BMTISHfilRDS
With which was Incorporated in January, 1917, “ The Zoologist.”
AN ILLUSTRATED MAGAZINE DEVOTED
CHIEFLY TO THE BIRDS ON THE BRITISH LIST
EDITED BY
H. F. WITHERBY m.b.e. F.z.s. m.b.o.u. h.f.a.o.u.
ASSISTED BY
Rev. F. C. R. JOURDAIN M.A. M.B.O.U. H.F.A.O.U. H.M.G.O.S.
AND
NORMAN F. TICEHURST o.b.e. m.a. f.r.c.s. m.b.o.u.
Volume XXXI
JUNE 1937— MAY 1938
H. F. & G. WITHERBY Ltd.
326 HIGH HOLBORN LONDON
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGE
Plate i. Rock-Pipit at entrance to nest {Photo-
graphed by H. N. Southern) ... ... ... i
Red-throated Diver in North East Land : —
Plate 2. Upper — Normal brooding position ... ... 66
Lower— Brooding position when alarmed
(. Photographed by D. B. Keith) ... ... 66
Fig. i. “ The female stretched out flat on
the nest and began the mewing call” 71
Fig. 2. “ The bird lay on the nest and kept
absolutely still ” ... ... ... 78
Fig. 3. Female turning eggs. Male swimming 81
Kittiwakes nesting in Warehouse — Dunbar ... 91
Corsican Citril Finch : —
Plate 3. Two typical haunts of the Corsican Citril
Finch {Photographed by John Armitage) ... 98
Plate 4. Left — Hen Citril Finch with fledged young ... 100
Right — Cock Citril Finch on tree-heath
(. Photographed by John Armitage) ... ... 100
Female Grey-headed Wagtail, Tornea Lappmark,
Sweden ( Photographed by H. N. Southern) 101
■Smew (Courtship and Mating of) : —
Fig. 1. Drake “ pouting ” ... ... ... 107
Fig. 2. Drake rearing up ... ... ... 107
Fig. 3. Drake completing ‘‘false drink”
motion ... ... ... ... ... 108
Fig. 4. Duck bobbing ... ... ... 109
Fig. 5. Duck soliciting ... ... ... no
' Sedge-Warbler, Bird at Nest 121
Little Owl Inquiry, 1936-37 : —
Plate 5. Little Owl {Photographed by W. A. Ramsay) 248
Plate 6. Typical pellets of the Little Owl {Photo-
graphed by J. R. Marriott) ... ... ... 248
Plate 7. Pellets of some Birds of Prey {Photographed
by W. Tams) ... ... ... 248
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGE
Plate 8. Remains of Rodents from Little Owl food
material ( Photographed by J. R. Marriott) ... 248
Plate 9. Upper — -Result of experiment, showing the
down, bill and bones of a chick, taken
from a pellet ... ... ... ... 248
Lower — Sample taken from 2,000 eggs of
daddy-longlegs (Tipula) contained
in .6 gram of pellet material
( Photographed by J. R. Marriott) ... 248
Plate 10. Upper — Earwig pincers from a pellet con-
taining remains of 130 earwigs ... 248
Lower — Contents of a Little Owl's Larder ... 248
Gannetries of Sule Stack and Sula Sgeir : —
Plate 11. Sron na Lice or Solan's Rock, Sula Sgeir,
August 5th, 1937 ( Photographed by Malcolm
Stewart) ... ... ... ... 282
Upper — Sule Stack (east side), July 31st,
1937 287
Lower — Sule Stack (from the north-west),
July 31st, 1937 ( Photographed by
J. V. Bullard) 287
Map of Sula Sgeir ... ... ... ... 290
Plate 12. Temminck’s Stint Incubating [Photographed
by H. N. Southern) ... ... ... ... 314
Plate 13. Upper — Cock Black Redstart with food
FOR YOUNG 338
Lower — Hen Black Redstart perched
above nest ( Photographed, by R. N. Ticehurst) 338
Wild Whooper Swans at Beaulieu, Hants [Photo-
graphed by J. A. Macdonald) ... ... 382
BRITISH
#BIRDS
ANEUsrp^rro mo^zirff:
DDWItDOtlEnyTOTHEBIRDS
>^f?NTtlEBra!Sn HST^’'
“ J -
MONTHLY ls9dYE ARLY20s.
326HIGHHOLBOFMI2NDON-
HF&GWHEJWLTD
JUNE 1,
1937.
Vol. XXXI.
No. 1.
NEW BOOKS by F. B. KIRKMAN
(part Editor, the British Bird Book)
BIRD
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the black-headed gull. There are important chapters on
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bird psychology . . . excellent photographs.” — Sunday
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With which was Incorporated in January, 1917, " The Zoologist."
EDITED BY
H. F. WITHERBY, M.B.E., F.Z.S.,M.B.O.U.,H.F.A.O.U.
ASSISTED BY
Rev. F. C. R. Jourdain, m.a., m.b.o.u., h.f.a.o.u., f.z.s., and
Norman F. Ticehurst, o.b.e., m.a., f.r.c.s., m.b.o.u.
Contents of Number 1, Vol. XXXI., June i, 1937.
PAGE
'Some Notes on the Late Breeding Behaviour of the Rock- Pipit.
By H. N. Southern ... ... ... ... ... ... 2
The Future of the " British Birds ” Ringing Scheme : Transfer
to the British Trust for Ornithology. ... ... ... ... 5
Additions and Alterations to the British List. By H. F.
Witherby ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 7
'■Movements of Ringed Birds from Abroad to the British Isles
and from the British Isles Abroad. Addenda V. By H. F.
Witherby and E. P. Leach ... ... ... ... ... 14
'Notes : —
Number of Eggs laid by the Jackdaw (Earl of Mansfield) ... 25
House-Sparrow feeding young Hedge-Sparrows (Mrs. M. D.
Brindley) ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 25
Mortality amongst Reed-Buntings and other Birds in March
Storm in Midlothian (W. Serle, Junr.) ... ... ... 25
Water-Pipits in Cheshire and Suffolk (H. G. Alexander) ... 26
Red-Crested Pochards in Lincolnshire and Westmorland
(E. L. Roberts and Miss S. Cropper) ... ... ... ... 27
Turnstone in Surrey (R. C. B. Ledlie) ... ... ... 28
Scarcity of Immature Lesser Black-backed Gulls on Spring
Migration across Pennines (C. Oakes) ... ... ... 28
Short Notes : —
Golden Oriole in Devonshire. Ruddy Sheld-Duck in
Dumbarton. Behaviour of Male Mallards with Broods.
Garganeys in Fifesliire, Kinross and Lanarkshire. Pintails
breeding in Angus and Sutherland. Shags Inland. Black-
tailed Godwits in Gloucestershire. Little Gull in Norfolk
in Spring...
Letters : —
Reflected Colour of Nightjar’s eyes (R. Dobson)
On the Behaviour of Male Mallards with Broods (W. Serle
Junr.)
The Influx of Grebes and Divers (H. G. Alexander) ...
29
31
31
3i
A
7
SOME NOTES ON THE LATE BREEDING
BEHAVIOUR OF THE ROCK-PIPIT.
BY
H. N. SOUTHERN.
(Plate i.)
In view of the small amount of information available upon
the late breeding habits, the break-up of territory, and the
summer flocking of the Rock-Pipit ( Anthus s. petrosus), the
following few notes taken while I was conducting a breeding
census of the birds on the Island of May in July, 1936, may be
worth putting on record.
When I arrived on the island on July 2nd, two things were
at once clear, that there were already large numbers of
fledged young on the wing, belonging to the first and possibly
to the second broods also, and that most of the adult birds
were still breeding. During the 24 days of my stay the
numbers of young birds increased greatly and many of the old
birds relinquished their territories, all joining up in roosting
flocks (see below). It was, however, possible to get a fairly
accurate idea of the breeding population, since the plumage of
the young birds was so distinct, and I assessed it at 24 pairs.
In a rocky cleft on the west side known as Colme’s Hole
I was able to concentrate observations on two pairs. At first
I thought only one pair occupied this quite small area (c. half
an acre) and I was puzzled by odd birds that kept turning up
with food being received with equanimity by the main two
adults, although fierce skirmishes took place whenever young
birds drifted in, an almost continual occurrence. Later it
turned out that there were two nests within ten yards of one
another, and the old birds seemed to have achieved a state
of tolerance to each other. This rather surprised me in view
of the extreme territorialism of birds nesting round the rest
of the coast, where in certain favourable stretches one could
walk along escorted the whole way by Rock-Pipits, emerging
from one territory to be met immediately by the birds in the
next.
Possibly this state of amity between the two pairs in Colme’s
Hole was due to the different state of development of the two
broods, for one was fairly near to fledging while the other had
only just hatched and did not require so much feeding as
brooding.
An interesting point which emerged from the census gener-
ally as well as from subsequent observation on flocking habits
was that the habitat selection of the Rock-Pipit here tended
vol. xxxi ] BEHAVIOUR OF ROCK-PIPIT.
3
to favour places that were sheltered from the wind. This
applied to feeding as well as to nesting places on rough days.
1 hus Colme’s Hole may have represented ideal ground, for
it was a deep cleft covered with steep grassy slopes and was
the only one of this type on the west side of the island. In
corroboration of this it was noticed that on days when there
was a stiff breeze blowing the four birds tended to keep to
the immediate neighbourhood of their nests, searching for
.food in the crannies of the rocks, but on calm sunny days
they spread up over the thrift-covered slope above the gulley.
•The young birds modified their habits according to the
weather in somewhat the same way, on fine days being found
all over the central part of the island, which was seldom visited
by the adults, while in a gale they retreated into the rock
gullies.
Only three occupied nests in all were found, but they all
agreed in showing a rather low fertility in the eggs : of the
two in Colme’s Hole one had one nearly-fledged young bird
(it is possible that the small number was due to accident and
not to infertility, of course), and the other contained two
small young and two infertile eggs. The third nest found by
accident some distance away had three week-old young and
one infertile egg.
This was the state they were in about the second week of
July, and it does seem probable that in such late broods there
is evidence of a certain degree of exhaustion of the reproduc-
tive organs. If it is objected that these infertile eggs were due
to exhaustion consequent upon nests being destroyed, I think
it is unlikely, since in the first place the only three nests
1 found were all similarly circumstanced, and in the second
place most of the adults were still holding territory and
feeding young about the same time, though certainly some
gave them up shortly after.
What interested me most of all, however, was to witness
how with the waning of the territorial instinct, that of flocking
for roosting grew. This was the only kind of flocking that
I saw admittedly, since during the day the birds would be
spread out round the coast in the usual way, perhaps wander-
ing rather more as the month progressed, so it might be
contended that it was convenience of roosting places and not
a real flocking instinct that was the cause. This is difficult
to settle out of hand.
July 1 2th was the first date upon which I noticed any
gathering in the evening, and that was only a small one of
three or four birds in a patch of thistles a little way over the
4
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
brink of the rocky slope that led down to the sea. For several
evenings afterwards during my stay I put these birds out again,
though their numbers did not increase upon any occasion by
more than two.
However, on the 18th I went down to look at the nest with
small young in Colme’s Hole towards dusk and I was astounded
to put out at least a dozen roosting Rock-Pipits from the same
fissure as the nest was situated in, which was about four
feet wide.
Further observation on subsequent nights confirmed the
fact that there was a roost here, and presumably the adults
belonging to the nest (to both nests in fact) had to give up
their efforts to expel intruders when night fell. I tried to see
something of what went on at this time, but everything was
so dim that it was hopeless to sort things out. It was just
possible to determine that the roost was not composed wholly
of young birds by flashing a torch upon the birds as they were
put out.
Perhaps the final and most significant fact in this series of
observations is that two days later the nest in the fissure was
found to have been deserted.
It certainly looks as if we have break-up of territory here
occurring from the pressure of external circumstances (viz.,
the fact that a flock of non-breeding birds covets the territory
as a roosting place), before the actual breeding rhythm has
died down. The nest concerned was a rather late one, and
perhaps it is only such as these that come up against the
increasing demands of the early broods. The hopeless chases
conducted by the two adult pairs in Colme’s Hole during the
daytime against trespassing youngsters showed the beginning
of the breakdown, for it was quite obvious that they were
not going to be able to keep territory any longer in the strict
sense. Evidently in some cases at least the response is upon
the “ all or nothing ” principle, for in the case of the nesting
bird the intrusion into the territory of the roosting party
was sufficient to cause desertion of the nest probably because
the breeding instinct had been overwhelmed by the next
chronological phase, that of post-breeding behaviour.
In fine it looks as if the late extension of the breeding
season in these Rock-Pipits was coming up against several
barriers, that of the exhaustion of the reproductive system
and that of the breakdown of territories from external causes
being amongst the chief ones.
(5)
THE FUTURE OF THE “BRITISH BIRDS”
RINGING SCHEME: TRANSFER TO THE BRITISH
TRUST FOR ORNITHOLOGY.
I he Editor of British Birds has for some time been anxious
to make new arrangements for the continuance of the bird-
ringing scheme which lie instituted in 1909 and has since
maintained with the co-operation of readers of the magazine.
The work steadily increases in amount, and other claims
prevent him from giving it as much personal attention as it
requires. It has also become necessary to find accommodation
for the records and work elsewhere than in the publishing
office of his firm.
In these circumstances, the Council of the British Trust for
Ornithology has very willingly agreed to accept responsibility
for the future conduct of the scheme. It is intended, however,
that British Birds should remain the medium of publication,
and it is greatly hoped that readers will continue their present
active participation in the work of marking birds.
Very happily, also, the Trustees of the British Museum
(Natural History) have agreed to provide accommodation for
the headquarters’ work in the Bird Room at South Kensing-
ton. They have also kindly permitted the address of the
Museum to be used for the purposes of the scheme, both on
rings and on correspondence. The grant of these important
facilities is highly appreciated.
To manage the scheme, a special Bird- Ringing Committee
has been appointed by the British Trust for Ornithology. This
body is constituted in the first instance as follows : — Dr. A.
Landsborough Thomson (Chairman) ; Mr. A. W. Boyd ;
Mr. A. B. Duncan ; Mr. P. A. D. Hollom ; Lord Ilchester
(representing the Museum Trustees) ; Lord Mansfield ; Mr.
H. F. Witherby (representing British Birds) ; and Miss E. P.
Leach (Hon. Secretary). The headquarters’ work will be in the
hands of Miss Leach, who has in recent years been increasingly
responsible for it in collaboration with Mr. Witherby : the
Committee is most fortunate in her willingness to continue this
onerous task, and the great experience which she already has
will be invaluable.
The scheme passes formally to its new control on 1st June,
1937. It does so with all necessary equipment for carrying on
the work. The running cost will be mainly covered, as hitherto,
by the subscriptions from markers at the rate of six shillings
for every hundred rings issued, but additional funds will be
required to provide adequate clerical assistance. All new rings
will be inscribed “ BRITISH MUSEUM NAT. HIST.
LONDON ”, but existing stocks with the inscription
6
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
“ WITHERBY HIGH HOLBORN LONDON ” will continue
to be used. Arrangements for forwarding from the old
address are, of course, being made, but so far as possible
all communications should henceforth be sent to : Bird-
Ringing Committee, British Museum (Natural History),
London, S.W .7. It is to be particularly noted that appli-
cations for rings must in future be made well in advance of
requirements.
A PERSONAL NOTE
By H. F. WITHERBY,
It is with the greatest satisfaction that I publish the above
statement.
The arrangements described for the future conduct of what
has been known for so long as the “ British Birds ” Marking
Scheme seem to me ideal, and insure its continuance under
the best conditions.
I have for some time been most anxious to see the scheme,
which I have conducted for so many years, put on a surer and
more lasting basis than can be afforded by any individual,
and now that this has been done so very satisfactorily, 1 can
only express my great gratitude to all concerned in bringing it
about. That all those interested in ringing and the results
achieved by ringing will endorse this expression of thanks
I feel assured.
It would have been impossible for me to have continued to
conduct the scheme in recent years had it not been for the
collaboration of Miss E. P. Leach, who has given such un-
remitting attention to the great mass of detail involved. That
Miss Leach has agreed to continue her work is, indeed, a great
satisfaction.
The constitution and personnel of the new Committee under
the leadership of so well known an authority on migration
and ringing problems as Dr. Landsborough Thomson, afford a
guarantee in themselves that the work will be conducted in
future with great knowledge and interest, and I am very
grateful to the British Trust for Ornithology for taking over
the scheme and making such excellent arrangements.
Finally, we have to express our thanks to the Trustees of the
British Museum for allowing 11s to make our headquarters at
the Museum, and to Mr. M. A. C. Hinton, Keeper of Zoology,
and Mr. N. B. Kinnear, head of the Bird Room, who have
shown such great interest in the scheme and taken so much
trouble in making the necessary arrangements.
In conclusion I have still to thank all those who have so
keenly supported the Ringing Scheme in the past. That they
will support it as keenly in the future, and that the scheme is
entering upon a new era of usefulness I feel verv confident.
(7)
ADDITIONS AND ALTERATIONS TO THE
BRITISH LIST
BY
H. F. WITHERBY.
"1 he last additions and alterations appeared in Vol. XXVIII,
pp. 90-96 and pp. 186-7. These pages and pages 2 and 3 of
Vol. XXVII must be consulted to bring up to date the full
list of alterations published in Vol. XXVI, p. 16.
The British Ornithologists’ Union List Committee has now
published (Ibis, April, 1937, pp. 396-402) a further list of
additions and necessary alterations and these are discussed
below. The numbers and former names refer to the system-
atic list printed in the last part of the Practical Handbook
and reprinted in the Check-List.
Additions.
45A. The Red-headed Bunting. — Emberiza bruniccps
Brandt.
Embf.riza bruniceps Brandt, Bull. Acad. Sci., St. Petersburg, IX.,
col. 12 (28th May, 1841 — “ Turcomania ” = Russian Turkestan).
Emberiza icterica, G. Eardley Todd, Brit. Birds, XXV., p.66.
An adult male of this species was taken by Col. G. Eardley
Todd on North Ronaldshay, Orkney, on June 19th, 1931, and
a full account of it appears in British Birds, Vol. XXV.,
pp. 66-9. The specimen is now in the British Museum
collection.
The name Emberiza icterica Eversmann was used tentatively
for the species, and it was pointed out that E. bruniceps
of Brandt might have priority. The B.O.U. List Committee
has now been informed by Mr. B. Stegmann of the Leningrad
Museum that while Brandt’s bruniceps was published on
May 28th, 1841.it is almost certain that Eversmann ’s icterica
was not published until 1842.
150A. The Booted Warbler. — Hippolais caligata caligata
(Licht.).
Sylvia caligata Lichtenstein, in Eversmann’s Reise von Orenburg
nach Buchara, p. 128 (1823 — Am Ilek = Ilek River, near Orenburg).
Hippolais caligata, G. Stout and G. Waterston, Brit. Birds, XXX.,
p. 226.
A female specimen in worn summer plumage of this species
was obtained on Fair Isle, Shetlands, on September 3rd, 1936,
as already announced in our pages (ut supra).
8
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
It may be mentioned that the name caligata was at one
time discarded ( scita the next name being used) because the
type was said not to be a Hippolais. This has been proved to
be a mistake, and the type is referable to this species, but has
a somewhat abnormal bill (cf. E. Stresemann, Orn. Monatsb.,
1928, p. 51).
The Booted Warbler is much like the Olivaceous Warbler
( Hippolais pallida elceica), but differs from it by its more
bullish and less olivaceous upper-parts, and more creamy
under-parts. It is also smaller and has usually a shorter
second primary. My measurements of males are as follows : —
H. c. caligata : wing : 58-63; tail 45-51 mm.
H. p. elceica : wing : 64-68 ; tail 50-55 mm.
Mr. Jourdain supplies me with the following particulars of
distribution of the Booted Warbler : —
“ In European Russia from Olonetz and Vologda Govern-
ments in north and from Moscow and Tula east to Perm,
Orenburg and Ufa and south to Astrakan. In W. Siberia
north to 6i°N. in Yenesei Valley and to Tjumen in west.
A zone extending from N. Mongolia, Altai, Syr Daria,
etc., is inhabited by intermediates between this race and
H. c. rama, but it is said to breed in E. Transcaucasia
(Lenkoran). Winters in north and central India, and occurs
on passage in Persia, Afghanistan and Baluchistan.”
340A. Audubon’s Little Shearwater. — Puffinus assim-
ilis I’herminieri Lesson.
Puffinus l’herminieri Lesson, Rev. Zool., p. 102 (1839 — ad ripas
Antillarum = Straits of Florida).
Puffinus assimilis I’herminieri Lesson, J. M. Harrison, Brit. Birds,
Vol. XXX., p. 48.
Dr. Harrison has alread}' given an account of the finding of
this bird on the beach at Bexhill-on-Sea on January 7th,
1936 (ut supra). Dr. Harrison took great pains to make as
certain as possible that the bird’s history was correct, and
he put all the evidence before the Committee. The latter
accepted the evidence as sufficient, but the fact remains that
the bird was not seen in the flesh by an ornithologist, which
is a pity.
In coloration Audubon’s Little Shearwater, which inhabits
Bermuda and the West Indies, is much like the Cape Verde
Little Shearwater, having darker under tail-coverts and inner
webs of the primaries and secondaries than the Madeiran
Little Shearwater, while the upper-parts are usually browner
vol. xxxi ] ADDITIONS AND ALTERATIONS
9
than in the Cape Verde form. It can easily be distinguished
from either of these forms by its larger size. As there does
not appear to be a noticeable difference in the sexes I give
the following measurements (in millimetres) of both sexes
combined : —
P. a. V her mini er i \ wing 198-206; tail 85-96; bill 29-30.
P. a. baroli : wing 170-187 ; tail 68-80 ; bill 24-28.
P. a. boydi : wing 177-190 ; tail 71-82 ; bill 24-28.
It may be mentioned that the bill of P. a. I’herminieri is
not only longer, but deeper and wider than in the others.
Additional British Subspecies.
37A. The British Chaffinch. — Fringilla ccelebs gengleri
Kleinschm.
Fringilla ccelebs gengleri Kleinschmidt, Falco, V., p. 13 (1909 —
England : typical locality, Hampstead).
Pastor Kleinschmidt originally separated the British
Chaffinch under this name on account of a supposed difference
in the number of tail-feathers with white markings, but this
was shown to be an individual variation and of no importance
as a racial character. Subsecpiently Genglcr (Verb. Orn. Ges.
Bayern, XVI, p. 109), Hens and van Marie (Org. Club Ned.
Vogelk., VI., p. 49) and J. M. Harrison (Ibis, 1934, p. 396)
showed that there was a difference in the colour of the under-
parts of the adult male.
The B.O.U. List Committee having compared a series of
British breeding birds with a similar series from Sweden
(typical locality), Norway and Germany, have confirmed the
opinion that the British bird is separable from the typical form.
British breeding males have the sides of the head (i.e., lores,
round eyes, ear-coverts and cheeks) paler and more brownish
pink, not so dark and rich as in typical birds. This seems the
best and most constant character, but the throat and upper-
breast are also usually more brownish pink than Swedish,
though some of the latter are not distinguishable in this.
British, however, are never so pure a pink as a good many
Swedish. There is no constant difference in the rest of the
under-parts. It is on the wearing off of the pale fringes of the
feathers that these differences are observable, birds in fresh
plumage or winter cannot be so plainly determined, but in a
series the generally purer pink and less brownish tone of the
under-parts of the north European birds compared with
10
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
British-taken ones is noticeable. It must be borne in mind
that a series of British-taken Chaffinches in winter is likely
to contain some migrants from abroad.
The typical form can in any case be definitely retained on
the British List, since a Chaffinch ringed in Worcestershire in
February, 1934, was reported from Norway in May, 1936
(antea, Vol. XXX., p. 76) and a number ringed in Holland and
Belgium in autumn have been recovered in England and
Ireland.
412. The British Redshank. — -Tringa totanus britannica
Mathews.
Tringa totanus britannica Mathews, Brit. Birds, Vol. XXIX.,
p. 152 (1935 — no typical locality designated),
instead of the Common Redshank- — T ringa totanus totanus (L.) .
The British Redshank was differentiated from the typical
Redshank by Dr. C. B. Ticehurst, who pointed out that the
British bird in breeding dress was considerably less spotted
and streaked below and less barred with rufous-buff and black
above than the typical bird (Bull. B.O.C., LIII., p. 17).
The Committee has had for comparison a series of Swedish
breeding birds and a series of British, which were fully
moulted and definitely breeding, and confirm Dr. Ticehurst’s
findings.
In winter plumage the two forms show no distinction, and
readers may be reminded that this is also the case in the
Golden Plovers.
Dr. Ticehurst remarked that a specimen from Hungary was
like British birds and probably it was a question of a northern
and southern race, but this does not seem to be so since
breeding birds from south Spain are like Swedish birds in
being heavily streaked and spotted.
With regard to the name Dr. C. B. Ticehurst considered
that Tringa bewickii of Rennie in Montagu’s Ornithological
Dictionary could be used. This name was based on the
“ Red-legged Sandpiper ” of Bewick (History of British Birds),
the description and figure of which, however, do not apply to
the Redshank. This was pointed out by Mr. Mathews (antea,
Vol. XXIX., p. 152), who named the British Redshank,
Tringa totanus britannica, based on Dr. Ticehurst’s description.
Dr. Ticehurst had given as type-locality Lincolnshire as the
bird Bewick described came from Rippengale Fen, but as this
was not a Redshank this type-locality cannot stand and
unfortunately Mr. Mathews gave no other.
vol. xxxi.] ADDITIONS AND ALTERATIONS.
II
I here is as yet no definite proof of the occurrence in this
country of the typical form, so that the Redshank will be
represented on the List by the British and Iceland forms.
4^5- 1 he British Razorbill — Alcatorda britannica Tice-
hurst.
Alca torda britannica C. B. Ticehurst, Ibis, 1936, p. 383 (1936 —
Skomer Is., Pembrokeshire),
instead of The Razorbill — Alca torda L.
Dr. C. B. Ticehurst is also responsible for showing that the
British Razorbill is to be distinguished from the typical
Swedish bird and the B.O.U. Committee has accepted this
separation.
This is a question of size, the British birds have a smaller
wing and bill than the Swedish. Dr. Ticehurst gives measure-
ments of breeding birds in millimetres as follows : —
Swedish ; wing, 201-214.5 ; greatest height of bill, 22.5-26.
British ; wing, 186-198 ; greatest height of bill, 19. 5-21.
One British wing is given as 200 mm. and one bill as 22 mm.
out of 31 measured.
I have also measured a number of British adults and have
found two with wings of 201 (both with bills of 22 in depth) :
one (Orkney) with a wing of 203 (bill 22), but another Orkney
bird with a wing of only 190, and one co. Mayo, June 8th,
with a wing of 207 but with a bill of only 21.5 (a good many
other co. Mayo birds had wings under 200). I have also found
several British birds with bills measuring 22 and 23 mm. in
depth, but in these the wings were under 200. There appears
therefore practically no overlapping between the two forms
if both measurements are taken, and the large majority of
British birds are well under the measurements of typical
birds.
No British taken typical bird is as yet forthcoming so that
“The British Razorbill” must be substituted for “The
Razorbill ” on our List.
Changes of Names and Status.
20A. The British Twite — Carduelis flavirostris pipilans
(Latham).
Fringii.la Pipilans Latham, Synopsis, Snppl., I.. p. 286 (1787 —
ex Pennant, Brit. Zook, I., No. 133, who quoted Willughbv,
Orn., ]). 261, description of a bird from “ Mountains of the Peak
of Derbyshire.”)
instead of Carduelis flavirostris bensonorum Meinertzhagen
(see Brit. Birds, Vol. XXVIII., p. 95)-
12
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
The distinction of the Outer Hebridean Twite, named by
Col. Meinertzhagen, has already been acknowledged, but it
has now been found that birds breeding on the Yorkshire-
Lancashire moors are not to be distinguished from Hebridean
Twites. Not many birds from other breeding localities are
available, but birds from Ireland and other parts of Scotland
appear similar, though it may be found that Shetland birds
are like the typical form. Latham’s name can be accepted
for the British bird.
The typical form, number 20 of the Check-List, which may
be called “ The Continental Twite,” Carduelis flavirostris
flavirostris (L.), must be retained since skins in the British
Museum collection prove that it occurs on migration.
127. The Northern Willow-Warbler — Phylloscopus
trochilus acredula (L.).
Motacili.a Acredula Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. X., I., p. 189 (1758—
Europe, restricted typical locality, Sweden).
instead of Phylloscopus trochilus eversmanni (Bp.).
The type locality lor Phylloscopus t. eversmanni is “ Kazan
and Orenburg”. Dr. C. B. Ticehurst has shown [Bull. B.O.C.,
LV., pp. 177-8) that Willow-Warblers from Sweden and
Kazan are alike, and therefore that Linnaeus’s name acredida,
which has reference to a bird described in the Fauna Svecica
as from Upsala, can be used for this form of the Willow-
Warbler. The name eversmanni therefore becomes a synonym.
156A. The Siberian Lesser Wiiitethroat — Sylvia
curruca blythi Tice. & Whist.
Sylvia curruca blythi Ticehurst and Whistler, Ibis, 1933, p. 556
l1 933 — Siberia, ex Hartert, Vog. pal. Fauna, No. 888, p. 589).
instead of Sylvia curruca affinis Blyth.
Dr. C. B. Ticehurst and Mr. H. Whistler have shown
clearly (Ibis, 1933, pp. 554-6) that Blyth’s name affinis
cannot be applied to the bird known as the Siberian Lesser
Whitethroat. They have consequently given it a new name,
and in doing so have based it upon Hartert’s description
of the bird in his Die Vogel der paldarktischen Fauna, Vol. I.,
p. 589, No. 888. They have also named a type from Cawnpore,
but as the new name applies to Hartert’s description the first
locality given by him, namely Siberia, must become the
typical one.
vol. xxxi.] ADDITIONS AND ALTERATIONS.
13
193. The Norwegian Bluethroat — Luscinia svecica
gaetkei (Kleinschm.).
to be struck out of the List. No. 194 to be called the Red-
spotted Bluethroat instead of the Lapland Bluethroat.
Dr. F. Steinbacher has discussed the question of the
separation of the Norwegian Bluethroat and has shown by
a series of measurements of breeding birds that this cannot
be sustained (Orn. Monatsber. XLIII., March, 1935, pp. 38-41).
The difference in measurement of the wing and “ wing-tip ”
was based largely upon migrants and not on breeding birds.
When a series of the latter is examined, it is found that the
differences are individual and not racial. The Committee
accepts Dr. Steinbacher’s conclusions, which have been
confirmed by the examination of a small series of breeding
birds.
As the List will now contain only two Bluethroats, it will
be advisable to call them the Red-spotted and the White-
spotted.
(14)
MOVEMENTS OF RINGED BIRDS FROM ABROAD
TO THE BRITISH ISLES AND FROM THE
BRITISH ISLES ABROAD.
ADDENDA V.*
BY
H. F. WITHERBY and E. P. LEACH.
As this series of articles has been appreciated and considered
of value, we think it advisable to bring the records up to date
periodically, and now list those which have been gathered
together since our last instalment.
It will be seen that in the cases of the Starling and Black-
headed and Common Gulls we have given summaries rather
than full lists of the recoveries, since they do little more than
to reinforce the information obtainable from previously
published lists.
We must again express our gratitude to many ringing
stations and correspondents for notifying recoveries and
supplying details.
HOODED CROW ( Corvus c. cornix).
Only two Hooded Crows have been reported previously,
one from Sweden and the other from Denmark.
RINGED ABROAD AS YOUNG.
Ringed. Recovered.
O. 3880 Dovre, Norway 13.7.34 Sutherland 6.11.34
O. 3974 Opland, Norway 16.6.34 Norfolk 8.2.35
RINGED ABROAD. TRANSPORTED TO A DISTANCE
AND RELEASED EXPERIMENTALLY.
Ringed. Recovered.
R. D70115 East Prussia, released Schleswig Suffolk 12.12.35
(470 m. W.) 1 1 -4-35
ROOK ( Corvus f. frugilegus.)
Ringed Rooks have now reached us from breeding places in
Holland, north Germany, East Prussia, Lithuania and north
Russia. Most of these have been reported from counties on
the east coast of England, though one reached Hereford and
one below is reported from Sussex.
RINGED ABROAD AS MIGRANT.
Ringed. Recovered.
R. D73344 East Prussia 2.4.36 Norfolk 10. 1.37
RINGED ABROAD AS NESTLING,
Ringed. Recovered.
L. 120514 Zuid Holland 12.6.36 Sussex 18. 11.36
*For previous parts see Vol. XXV., pp. 110-128 ; 1 74-192 ; 245-268 ;
357-360. Vol. XXVI., pp. 352-361. Vol. XXVIII., pp. 106-112;
PP- I33'I4I ■ Vol. XXIX., pp. 132-144.
vol. xxxi ] MOVEMENTS OF RINGED BIRDS.
15
JACKDAW ( Colceus m. spermologus).
For discussion on this bird and the next see antea, Vol.
XXX., p. 224.
RINGED ABROAD AS NESTLING.
Ringed. Recovered.
Sk. DH123 Slesvig, Denmark 17.6.33 Norfolk 10.12.33
SCANDINAVIAN JACKDAW ( Colceus m. monedula).
RINGED ABROAD AS NESTLING.
Ringed. Recovered.
SA.Ki 1046 Jylland, Denmark 24.5.33 Sutherland 14.4.34
STARLING ( Sturnus v. vulgaris).
There arc 176 records of ringed Starlings since our last list
and as these do not extend the area covered by previous
records it seems not worth while to list them separately. We
have now in all some 400 records of Starlings ringed abroad
and found in the British Isles and ringed here and found
abroad. The new records may be summarized as follows : —
Sixty-nine ringed as young or as adults at their breeding
places between May and early July in Holland, Scandinavia,
Germany, Latvia, Poland and Finland have been recovered
in various parts of the British Islands between October and
March.
Seventy-seven ringed as full-grown birds between June and
March in Belgium, Holland, Heligoland, Germany, East
Prussia and Lithuania have been reported in all parts of the
British Islands between October and April, except those
mentioned below. The majority of these birds were no doubt
ringed at or near their breeding places, but some were
probably on migration. The three cases set out below are
worthy of special mention owing to the dates on which they
were recovered being rather puzzling in relation to the dates
on which they were ringed.
Ringed. Recovered.
L. T31287 Zuid Holland 29.10.34 Middlesex 3-6-35
B. CC7461 Belgium 31.7.33 Somerset 2.7 .35
R. F252300 Memel Territory 23.7.35 Aberdeen 2.5.36
Twenty-six ringed in England between October and early
March have been recovered at their breeding places in
Holland, Scandinavia, Germany, East Prussia, northern
Poland and Latvia between April and August.
Finally four ringed in England between November and
February have been recovered in Holland and Germany
between September and March, their breeding places being
uncertain.
16
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
GREENFINCH (Chloris ch. chloris).
This is only the second ringed Greenfinch to be reported
from abroad.
RINGED GREAT BRITAIN AS ADULT.
Ringed. Recovered.
Cheshire 27.10.35 Seine-et-Marne, France 12.3.36
GOLDFINCH ( Carduelis c. britannica ):
This bird, which was kindly sent to us by Mr. R. M. Garnett,
was found dead on a road near Cromer. It was in a very
damaged condition and the plumage very worn, but sufficiently
intact to determine that the bird belonged to the British race.
It seems probable therefore that when ringed it was on its
way back to its native place. It is the first case of a ringed
Goldfinch being reported as having travelled over-sea.
RINGED ABROAD AS MIGRANT.
Ringed. Recovered.
L. B18709 Zuid Holland 30.4.36 Norfolk 27.5.36
LINNET ( Carduelis c. cannabina).
The Vizcaya recovery only slightly extends the range of
previous records from the extreme south-west of France.
RINGED GREAT BRITAIN IN BREEDING SEASON.
Ringed. Recovered.
Worcester 24.6.36 Gironde, France 17.10.36
Gloucester 22.6.35 Ditto 12.10.35
Berkshire 5.6. 35 Vizcaya, Spain 3.11.35
RINGED GREAT BRITAIN AS ADULT.
Ringed. Recovered
Worcester 14.10.34 Loire Inf., France
Ditto 3 1 -3-35 Ditto
RINGED ABROAD. BREEDING-PLACE UNCERTAIN.
Ringed. Recovered.
B. 6A7878 West Flanders 18.4.35 Norfolk I9-7-36
CHAFFINCH ( Fringilla c. caslebs).
Although we have had a number of records of Chaffinches
ringed in autumn in Belgium and Holland and recovered in
winter in the British Isles and vice versa, the Norwegian
recovery below is the first ringed bird traced for certain to
its breeding place. Now that the British breeding Chaffinch
has been shown to be separable as a distinct race, this record
is of some interest though doubtless all the other recoveries
are also referable to the typical form.
RINGED GREAT BRITAIN AS WINTER VISITOR AND RECOVERED ABROAD
IN BREEDING-PLACE.
Ringed. Recovered.
Worcester ' 10.2.34 Ostfold, Norway 0-36
I5-3-36
18.12.35
vol. xxxi.] MOVEMENTS OF RINGED BIRDS.
17
RINGED GREAT BRITAIN.
Ringed.
Westmorland
'Worcester
i Gloucester
i Ditto
1 Ditto
9-3-35
II-2-35
26.12.34
29.x. 35
29.12.34
RECOVERED ABROAD. BREEDING-PLACE
UNCERTAIN.
Recovered.
Antwerp, Belgium 1s.1x.36
Ditto 8.10.36
Ditto 3.10.36
East Flanders — -xo.35
Ditto 25.10.35
RINGED ABROAD. BREEDING-PLACE UNCERTAIN.
Ringed.
I. 8305657 Heligoland
A20996 Zuid Holland
- D16117 Ditto
?. 5B286 Antwerp, Belgium
Recovered.
3.10.36 Stafford 30.1.37
14.10.33 Monmouth 3-4-36
8.10.35 Down — -3-36
22.10.32 Dumfries 4. 11.34
MEADOW-PIPIT (Anthus pratensis).
lidlothian
RINGED GREAT BRITAIN IN BREEDING SEASON.
Ringed. Recovered.
19-5-35 Gironde, France
2-10.35
Cumberland
27.5.35 Basses Pyrenees, France
-XO-35
orfolk
15.5.35 Estremadura, Portugal
9-12-35
^ I orcester
RINGED GREAT BRITAIN AS ADULT.
Ringed. Recovered.
1. 10.34 Basses Pyrenees, France
30.10.35
Pembroke
RINGED GREAT BRITAIN AS MIGRANT.
Ringed. Recovered.
25.8.35 Cadiz, Spain
17.1.36
imberland
PIED WAGTAIL ( Motacilla a. yarrellii).
RINGED GREAT BRITAIN AS NESTLING.
Ringed. Recovered.
30.5.35 Estremadura, Portugal
26.2.36
FIELDFARE ( Turdus pilaris).
RINGED ABROAD AS MIGRANT.
Ringed. Recovered.
. 740062 Heligoland 19-5-33 Stafford 13.2.36
MISTI. E-THRUSH (Tardus v. viscivorus).
RINGED GREAT BRITAIN AS NESTLING.
Ringed. Recovered.
issex 17.4.35 Nord, France 24.11.35
BRITISH SONG-THRUSH ( Turdus e. ericetorum).
The sub-species of Song-Thrush breeding in Holland is the
me as ours.
RINGED GREAT BRITAIN AS NESTLING.
Ringed. Recovered.
irkshire 11.5.36 Manche, France 23.10.36
RINGED GREAT BRITAIN AS ADULT.
Ringed. Recovered.
nrwick 22.12.35 Utrecht, Holland 12.3.36
s
18
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
KINGED ABROAD AS NESTLING.
Ringed. Recovered.
L. D1875 Utrecht, Holland 14.6.35 Norfolk 5.1 1.35
CONTINENTAL SONG-THRUSH ( T urdus e. philomelus).
RINGED ABROAD. TRANSPORTED TO A DISTANCE AND RELEASED
EXPERIMENTALLY.
Ringed Recovered.
H. 757922 Heligoland, released Silesia (450 Perthshire 19.2.36
m. S.E.) 23.9.34
ICELAND REDWING ( Turdus m. coburni).
This is only the second ringed Iceland Redwing to be
reported.
RINGED ABROAD AS NESTLING.
Ringed Recovered.
Sk. T12603 Myvatn, Iceland 19.6.34 Harris, Hebrides
—.12.36
BLACKBIRD ( Turdus m. merula).
Although we have now a very considerable number of
records of ringed Blackbirds visiting us in winter from
northern Europe, only two of our native birds have so far been
recorded from abroad.
RINGED GREAT BRITAIN AS WINTER VISITORS OR MIGRANTS.
Ringed Recovered.
Down
14.2.36 Vastmanland, Sweden
17.8.36
Isle of May
24.4.35 Friesland, Holland
1 3- 1 1-35
RINGED ABROAD
AS NESTLINGS.
Ringed.
Recovered.
Sk. Hi F66
Jylland, Denmark
3-6.30
Northumberland
10. 11. 35
Sk. T L7601
Ditto
18. 5-35
Fermanagh
13-1-36
Sk. T4804
Sjaelland, Denmark
4.6.31
Cumberland
9-1-33
B. 3C2261
Antwerp, Belgium
9-5-35
Pembroke
112.35
H. 6005165
Westphalia, Germany
29-536
Cornwall
8.11.36
RINGED ABROAD
AS MIGRANTS.
Ringed.
Recovered.
H. 742107
Heligoland
3IIO-33
Cumberland
— 12.35
H. 75W49
Ditto
26.3.34
York
9.2.36
H. 758765
Ditto
19-5-34
Pembroke
i7-I2-36
H. 787986
Ditto
28.10.35
Cork
24.12.36
RINGED ABROAD. TRANSPORTED
TO A DISTANCE AND RELEASED
EXPERIMENTALLY.
Ringed. Recovered.
H. 759957 Heligoland, released Silesia Tyrone — .3.36
(450 m. S.E.) 6.3.35
WHINCHAT ( Saxicola r. rnbetra).
RINGED GREAT BRITAIN AS NESTLINGS.
Ringed. Recovered.
Cumberland 1 5.6. 35 Gironde, France — -9-35
Westmorland 21.6.35 Ditto 19-9-35
vol. xxxi.] MOVEMENTS OF RINGED BIRDS.
15)
SWALLOW ( Hirundo r. rustica).
1 he records below bring our total of Swallows recovered in
South Africa up to fourteen besides one from the Congo.
RINGED GREAT BRITAIN AS NESTLINGS.
Ringed. Recovered.
Carmarthen 18.8.33 Manche, France Summer, 1935
Cumberland 3-7-35 Orange Free State, S. Africa 1 1.11.36
Huntingdon 27.8.32 Ditto 1 5.2.36
Cumberland — -7-35 Cape Province, S. Africa 7.2. 36
RINGED GREAT BRITAIN AS ADULT.
Ringed. Recovered.
Leicester 5-8-34 Orange Free State, S. Atrica -.2.36
HOUSE-MARTIN ( Delichon u. urbica).
RINGED GREAT BRITAIN AS NESTLING.
Ringed. Recovered.
Sussex 27.9.35 Zuid Holland 26.10.35
CUCKOO ( Cuculus c. canorus).
This record is curious and one can only suppose that the
bird reached Heligoland on its autumn migration from
'Cumberland in 1935.
RINGED ABROAD AS MIGRANT.
Ringed. Recovered.
‘H. 676695 A Heligoland 16.8.35 Cumberland — -7-36
MERLIN (Falco columbarius ? subsp.).
RINGED ABROAD AS NESTLINGS.
Ringed. Recovered.
N.W. Iceland 27.6.33 Dumbarton 15.4.36
N. Iceland 7-7-35 Lancashire 30.11.35
COMMON HERON (Ardea c. cinerea).
There are so many new records of Herons since our last
instalment that we have thought it of interest to give a
revised map. Most of our birds which have migrated have
been from Kent and Sussex heronries, though it will be noted
that one from Cambridge crossed the North Sea. We have
received a number from Norway, Sweden and Denmark and
these have spread well over the country.
RINGED GREAT BRITAIN AS NESTLINGS.
Ringed. Recovered.
Sussex
1 1 5 35
Zuid Holland
16.1.36
Ditto
11-5.35
Liege, Belgium
4-12-35
Cambridge
ih-5-34
West Flanders
19.1.36
Sussex
H-5-35
Somme, France
H-io-35
Ditto
23-6-35
Pas de Calais, France
6.12.35
Ken t
5-5-35
Eure-et-Loir, France
22.12.35
' Sussex
H-5-35
Loir-et-Cher, France
-•8-35
i vent
23-5-35
Maine-et-Loire, France
27-12.35
iussex
9-5-36
Loire Inf., France
2.9.36
■>itto
9-5-36
Ditto
10.10.36
Rk. 5.288
>Rk. 5.335
20
BRITISH BIRDS
[VOL. XXXI.
RINGED ABROAD AS NESTLINGS.
Ringed. Recovered.
Stay. 1653
Sunnfjord, Norway
5-6-35
Unst, Shetland 22.2.36
Stay. 20005
Ditto
9 6.36
Burra, Shetland 20.2.37
Stav. 20007
Ditto
9.6.36
Ross
111 -37
Stav. 237
Ryfylke, Norway
12.7.32
Scalloway,
Shetland
14-2-33
Stav. 248
Ditto
25-5-33
Lewis, Hebrides
23-10.34
G. 769E
Vastergotland, Sweden
10.6.34
Cornwall
12. 1 1.34
G. 2215E
Ditto
10.6.34
Lincoln
4.1.36
St. Si 2
Halland, Sweden
11.6.34
Yorks
— -8-35
St. M7198
Halsingland, Sweden
28.6.35
Berwick-on
-T weed
2.H.35
Sk. B1766
Jylland, Denmark
24-5-34
Dumfries
112.34
Sk. R10344
Ditto
19-5-34
Yorks
—•2-35
Sk. R10345
Ditto
19-5-34
Cambridge
2312. 35
Sk. B2419
Slesvig, Denmark
11-6.33
Essex
— 2.36
H. 214247
Hamburg, Germany
4-5-34
Devon
—-4-36
V. B2020
Pas-de-Calais, France
11-5-36
Buckingham 3-7-36
tr Recowered here Ringed in Southern England as nestlings
% Ringed here as nest/ings. Recowered in Great Britain
vol. xxxi.] MOVEMENTS OF RINGED BIRDS.
21
GREY LAG-GOOSE ( Anser anser).
All the ringed Grey Lags so far recovered have come from
Iceland.
RINGED ABROAD I
Ringed.
Rk. 2.53 N. Iceland
Rk. 2.255 Ditto
Rk. 2.180 S. Iceland
SHELD-DUCK
This with several previous
for some reason migrate to
from the east coast of Great
and south coasts.
BREEDING SEASON.
Recovered.
8.7.36 Perthshire 26.10.36
8.7.34 Wigtown 2.1 1.35
12.7.36 Orkney . — 11.36
(caught and re-ringed
Witherby 1 12700).
( Tadovna tadorna).
records shows that Sheld-Duck
north-west Germany, not only
Britain but also from the west
RINGED GREAT BRITAIN AS ADULT.
Ringed. Recovered .
Dumfries 23.5.36 Cuxhaven, Germany
6.9.36
MALLARD (Anas p. platyrhyncha).
These and previous records indicate that many (or perhaps
most) of our immigrant Mallards come from Scandinavia and
the region of the Baltic.
RINGED GREAT BRITAIN AS WILD YOUNG.
Ringed. Recovered.
Kinross
RINGED
Ringed.
12.6.35
GREAT
Jylland, Denmark
BRITAIN AS ADULTS IN WINTER.
Recovered.
9.10.36
Wigtown
5.3«26
Aland Is., Finland
15-4.27
Ditto
5-3-35
Pomerania, Germany
13.10.36
Ditto
7-3-35
Oslo, Norway
-.8-35
Ditto
6-3-34
Ditto
5-10-35
Ditto
29*2.36
Varmland, Sweden
19.8.36
Norfolk
8-3*30
Sjaelland, Denmark
—•933
GADWALL (Anas strepera ).
So far all ringed Gadwall have come from Iceland and,
except for one which appeared in Sussex, all have been reported
from Ireland.
RINGED ABROAD AS BREEDING ADULT.
Ringed. Recovered.
Sk. K4363 Myvatn, Iceland 29.6.33 Kerry 8.11.35
TEAL (Anas c. crecca).
We have so many new records since our last map of the
Teal was published that a revised one would seem useful.
Most of the records from birds ringed in this country in
previous lists were derived from Cumberland and Wigtown-
shire, whereas in the present list almost all are due to the
< efforts of Messrs. C. W. Mackworth-Praed and H. A. Gilbert
22
BRITISH BIRDS
[VOL. XXXI.
at their decoy in Pembrokeshire and we are much indebted
to them for supplying us with details of these cases.
It will be seen by the map that the area from which our
winter Teal come is very large, extending as it does from
above the Arctic Circle in Norway, east to Lakes Ladoga and
Ilmen in north-west Russia and south to Poland.
Attention must be drawn to two records from north Spain
and to a still more remarkable one from north-east Italy.
These three birds were recovered in winters following those in
which they were ringed here. Assuming they returned
north-eastward to breed, the bird which reached Italy
appeared to take an entirely different route for a different
wintering place the next year, and it seems likely that the
other two also made a different journey.
RINGED GREAT BRITAIN AS ADULTS IN WINTER.
Ringed. Recovered.
Pembroke
3-12.34
Pskov, Russia
15-8-35
Ditto
27-11-35
L. Ilmen, Russia
16.5.36
Ditto
2512. 35
West Finland
8. 10.36
Cumberland
1-3-33
Kurland, Latvia
25-8-34
Pembroke
8-11-35
N.E. Poland
18.8.36
Ditto
i 12-35
Pomerania, Germany
19-7-36
Ditto
22.11.35
Tromsfylke, Norway
28.5.36
Essex
3110. 35
Hedemark, Norway
23.8.36
Pembroke
12.2.36
Vaster botten, Sweden
—-5-36
Ditto
29.12.35
Varmland, Sweden
12. 10.36
Ditto
r 1-12. 35
Orebro, Sweden
14-9-36
Ditto
19-12.35
Gotland, Sweden
29.8.36
Ditto
6-2.35
Jylland, Denmark
8-935
Ditto
8.2.35
Ditto
5-'i-35
Ditto
I3-1I-35
N. Frisian Is., Germany
28.10.36
Ditto
1.1.36
Ditto
1.11.36
Ditto
13-2.36
Schleswig-Holstein
4. 10.36
Ditto
23.1.36
E. Friesland, Germany
— -12.36
Ditto
10.11.35
Friesland, Holland
—.1.36
Ditto
26.12.35
Ditto
28.9.36
Ditto
28.12.35
Ditto
28.9.36
Ditto
20.12.35
Zuid Holland
5-9-36
Ditto
14-H-35
Ditto
18. 1 1.36
Ditto
29-H-35
West Flanders
6.4.36
Ditto
i4-I2-35
Pas-de-Calais, France
28.3.36
Ditto
28.12.35
Calvados, France
26.3.36
Ditto
6.2.35
Maine-et-Loire, France
19-2.36
Ditto
12. ti. 35
Padua, Italy
8-3-37
vol. xxxi.] MOVEMENTS OF RINGED BIRDS
23
RINGED GREAT BRITAIN IN WINTER, AND WINGS CLIPPED.
Ringed. Recovered.
Pembroke, transported to Drenthe, Holland 5-8.36
Sussex 25.1.35
Ditto, ditto 28.12.34 Galicia, Spain 1 3-9-35
RINGED ABROAD AS YOUNG OR IN BREEDING SEASON.
Rk.
5-346
Ringed.
N. Iceland
3-8-34
Recovered.
Antrim — -8.35
Rk.
5-66
Ditto
1935
Cork
17-10-35
Sk.
Si 1 7
Ditto
7.8.31
Galway
1512. 33
Sk.
V6705
Husavik, Iceland
1930 or ’31
Hereford
28.1 1. 31
Sk.
V6708
Ditto
1930 or ’31
Orkney
22.12.33
Sk.
V3558
N. Iceland
30.7.27
Londonderry
3-3-34
St.
B3195
(breeding adult)
Halland, Sweden
25.6.32
Cambridge
27.8.32
Teal
+ Recovered here. R i nged in Great Britain between August
& March. Ringed here as young or breeding Recovered m
British is/es between August <* March o© Ringed here from
decogs between Ju/y <s December Recovered in British ts/es
between August & March
24
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
WIGEON ( Anas penelope).
Records are accumulating to show how enormously widely
separated are the areas from which Wigeon visit us, as will
be seen by the revised map here reproduced.
RINGED GREAT BRITAIN AS ADULTS IN WINTER.
Ringed.
Recovered.
Pembroke
22.2.35 Sanczursk, Central Russia
3-9-35
Ditto
2.2.36 Itlar, Central Russia
—.10.36
Wigtown
25.2.36 Leningrad, Russia
10.5.36
Pembroke
1.1.36 Rostof, S. Russia
9-9-36
Ditto
232.35 Eyen,
Denmark
17-8-35
RINGED
ABROAD AS YOUNG OR IN BREEDING SEASON.
Ringed.
Recovered.
Sk. V7325
Husavik, Iceland
26.7.31 Moray
1 -34
Sk. M2454
Myvatn, Iceland
22.6.35 Sutherland
1312.35
Sk. V9071
Ditto
2.8.36 Norfolk
27.11.36
Sk. V7935
Ditto
3.8.34 Clare
7-H-34
(breeding adult)
Sk. V4426
Saudarkrok, Iceland
28.7.32 Wicklow
— -1-33
Rk. 4.588
Myvatn, Iceland
27.6.35 Caithness
30-10-35
Rk. 4.38
Ditto (breeding adult)
6.6.33 Orkney
15-10-35
WlGEON. (Anas pene/ope)
+ Recovered here. Ringed in Great Britain as young. # Recovered here. Ringed in Great
Britain as adu/ts. © • Ringed here as young or asac/utts in wing-moult. Recovered m British
ts/es between 5eptegiber& March. O Ringed here from decoys Recovered in Brit/sh ts/es
between November & February.
[To be continued.
