw'cen the dives w^as taken up wdth preening. When calling, the grebe stretched its head up and slightly forwards, greatly distended its throat and held its body at an angle of about 30° ;o that the forward part was below the water and the tail end pointing (fig- 0- The call lasted about twm seconds and the bird’s w^hole body luivered as it uttered it. The note w'as described by G.L.B. as ‘rather in he manner of a donkey braying’ and it carried for some distance. On the w^hole, the Pied-billed Grebe was unaffected by the presence )f other birds and freely associated wdth them, but it did tend to avoid he close proximity of Great Crested Grebes P. cristatus. In October 965 R.4. saw it in company wdth two Black-necked Grebes, but in October 1966 D.E.L. watched it avoid a Black-necked Grebe by r uttering awuy, half-flying, along the surface. G.L.B. once saw' it take ■ imilar avoiding action when a Great Crested Grebe surfaced close to it. ’ The sudden approach of any gull Parus sp. made it dive at once. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS XT are grateful to all those mentioned in the text, and to P. J. Chadwdek. L M. Curber, Bernard King, Miss E. M. Palmer, M. A. XX right and D. XTrden, for providing useful information which has helped to make his report. 299 Notes Call-notes of Slavonian and Black-necked Grebes in autumn. — On 24th September 1966, at the Queen Mary Reservoir, Middlesex, I heard an unfamiliar call which I eventually traced to an apparently immature Slavonian Grebe Vodiceps auritus. It persistently uttered a triple keeaiptik-keean’iik-keeatpuk, each time stretching up its neck and looking round in the manner of a young bird calling for food. The pitch was similar to that of the nasal contact call of a Black-headed Gull luirus ridibimdus and the tone had a plaintive, complaining quality. This call cannot be related to those mentioned in The Handbook. I should also like to draw attention to some accepted transcriptions of the contact call of the Black-necked Grebe Podiceps nigricollis, variously rendered as a quiet poo-eet) (Field Guide), a soft pee-eep (C. Oldham in The Handbook) or a squeaky, whistling note like hoo-eet, sounding harsh at the beginning when heard at close range and often with a stronger, tremulous sound at the end or with a feeble introduc- tory sound like ee-bib or bib-bib (A. Voigt in The Handbook). This species is regularly heard calling at the Staines Reservoirs, Middlesex, par- ticularly in the early autumn, and sounds quite like Voigt’s rendering, though to my ear more like preeip — thin, piercing and on a rising scale with a distinctly ‘rolling’ quality at first. This is often preceded by a sharp bip-bip-bip at irregular intervals and at the same pitch as the end of the main call. For those who have not heard these calls it may be of use to add that they are generally at about the same pitch as that of the Grey Plover Pluvialis sqitatarola. M. J. Rogers Winter calling of Black-necked Grebe. — On the morning of 17th December 1954, at Cheddar Reservoir, Somerset, I watched two Black- necked Grebes Podiceps nigricollis, which may have been paired, in close association for well over an hour. They were both diving regularly and whenever they became well separated one of them, always the same individual, would stretch its neck to the fullest extent and with its bill held slightly upwards would utter a series of high-pitched pee-eep calls as it swam quickly towards its companion. This behaviour was repeated many times, but with no special response by the second grebe. Nancy M. McAllister has described similar ‘advertising’ behaviour by Black-necked (Eared) Grebes on the breeding grounds in Canada (Auk, 75; 290-5 1 1): ‘Advertising behaviour was seen where an unpaired bird was in search of a mate, or when a paired bird had temporarily lost touch with its mate’. Such behaviour by a Black-necked Grebe in winter docs not appear to have been recorded previously, however. Bern a r d Is. 1 n g 300 NOTES iTwo Herons killing a House Sparrow.-The notes by Seton Gordon an K. E. Jones on Herons Ardea cmerea eating birds (Brit. Birds 50- 37, 551) prompt me to give details of an incident involving captive Herons at Edinburgh Zoo on 31st December 1947. A House SpaLw Passer domesticus zhght&d on a branch about two feet away from the ■aead of one of the Herons. Almost immediately, with a quick stab the Heron caught the sparrow and held it in its beak. The Heron was luickly joined by another which also took the victim in its bill one • lolding the neck and the other the body. The House Sparrow con- inucd to chirp for half a minute and after that was probably dead, ifhc two Herons stood close together and pulled vigorously at the Tctim for over five minutes, but I did not see what eventually happened A suggests that the sparrow was probably an ■>clult, K. E. Jones s captive Heron apparently took only juveniles. Estlin Waters CollHion between Brent Geese in flight.-At about 09.30 hours on d March 1967, at Pagham Harbour, Sussex, I was watching a flock f about 150 Brent Geese Branta bernicla circling over the mudflats. U strong westerly wind was blowing arid the flock flew fast downwind Suddenly, as the quick >,ght-handed turn UTas almost completed, two of the geese collided and no fell head first for at least too feet before it righted itself and flew 'ha wobbling flight to rejoin the others which had meanwhile uttled on the mud. Recovery appeared to be complete and presumably -.1C bird was stunned by the impact of the collision but otherwise un- ..amaged. I ascertained later that there was a White-fronted Goose h,ser alh.frons with the Brents, but the bird that fell was certainly a ^ • W. A. Phillips mzzard stooping at human being.-The following obsera^ations .em uorth recording in connection with Miss Kathleen M. Hollick’s rteresting note on a Buzzard Buteo huteo which stooped at her when - ere was no nest in the immediate vicinity (BA/. Birds, 60: 90). On 25 th I ay 1927, as I was crossing a col between the Irfon and Towy valleys i north-west Breconshire, I was stooped at many times by an aggressive uzzard which came within 50 feet. Fifteen to twentv years later, in the -.-40 s, I was subjected to low level attacks by a Buzzard on several casions, always in the month of May, whenever I crossed the same ■lls witMn a mile of the 1927 spot. This individual would begin its m in half a mile distant, but not venture closer than 70-100 feet, le nearest nesting sites known to me were roughly H miles away. My ' u j "^^Iked a lot in those hills, also knew this bird ■11 and often mentioned its attacks. Hubert E. Pounds 301 BRITISH BIRDS Mutant Partridges in Yorkshire. — I was interested to read Superin- tendent G. Y. Thompson’s note on the occurrence of montana mutants of the Partridge Perdlx perdix near Northallerton, Yorkshire, in 1961 and 1967 (Brit. Birds, 60; 1 37). About 50 years ago I was shown a case at Crathorne Hall, Yorkshire, containing two of these mutants. The present Lord Crathorne (in litt. to Dr. J. S. Ash) states that these birds are still in his possession, that they were shot about 1914 from a covey of 12 to 14 which were all apparently similar, and that they came from an area three miles south of Yarm, which is rather less than ten miles from the localities where Superintendent Thompson’s birds were recorded. W. S. Medlicott Whitethroats in London area in winter. — With reference to G. R. Hickton’s note on a Whitethroat Sylvia communis in Nottinghamshire in December (BnV. Birds, 60 : 138),! should like to draw attention to three winter records of this species in the London area in the last 20 years. The first was at Poyle, Middlesex, on 17th January 1948 (Brit. Birds, 43 : 85). The other two were at Ruxley, Kent, from 23 rd November to 28th December 1958 (London Bird Report, 23 : 42) and on loth and iith December 1961 (London Bird Report, 26: 51); the one in 1958 had a damaged wing. Meadows [The dates given for many summer-visitors in The Handbook now need thorough revision. We think that it would be useful to compile a summary of extreme dates for each species since 1938 and we should be glad to receive any records, published or unpublished, which add to or extend the early and late dates itemised in The Handbook 30 years ago. Data required are species, date, county and observer. Eds.] Complete sex reversal of Pied Wagtail.— In view of the note by M. V. Preece on the sex-reversal of a Pheasant Phasianus colchicus, and the accompanying editorial comment (BA/. Birds, 60: 90-91), the follow- ing account of this phenomenon occurring in a captive Pied Wagtail Motacilla alba may be of interest. It is described in fuller detail in the 1967 Handbook of the British Bird Breeders'" Association. During 1965 F. H. Wellstead was attempting to breed Pied Wagtails in his aviary at Woolston, Southampton. He possessed one male, wliich died, and two females, which both made nests and laid eggs. During the subsequent winter the plumage of one of these females darkened considerably. In 1966 the paler bird nested and laid five eggs, all of which eventually hatched. This bird later laid another clutch of five which also all hatched, as well as two further clutches of infertile eggs. There is no doubt that the darker wagtail fathered these young. In the section on ‘Reproduction’ in A New Dictionarj of Birds (i<)<^4)> 302 NOTES edited by Sir A. Landsborough Thomson, Dr. L. Harrison Matthews mentions the change in sex of birds from female to male, and describes a mechanism by which such a change can be made (page 692), The destruction of the functional left ovary of a bird by damage or disease can result in the development of the rudimentary right ovary to become a functional gonad. It does not become an ovary, however, but a testis, possibly as a result of the withdrawal of the female hormone. Such birds may put on male plumage, sing and — more significantly — father young, a point not mentioned in the original note on this topic. Derek Washington Masked Shrikes feeding on birds. — Reference books all emphasise ^the docile and ‘unshrike-like’ hunting and feeding behaviour of the Masked Shrike Lmnu/s mbicus. This species is usually said to prefer less texposed perches than other shrikes and to feed almost exclusively on -insects. According to The Handbook, its prey is chiefly insects, though it has the reputation of taking young birds in Cyprus. On the other lhand, D. A. and W. M. Bannerman (1958, Birds of Cyprus-. 76-78) rreferred only to a record of one eating what was probably a small 1 lizard. It was therefore with great interest that on 9th April 1967, in a vine- yard in Yot Veta kibbutz, southern Israel, I observed a male Masked "Shrike feeding upon a small warbler. Yot Veta lies in the Wadi Araba, .a continuation of the African Rift Valley and a natural pathway for >spring migration. Its irrigated agricultural land creates an oasis in the I dry Negev Desert and attracts many migrating passerines. It was early morning when I saw the shrike and the vineyard was alive with small ■ warblers, mostly Lesser Whitethroats Sylvia curruca, several of which • ippeared exhausted and could be approached closely. Twice I flushed -he shrike from a grapevine and he flew with the prey dangling from his bill to a new perch where he set about pecking and tearing at his victim s head. I did not actually observe the shrike catch the prey nor hd I identify the warbler species with certainty, but it aopeared to be a 1 -,esser Whitethroat. I Apart from the fact that predation on vertebrates has so rarely been k-ecorded for the Masked Shrike that the only references (both rather ' •'■ague) which I have been able to locate are those mentioned above, the ^ veight relationship of predator and prey is interesting. Weights of six Masked Shrikes which I collected in the eastern Mediterranean area • varied between 20.5 and 25 grams, while six Lesser Whitethroats with- )ut fat weighed between 10 and 11.5 grams. G. E. Watson Some observations by Guy Mountfort, D. I. M. Wallace and myself uring expeditions to Jordan in 1^6^, 1965 and 1966 seem worth sum- 303 BRITISH BIRDS marising in connection with Dr. G. E. Watson’s record above. Apart from an occasion on 6th May 1965 when a Masked Shrike was seen to attack a male Redstart Phoenicurus phoenicurus and also twice to knock down a Lesser Whitethroat in the Wadi Rum, all observations of aggression and predation by this species have been at the oasis at Azraq where large numbers of tired migrants concentrate after crossing the desert. Masked Shrikes are regular there as migrants themselves and individuals frequently stay for several days. These have often been seen to attack other migrants, including Lesser Whitethroat (particularly common at Azraq in spring). Willow Warbler Phjlloscopus trochilus, Collared Flycatcher Ficedula albicollis and even Swallow Hirundo rustica. These Masked Shrikes have always been very aggressive and the attacks have included several actual strikes. Only once did I actually see one kill a bird, a Lesser Whitethroat on 28th April 1965, but we saw them eating birds on at least three other occasions and twice found prey freshly impaled on palm spikes at a time when Masked Shrikes were the only shrikes in the area. These impaled birds were a Lesser Whitethroat and, astonishingly, a White-rumped Swift Apus affinis. I suspect that they are capable of catching only exhausted birds, but there is plenty of opportunity for this at Azraq and conditions are evidently similar at the kibbutz where Dr. Watson made his observa- tion. Since Lesser Whitethroats seem to figure most in these observations and since weights are quoted by Dr. Watson, it may be worth adding that eight Masked Shrikes at Azraq in April and May 1965 and 1966 ranged in weight from 18.4 to 21.9 grams, wlfile 250 Lesser White- throats ranged from 8.4 to 16.0 grams with an average of ii.i grams. I. J. Ferguson-Lees Flock of Starlings hitting ground.