*nares*
NUMBER OF EGGS LAID BY THE JACKDAW.
In the Practical Handbook (p. 21) the number of eggs laid
by the Jackdaw (Coloeus m. spermologus) is given as “ 4-6,
sometimes 7.” It may, therefore, be worth recording that
a riest at Comlongon Castle, Dumfriesshire, contains 8 eggs.
The nest is also the bulkiest I have ever seen. The birds,
entering by a bow-shot window of the fourteenth-century castle,
have practically blocked the winding stone staircase which
leads to the roofs, with a pile of sticks which measures 6 feet
long by 6 feet high and 3 feet broad, on the top of which
the nest is precariously perched. Mansfield.
[Since the publication of Part I of the Practical Handbook
in 1919, 1 have noted four or five cases of eight eggs in a
clutch, and once nine. For notes on a staircase blocked by
a solid mass of sticks 10 feet high, etc., sec Yarrell, Ed. IV.,
ill., p. 308. — F. C. R. Jourdain.]
HOUSE-SPARROW FEEDING YOUNG
HEDGE-SPARROWS.
On July 5th, 1936, there was a nest of a Hedge-Sparrow
{Prunella m. occidentalis) with four feathered y<3ung in my
^garden in Cambridge. They were calling for food, and a hen
House-Sparrow ( Passer d. domesticus) flew down and fed
tthem. The following day she was seen to visit the nest again.
That evening, two of the fledglings left the nest and the
House-Sparrow was in attendance. The two remaining young
ones did not fly till July 7th, and the House-Sparrow was
twice observed to go to the nest and feed them. Throughout
these three days, the female Hedge-Sparrow brought food
regularly, but the two birds were never seen to meet at the
nest. M. D. Brindley.
MORTALITY AMONGST REED-BUNTINGS AND
OTHER BIRDS IN MARCH STORM IN MIDLOTHIAN.
Dn March 21st, 1937, after a period of snow and frost, I found
lead, at Duddingston Loch, Midlothian, ten Reed-Buntings
Emberiza s. schceniclus) three Blackbirds ( Tardus m.merula)
land one Meadow-Pipit {Anthiis pratensis).
All the birds were in the same state of decomposition and
i .11 were found in old nests of Song-Thrush and Blackbird
26
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
built in young conifers. The fourteen birds were distributed
in nine nests. Three nests contained single Blackbirds, and
three, single Reed-Buntings, and the remaining three contained
respectively, two Reed-Buntings, three Reed-Buntings, and
two Reed-Buntings and one Meadow-Pipit.
Possibly these birds — unable to secure sufficient food-
sought the shelter of these nests in an unsuccessful effort to
conserve their body heat and energy, and perished there of
starvation. William Serle (Jun.)
WATER-PIPITS IN CHESHIRE AND SUFFOLK.
On March 21st, 1937, on a patch of mud beside the marshes
of the Dee, half a mile south of Parkgate, I had close views of
a Water-Pipit ( A nthus s. spinoletta ) . It settled within ten yards
of me, and twice I put it up. Both on the ground and as it
flew up I could see the white outer-tail feathers distinctly. It
showed no trace of spring plumage, the head being dull grey
with only a very short whitish eye-stripe. I was first attracted
by the call-note, but that is hardly distinguishable from a
Rock-Pipit’s note and, owing to the bird’s dark head, I had
some doubt of its identity at the time. The white outer-tail
feathers, however, appear to be decisive.
On April 3rd, 1937, at the south side of Easton Broad,
Suffolk, within half a mile of the sea, I had good views of two
Water-Pipits. These, too, were on muddy ground at the edge
of a marsh ; and, as with the bird seen in Cheshire, they were
more or less in the company of Meadow-Pipits. Again, it was
the white outer tail-feathers that were decisive, together with
the call-note. Neither of these two birds was in full spring
plumage, but one in particular had an almost blue-grey head,
with a distinct eye-stripe, and at a distance its whole head
and throat looked pale. In this case, I had the satisfaction
of seeing several Rock-Pipits {A. s. obscums) a quarter of an
hour later at the edge of the shingle. Although I could not
detect any difference in the call-note, the absence of white in
the outer-tail feathers and the more uniform grey-brown of
the upper-parts of these birds made a noticeable contrast
with the Water-Pipits, which I found still at the same place
half an hour later.
I understand that the Water-Pipit has not been definitely
recorded from either county before. Possibly it has been
overlooked. Muddy or brackish marshes seem to be favourite
haunts of the species, and March and April are perhaps the
months when it is most likely to be seen. H. G. Alexander.
VOL. XXXI.]
NOTES.
27
RED-CRESTED POCHARDS IN LINCOLNSHIRE
AND WESTMORLAND.
I ”A^E. recently seen some Red-crested Pochards (Xetta
riijina) m a swamp on the East Lincolnshire marshes. '
hrst saw three drakes and one duck, on the evening of
, p7. ,I1It l1’ *937- On the following evening, one of the
.rams ad disappeared, the other three birds remaining on
e swamp until April 26th, when there were again three
1 drakes, presumably the same drake had returned. On my
approach this time, however, one drake flew up when I was
about 300 yards away, whereas the others, as they had
I I ways done, allowed me to approach to within 80 yards
aelore taking wing, then flying only about 150 yards away
me a ighting again in the swamp. I he next evening,
Apiil, 27th, I only saw one drake, which was feeding in com-
pany with a pair of Mute Swans. This drake flew up and
way out towards the sea when I was about 200 yards away
have not seen any of the birds since then.
I was able to obtain excellent views and noted among
•■ther details the drakes’ orange-red bills and feet, golden
rests and black breasts. In flight a white patch on the
™gs was noticeable and a “whirring” noise was very
.’..udible. E. L. Roberts.
>n April 8th, 1937, a drake Red-crested Pochard (Netta
ujina) was reported from a tarn in the Westmorland hills,
, was watched during the next few days by many competent
bservers. When I saw it on April 10th, it was keeping
ompany with a female Common Pochard and a female
uitecl Duck. There is no reason to think this bird an escape
. s the Place ls very remote, and more than a hundred miles
' -om any “ornamental waters”. The bird was not very shy,
ut on the alert and when flushed rose and flew freely. There
1 onlv one previous record for Westmorland (1896).'
Sibyl Cropper.
[Full-winged Mandarin Ducks ringed and put down on the
•uckingham Palace lake wandered as far as Sweden and
lungarv, so that remoteness from a place of captivity is
o bar to suspecting such birds as those recorded by Miss
r op per to be escapes. In May, 1935. the late Duchess of
edford wrote to me “ We have bred Red-crested Pochards
.t Woburn) for some years. They are hatched in incubators
id reared under hens, and as soon as they fly they go where
iiey please.” Under these circumstances it is difficult to
cept as those of truly wild birds occurrences of this species
28
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI,
TURNSTONE IN SURREY.
During the afternoon of May 4th, 1937, at Barn Elms
Reservoir, I was able to watch a solitary Turnstone ( Armaria
inter pres) under perfect conditions at a range of 20 yards.
The bird was in summer plumage and both the black and
white markings of the cheeks, neck and breast, and the
chestnut of the wings and mantle were conspicuous features.
Reginald C. B. Ledlie.
SCARCITY OF IMMATURE LESSER BLACK-BACKED
GULLS ON SPRING MIGRATION ACROSS PENNINES.
During the past ten years or so, I have spent a great deal
of time in watching the overland migrations of the British
Lesser Black-backed Gull (Lams f. graellsii) across the
Pennines. The almost total absence of immature birds on
this route in spring is so remarkable as to call for special
comment. Unfortunately, several seasons passed before 1
realized that the scarcity was a permanent feature, so that
I only commenced taking systematic notes in 1931. West-
bound birds in spring cross the Pennines apparently via
Wharfedale and the Aire Gap, whence in the course of a
season thousands of Gulls follow the Ribble on its way to the
sea. The spring movement is at its height in late March
and the first three weeks in April. From Waddington Fell
there are several points where one can always find crowds
of resting birds, preening and sleeping. To two of these,
viz. : the sewage of the Co-operative Estates at Great Mytton,
and (on the Lancashire side) an alluvial flat near the Calder-
stones Sewage Farm at Whalley, I have paid special attention,
making frequent visits every spring accompanied at different
times by my wife, Mr. E. Battersby and Mr. E. Davis.
The resting flocks are not only easy to observe at short
range but may be taken as typical because their composition
is constantly disturbed as birds arrive and depart. Most of
these parties have been meticulously counted — a simple
matter generally, as Lesser Black-backs tend to assemble
together away from other species. Congregations of 50 to
70 birds are usual but numbers may reach anything up to
150.
Out of the immense number of these birds which 1 have
watched in the period 1931 to 1937 inclusive, I have noted
a total of 27 in immature plumage. Four out of this total
were seen in one day (April 14th, 1933). It is, of course,
possible that a few birds may have been overlooked, and that
VOL. XXXI.]
NOTES.
29
x greater number of visits would have increased the total
do some slight extent. But after making these allowances
t the number of juvenile birds seen in this locality is so small
is to be negligible. No reason can be put forward for this
scarcity, but the solution would seem to lie in the intensive
sstudy of purely coastal migrants in spring. In autumn,
:he proportions are more what would normally be expected
:onsidering the nearness of the breeding stations in north-
western England.
As negative evidence is useful, it may be worth mentioning
hat I have had the binoculars on thousands of Lesser Black-
jacks during the last few years in this district without
satisfactorily identifying the Scandinavian form ( Larus f.
'ascus). Clifford Oakes.
Golden Oriole in Devonshire. — The Earl of Mansfield
nforms us that he had a very good view of a female Golden
)riole ( Oriolus o. oriolus) in Devonshire on April 12th, 1937.
Ruddy Sheld-Duck in Dumbarton. — Mr. N. Hopkins
•ecords (Scot. Nat., 1936, p. 142) a duck which he identified
ss a Ruddy Sheld-Duck on Summerston Loch on May 20th,
936. This may well have been an escaped bird.
Behaviour of Male Mallards with BROODS.-Mr. Bertram
doyd in his article under this title (antea, Vol. XXX., pp.
34-6) gives some references to previous observations, but
: must be pointed out that this subject has been treated
miewhat fully by Herr Ludwig Schuster in the Beitrage zur
' ortpflanzungs-biologie der Vogel , 1928, pp. 103-6, in which
e gives conclusive evidence from various sources showing
; lat the male, although generally a “ bad father,” does from
me to time take an active part in the care of the young,
his is not only the case with the Mallard (A. platyrhyncha )
I >s observed by Helm ( Journal f. Orn., 1905, p. 582) and
fantzsch (V ogelwelt Islands, p. 172), but the latter writer
Iso describes similar conduct in the case of the male Pintail,
eal, Scaup, Goosander and Barrow’s Goldeneye. This is
Iso confirmed by Faber, who records instances of the male
held-Duck, Pintail and Teal behaving in the same way.
Rosenius also cites the Shoveler ; Hortling the Tufted
•uck ( Ornis Fennica, 1927, p. 69) and H. J. and C. E. Pearson
bis, 1925, p. 243) give similar evidence with regard to
le Scaup in Iceland. This behaviour is not, however,
rnfined to the north, as Dombrowski (Ornis Romaniae
634) cites the Goldeneye, and references are also given
30
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
to cases mentioned by Hermann, Komjathy and Graf von
Zedlitz. In the case of the Pochard (N. farina ) similar
behaviour is normal (Schuster and others).
For further details Herr Schuster’s paper should be con-
sulted, but it may be worth recording that Mr. J. Atkinson
photographed a male Mallard in the act of arranging the
down over the eggs after the duck had hurriedly left the
nest without covering the eggs, and later on accompanied
her back to the nest. In Wild Life, Vol. VIII, p. 140, there
is a photograph of this incident, and also one of the duck
and drake together at the nest. F. C. R. Jourdain.
Garganeys in Fifeshire, Kinross and Lanarkshire. —
Miss E. V. Baxter and Miss L. J. Rintoul note seeing three
Garganey ( Anas querquedula) on a loch near Burntisland on
April 30th, 1936 (Scot. Nat., 1936, p. 149), and two on Loch
Levan on September 30th (p. 172), while Mr. W. Rennie
records (p. 150) a pair at Possil Marsh on March 19th.
Pintails Breeding in Angus and Sutherland.—
Miss E. V. Baxter records seeing a Pintail ( Anas acuta )
with a brood of downy young on a loch in Angus in the
summer of 1936 (Scot. Nat., 1936, p. 141) and Mr. J. H. B.
Munro saw a party of six and a duck with a young one on a
loch in Sutherland in June, 1936 ( t.c ., p. 163).
Shags Inland. — Mr. E. G. Pedler writes that three Shags
(Phalacrocorax aristotelis) on the River Thames in the middle
of April and beginning of May, 1937, frequently rested on the
buttresses under Barnes Railway Bridge, and are quite
undisturbed by trains going overhead and barges passing
alongside.
Mr. K. B. Rooke reports several Shags in Cambridgeshire —
one at the University Farm on February 17th, one found dead
near Cambridge in the same week, several in the washes near
Mepal about the 14th, and one on the Cam at Grantchester
on March 7th.
Black-tailed Godwits in Gloucestershire. — Mr. H. L.
K. Whitehouse informs us that he, with Messrs. R. Gulliford
and R. N. H. Whitehouse, saw three Black-tailed Godwits
( IJmosa l. limosa) on April 15th, 1937, at the edge of some
floodwater between the River Severn and Hasfield, Gloucester-
shire.
Little Gull in Norfolk in Spring. — Miss Judith M.
Ferrier writes that on April 27th, 1937, she watched an
immature Little Gull (Lams minutus ) in company with Black-
headed Gulls at Scolt Head. The bird is infrequently seen
in spring.
VOL. XXXI.]
LETTERS.
31
REFLECTED COLOUR OF NIGHTJARS’ EYES.
To the Editors of British Birds.
_?IRS’~lr!vthe course of 5 years spent in Ceylon, I made many
excursions through Nightjar-infested roads by night in a car, and in
£5.y case the hg.ht reflected from the Nightjars’ eyes was red.
me same applies to a single similar instance in this Island.
RSEY- Roderick Dobson.
[Mr. George Brown writes again that if Mr. Humphrey Neame’s
explanation [antea, \ ol. XXX., p. 379) is correct, it is strange that
• n view of the numerous times he has seen the reflection, it should
always have appeared reddish, both to him and his friends, indicating
mat the the eyes were always viewed obliquely. In Mr. Maroles's
case ( t.e ., p. 322) the colour appeared green. — Eds.]
ON l HE BEHAVIOUR OF MALE MALLARDS WITH BROODS.
To the Editors of British Birds.
Sirs, Mr. Bertram Lloyd in his article on the above [antea p. 33B
comments on the constant appearance of some male Mallards with
hen respective females and their broods, and states that he can find
10 reference to such behaviour in the literature.
The following notes taken from my diary appear relevant
(1) At Slipperfield Loch, Peeblesshire, on May 23rd, 1031 “ quite
1 T[?bei; °f, broods of Mallard on the loch, accompanied by the duck
ind the drake in some cases.” (Italics in original note.)
(2) At Duddingston Loch, Midlothian, on May 31st, 1035—” near
:he Curlmg Pond a flock of 30 male and 3 female Mallard . as long
as the ducks are sitting, the drakes hang about the breeding sites in
oarties of two or three. Once or twice I have seen the drake with the
luck and her ducklings. As the season advances the drakes segregate
nto this large grass-widower party.”
I can recollect one drake Mallard particularly ini935 which constantly
uxcompamed the duck and her brood for some weeks after they were
>uatched* William Serle ( J un.)
)UDDINGSTON,
Edinburgh.
THE INFLUX OF GREBES AND DIVERS.
7 0 the Editors of British Birds.
„ SJRS’ \ ;\hould llke to add some comments about the influx of
rrebes and Divers at the end of January [antea, Vol. XXX., pp. 370-4).
Although some individuals seem to have remained on one sheet
, wat®r .°r a §ood many weeks, I think it is clear that there was
,Iso a fair amount of movement from one pool to another It was
10 doubt impossible to show this in the table, but that is’ perhaps
. reason for drawing special attention to it. Thus, I believe the coming
nd going of individual Grebes at Bartley (Warwicks.) was more
omplex than the table suggests. This is certainly true also of the
irds seen at Upper Bittell (Worcester), where, 'for instance, two
32
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
Red-necked Grebes appeared at the end of January and remained for
over a fortnight. By February 25th, however, there was only one ;
a month later (March 24th) a second bird appeared again. So, too,
with the Black-necked Grebe. One appeared at Upper Bittell early
in February, but did not stay very long. Another (or the same again)
arrived there early in March, and stayed till near the end of April
(26th, if not later). By that time it was in practically full bleeding
plumage.
The Staffordshire birds (Bellfields and Gailey) were not, I am afraid,
completely reported. A number of observers visited these pools
during February, March and April. Slavonian Grebes were reported
in varying numbers at Bellfields all through these three months ;
the largest number at one time was four. One remained (though
not, I think, always present) till May 1st. A notable omission from
the published list is a Black-throated Diver, seen by Mr. H.L1. Wilson
and Miss James at Gailey, on March 20th, and by myself on the 29th.
Nearly a month had elapsed since the two Red-throated Divers
(recorded in the list) had disappeared.
As to the cause of the influx, I would like to venture a possible
explanation. If the strong east winds made it difficult for these birds
to find food on the west side of the North Sea they would, I believe,
be reluctant to leave the sea for the west until the wind had decreased.
My own experience, at any rate, is that birds strongly object to flying
any distance with a tail wind — or even, perhaps, with any violent
wind. A few birds seem to have come inland on the night of the 29th,
when the wind was abating, but most of them not till the following
night, when the wind had practically ceased. I am aware that there
is much controversy at present with regard to the effect of wind on
flight. Without entering into the technical aspect of the matter,
I think I may be allowed to state that, after thirty years’ observation
of migration, I have yet to see any considerable movement of birds
down wind, except when the wind is less than, say, 10 miles an hour.
Selly Oak, H. G. Alexander.
Birmingham.
[The Black-throated Diver at Gailey mentioned by Mr. Alexander,
was reported but was purposely omitted as it did not appear to be
connected with the influx of the end of January.
It may here be noted that under Northants (p. 373) Stamford should
read Stanford. — Eds.]
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^ CIS TTIEBRTISIIIIST^
JULY 1,
1937.
Vol. XXXI.
No. 2.
£
A *
M0NTHIY ls9d.YEARLY 20*
326HIGHHOLBOFNI2NDON*
nr^ewrTHERDYUD
SONGS OF WILD BIRDS
By E. M. NICHOLSON and LUDWIG KOCH
Introduction by JULIAN HUXLEY
With 1 8 plates, of which 8 are in colour
Mr. E. M. Nicholson, well known to bird-lovers as author of How Birds
Live, The Art of Bird Watching, etc., has written for this work the most
fascinating, complete and trustworthy account of bird-song yet available
It includes chapters explaining what bird-song is and why birds sing,
descriptions of all British bird-songs, a calendar showing at a glance
when each song may be heard ; a full programme of the songs on the
two double-sided gramophone records (which play for nearly a quarter
of an hour) and pictures of every bird whose song is reproduced.
Every British Songster is the subject of a special and vivid description,
which tells in simple words what the song sounds like, what is its usual
pattern, how loud it usually is, in what sort of place it is likely to be
heard, how the singer behaves, and how the song is best recognized from
others. The character of each song is clearly impressed on the memory.
While those who know nothing of bird language will find their needs
met, the expert will find described for the first time a number of difficult
and little-known sub-songs, and subtler points which earlier writers
have missed.
The treatment in the earlier chapters of the meaning and nature of
bird-song will appeal through its simplicity and imaginative grasp to
the inexpert bird-lover, while the expert will appreciate the results of
study not only in the British Isles but in the Arctic and the tropics,
interpreted with a careful regard for available data and with a wealth
of interesting suggestions for observation.
TWO DOUBLE-SIDED 10-INCH GRAMOPHONE RECORDS
OF THE ACTUAL SONGS OF 15 BRITISH BIRDS
TEXT— PICTURES — SOUND and Chart of Bird-Song
Records not sold separately 15/- net boxed
H. F. & G. WITHERBY Ltd.
326 High Holborn, London, W.C.I
Third Impression now ready.
ftp. iimi )ii*i)5
With which was Incorporated in January, 1917, " The Zoologist.”
EDITED BY
H. F. WITHERBY, M.B.E., F.Z.S.,M.B.O.U.,H.F.A.O.U.
ASSISTED BY
Rev. F. C. R. Jourdain, m.a., m.b.o.u., h.f.a.o.u., f.z.s., and
Norman F. Ticehurst, o.b.e., m.a., f.r.c.s., m.b.o.u.
v^Gontents of Number 2, Vol. XXXI., July i, 1937.
Some Activities of Resident Blackbirds in Winter. By Averil
Morley ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 34
Movements of Ringed Birds from Abroad to the British Isles
and from the British Isles Abroad — Addenda V. ( continued ).
Bv H. F. W'itherby and E. P. Leach ... ... ... ... 42
> Notes : — •
Notes from the Bristol District (H. Tetley) ... ... 54
Unusual Display by Chaffinches (E. M. Cawkell) ... ... 55
Short Incubation Period of Skylark (J. B. Taylor) ... ... 55
Waxwings in Yorkshire (W. J. Clarke) ... ... ... 56
Pied Flycatcher in Perthshire (Rev. E. T. Vernon) ... ... 56
The Nest-building Instinct of a Blackbird (H. N. Southern) ... 56
Blackbird Brooding Duck’s Egg (Mary Henderson) ... ... 58
Whinchat and Chiffchaff on Achill Island, Co. Mayo (C. Oldham) 58
Breeding of Common Pochard in Carmarthenshire (J. F.
Thomas) ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 58
Common Eiders in Kent (R. B. Sibson, P. W. E. Currie and
E. H. Gillham) ... ... ... ... ... ... 59
Squacco Heron in Lancashire (R. Wagstaffe and J. Clegg) ... 59
Black-necked Grebe in Kent in Spring (P. W. E. Currie) ... 60
Dotterel on Holy Island (Dr. S. H. Long) ... ... ... 60
Kentish Plover in Cheshire (R. B. Sibson) ... ... ... 61
Incubation Period of Redshank (J. F. Thomas) ... ... 61
Incubation Period of Water-Rail (J. Vincent) ... ... 62
Short Notes : —
Bluethroat in Norfolk. Influx of Grebes and Divers. Black-
throated Diver in Yorkshire. Little and Glaucous Gulls in
Yorkshire. Kittiwakes Inland in Cheshire. ... ... 62
Letters : —
The Birds of Steep Holm (H. Tetley) ... ... ... ... 63
The Influx of Grebes and Divers (E. St. G. Betts) ... ... 63
Birds taking Rubber Rings (K. B. Rooke) ... ... ... 64
Scarcity of Immature Lesser Black-backed Gulls on Spring
Migration (G. T. Kay) ... ... ... ... ... 64
Enquiry as to Song-Periods (H. G. Alexander) 64
(34)
SOME ACTIVITIES OF RESIDENT BLACKBIRDS
IN WINTER.
BY
AVERIL MORLEY
“ A Thrush . . . sings . . . with greater vigour from late
November onwards . . . but with much greater vigour . . .
after about the middle of January. The Blackbird ... is rarely
heard until February, and its best song is hardly heard till April
or May. ... It would seem, then, that what we call ‘ song ’
represents something different in the lives of the two species.
The Thrush’s song seems to be its normal outlet for surplus
energy ; the Blackbird’s is . . . mainly used during the
breeding-season, and is probably more closely correlated to it.
Possibly the Thrush’s territorial sense is stronger, and its song
may be more closely related to that. ” (H. G. Alexander,
Brit. Birds, Vol. XXV, p. ioi.)
For some time the Blackbird ( Turdus m. merula ) was the
species most accessible to me, and though a country ornitho-
logist would put my notes to shame, still I think they support
that part of Mr. Alexander’s statement which suggests that
the sense of territory is weaker in the male Blackbird than in
the Thrush — because the species has come to express much
of its emotions during the winter months in another form,
by communal gatherings.
From early winter to spring, mostly in the mornings and
evenings, an average of six to eight birds will collect together,
to indulge in chases and pursuits, in a kind of tourney or
fencing. At hist it appears that the scene of these activities
is not fixed, but in about a fortnight the birds I watched had
confined themselves to a definite place. The gathering ground
fixed, it remains so until the break-up in April, unless un-
favourable circumstances arise, such as undue attention from
cats (which will happen in a city). On downland I found the
gatherings took place around the scattered drinking and
bathing places ; elsewhere the ground seemed chosen because
several territories there met in a no-man’s-land ; sometimes
I did not know the district well enough to find out if there
was a reason at all for some particular stretch of lawn or held
being the scene of the meetings ; but they all had this in com-
mon, an open space (which could be four square yards or large
as a held) with cover near by. Because so much of the
activities at these gatherings takes place on the ground, the
birds will not meet in dense undergrowth, thick woodland,
bracken and so on.
vol. xxxi.] ACTIVITIES OF BLACKBIRDS.
35
Now the male Blackbird has been somewhat of a stumbling
block to those who believe that song and territory are bound
up together, for here was a bird apparently as closely linked as
the Song-Thrush and the Robin to his territory, which yet
did not sing in winter. But the male Blackbird is not so closely
linked, his interest largely shifts during the winter from the
territory to the communal ground, the gathering place ; and
surely it is this shifting of his interest which causes the absence
of the species from the singing band of residents in winter.
It is known of some species that if resident birds, through
natural causes, are forced to abandon their territories, or if
they leave of their own free will, they lose their combativeness
(cf. Huxley on Coot, Brit. Birds, Vol. XXVII ; Howard on
Lapwing, Territory in Bird Life, p. 60-61). So, as the Blackbird
has changed some of its territorial combat into communal
tournaments at a gathering place, one would expect to find,
and one does find, a certain loss of vigour and energy, a
tendency for the encounter to become formal and conventional,
unwilling to turn to physical violence. This is most noticeable
when Thrushes and Blackbirds are active on the same piece
of ground at the same time. It would be interesting to know
if this tendency of the Blackbird to concentrate communally
at certain places is the first step to a prescribed courting
ground such as obtains in the Ruff and Blackcock.
Whereas in watching Moorhens {Brit. Birds, Vol. XXX,
p. 120) 1 was soon able to recognize individual birds both by
their temperament and appearance, I found Blackbirds more
miform and with less distinct personalities. However, the
pirds I most constantly watched were in a city, and my view
vas limited to three trees in a road, one front and two back
gardens, so that the birds spent a great deal of their time
nit of my sight on the other side of houses. This observed
irea, roughly 836 square yards, was the greater part of the
possessions of a female which I could recognize as an individual.
I She had a strong territorial instinct, more so than the male
-vhich fed unmolested in the area. I do not even know
vhether it was always the same male. At any rate he spent
nuch more of his time out of this region than she did ; days
vould go by and I would not see him actually in it, whereas
learly every afternoon I would see the female feeding or
)reening, until the dusk came, when gradually she became
I nore and more excited, would by fits and starts chuckle to
erself, until at last the noise of other birds drew her out of
er retreat, and I might see her no more that day.
36
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
The biggest gatherings in the observed area took place in a
corner of the front garden where a rowan and a holly tree
may first have attracted the birds. The gatherings were never
very large, generally the number was five or six. This may have
been caused by the strong anti-social feeling often exhibited
by the resident female or by the fact that there were not
many birds to come. On nearby downland nine or ten
birds were sometimes seen.
The few notes I have for October show that the territorial
instincts are, in the female, first shown by her desire to get
rid of young females (very likely in most cases her own off-
spring) which are still remaining in the territory. I have not
seen the male take part in these scraps, nor have I known a
territory where any young male Blackbirds have been present
at this season, besides the “ rightful ” owner, which at the
very beginning of their lives is, I think, a slight indication
of the female’s greater love of home than the males.
In the first week of November, just as dusk falls, both sexes
begin to get excited, making a great deal of noise, uttering the
alarm cry, the chuckle, and a tinking cry not previously heard,
When in mid-November, 1936, the gathering place was fixed
to a corner of the observed area, the resident female often
objected, not only to the other females, but to the presence
of the males, and would drive them off when they advanced
towards her (and also when they were paying no attention to
her) in no uncertain manner, her attacks even as early as
November being noticeably more determined than the
tournaments of the males. A typical action of these, which
begins in this month, is the intimidation of a rival or interloper
by near presence ; the pursuer perches close to the pursued
which seems so afraid of the proximity that it moves a little
farther on, is again followed by the pursuer, and so on. I have
only one note of a female using this method, on open ground,
the pursuer making short flights after the pursued. In
November I was a few times lucky enough to see the male
coming in to roost in the observed area, and to see how other
males, evidently meaning to roost in the same place, darted
away when they saw it occupied, although the time just
previous to roosting was one of the most sociable of the day
and birds made a point of gathering together.
By December, Blackbirds are as noisy in the early morning
as they had been at dusk in November. Towards the middle of
the month there are indications that the male spasmodically
takes a greater interest in the female in the territory, away
vol. xxxi.] ACTIVITIES OF BLACKBIRDS.
37
from the communal ground. He will chase her in the trees,
she chuckling excitedly as she retreats with tail cocked up and
wings drooped, in an attitude tense and strained. So far it has
been noticed that the male is the first to tire and to fly from
the female.
At the gathering place the encounters seem to have little
or no territorial significance for males, and a bird will be
onlooker, then join in on one side of a pair of contestants,
then on the other, lastly to be himself attacked by both ; while
the roles of pursuer and pursued are frequently reversed,
sometimes by the pursuer flying over the head of the pursued,
and being now in front, becoming the chased one. Meanwhile
birds feeding at the gathering ground are entirely unmolested
and indeed ignored by males, whereas the resident female
would allow no bird but her mate (?) to feed in her territory.
The presence of males had an apparent attraction for strange
females to come into the territory, which, of course, brought
them into conflict with the resident female, and the sub-
sequent fights showed all the seriousness and bitterness which
is not seen in the territorial combats of the males till the latter
half of February. Indeed, throughout January the resident
female in the observed area conducted her fights single-handed,
often against two or three birds, and I have seen her drive
away from the gathering place, two males and one female in
about two minutes.
As, however, some females, far from attacking the males,
make every advance and thrust themselves on the notice of
the males, so that the latter will fly away from them, I suppose
that the truculence of the resident female of the observed
area was caused by her possessing a mate and territory,
as otherwise I cannot see how these courting females, if
they had mates of their own, would be so eager to invade alien
ground in pursuit of the males.
At the gathering grounds the females have nearly always
been in the minority, not I think because of actual numerical
inferiority, but because as a sex they are more stay-at-homes
than the males ; yet that they recognize the implications of
the gathering ground is shown by their flying to it indepen-
dently and purposefully, and beginning the tinking and
thudding cry as if seeking to attract attention. This cry
ittracts not only males but females, just as in late March the
ather similar excited tinkle of the female when her mate
imorously pursues her will draw, it seems irresistibly, other
inmated females to interrupt the actual mating. When at the
38
BRITISH BIRDS*
[VOL. XXXI.
gathering ground the attentions of the males becomes too
over-powering, the female flies away. She may be followed a
little way, but soon the males are back on the gathering
ground, and finally she must return also if she wishes to get
attention, so that it seems that unmated females must attend
the communal gatherings if they are to attract the males.
In a gathering ground in a field at Clevedon, which was
used by six to ten birds, the presence of a sea-mist every morn-
ing in February did not discourage activities. Here I may say
that a warm damp day, though it may be cloudy, is more likely
to produce activity than a sunny but frosty one, while a cold
blustery day is the worst of all for seeing anything.
Sometimes inactivity settles on the birds at the gathering
ground, and they will sit about, silently, among the bushes.
This seems to happen when one bird is dominant and extra
aggressive. If it persists in fierce attacks the others will, one
by one, fly away. At a gathering-place, which centred round
a drinking and bathing place, a male was seen to object
strongly to others sitting quietly in cover, and to one engaged in
bathing, which is unusual, as birds at the gathering ground
which are engaged in feeding, preening, washing, etc.., are
generally ignored by the others. It was on this occasion I was
able to see from what long distances birds come to these
gathering places, for an escaping male flew away until, a tiny
smudge in the sunlight, he dropped into some gardens at an
estimated distance of half a mile.
A female, after dallying with a male on the communal
ground, will become bellicose, and attempt to drive off other
females from the place, especially if they are being run after
by a male, thus demonstrating the awakening of the anti-social
instincts of the mated female. This anti-social instinct is
important ; in February, 1937, in a garden in Gloucestershire
there was found to be only one male to three females — two
light-coloured ones continually disputing and a very dark
female half-heartedly objecting to both. She seemed more or
less mated to the male, but he frequently ran with lowered
head (an action used for expressing both animosity and
amorousness) after the light females and then after the dark
one. It was noticed that the light female which seemed his
fancy at the moment (I could not say if it was always the
same bird) took the initiative in scraps with her companion.
The position was somewhat similar to that on the observed
area in October. I think that the duty of getting rid of
superfluous females lies on the female in possession, and where
she is too old or lazy to do so, she brings on herself her own
vol. xxxi ] ACTIVITIES OF BLACKBIRDS.
39
partial or complete divorce, not only because her mate will
be attracted by the too close proximity of other females, but
also because they will never be able to perform the actual
marital act without the attentions and consequent interrup-
tions of the extra females. I only know of one case of a male
consorting with a female which his mate had not got rid of
before she began to sit. I watched the trio in February,
but it was not till the end of April that the proper mate had
eggs — a serious delay caused I think by the extra female.
The female has a special soft note “ sip ” when she and the
male are engaged in “ playing ” in the territory ; while the
male (so far I have seen only him to do it) between the chases
repeatedly wipes his beak on a branch. This action seems
with some species to be a common accompaniment of the
male’s courtship activities ; for instance, the male House-
Sparrow invariably wipes his beak immediately just after or
just before coition. Hendy records it in the courtship of the
Woodlark ( Bird Watching), Pycraft for the Lesser Bird-of-
Paradise ( Camouflage in Nature). Significantly in these inter-
ludes if the male hears the cries of birds on the gathering
ground he will leave his mate and fly there.
At the end of February and beginning of March the male
Blackbird’s dealings with other males becomes more serious —
off the gathering ground — and the “ pushing ” method does
not always act so that claws are more often used, and some-
times, both birds attacking, there is what we would call a
stand-up fight in a manner reminiscent of Song-Thrushes.
'Some males, however, appear too weak to ensure the sanctity
of their homes, and their unfortunate mates are harried by
interloping males when in the very act of building the nest.
I have known only two cases of this, but in both the female
showed anger and intense dislike of the intruding male,
though in one case he was physically a far more splendid
bird than her puny, almost female-coloured mate.
At the end of February, 1937, I left Bristol where was the
observed area, and had no more opportunities of watching the
Blackbirds I had lived with throughout the winter. It was
a great pity as I could not find out whether at this time of the
year the male Blackbird begins to desert the gathering place
and to cling more and more to the territory kept warm for
him, as it were, by the female. If he does this, it explains why
the song is again heard and why it has not been heard before,
lip to the date of February 23rd I had not noticed the male
presumably belonging to the observed area living in it more
40
BRITISH BIRDS.
TVOL. XXXI.
L
than usual, but also there was no male singing in the area.
Occasionally there had been heard songs from other birds, and
I noticed these were always sung away from the gathering
place, which point I noticed in previous years, but none of
these birds or their territories could be watched by me daily
as those of the observed area. I have heard a male Blackbird
sing during the intervals of an encounter with another male,
but that is quite a different thing from the gatherings. How-
ever, I would not like to say the song is never sung at the
gathering place.
Towards mid-March the gatherings seem to get more
excited and persistent, and at the same time, less intelligent —
if one can use that phrase. The birds are like clockwork mice
running in all directions, chasing and being chased as they
cross each other’s paths. Indeed, sometimes it seems that a
bird running after another is mechanically forced to drop
the pursuit if a third should come between, and perhaps turn
off at right angles to follow the fresh trail. Often the birds
grow too impatient to run, and use flight as a means of
progression, a low skimming flight just over the top of the
grass. An entire lack of what we would call constancy is the
characteristic of these meetings, any female is pursued by any
male ; yet in the territory when he is courting his mate prior
to coition, the male will violently repulse intruding females.
Towards the end of March many females are collecting
nesting material, yet these, if they venture near the gathering
place, are pestered as fervently as less obviously mated birds.
The female thus engaged resents and dislikes these attentions.
She runs at the objectionable male to keep him at his distance,
and flies away to continue her work in peace.
This increased activity at the gathering place would
contradict my belief that at this time the males begin to take
a greater interest in their territories, signalized by the
reappearance of their song, if it were not that I think some of
the males at the gathering place are birds which have no
mates and which indeed may not breed that year. Also that
those which will breed, having now so much greater energy
and force than in the winter owing to the physiological
changes in their bodies, are capable of attending the gatherings
and attending to their territories, first of all by short frequent
visits, which become more and more protracted until in April
a complete break is made — “and its best song is hardly heard
until April or May. ” (H. G. Alexander) Moreover, ninety per
cent, of my records of male fighting male in private territory by
physical and not suggestive means occurs after mid-February,
vol. xxxi.] ACTIVITIES OF BLACKBIRDS.
41
mostly in March. This is surely not accidental, but on account
of the increasing value the male attaches to his own home and
mate. Strictly speaking, however, as March is really spring,
descriptions of activities seen in this month do not belong to
an account of winter behaviour.
I should like to draw attention to one fact which was much
impressed on me while watching Blackbirds, that is, the great
importance of the female in preserving the standards and ways
of life ol the species. There are signs that on her devolves the
duty of driving away all other females from the territory, and
that if she neglects this duty, as an individual she lays herself
open to partial or complete abandonment, while as regards
the species there may be the serious result of polygamy, first
of all countenanced by the weak female, and at last becoming
the custom for all. I think most ornithologists agree that
monogamy is a higher, better state of affairs, gives a better
chance to the offspring, than polygamy.
Also, from my experience with the resident female on the
observed area, it seems largely the female which reserves and
lares for the territory in winter, not relinquishing her share of
guardianship until it is time for nest-building.*
Now, it is this love of territory which makes the female a
lerhaps unconscious stickler for monogamy, a love through
vbich the species is guarded from the evils of promiscuity, for
>oth males and females she drives away, thus getting rid of
emptation for her mate and herself. For so many male
blackbirds I have watched have not seemed at all averse to
adiscriminate courtship, and therefore, presumably, to
j adiscriminate mating ; hence the female’s sense of territory
• 5 of great value to the Blackbird, for it is their sixth
ommandment.
*There aie good but inconclusive grounds for believing that the
•male sings in winter a sort of Thrush-like sub-song ; this seems to
,ke place always in heavy cover. Mr. W. B. Alexander thinks this
so, and he and I have heard one such song which was almost ceitainly
:ng by a female, in Bagley Wood, Oxford.
(42)
MOVEMENTS OF RINGED BIRDS FROM ABROAD
TO THE BRITISH ISLES AND FROM THE
BRITISH ISLES ABROAD.
ADDENDA V.
BY
H. F. WITHERBY and E. P. LEACH.
(< Continued from page 24)
SHOVELER ( Spatula clypeata).
RINGED GREAT BRITAIN AS ADULT.
Ringed Recovered.
Pembroke 3. 11.35 Pomerania, Germany 30.8.36
COMMON POCHARD ( Nyroca f. ferina).
This is the first Pochard ringed abroad and reported here,
but we have had one ringed here in winter and reported in
August in northern Germany.
RINGED ABROAD AS YOUNG.
Ringed Recovered.
Hs. D4319 Helsingfors, Finland 13-6-33 Buckingham 22.12.33
TUFTED DUCK ( Nyroca fuligula).
RINGED ABROAD AS YOUNG OR IN BREEDING SEASON.
Ringed. Recovered.
Sk.
V7882
Myvatn, Iceland
8-7-34
Fife
5-H-34
Sk.
V6920
Ditto
26.7.32
Cavan
20.2.33
Sk.
D1580
Ditto
6.7.29
Tyrone
2.10.34
Rk.
4.581
Ditto (breeding adult)
20.6.35
Fife
5-i2-36
Rk.
4.649
Ditto (ditto)
7-7-35
Fermanagh
25-1-37
Rk.
4-591
Ditto (ditto)
28.6.35
Clare
—.1.36
SCAUP-DUCK ( Nyroca m. marila).
RINGED ABROAD AS YOUNG OR IN BREEDING SEASON.
Ringed. Recovered.
Sk.
V6942
Myvatn, Iceland
20.6.33
Orkney
2312. 33
(breeding adult)
Sk.
V9716
Ditto
(ditto)
22.6.34
Firth of Forth
18.1.36
Sk.
V6893
Ditto
5-7-32
L.Erne, Ireland
18.10.35
Sk.
V9791
Ditto
(ditto)
19.6.34
Ditto
25-1-36
Sk.
V6173
Ditto
(ditto)
29.6.31
L. Neagh, Ireland
12.2.34
Sk.
V6874
Ditto
7-7-31
Ditto
—-3-34
Sk.
V9719
Ditto
(ditto)
23-6-34
Mayo
—-2-35
Rk.
4-570
Ditto
(ditto)
15-6.35
Limerick
18.12.36
Rk.
3-4I9
Ditto
(ditto)
18.6.35
Kerry
— .11.36
CORMORANT ( Phalacrocorax
c. carbo).
RINGED GREAT BRITAIN AS NESTLINGS.
Ringed.
Recovered.
Wigtown
Summer, 1935 Brittany, France
16.9.35 to 29.11.35
(Eleven)
Ditto
3.7.35 Ditto
15.8.36
Ditto
15.7.36 Ditto
6.9.36
Ditto
3.8.34 Ditto
— .11.35
vol. xxxi.] MOVEMENTS OF RINGED BIRDS. 43
CORMORANT — ( continued ) .
RINGED GREAT BRITAIN AS NESTLINGS,
Ringed.
Recovered.
Northumberland 7.7.35
Brittany, Fiance
18.8.36
Anglesey
n.7.36
Ditto
21. 1 1.36
' Merioneth
7.6.36
Ditto
—.12.36
Pembroke
1-7-34
Ditto
20.12.35
Wigtown
Summer, 1035
Galicia, Spain 18.9.35 60
— 12.35
(Two)
SOUTHERN CORMORANT ( Phalacrocorax c. sinensis).
As has already been pointed out ( antea , Vol. XXIX.,
p. 358) these records form interesting proof of this race of
Cormorant visiting our shores.
RINGED ABROAD AS YOUNG.
Ringed. Recovered.
R.
^49371
Riigen, Germany
30. 5-34
Kent
5-2-35
R.
B31930
Ditto
28.5.33
Sussex
11.2.36
r
1 1 7003
Zuid Holland
27.6.32
Suffolk
11. 12.35
150629
Ditto
26-5-35
Dorset
8.1.36
GANNET ( Sula bassana ).
These records show that some immature Gannets remain
outh at all events until April, while others are to be found
0 the North Sea. Mauritania remains the most southerly
'Oint reached by ringed birds.
RINGED GREAT BRITAIN AS NESTLINGS.
Ringed. Recovered.
irassholm
17-7-34
Oslofjord, Norway
—-9-35
[Pembroke]
►itto
2-7-33
N. Frisian Is., Germany
—-9-35
'itto
17-7-34
Mecklenburg, Germany
2. 3-36
»ass Rock
—-9-34
Heligoland, Germany
4-12-35
'itto
—-9-34
Ditto
4-12-35
ilsa Craig
29-7-35
Texel, Holland
11.8.36
rassholm
17-7-34
Seine Inf., France
I5-II-35
’itto
17-7-34
Ditto
17-9-35
’itto
17-7-34
Finistere, France
— 10.35
'itto
17-7-34
Ditto
22.9.35
’itto
29-6.35
Ditto
25.8.36
ass Rock
29-7-35
Ditto
30.8.36
rassholm
17-7-34
B. of Biscay
17-9-35
ilsa Craig
25-8-34
Ditto
—-I2-35
ass Rock
—-9-34
Ditto
4-10-35
rassholm
26.6.33
Morbihan, France
25-9-35
itto
17-7-34
Charente Inf., France
3I-5-36
itto
17-7-34
I. d’Yeu, W. France
16.2.36
itto
17-7-34
Belle He, W. France
18.1.36
itto
17-7-34
Gironde, France
—.2.36
ilsa Craig
29-7-35
Landes, France
9-10-35
itto
29-7-35
Ditto
23-9-35
rassholm
17-7-34
Vizcaya, Spain
3110.35
itto
26.6.33
Santander, Spain
—-9-35
iss Rock
29-7-35
Ditto
910.35
•assholm
29-6.35
Asturias, Spain
6.9-35
tto
29-6-35
Ditto
27-5.36
44
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
GANNET — [continued) .
RINGED GREAT BRITAIN AS NESTLINGS.
Ringed.
Recovered.
Ailsa Craig
25-8.34
Minho, Portugal
—.2.36
Grassholm
W-7-34
Lisbon, Portugal
24.1.36
Ditto
17-7-34
Algarve, Portugal
— -3-36
Ditto
17-7-34
W. Coast, Marocco
—.4.36
Ailsa Craig
26.7.35
Ditto
11-12.35
Ditto
31-7-35
Canary Is.
I7-H-35
Ditto
26.7.35
Rio de Oro, W. Africa
3-2-39
Ditto
26.7.35
Ditto
16.12.36
Ditto
29-7-35
Mauritania, W. Africa
24-H-35
RINGED GREAT BRITAIN AS ADULTS.
Ringed.
Recovered.
Grassholm
W-7-34
North Sea, 53°48'N., 2°53'E.
4-8-35
Ditto
21-7-33
Galicia, Spain
2.2.36
MANX SHEARWATER (. Puffinus p. puffinus).
A map showing the positions reached by Manx Shearwaters
ringed at Skokholm and Skomer may be of interest. The
late date at which some of these birds were found has already
been commented upon by Mr. Lockley (vide antea, Vol. XXIX.,
p. 105).
Manx Shearwater
4* Recovered here. Ringed in breec/ing season 3+ Skokho/m
and Skomer
/ol. xxxi.] MOVEMENTS OF RINGED BIRDS. 45
Pembroke
’embroke
)itto
MANX SHEARWATER — {continued) .
RINGED GREAT BRITAIN AS NESTLING.
Ringed. Recovered.
5.9.36 Seine Inf., France
RINGED GREAT BRITAIN AS ADULTS.
Ringed. Recovered.
19.7.34 Belle He, W. France
16.7.34 Santander, Spain
8.9.36
-•3-35
9-9-35
WOOD-PIGEON ( Columba p. palumbus).
This is the first Wood-Pigeon ringed abroad which has been
ecorded here.
RINGED ABROAD AS NESTLING.
Ringed. Recovered.
•k. D1269 Jylland, Denmark 2.6.25 Queen’s Co.
k. A56073
N. Iceland
24.6.29
I. of Islay
28.2.36
k. G5362
Ditto
8.7.28
Galway 1930 or ’31
k. 6.1521
Ditto
24.7.36
I. of Skye
17.12.36
k. 5-934
N.W. Iceland
25-7-35
I. of Islay
14-12.35
k. 5.865
Ditto
5-7-35
Devon
28.11.35
k. 5.721
Myvatn, Iceland
25-6-35
Roscommon
4-3-36
TURTLE-DOVE ( Streptopelia t. turtur).
RINGED GREAT BRITAIN AS NESTLING.
Ringed. Recovered.
ussex 7-7-33 Gironde, France
OYSTER-CATCHER ( Hcematopus 0. occidentalis) .
RINGED GREAT BRITAIN AS NESTLING.
Ringed. Recovered.
orfolk 21.6.34 Loire Inf., France
i4-2-34
27-5-36
2.1 1.36
NORTHERN GOLDEN PLOVER (Charadrins a. altifrons).
RINGED ABROAD AS YOUNG.
Ringed.
Recovered.
LAPWING
RINGED GREAT
Ringed.
( V anellus vanellus) .
BRITAIN AS NESTLINGS.
Recovered.
orkshire
— .5.31 Finistere, France
29.10.35
imberland
2.6.35 Vendee, France
I5-3-36
enfrew
26.5.35 [ Gironde, France
1 Noord Holland
I7-3-36
3-7-36
imberland
3-5-35 Gironde, France
5-2.36
ork
7.5.33 Ditto
24-12. 35
leshire
I2-5-35 Herault, France
— .1.36
•'estmorland
i 19.6.35 Asturias, Spain
RINGED ABROAD AS YOUNG.
4.1.36
Ringed.
Recovered.
1. E2801
Salamiestis, Lithuania 2.6.35
Lincoln
3OI-37
17214C
Gotland, Sweden 25.5.33
Ditto
1. 10. 34
. X152
Oland, Sweden 28.5.34
Ditto
5-11-36
34404C
Ditto 3-7-35
Ditto
8-12.35
- A3967
Malmo, Sweden 9.6.31
Ditto
2.12.34
A4372
Ditto 20.5.31
Clare
8.12.36
. A6014
Jylland, Denmark 12.6.30
Lincoln
12.1.33
46
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
LAPWIN G — ( continued ) .
RINGED ABROAD AS YOUNG.
Ringed.
Recovered.
Sk. S10865
Jylland, Denmark
15.8.34 Lincoln
19-11.34
Sk. T3445
Ditto
15.6.32 Pembroke
112.33
Sk. X10707
Ditto
4.6.31 Roscommon
22.11.34
Sk. S10686
Ditto
24.5.36 Clare
3-1-37
Sk. T4896
Sjaelland, Denmark
5.6.32 Lincoln
3-II-32
Sk. X10771
Ditto
5.6.33 Kildare
I4-I-35
H. 677538A
Schleswig-Holstein
29 .5.35 Lincoln
i-i-37
R. E47394
Hanover, Germany
21. 5. 31 Norfolk
23-1-37
ICELAND REDSHANK
(' Tringa t. robusta).
RINGED ABROAD
AS YOUNG.
Ringed.
Recovered.
Rk. 5.475
Myvatn, Iceland
5.6.35 North Ronaldshay,
Orkney 23.10.35
Sk. T4722
Ditto
19.6.32 Flint 26.12.36
AVOCET ( Recurvirostra avosctta).
This unexpected case of an
Avocet from the south of
France has
, already been commented on (vide antea, Vol.
XXX., pp.
50 and 95).
RINGED ABROAD
AS YOUNG.
Ringed.
Recovered.
P. F3211
Camargue, S. France
26.5.34 Essex
8.8.34
CURLEW ( Numenius a. arquata).
RINGED ABROAD
AS YOUNG.
Ringed.
Recovered.
St. B839
Lake Vanern, Sweden
28.6.32 Clare
— -H-32 j
G. 12303D
Gotland, Sweden
13.6.30 Roscommon
30.9.35 ;
G. 22619D
Oland, Sweden
23.6.34 Dumfries
—-9-36 1
G. 3523D
Ditto
26.6.27 Lincoln
0.1.35
G. 23720D
Ditto
24.6.35 Ditto
-11-35 *
G. 22609 D
Ditto
22.6.34 Norfolk
1-9-34 j
COMMON SNIPE ( Capella g. gallinago) .
RINGED ABROAD
AS YOUNG.
Ringed.
Recovered.
H.671478A
Schleswig-Hol stein
6.6.35 Mayo
30-9-35
RINGED ABROAD .
A.S MIGRANT.
Ringed.
Recovered.
H. 787994
Heligoland 28.10.35 Devon
25-1-37
F7EROE SNIPE (Capella g. jceroeensis).
RINGED ABROAD
AS YOUNG.
Ringed.
Recovered.
Rk. 6.956
Myvatn, Iceland
21.6.35 N. Uist, Hebrides
21.10.35
Rk. 6.1224
Ditto
8.6.36 Limerick
8.11.36
vol. xxxi ] MOVEMENTS OF RINGED BIRDS.
47
JACK SNIPE ( Lymnocryptes minimus).
•eportedh^re^ ^ Sn‘pe ™ged abr0ad which has becn
I. CC1095
RINGED ABROAD AS MIGRANT
vr Ringed. • Recovered
Namur’ Belgium 3.10.36 Pembroke 26.12.36
Stirling
9itto
dorav
Hinged.
WOODCOCK ( Scolopax r. rusticola) .
RINGED GREAT BRITAIN AS NESTLINGS.
24.IO.36
6ii-35
i3I2-35
it.
it.
E191
X906
579838
Recovered.
27.6.34 West Flanders
9-5-35 Guipuzcoa, Spain
28.4.35 Estremadura, Portugal
RINGED ABROAD AS YOUNG
■ q RinSed- Recovered.
Scania, Sweden 28.5.32 Dumfries 28 1 35
Dltto 29.6.34 Mavo _Y^
RINGED ABROAD AS ADULT. * ’ J
n ^n,^id- Recovered.
Heligoland 9.3.36 Aberdeen 22 , ^
T +1 • ^NDWICH L ERN ( Sterna s. sandvicensis).
In this list is included a recovery reported from Natal
ns being the second Sandwich Tern which has reached
lat distance point. Several further cases of birds staying
mth into the summer may be noted.
RINGED GREAT BRITAIN AS NESTLINGS.
Ringed.
ancashire
orfolk
itto
itto
itto
itto
tto
tto
mcashire
orthumberland
imberland
fe (Two)
3-6.34
14.6.36
12.6.35
14.6.36
8-6 .33
10.7.29
12.6.35
25-6.35
23-6.35
29.6.36
-•6-35
6.7-35
tto
of May
mberland (Two)
4-7-36
6.7-35
' / I '-'Oiu
Summer, 1935 1 Angola
Recovered
Nord, France
Pas-de-Calais, France
Calvados, France
Vendee, France
Charente Inf., France
Aude, France
Galicia, Spain
Murcia, Spain
Algeria
Spanish Marocco
Western Marocco
f Ivory Coast
' Angola
Gold Coast
Ditto
f Gold Coast
ncashire (Four)
Summer, 1935
14.6.32
irfolk
Ito (Three)
tto (Fifteen)
j5.6.34
—■6-35
:to
to
rthumberland
nbcrland
256.35
I2-6-35
25-6.35
j5-6.33
f 3 Gold Coast
1 1 Angola
Gold Coast
( 1 Gold Coast
t 2 Angola
f 9 Gold Coast
' 6 Angola
Gold Coast
Gabun, W. Africa
Angola
Ditto
5-7-36
20.8.36
—•9.36
310.36
24.9.35
2I-7-35
29.9 35
3-i 1. 35
1 7.5.36
17.10.36
21.7.36
—.2.36
—.11.36
—.2.36
— .2.36
— 6.36
r9.n.35 to 25.1.36
28.3.36
— 11 33
14. 10.35
25-3.36 ; —.6.36
26.11.35 to 6.2.36
— .1.36 to — .6.36
29.9.36
2.7.36
25.3.36
—.11.36
48
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
SANDWICH TERN — {continued).
RINGED GREAT
Ringed.
Cumberland - — .6.34
Lancashire 10.6.36
Norfolk (Two) 19.6.33
Ditto (Three) — .6-35
North Ireland (Two) 12.7.35
Ditto 12-7-35
Cumberland —.6.34
BRITAIN AS NESTLINGS.
Recovered.
Angola
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
Natal, S. Africa
I4-4-36
—.11.36 I
20.12.35 ; —.11.36 I
—.11,36 I
-.3-36 ; 30-5-36 [
—-11-36 f
12-3-37 !
COMMON TERN ( Sterna h. hirundo).
We have not previously had ringed Common Terns reported
south of Spain. It will be noticed that one of the two recorded
here from West Africa was found there in May.
RINGED GREAT BRITAIN AS NESTLINGS.
Ringed. Recovered.
Norfolk 20.7.33 Nord, France 1.9.35 -J
Ditto 3-8-35 Ditto 4-IO-35
Dorset 4-7-29 Vendee, France — -9-36 |
Ditto 9-7-3° Ditto x936 u
Firth of Forth 6.8.36 Galicia, Spain 1.10.36 [
Lancashire 30.6.35 Senegal, W. Africa 10.5.36 |
Norfolk 19-7-35 Gold Coast, W. Africa — -1-36 1
RINGED ABROAD AS YOUNG.
Ringed. Recovered.
G. B4464 L. Malaren, Sweden 2.7.33 Lincoln 27.8.35 ;.
ARCTIC TERN ( Sterna macrura).
It is curious that while a fair percentage of Common Terns n
ringed here is reported a very small percentage of Arctic I
has so far been recovered, and this is the first ringed in this |
country which has been reported from abroad.
RINGED GREAT BRITAIN AS NESTLING.
Ringed. Recovered.
Orkney —-7-35 Portugal — -9-35 t
BLACK-HEADED GULL ( Larus r. ridibundus).
Reference may be made to the summary of the records of
birds ringed abroad and recovered in this country, made on
pages 250-1 of the Vol. XXV. and the map appearing on
p. 256 of the same volume.
Details of recoveries since published and those which have
accumulated since our last “ Addenda ” do not greatly alter *
the summary mentioned and as only slight revisions are •
required it seems unnecessary to publish details here of all
the recent records.
The Black-headed Gulls ringed in their breeding-places and
recovered here now number 320, a total only surpassed by the |
Starling. Of this total 58 have been received since our last
published list.
■ ■■- ^
'OL. xxxi.] MOVEMENTS OF RINGED BIRDS. 49
VVun one exception the areas of origin and dispersal are
he same as given previously.
1 he exception is a bird ringed in Iceland as a young one in
une, 1934, and recovered in Orkney in November or Decem-
’erb!935. [his is the first ringed Black-headed Gull which has
cached us irom Iceland and the first which has been reported
rom Scotland. Of the large number of those ringed on the
•ontment none has been so far reported from Scotland
tough there are three Northumberland recoveries.
With regard to the dispersal of the birds over the British
stands the percentages given on page 251 of volume XXV
houkl be somewhat modified and made approximated
2 per cent, for the eastern half of England, 25 per cent
)r the western half and 3 per cent, for Ireland. Of the eastern
irds approximately 80 per cent, have been reported from
orfolk southwards.
Black-Headed Gull
Map to show places abroad where ringed as nestlings
and places of recovery in winter in British Isles.
he large dots represent records of sing /e birds The small dots In the
frecGrdTred ereas Can 0n,y show 3 proportion of the total number
1 he months of the unpublished recoveries have been from
igust to March with a few in April, while a few exceptional
:ords m May and June deserve special mention and are set
t below : —
RINGED AS YOUNG.
Ringed. Recovered.
land, Denmark 22.6.32 Wexford . 6
to 22 -7-35 Cheshire ’6'^6
50
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
BLACK- HEADED GULL — [continued) .
Ringed as young.
Oland, Sweden
Vastmanland,
Ringed.
Recover :d.
16.6.34 Lancashire
1-6-35
Sweden
7.6.34 Essex
RINGED AS ADULT.
4-5-35
Ringed.
Zeeland, Holland 18.7.32 Kent
Recovered.
1.6.34
Of these the four-year-old bird recovered in Wexford in
May and the adult bird in Kent in June are remarkably
late, but were not found in breeding places. The others being
only one year old would still be immature.
In the case of this species and the Common Gull the areas
of dispersal in this country of birds ringed as nestlings abroad
are of considerable interest, and we have prepared maps
showing approximately by a dot where each bird was reported
in England, Wales and Ireland, as well as the places on the
Continent where they were ringed.
In considering the areas from which the birds were derived
it must be borne in mind that some of our winter visitors
doubtless come from breeding places where no ringing takes
place. In the case of the Starling we can get a surer idea of
the extent of the breeding area, because in addition to those
ringed at nesting places abroad, a number of birds ringed
here in winter have been subsequently reported at breeding
haunts abroad. Only three or four Gulls ringed here in winter
have been so far reported on their return to summer quarters,
and the places on the Continent marked on these two maps are
only those where ringing has been carried on.
We have now some 170 records of Common Gulls ringed
abroad and recovered in this country. Of these 58 have taken
place since the publication of our last list, but as these do not
extend the area of origin as given in the map on page 259
of Vol. XXV., it has been decided not to list them
separately.
The numbers of recoveries in various parts of the country
somewhat alter the proportions given in the account on
page 256 of Vol. XXV. Approximately these percentages
now are 80 per cent, for the eastern half of England and
20 per cent, for the western half. There are only four recoveries
recorded for Wales, one for Ireland (Wexford) and one for
Scotland, all of which have been published in previous lists.
Only one has been reported from as far north as Northumber-
land and two from Cumberland, but the proportion of those
COMMON GULL ( Larus c. canus)
vol xxxl] MOVEMENTS OF RINGED BIRDS. 51
.Norfo,k is rather higher than
■against 20 per cent. ' mg aPProximately 30 per cent.
been* ol ; a British-bred Common Gull has yet
ringed at a Mirlrh°m abroad’. bllt two adults caught and
north 1" f 6SeX reServoir have been reported from the
’ b e they were presumably native. These are
Middlesex Rmged- Recovered.
Ditto 4-2-35 Rordmor Norway 14.8.36
3 -7-35 J amt land, Sweden 2 7 36
Co m mo n Gull
MaPta°n?nl^ Pla7V abr°ad nesHinqs
r. . , , and Places of recovery in winter in BriH,h ui».
orS'"9'' birds /”
of records. y sf,ov * Proportion of the total num6er
HERRING-GULL ( Larus a. argentatus).
RINGED GREAT BRITAIN AS NESTLINGS
Rmged- r „T Recovered.
9-6. 35 Nord, France
22-6-35 Pas-de-Calais, France
RINGED GREAT BRITAIN IN WINTER.
Ringed. Recovered.
4* 2 35 Tromsfylke, Norway
RINGED ABROAD AS YOUNG.
JV- I339 Hovden, W. Norway 22 6 36 YoTks^^"
1416E Halland, Sweden ’ ^sex
RK6700 Jylland, Denmark .5,6.3? Middlesex
ent
itto
iddlesex
7-8 -33
-•3-36
-■6.35
29.12.36
1 7-9.35
r3-2.36
SCANDINAVIAN LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL
{Larus f. fuscus).
RINGED ABROAD AS YOUNG.
Recovered.
2-7-2>5 Yorkshire !4-9.35
Ringed.
320441 Jaeren, Norway
52
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL ( Larus f. graellsii).
RINGED GREAT BRITAIN AS NESTLINGS.
Ringed.
Recovered.
Orkney
24-7-35
Nord, France
7-II-35
Lancashire
9-6-35
Ditto
31.10.36
Ditto
30-6.35
Finistere, France
21.8.36
Ditto
16.6.36
Morbihan, France
4-io-36
Westmorland
27-7-34
Gironde, France
—-9-35
Ditto
24 7-36
Lisbon, Portugal
11. 10. 36
Lancashire
9-6.35
Estremadura, Portugal
6.336
Ditto
30.6.35
W. Marocco
I7-IO-35
GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL ( Larus marinus).
RINGED ABROAD AS NESTLINGS.
Ringed.
Stay. 30062 Sunnfjord, Norway 21.6.36
Stay. 30016 Ditto 21.6.36
Recovered.
Lincoln 10. 1.37
Norfolk 23.1.37
KITTIWAKE ( Rissa t. tridactyla).
Previous records have shown that Kittiwakes bred here
cross the Atlantic, and the two recorded below from Iceland
and Greenland are of considerable interest. It may be noted
that the Greenland bird was in its first autumn whereas
those previously recorded from Davis Strait, Labrador and
Newfoundland were all more than a year old.
RINGED GREAT BRITAIN AS NESTLINGS.
Ringed.
Northumberland 22.6.35
Ditto 21.6.36
Ditto 25.6.34
Berwick 20.6.36
Recovered.
West Iceland
South Greenland
Heligoland, Germany
Finistere, France
I3-5-36 <
1.10.36
29.12.35
29.10.36
RAZORBILL (A lea torda ).
RINGED GREAT BRITAIN AS NESTLINGS.
Pembroke
Ditto
Ditto
Ringed.
Recovered.
10.7.36 Ille-et-Vilaine, France 18.9.36
8.7.36 Landes, France 10. 11.36
8.7.36 Genoa, Italy 30,11.36
I. of May
Caithness
NORTHERN GUILLEMOT (Uria a. aalge).
RINGED GREAT BRITAIN AS NESTLINGS.
Ringed. Recovered.
6.7.35 Stavanger, Norway
2.7.36 Kristiansand, Norway
I. of May (Four) 27.6.36 South Norway
-•9-35
9.10.36
27.10.36 to 23.12.36
vol. xxxi.] MOVEMENTS OF RINGED BIRDS. 53
Pembroke
Ditto
SOUTHERN GUILLEMOT ( Uria a. albionis).
RINGED GREAT BRITAIN AS NESTLINGS.
Ringed. Recovered.
20.7.34 Bergen, Norway
19.7.34 Landes, France
RINGED ABROAD AS YOUNG.
Ringed. Recovered.
6.10.35
311-36
H. 322407 Heligoland
30.6.36 Essex
—.12.36
Ringed.
Northumberland 28.6.36
Ditto
P. D2682
PUFFIN ( Fratercula a. grabce).
RINGED GREAT BRITAIN AS NESTLINGS.
Recovered.
Haugesund, Norway
12.7.36 Flekkefjord, Norway
10. 11. 36
8.12.36
d. 676719A Heligoland
RINGED ABROAD IN BREEDING SEASON.
Ringed. Recovered.
Cotes-du-Nord, France 6.7.34 Scilly Is. (nesting)
-•5-36
WATER-RAIL ( Rallus a. aquaticus).
RINGED ABROAD AS MIGRANT.
Ringed. Recovered.
4.10.35 Norfolk 11. 11. 35
1MOTES
NOTES FROM THE BRISTOL DISTRICT.
Firecrest (Regains i. ignicapillus) . — The skin of one
picked up on Clifton Downs, Bristol, in the autumn of 1914
is in the Bristol Museum collections. It has only rarely been
recorded from Gloucestershire.
Northern Willow-Warbler ( Phylloscopus trochilus
acredula). — A male from Lympsham, Somerset, April 8th,
1926, is in the Bristol Museum collections. This is the first
definite record for Somerset. ( Report on Somerset Birds,
1936, p. 10.)
Dark-breasted Brent Goose ( Branta b. bernicla ). — A flock
of these Brent Geese varying in numbers up to a maximum of
thirteen (on February 21st) was seen on the flats between
Avonmouth and Severn Beach on nine dates between
February 7th and March 28th, 1937. On the last occasion
there was only one bird. The numbers varied from three on
February 7th and nth, to six on February 15th, thirteen on the
21st, ten or eleven on the 27th and 28th and March 6th and
7th, and one on the 28th. They were seen at close range,
and were all dark-breasted. As we have no recent records
at all of Brent Geese from these flats and as they all belonged
to the dark, or eastern form, it seems safe to assume that
their presence was also due to the wintry weather mentioned
previously. (B.B. XXX., p. 370-371.)
Scandinavian Lesser Black-backed Gull ( Larus f. fuscus)
— There was at least one of this race at Sea Mills, Bristol,
on the boundary between Somerset and Gloucestershire on
April 20th, 1937. The bird was seen, both at rest and in
flight, in a very good light though a strong wind was blowing,
and there were for comparison adults of the Great Black-
backed Gull ( L . marinas) and of the British Lesser Black-
backed Gull ( L.f.graellsii ). At one time an adult of each of
these three races was settled close together. The only
previous definite record for this district, also from Sea Mills,
is given by K. B. Rooke and K. D. Smith (B.B., XXVIII.,
pp. 117-118).
Cormorant ( Phalacrocorax c. carbo ). — On a recent visit to
Steep Holm, Somerset, on May 1st, 1937, bv members of the
VOL. XXXI.]
NOTES.
55
Ornithological Section of the Bristol Naturalists Societ}^
'Some large young could be seen in one of the nests of this
^colony sitting up beside the parent bird. These young
would be more than a fortnight old, which would give April
17th as the approximate date of hatching and March 17th
as the date when the eggs were laid, allowing an incubation
I period of about 28 days. This seems unusually early as the
breeding season given in the Practical Handbook is “ usually
latter half of April or early May ” and is specially remarkable
in view of the fact that about that date (March nth to 14th)
there was very wintry weather with snow and gales. Other
lests contained eggs and small young but only a few could be
examined. H. Tetley.
UNUSUAL DISPLAY BY CHAFFINCHES.
)n June 1 2th, near East Horsley, I saw an unusual display
-y a cock and hen Chaffinch ( Fringilla ccelebs). I turned
ay glasses on a singing Chaffinch and was watching it when
I : half fell and half fluttered through the leaves on to a
>ough two feet below, where a hen bird was feeding. He
ontinued to sing and strutted towards her, there is no other
mrd for it, with his body upright, chest out and head back
ery much indeed like a pouter pigeon. The hen meanwhile
I ad turned so as to be at an angle of some 1450 towards the
ne of his body with her tail therefore almost facing him.
I he tail and head were held out horizontally and the wings,
I ilf open, vibrated very rapidly. She made no noise. As
le cock came nearer, the hen’s tail was elevated four or
ve times rapidly and on the last two occasions so high as to
iow her distended cloaca very clearly. The cock was
ow a foot away when something disturbed him, he imme-
ately flew to another branch while the hen recovered herself
id went on feeding. The whole display lasted about four
inutes — it was not timed and this is a conjecture — and the
>ck sang throughout. E. M. Cawkell.
SHORT INCUBATION PERIOD OF SKYLARK.
x April 22nd, 1937, I flushed a Skylark ( Aland a a. arvensis)
im a bare scrape in black soil under a grass tuft on the
'est Lancashire Golf Links. On the next day, a slight
;ing had been built round the hollow forming a rim to
e nest. This remained unaltered on the 24th, 25th and
th, but by 10 a.m. on the 28th the nest was well lined and
ntained two eggs. At 5 p.m. on the 29th, the bird flew
56
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
off three eggs and was sitting at the same time on the following
day. By 5 p.m. on May 10th, two eggs had completely
hatched and the old bird was feeding the young ones. The
third egg turned out to be addled. At 2 p.m. on the 19th
one young was still in the nest, but had gone by the evening
of the 20th. This gives and incubation period of twelve,
and possibly only eleven days and a fledging period of nine
to ten. J. B. Taylor.
[See British Birds , XXIII., pp. 126 and 189 for similar
instances of short incubation period.— F. C. R. Jourdain.]
WAXWINGS IN YORKSHIRE.
On April 8th, 1937, a Waxwing (Bomby cilia garrulus) was
seen at very close quarters in Peasholm Glen, Scarborough,
by Mr. C. B. Horsman. It was feeding on hips. Mr.
Hyde-Parker told me of two seen at Filey, feeding on
pyracanthus berries on March 2nd. W. J. Clarke.
PIED FLYCATCHER IN PERTHSHIRE.
As the records for the Pied Flycatcher ( Muscicapa h.
hypoleuca ) in Scotland, particularly north of the Forth and
Clyde, are rare, it is worth recording that I was able to
observe at close quarters a male, in the Loch Achray district
of Perthshire, on May 18th, 1937. Even with the naked
eye the white patch on the forehead and on the wings
could be clearly seen. Further corroboration was provided by
its frequent song, uttered in phrases of three notes at a time,
from birch trees overhanging a rocky and rapidly flowing
stream. After being disturbed the bird returned three times
to the same place which led me to believe that the female
was nesting near by. Edward T. Vernon.
THE NEST-BUILDING INSTINCT OF A BLACKBIRD.
The following is an interesting example of the limitations of
a bird’s perception. In an outside passage way adjoining
the house in which I live, a ladder hangs flat to the wall
upon two hooks. The rungs are just nailed on and so a
ledge is formed against the wall by the lower pole, which is
interrupted at fixed intervals by the rungs, which are in an
upright position and form a number of square openings to
this continuous ledge behind.
VOL. XXXI.]
NOTES.
57
A Blackbird ( Tardus m. merula) began to build a nest
here and was completely baffled by the similarity of the
openings ; so much so that there are nest foundations all
along the ledge, each of the six openings having been favoured
in turn by the building bird.
When this stage was past, she was evidently nearly as
baffled by the continuation of the nest, for there are three
separate focal points, where a “ chassis ”, so to speak, of
the nest has been carried on up from the foundations.
There is evidently a progressive frame of mind, as the nest
proceeds, for whereas previously every entrance was visited
now only three were.
In the early stages clearly the perception in the bird’s
i mind is just “ a space to lay something flat, as a beginning ”,
so naturally there was no differentiation between the entrances
! even if some still had no primary foundations. Then this
phase passes and the predominant idea in the bird’s mind is
“ building up the starting of this new process is still
difficult enough to make her continue simultaneously at three
- separate points, but there is a wider perception involved, and
an extension of “ nest ” to include a part of the surroundings
as well. There is a difference in degree in the importance
of the “ nest ” idea in the bird’s perceptual held finding its
expression in an almost quantitative absorption by the
“ nest ” of more and more of that held, so the logical con-
clusion is that by degrees two and then only one of the focal
points will continue to occupy the bird’s mental interpretation
of the held perceived.
Interestingly this is just what happened. One of the
“ built up ” places is very rudimentary, a second is larger
and has the slight beginnings of a cup, while the third has
j grown to the dimensions of an ordinary nest. Thus we have
remarkable confirmation of the theoretically probable train
of mental images developing in the bird’s mind.
That this third nest never got as far as having its mud
consolidation laid down may indicate that an exhaustion of
the nest-building instinct had occurred consequent to the
abnormal demands made upon it. The spreading out of
the usual time sequence of the various phases of nest building,
which should follow quite rapidly upon one another, probably
made it impossible for the whole associated train to remain
coherent. By “ monkeying about ” with the parts, so to
speak, the whole lost its coherence. H. N. Southern.
58
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
[As in other cases of multiple nest-building, it is the arti-
ficial nature of the sites (which exactly resemble one another,
owing to the fact that they are man-made) which causes
confusion in the bird’s mind. Such exact resemblances do
not exist in nature. — F.C.R.Jourdain.]
BLACKBIRD BROODING DUCK’S EGG.
This instance of curious behaviour on the part of a Blackbird
(Turdus m. merula) was brought to my notice recently
by a gamekeeper in Wirral, Cheshire. x\ Mallard ( Anas
platyrhyncha) had made a nest — rather a scanty one — and
laid one egg, in the fork of a tree growing in a pond about
nine or ten feet from the bank. The nest was about eighteen
inches above the water. This egg remained for about a
fortnight, and it was then noticed that a hen Blackbird was
brooding it. She continued to do so for about seventeen
days, and then the egg disappeared. It is thought to have
been taken by a Carrion-Crow, which had been frequenting
the wood and taking Ducks’ eggs. I visited the place a few
times, once with a friend, and each time the Blackbird sat
closely, and only flew off when the branches of the tree were
shaken. Mary Henderson.
WHINCHAT AND CHIFFCHAFF ON ACHILL ISLAND,
CO. MAYO.
At close quarters on Ma}/ 14th, 1937, 1 saw a Whinchat (Saxicola
y. rubetra ) singing on the top of a turf dyke at Bull Mouth on
Achill Sound, and on the 18th heard aChiffchaff ( Phylloscopus
c. collybita ) in Glendarary Wood, perhaps the only place on the
island to suit its needs. Ussher, in his report on the birds for
the Clare Island Survey, 1909-1911 ( Pyoc . Roy. lYish Acad.,
XXXI., pi. 20, 1912) does not record the Whinchat for Achill or
elsewhere in the area with which the survey was concerned,
nor the Chiffchaff from any of the islands in the area, although
he found it not uncommon in wooded districts on the main-
land, as about Westport. Chas. Oldham.
BREEDING OF COMMON POCHARD IN
CARMARTHENSHIRE.
The nesting of the Pochard ( NyYOca f. feYina ) has been recorded
from North Wales in Anglesey and Merioneth, but there
appears to be not a single instance of its breeding in South
VOL. XXXI.]
NOTES.
59
Wales ; consequently, the writer is pleased to state that he
found a nest in south Carmarthenshire during 1937.
The species is present at this particular spot in varying
numbers during the winter, some years averaging over 120,
others only 20 or 30.
Before going into details, it should be mentioned that
'Messrs. G. C. S. Ingram and H. Morrey Salmon visited the
-spot on July 5th, 1936, and were much intrigued by the
behaviour of a duck Pochard, which was continually flying
in and out of some reeds in an agitated manner ; they were
convinced that she had young there.
During the second half of April, 1937, the writer paid
-several visits to this piece of water, and soon came to the
conclusion that at least two, and probably four, pairs of
Pochards were breeding there.
The first real attempt to obtain definite proof was made
on May 7th, 1937, and was successful in finding a nest con-
•taining nine fresh eggs. Most books, when referring to the
• nesting of the Pochard, mention Coots’ nests, but this nest
■ was in a situation often adopted by Mallards (at any rate in
this district), i.e., on the sheltered side of a thick clump of
;harp-pointed, dark-green rushes ( J uncus acutus) ; the
greenish eggs were well covered with down, which is darker
than a Mallard’s, in fact almost black. The few feathers
obtained were small, and grey with white tips.
The next day the duck was flushed from within two yards
of the nest, and she then flewr to the open water where she
vas immediately joined by a very perturbed drake Pochard.
J. F. Thomas.
COMMON EIDERS IN KENT.
In view of the fact that Eiders ( Somateria m. mollissima )
iave been recorded during this last winter off the Kent and
Sussex coasts (Vol. XXX., pp. 295, 323), it is a matter of
some interest that on May 17th, 1937, we saw seven brown
oirds and an immature drake of this species flying together
'lose inshore past the eastern point of the Isle of Sheppey.
R. B. Sibson,
P. W.'E. Currie,
E. H. Gillham.
SOUACCO HERON IN LANCASHIRE.
.ast year whilst examining a number of skins in a taxi-
termist’s shop in Southport, the writers noticed a mounted
iquacco Heron ( Ardcola ralloides) and were informed that
: had been shot some years ago in the district but had never
60
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
been claimed after it had been mounted. Recently, further
investigation revealed that the bird was actually shot in
August, 1930, by Mr. John Ryding on his farm at Banks,
near Southport. According to the shooter, with whom we
have been in correspondence, the bird appeared from inland
about seven o’clock in the evening and flew straight into
some trees on the farm, amongst which it was shot. The
weather at the time was dull, after heavy rain.
The specimen, which we have examined in conjunction
with comparative material, is, we believe, fully adult, but
as we were not able to remove it from its case, a thorough
critical examination was impossible. The bird was not sexed.
It is now in the possession of Mr. D. D. Pennington of
Birkdale, Southport, and it may seem strange that a bird
so rare in this country, could be shot without its obituary
notice appearing before now. This was accounted for,
however, when we learned that the shooter passed the bird
in the flesh to Mr. Pennington, who took it to be mounted.
Subsequent prolonged illness caused Mr. Pennington to over-
look the existence of the specimen and it was only recently,
when we drew his attention to it, that he remembered the
occurrence.
From our enquiries, we are absolutely satisfied as to the
reliability of this record and believe it can unreservedly be
accepted as a first record of the species in Lancashire, although
the possibility of the bird being an “ escape ” cannot be
overlooked. Reginald Wagstaffe,
John Clegg.
BLACK-NECKED GREBE IN KENT IN SPRING.
On April 25th, 1937, I saw a Black-necked Grebe ( Podiceps
n. nigricollis) on a fleet in the Marshes near High Halstow.
It was in full summer plumage. P. W. E. Currie.
DOTTEREL ON HOLY ISLAND.
In misty weather with a north wind, when I was staying on
Holy Island, three Dotterel ( Charadrius morinellus) were
found feeding on a recently-sown cornfield on May 13th,
1937. During the night they were joined by a fourth bird.
All were very tame and allowed of a close approach. During
the night of the 14th, when the weather cleared, the birds
all moved on. As far as I could gather from the Islanders
several of whom had noticed the birds, for the field was just
outside the village, this was the first time Dotterel had ever
been seen on the island. Sydney H. Long.
VOL. XXXI.]
NOTES.
61
KENTISH PLOVER IN CHESHIRE.
On May 21st, I spent half an hour watching a Kentish Plover
(Charadrius a. alexandrinus) near Sanclbach in south Cheshire.
Although there are odd autumn records for this species at
Altrincham Sewage Farm, it has only been observed once
before on the spring migration in this county ; namely, by
T. A. Coward, who saw two at Marbury Mere, Northwich,
on April 29th, 1908. ( British Birds, Vol. II., p. 32.)
My bird was with a Ringed Plover (C. hiaticula) on a spit
of sandy mud which juts out into a ‘ flash,’ or subsidence
slowly caused by brine-pumping and now a pool of some
■size. This spit is a regular halting place for Ringed Plovers
and Dunlins in spring, and they frequently drop in in the
evening. On May 21st I examined the spit at 6.15 p.m. and
drew a blank, but returning at 7 p.m. after visiting some other
‘ flashes,’ found the Kentish and Ringed Plovers, side by
'side and asleep. They remained very inactive, hardly fed
at all and were evidently tired.
I never had a moment’s doubt about identification. Both
birds were fully in the open at less than fifty yards. The
light was excellent, with the sun directly behind me, and I
had a telescope. I know the Kentish Plover well in Texel
and the Camargue. R. B. Sibson.
INCUBATION PERIOD OF REDSHANK.
Finding out incubation-periods of certain species of birds is
often a very trying business, and so it may be worth while men-
tioning that accurate data for the Redshank ( Tot anus calidris)
were obtained in 1937 on the Carmarthenshire coast. The
period is within that given by the Practical Handbook (i.e.,
23-25 days).
April 10th
nth
Mav
12th (11 a.m.)
13th (n a.m.)
14th (noon)
7th (10 a.m.)
nest found with 2 eggs.
2 eggs.
3 eggs.
3 eggs.
4 eggs.
one bird poking its head out
of the shell, and 3 eggs,
all 4 hatched.
(3.30 p.m.)
This gives a period of 23-24 days. It will be noticed that
the eggs were laid on alternate days (so also in another nest),
a fact which the Practical Handbook does not mention. The
nest itself was completely open to the sky, being about 2
inches deep in a small patch of thick moss and dwarf willow,
and without the least sign of lining. There was a similar
nest, also with four eggs, only 13 yards distant.
J. F. Thomas.
02
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
INCUBATION PERIOD OF WATER-RAIL.
As the incubation period of the Water- Rail ( Rallus a.
aquaticus) seems to be unknown, the following data may
be of interest. I found the nest of a Water-Rail in Norfolk
on May 24th. It contained then seven eggs. Two days
later there were nine, and on that afternoon the bird was
put off from the nest showing that she had already begun
to sit. At 11 a.m. on June 14th the bird was on the nest
and covering seven young ones and an egg that appeared
to be addled. The young were only just dry. The incuba-
tion period is thus 19 to 20 days, which is shorter than I
should have suspected. J. Vincent.
[The incubation period of this species has been determined by
Herr A. Heinroth as 19-20 days, thus agreeing with Mr.
Vincent’s result. Incubation does not always begin with the
completion of the clutch. — F.C.R.J.]
Bluethroat in Norfolk. — Mr. G. M. King informs us
that on May 15th, 1937, he saw a male Bluethroat ( Luscinia
svecica) in suseda bushes at Brancaster. The characteristic
tail was noticed and a partial view of its blue throat was
obtained, but nothing was seen of any central spot.
Influx of Grebes and Divers. — In connexion with the
notes on the influx of Grebes and Divers (Vol. XXX., pp.
370-373), Mr. A. W. Boyd writes that he saw the Red-necked
Grebe (P. griseigena) at Marbury, Cheshire (p. 373), as late
as May 12th, and that two Slavonian Grebes ( P . auritus)
were at Bellfields, Staffs, (p. 373) on April 25th, one being
in full plumage, the other changing from winter plumage.
Mr. P. W. E. Currie informs us that the maximum number
of Slavonian Grebes at Mitcham, Surrey, was four, not three,
on February 20th, and that one was still there on March
15th ; while Mr. W. J. Clarke states that a Slavonian Grebe
was in Scarborough Harbour on February 4th, 5th and 7th,
two Red-necked and three Slavonian Grebes were on Scar-
borough Mere on the 5th, a Great Crested Grebe, two Red-
necked and two Slavonian Grebes were at the same place
on the nth and one Red-necked Grebe was in the Harbour
from the 20th to the 23rd.
Black-throated Diver in Yorkshire. — Mr. T. N. Roberts
reports that he saw a Colymbus arcticus in Scarborough Mere
on February nth, 1937.
Little and Glaucous Gulls in Yorkshire. — Mr. W. J.
Clarke informs us that immature examples of Lams minutus
and L. hyperboreus were seen in Scarborough Harbour on
VOL. XXXI.]
NOTES
63
January 2nd, 1937, and that the former stayed for several
days.
Kittiwakes Inland in Cheshire. — Mr. A. W. Boyd writes
that from February 14th to March 13th, 1937, when he found
it just dead, a Kittiwake ( Rissa t. tridactyla) was seen at
Marbury, near Northwich ; a second was seen there on
February 27th, while Mr. R. B. Sibson found one dead near
Sandbach on the 22nd and saw a living one at the same place
on the 24th.
LETTERS.
THE BIRDS OF STEEP HOLM.
To the Editors of British Birds.
Sirs, — I feel that, in order to bring this up to date, some comments
are called for as regards Mr. Stanley Lewis’s interesting account of
“ Birds of Steep Holm ” (Vol. XXX., pp. 219-223) in view of the
fact that for the past five years (1933-1937) members of the Ornitho-
logical Section of the Bristol Naturalists Society have paid an annual
visit to this island in April or May, and that these have been supple-
mented by others, including one or two on which members have stayed
for a day or two.
As regards the birds which breed or have bred, Mr. Lewis says that
three pairs of Carrion-Crows are resident ; but, though on two occasions
a pair have been seen on the shore on landing, they have not been
noticed later, and no nests have been found. No Skylarks have been
seen on any visit, so I do not think it can be called a resident. Nor
do I consider that the Spotted Flycatcher breeds there at all regulailv ;
the pair reported seen there in May, 1935, were not on the island the
following month (June 20th-22nd) and did not breed. The Song-Thrush
cannot now be called a common resident ; we have notes of it in 1934
and 1937 and possibly one pair may nest. Mr. Lewis says of the Little
Owl : “ There seems little doubt that it breeds ” ; none have been seen
on any of our visits so I think that up to the present it has not spread
to Steep Holm. I very much doubt if there are still two pairs of Kestrels
“ resident and breeding ” as we have no notes of any being seen. The
Great Black-backed Gulls have recently increased and there are
probably eight pairs breeding.
To the occasional visitors may be added Goldfinch, Chaffinch (both
seen 1937). and Whinchat (seen 1936). H. Tetley.
THE INFLUX OF GREBES AND DIVERS.
To the Editors of British Birds.
Sirs, — The reason suggested by Mr. H. G. Alexander for the defer-
ring of the widespread incursion of sea-birds inland at the end of
January ( anted , pp. 31-2) is interesting, if not quite convincing. The
weak spot appears to lie in the fact that when the high east wind on
the east coast dropped the impelling cause to leave the sea disappeared
with the amelioration in local conditions ; and from what is known of
bird mentality it seems improbable that adverse experiences in the past
would operate with the birds in the more favourable circumstances.
It seems more probable that when the lull in the tempestuous
weather occurred, some weather-wisdom sense, not understood by us,
informed the birds that, in the immediate present, weather conditions
to the east made departure westward desirable. E. St. George Betts.
64
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
BIRDS TAKING RUBBER RINGS.
To the Editors of British Birds.
Sirs, — In view of the note on this subject by Messrs. Ingram and
Salmon (Vol. XXX., p. 374), I should like to record the finding of two red
rubber stationery bands in the gizzard of a Puffin ( Fratercula arctica)
which I found dead on the shore near Bournemouth in December, 1936.
One of these bands had apparently been in the sea for some time, as
it was broken in one place and considerably perished ; the other was
intact, and both retained their original shape. Each was about one and
a half inches long. The gizzard contained, besides these, various
unidentifiable crustacean remains, including the limb of a crab ( sp ?);
there was no suggestion that the bands were the cause of death.
As has already been suggested, it is not unreasonable to suppose that
birds mistake these bands for food. But it is equally reasonable to
suppose that they pick them up indirectly from their “ food-animals ”,
especially in the case of fish-eating species such as the Puffin and Arctic
Tern. Birds are apparently not the only animals with a curious and
rather baffling taste for rubber rings : I am told that members of the
Marine Biological Station at Plymouth have recently been puzzling
over the recovery of mackerel with similar rings round their bodies !
I am not suggesting, of course, that the Arctic Terns or Puffin swallowed
one of these mackerel. K. B. Rooke.
SCARCITY OF IMMATURE LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS
ON SPRING MIGRATION.
To the Editors of British Birds.
Sirs, — I have read with interest Mr. Clifford Oakes’s notes on the
scarcity of immature Lesser Black-backed Gulls ( Larus f. graellsii )
on spring migration.
Many thousands of this species nest throughout the Shetland Islands
and a feature of the nesting colonies and scattered groups over the
surrounding ocean is the extreme scarcity of immature birds.
Immature Gannets (Sula b. bassana ) are also a small percentage
of the numbers of this species seen in Shetland waters, though not
so scarce comparatively as are the immature Lesser Black-backs.
Between the dates April 14th and 20th, 1936, I chanced to be on
that part of the ocean between the Maroccan Coast and the Canary
Islands, and I was interested to note that practically all the Lesser
Black-backed Gulls and Gannets seen were in immature dress. It
seems likely that the immature birds of these two species spend their
' juvenile ’ years in the southern part of their range. G. T. Kay.
ENQUIRY AS TO SONG-PERIODS.
To the Editors of British Birds.
Sirs, — The British Trust for Ornithology has asked me to under-
take an enquiry into the song-periods of British birds. It seems
best to ask observers, in the first place, to concentrate on a few species.
We have selected the following six species, namely— -Mistle Thrush,
Song Thrush, Blackbird, Chaffinch, Yellow Bunting and Skylark.
Observers are asked to record on special schedules the song of
these species daily for a year, beginning from 1st August, 1937.
Schedules should be obtained from W. B. Alexander, University
Museum, Oxford. H. G. Alexander.
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Contents of Number 3, Vol. XXXI., August 2, 1937.
PAGE
The Red-throated Diver in North East Land. By David B.
Keith ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 66
The Function of the Goldcrest’s Crest. By David Lack ... 82
Notes : —
The Handbook of British Birds (H. F. Witherby) ... ... 84
Adult Pied Wagtails using Roost in June (M. F. M. Meiklejohn) 85
Incubation and Fledging Period of Goldcrest (Miss W. M. Ross) 85
Large Immigration of Waxwings in Scotland ... ... ... 86
The Young of the LesserSpottedWoodpecker(Rev.C.E. Martin) 88
Sooty Shearwater in the Mouth of the Channel in June
(P. H. T. Hartley) 89
White-winged Black Tern, Gull-billed Tern and adult Little
Gull in Norfolk (J. Vincent) ... ... ... ... 89
Black-headed Gulls Nesting in Devonshire (Dr. D. Munro Smith) 90
The Northern Razorbill in Kent — a New Form for the
British List (Dr. N. H. Joy) ... ... ... ... ... 90
Kittiwakes Nesting on a Building in East Lothian (A. H.
Highfield) ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 91
1 Common Cranes in Northamptonshire (A. F. Moody)... ... 91
hhort Notes : —
Continental Chaffinch in Renfrewshire. Greenland Falcon
on Lundy ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 92
eviews — Local Reports : —
The London Naturalist for 1936 and London Bird Report for 1936 92
Committee on Bird Sanctuaries in Royal Parks (England)
Report for 1936 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 93
Transactions of the Hertfordshire Natural History Society and
Field Club, 1937 ... ... ... ... ... ... 93
Report of the Oxford Ornithological Society on the Birds of
Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire, 1936 ... 93
The Hastings and East Sussex Naturalist ... ... ... 94
Ornithological Report for the County of Hampshire, 1936 ... 94
Report of the Marlborough College Natural History Society, 1936 94
Report on Somerset Birds, 1936 ... ... ... ... ... 94
Transactions of the Norfolk and Norwich Naturalists' Society
for the year 1936 95
Report of the Cambridge Bird Club, 1936 95
Ornithological Record for Derbyshire, 1935-6 95
/ Lancashire and Cheshire Fauna Committee. Twenty-second
Annual Report for 1935 ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• 9(>
SSt. Hilda Papers, 1931 96
tter : —
incubation of Water- Rail (Jim Vincent)
‘
96
(66)
THE RED-THROATED DIVER IN
NORTH EAST LAND.
BY
DAVID B. KEITH.
(Plate 2.)
The following notes are the result of observations I made in
North East Land, the second largest island of the Spitsbergen
archipelago, between August, 1935, and August, 1936, when
I was a member of the Oxford University Arctic Expedition,
under the leadership of A. R. Glen. I spent the summer
months of 1936 in Murchison Bay and my observations on the
Red-throated Diver ( Colymbus stellatus ) were for the most
part made in this region.
The shores of Murchison Bay, the Bay of Islands as the
Norwegians call it, are composed of dolomite and are of such
bareness as defies description. Both here and on the many
islands in the bay the vegetation consists for the most part
of scattered clumps of Arctic Poppy ( Papaver radicatum )
or Purple Saxifrage ( Saxifraga oppositifolia). Only where there
has been manuring in some form or other, such as below bird
cliffs, round old Eider nests, or near the old skeletal remains
of whales and other animals is there found anything approach-
ing close plant communities. But on most of the islands and
scattered round the shore are freshwater tarns, and on nearly
every one of these, which was of suitable size, there was
eventually a pair of Divers.
I began my stay in Murchison Bay in May when the winter
ice still filled the bay and when the only birds were a few
Snow-Buntings (Plectrophenax n. nivalis), and some Kittiwakes
(Rissa t. tridactyla), Glaucous Gulls (Larus' hyperboreus),
Mandt’s Guillemots ( U ria grylle mandtii ) and Little Auks ( Alle
alle). By the end of this month pools had begun to appear
in the ice, and on June 2nd I first heard the roll-growl* of
Red-throated Divers coming from a large pool near the mouth
of the bay. On June 3rd a pair appeared in the pool in the
ice just off the end of the point on which our hut was situated.
1. Introduction.
The arrival of the first birds was announced by the roll-
growl and from this time this call was heard at every hour of
the day and night until mid- July when it became gradually of
less frequent occurrence ( see Section 6). It must now be well
♦Throughout this paper I refer continuously to the descriptions of
the sexual ceremonies and courtship activities given by Huxley [2].
British Birds, Vol. XXXI., PI. 2
Upper — Normal brooding position
Lower — Brooding position when alarmed
( Photographed by D. B. Keith)
vol. xxxi.] RED -THROATED DIVER.
67
established that the Divers mate for life and hence arrive at
the breeding quarters in pairs, so it is unnecessary to describe
my own observations on this point. At first the birds were
confined to the many pools which were now appearing in the
bay ice, but as soon as sufficient ice had thawed in the inland
tarns, they immediately resorted to these and spent there
considerable periods each day although it was still too early
to begin nesting. I had one large tarn, about 70 yards by 50,
under observation and on this two pairs nested. At the begin-
ning, when the pairs first occupied the tarn, it was only small
patches at either end that had melted, so that these formed
two well-defined and separated territories. Gradually the ice
barrier between them thawed and finally the tarn was
completely free of ice. The two territories were then adjoining
and the pairs mixed amicably without any demonstrations,
unless a fifth unmated bird was also present. This was the
only tarn I found on which two pairs were breeding. Most of
the other tarns were of smaller size, the average was about
40 yards diameter, and contained only one pair. The percen-
tage of suitable tarns which were unoccupied was extremely
low. It was a very rare occurrence to find a tarn with the two
necessities — size sufficient to allow the bird to alight and take
off in all winds, and a mossy ledge at some point on or very
near the circumference for the nest — which was untenanted.
Also it was rare to find a pair in occupation of such a tarn and
not nesting. The Red-throated Diver was one of the very few
birds in North East Land which was found in such numbers
that either the possible nesting or feeding areas were utilized
to the utmost and where there was no large population of
birds in occupation of territories but not breeding. This was
the more remarkable because 1936 was a “ non-breeding
year ” when large numbers of Ducks and Geese failed to
nest ; and in other parts of the Arctic it had always before
been found that the Divers were also affected by these years
and that of them too only a very small proportion were
breeding.
Very seldom did I see a pair of birds perform a sexual
ceremony at a sea- water pool (i.e., in the feeding area) unless
there had been some form of external stimulus. This was
usually the presence of another pair, or single bird, and
I discuss these occasions in Sections 2 and 3. On the nesting
tarn, however, it was quite different. Here it was a normal
occurrence for birds mutually to raise the level of sexual
excitement till a ceremony followed. I never saw another pair
on an occupied nesting territory ; and the result of the
68
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
presence of an unmated bird was the same whether the
environment were the feeding or nesting area. I would say,
then, that the Red-throated Diver during the breeding season
frequents two types of territory :
(a) An area of sea-water for feeding. During the early part
of the season this was a melt pool in the ice, later it might be
any area free enough of ice-floes, often close in-shore. In this
area there usually has to be some external stimulus before
sexual ceremonies can take place.
(b) An inland fresh-water tarn for nesting. Here a pair by
mutual behaviour can raise the level of sexual excitement till
some ceremony or copulation follows.
I shall now consider the behaviour of birds on the first of
these areas when another pair, and when single birds, are in
close proximity to them.
2. Influence of one pair on another.
On June 4th I was watching at a large pool in the ice. When
I arrived, there were three pairs present, the first at the far
end, the second in the middle, and a third pair, which had
just alighted, near the second pair but a little towards the
near edge. This third pair swam towards the edge, and on
the way started to do vigorous “ splash dives ” and from one
of these emerged together and performed the Plesiosaur race
ceremony for three or four yards before relapsing to the
normal swimming attitude and continuing to the ice edge where
they dived and fed for half an hour. During this feeding
I once again saw them emerge together from a short “ splash
dive ” and perform the Plesiosaur race for three or four yards.
In both of these instances the birds made no sound. Suddenly
one of these birds began vigorous “ splash kicks ” forward
(not dives) and both swam farther out into the pool, and I saw
one of the other pairs was approaching. As the two pairs
neared each other this new pair began the roll-growl, went
into the “ wing- Plesiosaur attitude ” and advanced towards
the pair I had been watching, which took flight and left the pool.
The aggressive pair continued the “ wing-Plesiosaur attitude”
for a few yards before relapsing to the normal swimming
position. They then began to swim out into the middle of the
pool again. Within a minute or so they again performed the
wing-Plesiosaur race, silently, for a few yards. They then
approached the third pair, and as they neared them one of
the birds (of the aggressive pair) did a kick forwards, where-
upon the roll-growl and Plesiosaur race ensued and lasted
vol. xxxi.] RED -THROATED DIVER.
09
for four or five yards. At this the third pair rose and flew to
the other side of the pool, and as they did so the aggressive
pair immediately performed the Plesiosaur race silently again.
They then swam over to where the third pair had alighted.
As they neared them they again began the roll-growl and went
into the “ wing-Plesiosaur attitude.” One of the third pair
flew off at once, but the other fell in in front of the other two,
and uttering the roll-growl and in the “ wing-Plesiosaur
attitude ” led the race for three or four yards before taking
wing and joining its mate on another, and distant, part of
the pool.
On June 9th I was watching a pair swimming quietly when
another pair alighted near them, and the first pair immediately
performed the Plesiosaur race together silently as the others
arrived.
These instances, which are typical of many others, show
the behaviour of pairs meeting on pools in the sea ice, i.e., not
in the breeding territories. There are thus these two alterna-
tives. Either these sea-water pools do come to have some
territorial significance, or else some sexual emotion is, at this
time of year, stimulated in a pair of birds merely by the
proximity of another pair which are not performing any sexual
ceremony. And I suggest both these alternatives are true,
each applying in certain cases. Such variability in behaviour
has been demonstrated in other species [4] and I suggest its
occurrence here. Some pairs (notably the aggressive pair
observed on June 4th) have enough feeling of territorial
proprietorship to be roused to sexual anger by the approach
of another pair. But it would be incorrect to say these per-
formances are always due to sexual jealousy caused by the
trespassing of other birds on an occupied territory, first because
the actions of the pair so roused were not always directed
against the other pair but were directed merely to each other,
they were mutual (e.g., the pair observed on June 9th) ; and
secondly, there was nothing which led me to suppose that
these pools in the bay ice did have any territorial significance.
Repeatedly pairs would fly from one to another, and there
was nothing to suggest that any particular pair always
frequented the same pool. Further there were few of these
pools compared with the number of pairs of birds, and as
the behaviour of any pair on a pool was consistent over the whole
area it was impossible to suppose the pools were subdivided
to form territories for more than one pair of birds. Thus
I think it is true to say that in other cases some form of
sexual emotion is stimulated in a pair by the mere presence
BRITISH BIRDS.
70
[VOL. XXXI.
of another quite apart from any considerations of territorial
ownership.
3. Influence of an unmated bird on a pair.
In these cases the reaction of the pair concerned seemed
far more often to be anger directed against the single bird
than a general raising of the level of sexual excitement. It was
often impossible to be certain of the sex of the unmated bird,
but it appeared that the results described below were caused
by unmated birds of either sex. Further, the results seemed
to be the same whether a bird approached a pair on a sea-water
pool or on the nesting tarn. But I found that in both environ-
ments a single bird was tolerated by a pair to a surprising
extent, and actions similar to those described below were
neither immediate nor invariable.
On June 4th I saw a pair sleeping on a small pool in the bay
ice when a single bird flew silently overhead. Immediately
the pair awoke, and swam vigorously in the direction in which
the other bird was flying till it had passed, and then they again
settled down and went to sleep. I was given the impression
that the birds were swimming so energetically in that direction
to try and prevent the other bird from alighting there.
On June 9th I found three birds together on this same
pool. Just after my arrival they performed the Plesiosaur
race silently for about ten yards, and after swimming about
quietly for a few minutes they again came together and went
into the “ wing-Plesiosaur attitude,” uttering the roll-growl.
Then the leading bird — I had by this time formed the opinion
that it was the odd bird of the three — keeping the wings up,
shot along the surface of the water with vigorous kicks till
it was about thirty yards ahead of the others ; it then stopped
and settled down on the water in the normal swimming atti-
tude. Suddenly one of the other two emerged almost under
it, and the first immediately did another “ run along the
water ” for another thirty yards or so. I was able to confirm
that the action of the second bird was merely one of hostility
directed against an intruder, by observations on July 12th.
I was watching a Diver on her nest on the edge of a tarn on
which there were also a few Eider. The male Diver was also on
the tarn, and when the Eider were passing the nest he swam
towards them under water and suddenly emerged at their
tails, successfully putting the Eider to flight.
It would seem, therefore, that the meaning of these actions is
to be found in a simple demonstration of sexual anger. But
vol. xxxi.] RED -THROATED DIVER.
71
it is difficult to see the precise cause of this anger. The
observations just described were made at the sea- water pools,
areas to which I hesitate to ascribe any territorial significance ;
but if the anger were merely that of a mated bird approached
by another of its own sex, why were the demonstrations given
by both birds of the pair ? But I feel confident that the
Fig. i — " The female stretched out flat on the nest and began the
mewing call”
performances were demonstrations of anger in some form from
the fact that they were, in every case, directed against the
single bird.
.4. Influence of the sound of the roll-growl on a pair.
I quote this as it gives an interesting example of sexual
activity influencing birds not directly concerned.
On June 21st I was watching a female on her nest. She
had at that time only one egg, and while incubating was
plucking pieces of moss in her bill and adding them to the
nest. Then I heard the roll-growl from a tarn about 200 yards
away, out of sight beyond a slight rise, which was much
frequented by another pair which, however, never nested there.
Immediately the female stretched out flat on the nest and began
the mewing call (Fig. 1), which developed into the roll-growl.
The male, which had been sleeping out in the middle of the tarn,
72
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
awoke and began dipping his beak in the water — an action
wrhich Huxley suggests (and which my own observations
confirm) has sexual significance. Then the female slipped off
the nest, and after the pair had swum about agitatedly in the
middle for a short while, they rose and flew off to the pool
whence the sound had come. The solitary egg was left
unguarded.
I have now to consider the behaviour of birds on the
nesting tarns ; and to give a clearer idea of the actions of the
birds through the nesting period I give a description of a pair
which I had under daily observation from the time they first
visited the nesting tarn till the young was hatched.
5. The behaviour of a pair through the
BREEDING SEASON.*
On June 9th I found, on a small inland tarn of about forty
yards diameter, a pair of birds swimming quietlyf in the
five or six inches of water that had formed at one end. This
was the first occasion on which I had seen birds on any of
the fresh-water tarns with which the island abounded ; but
it was also the first time I had seen a tarn with sufficient
water in it for the birds to be able to swim. It was clear
that the breeding tarns were occupied the moment they
were sufficiently thawed. The birds on this occasion left
the tarn and flew to one of the large pools in the bay ice
shortly after my arrival.
I visited the tarn again that evening. The birds — it is
safe, I think, to assume it was the same pair — were again
there swimming about in the small thawed area. Both were
continually dipping the beak into the water. Then they
swam towards each other and, as they approached, performed
the Plesiosaur race (silently) for two or three yards. They
then separated, but soon swam together again and repeated
the performance exactly ; and after a further interval,
repeated it again. After a few minutes they performed the
ceremony a fourth time, and shortly afterwards took flight
and flew to the feeding area. I watched them here for an
hour or so and saw no sexual performance of any kind.
*Passages in inverted commas in this and the following paragraphs
are taken verbatim from my diary which was written at the time of
observation.
fl have used the expression “ swimming quietly ” to indicate that
the birds were performing no actions 'of sexual significance at the time
concerned.
vol. xxxi ] RED-THROATED DIVER.
73
Gradually each suitably-sized tarn on the island came to
be occupied by a pair of Divers. The pair I was watching
divided their time between the nesting tarn and the sea-water
pools, and when on the former their behaviour was always
similar to that described above. But wrhen on the latter,
sexual ceremonies were confined to times when the birds
were excited by the presence of other pairs or single birds
as described above (Sections 2 and 3).
On June 20th a nest had been constructed on a mossy
ledge which rose above the surface of the water about a yard
from the edge. The next day it contained an egg. I disturbed
the female when I arrived at the tarn, but when f had reached
my observation post she quickly returned onto the nest
and settled down to incubate the egg. The male was dozing
out in the centre of the tarn. It was then that I heard the
roll-growl from a neighbouring tarn with the result described
above (Section 4). After fifteen minutes the pair returned
“ and swam about very excitedlv in the middle, the female
pushing herself violently through the water, while her head
was down in the ‘ beak-dipping ’ attitude, or sometimes it
was submerged so that only the top of the head was visible
above the surface. Both dived quietly several times ; then
they swam towards each other and performed the Plesiosaur
race ceremony (silently) for two or three yards. Then later
one began the mewing cry, and the other joined in, both
birds lying out along the water with their beaks up and open
giving the cry. This then changed to the roll-growl and they
did the snake race for four or five yards. Then the male
went out into the middle and slept and the female nervously,
often beak-dipping, approached and eventually settled on the
nest. The tarn is still half-frozen.”
After observing the casual way in which the birds had
left the nest and egg unguarded, I was not surprised when I
returned the next day to find that the egg had been taken
from the nest, undoubtedly by one of the many Arctic Skuas
(Stercorarius parasiticus ) inhabiting the island. I spent
several hours at the tarn. The female returned to the nest
almost at once, and, while the male swam close in to it, added
bits of moss to its construction. Once when the male passed
close to her she “ pushed herself into the water with a very
quiet mewing cry and at once both performed a silent Ples-
iosaur race for just a yard or so”. Ten minutes later she
was on the nest again, but very soon left it and both birds
swam “to a mossy ledge about forty yards from the nest.
The female pushed herself out on to it. The male followed,
74
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
copulated, and fell down beside her, on her left side. The
female then went back into the water followed by the male
and for five minutes they swam about quietly near this ledge
and then began to approach the nest. But when in the middle
both rose and flew off to the sea.”
The next day I did not see the Divers at the tarn. By
June 28th they had constructed another nest about ten
yards from the first. On July 10th I found two eggs, one
of which was broken, in the nest. When I arrived the next
day the female was incubating, and two birds were out in
the middle of the tarn. As I approached, the female left
the nest, and she and the male did the Plesiosaur race silently
for five or six yards. The three birds swam about in the
middle when I was getting into the hide. When I was in,
the odd bird— I could not see which sex it was — flew off and
the female came back on to the nest ; and almost at once
the male flew off. “ Quarter of an hour later the roll-growl
was heard from a neighbouring tarn. The female ‘ lay out
on the nest ’ with neck stretched and gave the mewing cry.”