— On ist March 1967 I witnessed a most curious incident when working in the large concrete yard of my farm at East Knoyle, Wiltshire. This yard is about 300 feet by 100 feet and, although nearly surrounded by buildings up to 25 feet high, has a broad open entrance at each end ; apart from myself and one other man, it contained 300 ewes and several dogs at the time. Suddenly a flock of Starlings Sturnus vulgaris came flashing over the buildings as if in a panic; they were flying in a ‘snake’ about five feet across and much longer from front to back. They came in low, dropped and swung to the left, dashed on to the end of the yard (scattering sheep and dogs before them), made a U-turn and then sped towards the other end. Before reaching it, however, the whole flock rose to about 30 feet and then dived straight on to the concrete floor of the yard, piling up into a heap about two feet deep, seven feet long and five feet wide; I estimated that there were a thousand birds in this heap. Nothing happened for 304 REVIEW several seconds and then the top ones flew oft. Others were still recover- ing and flying away over the next quarter of an hour, and for the rest of the day we kept finding dazed Starlings which had obviously been con- cussed. We buried 109 which had been killed by the impact. H. E. J. Carter [This most interesting record was originally published in The Daily 'lelegraph on iith March 1967. It was suggested at the time that this might have been a mass error of judgement, but birds seldom fly into the ground even though they may occasionally hit windows and walls. The dashing behaviour is consistent with the presence of a Peregrine Talco peregrinus and it may be that this or something similar was the cause even though no raptor was seen and there was no aeroplane or helicopter in the vicinity. Mr. Carter emphasises that the birds were in an obvious panic and a lone Peregrine can be inconspicuous to the human eye. We are grateful to Mrs. R. G. Barnes and L. F. Steam for help in obtaining full details of this record. — Eds.] House Sparrows feeding in association with Green Woodpecker. — On at least four occasions between March 1963 and December 1966, all in the winter period November-March, I have seen a Green \X’ood- pecker Ticus viridis alight on the roof of the house next door at St. Asaph, Flintshire, and with binoculars watched it flicking its tongue under the slates, dislodging small amounts of debris and apparently finding food. On each occasion this action has been observed closely by about six House Sparrows Passer doniesticus perched in a semi-circle at a range of three or four feet. At each flick of the woodpecker’s I tongue these sparrows have darted forward to the scattered debris and have appeared also to find something edible therein. The woodpecker has usually moved about the roof for periods of up to ten minutes, if undisturbed, with the sparrows in attendance the whole time. Mean- while, the remainder of the sparrow flock, generally about 40 in number, have continued feeding on the ground in the normal way. P. Walton Review The Shell Bird Book. By James Fisher. Ebury Press and Michael .'Joseph, London, 1966. 344 pages; 20 colour plates and 150 black- and-white illustrations. 25s. The title of this book gives little help to the intending purchaser. With- out knowing the author, he might well envisage another routine surt'ey, 505 BRITISH BIRDS competent but dull, the equivalent of the Shell monohth outstaring the Thames rather than this rich, rambling baroque mansion of many attractive rooms. James Fisher, ornithologist, bird-watcher and much more besides, an enthusiast for everything connected, however, re- motely, with birds, gives us some of his studies into a medley of topics, reflecting his enthusiasms new and old. He writes with verve and originality, punning outrageously from the very first page; listing, assessing, revealing; always readable and exciting, casting a light on odd corners of ornithology still little explored by amateurs or professionals. He begins with a full survey of the fossil record of British birds, describing in detail all the authenticated records, their sites and history. An aspect which has been neglected in this country for many years, he is right to stress its importance (and the difficulties involved) and to press for more research to be done. Then he moves to the written re- cord, tracing the first mention of each species in our literature, with fascinating sidelights on the early chroniclers and poets and later the more specialist writers. This is followed by two chapters on the birds of Britain, the first dealing with the geographical origins of our breeding birds (with a list of the 39 subspecies restricted to these islands) and the second covering briefly migrants and migration studies. Bird protection is his next subject, mainly the early history of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and its pioneer workers ; it is a pity that he did not devote more space to its recent history (in which he has played a distinguished part) and current conservation problems. This leads on to an account of the growing habit, here and elsewhere, of providing food and nest-boxes for birds, with a list of the species which have learned to take advantage of man’s (or more often woman’s) new solicitude. After a too short note on bird song, he turns again to birds in our literature, this time from an aesthetic rather than an historical angle, and adds something on birds featured in music and on the great bird artists. Then a stark list of bird-watchers from the 6th to the 20th centuries, followed by a discussion of our ornithologists proper from William Yarrell to A. W. Boyd. The largest section in the book lists all the vice-counties of the British Isles, with a guide to their reserves, wildfowl refuges, observa- tories, museums, literature and societies. He ends with his own anno- tated list of British and Irish birds, with notes on status, date of earliest known record and, for the rarer species, the number of occurrences up to 1964, whilst including, for the first time, the fossil records, both of modern species and of the 20 paleospecies known only from fossils. The book is profusely illustrated, with twenty colour plates and many black-and-white portraits of personalities and birds, maps and diagrams. The large colour plates finely evoke twelve of our major bird reserves, but the team of well-known artists responsible for these 306 NEWS AND COMMENT have been better served than Eric Ennion whose lively portraits of 64 individual species lose much by being crushed eight to a page. Still, all in all, a rich and varied feast, and excellent value for the money. Stanley Cramp News and comment Edited by J. L. F. Ear slow Annual report of British Section of I.C.B.P.— The recently published annual report of the British Section of the International Council for Bird Preser\'ation r provides evidence of much efficient work carried out during 1966. This and the pre- wious annual reports indicate how great an influence the British Section has had ••through the Advisory Committee on Oil Pollution of the Sea in obtaining inter- national acceptance of the 196Z Amendments to the Oil Pollution Convention. These amendments, which came into force on i8th May 1967, provide for substantial . changes to the original (1954) Convention, including the extension in many parts of the world of the areas where the discharge of oil is prohibited. Such areas now 1 include the whole of the Baltic and the North Sea and a considerable part of the north-east Atlantic out to 40° West and down to Finisterre. The report points out that, largely as the result of accidents or mishaps, oil pollution around British coasts during 1966 was the worst for many years. As well as providing an account of the i British Section’s other activities during the year, the report also sets out the resolu- ttions adopted at the 14th World Conference of the I.C.B.P. (Br/V. Birds, 59:511) and includes an interesting summary of the papers that were read. The report costs • three shillings from I.C.B.P., c/o British Museum (Natural History), Cromwell Road, 1 London S.W.7. (Cap Gris Nez Bird Observatory’s first report. — One of the aims of the recently 'published first report of the Cap Gris Nez Bird Observatory is to stimulate interest in the area and so enable greater coverage to be achieved in future years. The observatory is managed by a committee of one French and four British ornithologists, and it is the latter— some of whom have been visiting this corner of north-east France since 1955 to watch and study the sometimes spectacular migrations of land and sea birds that occur there — who have compiled the report. Observations in 1965 (the year covered by the report) were made only in the autumn, and then mainly during a period of one month between i ith September and loth October. Diurnal passerine movements of up to 15,000 Chaffinches and 16,000 Starlings were recorded, while seabird move- ments included 86 Sooty Shearwaters on one day, and 8,000 Kittiwakes and 85 Little • Gulls on another. Among the rarities seen at the Cap were Caspian Terns, Alpine 'Swifts, a Black-headed Bunting and, for the British obsen’-er at least. Crested Larks. The observatory’s secretary, P. J. Oliver, of 55 Ember Farm 'X’ay, East Molesey, Surrey, would be delighted to hear from any experienced observers willing to brave the ‘fairly spartan’ accommodation in the cliff-top block-house that forms the observatory’s home. The late Father P. G. Kennedy. — The Reverend P. G. Kennedy, S.J. (1881-1967), for many years one of Ireland’s leading ornithologists, died earlier this year. Major R. F. Ruttledge has contributed the appreciation overleaf. 307 BRITISH BIRDS Father Kennedy was born in Co. Limerick in i88i and entered the Society of Jesus at the age of i8. From then his main work was teaching, in which he excelled. His connections with schools gave opportunities for interesting the young in ornithology, and several of his pupils owe their interest in bird-life to his encouragement. Although he was the leading light in Irish ornithology for many years, his ornithological out- look was not parothial : holidays were often spent abroad and he attended at least one International Ornithological Congress. He contributed many field notes to various periodicals, and his other published works included An Irish Sanctuary (1953) and A L,ist of the Birds of Ireland (1961). He also played a major part in writing The Birds of Ireland (1954). The careful notes of all that he observed have been deposited at the National Museum, Dublin. Possessed of a splendid sense of humour, he was a delightful and experienced companion in the field. A kindly, gentle, gracious man, there were things in ornith- ology that he would not countenance— duplicity, jealousy, and the greed of egg- collectors. An untiring conservationist, he was for many years vice-president of the Irish Society for the Protection of Birds. He took the leading part in the formation of the North Bull Island sanctuary which stands as a fitting memorial to him. Though greatly incapacitated in his closing } ears, he retained his deep interest in ornithology and delighted to hear of current activities. To the last he remained punctilious as a correspondent, replying immediately in letters that were full of wise counsel. His popularity with people in all walks of life was evidenced by the very large attendance at the High Mass celebrated before he was laid to rest in the very cemetery where, with his lifelong friend, the late Peter Dunn, he had first found the Collared Dove in Ireland. Symposium on bird pests. — The Institute of Biology has arranged an interesting and varied programme for a symposium on ‘The problems of birds as pests’ to be held in the lecture hall of the Royal Geographical Society, London S.W.y, on 28th and 29th September 1967. Twelve lectures, ranging from the problems of birds and aircraft to the harmful activities of individual species such as the Oystercatcher, Rook, Bullfinch and Quelea in the fields of fisheries, agriculture and horticulture, are to be given by experts. The four sessions will be chaired by R. K. Cornwallis, Sir Lands- borough Thomson, Professor V. C. Wynne-Edwards and Air Marshal Sir Peter Wykeham. Attendance at the symposium is open without charge to members of the Institute of Biology and to fellows of the Royal Geographical Society. Those who are not members will also be welcome; the registration fee for them is 3 guineas. Programmes and registration forms may be obtained from the Institute of Biology, 41 Queen’s Gate, London S.W.y. 15th International Ornithological Congress.— At the close of the 14th Inter- national Ornithological Congress in Oxford in July 1966, it was announced that the next congress would be held in the Netherlands in 1970 with Professor N. Tinbergen as president. The Netherlands members of the International Ornithological Com- mittee elected Professor K. H. Voous as secretary-general, and the national organising committee has now decided that the 15th Congress will be held at The Hague. The dates have been provisionally fixed for 30th August to 5 th September 1970. There will be no major excursions before or after the congress, but a variety of one-day outings will be arranged in the middle of the week. Applications for presenting papers or holding specialist meetings will be accepted until ist April 1969, and applications for membership until ist May 1970 which is four months before the congress opens. XX'e shall be publishing further notices nearer the time. Meanwhile, any kind of informa- tion regarding the congress may be requested from the Secrctai y-Gcncral, i sth Inter- national Ornithological Congress, c/o Burgcmcester dc Monchyplcin 14, I'hc J lague, Netherlands. ' 308 More than 500 places from Regent's Park to the Outer Hebrides. How to get there. Footpaths Vantage points. Times of high tides. The species present at the various seasons. Whom to apply to for access permits. What accommodation is available. Names and addresses of local societies. In fact the complete guide to Where to Watch Birds by John Gooders introduction by Roger Tory Peterson 30s ANDRE DEUTSCH 105 Great Russell St., WC1 Witherby’s THE HANDBOOK OF BRITISH BIRDS in five volumes A new reprint of this work has now been published, lit may be obtained either as a complete set (£21) or volume by volume (four guineas each). There are no text differences from previous impressions H. F. & G. WITHERBY LTD 111 SMALL ADVERTISEMENTS EOOICS ON mvs Catalogue on request WHELDON & WESLEY LTD Lytton Lodge Codicote, Hitchin, Herts YOU CAN’T AFFORD TO MISS “the chance of a lifetime” A NATURALISTS’ HOLIDAY TO EAST AFRICA FOR 3 WEEKS £354 6s. PER PERSON Nth FEBRUARY 1968 For full details write to Mr. J. A. Sanderson Business & Holiday Travel Ltd. 1 1 4 Grand Buildings, Trafalgar Square, London, W.C. 2. 14/- for 3 lines {minimum); 4/6 for each extra line or part thereof For the use of a Box Number there is an extra charge of ]/-. Binoculars/Telescopes/Cameras. 20% cash discount, all leading makes. Nascroft Trading Co., 164 Manor Road, Chigwell, Essex (tel. 01-500 0033). Birds of Glamorgan. Completely new. 4to crown; cloth; illustr. ; map; approx. 