Soon the male returned and began preening out in the middle,
and the female dozed on the nest.
I put in a further spell of observation that evening. When
I was in the hide “ the female almost at once came back
and picked up in her beak the broken egg, which was lying
outside the nest, and carried it about twenty yards out into
the tarn. Here she was joined by the male, and both broke
up the egg into small pieces with their beaks — biting it and
shaking it about. Then the female swam to the nest, went
on to it, settled down for a few seconds, then left it and started
to pluck moss just by it. Then she went to a mossy ledge
about ten yards away (not the one where I saw them copulate).
The male approached, but after a few seconds, before he
was nearer than three or four yards to her, the female turned
round, went back into the water and swam out into the
middle of the tarn, and the male went on to the nest, using a
different way up to it from that used by the female. The
female soon flew off. After one and a half hours she arrived
back, and the male began a quiet ‘00’ call. The female in
the middle preening.” I believe this is the only time the
relief of one bird at the nest by the other has been witnessed.
On July 1 2th I arrived to find the female on the nest and
the male away. The female left the nest and swam out into
the middle when I was getting into the hide. “ There were
a lot of Eider on the tarn and these gradually came near to
the nest, and the female went for them stretched out low
VOL. XXXI.]
RED-THROATED DIVER.
75
along the water. Then two more Divers arrived ; one, the
male of the pair, left the other and swam towards the female,
and both did several ‘splash dives’. From one of these
they emerged in the Plesiosaur attitude (one in the wing
position) and uttering the roll-growl they swam after the
third bird, who also went into the Plesiosaur attitude. Then
the female came back to the nest and the odd bird flew off.”
When I visited the nest on July 28th the female behaved
in a curious manner. “ She slipped off the nest when I was
about thirty yards away, and went about three yards from
the nest where there was a ridge about an inch below the
surface. She lay out on this while I examined the egg, and
till I was about a hundred yards from the nest when she
returned to it.” The next day I approached quite openly to
within five feet of her as she sat on the nest, and on the 31st
I photographed her on the nest at four foot range and withdrew
without her leaving it. The young hatched on August 5th,
by which time the egg had been incubated for twenty-six days.
The female then gave up her habit of remaining on the nest
and, though she was brooding the young when I came in
sight, she would soon slip off the nest and swim with the
tiny chick at her side out into the middle of the tarn.
From these observations I was led to the following con-
clusions :
(a) Performances of the Plesiosaur race due to the mutual
raising of the level of sexual excitement take place on the
breeding tarns and very seldom on the sea.
(b) The Plesiosaur race is a demonstration of sexual emotion
typical of the earlier stages of the breeding cycle.
(c) When there has been merely a mutual raising of the
level of sexual excitement of the pair (i.e., when there have
been no external stimuli) the Plesiosaur race is usually
performed silently.
6. The Roll-growl.
Huxley found that the roll-growl “ invariably accompanied”
the Plesiosaur race ceremony. In North East Land I found
it far more common for the birds to perform this ceremony
silently, and my observations led me to conclude that the roll-
growl is very frequently (though not always) a demonstration
of sexual anger. But before describing the observations
that led me to this conclusion it is necessary to discuss
further the actions associated with this curious note. There
is one sexual ceremony which, in my opinion (and here my
76
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
observations confirm Huxley’s) is invariably accompanied by
the roll-growl, and this is the snake ceremony. I did not have
very many opportunities of observing this ceremony, but on
each occasion when I did see it performed I noticed that
the birds did not move along in a straight line as in the
Plesiosaur race, but almost seemed to zigzag indiscriminately
along the course in a state of wild excitement. The Plesiosaur
race is a demonstration of intense but controlled sexual
excitement ; the snake-race seemed to be the manifestation
of ungovernable sexual impulses — usually sexual anger.
On some occasions I found that it was not so much a case
of the roll-growl accompanying the ceremony as vice versa.
Frequently I saw a bird begin to utter the plaintive mewing
cry. This would be increased in strength till it developed,
with no appreciable break, into the roll-growl, and the bird
then went into the attitude of the Plesiosaur or snake ceremony.
The connexion between these two notes is shown in my
observations of June 21st (Section 4) and July nth (Section
5). This is my reason for devoting so much space to a con-
sideration of this note. I think it is the primary demon-
stration of a certain sexual state, which may be accompanied
by either the Plesiosaur or the snake attitude, and that
this sexual state is usually anger.
I would now refer back to my observations of June 4th
described in Section 2. It should be noticed that here the
roll-growl was only heard when the aggressive pair was in the
act of driving another pair off the pool. When this latter
pair left, the former again performed the Plesiosaur race, but
silently — the anger at the proximity of the other pair had
subsided at their departure. This happened three times in the
space of half an hour. The observation of June 9th, also
quoted in Section 2, I take to have the following significance.
The roll-growl was not heard ; the performance of the pair on
the water was mutual, it was not directed against the arriving
pair, and hence was not a demonstration of sexual anger,
but a raising of the general level of sexual excitement as
suggested in that section. In Section 5 I describe my ob-
servations on July 12th which gives an instance of the roll-
growl as a demonstration of anger against an unmated bird
on an occupied nesting territory.
But most interesting of all are the several instances that
occurred in which the roll-growl, accompanied by some
ceremony, was given by a bird whose anger was directed
against me. On June 12th I suddenly topped a rise about
eighty yards from a small tarn on which there was a pair ;
vol. xxxi ] RED-THROx\TED DIVER.
77
immediately both uttered the roll-growl and performed the
snake ceremony.
By the end of July there was a pair nesting on almost
every suitably-sized tarn. I found many of these birds sat
very tight and allowed me to approach quite near, especially
after I had visited them two or three times. On the 27th
I visited a pair which I knew had two eggs. “ The bird on
the nest allowed me to come within two or three yards while
she kept absolutely motionless. Then she looked round and
gave one or two staccato ‘ karks Then she pushed herself
just off the nest, quite slowly, and faced me, swimming just
beside the nest. Then she swam out a few yards and, swim-
ming on a curving course of which I was the centre, did the
Plesiosaur race (wing position) with the roll-growl, by herself,
the other bird out in the tarn not joining in. I was very
close and could see the curious enlargement which the throat
undergoes when the roll-growl is being produced. As I
walked away the two birds swam towards each other and
when they met they performed the Plesiosaur race with
roll-growl for ten yards together. At first both were in the
normal position but half-way through one of them went into
the wing position. Then one swam out into the tarn and
the other returned to the nest.”
However, I would not assert that the roll-growl is invar-
iably a demonstration of sexual anger. I have quoted in
Section 5 my observation on June 21st. Here a pair gave
the roll-growl and performed the snake ceremony when alone
on the nesting tarn. The birds at the time were in a very
high state of sexual excitement and it is difficult to say more
than that in explanation. And Huxley also quotes one
instance of a pair uttering the roll-growl and performing the
snake ceremony when alone on the tarn.
It will not be out of place to conclude this section with a
short discussion of the three notes uttered by the Diver
during the breeding season. In addition to the roll-growl,
which I have tried to show has its origin in sexual anger,
there is the extremely plaintive mewing crv, and the harsh,
sharp ‘ kark ’.
The ‘ kark ’, I found, had no sexual significance ; it seemed
to be an alarm note, and was the only call I heard uttered
by a bird in flight. On July 15th I visited a tarn where a
pair was nesting and had two eggs. “ I saw one of the birds
out in the middle, it lay on the water and submerged very
quietly. The other was on a nest in front of me. I began to
walk slowly towards it, and the bird lay on the nest and
78
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
kept absolutely still (Fig. 2). I got to within six yards or so, and
then the bird ‘ came to life ’. I sat down and the bird began
the mewing call to the other which was now out on the far
side of the tarn. This went on for a minute or more — the
bird on the nest stretching out flat as she gave each call —
and the other also calling and beak-dipping. Suddenly the
Fig. 2. — “ The biid lay on the nest and kept absolutely still”
female went into the water with a harsh loud ‘ kark and
when a yard or two out turned round towards me repeating
the ‘ kark’. I walked away, and the female kept about ten
yards from the nest till I was out of sight, when she returned
to it.” The next day I again visited that pair. “ Just after
I had left the nest, a pair of Skuas arrived and flew towards
it, at which both Divers rushed along the surface of the water
towards it, with loud ‘ karks’, and the Skuas went off.”
The origin of the mewing cry is less obvious, and I have
been unable to discover if it is ever heard except in the breed-
ing season. Since the Divers mate for life, it is possible that
it is, for I found that, whereas the ‘ kark ’ was barked at
an intruder or used as an almost continual cry during flight,
the mewing cry was always directed towards the mate.* The
cry itself is painfully human in sound, and has been likened
by Jourdain [5] to “the short, sharp wail of a hurt child,
repeated at intervals ”. I found very frequently it was a
long drawn-out plaintive cry. On June 9th I was watching
♦Huxley records an incident when a female Diver on her nest uttered
this call when a Skua alighted near.
79
vol. xxxi ] RED -THROATED DIVER.
a pair which “ were feeding at the edge of a pool and got
separated by a large berg. One bird (the female ?) started
the mewing call, softly with head stretched forward, and began
to swim back to the other side of the berg. Again they got
separated, and again the mewing call, and again no cele-
bration when they met ”. Another pair on the same day “ got
separated in diving for food, and when they were about forty
or fifty yards apart, both began the mewing cry — it was very
loud — till they swam to each other and out into the middle of
the pool again ”.
A variation of this call was a very subdued ‘ oo ’ which I
often heard when I was watching a bird on the nest. It
was usually repeated to the mate when the latter was on the
tarn, but on occasions the brooding bird would repeat the
note when alone. At the time I described the note as “ a
very soft, rather drawn-out ‘ ooo ’ or ‘ ur ’ ”. On July 12th
I was watching a female on her nest, and while the male
“ was at the tarn he and the female often uttered a quiet
‘ 00 ’ to each other. I think it is a variation of the mewing
call, because once the female continued the ‘ 00 ’ and formed
this call
7. XJnmated birds.
I have frequently mentioned in the foregoing sections the
presence of unmated birds both on the sea-water feeding
areas and also on the occupied breeding tarns. Most of the
Divers migrate and arrive at the breeding localities in pairs
[ij but some proportion, probably first-year birds, arrive
singly. I found it impossible to discover whether all of
these birds remained unmated throughout the season or
whether pairing up did take place after arrival. Certainly
there were large numbers of these unmated birds in the locality
throughout the season, but the proportion of non-breeding
to breeding birds was smaller in the case of this species than
in that of any other “ land-nesting ” species (as opposed to
‘‘cliff-nesting” species which I found it impossible to estimate)
in North East Land.
The reaction of a pair to an unmated bird (Section 3) was
not continuous. The three birds might swim together quite
amicably for three or four minutes, and then without, as
far as I could discover, any special behaviour on the part
of the single bird, the resentment of the pair at its presence
would reach such a pitch that a demonstration (usually the
wing-Plesiosaur ceremony with roll-growl) would follow. At
this either the odd bird would fly off or the three would again
relapse to normal behaviour. The presence of these unmated
80
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
birds serves to maintain a high level of sexual emotion in
the neighbouring pairs in an environment which does little
to encourage sexual development.
Although single birds were constantly on the breeding
territories of pairs, I saw nothing to suggest that the Diver
is ever polygamous or polyandrous.
8. General considerations.
The nesting Diver has a reputation for shyness, but various
individuals have been found exhibiting great fearlessness
when brooding [3]. On the island at which most of my
observations were made it was difficult to distinguish
between the normal behaviour of the birds observed and the
behaviour which developed from my continuous presence
on the island. But I found that in each pair that I had
under close observation the behaviour of the birds with
regard to their timidity or boldness passed through a definite
cycle which I think was not caused, but may possibly have
been aggravated, by my presence.
When the birds first arrived their time was spent on the
sea-water pools and they were comparatively bold, and took
little notice of my movements on the shore. When they
were able to frequent the inland tarns they at once became
more timid and were in general but half-heartedly active in
defence of their eggs when these were first laid. An over-
whelming majority of the pairs I observed lost their first
laying to the depredations of Skuas. In all cases an interval
of a fortnight or three weeks then ensued, at the end of which
a new nest was constructed, and at once the behaviour of the
birds underwent a marked change. They became active in
defence of the nest and more and more fearless of me as the
season progressed.
Eventually there were two birds that I was able to photo-
graph on the nest from a distance of three feet, and one of
these finally allowed three people to walk slowly up to her
and touch her before she left the nest. I found that through-
out the season the Divers took singularly little notice of my
hiding tent.
Finally, I would mention how in the cases I was able to
observe, copulation followed a period of sexual inactivity,
and was not the culmination of a series of sexual ceremonies.
On June 13th I was watching at a tarn where several small
pools had formed in the ice. The pair were “ swimming about
in a pool in the middle. By a series of short dives they arrived
at a pool at the edge. Almost at once the female began to
vol. xxxi.] RED -THROATED DIVER.
81
swim to a mossy ledge where she scrambled out and lay down.
The male followed, copulated, then walked off her side and
back into the water. The female sat for a minute or two on
land and then followed. After swimming about quietly for
a few minutes they both took flight and flew off to one of
■ • q
Fig. 3 — Female turning eggs. Male swimming
•
the sea pools. I was watching for about ten minutes before
copulation took place and saw no sexual demonstration”.
On June 22nd I was watching another pair and in this
■ :ase there was an interval of 15 minutes (taken on a watch)
between a “ silent Plesiosaur race for just a yard or so ” and
1 copulation.
The accompanying illustrations are from my photographs.
REFERENCES.
[1] Bent. Bull. U.S. Nat. Mus., Washington, No. 107 (Quoted
>v Huxley).
[2] Huxley. “ Courtship Activities in the Red-throated Diver
t ogether with a discussion of the Evolution of Courtship in Birds.”
I r our . Linnean Soc. Zoology. XXXV., p. 253.
[5] Van Oordt and Huxley. “ Some observations on the habits
f the Red-throated Diver in Spitsbergen.” Brit. Birds, XVI., p. 34.
[4] Venables and Lack. “ Further Notes on Territory in the
Ireat Crested Grebe.” Brit. Birds, XXX., p. 60.
[5] Jourdain. Practical Handbook of British Birds.
F
(82)
THE FUNCTION OF THE GOLDCREST’S CREST.
BY
DAVID LACK.
On May 23rd, 1936, in a very open patch of woodland near
Totnes, Devon, my attention was drawn by a soft twittering
to two Goldcrests ( Regulus r. anglorum), which were perched
on a cement block a few feet above the ground. The birds
were facing each other, wings slightly lowered, heads thrust
rather downwards and forwards, jerking the bodies slightly
from the tarsal joint and uttering a soft but vigorous twitter-
ing. One had the crest in the normal position, but in the other
it was erected and spread out sideways in a gorgeous flame of
colour. It looked as though the head was on fire. While
I watched, the bird with the crest unspread chased the other,
which gave back a yard into a bush, where the performance
was continued for another two minutes. The birds then
separated in opposite directions : each rose higher up into a
tree, and they sang alternately at each other.
In all its features this was a typical territorial boundary
dispute between two rival males. It therefore seems clear
that the crest of the Goldcrest functions as a “ threat colour ”,
being used in fighting according to the general theory
discussed by Hingston [3]. I had on previous occasions seen a
Goldcrest with crest erected chasing another, but had not
before been able satisfactorily to establish the relation of the
two birds. The only reference to the performance that I have
found is that of Coward [2] who describes it as the display of
the male to the female. In view of the above observation, the
occurrence of this display in courtship should, I think, be
considered doubtful. In the past there has been a tendency
to ascribe, uncritically, all display to courtship. The views of
Hingston ( loc . cit.) form a useful antidote to this, though
possibly he has gone too far in the opposite direction. It
seems clear that in some species the bright colours of the
male are used exclusively in courtship. In others they are
used exclusively in fighting. For instance, the “ display ” of
the Robin ( Erithacus r. melophilus) is, as pointed out by
Burkitt [1], an aggressive display (used thus by both sexes),
and is not used in courtship. There have been later statements
to the contrary, but my own observations [5] over the last
three years based on colour-ringed birds, fully confirm
Burkitt’s conclusions. The display of the Red Bishop-bird
( Enfilectes h. hordeacea) is similarly an aggressive display cor-
related with territorial fighting, and the male’s bright colours
vol. xxxi.] FUNCTION OF GOLDCREST’S CREST. 83
do not appear to be used in courtship, Lack [6]. In yet other
species, for instance, the Blackcap ( Sylvia a. atricapilla) as
described by Howard [4], or the Great Crested Grebe ( Podiceps
c. cristatus) as described by Venables and Lack [7], the bright
colours are utilized both in courtship and fighting.
The present observation on the Goldcrest raises interesting
problems. Is the crest also used in courtship ? The fact that
the crest is present, though rather less bright, in the female
suggests that the female may help in the defence of the
territory ( ? only against trespassing females). If so, does
the female sing ? Also what is the significance of the rather
spasmodic autumn singing ? The Goldcrest is a common
British resident species but, as in so many other cases, hardly
anything seems to be known about its habits.
REFERENCES.
[1] Burkitt, J. P. (1924-5). A study of the Robin by means of
marked birds. Brit. Birds, XVIII., 101, XIX., 123.
[2] Coward, T. A. (1920). The Birds of the British Isles and their
llggs, Vol. I., p. 128.
[3] Kingston, R. W. G. (1933). The Meaning of Animal Colour and
A dornment.
[4] Howard, II. E. (1907-14). The British Warblers (Blackcap).
[5] Lack, D. The Behaviour of the Robin — II., Some Aspects of
Fighting. Proc. Zool. Soc. (in Press).
[6] Lack, D. (1935). Territory and Polygamy in a Bishop-bird,
Euplectes hordeacea hordeacea (Linn.). Ibis, 817-36, esp. p. 831.
[7] Venables, L. S. V., and Lack, D. (1936). Further notes on
territory in the Great Crested Grebe. Brit. Birds, XXX., 67.
EMOTES*
“ The Handbook of British Birds.” — As many orni-
thologists are already aware a new edition of A Practical
Handbook of British Birds has been for some time in
preparation. We should be very grateful to any of our
readers who would now send us notes of any omissions or
errors in the original work, and of any unpublished observations
which would make the work more accurate and complete.
Should secrecy in regard to locality be necessary this will be
rigidly respected.
Since the “ Handbook ” was completed twelve years ago
such a vast amount of matter relating to distribution, migra-
tion, breeding-habits and food has been published both at
home and abroad, that the revision made necessary is a very
heavy task involving the re-writing of most of these sections.
Moreover, field characters, habitat, song and “ habits ”
generally, to which very little space was devoted in the
original work, will be greatly expanded, and these new
sections are being undertaken by Mr. B. W. Tucker (with
Mr. Charles Oldham’s kind approbation). Mr. Tucker has
for long made a speciality of the subject, and in addition to
work in this country, has studied abroad many species
rarely seen here.
The new work will be very fully illustrated in colour, the
aim being to show all the birds in as far as possible all their
plumages. Such a series of illustrations is not now available to
British ornithologists and it is hoped that this new feature will
greatly enhance the usefulness of the work, especially to
observers in the field.
The original “ Practical Handbook ” will be in fact so much
a new work that we consider an alteration of the title to The
Handbook of British Birds justified.
As it is proposed to publish in five volumes at six-monthly
intervals beginning next spring, we shall be glad to have now
any notes relating to the Order Passeres. It would be a
convenience if observations concerning breeding-habits or food
were sent direct to the Rev. F. C. R. Jourdain at Bellevue Road,
Southbourne, notes on other habits and field-character, to
Mr. B. W. Tucker, 9, Marston Ferry Road, Oxford, and all
other notes to me at Gracious Pond Farm, Chobham, Surrey.
H. F. WlTHERBY.
vol. xxxi.] NOTES.
85
ADULT PIED WAGTAILS USING ROOST IN JUNE.
On June 28th, 1937, whilst walking in the neighbourhood
of Llyn Ogwen, Carnarvonshire, at about 10 p.m., I came
upon a considerable party of Pied Wagtails ( Motacilla a.
yarrellii) roosting in two adjacent willow bushes. The roost
contained fully sixty birds, of which about two-thirds were
birds of the year. Such communal roosting at this time of
year appears to me very remarkable ; especially as during
the day there were to be seen in the valley many pairs of
Pied Wagtails which appeared to have still either eggs or
young. That the first broods of a species in one neighbour-
hood should flock and roost together whilst the second is
-still in the nest, is not extraordinary, but it is difficult to
explain the presence in the roost of so many adult birds.
The majority of them were males, so the possibility presents
itself that some were the males of the breeding pairs of the
neighbourhood whilst the rest were non-breeding birds.
M. F. M. Meiklejohn.
INCUBATION AND FLEDGING
GOLDCREST.
PERIOD OF
In 1933 I made some observations on the incubation period of
a British Goldcrest ( Regains r. anglorum ) which lasted 18 days.
These observations were incorporated in a note on the subject
by the Rev. F. C. R. Jourdain, who was doubtful of the
possibility of such a long period ( cf . antea, Vol. XXVII.,
pp. 106-7). ^ have been trying to get an absolutely accurate
record since then, but during the past few years the pairs
followed up were building so high that certain observation
was impossible. This year (1937) however, three nests were
kept under observation by D. Stubbert and myself in
Inverness-shire. In each case the incubation period was
16I-17J days. The details are as follows : —
Nest No. 1. — The nest which was of the hanging variety
n a larch tree was begun on April 12th with a wisp of sheep’s
r,vool woven from one twig to another.
On the 19th the cup was fully formed in moss. The cock
was not observed to take any part in building but attended
he hen closely especially towards the end; up to the 19th
le remained higher up in the same or neighbouring trees.
On the 22nd, lining with feathers was begun, and she also
used tiny scraps from the larch.
On the 27th the nest appeared finished and the cock sat
m the branch for a long time during the whole day singing.
86 BRITISH BIRDS. [vol. xxxi.
On the 28th there was one egg in the nest by 9 a.m., and an
egg was laid each day till May 6th.
On May 6th there were 9 eggs at 9.30 a.m., but the birds
were not near the nest. Both birds were on the tree at 10.30
a.m., and the hen was sitting before noon and sat closely all
the afternoon except for a short time about 2 p.m.
The young hatched in the afternoon of May 22nd, a period
of i6| days. The cock so far as noted took no part in
incubating.
Fledging period lasted till June 10th — 20 days (5 p.m.).
Nest No. 2. — In a juniper of the supported-from-below type.
This nest was found on April 26th when the lining was just
beginning. It was finished on the 31st and the 1st egg was
laid on May 1st. An egg was laid every day till the 6th. The
7th was a very wet day and no egg was laid. On the 8th there
were 7 eggs and on the 9th, 8 eggs, and incubation began.
The young began to hatch at 7.30 p.m. on the 25th and all
were hatched on the morning of the 26th — 16J-17 days.
Nest No. 3. — In a juniper, hanging variety between two
branches. This nest was found on May 2nd and just begun
with a wisp of wool. On the 5th, moss was being used and it
seemed to be building at the same rate as the others so we
allowed a fortnight for building and did not visit the nest
again till the 16th when it was found to contain 9 eggs, and
the bird was sitting. The nest was much more carelessly made
than the others and the feather lining was comparatively
scanty and cannot have taken more than 7-8 days to build.
It is not quite certain therefore that the 16th was the first
day of incubation. The eggs were chipping on June 1st about
8 p.m. and were hatched on the 2nd when visited in the
morning — 17-17J days, supposing the 16th May to have been
the first day of incubation. Winifred M. Ross.
LARGE IMMIGRATION OF WAXWINGS IN
SCOTLAND.
A large immigration of Waxwings (Bomby cilia garrulus)
occurred in Scotland at the end of February and in March,
1937, and is well recorded by Miss E. V. Baxter and Miss
L. J. Rintoul in the July-August issue of The Scottish
Naturalist (pp. 93-101). This immigration was chiefly remark-
able for the late appearance of the bird in numbers. Instead
of October or November which is usual, this did not occur
until the last days of February and continued into March.
After the first ten days or so of March, appearances in new
VOL. XXXI.]
NOTES.
87
localities were probably due to birds moving about in search
of food, and by the end of the month many had died and
others were evidently leaving, the latest date in the report
being April nth, although in a separate note (p. 114) a flock
of eight is recorded for the 18th in Perthshire.
Definite numbers given amounted to over eleven hundred
birds, but many reports referred to “flocks", “common",
and so on, so that it would appear that the immigration in
point of numbers was about on the level of that of 192 1-2
and considerably larger than those in 1931-2 and 1932-3.
The records in this Report are treated chronologically,
and a separate geographical analysis, which would have been
useful, has not been made. So far as England was concerned
it was only in Northumberland and Durham that any numbers
occurred so far as we know. Lady Grey informed us of seven
at Alnwick on February 26th and these had gone on the 29th
when six (possibly the same lot) were reported at Hexham.
About ten were at Stockton-on-Tees from March 10th to the
end of the month (J. Bishop). Apart from these counties a few
were seen in Yorkshire ( antea , p. 56), four were reported by
Miss J. M. Perrier from Norfolk from February 18th to 27th,
two by Mr. R. Preston Donaldson at Kew on March 30th,
one in the Scilly Isles in spring by Major A. A. Dorrien Smith,
and probably others occurred.
The main immigration, however, no doubt, took place in the
southern half of Scotland from east to west as far north as
Loch Ness. A few reached E. Ross and Sutherland, while six
got to Lewis, three or four to Skye, and single birds were
reported from Orkney, Shetland and Fair Isle.
Some Waxwings probably occur in Great Britain every
winter, but as is well known the appearance of the bird in
numbers occurs only at irregular intervals. These immigrations
vary considerably both in numbers and in the area they cover.
In 1 92 1 -2 Waxwings were much more widespread in England
and more reached north and north-west Scotland than in the
present visitation, and in 1931-2 the birds spread still farther
in England as well as reaching Wales and Ireland although
apparently less numbers were involved, while in 1932-3 there
were still fewer, mainly in east England, but some reached
even south-west Ireland.
A good many notes are given in this Report about the food
eaten. Berries of different species of Cotoneaster were most
frequently recorded and secondly those of hawthorn and
dog-rose "and briar. Berries of Berberis, guelder-rose, and
juniper are also recorded, while there are three instances of
88
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
Pernettya mucronata, two of Pyracantha, and one of yellow
crocus, food which does not appear to have been previously
recorded. A good many observers refer to the birds drinking
regularly after feeding. “ Insects ” were also recorded as being
taken in some cases.
The cause of these irregular large immigrations of the
Waxwing is no doubt connected with food and weather. The
authors of this report remark that before and during the early
part of this immigration there was very severe weather and
much snow in Scandinavia. The wind was easterly from
February 24th to 28th and thereafter north or north-east.
THE YOUNG OF THE LESSER SPOTTED
WOODPECKER.
By courtesy of Major A. Buxton, I was able at Horsey,
Norfolk, on June 24th, 1937, to see the method of leaving the
nest of the young of this species ( Dryobates minor comminutus).
The first one left at noon (S.T.), flying off side by side with
the mother bird which had previously called and was stationed
close to the hole. Five minutes later, the second young bird
which came up to the opening when the first left, flew straight
out, without the parent being close. The third young one then
came up to the entrance, but had not flown when I left the
hide. (I am informed by Mr. G. Crees that it flew at 8.30 the
following morning.) In the twenty minutes before the first
bird left, the parents had fed the young 7 times, but they did
not feed the third remaining bird again till 4.20 p.m., when it
was fed at intervals (10 times before I departed at 5.45 p.m.).
The crown and forehead of the two young which left the
hole were vermilion, a brighter colour than the crimson of the
cock, but the third young one had a grey head with a broadish
dark superciliary stripe and no red at all. Mr. Crees also
noticed this. The hide was 10 feet from the hole which was
in a good light. The Practical Handbook states that the
young, both male and female, have red heads.
Cyril E. Martin.
[Up to the time of the publication of the Practical Handbook
all the specimens of juveniles I had been able to examine had
some red on the crown and the same applies to a few others
I have examined since. Unfortunately in very few of these
specimens in collections has the sex been ascertained by
dissection, and I have examined only three sexed specimens
— one male and two females. If any reader can lend me care-
fully sexed specimens of juveniles I shall be very grateful.
VOL. XXXI.]
NOTES
89
Mr. Martin refers to the forehead as red but I have not
found this to be so in any specimen examined. In the case
of the third bird he mentions, with apparently no red on the
crown, it is probable that the small red tips at the back only
of the crown (apparently in females) could not be seen
without handling the bird.
Mr. Martin has apparently missed the note about the juvenile
in the Appendix of the Practical Handbook (Vol. II., p. 897)
but I should now describe the juvenile as follows : — Feathers
of fore part of crown brownish-white tipped dusky black ;
those of posterior half tipped crimson in male, but in female
only a few feathers on back of crown with small red tips. —
H. F. W.]
SOOTY SHEARWATER IN THE MOUTH OF THE
CHANNEL IN JUNE.
On June 7th, 1937, I saw a Sooty Shearwater (Puffinns griseus)
some ten miles south of Newlyn ; that is in 490 57' N., 50 28' W.
The bird passed close to the drifter, and gave a good view of
the dusky brown plumage with a paler area down the middle
of the under-surface of the wing. In size it was a little larger
than the Manx Shearwaters ( Puffmus p. pnffinus) which were
seen in numbers the same day.
Wynne-Edwards (“ Birds of the North Atlantic,” Proc.
Boston Nat. Hist. Soc., XL., 4, 1935) records a Sooty Shear-
water on June 7th, 1933, in 50° 15' N., 310 15' W., and Bent
( Life Histories of North American Petrels and Pelicans and
their Allies, U.S. National Museum, Bulletin 121) gives a
record from southern Greenland on June 22nd. It would seem,
therefore, that the bird was not unusually far north for the
season, but since the Practical Handbook gives the distribution
of the species in the British Isles as August to October,
exceptionally November and December, its presence so far
to the eastward is remarkable. P. H. T. Hartley.
[Several records for July off the Hebrides have been
published recently ( antea , Vol. XXX., p. 174). — Eds.]
WHITE-WINGED BLACK TERN, GULL-BILLED
TERN AND ADULT LITTLE GULL IN NORFOLK.
On the afternoon of June 22nd, 1937, when standing at the
edge of Rush Hills, Hickling Broad, with W. Friedlcn, we saw
an adult of the White-winged Black Tern ( Chlidonias leucop-
terus) hawking for flies over Rush Hills and the Broad. On
three occasions the bird flew over our heads within 10 feet of
90
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
us. The white carpal joints, pure white tail, and the red feet
and bill could be clearly seen. I may note that I have seen the
species before. The bird was in the same area again on
June 25th and was seen by W. E. Higham and myself.
On June 27th, at Hickling, Mr. W. E. Higham and I saw
an adult Little Gull ( Lams minutus ) hawking for flies for some
time, both low over the water and high in the air.
Later in the same day we saw also, with a Mr. Turner, an
adult Gull-billed Tern ( Gelochelidon nilotica) hawking low over
the water within 25 yards. Its heavy black bill was clearly
seen, and the black crown and nape. The bird seemed to be
fully adult. This bold Tern I have seen twice previously.
Jim Vincent.
BLACK-HEADED GULLS NESTING IN DEVONSHIRE.
In June, 1937, I noticed a small colony of Black-headed
Gulls ( Lams r. ridibundus) nesting in North Devon. I found
eight nests, all containing eggs, in this little colony on
June 27th.
I know that this species has increased its range of late years,
but I am not aware that it has been recorded as breeding in
the Devonian Peninsula. D. Munro Smith.
THE NORTHERN RAZORBILL IN KENT— A NEW
FORM FOR THE BRITISH LIST.
When I read the article on the British Razorbill {Alca tor da
britannica Ticehurst) in British Birds ( antea , p. 11), I at once
determined to try to find the Razorbills which had been
washed up, tarred, about two months before, on the shore
around Dungeness, to see if there was among them an example
of the typical form, Alca torda torda L. I found one with the
following measurements : — wing, 213.5 mm. ; greatest height
of bill, 21.5 mm.
Dr. C. B. Ticehurst saw the head and a wing, and writes : —
“ I have seen no British ones with the wing as long and only
occasional ones with the bill as high.” The above measure-
ments are his.
Four other specimens found were of the British form.
Norman H. Joy.
[Though the bill is not deeper than a good many British
breeding birds I have measured, the wing of the specimen
greatly exceeds those of British birds. H.F.W.]
vol. xxxi.] NOTES. 91
KITTIWAKES NESTING ON A BUILDING IN EAST
LOTHIAN.
The fact that Kittiwakes ( Rissa t. tridactyla) were nesting on
a building overlooking the harbour at Dunbar was recorded
by the late A. Thorburn, who found three nests on the
Kittiwakes nesting in warehouse — Dunbar
window ledges of a disused warehouse in 1934 (Scot. Nat.,
1934, p. 50, cf., Brit. Birds, Vol. XXIX., p. 89).
There are now some twenty nests on the window ledges of
this building, and the site seems to me so remarkable that the
accompanying photograph of the building taken on June 7th,
1937, may be of interest. A. H. Highfield.
[Kittiwakes have also been recently recorded as nesting on
buildings in Norway — F.C.R.J.]
COMMON CRANES IN NORTHAMPTONSHIRE.
On May 27th, 1937, a pair of Common Cranes ( Grus grus)
appeared at Lilford Hall. When first seen they were circling
low and calling over an enclosure containing nesting examples
of their own species. They were trying to alight, but evidently
the trees or high fences prevented them from doing this, so
they planed down and settled in a meadow across the river
92
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
Nene. Here I had an excellent view of them at a distance of
about 30 yards and much admired their perfect plumage and
graceful flight. At the time I was under the impression that
they were escapes, but after due inquiries think it possible
that they may have been genuine wild examples. They
stayed for about half an hour, were seen again at noon, but
since then they have not been heard of. A. F. Moody.
Continental Chaffinch in Renfrewshire.- — Mr. P. A.
Clancey informs us that he has identified an adult male
Chaffinch taken in eastern Renfrewshire on March 29th,
1937, as belonging to the Continental race ( Fringilla c.
ccelebs) . Although specimens were not previously differentiated,
migration observations make it clear that Chaffinches from
the Continent pass along the west side of Great Britain (cf.
Practical Handbook, Vol. I., p. 95).
Greenland Falcon on Lundy. — Mr. F. W. Gade informs
us that a Greenland Falcon ( Falco r. candicans) visited Lundy
in March, 1937. The bird was a tiercel, and remained for
about three weeks. It was badly mobbed by gulls and crows,
and seemed in rather poor condition. It suddenly disappeared,
and subsequently its skeleton was found amongst boulders
on one of the island’s slopes.
A pair of Hen-Harriers ( Circus cyaneus) visited the island
in April, and remained for a few days.
REVIEWS.
LOCAL REPORTS.
The London Naturalist for 1936 and the London Bird Report for 1936.
(London N.H. Soc., Keppel Street, W.C.i) 3s. 6d. and is. 6d.
The ornithological records of the London Natural History Society have
steadily increased and are now for the first time published separately
as a supplement to The London Naturalist under the title London Bird
Report. This latter contains detailed reports of the birds recorded for
the year in the area, which embraces parts of six counties within
20 miles of St. Paul’s as shown in a map provided in this issue. Besides
this main report there are special reports on the distribution within
the area of Grey Wagtail, Lesser Redpoll and Little Owl and short
articles on Crossbills, a Pied Wagtail Roost and the Green Sandpiper
as a winter visitor, in which Mr. R. McKenzie Smith states that during
the past four years one could be reasonably sure of finding a bird of
this species along the River Roding, near Chigwell, in any month
from August to December and with less certainty until March. The
Report ends with lists of arrival and departure dates of migrants
and an account of ringing.
VOL. XXXI.]
REVIEWS.
93
In the main Report there are many items of interest, a few of which
have already been published in our pages, while attention may be
drawn to the following : — Crossbills in Kent and Surrey (and in the
article referred to above a definite record of nesting in Surrey), Rock-
Pipits at Reservoirs in Essex and Surrey, a Blackcap singing in Surrey
on February 28th, Dartford Warblers breeding in two places within the
area, a Gadwall breeding at Barn Elms Reservoir was probably due
to full-winged birds put down in St. James’s Park, a Stone-Curlew in
Richmond Park on April 1st, Scandinavian Lesser Black-backed Gulls
on the Thames in August, September, November and March, and a
number of interesting records from the reservoirs.
In The London Naturalist itself we find some good notes on the Dart-
ford Warbler by Mr. Howard Bentham, on the Hobby, with pleasing
photographs, by Mr. J. E. Roberts, and an account of some Starling
roosts in north-east Surrey by Mr. R. S. R. Fitter.
Committee on Bird Sanctuaries in Royal Parks ( England ) Report for 1936.
(H.M. Stationery Office) pd.
This gives an interesting account for the year of birds in the Royal
Parks in and around London. Mr. Holte Macpherson has already given
in our pages accounts of notable birds in Inner London and other
records are contained in The London Naturalist, but more detail appears
here. Bushy and Hampton Court Parks have an excellent list with
52 species breeding and 34 others identified in the year. Richmond
Park has as many as 56 species breeding and 43 others seen. Kew
Gardens appears in this Report for the first time. The most notable
event here was the nesting of a pair of Crossbills. A Wood-Wren recorded
as nesting in a holly bush does not sound likely.
Transactions of the Hertfordshire Natural History Society and Field Club,
1937. (Hertford : Austin & Sons, Ltd.) 5s.
These Transactions include a very good report on the birds for 1935
by Mr. C. Oldham, who also contributes an interesting paper on
migration in the county. In this he has worked out the earliest and
latest arrival dates with mean dates of 33 migrants as recorded
from 1879 to 1935, and remarks that no useful purpose would be served
by the compilation of further lists on the lines of the past, though he
hastens to add that a hundred other problems connected with the
subject are crying for solution. Among the notes arranged under
species, attention may be drawn to the following, all the dates beingin
1935 : A Snow- Bunting at Wilstone Reservoir on October 13th, a
Rock-Pipit near Watford on August 20th, a decrease of Red-backed
Shrikes and Little Owls in West Herts, the use of cocks’ nests by Wrens,
a Great Black-backed Gull at Tring Reservoir on January 6th. the only
known occurrence there of this species, and a Ivittiwake in September.
Report of the Oxford Ornithological Society on the Birds of Oxfordshire ,
Berkshire and Buckinghamshire, 1936. (B. W. Tucker, University
Museum, Oxford) 3s. 3d.
This Report, besides the systematic notes, contains special reports
on Crossbills (two cases of breeding in Oxfordshire proved), a Duck
investigation, the distribution of the Grey Wagtail, Lesser Redpoll and
Little Owl (species recommended by the British Trust for Ornithology),
Ringing, and tables compiled by Mr. W. B. Alexander showing the
average and earliest or latest dates for migrants. The systematic notes
94
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
contain a large number of observations, of which we may mention
the following : — three birds frequently visiting a bird table close to a
window at Mortimer (Berks) between November 28th and December
1 8th were identified as Crested Tits ; two occurrences of the Brent
Goose in Oxfordshire in April ; Garganev in Berks and Bucks ; Scoter
and Velvet-Scoter in April and an Oystercatcher in July in Oxfordshire ;
a Kentish Plover on April 5th and an Avocet on May 10th at Reading
Sewage Farm, a Temminck’s Stint at Slough Sewage Farm on Septem-
ber 1 8th, Bar-tailed God wits and Great Black-backed Gull in Oxon and
Bucks, and a Quail on June 21st in a locality in Berkshire where found
the year before.
The Hastings and East Sussex Naturalist. Vol. V... No. 4. (Hastings
and St. Leonard’s Nat. Hist. Soc.) 2s.
This issue has a large section devoted to the Report on birds for 1936.
Among other items we have noted the following : — Breeding records of
Cirl Buntings, breeding Grey Wagtails stated to be resident, Bluethroat
seen by Dr. N. H. Joy at Dungeness on September 22nd, considered to
be an adult male of the white-spotted form, winter records of Common
and Green Sandpipers, occurrences of a Spotted Redshank, an Avocet,
and Black-tailed Godwits, and a growth in the colonies of Common
and Lesser Black-backed Gulls nesting at Dungeness.
Ornithological Report for the County of Hampshire, 1936. ( Proceedings
of the Hampshire Field Club and Arch. Soc.)
This Report, now compiled by the Rev. F. C-. R. Jourdain, contains a
number of good notes. Many nests of Crossbills were found, but by the
autumn most of the birds, if not all, had disappeared.
A male “ yellow ” Wagtail with no eye-stripe, seen at Britford on
April 15th was probably correctly identified as a Grey-headed Wagtail
(M. f. thunbergi). Though some ground has not yet recovered from
fires the Dartford Warbler has done very well recently, not only in
Hampshire but in other parts and is tending to spread to new localities.
One pair of Montagu’s Harriers nested and reared young in the New
Forest and a pair is recorded as breeding in Dorsetshire. A short list
of earliest dates of spring song of residents is included — a subject
which might be more taken up by Field Clubs, even if this made it
necessary to dispense with tables of the arrival of migrants on which
such a mass of data has already been accumulated.
Report of the Marlborough College Natural History Society, 1936.
In this Report 104 species are recorded by thirty observers. Curlew
seen in May this year and previously, suggest the possibility of nesting.
Passing Great Black-backed Gulls were noted in March, April and May.
Report on Somerset Birds, 1936. ( Somerset Arch, and Nat. Hist. Soc.,
Somerset County Museum, Taunton.)
This Report contains a large number of excellent notes among which
we may draw attention to the following : — Ravens breeding in the
Avon Gorge on the Gloucestershire side, a Nuthatch nesting in the
masonry of a railway bridge, Merlins breeding on Exmoor, a winter
record of the British Lesser Black-backed Gull and a Spotted Crake
calling on August 9th. The Garganey was proved to breed in the
central area and some interesting counts of the Ducks and Grebes were
made — 400 Shovelers on Blagdon Reservoir on April nth being a
VOL. XXXI.]
REVIEWS
95
surprisingly large number. Scaup, Scoter, Red-breasted Merganser,
Black-necked and Slavonian Grebes were seen at Barrow Gurney
Reservoirs.
The Report includes a photograph by Mr. G. K. Yeates of a male
Girl Bunting at the nest.
Transactions of the Norfolk and Norwich Naturalists’ Society for the
Year 1936. (Major A. Buxton, Horsey Hall) 10s.
This issue contains, besides the usual annual report on birds, a very
interesting address by the President, Mr. Colin McLean on “ The
status of Wild Duck in our area, with some observations on their
breeding and habits in captivity”. Mr. McLean gives figures and a
graph of the numbers (chiefly Mallard, Teal and Wigeon) caught at
three decoys and shot at three principal shoots during the last fifteen
years. These show an alarming drop in numbers in 1934 and 1935 and
Mr. McLean discusses possible causes and remedies and advocates
systematic ringing on a large scale as a means of learning more about
the movements of Ducks — a matter now taken up by the British
Section of the “ International Committee for Bird Preservation”.
The various bird reports contain many interesting items. A pair of
Golden Orioles at Horsey in June may have nested but there is no proof.
Crossbills bred in numbers, a pair of Cirl Bunting were seen near
Hickling on April 13th, a Richard’s Pipit on September 18th and two
Water-Pipits on the 17th at Hickling, a Red-breasted Flycatcher at
Salthouse on September 21st, and a Barred Warbler at Cley on
August 27th.
Some five pairs of Short-eared Owls nested and two Marsh-Harriers
(one with a clutch of eight eggs hatched only the first and last eggs laid),
but no Montagu’s, a Purple Heron was identified on June 7th ; 130 to
200 Black Terns were seen at Hickling on May 16th, and at Scolt Head
Island a Roseate Tern mated with a Common and produced a young one,
which, when fully feathered, did not appear to differ from a Common
Tern of the same age.
There is a decided lack of notes, especially on locally distributed
birds, from outside the specially protected areas.
Report of the Cambridge Bird Club, 1936. (Cambridge : Severs) is. 6d.
This Report contains two rather short lists of birds, the notes from
the Sewage Farm being kept separate. In Wicken Fen several pairs
of Short-eared Owls and a pair of Montagu’s Harriers bred, while two
Marsh-Harriers were seen in the autumn, Gadwall are recorded for
May and December. A number of Waders are recorded from the Sewage
Farm including Turnstones, Wood-Sandpipers, winter records of Green
Sandpiper (in recent mild winters they have been reported in a good
many counties), spring and autumn records of Spotted Redshank,
Greenshank and Black-tailed Godwits, and a Bar-tailed in October.
Mr. H. L. K. Whitehouse contributes an article on Starling roosts in
south Cambridgeshire and Mr. S. Marchant an account of ” Bat-
Fowling and Ringing”, a “sport” which, besides its utility for ringing,
might well be made to contribute some interesting and much wanted
information regarding roosting habits.
Ornithological Record for Derbyshire, 1935-6 ■ ( Derbyshire Arch, and Nat.
Hist. Soc. Journal, 1936.)
Though this Report suffers somewhat by reason of its small number
of contributors, it contains a good many useful notes. Twenty pairs
96 BRITISH BIRDS. [vol. xxxi.
of Grasshopper-Warblers are stated to breed in about 300 acre?,
“ providing just the type of ground they like”. It would be of interest
to have a detailed survey of this ground. A bird seen near Taddington
on September 14th, 1935, was considered to be a White’s Thrush. A
Hobby, apparently correctly identified, was seen in January and is
supposed to have escaped from some falconer. A Gad wall was reported
in September, 1936, and a Velvet-Scoter in December, 1935.
Lancashire and Cheshire Fauna Committee. Twenty-second Annual
Report . . . for 1935.
This includes, besides the annual Report on bixds, a tabulated and
detailed account of the status of the Woodcock in Cheshire, which
arose from the National Inquiry instituted by the British Trust for
Ornithology. There are also special reports on the Redstart, Great
Spotted Woodpecker and Pochard — species selected by the Trust.
A census of Great Crested Grebes in Cheshire is also included. Besides
these valuable reports the carefully drawn up general notes are of
considerable interest. Among uncommon birds inland were Bar-tailed
Godwit, Grey Plover, Turnstone and Great Northern Diver.
St. Kilda Papers, 1931.
This publication contains, in addition to a foreword, bibliography and
large-scale map, reprints of eleven papers previously published in
various scientific journals. These papers, which deal with mice, breeding
birds, early autumn migration in 1931, St. Kilda Wren, coleoptera,
flora and vegetation of St. Kilda, comprise the chief scientific results
of an expedition to the island in the summer of 1931, the year
following the evacuation of the islanders. There are no copies
available for sale ; but as the publication is intended as a basis for
future scientific work on the island, twenty-five copies have been
presented to leading public libraries and those of Scientific Societies
for reference purposes. Any further information can be obtained
from Mr. Malcolm Stewart, Hawridge Court, near Chesham, Bucks.
LETTER.
INCUBATION OF WATER-RAIL.
To the Editors of British Birds.
Sirs, — In a footnote to my note on ” Incubation Period of Water-
Rail”, (antea, p. 62), “ F.C.R.J.” states: " Incubation does not always
begin with the completion of the clutch”.
Over 30 years’ experience in finding and showing the nest of this
species to hundreds of people has given me sufficient evidence to state
that the Water-Rail does start incubation on completion of laying.
Jim Vincent.
[On re-examination of the data on which my statement was made,
I find that Mr. Vincent is correct. Actual hatching in a case recorded
by Mr. A. Buxton took place within 20 hours and assertions that the
hatching period extends for several days are based on observations of
the period from first signs of chipping to last emergence from the shell.
—F.C.R.J.]
1937
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Contents of Number 4, Vol. XXXI., September i, 1937.
PAGE
Field Notes on the Corsican Citril Finch. By John Armitage ... 98
The Supercilium of the Grey-headed Wagtail. By H. N.
Southern ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 101
Supplementary Notes on the Distribution and Status of the
British Willow-Tit. By H. F. Witherby and E. M. Nicholson 104
Observations on the Courtship and Mating of the Smew. By
P. A. D. Hollom 106
Recovery of Marked Birds. By Miss E. P. Leach ... ... 112
Notes : —
A “ Five ” Clutch of the Pine Grosbeak (Major W. M.
Congreve) ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 120
Great Reed-Warbler in Kent (Dr. C. B. Ticehurst) ... ... 120
Sedge-Warbler Breeding in Outer Hebrides (Dr. J. W.
Campbell) ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 121
Subalpine Warbler at Maidens Lighthouse, Co. Antrim
(J. A. S. Stendall) ... ... ... ... ... ... 121
Montagu’s Harrier Breeding in Yorkshire (W. S. Medlicott)... 122
Birds taking Moths (Dr. J. W. Campbell) ... ... ... 122
Flight speed of Guillemots, Razorbills and Puffins (H. R. H.
Vaughan) ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 123
Short Notes : —
Birds at the Isle of May. Scarce Birds in Shetland. Scarce
Birds at Fair Isle. Adult Pied Wagtails using Roost in
June. Pied Wagtail and House-Sparrow Breeding in South
Uist. American Black-and-White Warbler in Shetland.
Reed-Warbler Nesting in Co. Down. American Yellow-
billed Cuckoo in Orkney. Little Owl taking Spider.
Red-crested Pochard Breeding in Lincolnshire ... ... 123
Review : —
British Trust for Ornithology, Third, Report, Summer, 1937 ... 126
Letters : —
The Function of the Goldcrest’s Crest (C. B. Moffat and E. W.
Hendy) 127
The “ Mewing ” of Divers in Winter (H. W. Robinson) ... 128
Wildfowl and Heron in Outer Hebrides (J. W. Campbell) ... 128
G
(98)
FIELD NOTES ON THE CORSICAN CITRIL FINCH.
BY
JOHN ARMITAGE.
(Plates 3 and 4.)
During the spring of 1937 my wife and I had many oppor-
tunities of observing the breeding habits of the Corsican
Citril Finch ( Cardnelis citrinella corsicana) in the centre and
west of Corsica. Thanks to information kindly given by
Lt.-Col. R. F. Meiklejohn and details from Col. W. A. Payn’s
records, we were in touch with Citrils during the greater part
of our stay, and notes obtained tallied precisely with theirs,
except in one locality where a few pairs had commenced to
nest exceptionally early.
The male of this form differs from that of the typical bird
which occurs on the British list by its paler yellow underparts
and by the warm brown instead of green of its mantle. The
typical bird nests chiefly in large conifers, sometimes at a
considerable height ; but the Corsican form does not breed in
trees, although it prefers to be near them, and is closely
associated with the white-flowered tree-heath ( Erica arbor ea).
It is evident that the Corsican Citril is a common resident
of wide distribution in the mountainous parts of the island,
and subject to local movement outside the breeding season.
On May 6th, small parties were seen in open places among the
low stony hills by the north-west coast, perching on rocks
and rough ground, and flying about the maquis-covered
slopes. They were readily approached and watched from
close range, feeding on seeds of grasses and other low-growing
plants, and nipping off tender shoots of plants still in flower.
When disturbed, they flew up without travelling far, producing
a whinnying and metallic flight-call, and it was these notes —
reminiscent of Siskins, but distinctive — that made the prompt
location of Citrils a simple matter at all times.
On May 8th, and again on May 14th, Citrils were seen
associating with Serins in two widely different districts, and
when flushed, the former birds twittered and displayed dull
greenish rumps, while the Serins contrasted by remaining
silent and exhibiting in flight the characteristic yellowish
streaks on their lower backs.
Citrils in small parties and in pairs were noted high in the
Tavignano Valley on May 15th, and three days later about
14 miles farther south, many were settled for breeding on a
mountain slope a few hundred feet above an extensive forest
of beech and pine. Lanky heath predominated on the lower
part of the slope, but on higher and more exposed ground,
the heath grew in isolated patches, dense and matted. Here
British Birds, Yol. XXXI., PI. 3
Two typical haunts of the Corsican Citril Finch
( Photographed by John Armitage)
vol. xxxi.] CORSICAN CITRIL FINCH.
99
and there were young conifers, and in these and on top of the
tufts of heath, cock Citrils were singing happily, their yellow
unmarked breasts showing up brightly in the sunshine. The
song is sweet and uttered in short phrases, punctuated
occasionally with a canary-like “ deek”.
A pair fussed about a short clump of heath a few feet from
where we stood, and the hen carried building material into it
without displaying the slightest objection to our presence.
Next day, a closer search revealed our first nest with three
fresh eggs from which the hen was flushed. It was a little
over three feet high in a slender fork of heath, and sub-
sequently it proved to be typical both in position and nature
of building materials. The nest was a small neat structure
with a strong outer fabric of fine stems, grasses and roots
mixed with moss, and the rather deep cup was smoothly
lined with feathers, hair, and vegetable down.
May 22nd found us in a picturesque western locality where
for a week among the mountains, we studied Citrils daily in a
variety of haunts ranging from 2,800 feet to about 3,500 feet,
and sixteen tenanted nests were located. Every suitable patch
of heath held one or two pairs of birds, and on a small slope
dotted with isolated clumps close to the upper fringe of a
chestnut forest, three pairs were breeding. Some nests were
built in tall cover, from three to six feet high, and others were
well concealed in goat-cropped heath, a few inches to two or
three feet from the ground. Most nests held four eggs or young,
and two, each held three young and one infertile egg. The
only clutch of five eggs was four feet high in a fearsome tangle
of bramble ; the nest was completely screened from view and
was shown to us by the owners calling excitedly from the
bush top, the hen working through to her nest soon afterwards .
Incomplete nests, fresh eggs and others near to hatching
were found on May 23rd, and we fell in with two pairs of
greatly agitated Citrils. A brief search disclosed three
scattered young, with stumpy tails and wings capable of
sustaining them on short flight. Their recently vacated nest
was seen and about twenty feet away, another nest held four
fledglings ready to leave, one youngster sitting on top of its
companions in the overcrowded nest. Both nests had their
rims thickly fouled with excreta from the young. Seeing
that most Corsican Citrils do not commence to breed until
well on in May, this was a surprising discovery, proving that
nest-making must have been in progress during the latter half of
April. Anxious to watch and portray the big nestlings being fed,
I rigged up a hide in the failing light, and enclosed the young and
nest in my partner’s hair-net to detain them until the morrow.