150 pp.; 30s. post free; c.w.o. Order now; ready Sept. Cardiff Naturalists’ Society, c/o National Museum of Wales, Cardiff. Oiseaux! Beaucoup at Cap Gris Nez Observatory. First report available 2s. 6d. Observers welcome this autumn. Write NOW: P. J. Oliver, 53 Ember Farm Way, East Molesey, Surrey. Club Secretaries. A new series of co- ordinated slide-tape lecture aids will be available for your winter meetings shortly. Sound recordings by Victor Lewis; slides by Frank Blackburn. For further particu- lars apply Audio Visual Lecture Aids, Westend Farm, Thorpe, Egham, Surrey. Malta. Flat from £10 per week. Write 37 Cumberland Avenue, Grimsby (tel; 7463). Spurn Bird Observatory. Report for 1966 now available at 3s. 6d., post free, from the Warden, Spurn Bird Observatory, Kilnsea, via Patrington, FIull, East Yorkshire. Calf of Man Bird Observatory, off the south-west coast of the Isle of Man, is now open until mid-October. Persons interested in bird-watching (or other branches of natural history) will be welcome for periods of one week or longer. Hostel-type accommodation (camp beds, calor gas cooking, piped water supply and flushing toilet) available at 5s. per night. Further particulars from t e Secretary, Manx Museum and Nationa Trust, Douglas, Isle of Man. IV Natural History Books PUBLISHED RECENTLY Where to Watch Birds by John Gooders. Introduction by Roger Tory Peterson. A guide to over 500 bird-watching spots in England, Scotland and Wales. Where they are, how to get there. 313 pages; 27 maps; 8 pages of plates. 30s. A Wealth of Wildfowl by Jeffery Harrison. ‘Survival’ series. Illustrated 30s. Nesting Birds, Eggs and Fledglings by Winwood Reade and Eric Hosking. 158 photographs in colour; 156 pages of text; drawings bv Robert Gillmor. 25s. Mammals of Britain, Their Tracks, Trails and Signs by G. Kinns. Illustrated in colour. 30s. Pesticides and Pollution by Kenneth Mellanby. 221 pages; 14 plates. ‘New Naturalist’. 30s. The Birds of North Africa by R.-D. Etch6copar and F. Hue. 606 pages- 24 colour plates. 8 gns. Mountain Flowers by Anthony Huxley. 1 1 2 colour plates. 30s. Birds of North America by Chandler S. Robbins, Bertel Bruun and Herbert S. Zim. 156 pages ol colour plates. Distribution maps in colour of all species. An outstanding guide to field identification Limp cover. 25s. The Trout by W. E. Frost and M. E. Brown. A natural history of the trout written by two leading authorities. 4 photographs in colour, 42 in black-and-white; 26 text-figures. ‘New Naturalist’. 25s. John James Audubon by Alexander B. Adams. A biography. 510 pages. 52s. 6d. Handbook of New Guinea Birds by Austin L. Rand and E. Thomas Gilliard. 6 gns. The Bird Faunas of Africa and its Islands by R. E. Moreau 424 naaes- illustrated. £5. 6 . Animals and Birds in Australia by Graham Pizzey. Illustrated in colour and black-and-white. 5 gns. Birds of Australia. Colour plates from the lithographs of John Gould. Text by A. Rutgers. 2 volumes with 80 plates in each. 70s. the set. ANNOUNCED FOR PUBLICATION SOON Great Waters by Sir Alister Hardy. Illustrated. 63s. Birds of the Atlantic Ocean by Ted Stokes. Illustrated by Keith Shackle- ton. 6 gns. Studies of Birds and Mammals of South America by the artist Axel Amuchastegui. Text by Dr. Helmut Sick. Foreword by Sir Solly Zuckerman. 24 colour plates. 5 gns. Nature Consenation in Britain by L. Dudley Stamp. ‘New Naturalist’ 36s. A Field Guide to the National Parks of East Africa by J. G. Williams 45s. Witherby’s Bookshop 61/62 Watling Street, London, E.C.4 ALL BOOKS SENT POST FREE not the Kingfisher Haith’s are noted for the extent of their efforts to satisfy the needs of birds, ornithologists and aviculturists. Although the Kingfisher’s staple diet is not part of our stock in trade we are able to satisfy the needs of most other species. For two generations the Haith family has studied birds and their feeding require- ments. The resulting knowledge backed by the advice of experts in avian nutrition enables us to offer an unrivalled range of foods and seeds which we are sure will satisfy the most demanding of ornithologists. Just a few of our products are mentioned here. A comprehensive list of foods and seeds will gladly be sent on request. 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Witherby Ltd., 61/62 Watling Street, E.C.4 British Birds Report on rare birds in Great Britain in 1966 (with 1964 and 1965 additions) F. R. Smith and the Rarities Committee (with four plates) Population changes of some common birds in gardens Principal Contents D. W. Snow Notes Letters News and comment Vol. 60 No. 8 FflUS SHILlrN-GS A' r- • British Birds AN ILLUSTRATED MONTHLY JOURNAL Editors Stanley Cramp, I. J. Ferguson-Lees, P. A. D. Hollom, E. M. Nicholson Photographic EJitor Eric Hosking Editorial Address lo Merton Road, Bedford •News and Comment’ J. L. F. Parslow, i Wick Hall, Radley, Abingdon, Berkshire Parities Committee F. R. Smith, Telford, Hill Barton Road, Exeter, Devon Contents of Volume 6o, Number 8, August 1967 Page Report on rare birds in Great Britain in 1966 (with 1964 and 1965 additions'). By F. R. Smith and the Rarities Committee (plates 37-40) . . ■ • 3°9 Systematic list of 1966 records accepted 3” Supplementary 1964 records .. •• •• •• 333 Supplementary 1965 records and corrections . . • • • • ■ • 334 Appendix i. List of 1966 records not accepted 33<^ Appendix 2. Supplementary list of 1965 records not accepted . . • • 33^ Population changes of some common birds in gardens. By Dr. D. W. Snow 339 Notes : — Hirundines taking winged insects from the surface of the sea (Bernard King) . . • • • ■ • ■ • ■ • • • • • • ■ ■ Great Grey Shrike catching Linnet in flight (G. J. Jobson) . . • • 34^ Red-headed Bunting breeding in Suffolk (G. B. G. Benson) . . • • 343 House Sparrows systematically destroying bean flowers (R. C. Branwhite) 344 Letters : — Red-headed Buntings in Britain and Ireland (P. G. R. Barbier; and I. J. Ferguson-Lees) . . . • • • • • • • • • • ■ ' ' News and comment. Edited by J. L. F. Parslow . . • ■ • • • • 347 Request for information : — ,ig Colour-marked auks (B. P. Pickess) . . • • ■ • • • • • ^ Annual subscription £z 13s. (including postage and despatch) payable to H. F. & G. Witherby Ltd., 61/62 Watling Street, London, E.C.4 Hatth s are noted for the extent of their efforts to satisfy the needs of birds, ornithologists and aviculturists. It is estimated that we supply food and seed to meet the requirements of more than one million birds each day. For two generations the Haith family has studied birds of most species, their habits and their feeding. The resulting knowledge, backed by the advice of experts in avian nutrition, enables us to offer an unrivalled range of foods and seeds, which, we are sure, will satisfy the most demanding of birds and bird-lovers. Just a few of our products are mentioned here. A comprehen- sive list of bird foods and seeds will be sent on request. I HAiTH'S WILD BIRD FOODS “772?'ir257°?6“ '47^ = '' f,iTb7l4-' '' 7b !6^7 67k72 ;«7%vT.^‘67b77/772lb 137-'"® ' M2lb725/-® ' = '3 lb 21/-. 28 lb ALL POST OR carriage PAID JOHN E. HAITH LTD dept. B.B., PARK STREET, CLEETHORPES 1 A Bird Overhead by CLIVE SIMSON 'A book that bears the mark of a naturalist who has acquired his knowledge at first hand and is able to impart it to others in a very pleasant way' — Times Literary Sup- plement 'Told with a vigour and enthusiasm which holds the reader's excited attention from the first page to the last. The novel and important in- formation given on the nesting habits and haunts of the various species dealt with ensure that it is a volume not only to be read with enjoyment, but demanding reten- tion for frequent reference' — Glasgow Herald 'Will be read with great pleasure . . . charming volume into which great knowledge is compressed'— T/re Field 30s. net In Search of Birds by COLLINGWOOD INGRAM 'A fascinating book' — The Field 'A real joy. ... It is many years since I have read such an intriguing book about birds. I cannot imagine any bird-lover not being fascinated by it' — Birmingham Post 'Delightful reminiscences ... his pages are never for an instant dull'— Times Literary Supplement 'A fascinating study of birds, so packed with interest that the reader needs to delve again and again into each chapter for fear of missing some new fact’ — News Letter of Worcestershire Naturalists Club 'Informative, stimulating and a delight to read' — Country Life 30s. net Published by Witherby British Birds Vol. 6o No. 8 August 1967 ^leport on rare birds in Great Britain in 1966 (with 1964 and 1965 additions) F. R. Smith and the Rarities (Committee (Plates 37-40) HIS IS THE NINTH annual report of the Rarities Committee and ^as involved consideration of 356 records for 1966, an increase of .4 on the final total for 1965 and of 70 on that for 1964. The pro- ortion of records accepted was 730/^, thus maintaining the 1964-65 vel after a rise from only 610/, in 196a. This reflects a continued nprovement in standards of observation and presentation; in the latter onnection the ‘Unusual Record’ form {Brit. Birds, 58: 228-229) Dtainable free from the Hon. Secretary, has proved of value both to ^servers in submitting records and to us in considering them. In contrast to the situation in 1965, we have had to deal with few ccords from earlier years, but three for 1964 and a short list for 1965 1.11 be found on pages 333-335. Some records for 1966 are still out- landing because they were submitted late and one or two others have ?en delayed because they present special difficulties. In the main t nvever, observations have reached us quickly and the experience ined over the past nine years has enabled the Committee usually to ■ al promptly and, we hope, eflriciently with the work involved. We ve again considered a number of Irish records and a few British ones s species not on our list, when our opinions have been sought by the > .tors or local recorders concerned. The acceptance or rejection of . 7 responsibility of the Iris/) Bird Report ud the Northern Ireland Bird Records Committee) and we are ^ iteful to Ma^)or R F. Ruttledge for providing us with information Irish records in advance of publication. irhe continuity of the composition of the Committee was sadly )ken by the unexpected death on 31st August 1966 of D. D. Harber had been ns hard-worki*fS.a-nd:^cient Hon. Secretary since uary 1963 and one of th^original meniSers appointed in 1958. The i ' v’l BRITISH BIRDS number of members therefore stands now at nine with P. A. D. Hollom (Chairman), F. R. Smith (Hon. Secretary), D. G. Bell, A. R. M. Blake, Peter Davis, M. F. M. Meiklejohn, G. A. Pyman, R. Wagstaffe and D. I. M. Wallace. County editors and other area recorders throughout Britain have been asked to submit names to fill the vacancy. Before he went into hospital, the late D. D. Harber was able to explain the current situation to the present Hon. Secretary and to pass over the files; this ensured a smooth continuation of the duties, although at the time it was expected to be only a temporary arrangement. The principles and procedure we follow in considering records were explained at length in the 1958 report (B/vV. Birds, 53; 155-156). A list of the species with which we are concerned was given in the 1 96 5 report (Brit. Birds, 59: 304-305) and revised reprints of this are obtainable from the Hon. Secretary. In the present report the systematic list of records is set out in the same way as its predecessors. The following points, some of which were outlined more fully in the 1958 report (Brit. Birds, 53: 156-158), should be borne in mind since they show the basis on which the information has been put together: (i) The scientific nomenclature, which formerly followed the B.O.U. Check-List of the Birds of Great Britain and Ireland (1952) with the amendments subsequently proposed (Ibis, 98 : 157-168) and those resulting from the decisions of the International Commission for Zoological Nomenclature (Ibis, 99 : 369), is now based on the more up-to-date work of Charles Vaurie’s The Birds of the Talearctic Fauna (i959-b5)- sight records of subspecies (including those of birds trapped and released) are nor- mally referred to as ‘showing the characters’ of the race concerned. (ii) No record which would constitute the first for Great Britain and Ireland is published by us, even if we consider it acceptable, until it has been passed by the Records Committee of the British Ornithologists’ Union. (iii) In general, the report is confined to records which are regarded as certain. ‘Probables’ are never included and square brackets are used only to denote likely escapes or releases from captivity. In the case of the very similar Long-billed and Short-billed Dowitchers Limnodromus scolopaceus and L. griseus, however, we are continuing to publish indeterminable records and this will also apply to observations of such ‘difficult’ groups as frigate-birds Fregata spp. and albatrosses Diomedea spp. if and when they occur. (iv) The basic details included for each record are (i) county; (2) locality; (3) number of birds if more than one, and age and sex if known (in the cases of spring and summer records, however, the age is given only where the bird concerned was not in adult summer plumage); (4) if trapped or found dead; (5) date or dates; and (6) observer or observers up to three in number, in alphabetical order. Other relevant information is sometimes added at the end of individual records and gener^ comments are given in a subsequent paragraph. Although the report as a whole is confined to Great Britain, these general comments and totals always include relevant Irish records and sometimes refer to those of other European countries. Irish records are detailed in the Irish Bird Report for 1966 (obtainable from J. R. Uick- c/o 45 Kildare Street, Dublin 2), while totals from earlier years have been calculated with the aid of Ireland’ s Birds by R. F. Ruttledge (1966). One of the aims of these annual reports is to show the individual record against the general background. In this connection, the lengt 310 RARE BIRDS IN GREAT BRITAIN 1966 Df a bird’s stay is of interest, as was shown by Dr. J. T. R. Sharrock n his letter to the editors on ‘Week-end bias, length of stay of rarities rind proportion of rarities undetected’ (Br/V. 59: 556-558), and it ' s therefore unfortunate that some people tend to forget that first and ast dates are both needed. We hope that observers and county re- lorders alike will make a special point of supplying last dates in future. The minor changes made in the last report proved successful and are )cing continued. A complete list of rejected records is therefore given m appendix i on pages 336-338 and immediately preceding this is a list :>f minor errors in the 1965 report. More significant mistakes are still orrected in the supplementary systematic lists. An innovation this year is the publication of a small selection of 'hotographs of some of the individual rarities. The Glossy Ibis ' '’kgadis falcmellus on plate 37 is the one in Cornwall in 1964/65 Birds, 59: 285), but the other three plates all show birds covered '1 this report. In addition to these, we also have a fine series of rrints of the Cornish dowitcher Limnodromus sp. (see page 317), but they dll be published later on their own. We hope that these photographs ill encourage others to take black-and-white pictures of rarities olour transparencies seldom make good black-and-white prints). ' Once again we thank the many individual observers and local ■rganisations whose co-operation has made the publication of this •port possible. The help given by R. Wagstaffe and the staff of the iiverpool Museums in comparing descriptions with specimen skins .as been invaluable. D. I. M. Wallace and I. J. Ferguson-Lees have :.;ain very kindly co-operated over the preparation of the species ' imments in the systematic list. All records should continue to be nt to F. R. Smith, Telford, Hill Barton Road, Exeter, Devon. Systematic list of 1^66 records accepted White-billed Diver {Gavia adamsit) I Jrthumberland: Sweethope Lough, seen alive for about a week, then picked up ' the Hancock Museum. Newcastle upon Tyne Monel F. M. Wood per A. M. Tynan). ^ This IS the sixth since 1958 and brings the total number of records this arctic Russian and Siberian species to about twenty. Their ographical scatter remains restricted to northern waters and the ■•it coast between Shetland and Yorkshire. Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps) •nerset: Chew Valley Lake, the one recorded in the 1965 report {Brit. Birds <59 : I was last seen 23rd October, not 28th as stated. What was assumed to be the ^ individual was seen again on 15 th May 1966 (D. Shepherd. R. F. Thearle) and ■n 22nd July to 2nd November (D. E. Ladhams, R. J. Pr^Therch K E L imons r/ ./.). {Brit. Birds, 60: 295-299). as well as in 1967. BRITISH BIRDS Cory’s Shearwater {Procellaria diomeded) Cornwall: near Wolf Rock, 13th September (B. King). Kent: Dungeness, 15th May (B. P. Austin, P. J. Grant, P. J. Oliver). Norfolk: Salthouse, 29th January, dead about a week (A. Mannering, R. A. Richardson, B. Shergold et al.). These three records in British waters, one each in winter, spring and autumn, are as many as in any previous year except 1965 when the final total, with late additions (see page 334), was 17 records involving about 142 birds {Brit. Birds, 59: 283). The one in Norfolk is of parti- cular interest because it proved to belong to the mid-Atlantic race P.d. borealis and was the first subspecific determination since both that and the nominate Mediterranean race were removed from the British and Irish List as a result of the elimination of the Hastings Rarities {Brit. Birds, 53 : 281-384, especially 306-307, 342 and 350-351). Sightings oft Ireland in 1966 followed the normal pattern, except that there were no records from Cape Clear, Co. Cork, for the first year since 1961. Purple Heron {Ardea purpurea) Bedfordshire: Wy boston gravel pits, immature, loth August to loth September (A. J. Livett, P. Trengrove, M. D. Wortley). Devon: River Erme, near-adult, 27th April to loth May (O. D. Hunt, L. H. Hurrell, S. C. Madge et at). Hampshire: Bembridge, Isle of Wight, immature, i8th May (H. P. K. Robinson). Kent: Medway estuary, adult, 3rd and 4th August (W. and H. S. Mouland). Scilly: Tresco, immature, 4th to i8th May (D. B. Hunt, B. King). St. Mary’s, near-adult, ist to 30th May (S. Greenwood, K. Pellow, R. Symons et al.). Suffolk: Minsmere, adult on 17th May, two adults on i8th, one on 23rd, 25th and 26th (H. E. Axell, D. Lea, J. C. Nicholson). Yorkshire: Almholme, near Doncaster, immature, 3rd May (R. J. Rhodes). The seven in April and May constitute the most striking influx since 1963 {Brit. Birds, 57: 263) of this summer visitor to the Netherlands and southern Europe, which also breeds widely in Asia and Africa. Little Egret ( Egretta gar-'gettd) Devon: Axe estuary, nth to 17th June (R. Cottrill, Mrs. H. Highway, F. R. Smith). Kent: Medway estuary, 4th May (J. Hale). Scilly: Tresco, 6th to 9th May (D. B. Hunt). Suffolk: Minsmere, T4th June (J. C. Nicholson). Sussex: Chichester Harbour, 2nd and 3rd May (O. M. Ashford, M. Shrubb). There were also two Irish records, one at Killala Bay, Co. Mayo, on 25th June and one near Ballycotton, Co. Cork, from 29th June to 3rd September. As previously pointed out, most sight records of this south European species, which also breeds in southern Asia, Africa and Australia, do not exclude the remote possibility of the Snowy Egret E. thula of North America. The nine years 1958-66 produced a mini- 312 RARE BIRDS IN GREAT BRITAIN 1966 Iium of 45 Little Egrets in Britain and Ireland, but their monthly listribution was wrongly summarised in the 1965 report (Brif. Birds, 59: 284). In fact, the only March record in this time was in Co Cork n 1961 and there have been only two in April. May (19), June (twelve) ind July (six) account for 37 of the records and there has been none ,ater than September since 1959 (when there was one in October and wo m November, one remaining into December), except in 1961-62 > Then one first seen in August stayed on until it died in January. Cattle Egret {Bubulcus ibis) [Oerbyshire: Egginton. Etwall, immature, 12th July (T. Gibson, A. N. Stephens).] As previously mentioned, this nearly cosmopolitan bird is not un- ommonly kept m captivity and few individuals at large in Britain have een accepted as genuinely wild, since the species is resident in the .arts of Europe where it breeds (chiefly Iberia and southern Russia) nd It IS therefore much less prone to wander north than other herons. Night Heron {Njcticorax tijcticorax) llampshire: Beaulieu, immature, Sth to nth December (N. D. Pullen), iurrey: Surbiton, adult, 30th November into 1967 (J. Gale, S. Greenwood et al.). Records m Britain of tins nearly cosmopolitan bird may still relate to -capes from Edinburgh Zoo Park, where the species breeds in a free .ate(Br//. Birds, 53: 159-160). The Director-Secretary, G. D. Fisher orms us (/// ///a) that the colony there continues to thrive and now ambers about 40. An average of eight or nine young is reared annually; the size of the colony now remains fairly constant (and as only one ^■is been found dead in the park during the last decade), it appears that )out this number must wander away each vear. It should be borne in and that these birds were obtained from Canada in 1936 and are esumably therefore of the North American race N.n.hoatcli and I :hough this subspecies is not distinguishable in the field, a full ^animation should be made of any found dead. Against all' this a I lony of Night Herons^ established itself in the Netherlands in 1946 I d rnay be the source of the British records, particularly as a majority 1 ve been near the south and east coasts. Little Bittern {Ixobr^'chtis minutus) Titchfleld Haven, $, 3rd September (J. Barker, J. Cantelo, G. nt; Stodmarsh, 23rd July (J. G. Andrew, M. E. Griffiths, F. J. Lambert et al.). wnhamT/"!)^’ Metcalfe, J. A. The Sussex record is paralleled by Irish observations of two at Cape ^ar, Co. Cork, and one at Clifden River, Co. Galway, all on ist May. is summer visitor to much of continental Europe, which also breeds 315 BRITISH BIRDS in western and southern Asia, Africa and Australia, now occurs annually and the records in Britain and Ireland during the nine years 1958-66 total at least 33 (involving 34 or more individuals). Although half of these have been concentrated in the south-eastern quarter of England, the species may appear anywhere and there have been three Scottish records in this period. Observations in 1958 and i960 sug- gested breeding attempts, but this species frequently ‘overshoots’ in spring. No less than 27 of the records relate to April, May (19) and June. Green- winged Teal {Anas crecca carolinensis) A drake showing the characters of this North American race was recorded as follows: Inverness-shire: Moray Firth, (J, 5th to i6th January (R. H. Dennis, M, Morrison). There was also one Irish record, a drake at Mucldnish Lough, Co. Clare, on 13th March. The distinctive males of this subspecies have been recorded annually since 1958. Blue- winged Teal (Anas discors) Orkney: North Ronaldsay, d. i°th November (K. G. Walker). This is the first British record of this North American duck since i960, although two were shot in Ireland in 1962; the total of British and Irish records is now about 20. Very few are kept in captivity and, because of their rarity and value, it is unlikely that any would be allowed to escape. American Wigeon (Anas americand) Inverness-shire: Moray Firth, 30th December 1965 to iith February 1966 (R. Clark, R. H. Dennis, Wing-Commander R. J. Fursman et al.) ; S, i6th December into 1967 (R. H. Dennis, M. Morrison); perhaps both these records relate to the same individual as in January and February 1965 (Brit. Birds, 59: 286). Shetland: Loch of Mails, Sumburgh, $, 7th October, shot by G. Leslie, was ringed as pullus near Sheffield, New Brunswick, Canada, on 6th August 1966 (per B.T.O. Ringing Committee). These records bring the total number in Britain and Ireland since 1958 to between nine and eleven, all September to March. The one in Shetland demonstrates beyond all doubt that wild individuals do cross the Atlantic. Ferruginous Duck (Aythja njrocd) Essex: Abberton Reservoir, what was probably one of those recorded in late 1965 (Brit. Birds, 59: 286) stayed until 2nd February 1966 (R. V. A. Marshall et al.). Middlesex: Staines Reservoir, tj, 28th September (Dr. A. D. Prowse, G. Walker). Numbers of this south and east European duck, which also breeds in western Asia and north-west Africa, are commonly kept m collections. 314 rare birds in great BRITAIN I966 Surf Scoter {Melanitta perspicillata) ’ Fife : Tentsmuir, 2nd October (R. Job). KKirkcudbrightshire: Southerness, c?. the one first recorded on 27th December ■ I9^>5 (^. Birds, 59: 286) was last noted on 27th February 1966 (T. Gibson)* it was •seen throughout at Southerness and not at Portowarren as previously stated. '.Sussex: Rye Harbour, $, 3rd December (R. J. Burness, T. Inskipp). This North American sea-duck has been recorded annually since 1958 (except i960) and these nine years have produced some 15 records, involving about 18 birds, all September to April. King Eider (Somateria spectabilis) -Shetland: between Burra and Mainland, d, 19th to 29th April, reappearing loth Jh J- Irvine e/ al.) (plate 39). Sumburgh, d,’ ■th to 9th September (D. Courts, J. Irvine, G. D. Joy et al). fe > o. These two observations, which it is thought may relate to the same rndmdual, are only the fifth and sixth records of this circumpolar- rctic duck in Britain and Ireland in the nine years 1958-66. Lesser White-fronted Goose {Anser erjthropus) ililoucestershire: Slimbridge, two adults, 6th February (M. Lubbock, P. Scott) and :3th February (D. I. M. Wallace), one on 20th and 23rd (P. Scott, D. I. M. Wallace al.)-, a third adult and one immature, 27th February (D. I. M. Wallace) and a •tfferent immature, also 27th February' (J. A. Bailey). ' Except in 1965, this north-east European and north Asian summer- • isitor, which breeds no further away than northern Scandinavia, has -speared annually in the nine years 1958-66. An area in Norfolk has -een visited by one or more in five of these years and the New Grounds loucestershire, in six. Of about 30 noted since 1958, at least 21 have ■ een adults. The occurrence of five at the New Grounds in 1966 Jincided with the biggest-ever influx to that area of White-fronted -eese A. albifrons. There are no Irish records at all. Red-breasted Goose (Branla n^coUis) Berwickshire: near Greenlaw, five, 21st March (Major P. Deas, G. Speedy).] This remarkable record cannot be accepted without reservation ice this arctic Siberian species has been imported into the Nether- ids in large numbers. Presumed wild individuals, of which there are I out 20 British records, have always occurred singly and usually with 1 cks of White-fronted Geese. Black Kite (Ali/vus wigrans) ■rfolk: Qcy, 14th May (R. S. Brown, A. Greensmith, A. Stagg). I kney: Harray, i8th and 19th May (E. Balfour), lly: Tresco, 23rd April (D. B. Hunt, D. P. Upton). /?(J?atf 3?)^'"'®^’ J' There are only five previous British records of this very widespread 315 BRITISH BIRDS Old World species, although it is common in central, southern and eastern Europe. It is likely that only two individuals, perhaps even one, were concerned in the east coast records in May. Gyr Falcon (Falco rusticolus) Orkney: Burden Hill, 13th May (E. Balfour). Shetland: Baltasound, Unst, late May to 4th August (M. Sinclair, F. J. Walker), This circumpolar arctic species continues to occur annually with an average of two records each year, but these dates are unusual. Crane {Grus grus) Aberdeenshire: Newburgh, immature, 15th to 23rd October (Dr. G. M. Dunnet, H. Milne, W. Murray et al.). Anglesey: Cemlya Bay, almost adult, 17th September (T. H. and Mrs. F. M. Ellis). Argyll: Clachan, West Loch Tarbert, about loth to 28th May (I. MacDonald, I. McPhail, Rev. J. D. Sutherland et a!.). Glen Barr, Kintyre, immature, 19th December and into 1967 (J. Greenlees, A. McArthur, D. Mackinnon et al). Cheshire: Tatton Mere, adult, 13th February (D. T. Parkin). Devon: Slapton Ley, adult, 23rd September (L. I. Hamilton, R. V. Price, F. R. Smith et al). Lancashire: Garstang, 23rd August to 14th September (R. G. Carefoot, T. Elliott). Lincolnshire: Skegness, immature, 4th November (L. Hurst, E. J. Mackrill). Suffolk: Westleton, adult, 14th May (R. G. LI. Cant, S. R. Edwards). Surrey: Frensham Little Pond, i6th June (Dr. S. G. Kent). Yorkshire: Muston, Filey, immature, 23rd April to 14th May (R. H. Appleby, FI. E. Scott, J. Temple et al). Flamborough Head, four, 15th October (R. D. Ackerley, A. F. G. Walker). By comparison with the remarkable influx at the end of October 1963 {Brit. Birds, 57: 502-508), these eleven records of this summer-visitor to Fenno-Scandia and eastern Europe, which also breeds across Asia and south to Turkey, may seem quite modest. The three spring records are noteworthy, however, and the total is, in fact, the second highest since at least 1958 and probably very much earlier than that. AMERICAN IFADERS Excluding Bectoral Sandpipers Calidris melanotos, now no longer on our list, accepted records of American waders in Britain involved 26 individuals of ten species. All but one were in autumn and there was a remarkable influx between 14th August and zyd September when 1 8 individuals of eight species were flrst seen. A similar influx occurred in Ireland, with at least 26 individuals of nine species {plus ten or eleven Pectoral Sandpipers), but there very few were noted during the peak period in Britain, the majority being recorded during the following three weeks. Amongst these British and Irish records combined were no less than four each of Least Sandpiper and Semipalmated Sandpiper, species formerly very rare on this side of the Atlantic. 316 rare birds in great BRITAIN I966 Long-billed or Short-billed Dowitcher {himnodromus scolopaceus or griseus) Cornwall: Hayle estuary trapped but not examined in detail in the hand. 30th Wdibm's L- P- .Kent: Milton Creek, Sittingbourne, 30th August (E. G. Philp, R. Smith). 'f/i/0 ' October (R. E. Emmett, D. I. M. Wallace, D. B. Wooldridge It IS particularly interesting that the one in Cornwall stayed on right through the winter into the spring of 1967. There were also two indeterminate dowitchers, at Kilcoole Marsh Co ■Wicklow, from 29th September to 8th October and at Tacumshane akc, Co. Wexford, on 2nd October, as well as one Short-billed L. gnseus at Ballymona, Co. Cork, on 8th and 9th October. In 1961 Dr. I. C. T. Nisbet, discussing the field identification of •he then recently separated dowitchers and reviewing all British and TTish occurrences, accepted 41 records up to and including i960 (Brit. 0iras,^4\ 343-356). He considered that at least twelve could be referred ro scolopaceus and only four to He further concluded that this ■lalance in occurrence would be maintained in view of the timing of the ormer s autumn passage on the east coast of America. Events appear not to be in line with this forecast, however, owitchers have become more regular in Britain and Ireland the rears 1961-66 producing about 30 individuals, and, in the cases where Tecihc identifications have been accepted, nine have been of sriseus including a party of five in Ireland) and only four oi scolopaceus. As : IS difficult to fault Dr. Nisbet’s logic, this is a puzding situation. The -hole matter is aggravated by the fact that too often observers seem 3 use one or two mam identification points in isolation from other Jpportmg details. The specific identification of dowitchers is often ery difficult and the greatest attention to detail is essential if the bservers, and the Committee, are to succeed in judging between the VO species. I' orfolk: Salthouse, imature, shot, 12th ■ong). Great Snipe (Gallinago tuedia') 27th August (R. E. Emmett, D. I. M. W'allace). Wiveton beptember, specimen now at Castle Museum, Norwich (p! Only 13 or 14 records of this north-east European and Asiatic '•ecies have been accepted since 1958 (and there has been none in ■eland in that time). Of these, five have been in winter, two in spring 11 five or SIX in autumn. It is interesting to note that three intensively Itched areas. Fair Isle, St. Agnes and the Home Counties, have pro- ded eight or nine of the records. It may well be that this species is ider-recorded. ^ 317 BRITISH BIRDS Solitary Sandpiper (Tr/nga solitarid) Wiltshire: Rodbourne, Swindon, trapped, 13th to 25th September (Dr. E. A. R. Ennion, C. M. Swaine, G. L. Webber et al.) (plate 40b). This is only the ninth British record of this North American wader and all have been between mid-July and October. Curiously, there are no Irish records. Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes) Devon: Braunton Pill, 24th and 25th August (G. Jessup, A. J. Vickery). Lincolnshire/Norfolk: Wisbech sewage farm, 17th September (M. Densley, A. R. Jenkins, W. J. Lloyd et al.). This has long been one of the more regular North American waders over here and at least one has been recorded annually since 1958, except in i960. In Ireland, one frequented Lady’s Island Lake, Co. Wexford, from 2nd to 12th November. Spotted Sandpiper {Tringa macularid) Scilly: Tresco, trapped, 3rd September to ist October (D. B. Hunt, J. L. F. Parslow, R. F. Thearle et al). St. Agnes, 23rd to 25th September (S. C. Joyner, M. Kendall, N. J. Westwood et al). These are only the third and fourth records of this North American sandpiper since 1958, but they follow on the heels of one on St. Agnes in 1965 (Brit. Birds, 59: 288), which means that the Isles of Scilly have produced three in two years. Marsh Sandpiper (Tringa stagnatilis) Caithness: Dimnet Bay, 3rd to 5th September (K. Goodchild, Dr. P. McMorran, D. M. Stark et al). Essex: Chigwell sewage farm, 26th August (S. and G. Hobbs, K. Noble, W. E. Valk). There are now 16 records of this summer-visitor to east Europe and west Asia. It was not noted in Britain for several years up to 1962, but 1963-66 produced five (though two in 1963, on opposite sides of the Thames in Kent and Essex, were probably the same individual). Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla) Cornwall: River Camel, 12th to 22nd September (D. G. Britton, W. J. Julyan, R. J. Salmon et al). Devon: Lundy, trapped with Semipalmated Sandpiper, 8th September (J. A. Ginnever, C. S. Waller); another trapped, 14th and 15th September (C. S. W aller). There was also an Irish record (the third in four years) at Clonakilty Bay, Co. Cork, on 13th September. With only five previous records this century (including the one for 1965 given on page 334) and only nine in all, four in one year was quite exceptional. The occurrences were clearly associated with the unusual influx of North American waders in mid-autumn. 318 RARE BIRDS IN GREAT BRITAIN 1966 Baird’s Sandpiper {Calidris bairdii) ( Gloucestershire : Frampton-on-Severn, 30th and 31st August (R. K. Bircher C M " Swaine, D. I. M. Wallace et al.). ’ ' ' I Lincolnshire: Bardney, ist to 8th September (K. Atkin, R. May, K. Wood). September (E. J. Cottier, J. A. Moyes, ocilly: Tresco, 26th August to 12th September (N. E. Ballard D B Hunt T L F ;Parslow ^ St. Agnes, xgth to 30th September (S. C. Joyne;, M kidaS,' There were also three in Cos. Cork and Kerry in late September and ;arly October. As many as eight records of this North American wader n one year is quite unprecedented (the previous highest years being -:963 and 1965 with two apiece) and this brings the British and Irish otal to 19, 17 of them since 1950 and all but one in autumn. White-rumped Sandpiper {Calidris fuscicollis') i.heshire: Altrmcham sewage farm, i6th and 17th November (S. C. Joyner M S ■ wist, P. F. Twist). ^ . . V/. :*aithness: Brims Ness, Thurso, loth September (K. Goodchild, D. M. Stark). ^7th November (W. A. J. Cunningham, D. MacLean, M. F. M. Meiklejohn et al.) (plate 40a). . cilly: Tresco, loth to 17th September (D. B. Hunt, J. L. F. Parslow et al.). uffolk: Minsmere, 9th to 15th August (H. E. Axell, J. A. B. Jobling T C acholson al.); 20th October (H. E. Axell, R. D. English, J. C. Nicholson). ' The six records above were matched by six or seven in Ireland, all etween 8th September and 9th October. This North American wader tow appears annually in small numbers and about 41 have been .•corded in Britain and Ireland in the nine years 1958-66. Sharp-tailed Sandpiper {Calidris acuminata) uddlese-x: Staines Reservoir, 28th September (Dr. A. D. Prowse, G. S. Walker). This is the first record of this summer-visitor to north-east Siberia ' ice 1963 and the eighth in all. All but one in January have been in agust-October. There are no Irish records. Semipalmated Sandpiper {Calidris pusillus) ^^rWaier')'^^’ Least Sandpiper (J. A. Ginnever, "en?nf Wisbech sewage farm, 9th October, trapped 13th October, end of December (A. R. Bomford, C. J. Hoperoft, C. Kearton et al.). Clearly linked with these two records were the first two Irish ones Akeagh Lough, Co. Kerry, on loth September and at BaUymona, Cork, on 16th October. This is an abundant species in North nerica and it has now appeared here annually since 1964, these four currences bringing the British and Irish total to eight. BRITISH BIRDS Buff-breasted Sandpiper (Trjngites subruficollis) Somerset: Stert, i8th September (K. D. Smith). This North American wader has now been recorded annually since i960 and, although one record is less than usual in Britain, Ireland produced five between 9th September and 5th October. Since 1958 there has been a total of 29 British and Irish records involving about 35 birds. Wilson’s Phalarope {Phalaropus tricolor) Yorkshire : Scaling Dam Reservoir, adult dead a week or more, 22nd June (D. G. and Mrs. S. A. Bell). This is the nineteenth British record (and there is also a single Irish one) of this North American species, all since 1954. It was found at the same spot as the bird of 20th and 21st June 1965 (Bt/V. Birds, 59: 220) and may even have been the same individual. Pratincole {Glareola pratincola) Northumberland: Holywell Ponds, 2nd to 6th July (C. C. E. Douglas, Dr. J. D. Parrack et al.). This is only the third record since 1958 of this common summer- visitor to southern Europe, particularly Iberia, southern France, Hungary and the Balkans, which also breeds in the south-western quarter of Asia and in many parts of Africa. It seems surprising that it can raise no better score when compared with the next species. One in Kent in 1962 may have been either pratincola or nordmanni. Black -winged Pratincole {Glareola nordmanni) Norfolk: Cley, 3rd to 5th July (W. F. Bishop et al.). Of the eight records of pratincoles during 1958-66, this is the fourth of nordmanni (now again regarded as a distinct species), which nests mainly in southern Russia and western Asia. It is also interesting that the two practically simultaneous records in 1966 should involve one of each species, thus perhaps suggesting that both had a south-easterly origin from the area in which they overlap. Great Black-headed Gull {Gams ichthyaetus) Man: Calf of Man, adult, 21st May (P. Bennett). This is only the sixth British record of this vagrant from southern Russia and western and central Asia, and the first since 1932; it is also the furthest north and west. Laughing Gull {Lams atricilla) Kent: Dungeness, nth May (W. F. A. Buck, D. W. Taylor). This is the first record to be accepted of this North American gull of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts {Brit. Birds, 60: 15 7-1 5 9). 320 RARE BIRDS IN GREAT BRITAIN 1966 White-winged Black Tern (Chlidonias leucopterus) 22nd August (D. C. Gladwin, B. D. Harding. Hncolnshire: Bardney sewage works, immature, 23rd August to 7th September G. F. Leachman, R. May, A. D. Townsend). Middlesex; Queen Mary Reservoir, immature, 27th August (M. J. Rogers). ^ >lorfoIk : Cley, adult, and, 4th and 6th September (P. F. Twist, S. C. Joyner). Northamptonshire Pitsford Reservoir, immature, 25th August to 7th September 3. S. Cave, G. E. Dunmore, M. Goodman al). Orkney: North Ronaldsay, adult, nth to 13th June (A. Swanney, K. G. Walker). immature, 27th to 30th August (R. M. Curber, B. ang, D. Warden et al). ’ The nine years 1958-66 produced over 70 records of this summer- Asitot to south-east Europe and Asia, but the 1966 total was the second Jghest in that period (in contrast to three only in 1965). Of the ten lodividuals listed, eight were first recorded within a ten-day period ' om 22nd August and all were in the usual months of May-June and ugust-September. Gull-billed Tern {Gelochelidon niloticd) vssex: Selsey BiU, 7th May (B. King, J. C. Rolls), test Lothian: Dalmenj^, 3rd September (Dr. T. C. Smout). a^Since 1958 there have been about 56 records of this almost cosmo- •litan tern, involving well over 60 individuals. All but eight records :n birds) have been in the English Channel, with Kent and Sussex ovidmg 44 records of over 50 individuals; the one in West Lothian las 0% the second Scottish record in that time. All have been during 'oril-October with May-August the peak months, and presumably ■;se are mainly birds on their way to, or vagrant from, the Danish ceding colonies, the only sizeable population in north-west Europe. Caspian Tern {Hjdroprogne tschegravd) von: Axe estuary, 6th July (R. Cottrill). - at: Stodmarsb, 12th June (B. E. Cooper, A. Quinn, K. Verrall et al.). Witon ('• CoAet., P. A. rfolk: Arnold’s Marsh, Salthouse, loth June (M. J. Rogers). ' ttinghamshire: Holme Pierrepont gravel pits, nth June (P. M. Hope P dcock). River Trent, near Beeston Weir, 13th August (B. D. Bell, A. E. Keena) blk: Minsmere, 14th July (H. E. AxeU. D. Mower. J. C. Nicholson)- 2.rd ;ust, a different bird (H. E. and Mrs. J. M. Axell). mnoison;, 23rd 321 BRITISH BIRDS Sussex: Chichester gravel pits, iith to 13th July (B. Metcalfe, M. Shrubb, Miss J. V. Stacey et al.)-, 31st July (C. M. James). These ten or eleven records show an unprecedented influx of this largest of all terns. Although it is much inclined to vagrancy, the total for the previous eight years is only about 18. The species is nearly cosmopolitan, but in Europe nests mainly in the Baltic and Black Seas. Sooty Tern {Sterna fuscatd) Norfolk: Scolt Head Island, 14th to 19th June, and nth July (R. Chestney, R. P. Bagnall-Oakeley) . Northumberland: Inner Fame, 21st June (J. K. Marshall, Miss J. M. Spriggs). Suffolk: Minsmere, nth June (J. B. Cox, F. A. Currie, J. C. Nicholson). There are about 17 previous records of this tropical oceanic tern, the last in Hampshire in June 1961. It seems just possible that the 1966 observations may refer to a single individual wandering up and down the east coast. Snowy Owl (Nyctea scandiacd) Aberdeenshire : Cabrach area, 28th October 1965 to 12th January 1966 (S. Roberts). Aberdeenshire/Banffshire/Inverness-shire: Cairngorms, 25th June (S. Roberts). Moray Basin: 23rd January to 3rd March (S. Roberts). Shetland : Fetlar, Yell and other islands, at least two $$ and one $ during whole year (W. Ogilvy, R. J. Tulloch et al.). These few records constitute the lowest number of observations of this circumpolar arctic owl since 1963 and a reversal of the trend shown in 1964 and 1965 (Brit. Birds, 58: 363; 59: 291). Nevertheless, the regular observations in Shetland during 1963-66 provided an interesting build-up to the now widely known breeding on Fetlar in 1967. Alpine Swift (Apus melbd) Shetland: Fair Isle, 25th April (G. J. Barnes, W. Eunson). Sumburgh, 31st May (R. H. Dennis, G. D. Joy, R. A. Richardson). Suffolk: Minsmere, 23rd May (J. H. Wood). These three records bring the British and Irish total of this south Eurasian and African species during 1958-66 to 38. Bee-eater (Merops apiaster) Norfolk: Surlingham Wood, 21st and 22nd October (E. A. Ellis). Orkney : Binscarth, three, about 31st May to 3 th June (E. Balfour, Dr. B. Campbell, E. J. Williams et at.). Shetland: Fair Isle, 13th June (R. H. Dennis, J. N. Dymond, A. Tegelin). Somerset: Chew Valley Lake, 15th August (D. Shepherd, R. F. Thearlc). Sutherland: Durness, 2nd to 4th May (D. Mackay). This summer-visitor to southern Europe and Asia occurs annually between May and September, but five records is above the average. 322 rare birds in great BRITAIN 1966 Roller (Coracias garrulus) 1 Dorset: Sugar Hill, Bere, 13th and 14th June (I. Phillips et al.). ^Nottinghamshire: Babworth, Retford, 28th June to 22nd July (J. Calthorpe A. E. Dobb^ H. W. Palin et al.)