100
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
All went well and both parents came to the young, between
periods varying from three-quarters of an hour to nearly two
hours. They were fed on small tablets of white regurgitated
food. The adults then flew out of the district immediately,
and by getting their “ line ” at midday, we saw they were
collecting seeds by the roadside almost a mile below their
nesting ground. During their absence, the young sat together
in a heap quite amiably, looking round for a time and then
dozing peacefully. At a nest with four young in pin-feather,
the hen fed her offspring with a sticky white substance that
squelched from the comers of her mouth, and at a nest with
very small young, the visiting hen invariably ate her brood’s
excreta before leaving. Always, the incoming parents twittered
in flight, and were answered with an expectant “ tsip ” from
the fledged young, and by an occasional “ deek”.
Further finds and periods of watching showed that nests
with young are left unguarded for long periods, even when the
nestlings are downclad, and it is likely that such nests might
be overlooked unless every clump of heath on the mountain
slope is peered into. Also, a pair of birds leisurely collecting
food by the wayside might give one the impression that they
had not begun to build when actually they were rearing a
family. Bush-tapping is a dreary though successful method
for flushing hens from their nests, and passing Citrils may be
picked up through glasses and traced direct to their nests, but
one should stay in a likely area for two or three hours to
watch down adults feeding nestlings, unless all suitable
clumps of heath are parted and examined carefully.
By May 28th we knew of four nests of young in various stages;
two other broods were strong on the wing, and there was
evidence of one nest being built to accommodate asecond brood.
The down on a day-old nestling is dark brownish-grey,
long and plentiful ; distribution, inner and outer supra-orbital,
occipital, humeral, femoral, spinal, ventral, and crural. The
bill is purplish-grey, with dark grey tip to upper mandible.
The mouth inside is dull red, tongue similar and unmarked ;
external flanges ivory, with pink spot at extreme corners.
A nestling about eight days old — in pin-feather — has plenty
of long smoky-grey down still adhering. The inside of mouth
and tongue are dull scarlet. Colour of external flanges and of
corners as in day-old young. Bill horn colour ; legs with
purplish cast.
A fledgling ready to leave the nest has creamy buff under-
parts, and is brown and striated above. Legs are pale brown.
The bill is horn, with darker upper mandible, bill of parent
seeming distinctly grey when noted together at feeding time.
British Birds, Vol. XXXI., PI. 4
(. Photographed by John Armitage)
(101)
THE SUPERCILIUM OF THE GREY-HEADED
WAGTAIL.
BY
H. N. SOUTHERN.
The following few notes and photograph of the Grey-headed
Wagtail ( Motacilla j Hava thunbergi) were taken this year in the
district of Sweden known as Tomea Lappmark, which is the
area of birch forest and fells lying around Lake Tomea Trask
at about 68° North latitude.
Female Grey-headed Wagtail, Tornea Lappmark, Sweden
( Photographed by H. N. Southern)
Almost any information about these difficult geographical
races of Motacilla flava will probably be welcome to orni-
thologists, and particularly to those who see in the group an
instance of comparatively recent and still imperfectly demar-
cated splitting into sub-species.
102
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
Earlier text books ( e.g ., Wardlaw Ramsay) state that the
supercilium in thunbergi is absent or vestigial, while the
Practical Handbook says of the adult female, “ usually less
developed (than flava)” . This, apart from the head and
ear-coverts, is the chief field character for recognizing the
adult females of the two species. In Scandinavia, thunbergi
ranges from the north down to about 63°, where it meets the
type species.
Messrs. Venables and Thompson first drew my attention to
the fact that there is considerable variation in this feature
in thunbergi itself. At Tornea Trask in 1936 they found that the
supercilium was practically non-existent, while only a
hundred miles south nearly all the females approached far
more nearly to the type species (i.e., they had a complete one).
While studying the birds in the field myself I found that in
most cases the eye-stripe of the female was well marked from
the region of the eye backwards, but did not extend in front
of it. This condition can clearly be seen in the photograph.
By the courtesy of Count Gyldenstolpe of the Royal
Natural History Museum at Stockholm I was able to examine
a series of skins of thunbergi collected in Sweden from various
parts of its range, and it was at once obvious that there is a
great deal of variation in this character. Both extremes were
represented, but the great majority of the skins showed the
same condition as in the accompanying photograph. In
addition the variation was quite sporadic and no geographical
trend was discovered from the border of the two ranges
(i.e., of M.f. thunbergi and M .f. flava).
Thus, although there is no gradation in space between these
two forms (which would probably be difficult to maintain in
migrants) there is a very clear one in actual plumage.
The general assumption therefore that thunbergi has
evolved probably by geographical isolation from flava, which
is implied by their systematic positions, is supported by the
following facts :
(1) That the females of thunbergi, which have a plumage
ancestral to that of the male from an evolutionary point of
view, show the supercilium in varying degrees, while the males
have almost lost it (see below). If the race had an origin
independent of flava and the eye-stripe was in process of
appearing, then the males should have acquired it first.
(2) That the fledglings of thunbergi, whose plumage, if
different at all from that of the females, should show an even
earlier stage, have an almost complete supercilium.
vol. xxxi.] SUPERCILIUM OF WAGTAIL.
103
(3) That the males of thunbergi are occasionally known to
show traces of a supercilium, but in a much less marked degree
than the females. This can be regarded as truly vestigial
and shows clearly the direction in which the evolution of the
plumage is tending.
Thus we have the three phylogenetic plumage stages in
respect of this one character repeated in ontogeny (or
approximately so, if we regard the male and female adult
plumages as continuous) just as is seen in, e.g., the Blackbird.
The degree of variation shown in the females marks the
incompleteness of the separation of the two forms, and
confirms the evidence of overlap reported in other races, even
to the extent of interbreeding.
(104)
SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES ON THE
DISTRIBUTION AND STATUS OF THE BRITISH
WILLOW-TIT.
BY
H. F. WITHERBY and E. M. NICHOLSON.
Since our summary of the distribution and status of the
British Willow-Tit ( Par us atricapillus kleinschmidti ) was
published in British Birds (Vol. XXX., p. 358) several
correspondents have sent in further information which
allows us in certain respects to amplify and correct our
account. We deal with the various regions in the same
order as before.
ENGLAND.
No amendment or addition is called for as a result of further
information received for the South-eastern and South-
western counties, with the exception of Cornwall, where
Mr. A. Hazelwood finds by repeated investigation that the
Marsh-Tit is well distributed in the Looe district, although
he has failed to find there the Willow-Tit, which he knows
well. In view, however, of the few Somerset records it also
seems worth mentioning the identification of three Willow-Tit
skins obtained at Clevedon in June, 1904, August, 1900, and
September 1903. These are now in Liverpool Museum.
For Eastern England the one record mentioned of a nest
in Lincolnshire, between Lincoln and Grantham, must be
supplemented by others between Tattershall and Spilsby
(Capt. J. S. Reeve), in the Market Rasen district (Mr. A.
Whitaker), and near Gainsborough, in which last locality
Mr. A. Hazelwood found Marsh-Tits preponderant.
In South Central England additional breeding season
records have come to hand for Hertfordshire, between Hertford
and Barnet (Mr. R. S. R. Fitter). A June record for Ivinghoe
Common in Buckinghamshire (E.M.N.) takes the distri-
bution within two miles of the border of Bedfordshire, for
which records are still wanting. An additional breeding
record in Worcestershire is from near Kidderminster in 1937
(G. M. King).
In North Central England Mr. A. W. Boyd notifies three
cases of breeding in the Northwich area, and a map and notes
sent in by Mr. R. B. Sibson show that the Willow-Tit is also
widely distributed and by no means rare in the southerly part
of the Cheshire plain and adjoining areas of Staffordshire,
where it is believed to outnumber the Marsh-Tit. In north
Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, and in the adjoining parts
of Yorkshire around Doncaster, Thome, Pontefract, Barnsley
vol. xxxi ] THE BRITISH WILLOW-TIT.
105
and Sheffield very full observations of the relative breeding
status of the two species have been made by Mr. A. Whitaker
and Mr. A. Hazelwood, with the result that the Willow-Tit
emerges as the more numerous, and in some localities the only
species of black-capped Tit. In the Doncaster-Thome area,
Mr. Hazelwood finds the Willow-Tit the most abundant
member of its family in favourable habitats, and he has not
met with the Marsh-Tit at all within a ten-mile radius of
Doncaster. The figures supplied by Mr. Whitaker are almost
equally striking, showing a preponderance of six or seven
Willow-Tit nests to one Marsh-Tit around Sheffield, Barnsley
and Pontefract. Both Mr. Whitaker and Mr. Hazelwood
show that the Willow-Tit is also frequent in the adjoining
Bawtry- Worksop area of Nottinghamshire. These interesting
notes make it highly desirable to extend intensive observation
of the relative status of the two species farther south in
Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire, and farther north through
Yorkshire, as well as to other adjoining counties.
For the rest of North England there is no fresh inform-
ation, except as regards the Bolton district of Lancashire,
where Mr. Hazelwood reports black-capped Tits as very
scarce, his only record being a Marsh-Tit, and for Co. Durham
where a previously overlooked record is supplied by a specimen
in Liverpool Museum from Sherburn, October, 1885.
WALES.
Two gaps in the list of counties have been filled, a record
for Montgomeryshire (near Caersws, September) having been
supplied by Messrs. F. R. Barlow and J. D. Wood, and two
records for Flintshire, near Mold, July, by Mr. Eric Hardy,
and a nesting record for the detached part of the county by
Messrs A. W. Boyd and R. B. Sibson.
SCOTLAND.
No additional information has come to hand.
In conclusion, we have to point out that most of the gaps
indicated in our previous paper remain to be filled. The
few comparative local studies which have been sent in to us
since, prove the very great value and interest of keeping
full notes or maps showing the relative numbers and distri-
bution of the Willow- and Marsh-Tits, distinguishing records
for the breeding season and other times of the year, and
bringing out the exact habitat, altitude and so forth favoured
by each species. Only when this has been done on a much
larger scale will it be possible to give a satisfactory account
of the subject.
(106)
OBSERVATIONS ON THE COURTSHIP AND
MATING OF THE SMEW.
BY
P. A. D. HOLLOM.
Not much appears to be known about the courtship of the
Smew ( Mergus albellus). Millais describes and illustrates the
display of a drake at the London Zoo. This bird was the
only one of its species in the Zoo at the time, and it had to
content itself with performing before a female Merganser
or Goosander. Millais’s description is mentioned by Phillips,
and the only other reference that I know of is a note by Boyd
on three males displaying to each other on a Midland reservoir.
I was therefore very interested to watch the courting
of Smew on a number of occasions in the winter and early
spring of 1937 on the reservoirs at Molesey (Surrey) and
Hampton (Middlesex). These reservoirs form two groups,
separated by the Thames, and between 20 and 40 Smew
winter on them regularly.
Courting was first seen on December 27th, 1936, but may
have begun earlier, as this was the first date when I watched
for any length of time. About noon two drakes and two
ducks were in a group, obviously excited. The forehead
feathers of the drakes were raised to form a crest, and one
would approach a duck with his neck drawn in, as if pouting.
The drakes also gave some spasmodic little forward jerks
of the head and occasionally reared up on the water.
On the morning of January 10th, when I arrived at the
water most favoured by the birds, there were 25 Smew on
it ; others flew in until there were 15 drakes and 19 ducks
on this small reservoir of about nine acres. As usual, diving
was the chief occupation, but at one time half the birds
were courting simultaneously, and they made a wonderful
sight in the bright sunshine.
I also watched courting on January nth (morning),
16th (afternoon), 17th (morning) and February 6th (after-
noon). On January 23rd and 24th, days of cloud and rain
with moderate to strong S. or S.W. winds, there was practically
no display.
In the second week of February most of the Smew
deserted Molesey reservoirs where all the observations had
hitherto been made, and on the 13th I found the birds at
Hampton. There were now only 4 drakes and 12 ducks,
which by March 2nd had dwindled to 1 drake and 3
ducks. Actions considered to be connected with courtship
vol. xxxi.] MATING OF THE SMEW.
107
were seen here on February 13th, 15th, 21st and 23rd, but
I never saw so much display as at Molesey, possibly because
those birds most active in courting were the first to depart ;
possibly because the reduced number of birds, and especially
of drakes, meant less stimulus to display.
COURTSHIP ACTIONS.
Drake Only.— Usually the first sign of excitement was
the raising of the crest on the forehead of the drakes, with
the head carried a little higher and more forward than usual.
The head was then drawn in and back until the neck was
resting on the back, with the bill pointing downwards,
Fig. 1 — Drake “pouting”
giving a “ reined-in ” appearance. At the same time the
breast was puffed out (Fig. 1). After some seconds in this
position the head and neck might be jerked forward several
times as the bird was swimming with or towards a duck.
Fig. 2 — Drake rearing up
If sufficiently excited the drake reared up on the water
from time to time. When doing so the head and bill were
almost invariably held parallel to the water, and at the
108
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
same time the bill was opened and shaken quickly from
side to side (Fig. 2). Only on two or three occasions did I
see the bill pointed upwards during this display, and no
bird achieved the exaggerated posture with head thrown
right back, which is illustrated by Millais. Nor did I ever
see water thrown up as both Millais and Boyd mention.
Often several birds displayed at the same time to a duck,
and she, if closely pressed, would occasionally show resent-
ment by turning on them or hurrying forward out of their
way. Sometimes the only sign of a drake’s excitement was
the twitching of the head with neck held stiff and straight.
Drake and Duck. — The actions so far described were
peculiar to the drake. Both sexes, however, had one action
in common, a false drinking motion which was comparatively
seldom seen. The bill was pointed down to the water without
Fig. 3 — Drake completing "false drink” motion
quite touching it and then raised to point upwards (Fig. 3).
The performing of this action by one of a pair sometimes,
but not always, caused the other bird to respond in like
manner. For example, on January 16th the male of a pair
swimming towards me did the drinking motion five times
and the female did it twice. On February 13th a drake,
on coming up from a dive, swam rapidly towards a duck
about fifteen yards off and when he got near did a drink
motion with his crest slightly raised ; he then began preening.
Seven minutes later these two birds were still together and
now the duck did a slight drink motion, and the drake
immediately responded with a pronounced one.
Duck Only. — The duck also had a bobbing action which,
I think, generally indicated considerable feeling on her part,
and was nearly always done close behind a drake. The
bill was pointed vertically downwards, pressing against the
breast feathers, and with the head held in this position the
bird would bob upwards several times in quick succession
109
vol. xxxi.] MATING OF THE SMEW.
(Fig. 4). Each bob was accompanied by a short surge
forward, as if some impetus were necessary to get the upward
movement. This display was not often observed, but on
two different days I saw it given by a duck following a
drake, when a second duck was following up behind them.
I only once saw a duck bob unprovoked. She had been
swimming slowly in my direction for a minute or so when
she began to hasten off at right angles towards a drake
that was twenty or thirty yards away. When she was just
behind him she put bill to breast and bobbed four times in
rapid succession. The drake immediately reared up slightly
and in the few minutes following, during which they kept
together, he occasionally stiffened his neck and twitched
his head.
MATING.
In addition to courting, I was lucky enough to see the birds
mating on one or two occasions. My notes are perhaps of
sufficient interest to be given in detail.
January 10th, 1937. A cloudless sky, warm sun and a
light cool S. wind. About 11 a.m. a pair were together,
the duck with her tail up at angle of 30° and neck stretched
forward at the same angle. She maintained this rigid pose
for a minute or two while the drake kept rearing up on the
water. The duck faced the drake, the drake faced anywhere.
Again at mid-day there was a pair apart from other Smew
about one hundred yards away from me. The duck was
in the rigid attenuated attitude which became even more
rigid as I watched, with neck and head absolutely flat on
the water and the tip of her tail about two inches above the
surface. The drake then mounted her and she was out of
sight. While he was on her he pecked down two or three
110
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
times. He came off after about six seconds and the duck
immediately came up and bobbed behind him three times.
January nth. 11.55 a.m. Mild and cloudy ; light SW.
wind. A group of five drakes and one duck resting in the
middle of the reservoir and one duck diving near the edge.
A drake left the group and swam purposefully in towards
the corner where the duck was diving. When he had nearly
reached the place where she had last dived (she was under
water at the time) he turned and swam out again, but she
came up in front of him, having evidently passed below him
under water. I thought his crest was very slightly raised,
and almost at once she adopted the rigid attenuated attitude
Fig. 5 — Duck soliciting
which involves sinking the body in the water (Fig. 5). Once
or twice her head was lower than her tail. He did not appear
very excited, and his crest was not raised, but he reared up
twice. She kept close to him and turned to and fro, and
round, as he did, all in a small area. This lasted for half
a minute or more, but ceased when another drake approached.
January 16th. 4.14 p.m. Moderate cold W. wind. Sunny
intervals. Rather chilly. Water popply. A pair swam out
from under the bank just below me. I looked away from
them to a group of birds on the far side of the reservoir for
a minute or a minute and a half, and then noticed the duck
of the near pair in the rigid flat position 30 or 40 yards from
me with her body sunk in the water. Her head was lower
than her tail when first noticed. Then the head, and then
the tail were flattened on to the water. All the time the
pair were manoeuvring round each other, but the drake showed
no sign of excitement such as raising his crest or jerking his
head. Finally, after say half a minute, they swung together
and he mounted her, or rather she, already nearly awash,
slipped beneath him from his right-hand side. He certainly
made no jump or scramble to get on to her. They were facing
away from me, but so far as I could see, only the tip of her
tail and nothing else was above the water. He did no pecking,
and was on her for 11 seconds (counted). He bobbed when
he came off her, then dipped his head in the water and shook
himself. She came up and shook her wings tremulously
vol. xxxi ] MATING OF THE SMEW.
Ill
while doing a curtsying action, as if bathing, but without
scooping up water or putting her head into it. They then
swam off together and about five minutes later flew away.
These observations indicate that the initiative in mating
is taken by the duck ; that the drake may or may not respond ;
and that courtship by the drake is not the immediate prelude
to it. It seems remarkable that it should occur in mid-
winter, and on one occasion within five minutes of sunset.
Courtship was seen on so many occasions that I feel it
surely must be of regular occurrence in the early part of the
year, and it is surprising that it has not been recorded
more often.
REFERENCES.
Boyd, A. W. (1927) -
Millais, J. G. (1913)
Phillips, John C. (1926)-
Notes from Staffordshire Reservoirs.
British Birds, Vol. XX., p. 285.
British Diving Ducks. Vol. II.,
pp. 123-124.
A Natural History of the Ducks.
Vol. IV., pp. 237-238.
(112)
RECOVERY OF MARKED BIRDS.
COMMUNICATED BY
E. P. LEACH.
Hon. Sec., Bird-Ringing Committee, British Trust for Ornithology.
No.
402123
RT.9659
AB.3465
RS. 2561
RT. 9544
RT.1574
RW.6923
RR.5293
AG.571
No.
AG. 410
AG. 432
AG.435
AG. 460
No.
RX.3386
RW.6235
RV.9890
RV.7357
RX.6388
RX.6391
Ringed. Recovered.
Raven ( Corvus c. corax).
Skokholm (Pem), 9. 4. 36, young, Thornton (Pern), 26.4.37.
by Skokholm Bird Obs.
Carrion-Crow ( Corvus c. cor one).
RINGED AS NESTLINGS.
Sedbergh (Yorks), 14.7.36, by Where ringed, 22.4.37.
Sedbergh Sell.
Hafod (Cardigan), 10.6.36, by Lake Vyrnwy(Mont), 19.5.37.
W. A. Cadman.
Seaford (Sussex), 15.6.30, by Where ringed, — .6.36.
J. F. Thomas.
Rook ( Corvus f. frugilegus).
RINGED AS NESTLINGS.
(a) RECOVERED AWAY FROM WHERE RINGED.
Chertsey (Surrey), 22.4.34, by Chobham (Surrey), — .4.37.
P. Hollom.
(b) RECOVERED WHERE RINGED.
York, 23.5.33, by Bootham Sch. 15-5-37-
Shipley (Yorks), 2.5.36, by C. Wontner-Smith. 20.4.37.
Chewton Mendip (Som), 1929, by C. R. Stonor. 28.4.37.
RINGED AS FULL-GROWN.
(a) RECOVERED AWAY FROM WHERE RINGED.
Gt. Budworth (Ches), 16.1.36, Ashbourne (Derby), 17.4.37.
A. W. Boyd.
(b) RECOVERED WHERE RINGED.
Gt. Budworth (A. W. Boyd).
Ringed.
23-2-33-
18.7.33.
18.7.33.
20.6.34.
Recovered
-■6-37
27-4-36
7-4-34
19-5-35
Ringed.
No.
AG. 483
AG. 522
AG.515
Ringed.
10.8.34.
8-7-35-
3i-5-36-
Recovered.
1 1 -5-35-
24-3-37-
23-3-37-
Recovered.
Jackdaw ( Colceus m. spermologus) .
RINGED AS NESTLINGS.
Chilham (Kent), 1.6.36, by St. East Grinstead (Surrey),
Edmund’s Sch. 5-3-37-
Ditto 24.5.36. Where ringed, 1.4.37.
Hastings (Sussex), 24.5.36, by Bolney (Sussex), 24.3.37.
Brooker & Cawkell.
RINGED AS FULL-GROWN.
(a) RECOVERED AWAY FROM WHERE RINGED.
Malvern (Worcs), 12.7.36, by Eastnor (Hereford), 23.6.37.
P. Morshead.
Whipsnade (Beds), 12.12.36, Broxbourne (Herts), 16.4.37.
by Zool. Soc.
Ditto 12.12.36. Great Gaddesden (Herts),
11 -7-37-
vol. xxxi ] RECOVERY OF MARKED BIRDS.
Jackdaw ( continued ).
RINGED AS FULL-GROWN ( continued ).
( b ) RECOVERED WHERE RINGED.
No. Ringed. Recovered
Douglas, Is. of Man (W. S. Cowin)
RW.6161
Richmond
RR.6416
No.
113
Recovered.
RW.8338
OS. 356
YM.456
OD.241
GH.150
ZL.276
ZR.193
OA.389
YF.702
ZT.657
ZV.424
ZT.739
No. Ringed.
Whipsnade (Zool. Soc.).
RW. 9468 16.7.36. 23.3.37.
RX. 2487 31.7.36. 21. 11. 36.
RX.5518 6.12.36. 1. 4-37-
Recovered.
. rufitergum).
ad., Llanthony (Mon), 8.6.37.
15.1.36. 3-6.37.
Park (London N.H.S.).
I5-5-35- 21.2.37. I
Ringed.
Jay ( Garntlus g
Bucknell (Salop), 15.3.36,
by W. D. Smith.
Starling ( Sturnus v. vulgaris).
RINGED AS NESTLINGS.
Temple Sowerby (Westmor), Shap (Westmor),
— .6.36, by H. J. Moon.
Shipley (Yorks), 18.5.37, by Haworth Moor
C. Wontner-Smith. 10.7.37.
RINGED AS FULL-GROWN.
(a) RECOVERED AWAY FROM WHERE RINGED.
Is. of May Bird Obs., 29.9.36. Belfast (Antrim),
York, 19.12.35, by Bootham King’s Lynn
Sch.
Ditto 18.1.36.
Douglas (Is. of M.), 9.2.36, by
W. Cowin.
13.12.36.
20.12.33,
Ditto
Gt. Bud worth (Ches),
by A. W. Boyd.
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
6.4.37-
(Yorks),
23.12.36.
(Norfolk) ,
12.5.37-
Halesworth(Suffolk),24.2.37.
Tenbury (Worcs), — .5.37.
Blackpool (Lancs), 29.4.37.
Bolton (Lancs), — .5.37.
21.12.35. Pontrilas (Hereford), 24.4.37.
7.12.36. Aylsham (Norfolk), 3.5.37.
23.12.35. Dundaga, (Kurland), Latvia,
I5.L36.
ZV.120
Ditto
14.1.36.
I.abiau, E. Prussia, — .5.37.
GT.461
Ditto
1312. 35-
Borghorst, Westphalia,
I4.4.37.
ZV.393
Ditto
23.11.36.
Siidtondern, Schleswig,
—.6.37.
ZV.397
Ditto
23.11.36.
Stade, Hamburg, 12.7.37.
GT.558
Birmingham
(Warwick) ,
Leamington (Warwick),
8.11.35, by W.
Kendrick.
7.2.37-
GT.593
Ditto
2.12.35.
Bromyard (Hereford),
27-4-37-
OA.60
Malvern (Worcs) ,
P. Morshead.
25.10.36, by
Redmarley (Worcs), 8.1.37.
OX. 360
Ditto
6.11.36.
Eldersfield (Worcs), 27.1.37.
GX.511
Ditto
I.5.6.35.
Newnham (Glos), 31.5.37.
OA.100
Ditto
26.10.36.
Hargrave (Northants),
—■5-37-
OX. 326
Ditto
4.11.36.
Arrington (Cambs), 15.5.37.
ZX.197
Ditto
26.2.36.
Altreetz, Brandenburg,
—.8.36.
OX. 104
Ditto
29.10.36.
Liineburg, Hanover, 17.4.37.
ZA.166
Ditto
8.12.35.
Orust Is. (Bohuslan), Sweden,
2 7-3 -37-
H
114
BRITISH BIRDS
No.
FL.642
OR. 541
ZB. 924
ZW.372
YA. 296
YE.43
OT.417
OW.765
YB. 243
ZE.86
YB.614
ZS.172
GS.113
V.9270
S.8960
YA.588
GH.535
JH.591
LR.487
LG.581
KP.554
HB.623
JN.952
JP.129
JS.492
[VOL. XXXI.
Ringed. Recovered.
Starling ( continued ).
RINGED AS FULLGROWN ( continued ).
Evesham ("Worcs), 7.12.33, by
A. Harthan.
Moreton - in - Marsh (Glos),
5.2.37, by G. Charteris.
Ditto 15.2.36.
Oxford, 16.3.36, by Oxford
Orn. Soc.
Ditto 15. 1. 37.
Ditto I-3-37-
Whipsnade (Beds), 24.8.36, by
Zool. Soc.
Ditto 16.10.36.
St. Neot’s (Hunts), 17. 1.37, by
C. Tebbutt.
St. Alban’s (Herts), 3.10.36, by
Bond. N.H.S.
West Lavington (Wilts),
7.12.36, by Dauntsey’s Sch.
Branscombe (Devon), 23.12.35,
by P. Morshead.
(b) RECOVERED WHERE
Is. of May Bird Obs., 2.10.35.
Carlisle (Cumb), 20.1.29, by J.
Wilmslow (Ches), 30.3.30, by I
Kazdanga (Kurland), Latvia,
20. 3. 35-
Chipping Campden (Glos),
15-3-37-
Ugerlose, Sjaelland, Denmark
11.5.36.
Broadway (Worcs), 20.11.36.
Cheltenham (Glos), 27.5.37.
Meseritz, Posen, Germany,
—.6.37.
Chartridge (Bucks), 2.4.37.
Banbury (Oxon), 18.6.37.
Hoor, Scania, Sweden,
23-5-37-
Beaconsfield (Bucks),
301-37-
Cirencester (Glos), 26.2.37.
Ysselstein (Utrecht) Holland,
—.6.37.
RINGED.
22.3.36.
'I. D. Smith. 7-4-37.
1. Cohen. 1.6.37.
Greenfinch ( Chloris ch. chloris).
RINGED AS FULL-GROWN.
Evesham (Worcs), 19.3.37, by Droitwich (Worcs), 14.4.37.
A. Harthan.
Stanway (Glos), 3.12.34, by Market Drayton (Salop),
G. Charteris. 14.12.36.
Weymouth (Dorset), 8.1.37, by Finchley, London, 19.4.37.
E. Bray.
Linnet ( Carduelis c. cannabina).
Newport (Salop), 1.6.36, young
for Bootham Sch.
Malvern (Worcs), 25.6.36,
young, by P. Morshead.
Stanway (Glos), 31.5.36.
young, by G. Charteris.
Chaffinch ( Fringilla
Is. of May Bird Obs., 18.4.37,
ad.
Evesham (Worcs), 15.2.37, ad.,
by A. Harthan.
Where ringed, 5.6.37.
Biarritz (B. Pyrenees) France,
—.11.36.
Where ringed, 1 1.2. 37.
ccelebs).
At sea, near Stockholm,
Sweden, 4.5.37.
Moreton - in - Marsh (Glos),
6-3-37-
Brambling ( Fringilla montifringilla) .
Evesham (Worcs), 5.1.37, ad., Newbold-on-Stour (Worcs),
by A. Harthan. 31. 1.37.
Moreton - in - Marsh (Glos), Ditto, 29.1.37.
16.1.37, a<E, by G. Charteris.
vol. xxxi ] RECOVERY OF MARKED BIRDS.
115
No.
KJ. 652
KW.614
LH.168
LA. 766
GT.610
JC.193
LA. 36
KS.704
KW.232
FD.440
FD. 427
FE. 568
ZL.729
ON. 942
ZJ.501
OK. 481
AN.449S
OE.142
GR.959
TF.351
Ringed.
Meadow-Pipit ( Anthus
Salthouse (Norfolk), 27.5.36,
young, by R. M. Garnett.
Recovered,
pratensis) .
Blakeney (Norfolk), 22.4.37.
Pied Wagtail ( Motacilla
The Mound (Suth), 10.7.36,
young, by E. Cohen.
Is. of May Bird Obs., 23.4.35,
ad.
Inveresk (Midlothian), 23.5.35,
young, by Mrs. Greenlees.
a. yarrellii).
Chard (Somerset), 1 1.12.36.
Where ringed, May, Aug.,
Sept., 1935, 19.4.36.
Where ringed, 22.4.37.
Great Tit ( Parus m. newtoni).
Birmingham, 23.12.35, ad., by Where ringed, Jan., Feb.,
W. Kenrick. March, 1936.
Hewell (Worcs), — .3.36.
Spotted Flycatcher ( Muscicapa s. striata).
Holt (Norfolk), 21.6.36, ad., by Where ringed, 20.6.37.
E. Arnold.
Pied Flycatcher ( Muscicapa h. hypoleuca).
Ullswater (Westmor), 21.6.34, Thouars (Deux Sevres),
young, by H. J. Moon. France, 12.4.37.
Chiff chaff ( Phylloscopus c. .colly bita).
Bealings (Suffolk), 26.5.36, Woolverstone (Suffolk),
young, by A. Mayall. 2.5.37.
Whitethroat ( Sylvia c. communis).
Skokholm Bird Obs., 12.5.36, Barrels Lightship, Co. Wex-
ad. ford, 10.5.37.
Song-Thrush ( T urd-us e. ericetorum).
RINGED AS NESTLINGS.
Dundee (Angus), 16.5.35, by Naughton (Fife), 13.6.37.
Miss Sharp.
Ditto 14.5.35. Jordanstown (Antrim),
Penrith (Cumb), — -6.33, by
H. J. Moon.
Pooley Bridge (Cumb), — .6.35,
by H. J. Moon.
Glenridding (Westmor), 5.6.36,
by H. J. Moon.
Kirkby Lonsdale (Westmor),
—o-35. by H. J. Moon.
Preston (Lancs), 30.8.36, by
H. Martin.
Oundle (Northants), 17.6.31,
by J. M. Fisher.
Bealings (Suffolk), 15.4.36, by
A. Mayall.
I3-3-37-
Staveley (Lancs), 28.6.37.
Moycullen (Galway), 29.1.37.
Ivilmeena (Mayo), 4.12.36.
Moate (Westmeath), — .6.37.
Grange-over-Sands (Lancs)
I3-3-37-
Where ringed, 12.5 37.
Tagoat (Wexford), 7.12.36.
RINGED AS FULL-GROWN.
Is. of May Bird Obs., 16.4.35. Where ringed, 8.9.35,
22.3.36 ; 26.9.36.
Beckley (Oxon), 25.7.33, by Haslemere (Surrey), it. 6. 34.
Oxford Orn. Soc.
116
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
No.
GL.402
ON. 1 75
YK.924
ZV.99
AR.3793
KS.915
KR.998
JC-77
KB. 954
MV.485
JE.146
S.1500
402324
AB.3458
AB.1181
AB.5901
AB.3307
AG. 443
Ringed. Recovered.
Blackbird ( Tardus m. merula).
RINGED AS NESTLINGS.
Ullswater (Curub), 17.6.34, by Little Langdale (Cumb),
H. J. Moon. 26.3.37.
Oxford, 16.8.36, by Oxford Ascott - under - Wychwood
Orn. Soc. (Oxon), 12.12.36.
Playford (Suffolk), 1.5.37, by Clacton - on - Sea (Essex),
A. Mayall. 4.7.37.
RINGED AS FULL-GROWN.
Gt. Budworth (Ches), 14.2.36, Hole, Ringerike, Norway,
by A. W. Boyd. 26.1.37.
Dipper ( Cinclus c. gularis).
Sedbergh (Yorks), 5.5.36, Where ringed, 16.3.37.
young, by Sedbergh Sch.
Swallow ( Hirundo r. rustica).
RINGED AS NESTLINGS.
Torosay, I. of Mull, 14.8.36, by Morvern (Argyll), — .6.37.
M. Williams.
Cheltenham (Glos), 10.6.36, by At sea, off Co. Durham,
Cheltenham College. 9.5.37.
Faversham (Kent), 12.7.36, by 4 miles S. of where ringed,
St. Edmund’s Sch. — .5.37.
Martin ( Delichon u. urbica).
Arundel (Sussex), 8.9.35, young, Where ringed, 20.5.37.
by A. Mayall.
Kingfisher ( Alcedo a. ispida).
Levern Bridge (Renfrew), Shettlestone, Glasgow,
1 3 • 7 • 3 4 > young, by J. 10.2.37.
Bartholomew.
Shipley (Yorks), 28.6.36, young, Pendle Forest (Lancs),
by C. Wontner-Smith. 13.2.37.
Little Owl ( Athene n. vidalii).
Skokholm (Pem), 31.7.34, juv., Skokholm, 3.6.37.
by R. M. Lockley, removed
across sea to Marloes, 4 miles.
Tawny Owl ( Strix a. sylvatica).
RINGED AS NESTLINGS.
Largo (Fife), 21.6.35, by A. H. Elie (Fife), — .9.36.
Eggeling.
Aberllefenai (Mont), 3.6.36, by Where ringed, 13. 1.37.
W. A. Cadman.
Reading (Berks), 4.5.36, by Shinfield (Berks), 20.2.37.
Leighton Pk. Sch.
Barn Owl ( Tyto a. alba).
RINGED AS NESTLINGS.
Langwathby (Cumb), 30.6.36, Culgaith (Cumb), 3.7.37.
by H. J. Moon.
Andreas (I. of M.), 28.7.35, by Onchan (Is.ofM.) 1.7.37.
W. Cowin.
Gt. Budworth (Ches), 28.6.33, Over Tabley (Ches), 23.2.37.
by A. W. Boyd.
RECOVERY OF MARKED BIRDS.
117
VOL. XXXI.]
No.
401 127
RV. 2901
401508
400977
RX.3349
112793
114524
114544
113264
112748
114565
118986
38853
AA. 8495
RW. 7622
25 birds
38 birds
401641
AF.237
AB. 4766
Or. 7x3
Ringed. Recovered.
Barn Owl ( continued ).
RINGED AS FULL-GROWN.
Shipley (Yorks), 22.3.36, by C. Where ringed, 26.3.37.
Wontner-Smith .
Hobby ( Falco s. subbuteo).
Wiltshire, 9.8.36, young, by Hagetmau (Landes), France,
London N.H.S. 16.10.36.
Buzzard ( Buteo b. buteo).
Tiverton (Devon), 7.6.36, Burlescombe (Devon),
young, by Blundell’s Sch. — .4.37.
Marsh-Harrier ( Circus cb. ceruginosus) .
Horsey (Norfolk), 15.7.35, 120 km. E. of Casablanca
young, by A. Buxton. Morocco, 26.4.37.
Sparrow-Hawk ( Accipiter n. nisus).
Nether Welton (Cumb), 27.6.36, Parton (Cumb), 3.12.36.
young, by R. H. Brown.
Common Heron ( Ardea c. cinerea).
RINGED AS NESTLINGS.
North Uist (Outer Hebrides),
12.6.34, by Midlothian Orn.
Club.
Crofton (Cumb),
R. H. Brown.
Beckley (Sussex),
P. Hoi lorn.
Ditto
Ditto
8.5.36, by
H-5-35. by
26.5.34.
6.5.34-
Ditto II-5-35-
Dulverton (Som), 24.5.36, by
Blundell’s Sch.
Sheld-Duck ( Tadorna
BudleBay (Northumb), 24.6.35,
young, by Mrs. Hodgkin.
Where ringed, 21.6.37.
Bolam (Northumb), 9.4.37.
Where ringed, 12.5.37.
Rolvenden (Kent), 26.12.36.
Ste. Marie - du - Mont
(Manche), France, 14.12.36.
Montfort l’Amary (Seine-et-
Oise), France, 12.7.37.
Sampford Peverell (Devon),
— -I-37-
tadorna) .
Inverkeithing (Fife), 12.4.37.
Mallard ( Anas p. platyrhyncha) .
RINGED AS YOUNG.
Sedbergh (Yorks), 23.6.36, by Tebay (Westmor), 11.9.36.
Sedbergh Sch.
Skokholm Bird Obs., 23.6.36. Dale (Pern), 12.12.36.
Ludham (Norfolk), Aug. and Where ringed, 7.9.36 to
Sept., 1936, by M. Boardman. 2.1.37.
Ditto [Hand - reared] July, Where ringed, 6.9.36 to
1936. 10.2.37.
RINGED AS FULL-GROWN.
Leswalt (Wigtown), 26.2.36, by
J. Law.
Hickling (Norfolk), 8.3.30, by
J. Vincent.
Essex, 20.9.36, by G. Fane.
Orielton (Pern), 26.12.35, by
S. Greenslade.
Where ringed, 19.10.36.
Kallundborg, Sjaelland,
Denmark, — .9.33.
16 miles NW. of where
ringed, 28.1.37.
Where ringed, 29.12.36.
118
BRITISH BIRDS
[VOL. XXXI.
No. Ringed. Recovered.
Teal {Anas c. crecca).
RINGED AS YOUNG.
RV.7877
Wolsingham (Durham), 2.8.36,
by R. Martinson.
St. Nazaire (Loire Inf.),
France, 10.12.36.
RINGED
AS FULL-GROWN.
RW.8726
Leswalt (Wigtown) ,
J. Law.
1-3-37. by
Marmaverken, Helsingland,
Sweden, 3.7.37.
73158
Longtown (Cumb),
W. Bell.
1-3-33. by
Lake Slocene (Kurland),
Latvia, 25.8.34.
RINGS OF THE ORIELTON DECOY, PEMBROKE.
9 birds
Winter, 1936-7.
Wales, Jan., Feb., 1937.
365
Orielton,
25-11-35-
Margam (Glam), 23.4.37.
1830
Ditto
22.12.36.
Market Drayton (Salop),
1.2.37.
700
Ditto
25-12.35.
Christchurch (Hants),
11.2.37.
2104
Ditto
3-2-37-
Boarstall (Bucks), 18.2.37.
I7S4
Ditto
18.12.36.
Ely (Cambs), 16.2.37.
2023
Ditto
I3-I-37-
Norwich, 9.2.37.
1767
Ditto
16.12.36.
Peterborough (Northants),
—-2.37-
1965
Ditto
5-1-37-
Nottingham, 20.2.37.
1385
Ditto
22.11 .36.
The Wash (Lines), 18.1.37.
1681
Ditto
11. 12. 36.
Louth (Lines), 24.2.37.
1181
Ditto
23.10.36.
Scunthorpe (Lines), 26.2.37.
1390
Ditto
22.11.36.
Coleraine (Londonderry),
20.2.37.
1281
Ditto
7.11.36.
Dungannon (Tyrone)
25-2.37-
805
Ditto
3-1-36.
Killylea (Armagh), 15. 1.37.
289
Ditto
I7-II-35-
R. Barrow, Carlow, 1.1.37.
1192
Ditto
24.10.36.
New Ross (W exford),
19.12.36.
1370
Ditto
21. 11. 36.
Cappoquin (Waterford),
16.12.36.
608
Ditto
20.12.35.
Galway, 1.2.37.
1412
Ditto
22.11.36.
Askeaton (Limerick), 9.2.37.
1935
Ditto
I-I-37-
Limerick, 28.2.37.
1127
Ditto
14.10.36.
Croom (Limerick), 8.2.37.
686
Ditto
2512. 35.
Kuhmajarvi, SE. Finland,
M-5-37-
235
Ditto
8-11-35-
Sokolka, Poland, 18.8.36.
890
Ditto
23.1.36.
Aurich, E. Friesland,
—.12.36.
867
Ditto
18.1.36.
Lake Hornavan (Norrbotten)
Sweden, — .6.36.
1016
Ditto
24.9.36.
Gargnas (Vasterbotten),
Sweden, 3.5.37.
945
Ditto
12.2.36.
T varaback (Vasterbotten ) ,
—-5-36-
255
Ditto
12. 11. 35.
Padua, Italy, 8.3.37.
vol. xxxl] RECOVERY OF MARKED BIRDS.
119
Teal ( continued ).
RECOVERED WHERE RINGED.
Orielton (Pem).
No.
Ringed.
Recovered.
No.
Ringed.
Recovered.
190
28.10.35.
6.1.37.
880
22.1 .36.
24.12.36.
274
I4II-35-
10. 1.37.
891
23.1.36.
24.9.36.
No. Ringed. Recovered.
Wigeon ( Anas penelope).
RW.8713 Leswalt (Wigtown), 25.2.36 Corsewall (Wigtown), 19.2.37
ad., by J. Law.
Eider ( Somateria m. mollissima).
109600 Slains (Aberdeen), 9.5.34, ad.. Firth of Tay, 14.2.37.
by M. Portal.
Goosander ( Mergus m. merganser).
RINGED AS FULL-GROWN IN WINTER.
400307
Molesey (Surrey), 24.12.34, by
Surbiton (Surrey), Winter,
P. Hollom.
I936-7-
AB.4981
Ditto
28.11.36.
Fango (Ostergotland) ,
Sweden, 15.4.37.
Cormorant ( Phalacrocorax c. carbo).
RINGED
AS NESTLINGS.
113923
Mochrum (Wigtown), 30.6.35.
Barganv (Ayr), 15.2. 37.
by Lord Dumfries.
113970
Ditto
30.6.35.
Easdale (Argyll), — .10.36.
113960
Ditto
30.6.35.
Annan (Dumfries), 6.5.37.
114113
Ditto
30.6.35.
Errol (Perths), 8.4.37.
1 14042
Ditto
3-7-35-
Lunan Bay (Angus), 12.2.37.
120355
Ditto, 15.7.36, by
Lord D.
Aberlady (E. Lothian),
Stuart.
16.3-37-
120342
Ditto
I5-7-36.
Belfast (Antrim), 8.3.37.
120343
Ditto
L5-7-3&-
Ditto 2.2.37.
1 19192
Fame Is. (Northumb), 28.6.36,
Chathill (Northumb), 23.2.37.
by Bootham Sch.
118847
Ditto
21.6.36.
Blyth (Northumb), 10.3.37.
118859
Ditto
21.6.36.
Berwick-on -Tweed, 14.3.37.
119186
Ditto
28.6.36.
Ditto 28.12.36.
119196
Ditto
28.6.36.
Dumbarton, 16.3.37.
1 19212
Ditto
28.6.36.
R. Tyne (E. Lothian),
22.l'.37.
118842
Ditto
21.6.36.
L. Leven (Kinross), 28.3.37.
119193
Ditto
28.6.36.
Elcho (Perths), 6.2.37.
119191
Ditto
28.6.36.
Glencarse (Perths), 3.2.37.
112077
Ditto
7-7-35-
Montrose (Angus), 6.3.37.
119188
Ditto
28.6.36.
Ditto 1.2.37.
118864
Ditto
21.6.36.
Cruden Bay (Aberdeen) ,
5-5-37;
119164
Roundstone (Galway), 28.6.36,
Ivilkerrin Bay (Galway),
by S. Marchant.
--.6.37.
Shag (Phalacrocorax a.
aristotelis) .
RINGED
AS NESTLINGS.
119225
Bass Rock, 4.7.36,
by Mid-
Seahouses (Northumb),
lothian Orn. Club.
29-3-37-
112797
Ditto
4.7.36.
Earlsferry (Fife), 6.3.37.
1 12795
Ditto
4.7.36.
Aberdeen, 5.2.37.
(To be continued)
2£TOTES*
A “ FIVE ” CLUTCH OF THE PINE-GROSBEAK.
A well-authenticated clutch of eggs of the Pine-Grosbeak
( Pinicola e. enucleator), exceeding four, is so rare that it may
be worth recording that a nest containing five fresh eggs of
this species was found near Noatun, east Finmark, on June
nth, 1937, by Herr Torolv Schaanning, the well-known
east Finmark ornithologist, with whom I am personally
acquainted. He informs me (in litt.) that he had never
previously seen or heard of a clutch exceeding four eggs,
during many years of ornithological work, in Finmark. The
set is now in my possession and shows no sign of having been
produced by more than one hen bird. I see that the Practical
Handbook states “5 once recorded”. W. M. Congreve.
[This is a matter on which opinions differ : Lilliestema
states that clutches of 5 “ never ” occur; Hortling on the other
hand says of the eggs” 3-4, undantags vis [exceptionally] 5
Dan Meinertzhagen’s collection included a set of 5 (probably
taken by a native) ; Mr. E. C. Stuart Baker took c/5 on
June 10th, 1933, which he says was “ evidently a second
laying as young were already flying”; and I have seen several
sets in other collections, but with scanty data ; J. A. Sandman
told Dresser that he had once found a nest with five eggs.
— F.C.R.J.]
GREAT REED-WARBLER IN KENT.
On August 2nd, 1937, near Appledore, Kent, I was walking
along a dyke which had much lush vegetation — rushes, giant
dock, water plantain, etc. — along its edges when I saw
flitting from stem to stem by the water’s edge a bird which
was undoubtedly a Great Reed- Warbler and presumably
Acrocephalns a. arundinaceus . The dyke at that early hour
(7 a.m.) was full of Reed- and Sedge- Warblers busily feeding
and the large size of this bird, compared with its companions,
the coloration and its typical mode of settling on stems and
its flight left no doubt on my mind as to its identity, as it is
a bird I am very familiar with in many countries. It was not
possible, of course, to be certain that the stranger was not
Acrocephalns stentoreus, a bird not yet on the British list ;
the colour, however, was too fulvous for Arundinax aedon.
I saw the bird on three occasions, flitting in front of me as
VOL. XXXI.]
NOTES.
121
I walked along the dyke and finally lost it in a tangle of high
vegetation. A visit during the same afternoon found the dyke
deserted of bird-life. Dr. N. H. Joy informs me that there was
a large movement of migrants at Dungeness Light the previous
night. Claud B. Ticehurst.
SEDGE-WARBLER BREEDING IN OUTER
HEBRIDES.
On May 31st, 1937, I found a nest of a Sedge-Warbler
( Acrocephalns schcenobcenus) with four eggs, near the Goulaby
burn, North Uist. Subsequently Mr. A. R. Thompson and
I erected a hide from which we photographed and filmed the
birds at the nest. There appears to be no previous record of
the breeding of this species in the Outer Hebrides.
There was also a Sedge-Warbler, in song, near Balranald
House, North Uist, on June 13th, 1937. James W. Campbell.
SUBALPINE WARBLER AT MAIDENS LIGHTHOUSE,
CO. ANTRIM.
On June 15th, 1937, I received a bird from Mr. J. J. O’Boyle,
an assistant keeper of the Maidens Lighthouse, situated in
the North Channel, some eight miles from the Co. Antrim
seaport of Larne.
122
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
The bird was found dead on the lighthouse balcony at
4.30 a.m. on Sunday, June 13th, at a time when the weather
was foggy, with a very light wind, scarcely blowing one in
strength.
On examination I could only conclude that the bird was
a male Subalpine Warbler ( Sylvia cantillans cantillans), but
realizing it was not right for me to depend entirely on my
own determination of species, which was worked out with
the aid of the Practical Handbook and not by comparison,
I sent the bird to London, where Mr. H. F. Witherby was
kind enough to examine it and to confirm the naming. This
is the second Irish example of the Subalpine Warbler, the
first being so recent as September 17th, 1933, from Hook
Tower light, Co. Wrexford.
Mr. Witherby informs me that previous records for Britain
are all Scottish, numbering four — St. Kilda, June 14th, 1894 ;
Fair Isle, May 6th, 1908 ; Isle of May, May 30th, 1924 ; and
Tarbatness Lighthouse, Ross-shire, May 3rd, 1935.
The specimen will be included in the Belfast Municipal
Museum collection. J. A. Sidney Stendall.
MONTAGU’S HARRIER BREEDING IN YORKSHIRE.
It may be of interest to record that a pair of Montagu’s
Harrier ( Circus pygargus) nested and reared five young,
which are now on the wing, in the North Riding of Yorkshire,
this year, 1937. W. S. Medlicott.
BIRDS TAKING MOTHS.
In a previous note of mine ( antea , Vol. XXX., p. 172) reference
was made to Gulls taking map- winged swift moths ( Hepialus
fusconebulosa ) in North Uist. In the evening of June 29th,
1937, at Newton, North Uist, large numbers of this moth
were on the wing and many Black-headed Gulls (Lams r.
ridibundus ) and Common Gulls ( Lams c. canns) were “ hawk-
ing ” for them. A Corn-Bunting ( Emberiza c. calandra) and
a Sky-Lark ( Alauda a. arvensis) were also seen to capture
these moths and to feed their nestlings with them. On July
4th, 1937, at Newton, an immature Wheatear ( (Enanthe oc.
cenanthe) made an unsuccessful attack on a passing moth,
which on being “ netted ” proved to be a map-winged
swift.
At Layer Marney, Essex, on July 12th, 1937, a Spotted
Flycatcher ( Muscicapa s. striata) was seen in pursuit of an
oak-eggar ( Lasiocampa quercus). James W. Campbell.
vol. xxxi.] NOTES. 123
FLIGHT SPEED OF GUILLEMOTS, RAZORBILLS AND
PUFFINS.
During speed trials of a ship in the neighbourhood of Ailsa
Craig in May, 1937, I observed that Puffins, Razorbills and
Guillemots (. Fratercula arctica, Alca torda and Uria aalge)
with beam or following winds were all easily able to pass the
ship steaming at approximately 37 land miles per hour. Upon
one occasion with the ship steaming at that speed into a
direct head wind of 10 land miles per hour a flight of Guille-
mots came up from astern and were able to pass the ship,
though slowly ; overtaking speed, calculated on time taken
to pass the total length of the ship, estimated at 3 land miles
per hour, giving them a total speed of 50 land miles per hour
through the air. H. R. H. Vaughan.
Birds at the Isle of May. — The Report by the Midlothian
Ornithological Club of migration observations in the autumn
of 1936 on the Isle of May (Scot. Nat., 1937, pp. 51-5) contains
a number of interesting items. The members of the Club were
assisted by some fourteen other observers. The most notable
bird was an immature example of the Yellow-breasted Bunting
( Emberiza aureola) which was trapped on September 4th,
conveyed to Edinburgh and carefully examined and then
released. There are only three previous records of this species
— -all from Norfolk. Another rarity was a Siberian Lesser
Whitethroat which was present on the island from September
17th to October 5th. This was also trapped and carefully
examined. Other scarce birds recorded are : Ortolan Buntings
in September, single Barred Warblers on September 10th,
nth and 14th and two on the 18th, single Red-breasted
Flycatchers on September 17th, 28th, October 5th and two on
the 4th, a Yellow-browed Warbler on September 19th, 21st
and 22nd and two on the 20th, and a Little Bunting on
September 28th.
Scarce Birds in Shetland. — Mr. George Waterston con-
tributes to the Scottish Naturalist (1937, pp. 25-31) an
important paper on the status of a number of scarce birds
(chiefly migrants) in Shetland. The information he has
obtained from Mr. Tom Bruce, jun., and from an examination
of Mr. Samuel Bruce’s collection, though sometimes rather
lacking in detail, shows that certain rare migrants, hitherto
unrecorded from Shetland, but known to occur at Fair Isle,
do visit Shetland, while others of which very few have been
recorded for Shetland occur almost annually. Of those not
124
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
previously recorded are the following : Scarlet Grosbeak,
several, September, 1936, and one, October ; a Short-toed
Lark obtained on Whalsay some years ago proves to be of
the eastern form ; two Wood-Larks in October, 1921, and
one in March, 1936 ; two Shore-Larks, October, 1933 ; a
Richard’s Pipit, September, 1928 ; a Lesser Grey Shrike,
September, 1929 ; a Siberian Lesser Whitethroat, October 3rd,
1936 ; a Temminck’s Stint, September, 1921, and a Great
Bustard, May, 1936. Of birds previously considered only
occasional visitors to Shetland, the following are now con-
sidered to be regular passage migrants : Ortolan Bunting,
Reed-Bunting, Tree-Pipit, Spotted and Pied Flycatchers.
The Barred Warbler is considered regular in autumn but has
occurred only once in spring, the Whinchat is regular in spring,
but rare in autumn, and the Black Redstart the reverse.
Other interesting records are given in this paper, which adds
considerably to our knowledge of birds occurring in Shetland.
Scarce Birds at Fair Isle. — Mr. George Waterston gives
an account of a number of interesting birds observed at Fair
Isle in 1936 (Scot. Nat., 1937, pp. 73-76). The more important
of these are as follows : — Petchora Pipit, one seen by G. Stout
on November 19th ; a Nuthatch seen by the same observer
on May 29th and 30th, this being the first occurrence on the
island, but the sub-species could not be ascertained, while
the same may be said for a Coal-Tit seen by Mr. L. S. V.
Venables on September 21st, and a Willow-Tit with “ pure
white on the sides of the neck and cheeks ” seen by Mr. Stout
on November 3rd ; a Lesser Grey Shrike is recorded on
May 25th ; a male Rock-Thrush on October 16th ; a King
Eider on March 31st ; an adult drake Surf-Scoter on December
1st ; Great Shearwaters on September 14th, 21st and October
8th ; Arctic Ringed Plovers ( Ch . h. tundra) in September,
and Dusky Redshanks in August and September.