-, it should be noted in this connection that one escaped ;rom Twycross, Leicestershire, in June. rOrkney: North Ronaldsay, iith June (K. G. Walker). These three records of this south and east European, south-west 'Asian and north African species bring the British and Irish total since 1958 to about 18. Short-toed Lark {Calandrella cinered) Shetland: Fair Isle, 14th and 15th May (R. H. Dennis et al.). durrey: Beddington sewage farm, 24th April (P. J. Morgan, Dr. A. D. Prowse). There have now been 27 or more records of this south European, Asiatic and African species in Britain and Ireland in the nine years 958-66. During this period the seasonal pattern of occurrence has ..hanged substantially, with the result that most records are now in rpring. Red-rumped Swallow {Hirundo dauried) liJertfordshire: Hilfield Park Reservoir, ist October (B. L. Sage). ^ There are now 14 British and Irish records of this spreading south iuropean, north African and Asiatic species, all except one since 1940 ' ut this is only the third in autumn. Penduline Tit pendulinus) orkshire: Spurn, 22nd to 28th October (A. A. Bell, Dr. R. T H Raines B R i pence «■/ a/.). j- .i^amcs, d. n. This is the first British record of this resident of eastern and southern ..urope. As the species has long been recognised as a wanderer in ■inter and as it has been extending its breeding range north and north- ■est from Germany and Poland into Denmark and the Baltic States •ith ‘cock’s nests’ in Finland and the Netherlands, as well as occur- ences in north-west France and Belgium, its appearance here is not lexpected; it has also since been recorded in the Channel Islands 'ebruary 1967). A more detailed account of the spread is being pre- ired for publication with a full note on the Yorkshire occurrence. Brown Thrasher (Toxoslo/tta rufutd) November to 3th February 1967 (Dr. J. S. Ash, Major o. L. Incledon, M. F. Robertson et al.). This is the first British record of this North American species which •ceds in temperate eastern regions from southern Canada through the nited States to the Gulf coast and which normally winters in the uthern parts of its range. 323 BRITISH BIRDS American Robin (J^urdus migratorius) Dorset: Brand’s Bay, Poole Harbour, 15th and i6th January (S. P. W. Corbett, Dr. D. J. Godfrey, W. T. Haysom et al.). Canford Cliffs, about i8th January to loth March (Dr. J. S. Ash, Miss H. A. J. Brotherton, Miss M. D. Crosby et al.). Probably both these records refer to the same individual. Kirkcudbrightshire: Woodhall Loch, 12th May (E. Hales). There are now nine British and Irish records of this widespread North American thrush, or twelve if three Irish records of 1891-94 are accepted (R. F. Ruttledge, Ireland's Birds-. 156), but, as numbers have been imported in recent years, there is an increasing risk of escapes. White’s Thrush (Zoothera daumd) Gloucestershire: Lechlade, 30th October (C. H. Potter). This is only the fourth record of this Asiatic species since 1958, but it brings the total of British and Irish records to about 29. Blue Rock Thrush {Monticola soUtarius) [Orkney: North Ronaldsay, 29th August to 6th September (K. G. Walker).] This could be the first British record of this mainly resident thrush from southern Europe, southern Asia and north-west Africa, but the situation is clouded by the fact that numbers are now imported as cage- birds. The British Records Committee of the B.O.U. also regard the record as suspect on these grounds. Desert Wheatear (Oenanthe deserti) Sussex: Beachy Head, d, 17th to 21st April (P. Clement, the late D. D. Harber, Mrs. M. G. Mudford et al.). This is only the fifth record of this vagrant from southern and cen- tral Asia and North Africa in the last nine years, and the fifteenth in all. Savi’s Warbler {Bocustella Ittscinioides) Kent: (locality suppressed), up to eight or nine dd singing, 8th April to 8th July, evidence of two pairs nesting (J. J. M. Flegg, J. N. Hollyer, P. J. Mountford et al.). Great Reed Warbler {Acrocephalus arundinaceus) Shetland: Fair Isle, trapped, 26th and 27th May (R. H. and Mrs. M. T. Dennis, A. Tegelin et all). Suffolk: Minsmere, 7th July (H. E. Axell, D. Mower). Surrey: Frensham Great Pond, 29th May to at least 6th June (P. G. Davis, D. I. M- Wallace, T. G. Winter et al). These records bring the total since 1958 to about 34. Since 1963 the majority have occurred in sizeable reed-beds in late spring and summer, and for the second year in succession one sang persistently at Frensham Great Pond. Field observations do not normally exclude the Clamorous Reed Warbler A.stentoreus of southern Asia and Egypt, but tliis species is practically unknown in Europe. 324 RARE BIRDS IN GREAT BRITAIN I966 Aquatic Warbler {Acrocephalus paludicola) t Cornwall: Marazion Marsh, trapped, 2nd to 4th October (A. H. Glanville R G Hadden, L. P. Williams). '.Devon: Slapton Ley, immature, trapped, 19th August (F. R. Smith). 1 Dorset: Weymouth, 15th August (F. R. and Mrs. B. Clafton, C. Jackson). 1 Essex: Springfield, Chelmsford, trapped, 13th August (R. W. Roadman). iFife: Isle of May, immature, trapped, 28th to 30th August (Miss W. U. Flower K. Mackenzie, D. W. Oliver). ’ NMiddlesex: Queen Mary Reservoir, 20th and 21st August (D. M. Putman M T Rogers). ’ ' i trapped, 30th September to 5th October (P. J. Grant R. Kettle nK. Noble et al.). ’ SSomerset: Chew Valley Lake, immature, trapped, 13th August (Miss D. M. i Crompton, D. Shepherd, R. F. Thearle). This east European and west Asiatic species has been recorded over S3o times since 1958 and, as argued in the 1965 report (Brit. Birds, 59: ■294)5 might now be considered a regular autumn migrant. As shown ?Dy autumn ringing in 1 966, however, its incidence here in pre-migratory copulations of Sedge Warblers A. seboembaenus very low, being of the ■ erder of one in over i ,000 at Chew Valley Lake and one in 45 o at Slapton -ley; on the other hand, the proportion in what might be termed vagrant populations’ on St. Agnes in autumns 1959-66 is seven in 1:80-200, or one in under 30. A detailed analysis of the records of this :pcies from 1958 to 1965 was made by Dr. J. T. R. Sharrock (Br/7. Birds, 59: 556) and included corrected figures for those given in the : omments in the 1965 report (Rr/V. Birds, 59: 294). Booted Warbler (Hippolais caligatd) •v cilly: St. Agnes, 23rd October (R. E. Emmett, D. I. M. Wallace, D. B. Wooldrid<>e ' ' ol.). ° hhetland: Fair Isle, trapped, 28th August to 17th September (R. H. Dennis T N Jymond a/.). 5 . These are only the third and fourth records of this species which creeds from northern and central Russia, the Caspian Sea area and ■can across southern Siberia and Turkestan to north-western Mongolia, nd which winters in India and southern Arabia. The one on St. Agnes i the first away from Fair Isle, where the other three have all been rst recorded between 28th August and 3rd September. Subalpine Warbler (Sylvia cantillans) •'ancashire: Hightown, cj, trapped, 22nd to 27th May (A. S. Duckels M P Dve . J. Low). ’ ■ - ’ 1 Ian : Calf of Man, trapped, 8th September (P. Bennett, D. Holyoak). letland: Out Skerries, oV loth and nth May (R. J. Tulloch). Fair ith May (R. H. Dennis, P. Holt, E. J. Wiseman). Isle, Nicholson). These are the sixth and seventh British records of this summer ' visitor to southern Siberia. All have been in October and all but one September (R. F. Coomber, C. S. Waller, A. J. Vickery). NNforthamptonshire: Pitsford Reservoir, 25th September (J. A. Bailey, R. i'Srownsword et al.). SScilly: St. Agnes, 25th to 28th September (E. Griffiths, S. C. Joyner, K. Noble et . r/.); 2ist October (D. B. Wooldridge); 24th October (R. E. Emmett, D. I. M. Wallace, E. J. Wiseman et alp, trapped, 21st to 24th November (D. J. Britton, D. B. Wooldridge, K. Pellow). St. Martin’s, 28th and 29th September (D. M. Broom). >Shetland: Fair Isle, one, 3rd to 6th October; three, 7th October; one, 9th October; i different bird, loth October; two, nth October; one, 15th to 22nd October (R. H. Oennis, J. N. Dymond et al.). Sumburgh, 20th October (G. D. Joy, R. J. TuUoch). I Yorkshire: Spurn, i8th September (J. R. Collman, S. Kenyon, B, R. Spence); ist October (B. R. Spence); 21st October (B. R. Spence). British and Irish records of this widespread summer-visitor to cen- •ral and eastern Asia, which also breeds in southern Asia, Africa and Australasia, have been increasing in recent years (except 1965). Never- heless, the total of ^z-^8 individuals in 1966 was three times as many as in any previous year, and the presence of small flocks indicated hat a most unusual displacement took place over the western Pale- i .retie in mid-autumn. It is interesting to note that, apart from the first >ne at Spurn, the late September records came exclusively from the outh and west. Associated with these were single birds at Cape Clear, ^o. Cork, on 23rd, 24th and 26th September and 4th October, bringing he Irish total to six or seven. None of these occurrences was apparently inked with arrivals of other Asiatic rarities. The run of records on ; 'air Isle through the first half of October suggested a separate influx. 327 BRITISH BIRDS Tawny Pipit {Anthus campestris) Cornwall: Porthgwam, 27th and 28th August (E. Griffiths, N. J. Phillips, N. R. Phillips et al.). Devon: Lundy, 2nd November (C. S. Waller). Kent: Dungeness, 3rd October (R. E. Scott). Scilly: St. Agnes, first-year, trapped, 14th October (R. H. Charlwood, P. J. Grant, R. J. Johns et al.). Sussex: Beachy Head, 28th August (R. H. Charlwood). The Crumbles, Eastbourne, 1 8th September (R. H. Charlwood). Yorkshire: Spurn, 14th and 15th June (G, R. Edwards, B. R. Spence). There was also one at Cape Clear, Co. Cork, on 4th September. These eight records of this widespread European, southern Asiatic and north-west African species are fewer than in any year since 1959, except 1964 when there were seven. The June record is the third for that month in the last four years. Pechora Pipit {Anthus gustavi) Shetland: Fair Isle, first-year, trapped, 2nd and 3rd October (G. J. Barnes, D. Bodley, R. H. Dennis et all). Yorkshire : Spurn, trapped, 26th September (G. Follows, M. E. Greenhalgh, B. R. Spence et al.). These are the first since 1958 and the one at Spurn is the first of the total of 17 British records of this summer- visitor to north Russia and Siberia to occur away from Fair Isle. All have been autumn records, and all but two in September and October. Red-throated Pipit {Anthus cervinus) Scilly: St. Agnes, 23rd October (P. R. Holness, R. J. Johns, E. J. Wiseman et al.), Shetland: Out Skerries, iith and 12th May (R. J. Tulloch). Fetlar, ist June (K. L. Fox). Fair Isle, 13th May (G. J. Barnes, P. Holt, E. J. Wiseman); 25th October (G. J. Barnes, J. N. Dymond). The nine years 1958-66 produced about 24 records, involving some 29 individuals, of this summer-visitor to the tundras of north-east Europe and Siberia. In this time the pattern of seasonal occurrence has changed strikingly; spring records are now regular, accounting for no less than 13 individuals since 1958; in fact, more have been recorded in May during this period than in any other month. Citrine Wagtail {Mo tad I la dtreola) Hampshire: Stanpit Marsh, Christchurch, tw'o, first-year, 15th October (C. I. Husband, M. A. Stewart, A. J. Wise). This is the eighth British record of this Russian, Siberian and central Asian species, but the first involving two together and only the second for the mainland, six being from Fair Isle, and the other from Suffolk in 1964 {Brit. Birds, 58: 344-346). 328 ^legadis JakineUns, Cornwall, winter 1964/65 (sec vol 50- 285). The dark plumage glossed with purple, green and bronze and the long curved bill arc well-known features, but these photos also show how white feather edgings -gnc the head a streaked appearance in winter dress {photos: J. B. and S. Bottomky) Plate 38. Black Kite Milviis migrans, Shetland, 27th May to 2nd June 1966, one of three records in eastern Britain in the space of a fortnight (page 315). Note the mainly dark plumage with paler head and dark line through eye, and the triangular (rather than forked) appearance of the tail when spread {photos: Dennis Contts) Plate 39. Male King Eider Soma/eria spectabilis with Eiders S. moHissinia, Shet- land, April 1966 (page 315); orange beak and black-edged shield, blue-grey crown and nape separated from green cheeks by a buff stripe; in flight, pale" front half, black rear half with white patches on wings and rump edges {photos: Dennis Contts) 1 Plate 40. Above, White-rumped Sandpiper Calidris fuscicollis, Hebrides, Novem- ber 1966 (page 319), showing stint-like bill and wings projecting beyond tail (p/Wo; R. MacIntyre). Below, Solitary Sandpiper Tringa solitaria, Wiltshire, September 1966 (page 318): white eye-ring, barred tail edges, dark rump {photo: R. E. Emmett) rare birds in great BRITAIN I966 Lesser Grey Shrike (J^anius minor) Shetland ; Fair Isle trapped, 29th May (R. H. Dennis, J. N. Dymond A Teffelin^ • Yorkshire: Spurn, r^rh August (B. Bauson, P. Edwards. B. R. Spence „ Since i960 this south and east European and south-west Asian Species has been recorded every year exceot 10(12 Th^=> n k evenly balanced between spring and autumn until 1966. Woodchat Shrike (I^anius senator) Walton. a- Evans, Miss F. Z. a Hfr::'; 4t» » TthMa^Rev. J. E. Beclrerlegge, Devon; Lundy, immature, 22nd August (C. S. Waller). Sir“ mir''””"''’- M- D- Ctosby, Mrs. E. D. Septenrher B. Zobhc, south’ ”“”ber of records since 1963 of this west and south European summer-visitor, which also breeds in north-west 1 finer ri"'^ south-west Asia. It is a species which has shown marked Ibetweentwoandai ’’ ’ Red-eyed Vireo {Vireo olivaceus) ‘E'S:ffit«5.“- '>“> October (K. AIIsopp, P. J. Gr^k The only previous records of this North American species which Canada, south to Texas and Florida^ wintering in (r^ Rock Lighthouse W ^ i ^ days from 4th October 1962 All have thus been in the first week of October. The species has also been recorded in Iceland. P l_ ^ . Parula Warbler (Parula americand) ^^ciny: Tresco, i6th and 17th October (R. H. Charlwood, D. B. Hunt, B. King TWs is the first British and Irish record of this North American ood warbler, which is a summer-visitor to the eastern United States ■nd eastern Canada as far north as the Gulf of St. Lawrence migratimr irevL^'^F'"*'^'' America and the West Indies.’ The onlf )re\ious European records are from Iceland. 