Adult Pied Wagtails Using Roost in June. — With
reference to Mr. M. F. M. Meiklejohn’s note ( antea , p. 85)
on the roosting of Pied Wagtails in June, Mr. Graham
Hopkins informs us that he spent the summer of 1933 at
Chorley Wood, Herts, and on May 16th, while walking on
the common, found a roost of (approx.) 50 Pied Wagtails
(. Motacilla a. yarrellii) in some thick gorse bushes. All those
he could see were adult birds and he saw them frequently
during the next four weeks in the same place. On May 30th
their number was increased by several birds of the year.
Mr. Hopkins last saw the roost “ in being ” on June 16th,
VOL. XXXI.]
NOTES
125
and was unable to revisit the site until June 24th, when all
the birds had gone, although a few individuals were scattered
about the common. Unfortunately these gorse bushes were
burnt during the following August.
Pied Wagtail and House-Sparrow Breeding in South
Uist. — We are informed by Lt.-Col. W. A. Payn that he
saw a pair of Pied Wagtails ( Motacilla a. yarrellii) with two
nearly full-grown young at Lochboisdale, South Uist, on
June 27th, 1923. So far as we are aware there is only one
previous record of breeding in the Outer Hebrides. Lt.-Col.
Payn also noted several House-Sparrows (Passer d. domesticus )
breeding at the same place in June, 1923. Although known
to breed in Barra, Harris, Lewis and North Uist it does not
appear to have been recorded from South Uist.
American Black-and-White Warbler in Shetland. —
An example of this small Warbler ( Mniotilta varia (L.) ) was
picked up near Scalloway, Shetland, about the middle of
October, 1936, and forwarded to the Scottish Museum
(A. C. Stephen, Scot. Nat., 1937, p. 46). The species is a
native of the eastern half of N. America and winters as far
south as northern S. America. We do not consider that
so small a land bird could cross the Atlantic unaided.
Reed-Warbler Nesting in Co. Down. — Mr. J. A. Sidney
Stendall announces ( Irish Nat. Journal, 1937, p. 252) that
in May, 1935, Mr. E. McWilliams found a nest among reeds
in the north of Co. Down. The nest contained five eggs, of
which one was taken. The nest was exceptionally deep and
built round four or hve stems of reeds. The Sedge-Warbler
is common in the area and apart from the egg and description
of the nest, which have been submitted to the Rev. F. C. R.
Jourdain, Mr. McWilliams states that the birds lacked light
stripes on the head and appeared of a uniform colour. There
seems little doubt therefore that these birds were Reed-
Warblers (Acrocephalus s. scirpaceus ) a species which has not
previously been known to breed in Ireland and indeed has
only rarely occurred there.
American Yellow-billed Cuckoo in Orkney. — Mr. A. C.
Stephen records (Scot. Nat., 1937, p. 46) that an American
Yellow-billed Cuckoo (Coccyzus a. americanus) flew into a
farmhouse at Birsay after a period of very severe weather.
No date is given, but we are informed that this was on
October 22nd, 1936. The bird has only once before been
recorded for Scotland.
126
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
Little Owl Taking Spider. — Dr. James W. Campbell
informs us that a spider found in the “ stomach ” of a Little
Owl ( Athene n. vidalii) killed at Layer Marney, Essex, on
March 31st, 1937, has been identified by Mr. W. S. Bristowe
as Trochosa tenicola.
Red-crested Pochard Breeding in Lincolnshire. —
Mr. E. L. Roberts informed us that on May 19th, 1937, he
discovered a nest of a Red-crested Pochard ( Netta ntfina )
on the East Lincolnshire marshes whence he had already
reported birds of this species ( antea , p. 27). The nest contained
four eggs, and was placed about six feet from the edge of a
small marsh pool. It was under bushes and well concealed
and was constructed of dry grasses, dead leaves and a few
small twigs and had no down. The bird at this and another
visit, when the nest contained six eggs, was closely viewed
and Mr. Roberts’s description tallies well with this species.
Subsequently the eggs were destroyed by rats and portions
of the shells and a little down found on the rim of the nest
were submitted to Rev. F. C. R. Jourdain, who pronounced
them as certainly fitting those of the Red-crested Pochard.
There can be no doubt that this bird was derived from captive
stock and it probably originated from Woburn, where the
species has been regularly reared and allowed to go free as
previously stated {antea, p. 27).
REVIEW.
British Trust for Ornithology . Third Report, Summer, 1937.
This Report shows a marked advance not only in the work done and
being done by the Trust, but in the support it has received both from
field-workers and sympathizers. The important Little Owl Inquiry has
now come to an end, and we may soon expect the full report upon it
by Miss Hibbert-Ware, whose investigations with the help of many
observers have been of a most exhaustive and painstaking nature. The
work in the last year has taken the form of an intensive search among
Little Owls living in the neighbourhood of game and poultry chicks.
Other completed Inquiries summarized in this Report are those of the
Swallow, Great Crested Grebe and Heron, already dealt with in our
pages, and the Woodcock Inquiry, a report on which is expected to be
finished at the end of the year. The main Inquiries proceeding in 1937
are those regarding the Lapwing’s habitat and the song-periods of
certain selected birds. As our readers well know, the Trust has now
taken over the Ringing Scheme under the direction of a special com-
mittee and the arrangements for this new responsibility are set forth in
this Report. We are glad to see that the membership of the Trust has
increased considerably, while the Viscount Grey Memorial Appeal will
provide some ^3,000, and there have been other generous gifts. The
financial position has thus made a notable advance, but many more
members are required and still more gifts are necessary before the
Trust can be in a position to establish on a firm foundation the per-
manent institute, which is so essential to its carrying out the growing
programme of work in the future.
VOL. XXXI.]
LETTERS.
127
THE FUNCTION OF THE GOLDCREST’S CREST.
To the Editors of British Birds.
Sirs, — I think Mr. David Lack is clearly right in concluding from the
scene he describes (antea, p. 82) that the crest of the Goldcrest ( Reg-ulus
r. anglorum ) is an instance of ornamentation functioning as a “ threat-
colour”, and used for that purpose in fight between rival males.
In fact, I had myself brought forward this species (in my article on
the “ Spring rivalry of birds”, Irish Naturalist, 1903) as one of the
chief illustrations in support of my contention that bright nuptial or
showy male plumage serves mainly as " war-paint”. This view has
always appeared to me a necessary supplement to the belief that
battles between male birds are chiefly fought for the possession of bits
of land. It is only an application to sex-rivalry of Wallace’s theory of
“ warning coloration ”, though that naturalist, curiously, never applied
it so.
Mr. Lack makes a suggestion which is new to me when he puts forward
the possibility of the lemon-coloured crest of the female Goldcrest
being also of some use as ” war-paint ”, if only to frighten off rival
females. It might, no doubt, be turned to that effect, but I have no
recollection of seeing pugnacity of any sort displayed by a hen Goldcrest
— unless when, in a fit of maternal solicitude, a bird of that species
attacked and pursued for some distance an astonished Mistle-Thrush
that had ventured too near her nest. On that occasion l was unable to
see whether the crest was flashed or not.
The Goldcrest is, I think, almost unique among British birds in
having the obviously self-advertizing ornament of the cock-bird more
or less developed also in the hen, but so much less vividly that it must
raise doubt as to its playing any part in the same game. In species
in which both male and female are equally brilliant (as is the way with
so many that nest in holes) there is generally ground for attributing
fighting capacity to the female in alliance with her mate. In the
Woodpecker she is known to be often the better fighter of the two.
A remarkable case of nuptial ornament confined to the nesting season
and functioning in both sexes is the richly coloured " false nose ” or
“ mask ” that gives to the Puffin a beak of such increased showiness
when the bird has most need to advertize the effectiveness of this
weapon against trespassers on its burrow. This beak is said to be some-
times displayed in courtship, but if so, it certainly has two purposes.
That a crest of mild yellow tint like that of the female Goldcrest
may serve for a purpose which is neither courtship nor menace is at least
possible. It may be of use in distinguishing the mother-bird from
recently fledged young members of her family when these are learning
to hunt, but still dependent on her for much of their success.
C. B. Moffat.
To the Editors of British Birds.
Sirs, — Mr. David Lack in his note on the above subject (antea,
p. 83) questions the use of the crest by the male Goldcrest in courtship.
That it is so used is shown by the following note from my diary, dated
February 18th, 1932 :
" Saw two Goldcrests courting in a holly bush. Both fluttered wings
and bowed, and the male evidently showed olf his brilliant crest to
the female as he put his head down, for it caught the light of the
slanting afternoon sun (4 p.m.) and glowed red and gold.”
E. W. Hendy.
128
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
THE “ MEWING ” OF DIVERS IN WINTER.
To the Editors of British Birds.
Sirs, — Mr. Keith in his fascinating article on the Red-throated
Diver says ( antea , p. 78) that he has been unable to discover if the
“ mewing ” cry is ever heard except in the breeding season. When
sailing up to both Red-throated and Black-throated Divers in mid-
winter, when in small flocks, it is quite a common thing to hear them
give this call on the water, especially the Black-throated species.
They swim about in great alarm and give the call with heads up and
necks stretched to the fullest extent, before taking wing. I never
heard either species give the barking note under similar circumstances.
I have never heard Great Northern Divers utter any sound when so
approached in winter, and these birds never get on the wing but simply
sink, usually never being seen again. H. W. Robinson.
WILDFOWL AND HERON IN OUTER HEBRIDES.
To the Editors of British Birds.
Sirs, — I am engaged at present on a work dealing with various
aspects of the birdlife of the Outer Hebrides and I am particularly
anxious to obtain information (other than that already published)
on the following : Geese, Ducks and Waders — changes in status,
habits, and habitat ; numbers, relative proportions of the sexes and
of adults and young ; food and damage to crops. Heron — Position and
details of heronries and any observations on this species in the Outer
Hebrides. I shall be very grateful if any of your readers who can help
will communicate with me to Layer Marney Hall, Kelvedon, Essex.
James W. Campbell.
T 1937
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one disc is given over to a wonderful sound-scene of English country-
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closely linked with the actual records. He includes a complete
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new and fascinating but extremely difficult technique of bird-song
recording which Mr. Koch and his collaborators have mastered with
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Rev. F. C. R. Jourdain, m.a., m.b.o.u., h.f.a.o.u., f.z.s., and
Norman F. Ticehurst, o.b.e., m.a., f.r.c.s., m.b.o.u.
Contents of Number 5, Vol. XXXI., October i, 1937.
PAGE
The Psychological Factor in Bird Distribution. By David Lack 130
Aggressive Display of Birds before a Looking-Glass. By George
Brown ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 137
Recovery of Marked Birds. By Miss E. P. Leach ... ... 139
“ Mr. Alexander Moniepennie : Birds of A ngus and the M earns :
1834” and “Mr. J. Penruddock’s Tantivy Times (Ackerman,
1841)”. By H. S. Gladstone ... ... ... ... ... 144
Obituary : Lord Rothschild, 1868-1937 ... ... ... ... 146
Notes : —
Rose-coloured Starlings in the British Isles ... ... 149
Red-breasted Flycatcher seen in Wiltshire (F. W. Frohawk) 149
Aquatic Warbler seen in Kent (E. M. Cawkell) ... ... 150
Dipper Nesting in Warwickshire (C. A. Norris) ... ... 150
Whooper Swans in co. Donegal in August (Miss S. Cropper) 131
Notes on the Courtship and Mating of Smew and Goosander
(L. Parmenter) ... ... ... ... ... ... 131
Diving of the Shag (E. J. M. Buxton and R. S. Harkness) ... 133
Nesting of Fulmar Petrel on the Bass Rock and Incubation
Period (H. W. Robinson) ... ... ... ... ... 134
Kentish Plover in Norfolk (Miss J. M. Ferrier) ... ... 133
Arctic, Great and Long-tailed Skuas in Norfolk (Miss J. M.
Ferrier) ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 155
Water- Rail Breeding in Inverness-shire (Miss W. M. Ross). 155
Birds taking Moths (R. H. Brown) ... ... ... ... 135
Some Birds in Relation to Rifle-fire (C. & G. B. Thompson) ... 156
Short Notes : —
Ninth International Ornithological Congress. Waxwings in
Cumberland. Red-Spotted Bluethroat in Yorkshire in May 157
Reviews : —
Bird Behaviour : A contribution based chiefly on a Study of the
Black-headed Gull. By F. B. Kirkman ... ... ... 137
A Bird-Lover’ s Britain. By G. K. Yeates ... ... ... 139
A List of Irish Birds, shoiving the species contained in the
National Collection. 5th Edition. By G. R. Humphreys 139
Letter : —
The Function of the Goldcrest’s Crest. (J. Delamain) ... 160
L t
V
(130)
THE PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTOR IN
BIRD DISTRIBUTION.
BY
DAVID LACK.
Introduction.
This short paper is mainly a summary of two earlier ones
[io, n], and is written partly because the conclusions then put
forward seem to have been somewhat misunderstood.*
The limits of a bird’s distribution are probably often
determined by such factors as climate, food, nesting sites and
natural enemies, though the summary by Moreau [14] shows
how little work has as yet been done on these lines. But in
addition to these admittedly important “ direct ” factors,
there are others of a different nature, here termed psychological
factors, which involve the bird’s mental reaction to its environ-
ment. A bird’s behaviour is usually described as primarily
instinctive, based on inherited patterns of behaviour which,
though capable of some modification, are on the whole rigid,
It is this rigidity which makes psychological factors of such
importance in distribution. Examples will now be considered.
Nesting Sites.
The Blue Tit ( Pams c. obscurus) does not breed in woods
in which there are no suitable nesting holes. Hence it is
absent from many copses and young plantations where it
occurs commonly outside the breeding season and where it
will breed readily if nesting boxes are put up. This shows
that the nesting holes are the sole missing feature. The factor
concerned is not the absence of nesting sites but of a particular
kind of nesting site. The Blue Tit could successfully colonize
young plantations if its mental equipment (a psychological
factor) enabled it to build a nest like a Long-tailed Tit
(. Aegithalos c. rosens) or a Lesser Redpoll (Carduelis f. cabaret).
Of numerous similar examples, one more may be given. The
Common Guillemot ( Uria aalge ) nests on flat ledges and the
Puffin ( Fratercula arctica ) in holes, not the other way round,
as a result of which each species is restricted to certain types
of coast.
Feeding Habits.
In Iceland the Harlequin Duck ( Histrionicus histrionicus) is
confined to rocky swift-flowing streams, where it feeds on
Ephemerid and Phrygaenid larvae by turning over stones in
the streams. The Harlequin is absent from the lakes, in which
many other species of duck are common. This is correlated
*See for instance Nicholson [16], Ticehurst [18].
vol xxxi.] BIRD DISTRIBUTION.
131
not with its specific diet but with its specialized feeding
habits. Hugh Wormald informed me that they are the
hardest of all ducks to rear in captivity, as the ducklings
“ swim about poking their heads under every inequality in
the ground under water and are extremely difficult to get to
eat anything”. Once this peculiarity was realized, they were
successfully reared on ant pupae, freshwater shrimps and
insects, a by no means specialized diet. But this habit would
clearly prevent successful breeding in the lakes ; a
psychological restriction.
Song Perch.
In south-eastern England the Tree-Pipit ( Anthus trivialis)
often occurs in a habitat identical with that of the Meadow-
Pipit (A. pratensis) provided at least one fairly tall tree is
present. The tree is used neither for feeding nor for nesting.
The Tree-Pipit occurs away from trees outside the breeding
season, and in a tree-less locality I have found one using a
telegraph pole. The tree is used solely in song, but nevertheless
is an essential element in the bird’s habitat. It is interesting
that the Meadow-Pipit has a very similar song but normally
dispenses with a tree, though occasionally using one when
present. Lack and Venables [12] relate a similar example for
the Stonechat ( Saxicola torquata). Others could be given, and
probably in most species which sing from a high perch, a song
post is an essential of the breeding habitat, even when trees
or bushes are used for no other purpose.
Habitat Selection.
Habitat selection illustrates a more general, and probably
the most important, influence of the psychological factor on
bird distribution. In many land plants and marine animals,
dispersal is effected by chance scattering. Those seeds or
embryos which happen to encounter a favourable habitat
flourish, and the rest die. But in birds, the procedure is
different. When the summer visitors arrive in England in
the spring, they do not settle in all types of habitat and attempt
to breed, but each species proceeds to its own specific habitat,
in much the same way that each species will later select a
nesting site of the specific type. Clearly, in birds, each species
(instinctively) selects its habitat, in contradistinction to plants,
in which the habitat selects the species.
Habitat selection is of value since it means that the bird
will settle in a habitat similar to the ancestral one, usually,
therefore, a favourable one. One might expect recognition of
the specific habitat to depend on the visually prominent, and
132
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
not necessarily the essential, features of the habitat. An
otherwise favourable habitat which lacked these recognition
features would not be colonized, and the chief evidence for a
psychological factor in habitat selection is the absence of
species from habitats apparently well suited in essentials but
not in superficial appearance. For instance, what prevents the
Reed-Bunting ( Emberiza schceniclus ) from breeding in the
typical habitat of the Yellow-Bunting (E. citrinella) and vice
versa ? What normally restricts the Rock-Pipit (Anthus
spinoletta petrosas) to the rocky foreshore, while the Meadow-
Pipit breeds on moorland ? What restricts the Wood- Warbler
( Phylloscopus sibilatrix) to woodland areas almost devoid of
undergrowth ? In the last case, food, nesting sites and song
perch seem clearly ruled out. Howard [5] describes how
Wood-Warblers returned to a locality a second year but soon
departed, a procedure which could be correlated with an
increase of the undergrowth and nothing else. For further
examples, see [10, 11], and more could be given. Brock [1]
seems the first to have realized the importance of “ environ-
mental bias ” in bird distribution, and soon after the present
writer’s first publication [10], Moreau [14, 15] independently
put forward similar views on the importance of “ subjective
factors ” (to my mind an unsatisfactory term) from a study of
distributions in Tanganyika. Finally, Howard [6], from a
quite different approach, that of territory, concludes that a
bird knows its natural home, such knowing being inherited,
very few mistakes being made.
Apart from habitat selection, three explanations have been
put forward for the often marked differences in distribution
between closely related species : food, differential adaptation
and inter-specific competition.
Food.
It is often assumed that a species is limited to a particular
habitat because its food is so restricted, but the reverse
explanation may be the true one, i.e. , the bird is limited to
particular foods because its habitat is restricted. For example,
Jourdain [8] notes that the sole difference between the food
of Reed- and Yellow-Bunting is that the former eats mainly
marsh plants and insects, the latter those of drier situations.
Since both species have such a varied diet, one cannot suppose
that this slight difference in food could cause the marked
difference in distribution ; it is clearly the other way round.
Similar considerations apply to many other cases of dis-
tribution. The evidence of Collinge [2], Jourdain [8], McAtee
[13] and others, shows that most birds have an extremely
vol. xxxi ] BIRD DISTRIBUTION.
133
varied diet. But food preferences undoubtedly exist, and at
times limit distribution. Thus Formosof [3] has shown the
dependence of the Siberian Nutcracker ( Nucrifraga caryo-
catactes macrorhynchus ) on the cedar nut*, and Howell [7]
that of the Everglade Kite ( Rostrhamnus sociabilis plumbeus)
on a particular snail. But such instances are uncommon, and
leave the cases particularly under discussion completely
unaccounted for.
Differential Adaptation.
Structural differences not infrequently occur between closely
related species. For instance, the hind claw of the Tree-Pipit
is shorter and more curved than that of the Meadow-Pipit.
In this and other cases the structural difference may well be
adapted to the habitat, but it does not follow that the
adaptation is itself the cause of the difference in distribution.
A priori it seems more probable that, in most cases at least,
the difference in distribution preceded the adaptive difference.
And there are many closely related species in which such
adaptive differences have not been described and may well
not exist. Adaptation will obviously account for many limits
to distribution, for instance, the restriction of aquatic birds
to water, but seems quite inadequate to account for many
distributions, particularly those of closely related species
under discussion. f
Inter-specific Competition.
Possibly in some cases, closely related species are dif-
ferentially adapted to their respective habitats to an extent
sufficient to mean that, if their distributions were left to
competition, each would be more successful in its present
habitat, though there is no definite evidence for this, and
it seems unlikely to apply to most cases. But there is no
evidence that inter-specific competition of the type required
by this view occurs. Further, this is quite inadequate to
■explain why the species do not normally attempt to breed
outside their own habitat, an objection which also applies
to the other two alternatives.
*Cone of Pinus cembra sibirica Mayer.
fin a valuable paper on habitat distributions, Palmgren [17],
attributes the restriction of the Goldcrest ( Regulus r. regains) to conifers
to the absence of a leg muscle present in the Willow-Tit (Parus a.
borealis) which occurred in both coniferous and broad-leaved trees.
This seems more likely to be a family or generic difference, and before
his conclusion can be accepted the I'irecrest (Regulus ignicapillus) ,
which is typical of broad-leaved trees, and the British Goldcrest
(R. r. anglorum) , which regularly feeds in broad-leaved trees, should be
examined.
134
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL XXXI.
Difficulties of Habitat Selection.
It therefore seems probable that each species selects its
own habitat, guided by recognition features which are not
necessarily in themselves essential to its existence. But
habitat selection of this type is an extremely difficult factor
to investigate. First, once the principle has been accepted,
there may be a tendency to invoke it for any case of distribu-
tion for which there is no ready explanation, and its existence
is almost impossible to test directly. Secondly, though it may
be the factor preventing a species from attempting to breed
in a particular habitat and may in some cases (e.g., the Wood-
Warbler cited) be the sole factor involved, in other cases there
may also be other factors which would effectively prevent
successful colonization if the bird did attempt to do so.
Habitat selection being admitted, the presence of these other
factors might be overlooked. Thirdly, it is not a factor capable
of much analysis. Probably the bird recognizes the habitat
“as a whole ” or by a combination of features, not by any
one taken singly. In the Wood-Warbler a habitat exists
similar to that occupied by the bird save in one particular,
namely, increased height of undergrowth, hence one of the
features essential to the bird’s recognition can be determined.
But such cases are rare.
The problem of why closely related species so often select
different habitats is of great interest, but any answer must,
in the present state of our knowledge, be extremely specula-
tive. I have attempted [io] an explanation for certain
Passerine species, but this need scarcely be repeated here.
In brief, it is suggested that the conditions of habitat selection
may, themselves, have led to the segregation of species in some
cases.
Variations from the Normal.
Just as individual birds occasionally build a nest that is
atypical for the species, so they occasionally break away from
the specific nesting site, feeding habit or habitat. This
sometimes enables them to breed in areas which would
otherwise be uncolonized. For example, Ticehurst [19] notes
that on the shingle area of Dungeness, where its usual nesting
sites are absent, the Wheatear ( (Enanthe ce. cenanthe) nests
under tins, and even under the roots of a gorse bush or in a
depression in the open. Other cases could be mentioned, and
as an instance of breeding outside the typical habitat,
Harrisson and Lack [4] found that the Rock-Pipit bred on
rocky moorland away from the shore on St. Kilda. That
such local or abnormal occurrences are often successful is
VOL. XXXI.l
BIRD DISTRIBUTION.
135
further evidence that the restricting factor was psychological
and not a direct environmental factor. One must probably
expect such occasional modifications where a behaviour
factor is involved, and they add one more difficulty to the
investigation of psychological factors.
Other Aspects of the Psychological Factor.
The writer has been specially interested in habitat dis-
tributions. But the psychological element also comes into
other fields of bird distribution. As is well known, many
species tend to return to breed in the locality where they
were reared. Probably this habit alone has been sufficient in
many cases to promote segregation, leading to the formation
of geographical sub-species. Physical barriers undoubtedly
assist such segregation, but in many cases are, in themselves,
insufficient, and could readily be surmounted by such mobile
animals as birds. Indeed, one sub-species may even pass
regularly through the breeding grounds of another on
migration, as in the case of the White Wagtail ( Motacilla
a. alba) and Iceland or Greenland Wheatear ( (Enanthe ce.
leucorrhoa) in Britain. In these last cases the factor primarily
limiting distribution is clearly psychological.
In quite another field, the habit of aggressive territorial
behaviour at times sets a limit to the density of breeding pairs
below that which essential requirements would have per-
mitted, as shown, for example, by Venables and Lack [20]
for the Great Crested Grebe ( Podiceps c. cristatus), in which one
pair claimed a much larger territory than any others.
Finally, the psychological factor influences those factors
which are apparently most definite. The limits of temperature
fatal or deleterious to a bird can be measured experimentally,
but, as Kendeigh [9] has pointed out, birds tend to move
elsewhere before these temperatures become operative. The
same applies to the quantity of food needed by a bird. Dis-
comfort is often the important factor in the field, and this
cannot readily be measured.
Summary.
Various environmental factors directly limit bird distribu-
tion, e.g., food, nesting sites, natural enemies, climate. But
psychological factors are also important. Birds react to
discomfort, which modifies the direct effects of starvation
and adverse climatic conditions. Aggressive behaviour may
limit the population below that which food and nesting sites
could support. The habit of returning to breed where reared
causes desertion of other suitable areas frequented on
migration. Birds keep to specific nesting sites, feeding habits
136
BRITISH BIRDS
[VOL. XXXI.
and song perches, and will rarely modify them. Most
important, each species instinctively selects its habitat, in
which it is probably influenced by the visually prominent,
not necessarily the essential, features.
Psychological factors are extremely difficult to investigate
experimentally, and to analyze, and their existence cannot be
established in the convincing way that the effects of direct
environmental factors can be demonstrated. But though
extreme caution must be taken in postulating them, their
importance in modifying bird distribution is undoubted, and
they severely complicate all investigations of the factors
limiting bird distribution.
[1] Brock, S. E. (1914). The ecological relations of bird distribution-
Brit. Birds, VIII., 30.
[2] Collinge, W. E. (1927). The Food of some British Wild Birds.
[3] Formosof, A. N. (1933). The crop of cedar nuts, invasions into
Europe of the Siberian Nutcracker (Nucifraga caryocatactes macro-
rhynchus Brehm) and fluctuations in numbers of the Squirrel (Sciurus
vulgaris L.). Journ. Animal Ecol., II., 70.
[4] Harrisson, T. H., and Lack D. (1934). The breeding birds of
St. Kilda, Scot. Nat., 64.
[5] Howard, H. E. (1907-14). The British Warblers (Wood
Warbler).
[6] ( 1 935) - The Nature of a Bird’s World (esp. p. 74).
[7] Howell, A. H. (1932). Florida Bird Life (quoted from Fried-
mann, H. 1935. Bird Societies, A Handbook of Social Psychology ,
P- 1 59) •
[8] Jourdain, F. C. R. (1920). Food summaries in A Practical
Handbook of British Birds, ed. H. F. Witherby.
[9] Kendeigh, S. C. (1934). The role of environment in the life of
birds. Ecol. Monogr., IV., 299-417.
[10] Lack, D. (1933). Habitat selection in birds, with special
reference to the effects of afforestation on the Breckland avifauna,
J. Animal Ecol., II., 239.
[u] — (1934). Habitat distribution in certain Icelandic birds.
f . Animal Ecol., III., 81.
[12] Lack, D., and Venables, L. S. V. (1937). The heathland birds
of South Haven Peninsula, Studland Heath, Dorset. J . Animal Ecol.,
VI., 71.
[13] McAtee, W. L. (1932). Effectiveness in nature of the so-called
protective adaptations in the animal kingdom, chiefly as illustrated
by the food habits of Nearctic birds. Smithsonian Misc. Coll., 85, 7.
[14] Moreau, R. E. (1934). A. contribution to tropical African bird
ecology, f. Animal Ecol., III., 41.
[15] (i935)- A critical analysis of the distribution of birds in a
tropical African area. f. Animal Ecol., IV., 167.
[16] Nicholson, E. M. (1934). Review of Habitat Selection in Birds,
Brit. Birds, XXVIII., 179.
[17] Palmgren, P. (1932). Zur Biologie von Regulus r. regulus (L.)
und Parus atricapillus borealis Selys. Acta Zool. Fenn., 14.
[18] Ticehurst, C. B. (1934). Review in Ibis, p. 845.
[19] Ticehurst, N. F. (1909). A History of the Birds of Kent, p. 17.
[20] Venables, L. S. V. and Lack, D. (1934). Territory in the
Great Crested Grebe. Brit. Birds, XXVIII. ,«igi.
(137)
AGGRESSIVE DISPLAY OF BIRDS BEFORE A
LOOKING-GLASS.
BY
GEORGE BROWN.
Early in April of this year I placed a triple looking-glass on
the lawn in front of my study window in Berkshire to find
out, which birds, among the common birds of a garden, would
be likely to display, or to attack their own reflection in the
glass.
The mirror was a three-sided one, so that a bird approaching
the centre glass A would also see itself reflected at B and C.
A
The glass had hardly been down half an hour or so, before
a male Pied Wagtail ( Motacilla a. yarrellii) proceeded to
display in front of the mirror, and to fight its own reflection
for two or three hours on end, and it monopolized the whole
field of reflection, attacking first one side, and then the other
side whilst the female, most of the time, walked around
looking on and generally seemed to be feeding quite uncon-
cernedly. Whilst especially displaying its black chin and
throat, the Pied Wagtail pecked and struck continuously at
its own reflection, and whilst doing so at B or C, it often ran
round the corner of either X or Y expecting to find its rival
there, and its apparent attitude of blank astonishment at
finding no rival there, was very interesting to watch. The
bird almost at once returned to B or C again, and started
displaying afresh. Often whilst attacking itself full on at A,
it would fly on to the top of A, and look over the other side,
only to find no rival, and so back it would go, and at itself
again. At the end of about 3 hours or so, I folded up the
glass as I thought the bird had had about enough of it, and
138
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
it might hurt itself — whereupon not seeing its rival any more,
it at once joined its mate, which was then sitting and waiting
patiently on the roof of the house.
The next time I put the glass out it was immediately
attacked by a male Blackbird ( Turdus m. merula). This bird
fought itself with beak and claw, but it used its beak more
so than did the Wagtail, and frequently crouched something
like a Ruff ( Philomachus pugnax) crouches in display, before
making a determined strike at its shadow. Like the Wagtail,
it was very interesting to see this bird run round the other
side of B and C, to attack its enemy at X and Y, only to find
nothing there to attack. This male Blackbird attacked itself
for hours continuously, till it became so tired I could almost
pick it up, so I folded up the glass, to stop it doing itself
harm ; yet I never saw the female even bother to look at the
glass though she was quite close by most of the time. Again
I expected a Robin ( Erithacus r. melophilus) which was
nesting quite close at hand, to go to the glass and display,
but it never did. This Robin appeared to take quite an interest
in the Blackbird’s efforts, and would hop around watching, for
some minutes at a stretch, and although it hopped quite close
to the glass, I never saw it at all put out or to show the least
sign of display. This was to me unexpected, for I had banked
on a Robin displaying before any other species. When I moved
the glass to another part of the garden, the same display took
place by another male Blackbird almost at once, though the
female only hopped about near at hand and never once
approached the glass.
The only other bird I saw attack the glass and attack it
again and again continuously was a male Great Titmouse
(Parus m. newtoni). In many ways the Great Tit was the most
persistent in its attack of all three kinds of birds, continually
displaying its black chest, and fighting itself especially with
its beak for hours on end, so that eventually, to save the
bird from itself, I had to remove the glass.
This experiment was carried out for a day or two at the
beginning of April this year. By the end of April the urge to
the Blackbird to attack itself had waned considerably, and
during May, when I had the looking-glass out in the garden
continuously, I never saw any bird take any notice of it at all.
The interesting point to my mind is that all the three types
of bird that attacked themselves were birds with a good deal
of black about them. The Wagtail and Great Tit continuously
displayed their black chests, whilst the Blackbird crouched
and displayed both its body and bill.
(139)
RECOVERY OF MARKED BIRDS.
COMMUNICATED BY
E. P. LEACH.
Hon. Sec., Bird-Ringing Committee, British Trust for Ornithology.
No.
Ringed.
Gannet (Sttla bassana).
RINGED AS NESTLINGS.
Recovered.
I 14352
Ailsa Craig, 1.8.34,
Dumfries.
by Lord
Luce Bay (Wigtown), 5.6.37.
I 18425
Ditto
29-7-35-
Casablanca, Morocco, — .2.37.
120314
Bass Rock, 4.7.36,
lothian Orn. Club.
by Mid-
Amrum, N. Frisian Is.,
Winter, 1936.
I 19005
Ditto, — .736, by
Robinson.
H. W.
At sea, 590 15' N., 4°2o'W.,
20.3-37-
119063
Ditto
—.7.36.
Cap Cantin, Morocco,
20.12.36.
115573
Grassholm, 1 7.7.34
Wontner-Smith.
, by C.
Newquay (Cornwall), 25.2.37.
115165
Ditto
17-7-34-
Boulogne, France, 27.1.37.
116954
Ditto
17-7-34-
^reaction (Gironde), France,
6.2.37.
115008
Ditto
17-7-34-
Oran, Algeria, 9.2.37.
115697
Ditto
17-7-34-
W. Coast Morocco, — 4.36.
115163
Ditto
17-7-34-
Where ringed, 2.6.37.
RINGED AS FULL-GROWN.
I 13000
Grassholm, 12.6.34,
Lock ley.
by R. M.
Where ringed, 2.6.37.
I 13040
Ditto
17-7-34-
Aveiro, Portugal, 27.12.36.
114674
116109
RX.3656
Ditto, 28.6.36,
Bird Obs.
Ditto, 17.7.34, by
Smith.
by Skokholm
C. Wontner-
Lorient (Morbihan), France,
—•2-37-
At sea, 510 12' N., 7°oo,\V.,
26.5.37.
RX.4384
RX.4386
Manx Shearwater (Puffinus p. puffinus).
Skokholm (Pern), 27.9.36, Skomer (Pern), 16.5.37.
young, by S. Marchant.
Stock-Dove ( Colitmba cenas).
RINGED AS NESTLINGS.
RECOVERED WHERE RINGED.
Shipley (Yorks), 26.7.36, by C. Wontner-Smith. — 2.37.
Ditto, 24.8.36. — -2.37.
RINGED AS FULL-GROWN.
RECOVERED WHERE RINGED.
Shipley (C. Wontner-Smith).
No. Ringed. Recovered.
iRT.7040 29.4.34. T935> 1936.
21.3.37.
KRV.8922 I3-4-36- 22.3.37.
{Mates in both years.)
IRV.7209 19-4-35- i3-2.37-
Gt. Budworth (A. W.Boyd).
.Yo.
RS.2008
RS.2091
RS.2093
RV.9031
Ri nged.
3-5-34-
I3-6-35-
15-6.35-
31 -7-35-
Recovered
13- 7-36
1936, 1937
14- 3-37
15- 3-37
140
BRITISH BIRDS.
j VOL. XXXI.
Turtle-Dove ( Strcptopelia t. turtur).
RINGED AS FULL-GROWN.
RECOVERED WHERE RINGED.
Gt. Budworth (A. W. Boyd).
No.
Ringed.
Recovered.
No.
Ringed.
Recovered.
RR.454S
24-7-3I-
24-5-32,
RS.2021
23-7-32.
30-7-36.
6-7-35-
RS.2095
28.6.35.
4.8.36.
RR.4569
8.6.32.
26.6.34.
RV.9028
24-7-35-
2.8.36.
RR.45S2
27.6.32.
9-7-34-
RV.9032
6.8.35.
3I-7-36.
No.
Ringed.
Recovered.
Oyster-Catcher ( Hcematopus o. occidentalis) .
RW.6432 Newton Arlosh (Cumb),2o.7.35, Morecambe (Lancs), 28. 2. 37.
young, by R. H. Brown.
Ringed Plover ( Charadrius h. hiaticula).
ON. 55 Loch Fleet (Suth), 6.7.36, Dunrobin (Suth), 3.2.37.
young, by F. Cohen.
AS. 2777
AS. 2716
205967
AN. 9223
AS. 2102
AS.975S
AS. 4563
AS. 9904
AP.T710
AR.9901
203590
Lapwing ( V anellus vanellus).
RINGED AS NESTLINGS.
RECOVERED AWAY FROM WHERE RINGED.
Cock Bridge (Aberdeen), 9.6.35,
by H. J. Moon.
Glenorchard (Stirling), 29.5.35,
by J- Bartholomew.
Barnard Castle (Durham),
28.5.36, by LI. J. Moon.
Ullswater (Cumb), - — .5.32, bv
H. J. Moon.
Penrith (Cumb), 7.5.35, by
H. J. Moon.
Shap (Westmor), 10.5.36, by
H. J. Moon.
Sedbergh (Yorks), — -6.35, by
H. J. Moon.
Ingleton (Yorks), 15.5.36, by
H. J. Moon.
Ditto, 25.6.32, by Mrs. Morley.
Laugharne (Carms), 28.4.36, by
J. F. Thomas.
Ditto 3-5-36-
K i 1 m a c o 1 m (Renfrew),
21.2.37.
I,. Gara (Sligo), 29.12.36.
Southport (Lancs), 16.1.37.
Newmarket (Clare), 27.1.37.
Ainstable (Cumb), 25.4.37.
Mullinahone (Tipperary),
20.1.37.
Preston (Lancs), 23.1:37.
Boston Spa (Yorks), — .2.37.
Bolton - le - Sands (Lancs),
— -i-37-
Kilteely (Limerick), 9.2.37.
Ushant, France, 14.3.37.
RECOVERED WHERE RINGED.
AP.1641 Glenorchard (Stirling), 31.5.33, by J. Bartholomew. 11.4.37
AR. 6452 Wilmslow (Ches), 30.5.34, by E. Cohen. 29.3.37
AS. 5588 Ditto, 1.5.36. 24.1.37
AS. 9030 Newbury (Berks), 6.6.36, by G. Brown. — -4-37
AN. 3764 Ditto, 19.5.32. — -5-37
203761 Marlborough (Wilts), 2.5.36, by British Empire N.A. 15. 11.36
Redshank ( Tringa t. britannica).
GM.780 Wevbridge (Surrey), 16.7.34, Eton (Bucks), — .2.37.
young, by P. Hollom.
RECOVERY OF MARKED BIRDS.
141
VOL. XXXI.]
No.
RS.1917
25842
4°°957
RV.3096
AB.5929
S.8228
OB. 401
R.4516
200519
202346
203309
203331
203315
AP.6052
AS. 7473
AS. 5772
AS. 9388
AR. 7239
W.2438
P-9775
AS. 9642
AS.9674
AR. 21 ri
AP.8253
AS. 4314
Ringed. Recovered.
Curlew ( Numenius a. arquata).
RINGED AS NESTLINGS.
Almondbank (Perths), 12.6.34,
by Lord Mansfield.
Penrith (Cumb), — .6.29, by
H. J. Moon.
Pooley Bridge (Cumb), 28.5.35,
by H. J. Moon.
Langwathby (Cumb), 7.6.36, by
H. J. Moon.
Shap (Westmor), 26.6.36, by
H. J. Moon.
Crinan (Argyll), 1.5.37.
Hollymount (Mayo), 2.2.37.
Rhyl (Flint), 12. 1.37.
Where ringed, 3. 3.37.
Ravenglass (Cumb), 6.2.37.
Snipe ( Capella g. gallinago).
Rusland (Lancs), 15 5 30, Where ringed, 17.4.37.
young, by the late C. F.
Archibald.
Enniskillen, Ireland, 15.5.36, Ditto, 28.10.36.
by A. Bracken.
Woodcock ( Scolopax r. rusticola).
RINGED AS NESTLINGS.
RECOVERED AWAY FROM WHERE RINGED.
Ellary (Argyll), 20.7.31, by M. Carse (Argyll), 1.1.37.
Portal.
Ben Rhydding (Yorks), 25.5.36, Harewood (Yorks), 13. 1.37.
for British Trust Orn.
RECOVERED WHERE RINGED.
Forglen (Banff), 10.7.36, for British Trust Orn. 29.1.37
Aberlady (E. Lothian) 28.4.36, by G. Charteris. 28.3.37
Ditto, 2.5.36. ' 23.1.37
Ditto, 7.5.36. 9-4-37
Holker (Lancs), 27.4.34, by Col. Porritt. 14. 1.37
Sandwich Tern ( Sterna s. sandvicensis) .
RINGED AS NESTLINGS.
Firth of Forth, 6.8.36, by Mid-
lothian Orn. Club.
Fame Is. (Northumb), 2.7.36,
by Mrs. Hodgkin.
Ravenglass (Cumb), — .6.36, by
H. W. Robinson.
Ditto — -6.34.
Walney I. (Lancs), 15.6.27, by
H. W. Robinson.
Ditto 28.5.33.
Ditto 21.6.36.
Ditto 10.6.36.
Salthouse (Norfolk), 19.6.33, by
Oxford Orn. Soc.
Ditto, 15.6.34, by R. M.
Garnett.
Ditto 25.6.35.
Temma, Gold Coast, 6.2.37.
Trapani, Sicily, 31. 1.3 7.
Benguella, Angola, — .11.36.
Durban, Natal, 12.3.37.
Ada, Gold Coast, — 5 36.
Ditto, — 5.36.
Madingou, Middle Congo,
11. 11 .36.
Benguella, Angola, — .11.36.
Yarmouth (Norfolk), 15.7.37.
Iveta, Gold Coast, — .12.36.
Ditto, — .12.36.
142
BRITISH BIRDS
[VOL. XXXI.
No.
AS.4372
207488
207793
ZN.336
RV. 8245
RT.4668
RW. 8643
AB.2667
4°4275
AB.5180
AB.7084
AB.6822
AB.3515
AB.6562
AB.3138
AB.4838
AB.41 19
AE.551
402396
AB.551X
404035
RT.810S
Ringed. Recovered.
Sandwich Tern ( continued ).
Ditto 8.6.36. Swakopmund, S.W. Africa,
—■5-37-
Ditto, 14.6.36, by E. Cohen. Keta, Gold Coast, 4.12.36.
Ditto 14.6.36. Temma, Gold Coast, 6.2.37.
Common Tern ( Sterna h. hirundo).
Blakeney (Norfolk), 19. 7-35, Ada, Gold Coast, — .11.36.
young, by J. M. Ferrier.
Black-headed Gull ( Larus r. ridibundus).
RINGED AS FULL GROWN.
Littleton (Middlesex), 25.11.35, Uxbridge (Middlesex),
by P. Ilollom. 1 1.4.37.
Ditto 29.1.35. Epping (Essex), 21. 1.37.
Ditto 16.3.36. Where ringed, 27.1 .37.
Herring-Gull ( Larus a. argentatus) .
RINGED AS NESTLINGS.
Berriedale (Caithness), 10.7.35,
by E. Cohen.
Badbea (Caithness), 2.7.36, by
E. Cohen.
I. of May Bird Obs., 28.6.36.
Puffin I., Anglesey, 24.6.36, by
M. Mitchell.
Skokholm Bird Obs., 11.7.36.
St. Govan’s (Pern), 20.6.36, by
W. A. Cadman.
Dungeness (Kent), 14.6.36, bv
R. G. Williams.
Ballintoy (Antrim), 29.6.35, by
T. Kerr.
County Durham, — .9.35.
Workington (Cumb), 24.2.37.
Grimsby (Lines), 1.1.37.
Hoy lake (Ches), 9.1.37.
Penarth (Glam), 13.3.37.
Broad Haven (Pem), 2.7.37.
Quiberon (Morbihan),
France, — .12.36.
Troon (Ayr), 1.1.37.
RINGED AS FULL-GROWN.
Littleton (Middlesex), 11.2.36, Saltburn (Yorks), 9.1.37.
by P. Hollom.
Lesser Black-backed Gull [Larus f. graellsii).
RINGED AS NESTLINGS.
Hov, Orkney, 24-7-35> by Orkney Mainland, — .3.37.
Serle & Bryson.
Foulshaw (Westmor), 27.7.29, Bowes Moor (Yorks), 1 1 .5.37.
by H. W. Robinson.
Ditto 27.7.34. Lorient (Morbihan), France,
20.4.37.
Walney I. (Lancs), 14.6.36, by Off Mauritania, — .2.37.
H. W. Robinson.
Great Black-backed Gull [Larus marinus).
Hoy, Orkney, 22.7.35, young, Brechin (Angus), 3.3.37.
by Serle & Bryson.
Kittiwake [Rissa t. tridactyla).
Fame Is. (Northumb), 25.6.34, Portobello (Midlothian),
by Mrs. Hodgkin. 23-3-37-
vol. xxxi ] RECOVERY OF MARKED BIRDS.
143
No.
AB.4725
AB.6668
AB.6733
AB.6651
AB.7252
RW.9151
23787
RV.8866
8 Birds
AB.S459
Or. 1782
Ringed. Recovered.
Razorbill ( Alca t. britannica) .
RINGED AS NESTLINGS.
Skokholm
Bird Obs., 2.7.36.
Solva (Pern), 31.3.37.
Ditto
8.7.36.
Biscarrosse (Landes), France,
10. 11. 36.
Ditto
10.7.36.
Pasajes (Guipuzcoa) Spain,
—•2-37-
Ditto
8.7.36.
Genoa, Italy, 30.11.36.
Northern Guillemot (Uria a. aalge).
RINGED AS NESTLINGS.
Badbea (Caithness), 2.7.36, by Kristiansand, S. Norway,
E. Cohen. 5.2. 37.
I. of May Bird Obs., 27.6.36. Sandefjord, S. Norway,
23.12.36.
Fame Is. (Northumb), 22.6.35, Den Helder, North Holland,
by Mrs. Hodgkin. 18.5.37.
Black Guillemot (Uria g. grylle).
Eynhallow, Orkney, 9-8.35, Rendall, Orkney, — .4.37.
young, by C. Wontner-Smith.
Puffin ( Fratercula a. grabce).
RINGED AS FULL-GROWN.
Orkney, — .6.36, by H. W. Where ringed, — .5. 37.
Robinson.
Moor-Hen (Gallinula ch. chloropus).
Winchelsea (Sussex), 1.11.36, Henfield (Sussex), 24.2.37.
ad., by Brooker and Cawkell.
Coot ( Fulica a. atra).
Orielton (Pembroke), 17.12.36, Market Drayton (Salop),
by S. Greenslade, released — -2.37.
30 miles N.
(144)
“ Mr. ALEXANDER MONIEPENNIE : Birds of Angus
and the Mearns : 1834 ” and “ Mr. J. PENRUDDOCK’S
Tantivy Times (Ackerman, 1841) ”.
Late in 1935 there was published Birds Ashore and A-Fore-
shore by Patrick R. Chalmers and it was duly reviewed in
The Field (December 7th, 1935, p. 1,356) and in other
periodicals.
Mr. Chalmers pays tribute (p. 14) to the information he has
culled from “ Mr. Alexander Moniepennie’s Birds of Angus
and the Mearns, printed by Messrs. Black, of Brechin, in 1834,”
and to “ Mr. J. Penruddock’s Tantivy Times (Ackerman,
1841) ’’.
I found that there are at least fifteen references to “Mr
Moniepennie’s’’ work one of which (p. 162) quotes him as
recording two Bitterns “ shot on Rescobie Loch, near Forfar,
in September, 1842’’, a disconcerting record in itself as his
book was stated to have been published in “ 1834 ”.
My keenness as an ornithological bibliographer caused me
to make exhaustive enquiries as to “ Mr. Alexander Monie-
pennie’s ’’ publication and I consulted not only local libraries
but also the authorities at the British Museum, the Scottish
National and other Libraries but all without result.
I then wrote to Mr. Chalmers, asking if he could lend me a
copy of this book, and he replied :
Did I possess Moniepennie there is no one to whom I’d lend him
as soon as to yourself. But I do not and, at the moment, it would be
difficult for me to get hold of him for you. I won’t forget your wish
when the opportunity occurs.
This reply goaded me to fresh efforts but to no avail.
Baffled at all points I counted myself more than fortunate,
when Mr. Chalmers paid a visit to my ornithological library,
to be able to discuss the matter with him. It came as a
surprise to hear from him shortly afterwards, in a letter
dated April 7th, 1937, as follows :
I have a confession to make. When you wrote to me, as a stranger,
about Birds Ashore I did not think it necessary to reply as to Mr.
Moniepennie more fully than I did. But since I had the pleasure of
meeting you the other day and of enjoying your real kindness and a
glimpse of your unique aviary of printed birds, my conscience has
been greatly smiting me. And now I am back in the South again and
here I sit down to tell you that the book, Birds of Angus and the
Mearns, and its talented author, are both of them mythical. When
I began to write my own book I wanted to find some new material
for it and so I evolved Alexander and his excellent work ad hoc.
No one but yourself (and I’ve had a certain quantity of correspon-
dence as to Birds Ashore) has been interested in Birds of Angus
vol. xxxi ] “MR. ALEXANDER MONIEPENNIE 145
and I hoped that I had got away with it. However, you see that
I haven’t !
I can’t help hoping that you will be glad to have your hunt for the
unattainable terminated and that you may therefore be a little
inclined to accept my apologies and to forgive and forget.
Your very much obliged,
(Sgd.) Patrick Chalmers.
Some months later, when I was in the British Museum
Library, I searched for “J. Penruddock’s Tantivy Times”
without success, so I once more wrote to Mr. Chalmers who
replied (September ioth, 1936) :
My many apologies for having left your note so long unanswered.
No such book exists, of course ! Sorry again !
Sincerely,
(Sgd.l Patrick Chalmers.
Poets (and who will deny that Mr. Chalmers is the favourite
sporting poet of to-day) are allowed a certain amount of
licence, but to create authors, attribute fictitious works to
them and then to quote items from these fictions as facts
seems to be asking too much of the licensing authorities
I regard Birds Ashore and A-Foreshore as one of the most
readable books of its kind and it is in no sense of either
jealousy or spite that I have felt myself called upon to publish
my correspondence with Mr. Chalmers. What has been written
cannot be unwritten and I can only hope that the publication
of this note may save some student of the literature of Scottish
Ornithology the protracted and fruitless search I had lor the
non-existent “ Messrs. Moniepennie and Penruddock ”.
Birds Ashore and A-Foreshore now becomes desirable as a
supercherie ornithologique comparable with A list of the Birds
that have been observed to breed in the island of Arran, Scotland,
since the Year 1835, by Dr. Martin Barry, M.D., F.R.S., and
not only on account of its delightful pictures by Miss Winifred
Austin and its author’s literary charm.
Hugh S. Gladstone.
(146)
OBITUARY.
LORD ROTHSCHILD, F.R.S.
(1868—1937.)
Lord Rothschild, who died at Tring on August 27th, 1937, at
the age of 69, may with justice be called one of the last
zoologists, a scientist whose interests embraced all classes of
animals and extended into botany, who perceived an animal
as an entity created by nature and who was an enthusiastic
collector and devoted student of mammals, birds, reptiles
and lepidoptera. Those who met him in later life would hardly
have recognized him in the early photographs of the delicate
boy and the slender youth. His appearance had changed
with the years, but his great love for nature remained the
same all his life.
There is a strong trend towards natural sciences in the
family, indeed, national finance, the invention of the house of
Rothschild, is part of the life of a nation and therefore part of
human biology. Like so many boys, Walter Rothschild, as
he was then, had a collection of beetles and butterflies and
moths ; and being educated at home, near London, and the
first son of a millionaire, had ample opportunities and means
to go far beyond the few boxes of specimens of the schoolboy.
His collections had already become too cumbersome for the
houses of his parents when he went to Bonn and later to
Cambridge ; and in 1888 he acquired in addition Sir Walter
Buller’s second collection of New Zealand birds, which
became the nucleus of a world-famous bird collection.
Mounted mammals followed and specimens of other classes of
animals were acquired, and in 1889, after he came of age, he
built a cottage for his insects and soon after a public museum
for the mounted specimens and some additional rooms for
the skins. The collections grew rapidly, and as Walter
Rothschild had entered the banking firm of Messrs. N. M.
Rothschild and Sons in order to study finance, his time for
supervision was limited, and the collections became somewhat
chaotic. When in 1892 he had bought the Felder collection
of insects, containing thousands of types of lepidoptera,
Dr. Albert Gunther, of the British Museum, strongly advised
him to put a reliable scientist in charge, and recommended
Mr. Ernst Hartert, who accepted the appointment and came
to Tring in October, 1892. Six months later, the present
writer agreed to be responsible for the invertebrates. A policy
was gradually evolved to the effect that the research collec-
tions of birds and lepidoptera should be made as complete as
VOL. XXXI.]
OBITUARY.
147
possible and the public galleries extended. In 1894, Volume I
of Novitates Zoologicae was issued, a periodical essentially
devoted to the publication of papers based on specimens
contained in the Tring collections ; Volume XL now awaits
completion. Contracts were made with many explorers and
collectors : Everett, Doherty, Meek, Hose, Klages and a
multitude of others, and the collections grew very rapidly.
Walter Rothschild’s acquaintance with Sir Walter Buller,
and his knowledge of the Ornis of New Zealand, brought
to his notice the danger of extermination to which animals
and plants are exposed in many lands, and he sent a bird
collector to the Sandwich Islands, an expedition to the
Galapagos Islands, and warmly supported the creation of
Nature Reserves. The Avifauna of Lay san and Extinct Birds
are a result of these activities. His publications on various
zoological subjects, frequently in collaboration with the
curators of his Museum, or other specialists, became very
numerous, particularly on birds and lepidoptera, and many
foreign societies elected him as an honorary member. In 1898,
the University of Giessen conferred on him the honorary
degree of Dr. phil., and in 1899 he was elected a Trustee of
the British Museum. He had to attend to many civic duties
and sat in Parliament from 1899 to 1910 as Member for
Mid-Bucks. In 1908 he gave up finance, for which he had
neither liking nor ability, and now found time for longer
collecting expeditions in Europe and North Africa, but as he
was very nervous at sea, he never went to the Tropics. In
1911 he received the distinction of F.R.S. for his services to
the Natural Sciences, and on the death of his father, in 1915,
succeeded to the title.
Meanwhile, the collections and library had steadily
increased, and fortunately the accommodation also. The last
addition to the buildings was a gift from his brother, a large
wing for the lepidoptera and the entomological library. Lord
Rothschild was very fond of live animals, but though he
kept a few at various times, he never attempted to build up
a Zoo.
Although as ardent a collector as there ever was, straining
his resources to the utmost in order to get what he wanted,
and frequently carried away by his enthusiasm, he differed
from the average private collector of 40 years ago in placing
his collections in the most liberal way at the service of
scientific workers of all countries, and these found at Tring
much material to study, an extensive library, ample elbow-
room and always a cordial welcome from the smiling owner of
148
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
all these treasures. Whereas many curators of Museums and
private collectors frowned upon the opening of boxes of
lepidoptera for study of structural detail, at Tring, mor-
phological research was not only permitted but encouraged,
and material freely lent to specialists, a fact which has had
a salutary influence on other Museums : systematic zoology
has much benefited by this liberality.
Lord Rothschild was reticent by nature, a trait which had
been aggravated by his upbringing and which made him
disinclined to ask for advice before making decisions. Exposed
as he was to exploitation, he suffered some disagreeable
experiences as the result of following his own counsel.
Another was in store for him, which this time affected his
Museum. In 1931 arrangements had been made for sending
an expedition to New Guinea to collect birds and lepidoptera,
when negotiations had to be broken off because a large debt,
unconnected with the Museum and for which he had forgotten
to make provision, fell due and he could not see any other
way out of the difficulty than by selling the collection of
bird-skins. It was a great blow to him, from which he never
really recovered ; even a short time before his death, when
his eyes had already become dimmed and his voice was nearly
gone, his mind dwelt on the loss and he once whispered :
“ I wish I could buy them back”.
The Tring Museum now has an aggregate floor-space of
nearly an acre and a half, inclusive of the basements for
storage. The Research Department contains, besides smaller
collections (including 1,400 mammals, nearly 5,000 birds,
among them some extinct species not in the British Museum) ,
a large egg-collection and over two million lepidoptera un-
rivalled for the study of geographical variation and very
important for systematics on account of the large number
of types (of Geometridae alone, there are over 6,000). In the
public galleries are exhibited 2,000 mammals, 2,400 birds, etc.,
some of the series being better than those of any other museum,
notably the 40 anthropoid apes, 62 cassowaries, and more
than 140 giant tortoises. All these collections, the library,
comprising some 30,000 volumes, and the whole of the
freehold property, are left to the Nation.
Karl Jordan.
iKTIOTES*
ROSE-COLOURED STARLINGS IN THE BRITISH
ISLES.
The following reports of occurrences of the Rose-coloured
Starling ( Pastor roseus) have reached us (all the dates are in
1937), and we shall be glad to hear of any other birds having
been seen.
Yorkshire. — Mr. Ralph Chislett records (Nat., 193 7,
p. 223) that he and Mrs. Chislett watched one on Spurn Point
on August 17th. The pink on the bird and the black crest
were clear, showing it to be an adult. It was perched on some
rails and flew down to the ground and back again with insects
upon which it fed.
Norfolk. — Mr. Ronald M. Garnett informs us of one (an
adult) near Kelling on July 7th (gone on 8th). This bird was
feeding on insects in a field of clover which was being cut.
A few Starlings were present but it did not mix with them.
Carnarvonshire. — Mr. G. H. Caton Haigh writes of an
adult, which was in a garden near Portmadoc from about
July 17th. Mr. Haigh saw this bird in a bush of Berberis
thunbergi, upon the berries of which it appeared to be feeding.
The bird was found dead in an emaciated condition on
August 17th.
Pembrokeshire. — Mr. A. B. McArthur writes that he saw
one on the coast opposite Gateholm on June 19th.
Dublin and Limerick. — Mr. C. B. Moffat writes that he has
information of a single bird in the outskirts of Dublin and
of one about ten miles south of Limerick early in July.
Both birds appear to have been adults.
Galway. — One, evidently an adult from a sketch sent, was
with a flock of Starlings at Kilronan, Aran Islands, on
August 10th (Miss Kathleen M. Donnelly).
RED-BREASTED FLYCATCHER SEEN IN WILTSHIRE.
I have recently heard from the Rev. D. Percy Harrison
writing from Lydiard Millicent Rectory, Swindon, stating :
On August 20th, 1937, about 12 noon, on a small Atlantic pine
on the lawn opposite his study window about 10 yards off
only, he saw a small bird, which behaved like a Spotted
Flycatcher flying down, taking an insect and flying back to
its perch, but it had a splash of red on its throat and breast.
150
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
“The bird appeared smaller, much slimmer, and of a paler brown
on the upper parts than the Spotted Flycatcher. The tail
seemed to have the outermost feather on each side white or
whitish.” He immediately recognized it as the Red-breasted
Flycatcher ( Muscicapa parva). This is the second specimen
(wild) Mr. Harrison has seen. Years ago he saw one in
Cornwall. He also examined one in the flesh killed at Tresco,
Scilly Islands. F. W. Frohawk.
[The date is very early for the Red-breasted Flycatcher,
and there seems to be no previous record for August. — Eds.]
AQUATIC WARBLER SEEN IN KENT.
On August 22nd, 1937, Messrs. B. T. Brooker, R. G. Williams,
H. A. R. Cawkell and myself were watching waders at Old
Cheyne Court, Walland Marsh, Kent, when we noticed a
small bird moving about at the base of the reed-edge not
many yards from us. At first it appeared to be a rather yellow
Sedge- Warbler, but as soon as it came into the open we
remarked on the very pronounced pale eyestripes above a
dark line through the eyes. As the bird turned and bent its
head we noticed a well-marked buff stripe down the centre
of the crown. Subsequent observation showed the bird to
have distinct striations (more so than the Sedge-Warbler)
on the back. The bird was undoubtedly an Aquatic Warbler
(Acrocephalus paludicola). E. M. Cawkell.
DIPPER NESTING IN WARWICKSHIRE.
On April 25th, 1937, whilst walking up a stream near Wootten
Wawen, I surprised a pair of Dippers ( Cinclus c. gularis).
From then till July 27th many miles of stream in the district
were searched but only one other bird was seen and then
not far from the original spot. On July 27th whilst continuing
my searches I came across two nests together underneath an
old cattle bridge some six miles due north of Stratford-on-
Avon ; one was undoubtedly an old one ; the other had
apparently been vacated only recently. The nest was of the
usual pattern, moss forming a large part whilst grass and
dead leaves made up the lining, the characteristic over-
hanging entrance was intact in both nests. Considerable
search along the same stream failed to reveal any birds either
old or young. This is, so far as I have been able to ascertain,
the furthest east that this bird has yet nested in the Midlands.
The records of the Dipper for Warwickshire are few and
far between. In the Victoria County History, R. F. Tomes
mentions one being taken on the Learn near Leamington
VOL. XXXI.]
NOTES.
151
somewhere about 1875. Birds were rarely taken on the Alne
at Alcester before 1904 when the Victoria History was
published. Tomes refers to immature birds being taken about
that time and concludes that they must have been reared
there, but the evidence seems hardly conclusive. There are
two other definite records, one at Handsworth on January
12th, 1882, and the other at Hay Mill in the Birmingham
district in the winter of 1894-5. Since these records I have no
further evidence of the Dipper in this county at all.
C. A. Norris.
WHOOPER SWANS IN CO. DONEGAL IN AUGUST.
On August 18th, 1937, a single Whooper Swan ( Cygnus cygnus)
was seen amongst reeds by a small freshwater loch, not far
from Sheephaven Bay. O11 August 19th it was gone, but a man
who had noticed it the previous day told us that it had been
found in a distressed condition, apparently unable to fly on
the 18th, but had recovered and had flown away on the 19th
to a larger freshwater loch a mile or so away. There on
August 20th amongst a number of Mute Swans, no less than
four W hoopers were observed. They seemed in good condition
and no more nervous than the Mutes. Relations were not,
however, very friendly between the two species, and there were
several disagreements, which may explain the injury which
had driven one of the four away to the smaller loch.
The four Whoopers were seen again on August 25th.
All the birds were adults and I was able to approach near
enough to see the distinctive bill coloration of the Whooper
and the size of the birds compared with the Mute Swans ruled
out Bewick’s Swan, which is the commoner species in Ireland.
The date would seem to be very early for the appearance of
the bird. Sibyl Cropper.
NOTES ON THE COURTSHIP AND MATING OF
SMEW AND GOOSANDER.
Mr. P. A. D. Hollom’s interesting article ( antea , pp. 106-m)
has tempted me to record a few notes made on the above a
few years ago.
On February 25th, 1928, at Barn Elms Reservoirs, near
Hammersmith, there were 3 adult drake Smews ( Mergns
albellus) and 16 “ red-heads ” present. The display seen was
by a duck only. On one sheet of water there were three
“ red-heads ” with an adult drake. The drake swam away
from the others and was followed by a duck. She started
“ bobbing ” as described by Mr. Hollom rising on her tail
152
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
with bill touching her breast and dropping back on to the
water. This was soon discontinued, for the drake took no
apparent notice, and the duck turned aside. (Time 3.30 p.m.
— Sunny, clear sky, warm light N.E. wind, slight smoke pall
drifting over.)
At Molesey Reservoirs on March 9th, 1929, a duck Smew
was seen, followed by a drake. The duck “ bobbed ” her head
with quick jerks, to which the drake replied by dropping his
head on to his back with bill pointing skywards. This would
compare with the “ false drink ” of the Goosander, but my
impression was that the bill was raised to almost a right angle
to the body, higher than in Mr. Hollom’s Fig. 3 (p. 108).
(Time, 3-5 p.m., bright sun, cold S.E. wind, some ice about ;
one sheet of water frozen over.)
On January 26th, 1929, at Barn Elms Reservoirs in
company with Mr. C. Weeks, I watched part of the courtship
display of the Goosander ( Mergus m. merganser ) in a group
formed of three drakes and about three or four ducks. The
drakes rose on their tails with bills touching their breasts
and dropped back on to the water into normal position
at varied intervals. The head appeared to be pushed forward
slightly before being dropped on to the breast. In between
these “ bobs ”, sudden rushes were made and drake lunged at
drake, and duck at drake. Once a “ red-head ” ” bobbed ”
in a similar manner as the adult drakes. (Time between
3 and 4 p.m., sunny, clear sky, cold N.E. wind.)
On February 3rd, 1929, at Staines Reservoirs, courtship
display was seen in a group of five drakes and two duck
Goosanders. The “ bobbing ” and “ lunging ” were indulged
in and these were occasionally accompanied by the “ fountain”
display, in which a drake swimming close to a duck would
kick upwards, throwing a spray of water into the air at its rear
The “ fountain ” display was also given by the drake when
either drake or duck were chasing each other. Later two ducks
were seen resting on the concrete slope of the reservoir
alongside Mallard, Teal and Wigeon. A group of four drakes
approached and displayed by “ bobbing ” and “ lunging ”
before them.
Elsewhere on the same sheet of water a drake and a duck
Goosander were swimming near to several Goldeneye and
Mallard. The drake circled round the duck and very soon
the duck laid her head low on the water with outstretched
neck and then raised her tail, pointing it at right angles to
her body. She obviously invited copulation, but the nearness
of the Goldeneye and Mallard seemed to disturb the drake,
VOL. XXXI.]
NOTES.
153
and he swam off ahead, followed by the duck. (Time about
ii a.m., bright sun, cold easterly wind.)
On March 9th, 1929, this time at Molesey Reservoirs in
company with the Rev. C. L. Dunkerley, a duck Goosander
was seen to stretch herself on the water, with head and neck
partly submerged. The drake in attendance dipped his beak
to the water and then raised it skywards and dropped it back
to normal position. This was repeated but the birds were
then disturbed and the display ceased.
In another case a duck was seen to lay her head and neck
outstretched on the water and the drake in attendance
imitated her. After a short while the drake started to shake
his tail vigorously, repeating this at short intervals. The
duck then gradually approached and when fairly near raised
her tail skywards. The drake circled twice and then clambered
on the duck and copulated.
There are many points of resemblance between the displays
of the two species, which indeed also resemble those of
Goldeneye, etc. Perhaps further watching will show that the
Smew also has a “ fountain ” display. Probably in both
species the duck usually takes the initiative in mating.
L. Parmenter.
DIVING OF THE SHAG.
On September 5th, 1937, about noon, we watched an adult
Shag ( Phalacrocorax a. aristotelis) diving off the north-east
comer of Skokholm Island. The bird was in the lee of the
island where the sea was moderate, and was diving in several
fathoms of water. We observed the bird leave the rocks and
watched every dive until it returned.
In all it dived 54 times, and we measured the duration of
each dive, and in 35 instances the length of time spent on the
surface. The average duration of a dive was about 53 seconds
and between each dive the bird spent 21 seconds on the
surface (average). Three dives lasted 10 seconds or under,
thirteen lasted over 1 minute. Of these by far the most
remarkable was one of 170 seconds. The next longest were
of 85 seconds and 70 seconds. It appears that the length of
time spent on the surface bears little relation to the length of
the dive, for after the dive of 85 seconds the bird spent only
15 seconds on the surface, whereas after a dive of 48 seconds
it spent 33 seconds on the surface. It should be remarked,
that the longest time spent on the surface (37 seconds) was
after the exceptionally long dive already noted.
On about three occasions the bird was seen to rise to the
154
BRITISH BIRDS
[VOL. XXXI.
surface with a fish in its beak, which it swallowed. Once
it had an eel with which it struggled for some time, but
which escaped. On this occasion the bird was on the surface
for 35 seconds.
Of the 54 dives, 45 were made with “ the graceful curving
leap out of the water ” remarked by Coward. The other 9
were made in the manner of a Cormorant — the bird slid
quietly under the water.
After the fifty-fourth dive the bird washed, ducking head,
neck and back under the water, and splashing with the wings.
Several times before it had washed its beak, and once was
seen to drink.
It is possible that during the long dive of 170 seconds the
bird put its head up unobserved to breathe, but certainly
the bird did not rise fully to the surface as after every other
dive. There was no boat, nor any other human being within
sight to alarm it. Coward timed the dives of the Great
Northern Diver at 2 and 3 minutes, and on one occasion a
bird “ timed for a quarter of an hour was out of sight for
14J minutes, only remaining on the surface for a second or
two at a time”. It seems therefore by no means impossible
that the dive of 170 seconds recorded by us was made without
any rise to the surface. E. J. M. Buxton,
R. S. Harkness.
NESTING OF FULMAR PETREL ON THE BASS
ROCK AND INCUBATION PERIOD.
Although several Fulmar Petrels (. Fulmarus g. glacialis) have
frequented the Bass Rock for three or four springs, it was not
until last year (1936) that an egg was laid. It disappeared and
was probably destroyed by Herring-Gulls. This year (1937)
two pairs laid, but in one case the egg disappeared. In the
other the egg was laid on May 26th and hatched on July 9th,
making an incubation period of 44 days, as compared with 40
to 41 days in the case of an Orkney bird recorded by me in
these pages (Vol. XXX, p. 194). Unfortunately the nestling
period of the Bass Rock bird could not be taken for comparison,
as the chick perished by falling out of the nest on to a ledge
about 18 feet below. H. W. Robinson.
[There are considerable discrepancies in the observed
incubation periods of the species. Recent observations by
R. Richter give a period of 57 days in one case and between
55 and 57 days in another. — F.C.R.J.]
VOL. XXXI.]
NOTES.
155
KENTISH PLOVER IN NORFOLK.
On September 7th, 1937, on Scolt Head Island, I got within
twenty yards of a Kentish Plover ( Charadrius alexandrinus )
and had a good view of it with my field glasses. It was feeding
in company with Ringed Plover. Judith M. [Ferrier.
ARCTIC, GREAT AND LONG-TAILED SKUAS IN
NORFOLK.
While watching on the east end of Scolt Head Island during
a strong north to north-west wind on September 10th to nth,
I937» I saw a large number of Skuas. On the 10th, during a
four and half hours watch, I counted forty- two and on the
nth in two hours I saw fifty-one. They were passing chiefly
from east to west along the coast and over the sandhills.
There were both dafk and light types of Arctic Skua
( Stercorarius parasiticus) , and among them were eight Great
Skuas (S. s. skua) on the 10th and two on the nth, while on
the 10th I had a good view with my binoculars of one Long-
tailed Skua (S. longicaudus) .
I also saw thirty-five Gannets ( Sula bassana), and seven
Storm- Petrels ( Hydrobates pelagicus ) in the two days.
Judith M. Ferrier.
WATER-RAIL BREEDING IN INVERNESS-SHIRE.
In the Practical Handbook it is stated of the Water-Rail
( Radius a. aquations) that there were few records of nesting in
Scotland and all south of the Grampians. It may therefore be
of interest to give the following details of recent observations
of the bird in Strathspey.
On June 25th, 1936, a female containing eggs was picked up
dead in Strathspey. On August 29th, 1936, a young one about
three weeks old was picked up) dead near the same place.
On August 23rd, 1937, an adult and two young ones were
seen in the same district. The young were probably a week or
ten days old. Winifred M. Ross.
[Although records of actual breeding are still apparently
scarce and therefore welcome, Miss E. V. Baxter and Miss
L. J. Rintoul in their Geographical Distribution and Status of
Birds in Scotland (192S) give the Water-Rail as resident in
Aberdeen, Morayshire (it should have been noted in the
Practical Handbook that it had been recorded many years ago
as breeding several times in Loch Spynie, Elgin) and E. Ross-
shire. A few are also resident in the Outer Hebrides. — Eds.]
BIRDS TAKING MOTHS.
Dr. J. W. Campbell gives several examples ( ante a , p. 122)
of certain species of birds feeding upon moths and the
156
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
following additional examples may be given. The yellow
underwing moth ( Triphcena pronuba) is commonly found
amongst new-made hay and when the hay is unloaded in a
dutch bam the moth is frequently disturbed and on such
occasions both the Robin ( Erithacus r. melophilus) and the
Chaffinch (Fringilla c. ccelebs ) have been seen to take it. The
Yellow Bunting ( Emberiza c. citrinella) has been seen to feed
its nestlings with the common wainscot moth ( Leucania pallens)
whilst the Wren ( Troglodytes t. troglodytes) has been seen to
feed both this moth and the silver y moth ( Plusia gamma)
to its nestlings. R. H. Brown.
SOME BIRDS IN RELATION TO RIFLE-FIRE.
The following facts are worthy of record in view of the fact
that some difference of opinion exists concerning the relation-
ship between birds and rifle-fire.
On a rifle range situated near to the mouth of the Thames
a Mallard ( Anas p. platyrhyncha) has recently (July) been
sitting on a clutch of eggs. All the eggs hatched and the
nine young together with their mother have since gone to a
ditch one hundred and fifty yards away. The nest was built
in long grass, at a distance of twenty-five yards from the firing
point in the direct line of fire of four rifles, firing several
hundred rounds per day. The total length of the range is
six hundred yards and firing is carried on throughout the day
from Monday to Friday and on Saturday until midday.
The rifles are fired either singly or in pairs at intervals of fifteen
seconds. In the case of one rifle at least the shots passed
directly over the nest. This particular case is by no means
the first locally but it is the first time that actual measure-
ments have been taken.
In addition to the Mallard, two pairs of Partridges ( Perdix
p. perdix) have nested at points approximately twenty yards
on either side of the Mallard and in a straight line. One nest
contained fourteen eggs and the other twelve. Both families
were reared successfully and have since been seen running
about on the range while shots were passing over their heads.
Perhaps it should be added that the Partridges’ nests were
just a little distance from a low fence running along either
side of the range.
Until 1936 two pairs of Lapwings ( V anellus v. vanellus)
nested on the same range, and in 1935 a Wood-Pigeon
( Columba p. palumbus) nested in a tree ten yards away
from the same firing point. C. & G. B. Thompson.
NOTES.
157
VOL. XXXI.]
Ninth International Ornithological Congress. — A
provisional programme has now been issued for this Congress
which is to open at Rouen on May 9th, 1938, under the
Presidency of Professor A. Ghigi. Besides the meetings and
receptions at Rouen, there will be short excursions, one of
which is to M. Delacour’s famous aviaries at Cleres, while a
long excursion will be made on Thursday, May 12th, in the
valley of the Seine. The banquet will be held on May 12th
and the Congress will close at Rouen on May 13th. Saturday
and Sunday, May 14th and 15th, will be spent in Paris where
there will be a reception at the Museum and visits to
establishments associated with the Museum. Monday to
Thursday, May 16th to 19th, will be devoted to a long
excursion to the Camargue. Those who desire to join the
Congress should apply for further particulars to Monsieur Jean
Delacour, Chateau de Cleres, Cleres, Seine Infcrieure, France.
Waxwings in Cumberland. — As an addition to the notes
already given ( antea , pp. 86-88) regarding the 1937 immigra-
tion of Waxwings ( Bombycilla garrulus ) Mr. R. H. Brown
sends us details of some in Cumberland. Eight were seen in
the neighbourhood of Cumdivock on March 9th, 1937, six on
the 13th about a mile away and four on the 24th. Mr. Brown
notes that the first flock seen at dusk were sitting motionless
with crests depressed, but presently first one bird then another
erected the crest and trilled a series of high-pitched, rapidly
uttered whistling notes, whereupon the party flew off in a
compact group with heavy direct flight like Starlings.
Red-spotted Bluethroat in Yorkshire in May. — As
the Red-spotted Bluethroat ( Luscinia s. svecica ) is infre-
quently recorded in spring it should be noted that one was
caught in a greenhouse at Whitby on May 13th, 1937 (F.
Snowdon, Nat., 1937, p. 195).
REVIEWS.
Bird Behaviour : A contribution based chiefly on a study of the Black-
headed Gull. By F. B. Kirkman, B.A., Oxon, pp. 232. 30 plates
(Nelson, 7s. 6d. net).
The scope of Mr. Kirkman's work is clearly defined in the sub-title,
but the title, which alone appears on the cover, is a little misleading
without this essential qualification, since it prepares the reader for
something more comprehensive than, in fact, he will find. The book
is in fact, a record of intensive study of the Black-headed Gull,
extending over many years, and as such is excellent, but the whole
218 pages include no more than about 50 references to other birds, and
many of these are mere allusions. It is probably true that the best way
to arrive at some understanding of the behaviour of birds is to
158
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
concentrate primarily on the intensive study of one or a few forms, but
the fact remains that this is a study of one species, and the author
himself stresses in the introduction that it is not offered as a com-
prehensive account of bird behaviour.
If we have ventured to criticize the title, however, this must not be
understood as in the least degree disparaging the contents of the book ;
on the contrary it is a most valuable contribution to a fascinating,
though difficult, subject. The general picture which emerges, of a
creature singularly limited in its capacity to cope with unfamiliar
situations, with little elasticity in its inherited behaviour pattern, and
yet withal not quite so wholly automatic as the “ stupidity ” of some
of its actions might seem to imply, is very much that with which those
who have made a close study of bird behaviour in recent years have
become familiar. But the way in which the picture, so to speak,
gradually shapes itself before the eyes of the reader from the wealth of
careful and critical observational data is extremely instructive, and
no one who wishes to take up the study of the behaviour of birds can
do better than take Mr. Kirkman as his guide. His observations and
experiments have that essential background of sound training in the
principles and methods of animal psychology which more dilettante
students do not always possess and which provide a very necessary
safeguard against the major pitfalls into which the latter are liable to
fall.
A list of some of the chapters will give some idea of the scope, and
the thoroughness, of the treatment; “ settling down in the gullery ”,
‘‘social life in the breeding-season”, “nest-making”, “feeding the
hen and chicks”, “ fear reactions ” , “anger reactions”, “sex reactions”
and others, are descriptive of the normal life of the bird. Others deal
with experiments with egg substitutes and with the “ egg-rolling ”
reaction when eggs are displaced out of the nest, as means of getting
some insight into the mental equipment of the birds.
We could have wished that the single chapter devoted to a com-
prehensive discussion of the “ Mentality of Gulls ” in the light of the
author’s observations could have been expanded, even at the expense
of some curtailment of the mass of what may be called the raw material
of observation. Indeed, we feel that in places some judicious abridge-
ment of the raw facts might have been an advantage, and that a
corresponding expansion of the parts in which they are vicariously
digested for the reader’s benefit would have increased the appeal of
the book to ornithologists who are not specialists in behaviour.
The author rightly stresses throughout the importance of the famous
“Lloyd Morgan principle”, according to which no action is to be
explained in terms of higher mental processes when a lower one will
suffice. We observe in this connexion (pp. 128-133) that Eliot Howard’s
postulate of a mental “recall”, under appropriate stimulation, of
things and places outside the bird’s sensory field at the moment is
considered unnecessary to account, for example, for the bird’s return
to its territory from more or less distant feeding-grounds. It is argued
that in the example mentioned, “ It is not strictly necessary to assume
anything more than (1) readiness to go elsewhere due to satisfaction of
appetite, (2) recognition from the start of the highly significant outer
back”. There is undoubtedly great force in this argument, though we
wonder a little why, when the bird is presumably quite familiar with
the ground in all, or at least in a number of, directions round the
feeding-ground, one alone should be significant unless some vague
“ recall ” of the territory makes it so. A discussion of this intriguing,
VOL. XXXI.]
REVIEWS.
159
but difficult, question would, however, carry us outside the province
of a review. We cannot even, as it is, allude to a tithe of the valuable
observations and conclusions which the author places before the
reader, and we cordially commend his book to all field observers. All
bird-watchers, whether deliberately or not, are students of “behaviour”
though often rather superficial. Mr. Kirkman’s book will help them
to make better use of their opportunities. B.W.T.
A Bird Lover's Britain. By G. K. Yeates. Illustrated. (Philip Allan.)
15s. net.
In this book Mr. Yeates takes us into varied types of country in
many parts of Great Britain and tells us something of the birds he
sees. We thus have chapters on lanes, commons, downs, woods,
marshes, streams, lakes, sea cliffs and coast and peat bogs. Mr. Yeates
writes in an attractive style and his observations are sound. As he
goes along from one bird to another he describes what he sees, and
first-hand observation is always of value even if it is somewhat
superficial. The book is certainly one to awaken interest as it gives an
idea of the birds to be found in very varied types of country and tells
the reader something of their habits. Added to this is a fine series of
photographs well reproduced. These represent sixty-one different
species from a Hedge-Sparrow to a Great Skua. They are all good
and some are very good indeed.
A List of Irish Birds, showing the species contained in the National
Collection. By G. R. Humphreys. 5th Edition, 1937. Dublin :
Stationery Office. 6d.
This “ List ” which gives the names and distribution and status of
the birds found in Ireland, is a very careful and excellent piece of work,
and must not be lost sight of because of its very modest appearance
and price. Comparing it with the last edition produced by Mr. A. R.
Nichols in 1924 we find that Mr. Humphreys has not only brought
the information up to date with critical thoroughness, but has taken
great pains to revise previous doubtful statements.
Since the 1924 list four “ vagrants ” — Subalpine Warbler, Black-
winged Pratincole, Killdeer Plover and Madeiran Fork-tailed Petrel —
have been added ; three — Holboll’s Redpoll, Parrot-Crossbill and
Red-throated Pipit — have been removed as the specimens were found
to have been wrongly identified ; three birds — Short-eared Owl,
Gadwall and Black-throated Diver — have been added as Irish breeding
species and the breeding of Wigeon, Pintail and Pochard have been
placed beyond doubt. Besides these there are a number of minor
changes and additions in sub-species which have been determined as
occurring. Records of ringed birds are also included. Most of the
revisions have been culled from literature, which has been critically
examined, but we find also a number of new and apparently previously
unpublished items here and there. Among these we note records of
Buzzard and Pink-footed Goose, some interesting points on the exten-
sion of breeding range and nesting sites of ducks, Woodcock breeding
on marine islands, new breeding localities for Gulls, including a
Black-headed colony on the coast of Donegal, and one of the Fulmar
on the Wexford coast. The history of the Roseate Tern is interesting
and there are now six or eight colonies on the east coast and in two of
them as many as five hundred pairs have bred in each, in different
years.
Mr. Humphrevs is to be congratulated on a good piece of work for
which ornithologists will be grateful.
160
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
LETTER.
THE FUNCTION OF THE GOLDCREST’S CREST.
To the Editors of British Birds.
Sirs, — In concluding his interesting comments under the above title,
Mr. David Lack puts several questions ( antea , p. 83), and a recent
opportunity I have had of watching at close quarters the pairing of
Goldcrests, enables me to give a reply to one at least of these queries :
“ Is the crest also used in courtship ? ”
My observation was made near my home, in the Charente district
of south-western France and I am simply translating my notes as they
were made at the time :
" 1937, April 16th, 7 p.m. — One of the pair of Goldcrests — which
proved later to be the hen bird — is in a clump of acacias, under the tall
pine trees near the house. The male, which I could hear singing
somewhere in the vicinity, flies into the acacia bush. He flies excitedly
from shoot to shoot almost in a fury, jumping about like a little demon,
and an incredibly large crest, a flame of a beautiful orange-red colour,
is raised at short intervals over his head with a vibrating movement
when it reaches its full expansion. The female seems unconcerned
at first, but soon takes the inviting position and pairing is effected
at once, twice in immediate succession, whilst the crest continues to
be fully displayed during coition.
The male now flies away, the female remaining in the bushes, but a
few seconds later, he comes back again and pairing is effected a third
time, with the same full display of the dazzling crest.”
“ What is the significance of the rather spasmodic autumn singing ?”
is another question put by Mr. D. Lack. It is rather difficult to answer,
and here again I may perhaps record one or two observations. Last
year, between September 20th and 24th, after a period of cold north
winds, and heavy rain falling on September 19th, I heard the spring
notes of the Great Tit and the Chiff-Chaff, the song of the Willow-
Warbler and of the Black Redstart. The Blackcap also bursts into
song spasmodically at that time of the year and in October.
It is true that the autumn song of both Goldcrest and Firecrest is
much more regular and frequent than that of any of the species just
mentioned. I have often heard it on a mild and damp morning when
the wind is light. A sensation of well-being after a period of drought
or cold winds is the only explanation I can suggest for the autumn
song of many species of birds.
Jacques Delamain.
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4
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EDITION of “A Practical Handbook of British Birds”, which has
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• AN IMPORTANT AND ENTIRELY NEW FEATURE of the
book will be the coloured plates, which will depict the species
on the British Lists in many plumages. In all approximately
1,800 birds are shown in the five hundred paintings by the
following artists : Roland Green, H. Gronvold, M. A. Koekkoek,
G. E. Lodge and Philip Rickman.
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Mrs. Alston’s book is not only a useful addition to the present
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new and fascinating but extremely difficult technique of bird-song
recording which Mr. Koch and his collaborators have mastered with
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Contents of Number 6, Vol. XXXI., November i, 1937.
PAGE
Report of the Little Owl Food Inquiry, 1936-37. By Alice
Hibbert-Ware, M.B.O.U. ... ... ... ... ... 162
The Decrease of Blackgame in Dumfriesshire. By Hugh S.
Gladstone ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 188
Notes : —
Rose-coloured Starlings in the British Isles ...
Some Domestic Habits of a Pair of Spotted Fly -catchers
(Stanley Lewis) ...
Barred Warbler in Northumberland (IT. G. Alexander)
Garganey in Northumberland (H. G. Alexander)
Ruffs in Orkney (Dr. G. C. Low)
Flock of Ruffs on Fair Isle (P. A. D. Hollom)...
Marsh-Sandpipers seen in Kent and Sussex (N. F. Ticehurst
and Miss A. Morley)
Sandwich Terns in London (E. G. Pedler)
Skuas and other Birds in the Wash (C. F. Tebbutt) ...
194
194
196
196
196
196
197
198
198
Short Notes : —
Gadwall and Scandinavian Lesser Black-backed Gull in
Somerset. Ruff at Lundy. Little Gulls in Cornwall and
Cambridge. Correction to Review of Bird Behaviour ... 199
Letters : —
The Courtship and Mating of the Goosander (W. L. Colyer) 199
Inquiry as to Song-Periods (H. G. Alexander) ... ... 200
L
(162)
REPORT OF THE LITTLE OWL FOOD INQUIRY.
1936-37.
(ORGANISED BY THE BRITISH TRUST FOR
ORNITHOLOGY.)
BY
ALICE HIBBERT-WARE, M.B.O.U. (Analyst).
REPORT OF THE SPECIAL COMMITTEE.
Late in 1935 it was suggested to the British Trust for Orni-
thology that the differences of opinion which had developed
regarding the normal food of the Little Owl [Athene noctua
vidalii ) would make it very hard for those responsible to take
sound decisions on the question how much, if at all, to protect
this species by law. It was represented that a full and impartial
inquiry was necessary, and the Scientific Advisory Committee
agreed to promote such an inquiry, with the help of Miss
A. Hibbert-Ware, M.B.O.U., who volunteered to undertake
the heavy work of analysis. As it was clear that an investiga-
tion could only be of value if it was carried on according to
unquestionably scientific methods, we were asked to serve
as a Special Committee to decide upon the most suitable
technique and to deal with any difficulties arising on scientific
points.
As the course of the investigation and the methods used
are fully described in the following pages, we can confine
our report within very brief limits. After considering various
alternative methods of analysing the material and presenting
the results, we agreed upon that which Miss Hibbert-Ware
has followed, and are fully satisfied with the scientific accuracy
of the facts recorded, and with the validity of the inferences
drawn.
In view of the wide currency which has been given to
statements that the Little Owl is a wholesale destroyer of
game-chicks, poultry-chicks, and song-birds, every effort was
made through members of the Trust and personal contacts,
through the Press, and through the British Broadcasting
Corporation to obtain all possible evidence of harm of this
nature traceable to the species. Not all those who had been
persistent in repeating vague statements of this nature
proved ready to try to substantiate them, and a separate
investigation had to be carried out during 1937 in order to
give increased scope for the collection of material from game
estates and similar areas likely to yield evidence of damage.
The outcome of these efforts has been to yield proof of only
vol. xxxi ] LITTLE OWL INQUIRY.
163
negligible destruction of game, poultry or wild birds of all
ages, and to show that except in abnormal circumstances
Little Owls feed almost wholly upon such insects, other
invertebrates and small mammals as can be readily picked
up on the ground during the hours of feeding — largely from
dusk in the evening to early morning.
To this conclusion one qualification is necessary, and arises
from the fact that the investigation was confined to the
years 1936 and 1937, when the Little Owl population was
definitely below its highest level. During the period of rapid
multiplication of the species, which seems to have come to
an end some years ago, there may well have been local ten-
dencies to depart from the normal diet owing to the greater
competition for food or a relative lack of the kinds usually
preferred ; this latter condition was, in fact, found to cause
deviations in food habits of Little Owls that had colonized
open islands or shingle, where the normal diet was unobtain-
able.
At the present time, however, it is evident that sweeping
statements about the damage done by the Little Owl have
little justification in fact. Such a conclusion can safely be
reached on the evidence of the present investigation, and it
may be expected to hold good so long as there is no great
alteration in the status or habits of the species. It may be
well to add that this verdict must not be interpreted as an
expression of opinion in favour of the original introduction
of the Little Owl or of foreign birds in general, matters not
within our terms of reference.
No one can read Miss Hibbert-Ware’s Report without
appreciating the enormous amount of careful, arduous and
often unpleasant work which has fallen upon her in the course
of this investigation, and without being impressed by the
number of persons scattered all over the country who have
gone to very considerable trouble in order to help in setting
this difficult question at rest. It would be out of place here
to attempt elaborate compliments to those who have taken
part, but they will have the satisfaction of knowing that
they have had some share in bringing the methods of science
to bear at a point where they were particularly needed and
conspicuously absent at the time when this work was done.
W. E. Colli nge,
J. C. F. Fryer,
F. C. R. Jourdain,
N. B. Kinnear.
164
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
{Miss H I BBERT -WARE'S REPORT .)
Geographical Distribution of the Little Owl.
Local races of the Little Owl are widely distributed over
central and south Europe, N.W. Africa and Egypt to
W. Egypt and S.W. Asia. In Britain the bird was introduced
from Holland. It belongs to the sub-species Athene noctua
vidalii. Previously the species had been recorded only as a
rare visitor.
History of Introduction and Colonization of the Little
Owl in Great Britain.
Charles Waterton (about 1843) attempted to introduce the
Little Owl into Walton Park (Yorks) from Rome, having been
impressed by the fact that “it is much prized by the gardeners
in Italy for its uncommon ability in destroying insects, snails,
slugs, reptiles and mice’’ (Essay on “Civetta”). Apparently
this effort was unsuccessful.
Later, other attempts were made in East Yorkshire,
Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Northamptonshire and Kent, but
only two of the latter were successful. These two introduc-
tions were as follows : —
1. In 1889, after several importations Lord Lilford
discovered a pair breeding at Lilford, near Oundle (Northants).
From that year it multiplied and spread outwards in all
directions from county to county.
2. Between 1874 and 1900 Mr. E. G. B. Meade-Waldo
also made several importations of the Little Owl at Stonewall
Park, Edenbridge (Kent). In 1879 he recorded one breeding
pair. By 1900 the bird had become abundant in Kent and
had spread into the surrounding counties.*
It appears therefore, that it is from these two centres
that the Little Owl eventually spread over the greater part
of England and Wales. It rapidly became a bird of evil
repute and widespread charges were made against it of serious
depredations on song birds and game and poultry chicks. At
the same time, food remains in pellets and gizzards showed
clearly that a considerable part of its food consisted of rodents
and insects, etc., that are detrimental to the agriculturist.
*See “ The Spread of the Little Owl from the Chief Centres of its
Introduction ”, by H. F. Witherby and N. F. Ticehurst : Brit. Birds,
Yol. x, April, 1908.
VOL. XXXI.]
LITTLE OWL INQUIRY.
165
Organization of the Inquiry.
Accordingly, in 1935, the British Trust for Ornithology
decided to undertake a thorough investigation of the economic
status of the Little Owl. It was arranged that the food
remains of the bird derived from every possible source and
every type of country should be examined and analysed*
on a very large scale. The investigation was to be numerical,
i.e., the animals represented among the food remains were
to be counted and collected for future reference. The Report
will show that this was very fully done. The one weak point
was that, in spite of special appeals being made to them,
people interested in game took part in the Inquiry to a very
small extent. Accordingly a second investigation was arranged
by which the analyst’s attention should be completely con-
centrated on material sent from sites where game and poultry
were either preserved or were abundant. This was done during
the nesting season of 1937. The following Report embodies
the results of these investigations, which were begun in
February, 1936, and completed in July, 1937.
It is only by means of careful held work combined
with laboratory work that a just estimate can be obtained
as to whether an animal is deserving of protection or
condemnation. This is especially true of any species of
wild life that has been introduced into a country, to live
possibly under different conditions from those prevailing in
its natural habitat. This Inquiry has been worked with a
view to obtaining facts about the Little Owl, facts in the held
and facts in the laboratory. For this reason it has been
necessary to eliminate from the resulting report all pre-con-
ceived notions based on evidence now impossible to verify
as certain. The Inquiry has accordingly been restricted to
held work, carried on in close touch with laboratory work,
covering a period of one and a half years and including two
nesting seasons. Evidence about the nature of the food drawn
from general correspondence has likewise been confined to
this period, though, by a concession, reports for 1935 sent by
people interested in game-rearing have been included.
Another reason for this restriction is that the Little Owl
appears to be considerably less numerous in some districts
than it was a few years ago. It is obvious that the consequent
enlargement of the food territory of individual pairs might
*The writer already had a considerable experience in work of this
nature, for which see the paper in the Essex Naturalist, 1923, Vol. XX,
pp. 142-50, on “ An Examination of the Gizzard Contents of Certain
Birds”.
166
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
have a marked influence on the nature of their prevalent
food. No game preservers, for instance, have recorded more
than “ possibly six pairs ; it is very common ” for 1937
whereas it is said that “ on one estate in Norfolk 151 were
killed in 1926 and 77 in 1928 ”. In order to discover the bird’s
present economic status, it has been necessary to restrict
evidence to what has been proved about it during the period
of the investigation.
Scope of the Inquiry.
The Inquiry has consisted of two parts : (1) A general
investigation for a full year, from February, 1936 to 1937.
(2) A special game-chick and poultry investigation from
March, 1937, to July 10th.
The General Investigation. 73 helpers sent material to be
analysed from 34 counties and 81 localities (Table 1). This
material consisted of pellets, nest and larder remains and
gizzards. All but a very few of the helpers obtained the
material from haunts of the Little Owl known to them and
they notified this fact on their labels.
These helpers included a group of 20 regular workers who
operated in 15 counties and made a great feature of field
work. They studied the habits of the Little Owl with special
reference to the problems connected with its food. They sent
their records to the writer. Whenever a difficult case involving
circumstantial evidence only occurred, they followed it up.
They gathered material from nests and holes, clearing them
to the base, and collected pellets from known roosting and
feeding haunts.
The result of the combined effort of the field workers is
that 2,460 pellets have been analysed, the material from
76 nests and holes has been examined and the gizzard contents
of 28 Little Owls have been identified. The combined results
furnish the numerical data of the investigation.
A large number of correspondents sent records of their
experiences of the Little Owl, but no material. These were
valuable and have been included in the Report, provided that
they belong to the period February, 1936 to 1937. The
numerical results of the investigation are, however, exclusively
confined to material that has been examined by the writer.
vol. xxxi.] LITTLE OWL INQUIRY.
167
TABLE i.
Counties and Localities from which Food Material was sent.
Part
I.
County.
Locality.
County.
Locality.
1. Bedfordshire
Bedford
18. Leicestershire
Market
2. Berkshire
Newbury
Harborough
3. Buckinghamshire Olney
Lough-
4. Cambridgeshire
Abington
borough
Girton
19. Middlesex
Hillingdon
Hildersham
20. Monmouthshire
Abergavenny
Histon
Bassaleg
Knapwell
21. Norfolk
Old
Milton
Hunstanton
Longstanton
Woodbast-
Over
wick
Sawston
22. Northampton-
Addington
Swaffham
shire
Landbeach
23. Nottinghamshire Bingham
5. Carmarthenshire
Abercorran
24. Northumberland
Gunnerton
6. Cheshire
Gawsworth
25. Radnorshire
Llanbister
Warrington
26. Shropshire
Ludlow
Stockport
Wellington
7. Cornwall
W. Looe
27. Somersetshire
Bruton
8. Denbighshire
Corwen
28. Staffordshire
Trentham
9. Derbyshire
Derby
29. Suffolk
Barton Mills
10. Devon
Plymouth
Brandon
Roburgh
Ipswich
11. Dorset
Beaminster
Lavenham
12. Essex
Chelmsford
Mildenhall
Harold Wood
Saxmundham
Hedingham
30. Surrey
Fetcham
Castle
Godaiming
Little
Goodwood
Burstead
Limpsfield
Quendon
Wimbledon
Waltham
Common
Abbey
Wimbledon
13. Hampshire
Shanklin
Golf Links
(Isle of Wight)
Wisley
14. Hertfordshire
Bricket Wood
Woking
Bushey
31. Sussex
Burwash
Heath
Fittleworth
St. Albans
Seaford
15. Huntingdon-
Brington
Rye
shire
Winwick
32. Wiltshire
Aldbourne
16. Kent
Ashford
33. Worcestershire
Bredon Hill
Stockbury
Malvern
Tenterden
Dudley
17. Lancashire
Castleton
34. Yorkshire
Barnsley
Bolton Percy
Filey
Wakefield
Numerical Status of the Little Owl.
Four sources have been tapped for estimates of the
numerical status of the Little Owl from 1935 to 1937.
168
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
(i) Eleven of the regular observers have made a census for
a half or three-quarter mile radius, from one of the haunts
they have had under observation. In several cases this has
been very exact, accompanied by a survey map of that part
of the district. Hence these results provide a very certain
record. Moreover they come from widely separated points
of England. (2) Records drawn from correspondents’ letters.
These have their value in that they are first-hand impressions,
not intended for publication, of people interested in the Little
Owl. They refer, of course, to localities very limited in
extent. (3) Records drawn from the forms sent by Mr.
Middleton to be filled in by observers in many parts of the
British Isles. It should be understood that some of these
forms were collected from the outside edge of the bird’s area,
more with the intention to discover whether it is spreading
northwards and westwards than to find the present
numerical status in areas already populated by it. This list
is valuable in that it shows that the species is still almost
unknown in Scotland, Northumberland, Cumberland and
in parts of Yorkshire and Wales. (4) A few Reports are
given from Local Natural History Transactions for 1936.
In this year, on the suggestion of the British Trust for
Ornithology, a number of regional and local societies chose
the species for special study.
Census made within (approximately) a Half-mile Radius.
Milton (Cambs.) : “ 2 nests in a {-mile radius.”
Girton (Cambs.) : “ 2 nests in a {-mile radius.”
Shaugh (Devon) : " Two families within {-mile west of Guest
House.”
Castleton (Lancs.) : “ No others within p-mile. Mine was an isolated
pair.”
Osgathorpe (Leics.) : “ 3 pairs on this farm of 105 acres, 1 mile
square with a ring fence. Little Owl common in Charnwood
Forest.”
Wellington (Shrops.) : ” 4 pairs on this estate. Taking the castle as
a centre, all are well within a 3-mile radius. Little Owl common
here.”
Ludlow (Shrops.) : One pair per {-mile approximately.
Mildenhall (Suffolk) : 2 nests within {-mile. No increase during
the past 3 seasons in this district.
Limpsfield (Surrey) : 3 nests within a f-mile radius. 2 of them were
400 yards apart, the third rather over a mile away. A circle of
1 {-miles radius includes 4 nests.
Seaford (Sussex) : 3 pairs in a radius of {-mile.
Wakefield (Yorks.) : “ The area surveyed was i{ square miles. The
Little Owl population (breeding pairs) was 3. During the taking
of the Census in 1937 an area of {-mile radius from each breeding
tree was explored to discover additional pairs if possible. None
were found.”
vol. xxxi ] LITTLE OWL INQUIRY.
169
Summary of Statements from Correspondents’ Letters.
1. Little Owl common or increasing.
Bucks. (High Wycombe) : Many Little Owls in this district.
Berks. (Newbury) : Common here.
Carmarthen (Abercorran) : Increasing among the sandhills.
Dorset (Evershot) : Numerous.
Kent (Tenterden) : Common. 2-3 pairs per Tmile radius.
Somerset (Banwell) : The bird is quite common round here.
Staffs. (Burton-on-Trent) : Fairly common.
Sussex (Burwash) : Common.
,, (East Grinstead) : Plenty here.
Yorks (Bolton Percy, West Riding) : Not uncommon.
,, (Copmanthorpe, West Riding) : Increased during last 5 years.
2. Little Owl scarce or decreasing.
Berks. (Abingdon) : Have seen none round here.
Cambs. (Wilburton) : Much less common than formerly.
Devon (Roburgh) : Have decreased almost to point of extinction.
Hants. (Ventnor, I.W.): The last 5 or 6 years has decreased and now
I never hear it.
,, (Shanklin, I.W.) : Not nearly as many as a few years back.
,, (Swanmore, Southampton) : Scarcer. Here only one pair.
Kent (Maidstone) : Not many and those almost always in orchards.
Lines. (Gainsborough) : Not many.
Merioneth (Aberdovey) : Decreased during last three years.
Northants. (Northampton) : Rather scarce in this locality.
Oxon (Goring) : Fairly scarce. When found, shot.
Yorks. (Filey, North Riding): Not in numbers to constitute a menace.
,, (Leeds, West Riding) : None near Harewood, the district
I “ work ” for birds.
Reports on Forms Collected by Mr. Middleton in 1936.
Anglesey : Still a rare bird.
Carmarthen (Llangadock) : Only one seen during year.
Cumberland (Windermere) : None seen in this district.
Denbigh (Wrexham) : None.
Devon (Barnstaple) : No Little Owls.
Hants. (West Wickham) : Little Owls are decreasing in numbers.
Kent (Charing) : Number seems to be on the decrease.
Lancashire (Preston) : Never heard of one in the district.
Montgomery (Welshpool) : None to record.
Northumberland (Belford) : None.
Notts. (S. Notts, generally) : Have observed very few.
Oxon (Woodstock) : None near Wootton.
Shropshire (Oswestry) : Rarely seen here.
Somerset (Frome) : Not present in this district.
Surrey (Camberley) : None in district.
Sussex (Five Ashes) : Very few to be seen now.
,, (Crawley) : Numbers now negligible.
Yorks. (Whitby, North Riding': Becoming rare.
,, (Goathland, North Riding) : A great rarity.
,, (Settle, West Riding) : Never seen or heard in this district.
,, (Skelmanthorpe, West Riding) : Have only known of two
Little Owls in this district during 60 years.
,, (Skipton, West Riding) : None.
,, (Kirkby Underdale, Fast Riding) : Not many.
170
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
Local County Reports Recently Published.
Berks. : Certainly not increasing (Oxon Report, 1936).
Bucks. : Common and stable in parts. Decreasing in a few (Oxon
Report, 1936).
Herts. : Has become comparatively scarce in many districts of
W. Herts. (Trans. Herts. N.H. Soc. Report on Birds for 1935).
Oxon : During last seven years numbers seem more or less stable
(Oxon Report, 1936).
Somerset : Common. Increasing in Exmoor district.
Though it cannot be inferred from the above lists that the
Little Owl is decreasing as a species throughout the British
Isles, nevertheless it is clear that it is not nearly so common
in some localities as it once was. For the district round Girton
the writer can speak with authority, for she has known
every nest in a half-mile radius for the past six years. In
1932 there were six ; in 1937 two. Nor in this case is the
decrease probably due either to the gun or to building
operations, for the gun is seldom used in the district and
the previous nest sites were not on land now occupied by
houses. Mr. Howard Lancum mentions that at Roburgh
(Devon), “ Little Owl now appears to be nearly extinct”.
From the Isle of Wight where the bird was once very frequent,
the reports are the same and a study of the lists shows a
similar decrease in other localities as in Kent and Surrey.
When watching from the train or car, it is a far less common
sight than it was a few years ago to see Little Owls perched
on posts, tree stumps and telegraph wires.
There is some evidence to show that the Little Owl itself
may be largely responsible for this apparent diminution.
The helpers had not been asked to give details of the numbers
of eggs, or young in the nests they observed, but fortunately
several of them did so. Of 17 records received, six nests
contained two eggs or young, six nests had three, and five
nests had four. As the numbers were usually greater a few
years ago,* these figures point to the probable conclusion
that the Little Owl is not increasing at the same rate that
it did during the first years of its colonization.
* This was confirmed in the following note sent me by the Rev.
F. C. R. Jourdain: —
“ A point which should be taken into consideration is the diminution
in the rate of reproduction which appears to have taken place of late
years. From reference to diaries I find that about 1902-5 in Northamp-
tonshire four or five was about the normal clutch, while sets of six
occurred fairly frequently, and I have several records of seven eggs.
Nine young were reported on good authority in one nest in Derbyshire.
At the present time the average clutch is probablv about three, and
fours are not infrequently met with, so that the decrease in the average
number of young reared must be considerable.”
vol. xxxi.] LITTLE OWL INQUIRY.
171
It is important to realize that a decrease in numbers may
have a distinct influence on the nature of the food of a bird
by increasing the amount available to it of the natural food
of the species.
The Field Work of the Regular Observers.
(Inquiry — Part I.)
Table 2 and the notes that follow will show that the general
investigation has been of a very comprehensive nature from
every point of view. The field workers volunteered their
help mainly in response to (1) an appeal from the Trust,
(2) a broadcast by the (3) an article in the Zoo
magazine.
The Areas worked
County
and District.
1. Berkshire,
Newbury.
2. Cambridgeshire,
Longstanton.
3. Cambridgeshire,
Milton.
4. Cambridgeshire,
Girton.
5. Carmarthenshire,
Laugharne.
6. Devon,
Plymouth
(Shaugh).
7. Essex,
Harold Wood and
Little Bursted.
8. Herts.,
St. Albans.
9. Lancashire,
Castleton.
10. Leicestershire,
Loughborough
(Osgathorpe).
1 1 . Leicestershire,
Market Harboro’
(East Farndon).
12. Norfolk,
Old Hunstanton.
TABLE 2.
by Regular Field
Type of Country
and Little Owl Sites.
Observers. Part I.
Game or Poultry
near Sites.
13. Shropshire,
Wellington.
14. Shropshire,
Ludlow.
Park and field.
Feeding haunts of
2 pairs.
Fen and river
meadows.
Holes in trees.
Fields by village.
Nests and holes.
Sandhills.
Grassfields and hedges
4 feeding haunts.
Farmland.
Feeding haunts of
2 pairs.
Farmland (near
woods) .
3 nests.
Poultry farm.
Nest in farm garden.
Estate.
Nest in old building.
Poultry farm.
Nest against
farmhouse.
Field.
Nest.
Field bordering
game estate.
Feeding haunts of
one pair.
Apley Castle Estate.
4 nests.
Orchard.
2 nests.
Poultry.
Poultrv.
Poultrv.
Game preserve. Wild
game. Poultry.
Poultry on large scale.
None.
Poultry on large scale.
Game preserve.
Wild game.
Wild game.
Wild game.
172
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
County
and District
15. Suffolk,
Mildenhall. '
16. Surrey,
Old Woking.
17. Surrey,
Limpsfield and
Lingfield.
18. Sussex,
Seaford .
19. Yorkshire,
Wakefield .
20. Yorkshire,
Barnsley
(Kexborough).
21. Worcestershire,
Dudley (Gornal).
Type of Country
and Little Owl Sites.
Field. Garden.
2 nests.
River meadows.
1 nest and holes.
Woods.
6 nests.
Downs.
Feeding haunts of
3 pairs (or 2).
Bretton Park Estate.
3 nests and many
holes.
Park and pasture.
2 feeding haunts.
Farmland on Himley
Hall Estate.
1 nest and feeding
haunt.
Game or Poultry
near Sites.
Wild game.
Wild game.
Wild game.
Poultry on one site.
Game preserve.
Game preserve and
poultry near one site.
Wild game on both .
Poultry.
Wild game.
The numbers refer to the Districts, as do those in the list of Workers,
to follow.
THE REGULAR FIELD WORKERS, WITH NOTES OF THEIR WORK.
1. Mr. G. Brown, Newburjo Sent Little Owls at intervals
for gizzard investigation.