329 BRITISH BIRDS Rose-coloured Starling (Sturnus roseus) Shetland: Gonfirth Voe, 24th June to 7th July (D. Coutts, J. Walterson). This south-east European and south-west Asian species is not uncommonly kept in captivity and neither the locality nor the date excludes the possibility of the above bird’s being an escape. Baltimore Oriole {Icterus galbula) Cornwall: Porthgwarra, adult ?, 15th October (N. R. and N. J. Phillips). This is the fourth record of this North American species, which belongs to a different family from the Old World orioles. All have been since 1958 and all in the first half of October. As numbers are now imported as cage-birds, the possibility of escape cannot be ruled out, but the fact that the arrival of this one coincided with that of the Parula Warbler on Tresco suggests that it is likely to have been a wild bird, even though both may have been ship-assisted. Rose-breasted Grosbeak {Pheucticus ludovicianus) Scilly: St. Agnes, $, trapped, 6th to iith October (J. R. H. Clements, P. J. Grant, N. J. Westwood et alt). The only previous records of this North American species are two Irish ones of an adult male at Shane s Castle, Co. Antrim, on 24th November 1957 and a first-winter male at Cape Clear, Co. Cork, on 7th and 8th October 1962. The possibility of escape cannot be excluded as a number have been imported as cage-birds in recent years, but the fact that the present occurrence coincided with the Red-eyed Vireo on St. Agnes suggests a common wild origin. Assisted passage is, of course, quite likely in the cases of this and the other three American passerines above. Serin {Serinus serinus) Cornwall: Porthleven, one, 2nd November; three, 3rd November (N. R. Phillips). Lelant, three, 12th and 21st November, two at least staying into 1967 (J. B. and Mrs. S. Bottomley, E. Griffiths et alt). Devon: Slapton Ley, two, i8th and 20th December (L. I. Hamilton, F. R. Smith). Dorset: Durlston Head, 17th December (M. L. Doble, P. Roscoe). Hampshire: Hengistbury Head, two, 15th October (C. I. Husband). Kent: Dungeness, 8th October (T. Inskipp). Sussex : Beachy Head, 20th November (R. H. Charlwood, P. Clement, B. E. Cooper). Yorkshire: Spurn, 22nd October (M. Densley, Dr. R. J. H. Raines). This is an exceptional series of records, more than in any previous year; in fact, the number of individuals is two-thirds as many as in the eight years 1958-65 combined. The last decade has seen a steady increase in the occurrences here of this small finch from contmcnta Europe, north-west Africa and Asia Minor. The species spreading north in Europe in the last 100 years and reached the 330 rare birds in great BRITAIN I966 Channel coast of France in the early 1950’s. Observations in Britain in recent years have been most frequent in April and May and have almost all concerned single birds, one or two of which have made protracted stays. It is interesting, therefore, that only one of the records above was outside the last three months of 1966, while in two localities Serins remained well into 1967. With the history of the spread in mind it seems possible that this oddly dated influx was indicative of post-breeding dispersal to new areas. Scarlet Rosefinch or Grosbeak (Carpodacus erjthr 'inus) Devon: Lundy, trapped, 7th September (C. S. Waller). Fife: Isle of May trapped, 25th to 27th August (Dr. W. J. Eggeling)- 20th September, trapped (R. A. Jeffrey). 29m Kent; Dungeness, and May (R. J. Burgess, V. Hancock, R. E. Scott tt al.). Shetland: FaT Isle, 22nd to 26th May (R. H. Dennis, M. J. McVail et al\ 26th August to 1st September; one, trapped, i8th to 27th September; two new on« 28th September, one, 29th September; two, 30th September; one, 3rd October; [hree, 4th October; two (one trapped), 5th and 6th October; one, 7th and 8th October- one trapped, 22nd and 23rd October (R. H. Dennis, J. N. Dymond el al) Foula’ 23rd August to 4th September (R. D. Oades, A. R. Mainwood el al.). Whalsay c?’ 15 th September (J. H. Simpson). uaisaj, c^, trapped, 30th September (G. Follows, M. E. Greenhaigh, B. R. Rosefinches of several species are imported in some numbers and sold as cage-birds*, but it is considered likely that most, if not all, of the above records concerned genuine vagrants from eastern Europe". (This • species breeds from Finland, Germany and Poland through Russia and Asia Minor across much of Asia.) The two males are noteworthy as the rosy feathering is not assumed until the second year and adult males in this plumage are seldom seen in Britain. Juvenile and first- 'year males are not distinguishable from females, and so all the other records above may be said to refer to females or immature males. Two-barred Crossbill (l^xia leucopterd) (Cheshire: Bebmgton, Wirral, dead 22nd October (I. G. R Tollev Dr A ^Scott, R. Wagstaffe). ^ D. Dorset: Arne, 7th July (J. Crebs, D. AEIne, B. P. Pickess el al.). Hertfordshire: Bramfield Forest, i8th September (T. James, B. L. Sage). September to 25th November (Mrs. B. F. Barratt, E. S. Clare, R. A. Richardson el al.). September to 20th October p. Carr, Dr. S. G. Kent ti. W. Rudd). ’ *An escaped female or first-year male rosefinch of unknown :rapped on Fair Isle during 2yth-3oth April. species was seen and 331 BRITISH BIRDS These are the first records of this north Eurasian (and also North American) finch since 1963 and only four were recorded between 1958 and that year. Five records in one year is thus quite exceptional in recent times, although many more were recorded in some years in the 19th century. The species is less strikingly eruptive than the Crossbill, but it is nomadic and in some autumns considerable numbers appear in southern Scandinavia. Rufous-sided Towhee (Pipilo erjthrophthalmus) Devon: Lundy, trapped, 7th June (Miss J. Mundy, J. Ogilvie, C. S. Waller et al.). This is the first British record of this North American finch, which breeds from southern Canada to Central America and winters in the southern parts of its range. Slate-coloured Junco {Junco hjemalis) [Shetland: Foula, ist May (Mrs. D. M. Gear).] As this North American species is imported in captivity and some have escaped in the last year or two, this record must remain suspect. There is an Irish record of 30th May 1905 from Loop Head, Co. Clare, but no others are accepted. White-throated Sparrow {Zonotrichia alhicollis) [Shetland; Fair Isle, 13th May (G. Barnes, R. H. and Mrs. M. T. Dennis).] The three previous British records of this common North American bird have all been in May or June (see discussion by Dr. I. C. T. Nisbet in Brit. Birds, 56: 204-217), but, as the species is now not infrequent in captivity, the possibility of escape cannot be excluded. Black-headed Bunting ( Emberi^a nielanocephald) [Caernarvonshire: Bardsey Island, 27th May (G. H. Evans).] [Nottinghamshire; Blyth, 17th to 25th May (T. M. Clegg, R. Pearson, R. G. Tanner et «/.).] [Shetland: Foula, 25th to 27th June (A. R. Mainwood).] This summer-visitor to south-east Europe and Asia Minor is not uncommonly kept in captivity and the possibility of escape cannot be excluded. Yellow-breasted Bunting ( Eniheris^a aureola) Fife: Isle of May, $ or immature, trapped, 28th August (D. W. Oliver, G. Paton, H. Smith et al.). Shetland: Foula, ?, 12th and 13th September (R. D. Oades). One or two of these summer-visitors to north-east Europe and northern Asia have been recorded almost every year since 1958 and British records now total 20. There have also been two Irish records, in 1959 and 1961. rare birds in great BRITAIN 1966 Rustic Bunting ( Emherii^a rustica) Essex: Dengie Coast, i8th September (J. Fitzpatrick). Island, $ and $, 1st September (M. F. M. Meiklejohn, R* Mtinwood/"’ The nine years 1958-66 have produced 29 British records (and one Irish one) of this north-east European and Siberian species, mostly in September and October, Little Bunting ( Ewhen\a pusilld) Shetland: Fair Isle, 13th October (J. A. Stout). This single record compares with four of this north-east European and Siberian bunting in 1965 and over 40 since 1958. Spanish Sparrow (Passer hispaniolensis') Devon: Lundy, 9th June (F. W. Gade, J. Ogilvie, C. S. Waller et al.). This is the first British record of this Mediterranean and south-west Asian species. Some populations are partially migratory and an extra- I iimital vagrant is therefore not totally unexpected. Supplementary 1^64 records Pallas s Sandgrouse (Sjrrhaptes paradoxus') !meeler)°'^”'"''^' December (D. L. Davenport, L. J. Davenport, C. E. This record of a formerly irruptive species from south-east Russia .and west central Asia was at first rejected as improbable since flight views only were obtained and no other recent European records were known. The observers concerned subsequently discovered a record of one which stayed near Amsterdam, Netherlands, from 26th October to :25th December 1964 (Emosa, 39: 65). The coincidence of dates is so •remarkable that it seems probable that the same bird was involved in both observations and the British record is now considered acceptable. Olive-backed Pipit (Anthus hodgsoni) 'SheUand: Fair Isle, trapped, 17th October (P. Adams, G. J. Barnes, R. H. Dennis A full account of this Asiatic and north-east Russian species new to I Britain and Ireland has already been published (Br/V. Birds, 60: 161-166) -overing the above record and also the 1965 one (page 335). Woodchat Shrike (Eanius senator) Orkney: North Ronaldsay, 8th May (IC. G. Walker). 333 BRITISH BIRDS Supplementary 196J records and corrections Cory’s Shearwater {Procellaria diomeded) Cornwall: between Isles of Scilly and Land’s End, 21st August (E. A. Machell). Hampshire: St. Catherine’s Point, Isle of Wight, 23rd and 26th April (D. B. Wooldridge). Yorkshire: Spurn, loth July (G. R. Edwards). Green- winged Teal (Anas crecca caroUnensis') (Correction): the dates of the one at Cley, Norfolk (Br/V. 'Birds, 59: 285), were 17th to 19th April, not loth May, and the bird was also seen by A. Lowe. American Wigeon (Anas americand) Inverness-shire: Moray Firth, $, 30th December 1965 to nth February 1969 (R. Clark, R. H. Dennis, Wing-Commander R. J. Fursman et at.) (see also page 314). Gyr Falcon (Falco rusticolus) (Correction): the one in Shetland {Brit. Birds, 59: 287) was recorded at Kergord, Mainland, not on Fair Isle. Long-billed or Short-billed Dowitcher (Fimnodromus scolopaceus or griseus) Yorkshire: Patrington Haven, 15th and 19th May (H. O. Bunce). Least Sandpiper (Calidris mlnutilld) Lanarkshire: Gadder, nth to 14th September (J. M. S. Arnott, W. M. M. Eddie, D. J. Norden). Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus) Northamptonshire: Byheld Reservoir, 22nd and 23rd May (A. Bradshaw, A. Nash). Gull-billed Tern (Gelochelidon niloticd) Hampshire: Farlington Marshes, two, ist May (D. F. Billett, M. Bryant, G. H. Rees). Black-billed Cuckoo (Coccjt^us erythrophthalmus) Cornwall: Gweek, dying, 30th October, sent to British Museum (Natural History) for identification (J. E. Norman). This is the first record of this North American species since 1953 and only the fifth in all. Snowy Owl (Njs/ea scandiacd) (Correction): the first date of the male in Abcrdecnshire/Banffshire/Inverncss-shirc {Brit. Birds, 59; 291) was 25th April, not 3rd June. Aberdeenshire: Cabrach area, 28th October 1965 to nth January 1966 (S. Roberts) (see also page 322). Alpine Swift (Apits melhd) Hertfordshire: St. Albans, 30th September (P- Derry, K. 1 . B. llodd). 334 RARE BIRDS IN GREAT BRITAIN I966 Aquatic Warbler {Acrocephalus paludicold) Norfolk: Holme, trapped, 5th September (F. Britton, P. R. Clarke, J. Sheldrake et al.). Greenish (Correction): the one on St. at least 15th January 1965. Warbler (Phjlloscopus trochiloides) Agnes, Isles of Scilly {Brit. Birds, 58: 366), stayed until Arctic Warbler {Phjlloscopus borealis) Northumberland: Hauxley, 15th August (B. Little). Tawny Pipit {Anthus canipestris) Norfolk: Holme, 30th September to 3rd October (P. R. Clarke, G. M. S. Easy etal). Olive-backed Pipit {Anthus hodgsoni) Shetland: Fair Isle, trapped, 29th September (R. H. Dennis, A. Heath, L. Tucker et al.) (see also page 333). Red-throated Pipit {Anthus cervinus) SciUy: St. Agnes, trapped, 6th and 7th May (H. A. and Mrs. G. L. Craw). Woodchat Shrike {Panins senator) Norfolk: Holme, 4th October (P, R. and Mrs. M. R. Clarke, R. A. Richardson et at.). (Correction): the one on Tresco, Isles of Scilly {Brit. Birds, 59: 297), was also seen on 4th June. (Correction): the first date for the one at Lerwick, Shetland {Brit. Birds, sg: 297) was 3rd October, not 2nd. Arctic Redpoll {Acanthis hornentanni) Norfolk: Wells, a redpoll showing the characters of this species, 29th September to 3rd October (R. P. Bagnall-Oakeley). Northumberland: Bamburgh, a redpoll showing the characters of this loth to i6th October (M. Bell, M. Marquiss). species. Serin {Sertnus serinus) Somerset; Brean Down, 8th May (T. R. J. Williams). Black-headed Bunting ( Etnberlt^a melanocephala) (Correction): the dates of the one on Whalsay, Shetland {Brit. Birds, 59: 298) were ist to 5th June, not ist to 5th May. Little Bunting {Ewber/\a pusilla) Middlesex : Perry Oaks sewage farm, 2nd to 19th May (D. M. Putman, M. J. Rogers). OTHER 1965 CORRECTIONS Corf s Shearwater. Under Yorkshire, for D. J. Standing read D. J. Standring. B^ddy Shelduck. Under Yorkshire, for D. J. Standing read D. J. Standring. Woodchat Shrike. Under Dorset, for D. C. Moule, read D. C. Mole. Bock Bunting. Under Yorkshire, for R. G. Preston read J. R. Preston. 335 BRITISH BIRDS Appendix i. List of 1966 records not accepted This list contains all the 1966 records which were not accepted after circulation to the Committee. It does not include (a) records with- drawn by the observer(s), without circulation, after discussion with the Hon. Secretary; (b) records which, even if circulated, were not attri- buted by the observer(s) to any definite species; or (c) a few records which were mentioned in ‘Recent reports’, but of which full details were unobtainable. Birds considered to be escapes are also omitted. In the vast majority of instances the record was not accepted because we were not quite convinced, on the evidence before us, that the identification was correct; in only a very few cases were we satisfied that a mistake was made. Albatross sp. Madeiran Petrel Cory’s Shearwater Magnificent Frigate-bird Purple Heron Little Bittern American Wigeon Ferruginous Duck Surf Scoter King Eider Long-legged Buzzard Pallid Harrier Red-tailed Hawk Gyr Falcon Red-footed Falcon Crane Sora Rail Little Crake Little Bustard Whitburn, Co. Durham, 31st August Robin Hood’s Bay, Yorkshire, 15th September Herne Bay, Kent, 25th October Dungeness, Kent, spring records other than 15th May Filey Brigg, Yorkshire, 15th October Campsie Fells, Stirlingshire, 24th or 25th February Downderry, Cornwall, 24th April Auchinleck Loch, Kirkcudbrightshire, 30th May Upton Warren, Worcestershire, about 13th to 28th June Talybont Reservoir, Breconshire, 8th October Southerness, Kirkcudbrightshire, $ and probably immature 1st and 2nd January River Medway, Kent, gth January Playford Heath, Ipswich, Suffolk, August to November Stodmarsh, Kent, 30th October Inverness-shire, 4th to 7th December Dawlish Warren, Devon, 13th November Frampton-on-Severn, Gloucestershire, gth October Conway Mountains, Caernarvonshire, 12th November Stogursey, Bridgwater, Somerset, i8th May Stodmarsh, Kent, gth May Dungeness, Kent, 21st August Attenborough, Nottinghamshire, i6th April Portland Bill, Dorset, 24th October Coombe Hill Canal, Gloucestershire, loth December Cambridgeshire, May St. Agnes, Isles of Scilly, 25th September Stanton-by-Bridge, Derbyshire, 4th June Beningborough, Yorkshire, two, 13th September 336 Great Snipe rare birds in great BRITAIN 1966 Lesser Yellowlegs Great Knot Baird’s Sandpiper Semipalmated Sandpiper Broad-billed Sandpiper Rodbourne sewage farm, Wiltshire, 24th August The Gann, Dale, Pembrokeshire, 20th November Hayle estuary, Cornwall, 29th August Pitsford Reservoir, Northamptonshire, 15th September Bardney, Lincolnshire, 25th September Sandwich Bay, Kent, 5th August Foula, Shetland, 14th to 19th September Frampton-on-Severn, Gloucestershire, 3rd to 6th December Wilson’s Phalaropc Hayle estuary, Cornwall, 4th August Great Black-headed Gull Anderby, Lincolnshire, 25th September Bonaparte’s Gull Dungencss, Kent, 4th May Minsmere, Suffolk, 14th May Hilbre Island, Cheshire, i8th September Barrow Gurney Reservoir, Somerset, i8th December \X hite-winged Black fern Seaton Sluice, Northumberland, 5th September Wisbech sewage farm, Lincolnshire/Norfolk, 12th September Whiskered Tern ' Gull-billed Tern i Caspian Tern ^ Snowy Owl Alpine Swift 'White-winged Lark At sea between Douglas, Isle of Man, and Liverpool, 2oth August St. Iv^es, Cornwall, six, iith September Oakham Ness, Kent, 28th September Selsey Bill, Sussex, i6th April Sandwich Bay, Kent, 17th and i8th April Dungeness, Kent, ist May Selsey Bill, Sussex, 8th September Gibraltar Point, Lincolnshire, loth September Spurn, Yorkshire, 13th September Havergate Island, Suffolk, 17th May Chew Valley Lake, Somerset, 26th Februan,' Bembridge, Isle of Wight, i6th to 24th June Aylsham, Norfolk, ist July Winchelsea Beach, Sussex, 14th August Cholscy Common, Berkshire, 29th August Coatham Sands, Redcar, Yorkshire, 25th and 26th March ■ Red-rumped Swallow 1 Black Wheatear ' Great Reed Warbler \quatic Warbler Ramsey Island, Pembrokeshire, 14th May Farhngton Marshes, Portsmouth, Hampshire, 30th October Broughton, Hampshire, 3rd April Foula, Shetland, 8th October Stour Valley, Kent, 26th and 27th April \X embur\’, Devon, 20th August Marazion Marsh, Cornwall, i8th September Stodmarsh, Kent, 22nd October 337 BRITISH BIRDS Olivaceous Warbler Singleton Forest, Sussex, 2nd June Beachy Head, Sussex, 3rd September Orphean Warbler Foula, Shetland, 3rd June Bonelli’s Warbler St. Mary’s Island, Whitley Bay, Northumberland, loth October Richard’s Pipit Morte Point, Devon, i6th April Church Norton, Sussex, 8th September Queen Mary Reservoir, Middlesex, 26th September River Usk, Llanwenarth, Monmouthshire, 12th October Braunton Burrows, Devon, 26th December Tawny Pipit Thatcham sewage farm, Newbury, Berkshire, 30th March Morte Point, Devon, 13th April Spurn, Yorkshire, 28th August King George VI Reservoir, Middlesex, nth September Red-throated Pipit Lambert Hill Pond, Lincohishire, 22nd May Dungeness, Kent, 9th September Lesser Grey Shrike Goss Moor, Cornwall, 23rd April Barns Ness, East Lothian, 14th October Woodchat Shrike Spurn, Yorkshire, ist September Cley, Norfolk, 14th October Arctic Redpoll Citril Finch Rothbury, Northumberland, 30th October London Airport, Heathrow, Middlesex, 22nd January Serin Selsey Bill, Sussex, 15th May Pine Grosbeak Alfriston, Sussex, two, 29th November Two-barred Crossbill Maidstone, Kent, i8th April Porlock, Somerset, 4th December White-crowned Sparrow Little Bunting Frocester, Stonehouse, Gloucestershire, 2nd August St. Mary’s Island, Whitley Bay, Northumberland, loth to i2th and 17th October Appendix 2. Supplementary list of 1965 records not accepted Wilson’s Petrel Hengistbury Head, Hampshire, 7th November Cory’s Shearwater Great Snipe Bigger Bank, Walney, Lancashire, 5 th August Little Cressingham, Norfolk, 23rd October to 27th November Lesser Yellowlegs St. Breward Parish, Cornwall, three, 15th July; and two, 4th August Spotted Sandpiper River Kelvin, Glasgow, Lanarkshire or Dunbartonshire, 2 1 St to 24th November Aquatic Warbler Little Bunting Portland, Dorset, 31st August Staines, Middlesex, 24th May 338 Population changes of some common birds in gardens By D. ir. British Trust for Ornithology The Common Birds Census, organised by the British Trust for ■ Ornithology, now produces annual figures for the population levels of I most of the common species of land birds in Britain. Most of the census areas consist of farmland, with fewer areas of woodland and other habitats ; and so far, only the farmland figures have been used to • give the annual indices of population level (Williamson and Homes 11964, Taylor 1965). Emphasis was purposely placed on farmland when tthe Census began, since it is on farmland that changes in land use, com- bined with the danger from toxic chemicals, have the greatest potential ffor drastically altering the populations of birds and other animals. But lit is of more than incidental interest to know whether year-to-year cchanges on farmland are matched by similar changes in other habitats, iln a country like Britain, consisting of a complex mosaic of different l-habitats, total changes in bird numbers must be very much influenced by the different mortality rates obtaining in the different habitats, and by the arnount of movement of individuals between habitats. To ap- ;^oach this problem, one needs first to know how numbers fluctuate in tthe different major habitats. To investigate the extent of annual population changes in gardens, . .or comparison with the Common Birds Census data for farmland, a Mmall B.T.O. enquiry was therefore started in 1964. The five species i;hosen were Mistle Thrush Turdus viscivoms, Song Thrush T. phtlo- "nelos, Blackbird T. merula, Robin 'Erlthacus rubecula and Dunnock Prunella modnlaris. The information required of each obsen^er was ■imply the number of pairs of each of these species that bred, or I ittempted to breed, in their garden in each year (in the case of some :^ery small gardens, a group of gardens was taken as the unit.) Participa- lon was restricted to obsen^ers (most of them also contributors to the . Trust’s nest record scheme) who keep their gardens under such close •bservation that they can give the number of breeding pairs of these pecies with a high degree of accuracy. Altogether, 91 observ^ers have •rovided figures for at least two consecutive years in the period 1962-66, •he number of records being rather small for the first two years. The t ardens were nearly all between one-third of an acre and two acres. Although this census included gardens from northern Scotland (a ' 2w only) to southern England (the majority), a regional breakdown 339 BRITISH BIRDS '62 63 '64 '65 '66 '62 63 ’64 65 '66 40l ROBIN DUNNOCK Fig. I. Population levels from 1962 to 1966 of four common species — Song Thrush Turdus philomelos , Blackbird T. mertda, Robin Erilbacus ruhectda and Dunnock Prunella modtdaris — as measured by the garden census (solid lines) and the Common Birds Census on farmland (broken lines); in the case of the Blackbird onl)', the population level has also been calculated from ringing data (dotted line). In each case the level has been taken as 100 in 1966 shows no evidence for different annual changes in different parts of the country. No individual gardens show annual changes significantly at variance with the general annual changes, but this would hardly be expected since the totals for the individual areas are so small. Con- sequently the figures for all the areas have been combined. The population levels for the years 1962-66, based on these combined totals, are shown by the solid line in fig. i, in which 1966 has been given the arbitrary level of 100. The broken line in this figure shows the changes in population level on farmland over the same years, as measured by the Common Birds Census. The Mistle Thrush is omitted, as too few were counted in gardens in the first three years to have any validity. The first two years shown in fig. i were separated by the exceptionally severe winter of 1962/63. The only one of the four species which was really hard hit by this winter, however, was the Song Thrush, which showed a reduction of 58% in farmland. In gardens, if one may judge from such a small sample, it seems to have declined much less (from 18 to 14 pairs, in nine areas). The other species showed at most fairly slight decreases in both habitats, and in gardens Blackbird numbers did not change (36 pairs in both years). Both Song Thrush and Blackbird 340 POPULATION CHANGES OF GARDEN BIRDS have increased since 1963 in both habitats, which suggests that their numbers were lower than usual in 1963, even though, in the case of the Blackbird, the preceding hard winter may not have been the chief cause (the previous winter of 1961/62 was also fairly severe and may have had some effect). Robin and Dunnock numbers have apparently stayed level in gardens, but have increased since 1963 in farmland. In all four species, the amplitude of the fluctuations has been generally less in gardens than in farmland. There are few other data for recent years with which these results .can be compared. Simms(i965) recorded a drop of 5 5 % in the Blackbird population at Dollis Hill in north London between 1962 and 1963, following a mass exodus during the most severe weather in January 1963; over a period of eleven years, from 1951 to 1962, the population had remained extraordinarily stable. But in south London suburban areas Blackbird numbers were not noticeably affected by the hard winter (D. Goodwin in ////.). The Dollis Hill situation therefore seems to have been atypical for some reason. For the Blackbird, in which first-year birds can be distinguished from ■older birds, theoretical population levels can be calculated from ringing (data (Snow 1966). The calculated annual mortality between one year •;and the next indicates to what extent the adult population was reduced and the proportion of first-year to older birds at the beginning of the breeding season indicates the recruitment of young birds into the breeding population. Population levels calculated in this way are shown iby the dotted line in fig. i. It will be seen that the calculated changes are intermediate between the changes shown by the two censuses, in f armland and in gardens, but closer to the garden figures. This is to be I’xpected, because the samples of Blackbirds that are ringed and re- ( .overed almost certainly tend to include proportionately more of the suburban than of the rural fraction of the population. It suggests that he census results are realistic. The garden census does not warrant fuller treatment at this stage. It 'S intended to maintain it for another three seasons at least, and any )bserver who is in a position to obtain accurate figures for a garden i:.rea of one-third of an acre or more is invited to participate. My thanks I'.re due to all those whose records have made this short report possible. REFERENCES iMM^ £ (196 5) .• ‘Effects of the cold weather of 1962/63 on the Blackbird population of Dolhs Hill, London’. Br/V. hirds, 58: 33-43. NOW, D. \X". (1966): ‘Population dynamics of the Blackbird’. Nature, 21 1- 1221- 1253. • 5 AYLOR, S. M. (1965); ‘The Common Birds Census— some statistical aspects’. Bird 12: 268-286. ^ J'lLLiAMSON, K., and Homes, R. C. (1964): ‘Methods and preliminary results of the common birds census, 1962-63’. Bird Study, \i: 240-256. 341 Notes Hirundines taking winged insects from the surface of the sea. — With reference to another note of mine on Swallows Hirundo rustica taking winged insects from the surface of the sea off Tresco, Isles of Scilly, in September 1958 (Brit. Birds, 53: 200), I should like to record similar behaviour on a much greater scale which I observed from the high cliffs at Clevedon, Somerset, on 29th August 1966. The weather was hot and sultry and at least a hundred Swallows, about 65 House Martins Delichon urbica and one Sand Martin Kiparia riparia were feeding on huge numbers of winged insects which an off-shore south-easterly breeze had forced on to the calm surface of the Bristol Channel. For nearly three-quarters of an hour until the wind veered and made the water choppy, the hirundines were picking off the stranded insects as far as half a mile out to sea. The Swallows were adept at this, but the martins hovered just above the surface and had more difficulty in ob- taining the insects. I collected ten of the insects and these were identified by L. Parmenter as one male and nine female Dilophus febrilis (Bibionidae, Diptera). Mr. Parmenter also drew my attention to some other published records of this two-winged fly being taken by aerial feeders ; balls of food collec- ted by Swifts Apus apus nesting in the Oxford University Museum tower included 209 specimens (/. Soc. Brit. Ent., 5; 27-33; J. Anini. Ecol., vol. 24) and this species regularly headed the list of insects noted by J. F. Thomas in the food of nestling Swallows in Carmarthenshire (Brit. Birds, 27; 231-232; 28: 171-172; 29; 244-245; 30: 293-294; 31; 234-235; 32: 233-236; and 33: 33 5"35^)" ^ small, black fly about 4 mm. long, with a thin body. Bernard King Great Grey Shrike catching Linnet in flight. — Dr. Horst Mester s interesting paper on the winter feeding habits of the Great Grey Shrike Eanitis excubitor (Brit. Birds, 5 8 : 375-383) and the subsequent note by S. Greenwood on this species capturing a House Martin Delichon urbica in flight (BnV. Birds, 60: 92) prompt me to record the following obser- vation. On 15th April 1967, at Walberswick, Suffolk, flocks of Linnets Acanthis cannabina were travelling north along the shore with low and direct flight. As often happens at this time of year, one party of about 20 was coasting southwards against the main stream. As the latter flew towards me I noticed that a larger bird was following them at approxi- mately the same height. This proved to be a Great Grey Shrike which overhauled the Linnets as they passed me and simply grabbed one of them with its feet. The other Linnets in the flock paid no attention and 342 NOTES went on their way. The shrike descended to the ground with its prey and then, still carrying it in its feet, flew back north in several stages with rests in between, to a hawthorn half a mile away which I knew to be Its regular perch. The facility with which the shrike caught its prey surprised me and I formed the impression that it was not the first time that it had used this method. For the shrike on its coastal bush the migrating flocks of Linnets must have provided an easy and abundant source of food. G. J. JOBSON Red-headed Bunting breeding in Suffolk.— A male Red-headed Bunting Emhent^a brmiceps sang on East Hill, Walberswick, Suffolk, for several weeks in the summer of 1966. It was seen and heard by many people apart from myself, including G. L. Clarke, G. Dunnett G. J. Jobson and J. G. Rolfe of the Dingle Bird Club, Miss E. M.’prime and Miss L. Riches of the Ipswich Natural Flistory Society, and Richard Wilson. It was generally assumed to have escaped from cap- 1 tivity, though It bore no ring, and apparently nobody considered the 1 possibility of breeding. On 4th July, however, a young observer, Clive Naunton, watched it singing and displaying to a second bird which he took to be a female Yellowhammer E. citrinella. He saw both birds on