2. Mr. M. Goodchild, King’s School, Cambridge. Collected
pellets regularly from feeding haunts at his home at Long-
stanton, Cambs., and also at Brington and Winwick, Hunts.
3. Mr. K. Humphries, Milton. Collected pellets and
“ larder ” contents.
4. Girton Field Club. Collected pellets and cleared nests.
5. Mr. J. F. Thomas, Laugharne. Visited 4 feeding
haunts very frequently during April to May and August,
1936. Pellets collected were rich in insect remains especially
from the sandhills. Sites worked : (1) on inner edge of sand-
hills, near rough grassland ; (2) grass fields and hedges ;
(3) valley with stream and grass fields.
6. Mrs. Babb, Shaugh (Plymouth). Visited two feeding
haunts daily, to observe the birds and collect pellets, from
July to December, 1936. “ The near haunt, J mile from the
house, was used by 4 fully fledged young birds and parents.
They stayed in fields early morning and evening. At night
they came on to the moor. This family was on Collard farm.
J mile away on another farm was another family. The pellets
were gathered from granite posts, boulders and trees.” These
pellets were remarkable for their insect contents and large size.
7. Mr. R. Warren and Brentwood School Field Club.
Mr. Warren made several clearances of 2 nests and holes
vol. xxxi. J LITTLE OWL INQUIRY.
173
at Harold Wood and also interesting observations of food
habits. He and his school club also cleared a nest and holes
at Little Burstead several times.
8. Mr. A. Dickinson, St. Albans. Sent pellets from nest
and also valuable records of observations of Little Owls made
on his poultry farm.
9. Mr. H. S. L. Uttley, Castleton. Collected pellets at
intervals from nest in wall of ruined building. “ An isolated
pair in an industrial district.” “ I have seen the birds flying
about at all times of day.”
10. Mr. C. H. Smith, Osgathorpe (Leics.). Sent pellets and
material from nest on his poultry farm, together with valuable
records of observations made during two nesting seasons.
11. Mr. A. Bevin, Market Harborough. Sent pellets at
intervals from and under nesting hole in oak.
12. Miss Johnson, Old Hunstanton. Collected pellets and
material from a feeding haunt on edge of an estate from
September 3rd to end of October, 1936.
13. Mr. A. O. Rolls, Wellington (Shrops.). Made observa-
tions on habits and collected material from 4 nests on Aplev
Castle Estate during two nesting seasons. Wild game
abounded round the nest sites.
14. I)r. A. H. Zair, Ludlow. Sent pellets and records
through the nesting season of 1936. “ The nest was situated
in an orchard surrounded by fields. There were partridges,
pheasants and wild ducks in the owls’ radius.”
15. Mr. A. Grantham, Mildenhall. Sent material from
2 nests and haunts from a field and a wooded garden. Con-
stantly spoke of the large numbers of wild game breeding in
the field. Made careful observations on Little Owls’ habits.
16. Mr. D. G. Pumfrett, Old Woking. Collected much
material from a “ breeding hole in a willow about 20 yards from
the River Wey”. The hole was 10 feet from ground and
from 18-24 inches long. Frog remains very abundant in nest.
Pellets, wings, etc., also sent from entrance to rabbit burrows.
Observations were continued throughout the year of Inquiry.
1 7. Mr. K. R. Chandler, Limpsfield and Lingfield. Had
5 nests under observation in 1936. Sent copious material
from them, finally clearing some of them to the base.
18. Mr. J. F. Thomas, Seaford. Visited three feeding haunts
twice weekly (except during holidays) for a full year. “ The
sites are all chalk valleys with one side steep.” One site, the
gateway of an old barn, had chickens near by on both sides.
Frequently found pellets at the mouth of rabbit holes. The
Seaford pellets were remarkable on account of their rich
insect contents at all seasons.
174
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
19. Mr. J. C. S. Ellis, Bretton Park, Wakefield. Observed
the nests and feeding haunts of 3 pairs from March, 1936, to
July, 1937, and a fourth site in 1936. These sites were on
Viscount Allendale’s estate, strictly preserved for game in
1936, not so in 1937. The sites were worked with great
thoroughness and with the friendly collaboration of the
keepers. Every possible hole was explored, the observer
being obliged sometimes to use his fingers as pincers to
procure the material therein. Every problem was tackled in
the field and discussed by correspondence. Every feather
found was examined and identified either by the analyst
or at the British Museum. The sites in Haigh Wood, Bretton
Park, Hoyland Bank and Estate Office were all the same type
of country, and the nests in the first three were in an oak near
a running stream or swamp. The fourth nest was not found,
though the site was clearly a feeding haunt. One site was
400-500 yards from the Pheasant field, 1936 ; two were
| to f mile and the fourth was on the edge of it.
20. Miss Falwasser, Barnsley. In May and June, 1936,
collected pellets and food remains from two Little Owl
haunts, i.e., at Kexborough and Cannon Hall Park, near
Barnsley. These remains showed a preponderance of rodents.
21. Mrs. Ayre, Gornal (Dudley). Made observations from
April to December, 1936. Was impressed by fact that the
young birds followed the cattle as they moved to fresh
grazing, finally returning with the cattle. Sent many pellets
from and under nest. “ The Owls are on the edge of the
Black Country. On three sides are slag heaps. Their field is
the beginning of open country towards Shropshire. Himley
Hall is a mile away. Domestic fowl are reared 50 yards from
the nest, a few ducks 200 yards away. Also there are three
Partridge nests within a radius of 50 yards from the pellet
tree.” The Owls’ nest was found in a tree in the same place,
just after this was written.
The Game-Chick and Poultry Investigation.
(Part 2.)
The investigation consisted largely of the examination of
the gizzards of Little Owls shot on game estates (see Table 3).
The results are shown in Table 6. Nest or larder contents
and pellets were sent from three new localities and from four
of the 1936 sites.
The laboratory work in Part II was of a very intensive
character. An extremely close search was made with the
help of the microscope and reagents for possible hidden
traces of game or poultry chicks.
vol. xxxi.] LITTLE OWL INQUIRY.
175
TABLE 3.
Details of Inquiry. Part II.
County, District,
Sender.
Bucks.,
Olney.
Miss G. Savory.
Cheshire,
Wimslow.
Mr. E. Cohen.
Cheshire,
Nr. Macclesfield.
Mr. R. E. Knowles.
Derbyshire,
Radburne.
Capt. \V. K. Marshall,
Essex,
Harold Wood.
Mr. R. Warren.
Gloucestershire,
Lechlade.
Mr. H. L. Elwell.
Herefordshire,
St. Weonards.
Mr. S. C. Denison.
Hereford,
Garway.
Brig. -Gen. T. H. F.
Bate.
Leicestershire,
Osgathorpe.
Mr. C. H. Smith.
Middlesex,
S. Harrow.
Mr. G. A. Shave.
Shropshire,
Bridgnorth.
Miss F. Pitt.
Type of Country. Material sent for
A nalysis.
Grass and woodland. Pellets.
Many wild partridges.
A few pheasants.
Farmland, with lap- Pellets and material
wings, partridges, from “ larder”,
snipe, etc.
Game Estate, 1 Gizzard.
(Swythamley).
Radburne Hall Estate. Pellets and nest
No preserving but wild material .
game near nest site.
Border of game
estate.
Ampney St. Peter
Game Estate.
Treago Castle
Game Estate.
Game Estate.
Poultrv Farm.
Shropshire,
Wellington.
Mr. A. O. Rolls.
Surrey,
Old Woking.
Mr. D. G. Pumfrett
Surrey,
Limpsfield.
Mr. K. R. Chandler.
Yorkshire,
Wakefield.
Mr. J. C-. S. Ellis.
Pheasant and par-
tridges preserved
and poultry reared
within J mile from
field containing
nest, site near a
30-acre wood.
Apley Castle Estate
(much wild game) .
Nest in tree in damp
meadow. Wild
game abundant.
Nests in wooded
country. Some
wild game.
Bretton Park Estate.
Nest material.
19 Gizzards.
2 Gizzards.
3 Gizzards.
Records of nesting
season.
1 Gizzard.
Gizzards,
from nest.
Pellets
Pellets.
Nest clearance
pellets.
Nest clearance
pellets.
and
and
Pellets and full records
of observations.
176
BRITISH BIRDS.
LVOL. XXXI.
The general features of the three kinds of material collected
for analysis, i.e., pellets, nest and larder contents and gizzards
are now described.
Pellets.
A pellet or food-casting consists of the indigestible parts
of the food which are evacuated from the gizzard (stomach)
by way of the gullet and bill. A typical owl pellet consists
of a neat packet of such objects as fur, feather, bones and the
hard chitinous parts of insects.
Typical Little Owl pellets ( Plate ) are from 3-4 cm. long by
1.3 cm. wide (1J-1J by J inch). They are sometimes consider-
ably shorter or longer but the girth is always much the same.
Autumn pellets, composed almost entirely of insects, are
frequently over 5 cm. (2 inches) whereas soil pellets containing
earwigs, etc., are often less than 3 cm. They are usually
rounded at the ends, though occasionally one end is narrowed
almost to a thread. As this is very usual with Kestrels’
pellets, great care has been taken and if more than one
pellet in a batch has shown this feature, the set has been
rejected, unless it came direct from a Little Owl’s nest.
Pellets of the Kestrel have a narrower girth than those of
Little Owl and are usually harder and more compact.
No confusion is likely between the pellets of Little Owl
and those of any bird except Kestrel. The Little Owl has
been found only rarely to swallow stones and never more
than one or two. Pellets containing stones have, therefore,
all been rejected as those of Crow, Jackdaw or Magpie. Pellets
of other species of owls are invariably larger both in girth
and length and so gave no trouble, though they were
frequently sent as those of Little Owl. ( Plate. )
A typical pellet weighs 1.2 to 1.3 grams. It was interesting
to find that this was the case, whatever were the constituents.
Exceptionally large or small pellets naturally varied slightly
from normal weight. All the batches were thoroughly dried
and the weights recorded, but as no useful purpose has
apparently been served by so doing, the weights are omitted
from the Report.
The appearance of a pellet foreshadows its probable con-
tents. A rodent or bird pellet is grey and soft. Frequently
the fur or feather is so comminuted that it requires a micro-
scope to detect its structure. More often it is distinguishable
at once, though both fur and feather may be present in the
same pellet. A game or poultry chick pellet is quite unlike one
composed of any other kind of bird. The absence of grey feather
vol. xxxi.] LITTLE OWL INQUIRY.
177
and the presence of light-coloured down produces a light
yellowish brown pellet, different in aspect from all others.
Such was the case with all results of the Zoo and Guildford
experiments (described later) and with the two pellets from
Mildenhall containing a wild game-chick. The down in all
these pellets formed a close envelope unlike the soft grey
covering found in those composed of other birds.
Insect pellets are either wholly composed of chitinous frag-
ments, in which case they are dark in colour and loose in
texture, or more often the beetles, etc., are embedded in a
matrix of dung, soil, moss or grass. Usually a rodent and
bird pellet also contains, fragments of beetles.
To get an accurate numerical record it is necessary to
analyse any one gathering from the same site as a batch, not
individually. Especially during the nesting season, the jaws
of a mouse, for example, may be found in one pellet, the bones
in two others and the fur in several. Very careful sorting and
pairing have had to be done. Diagnostic parts that are usually
present, such as the jawbones and tibia of mammals, humerus
and femur of birds, femurs of Geotrapes (dor beetle), heads of
carabids andstaphylinids, elytra and thorax of Agriotes (click
beetle) have been collected from any one batch, compared
with other parts present and then counted. Birds in pellets
present a difficulty in that the bill and quills are seldom
swallowed, hence though easily recorded as “ birds " the
species can sometimes not be named. But during the nesting
season, the remains of the same bird were generally found in
nest, larder and pellets and were therefore identifiable by
matching bones in pellets with wings and quills in the other
places. A Little Owl usually has more than one pellet-evacu-
tion site. Mr. J. F. Thomas had several for each of the three
Little Owls he observed. He visited the spots twice weekly,
often saw the bird and frequently found Little Owl feathers
amongst the pellets. Occasionally he found some at the base
of a post from which he knew that the bird watched for prey.
He writes : “ Genuine Little Owl pellets are always found
under perches with a distinct view, in fact, now when looking
for pellets, I disregard all places except where a branch runs
parallel to the hedge giving a view of the open. Mr. A. Grant-
ham gives a lucid account of the method by which pellets can
be located. “ In each case I have seen the birds in the locality
during the day and have proved that when seen like this they
are never far from their general haunts. The next point is to
locate the nearest group of large and partly decayed trees.
Then a very close search of the ground beneath these usually
M
178
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
results in the finding of pellets. The enclosed pellets are the
result of several weeks study in this method as I saw a Little
Owl a few weeks ago \ mile from the actual spot I visited
yesterday. It led me to discover some old elms and a grass
paddock at the rear of a house. I obtained permission to
search beneath these trees and found besides these pellets,
the nesting hole containing young birds. I found no pellets
around the nesting tree but beneath trees in close proximity.’ ’
(The sitting bird and nestlings evacuate into the nest
itself, hence the difficulty of some workers in finding pellets
beneath the nest. Also, midsummer herbage often hides any
that may have been dropped below the tree.)
During August and September young birds apparently
drop pellets on any spot whilst hunting. Large insect pellets of
young birds can be found daily on a field in Girton during
these months and there are similar records from elsewhere.
Periodicity of Pellet-evacuation.
To this problem there is no certain solution to offer. No
observer has been able to watch a Little Owl in the act of
ejecting a pellet. Mr. J. F. Thomas found six pellets in seven
days in a shed on the Downs in March, but others may have
been evacuated elsewhere and as the bird deserted the spot
no further records were made. Mrs. Babb collected pellets at
Shaugh from the same place daily for many weeks, but the
young had left the nest, so it was impossible to gauge how
many birds were responsible. Captive Little Owls have been
proved to evacuate one (or two small ones) daily. From the
scanty traces of food in many of the gizzards of birds shot by
day, it seems likely that a pellet is evacuated after the night’s
feeding and before the bird becomes inert by daylight. The
immense number of insects that are active by night found in
single pellets also suggests that the pellet resulting from the
night’s feeding is evacuated before day. The number of such
insects found in gizzards have only rarely equalled those
found in single pellets.
Nests and “ Larders”.
Some Little Owls take their larger prey to a hole, such as
a rabbit burrow, tunnel among tree roots or a hole in a tree
stump and there prepare it for the young. Wings and portions
of the bodies of birds and mammals are usually found in such
holes. They are known as “ larders ” but they appear to be
primarily used for “ carving ” purposes. As the freshly
procured food is sometimes found in it awaiting use, the term
vol. xxxl] LITTLE OWL INQUIRY.
179
“ larder ” is partly suitable but it does not appear to be used
for food storage. This subject will, however, be dealt with
later in the Report.
Other Little Owls appear to take their food direct to the
nest, possibly because there is no suitable hole near at hand.
In such cases the nest contents consist of three layers : —
(1) The fresh or partly used rodent and bird food.
(2) Below this are the wings, tail quills and legs of birds
(occasionally a beak or head), bones of mammals and frogs
and elytra of cockchafers and dor beetles.
(3) Reaching to the base is a thick layer of debris represent-
ing the crushed pellets and faeces, sometimes of more than
one season, mixed with woody fibre and humus.
It is impressive that in the nest and holes are found the
remains of larger prey than usually occur in food castings at
other times of year, e.j/., large rats and medium-sized rabbits.
The largest birds recorded in 1936, namely Mistle-Thrush
and Lapwing, also occurred during the nesting season only.
Even the beetles, found in large numbers in nest debris,
are mostly large species. Cockchafers and dor beetles are
the most frequent and stag beetles are not uncommon
locally. No proof has been found in the nest contents that
delicate food in the form of passerine nestlings, chicks or
young rodents is taken by preference as food for the young.
All is grist that comes to the mill and the larger the grist
the better. Such is the evidence of the nests and larders.
The contents of a nest are not a pleasant sight. One bird
makes a big splash and a mass of wings, feathers and legs
looks more like a shambles than it really is when pieced
together. The following lists of nest contents (Table 4) may
be taken as typical of those of most nests, for there is little
variety in the food remains found in any of them.
“ Roughage.”
Strange objects are frequently found in nests and holes,
such as horse, cow and goat hair and tufts of feathers of
adult poultry fowls. These have probably been collected as
“ roughage ” to clean out the gizzard and to provide the
pellet matrix when soft food, such as earthworms, has been
used.
It is well known that captive birds of prey must be provided
with such objects for health’s sake. The presence of a few
feathers of large birds in nests and holes when there are no
other traces in the form of bones, legs or heads can only be
accounted for in this way. For instance, pigeon’s feathers
are easily obtained almost anywhere on the ground and the
180
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
TABLE 4.
Contents of Eight Nests.
Lavenham
(Suffolk)
Little
Burstead
(Essex)
Old Woking
(Surrey)
Limps field
(Surrey)
Nest 1
*Shanklin
I. of Wight
♦Radburne
(Derby)
‘Bridgnorth
(Shropshire)
Limpsfield
(Surrey)
Nest 5
Dates of
May 16
June 6
June 21
July 7
June 1
May to
June,
1937
June 24
June 18
Clearance
27
20
>. 29
1936
1937
1937
Mammals :
Rabbit . . .
2
I
I
Rat
2
I
I
I
—
—
I
Mouse
14
—
I
6
I
3
I
Vole
5
4
3
9
2
2
I
I
Shrew
3
1
2
I
—
—
—
—
Mole
—
I
—
—
—
2
Birds :
Starling . . .
7
6
2
5
_
4
I
2
Blackbird
—
3
I
2
—
I
I
Song-Thrush
1
2
2
1
I
—
I
I
Mistle-
Thrush...
1
House-
Sparrow
1
2
__
_
Chaffinch...
1
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
Skylark . . .
1
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
Jay
—
1
—
—
—
—
—
—
Reptiles &■
Amphibians :
Lizard
2
Frog
—
—
Many
1
—
—
—
—
Insects and
other
Invertebrates
Melolonthids
39
64
12
7
8
27
Scarabseids
3
2
1
34
2
10
7
II
Staphylinids
1
7
—
—
—
Carabids ...
61
24
40
52
—
—
—
7
Necro-
phorids
.
1
8
2
Elaterids
6
2
—
7
2
—
—
Curculionids
15
—
9
8
4
—
—
—
Millipedes
Many
—
—
Many
—
—
—
Woodlice
Many
—
—
Many
—
—
—
—
Earthworms
Many
Many
—
Many
—
—
—
Many
* Only the upper layer of this nest was collected.
vol. xxxl] LITTLE OWL INQUIRY.
181
remains of a plucked chicken, so often found near a farm,
provide good material for “ roughage”.
It is clear that nest holes and larder holes should be studied
together if an accurate estimate of the food is to be obtained.
In most cases the observers have found and cleared both.
In such cases the analyst has had to be careful not to count
the same bird or rodent twice or even three times. The wings
of a bird are frequently found in a larder, the tail quills, legs
and sometimes head in the nest and the smaller feathers and
bones in pellets in or under the nest. In the same way parts
of the carcass of a large rat may be left in the larder, other
parts in the nest, whilst some of the bones, including the
jaws, may occur in pellets. The parts of the larger prey must
therefore be very carefully pieced together. Another difficulty
is that feathers undergo rapid deterioration in the nest and
may become frayed and discoloured very rapidly, due to both
mechanical and chemical action within the nest.
The presence of birds’ wings in the nest does not always
mean that no larder hole has been used. Mr. C. H. Smith
records for the pair under his close observation : “ I have
been watching the nest hole and also the larder every day.
As the four young birds are nearly a fortnight old, all the food
is now taken direct to the nesting hole. There has been
nothing in the larder for the last four days.” He had found
that during the earlier stages, including incubation, the
larder had been largely used for carving purposes. Certainly
in this case the use of a larder marked the earlier stages of
breeding. When the parents became extremely busy the food
was taken direct to the nest.
The Nest after the Nesting Season.
The nesting hole continues, at least with some Little Owls,
to yield food remains after the young birds have left it. A
Limpsheld nest, for instance, that was thoroughly cleared on
July 7th showed on September 4th this remarkable
assemblage :
Rabbits, 1 ; Rats, 4 ; Mice, 5 ; Voles, 3 ; Shrews, 2 ;
Starlings, 3 ; Blackbirds, 1 ; Song-Thrush, 1 ; Frogs, 1; (Beetles)
Melolonthids, 13 ; Scarabaeids, 4 ; Staphylinids, 6 ; Carabids,
829 ; Necrophorids, 2 ; Elaterids, 16 ; Curculionids, 4 ;
Cerambycidids, 7 ; Lucanidids, 9.
Of the Carabids 705 were the genus Pterostichus and
almost entirely P. madidus.
This list probably marks the transition between the normal
food of the nesting season and that of the rest of the year.
182
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
It is from August onwards that insects predominate over
every other kind of food. It is not known whether it is the
juvenile birds or adults or both that use the nest for feeding
purposes when its primary function is over nor for how long
this practice is continued.
Gizzard Contents. Parts i and 2.
A study of the contents of the 51 gizzards examined during
the whole Inquiry shows that : —
(1) There is no striking difference to be found in the
contents of gizzards sent from all types of country during
Part 1 of the Inquiry and those from game estates in Part 2.
(2) There is an increase in the number of small rodents in
Part 2 of the Inquiry. This is common to all material received
in 1937, including the districts from which material was also
sent in 1936.
(3) One only of the 51 gizzards contained a pellet ready for
evacuation, 25 contained enough fresh material to justify the
conclusion that a pellet was in process of formation. The
other 25 were practically empty. A few particles, mere
“ left-overs ” from the last evacuation, sometimes enabled
identifications to be made. Examples of such fragments were
the rostrum of a weevil, one pincer of an earwig, the scales of
a moth, a few rodent hairs and feather barbs.
Thus there is but little evidence to be obtained from these
gizzard contents that the Little Owl is a great day feeder.
Nor can these 51 Little Owls, judging from the nature of their
last meal, be considered as specially partial to game-chicks
or to birds of any kind. But in the opinion of the writer,
gizzard evidence though helpful is less satisfactory than
that from nests and pellets, as it is limited to the evidence
from the last meal only.
Gizzard Contents.
TABLE 5.
Inquiry Part I.
February, 1936 to 1937.
County and
Locality.
1. Bucks.
(Newbury) .
2. Cheshire
(Warrington).
Sender,
Date, Gizzard Contents.
Sex of Little Owl.
G. Brown. Contained 1 pellet composed of
Feb. 1st. S 6 earwigs, 4 larvae, 2 Chryso-
mela, 1 Pterostichus madidus,
3 Staphylinus ceneocephalus.
Moss.
Prof.R.Newstead (Killed by telegraph wires.)
Feb. 13th $ 2 Field voles (4 lower jaws, etc.).
(Analysed by sender.)
VOL. XXXI.]
County and
Locality.
3. Bucks.
(Newbury).
4. N. Wales
(Corwen
District).
5. do.
6. Wilts.
(Aldbourne).
7. Bucks.
(Newbury).
8. Northumber-
land
(Gunnerton).
* 9. do.
10. Cambridge-
shire
(Girton).
*n. Essex
(Chelmsford).
12. Monmouth-
shire
(Abergavenny)
*13. Kent
(Stockbury).
*14. Bucks.
(Newbury).
15. N. Wales
(Cbrwen
District).
LITTLE OWL INQUIRY.
Sender,
Date,
Sex of Little Owl
G. Brown.
March 13th. $
183
Gizzard Contents.
8 beetles (4 Geotrupes, 1 Nebria
brevicollis, 1 Staphylinus ceneo-
cephalus). Fragments of a Little
Owl’s feather.
Prof. R.Newstead. 1 Field vole. Elytra of Aphodius
April 13th. $ and Agriotes sp. (Analysed by
sender.)
Remains of 1 Meadow-Pipit.
Several elytra Aphodius sp.
(Analysed by sender.)
4 Woodlice. x Geotrupes. 3
Weevils. Other beetles. Setae
of earthworm.
102 earwig pincers (51 insects.)
7 Pterostichus madidus, 10 Har-
palus ceneus, 1 Staphylinus olens.
1 Starling (adult), (sacrum,
broken bones, 1 foot, feathers
from breast).
2 Pterostichus sp., 1 Nebria
brevicollis, 1 Amara sp., 1 Geo-
trupes.
N. King. Full gizzard. Chiefly cockchafer
June 1st. and Geotrupes, 2 fragments of
Nestling of about bone. Moss. Much sand. (Found
do.
April 13th. $
Capt. W. Brown.
May 1 ith. 5
G. Brown.
May nth. d1
J. Russell
Goddard.
May 25th. $
do.
May 25th. d1
10 days.
Miss D. J.
Brooks.
June 19th.
D. Carter.
July 1 ith.
dead below nest.)
Head and scales of moth. A
few hairs of bat. Gizzard
empty except particles on walls.
3 large caterpillars and some
small ones, 12 Pterostichus,
1 Carabus violaceus, 1 cockchafer.
(Killed by car.)
9 beetle fragments (1 Geotrupes,
2 Carabid, beetles, etc.)
Millipede rings, 1 earwig, 1 Geo-
trupes, 2 Carabids, 1 Staphylinus
ceneocephalus. (Very small
remnants.)
Prof. R.Newstead. Filled with remains of insects.
K. Humphries.
August 7th. $
G. Brown.
Sept. 3rd. $
Oct. 3rd.
215 earwig pincers, Pterostichus
sp. Geotrupes stercorarius, grass.
(Analysed by sender.)
*16. Bucks.
G. Brown.
Empty except 1 Little Owl
(Newbury).
Oct. 20th.
<J
feather.
*17. Bucks.
G. Brown.
17 earwig pincers (9 insects),
(Newbury)
Oct. 20th.
1 Pterostichus, 1 Staphylinus
ceneocephalus (very small rem-
nants.)
*18. do.
do.
Nov. 1 ith.
$
Empty.
*19. do.
do.
Mouse fur and bone fragments,
Nov. 1 ith.
1 earwig (pincers). (Very small
remnants.)
♦Empty or wr
ith mere traces of food.
184
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
County and
Locality.
*20. Nottingham-
shire
(Bingham) .
F2 1 .
do.
Sender,
Date,
Sex of Little Owl.
R. E. Knowles.
Jan. 7th. S
do.
Jan. 9th.
*22. Monmouth-
shire
(Wyestone
Leys) .
23. Suffolk
(Saxmundham).Jan. 15th.
Brig.-Gen.
T. H. F. Bate.
Jan. 14th. $
Lord Cranbrooke.
*24. Dorset Miss G. Lister.
(Beaminster). Jan. 23rd. $
25. Cheshire R. E. Knowles.
(Gawsworth). Feb. nth.
Results : Rodents in 5 gizzards.
Birds in 2 gizzards.
Insects in 21 gizzards.
TABLE 6.
Gizzard Contents Inquiry. Part II.
Gizzard Contents.
3 earwigs (pincers and frag-
ments), 2 Phytonomus punctatus,
vegetable matter. (Grit with
insect particles.) Feather of
Little Owl (broken up.)
“ Nothing save elytra of Amur a
apricaria and fragments of a
Staphylinid beetle.” (Analysed
by H. Britton, Manchester.)
2 weevils, 3 Staphylinus ceneo-
cephalus, 2 other beetles. (Very
small remnants.)
1 field mouse (head and shoulders
intact. Rest broken up. Stom -
ach of mouse full of corn)
8 larvae.
Comminuted beetles. (Analysed
by sender).
1 field mouse (jaws, slice of skull ,
bones) , 1 Carabid, beetles, 1 larva.
March, 1937, to July.
County and
Locality.
* 1. Yorkshire
(Bretton Park
Estate) .
2. Monmouth-
shire
(Wyestone
Leys) .
* 3. do.
* 4. Shropshire
(Bridgnorth).
* 5. Shropshire
(Bridgnorth).
* 6. Gloucester-
shire
(Ampney St.
Peter) .
* 7. do.
Sender.
Date. Gizzard Contents.
Sex of Little Owl.
J. C. S. Ellis. A few fragments of beetles.
March 16th. <$
Brig.-Gen. Fragments of 1 rat (medium
T. H. F. Bate, size), 1 earthworm, 3 Ptero-
March 31st. S stichus.
do. 1 small larva, 1 carabid head.
April 6th. S (Very small remnants.)
Miss Frances Pitt. A few grey down feathers,
April 9th. $ 1 Geotrupes, 1 larva. (Very
little.)
Miss Frances Pitt. Particles of 2 weevils, several
April 20th. S minute larvae, 4 rodent hairs.
(Very small remnants.)
H. L. Elwell. Empty except 3 very minute
April 23rd. $ beetle fragments. (Shot 9 p.m.)
do.
April 24th $
Fur of small rodent, 3 beetles
(fragments). (Shot 7 p.m.)
(Very little.)
*Empty or with mere traces of food.
VOL. XXXI.]
LITTLE OWL INQUIRY.
185
County and
Sender,
Locality.
Date,
Sex of Little Owl.
* 8. Gloucestershire
H. L. Elwell.
(Ampney St.
April 26th. 2
Peter) .
* 9. do.
do.
April 26th. 2
*10. do.
do.
April 28th. 2
11. do.
do.
April 28th.
12. do.
do.
May 1st. 2
13. Cheshire
R. E. Knowles.
(Swythamley
May 6th. 2
Park).
*14. Gloucester-
H. L. Elwell,
shire
May 7th. 2
(Arapney
St. Peter).
*15. do.
do.
May 7th. cJ
*16. Monmouth-
Brig.-Gen. Bate.
shire
May 14th. <$
(Wyestone
Leys) .
17. Gloucester-
H. L. Elwell.
shire
May 23rd. 2
(Ampney
St. Peter).
6
CO
M
do.
May 2 1st. 2
19. do.
do.
May 25th. 2
20. do.
do.
May 25th.
Nestling.
21. do.
do.
May 25th.
Nestlings.
22. do.
do.
June 6th. $
23. Herefordshire,
S. C. Denison.
(Treago Castle, June 10th. $
St. Weonards).
*24. Gloucester-
H. L. Elwell.
shire
June 19th. <$
(Ampney
St. Peter).
♦Empty or with mere traces of food
Gizzard Contents.
Empty. (Shot 9 p.m. ; bird in
poor condition.)
Rodent fur, 1 carabid, particles
of beetles. (In good condition.)
(Very little.)
A very little rodent fur sticking
to gizzard wall. (Good con-
dition.)
Many insect fragments, a little
rodent, 6 earwigs (pincers), fur,
3 carabids. (Poor condition.)
Feather fragments with grey
down, 1 field mouse, 1 Geotrupes,
2 small carabids, many beetle
fragments.
1 shrew, beetle fragments.
A few beetle fragments, a Little
Owl feather. (Poor condition.
Shot at 7.30 p.m.)
Empty except fragments of one
small beetle and a little grit and
moss. .3 gram of comminuted
whitish feathers. No grey down.
No bill or bones. Game-chick ?
A few carabids.
A little fur and flesh of small
rodent, fragments of beetles,
grass and moss. (Shot 12 p.m.)
Vole (fur, jaws and a few bones.)
(Shot 7-8 p.m.)
Fur and flesh of small rodent,
legs cockchafer, fragment of
Geotrupes, grass.
Cockchafer and other insects.
Cockchafer, click beetle, 2 cara-
bids & others.
Full of cockchafers and 1 Geo-
trupes.
A few small feathers of Black-
bird, flesh of same, 11 carabids,
2 click beetles, 1 weevil.
Fragments of cockchafer. (Very
small remnants). (Shot n p.m.)
186
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
County and Sender,
Locality. Date,
Sex of Little Owl.
25. Herefordshire S. C. Denison.
(St. Weonards). June 29th.
26. Middlesex G. A. Shave.
(Harrow). June 27th.
Fledged young.
Results : Rodents in 1 1 gizzards.
Birds in 5 gizzards.
Insects in 23 gizzards.
Gizzard Contents.
Full of beetles, 23 heads, etc.,
of small carabids (e.g., Harpalus
ceneus), pill beetles, etc.
2 voles (3 lower jaws & several
bones), 1 nestling Lark (legs,
1 wing, feathers), 4 carabids,
1 Geotrupes, grit.
Feeding Habits of the Little Owl.
It is now clear that the pellets, nest and larder contents
and gizzards all show that a toll of rodents, birds and insects
is taken by the Little Owl. These will be dealt with later in
separate sections. The field observers have, however, worked
hard to elucidate certain problems in connection with these
three important food items, therefore the feeding habits of
the Little Owl as observed by them and corroborated in the
laboratory will now be discussed.
(1) Does the Little Owl hunt habitually by day as well as
by night ? Two of the observers have seen it, through field
glasses, at various times of day, pick up from the ground
objects too small to distinguish. Others have watched in
vain to see this. Almost every correspondent who has seen
it take a rodent or bird has mentioned 7 p.m. (summer time)
as the hour when it became busy. It seems probable that,
especially during the nesting season, it frequently picks up
small prey, e.g., worms, insects, etc., during daytime but that
rodents and birds are procured chiefly in early evening onwards
and again near dawn. Weather, abundance or scarcity of food
and other factors may cause differences in the behaviour of
individuals in this respect. But even Little Owls must sleep
some time during the 24 hours and several observers have
surprised them whilst doing so during daytime.
Evidence of Correspondents on Daylight Feeding.
“ They get on the move about an hour before dusk. They
seem lazy during the day. I spotted one perched near the
trunk of an oak. It was still exactly the same six hours after,
and got on the move and alert just as the light was going.”
(A. O. Rolls, Wellington, Salop).
“ I don’t know how far day hunting is individual but I think
that the great majority do sleep more or less till evening. But
vol. xxxi ] LITTLE OWL INQUIRY.
187
I have seen Little Owls on the alert in trees, pouncing down
on some insect on the ground or picking over droppings in
the road in the middle of the day.” (Rev. F. C. R. Jourdain).
I am certain the daytime feeding of the Little Owl is
over-estimated. I have never once seen anything suggesting
it round Bretton.” (J. C. S. Ellis).
I certainly think they do it in summer. What else can
they be doing when they sit on rails and small trees on my
rabbit warren and keep on going down to the ground and up
again ? I feel sure that here they feed fledged young in
daylight, as I see them fly to the young, which call loudly.”
(H. F. Witherby).
Mr. C. A. Smith endorses this : “ The old birds are to be
seen hunting for food all day long now that the young birds
are a fortnight old. Before the young arrive they are most
active just after daybreak, returning to the trees about
7 a.m. (summertime).”
This problem must remain undecided, but it seems likely
that Mr. Smith’s experience applies to most Little Owls,
namely that the general habit is to hunt very little by day
for large prey except during the latter half of the nesting
season, when family exigencies force them to be active.
There is also evidence to be found in the food remains
that the Little Owl is not a great feeder by day.
(i) Half the number of Little Owls shot during daytime
for the examination of their gizzards have revealed either no
remains of food or very scanty fragments — mere “ left-overs ”
from the last pellet evacuation (see Section on Gizzard
Contents). It seems reasonable to suppose therefore that the
pellet produced from the night and early morning food is
evacuated before the bird becomes inert in the daytime.
(ii) The entomologists have been impressed by the fact
that most of the insects occurring in large numbers in the
food remains are species that hide by day and come into the
open by night. The writer has walked with a flashlight turned
on the ground over a Little Owl’s feeding haunt at n p.m.
Pterostichus madidus was running in hundreds and the pellets
from that site consisted of little else for several weeks. By
day it was difficult to find a single Pterostichus on that field.
The matter is important, for if the Little Owl is not a
great day feeder, this may partly account for the fact that
game and poultry chicks, which are usually under shelter by
early evening have seldom been found in the food remains
during the years of Inquiry.
(To he continued.)
(188)
THE DECREASE IN BLACKGAME IN
DUMFRIESSHIRE.
BY
HUGH S. GLADSTONE.
British ornithologists — no less than British sportsmen —
should be grateful to Lt. -Colonel Lord George Scott for the
manner in which he has discussed (pp. 141-52) “ The Decrease
in Blackgame ” — in his recently published book Grouse Land
and the fringe of the Moor — since the facts and figures which
he produces, dealing as they do with a district which he
knows intimately, are of more than usual importance.
From personal experience, I can vouch for it that the
Black Grouse ( Lyrurus tetrix britannicus) has decreased —
almost to vanishing point — in the vicinity of my own home
in Dumfriesshire. It is often unfair to quote an author
in part only, but to carry the point I wish to make I may
refer to Lord George Scott’s statements : “it may not
be very wide of the truth to attribute the disappearance of
Blackgame partly to the increase of wild Pheasants in certain
areas ” (pp. 145-6) and again : “it seems probable that
where Blackgame are decreasing in number, the three main
causes are (1) over shooting (2) increase of vermin (3) insuffi-
cient food ” (p. 150).
I agree that “ increase of vermin ” and “ over shooting ”
may be contributory “ causes ” for the decrease of Blackgame:
such results are only to be expected on the breaking up of
large estates and I also cannot help feeling, in these days
of motor transport, that few sanctuaries now remain which
are un-get-at-able. It is also, of course, highly probable
that there are other obscure factors at work which are
inimical to Blackgame ; the third cause — “ insufficient
food ” — is, however, the one to which I attach most import-
ance as I believe this insufficiency to have been caused by
the “ increase of wild Pheasants ”. The diet of the Black
Grouse and the Pheasant is very varied but, as both are
members of the Order Galli, it is not surprising that it should
be similar* and I am of the opinion that the progeny of
the semi-domesticated Pheasant of the rearing-field — when
it has strayed to the domain of the Black Grouse — soon
acquires (if it does not revert to) the habit of maintaining
itself on food which should be the prerogative of the species
whose proper territory it has invaded.
*A Practical Handbook of British Birds : (edited by H. F. Witherby) :
1924 : Vol. II., pp. 859 and 874 : (sections on “ Food ” by F. C. R.
Jourdain).
vol. xxxi.] DECREASE IN BLACKGAME.
189
Few countries have suffered more from the importation
of exotic creatures than New Zealand, and it is therefore of
interest to quote from the bulletin issued by the New Zealand
Forest and Bird Protection Society :
According to a well-known biological law, the introduction of
any non-native species, if successful, is bound to be followed by the
disappearance of some native species with which, to be successfid,
the alien competes. No two kinds of animals of the same require-
ments for food and shelter can long occupy the same place ; one of
them will disappear. ... A continental fauna is already full,
in a sense that all the ecologic niches are occupied. To repeat,
there is no possibility of adding a new animal without affecting
the interests of one or more native ones. ... In final analysis the
total quantity of animal life in a locality is controlled by the total
production of plant life there.*
Although the statements in the above extract may appear
too positive, there is more than a modicum of truth in them
and it is to be emphasized — since my notes deal with the
decrease of Blackgame in Dumfriesshire — that the Pheasant
was only introduced to the lowlands of this county at the
end of the eighteenth centuryf while hand-rearing, and a
consequent increase in numbers, only became general locally
during the last forty or fifty years.
The idea of the Black-cock and the Pheasant cock
fighting for the crown may be spectacular but is not the
real reason for the supremacy of Phasianus over Lyrurus.
The Pheasant is, by nature, not the arboreal inhabitant it
has become in many localities : it loves the wet rough hill-
land adjoining cultivation just as much as the Black Grouse
loves the fringe of the moor : the Pheasant hen is a better
mother than the Greyhen and has a larger number of progeny :
moreover, the Pheasant is a noted explorer into strange
places, and — thanks to the widespread hand-rearing of the
species — these explorers are annually being reinforced from
the base.
I have therefore no hesitation in giving it as my opinion
that the great decrease of Blackgame is mainly due to
insufficiency of food caused by the invasion of Pheasants
and their dominance in the area referred to ; evidence for
which I give below.
In an article which I contributed to this journal]; some
thirteen years ago, I stated that Blackgame had occurred
at one time or another, in every county (except ten) in
* Forest and Bird : Bulletin No. 36 : pp. 11-12 issued by The New
Zealand Forest and Bird Protection Society : May, 1935.
fHugh S. Gladstone : The Birds of Dumfriesshire : 1910 : pp. 336-7.
^British Birds : (1924) : Vol. XVIII., pp. 66-8.
190
BRITISH BIRDS
[VOL. XXXI.
England, Scotland and Wales. I also gave my opinion,
based on letters from correspondents, as to the then status
of the species and stated summarily that it was generally
acknowledged to have decreased and to be annually decreasing.
It is obvious, where Blackgame have never been common,
or at the time of report are scarce, that any increase becomes
the more readily remarkable ; reported increases, under such
circumstances, are, therefore, misleading. The object of
these present notes is to show that, in what was once a
stronghold of Blackgame, the species has now all but totally
disappeared because of the ascendancy of the Pheasant.
Twenty-seven years ago — in my Birds of Dumfriesshire —
I wrote :
Since about 1870, a steady decrease must be recorded, for
which it is not altogether easy to account. The bird was formerly
in considerable numbers on the Lochar Moss, but is now rarely, if
ever, seen there ; and the noticeable falling-off for years past in
the number of Blackgame throughout the county* is likely to
continue unless farther steps be taken to preserve and encourage
them. The diminution of cropping in our uplands, and the general
drainage of “ sprittie ” or rush-covered stretches of hill-land, may
have something to do with their decrease ; but the increase of the
Pheasant and its consequent extension of range, thereby making two
hungry mouths to fill where the food-supply has already been
diminished to a point below the proper requirements of one, is to
my mind a still more probable cause. A beat carefully “ nursed ”
and with the Pheasants well kept down, yielded to four guns, on
November 1st, 1906, seventy-one Blackgame : forty-four being old
cocks, fourteen young cocks, ten old hens, and three young hens.
Much has been written for and against the desirability of sparing
all hens, and unhesitatingly I vote against such a proceeding. If
in the early autumn the old hens can be killed, an immense amount
of good is done, which will be felt in the following season. The
Greyhen is not supposed to be fertile for more than two or three
years.f and for some unaccountable reason the old barren hens
seem to be the most attractive to the Blackcock when making up
his harem in the spring. The early opening date of the shooting
season (August 20th) is to be regretted, unless discrimination is
used and only old birds are killed ; and it is a most excellent rule
never to shoot a cock on which one can see any brown feathers.
The maintenance of a young and healthy stock is the first ideal to
be aimed at by those who wish to encourage this species rather than
the Pheasant, which latter in some districts bids fair to become
almost ubiquitous.f
It may be added that on October 25th, 1910, the “ carefully
nursed ” beat — shot by the same four guns as in 1906 —
produced 114 Blackgame (45 old, 29 young, cocks ; 24 old,
and 16 young. Greyhens) and, during the season, the whole
*Trans. Edin. Field Nat. Soc., 1904-5, Vol. V., Part 3, p. 184.
!J. G. Millais : Game Birds and Shooting-Sketches : 1894 : p. 58.
tHugh S. Gladstone : The Birds of Dumfriesshire : 1910 : pp. 320-1.
vol. xxxl] DEGREASE IN BLACKGAME. 191
beat produced 336 Blackgame and 350 Pheasants. To my
everlasting regret the “carefully nursed ” beat — and much
of the ground adjoining — passed from under my control in
1911, but from the present proprietors and tenants I have
learned that — on the area where 336 Blackgame and 350
Pheasants were shot in 1910 — a bag of only 3 Blackgame !
but 697 Pheasants!! was obtained in 1936.
Various causes for the decrease in Blackgame have been
suggested and in so far as the area to which I refer is concerned
the following may be eliminated. There are no Capercaillie
nor have overhead wires (telegraphic, telephonic or electric)
served as death traps. Vermin (be it stoats, Carrion-Crows
or Gulls) are neither more nor less numerous since 1910, though
I certainly think that foxes are more plentiful nowadays.
There have been no agricultural changes : cropping may,
perhaps, have slightly increased (though always too scanty
from a shooting point of view) and no perilous hill-drains
have been dug. The promoters of afforestation cannot be
held to blame for the decrease since no plantations have been
made here nor have any woods been cut down.
Without entering into the controversy as regards the
attitude displayed towards Blackgame by the Forestry Com-
mission, I feel that, in common fairness, I must state that
I know from personal experience that Blackgame do damage
to young larch. My evidence on this vexed question appeared
in print ten years ago,* and I then offered the excuse that this
noxious habit might have been increased, or acquired, owing
to a shortage of food caused by the competition of Pheasants.
So much has been written about the shooting of Grey-
hens that I may here be allowed to affirm the opinion
that I have already expressed — that it is most desirable
to shoot old barren hens — but I cannot help reflecting that in
the days of my forefathers (and that was the heyday of
Blackgame) Greyhens of all ages were sacrosanct.
It must not be thought that I base my contention — that
the increase of Pheasants has caused the decrease in Black-
game— on such a simple reason as mere starvation. It is
known that kindred species such as Partridges and Grouse
suffer periodically from recognized endemic diseases : it is
therefore highly probable, if not already certain, that the
Black Grouse suffers from some similar and no less subtle an
infection and, if but few diseased Blackgame have been
recorded, it is to be remembered that moribund birds have
the habit of secreting themselves. The late Otto Graf von
*The Field: 15th December, 1927: p. 9S3.
192
BRITISH BIRDS
[VOL. XXXI.
Zedlitz — writing of Blackgame in Silesia — has pointed out
that even if an average stock is favoured with good food
and favourable weather conditions it speedily attains satura-
tion point and — being unable to stand up to the consequent
decrease in the food supply and being then more affected by
unfavourable weather conditions — soon goes into a decline.*
He does not definitely mention the word “ disease ”, but he
attributes the decline to an insufficiency of food, and it is
acknowledged that the periodic devastation of Grouse and
Partridges is often due to lack of proper sustenance. It
may be that Blackgame cannot stand the proximity of the
Pheasant and that lack of space on suitable ground — due
to overcrowding by Pheasants — may have a deleterious effect
on their fertility or even on their ability to breed, for it is
known that many birds and animals are easily upset in this
way. My contention, however, is that the principal cause
for the decrease in Blackgame is an insufficiency of their
natural food brought about by the increase of Pheasants :
this insufficiency has led to their being unable to withstand
some endemic disease against which, under normal conditions,
they were able to contend until the balance of Nature was
upset by the invasion of a second kind of bird requiring the
same food and shelter.
So far as the area to which I refer is concerned, I am
convinced that nothing short of extirpation of Pheasants — -
and importation of Blackgame from elsewhere — can ever
restore the desirable status quo ante, but situated as the area
is — in the highlands of Dumfriesshire — it is always being fed
with Pheasants which stray upwards from the lower ground
where they are not only allowed to thrive but are also
hand-reared extensively on many estates.
The restoration of Blackgame in their rightful domain is
beyond individual effort : concerted action on the part of
interested parties is essential. Apart from the self-denying
ordinance of eradicating Pheasants, it would be necessary,
on many estates, to import a fresh stock of Blackgame.
Augmentation of existing stocks by hand-reared birds has,
hitherto, not been a success. Blackgame have been bred
in captivity at Drumlanrig and Capenoch in Dumfriesshire,
also at Netherby in Cumberland, whence the late Sir Richard
Graham wrote to me on October 27th, 1927 : —
I am trying if Blackgame will lay eggs in confinement, the same
as Grouse. This season the hand-reared Blackgame have not done
*Zedlitz, O. Graf : Berichte des Vereins Schlesischer Ornithologen :
Yol. XIII : No. 2, December, 1927 : pp. 101-10.
vol. xxxi.] DECREASE IN BLACKGAME.
193
well ; chiefly because the ground on which they were being reared
did not suit, being the same as where the Grouse were being reared.
The idea is — the ground being suitable — will Greyhens rear their
young in pens with one wing cut, the same as Grouse hens will ?
Also will Greyhens, having their first nest of eggs lifted, start at
once and lay a second nest as Grouse hens will ?
I understand that Sir Richard’s experiments were not
satisfactory and the only instances I know of hand-reared
Blackgame having bred in captivity were in the Zoological
Gardens, London, in 1840, and at Capenoch in 1899, but all
died either before, or after, the autumn moult. Possibly
the assistance of the Imperial Chemical Industries Limited
(whose researches, at Knebworth, Hertfordshire, into the
welfare of Partridges are only now being appreciated) might
be evoked.
It may be argued that, as an economic proposition, the
propagation of the Pheasant is of more importance than the
maintenance of a stock of Blackgame. The breaking-up of
estates — to which I have already referred — means an increase
in landed-proprietors who, in many cases, vie with each other
in providing annual “ covert-shoots ”. The motor-car and
caterpillar-tractor leave no sanctuaries inaccessible and Man’s
insidious advance cannot be checked. The Black Grouse is
an old-fashioned bird : he resents Man’s interference and it
may well be that there is no home for Blackgame in the
modern sporting or ornithological Britain of to-day any more
than there is a home for the Bustard.
N
SMOTE S*
ROSE-COLOURED STARLINGS IN THE BRITISH
ISLES.
We have received the following notes additional to those
already published on this subject (cf. antea, p. 149).
Kent. — A bird which from the description appeared to be
an immature female was seen by Mr. J. R. Tart at Dungeness
early in June.
Sussex. — A single bird was observed by Mrs. A. G.
Glenister on June 21st near Seaford accompanying a flock
of Starlings.
Monmouth. — Mr. H. M. Salmon writes that he has exa-
mined an adult obtained near Monmouth on September nth
or 12th.
Carnarvonshire. — Mr. H. E. Forrest writes that a bird,
which was probably the same as that reported by Mr. Caton
Haigh as seen about July 17th, was noted by another observer
in the neighbourhood from the end of June.
Wexford. — Mr. C. J. Buchan observed one at Kilmore on
June 9th. This bird, which was evidently an adult, was first
seen with Starlings, but later fed alone.
SOME DOMESTIC HABITS OF A PAIR OF
SPOTTED FLYCATCHERS.
For several years past I have reasons to believe that the same
pair of Spotted Flycatchers ( Muscicapa s. striata) has
returned and occupied for breeding purposes an old tea-kettle
fastened to a wall of Highfield House, Cheddar.
In 1935 the birds were double brooded. Building com-
menced early on the morning of May 21st, the first egg being
laid on May 29th, while the fifth and last was laid on June 2nd.
Incubation began on this date and four young were hatched
on the morning of June 14th. Three left the kettle early on
the morning of June 27th the fourth leaving the next day,
there remaining one addled egg. Thus nidification lasted one
week, incubation 12 days, and fledging 13-14 days.
On July 6th, after an absence of about eight days, the
adults returned to the neighbourhood of the kettle accom-
panied by the young, and a few feathers and cobwebs were
added to the old nest, the young being fed between building.
On the next day a few bents and more cobwebs were added
and on July 8th the first egg was laid and the full set of four
VOL. XXXI.]
NOTES.
195
by the nth. All hatched off on the morning of the 24th. Three
young left the kettle on August 6th and the fourth on the
following day. In this case the incubation period was thirteen
days and fledging 13-14 days.
In 1936 in the same kettle and presumably the same birds
began building on May 19th, four eggs being deposited on
consecutive days by June 6th, all four hatched off on the 19th
and left the kettle together on July 3rd, the nidification
period being about a fortnight or about double that of the
first nest in 1935, incubation period 13 days, fledging 14 days.
The male often fed the female during incubation either at
the nest or when she flew up to him and received it with
quivering wings on an overhead wire. The task of incubation
fell entirely upon the female.
I was rather puzzled to know in what manner the adult
frequently held four flies in its bill whilst a fifth was adroitly
captured, but I saw that they were somewhat bunched near
the tips of the mandibles and were perhaps adhering there,
each insect was being held quite long enough to ensure death
before the next was caught. In late evening the food brought
by both birds to the young consisted almost entirely of a
white moth mostly caught amongst the branches of a large
sycamore growing close by. These were broken up and the
bodies fed to the nestlings, the adult swallowing the wings,
but towards fledging time, these moths, variable in size, were
put whole down the youngsters throats, and not one wing of
a moth was ever found in the kettle or upon the asphalt
floor beneath.
After feeding the young the female would stand erect for a
few seconds waiting to take the excreta. She would reach and
gently touch the young with her bill. Then one would flutter
its wings rapidly, turning round at the same time with its
back towards the entrance, and as the “ blob ” of excreta
was voided, she took it “ directly ” into her bill and flew
away with it. So far as my observation went, it was only the
female which removed the excreta. I also saw her hop down
amongst the young and turn them about in a rather rough
manner when searching for something.
Sometimes after feeding, and as the male appeared on the
overhead wires with food, the hen flew up and alighted on
the wire beside him and quivering her wings in a squat
attitude would ask to be fed, but he only occasionally obliged
her.
When near fledging time feeding continued until very
late. On July 2nd the last food was given at 10 p.m. B.S.T.,
196
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
and I could hardly discern the adult at five yards distance.
I usually remove all traces of the old nest before the birds
arrive in the spring, but this year (1937) I did not do so and
this was probably why the birds occupied a last year’s
Blackbird’s nest a few yards away instead of the kettle.
Stanley Lewis.
BARRED WARBLER IN NORTHUMBERLAND.
On August 24th, 1937, Messrs. T. A. Willis, M. H. Rowntree
and I saw a Barred Warbler ( Sylvia nisoria) on Holy Island.
We put it up from bushes in a small garden. It was reluctant
to fly or to show itself, and as there was no other cover near,
each time we succeeded in putting it out it came back again
to the garden. Although it was difficult to get a good view
of it except on the wing, it appeared to be an adult bird, with
barring on the underside. H. G. Alexander.
GARGANEY IN NORTHUMBERLAND.
On August 22nd, 1937, Messrs. T. A. Willis, M. H. Rowntree
and I saw a Garganey ( Anas querquedula) on the pond on
Holy Island. It was in eclipse, but it appeared to be a drake.
When it was on the water the pale eye-stripe was conspic-
uous, and when it flew up, the whitish patch in the wing
showed very distinctly. Mr. R. Perry, who also saw it,
had seen a bird that he suspected was a Garganey a week
earlier. There was no sign of it on the two following days.
H. G. Alexander.
RUFFS IN ORKNEY.
Though described as a passage migrant in Orkney there are
not a great number of records of the Ruff ( Philomachus pugnax)
in these islands. I recorded one from near Kirkwall ( antea ,
XVIII., 1924, p. 174) and identified another one in 1934, shot
by Dr. Skae on Skaill Loch, near Stromness, on September 29,
1923, which is now in the Stromness Museum. I have now to
add two further records. On September 23, 1937, Mr. J. G.
Marwick of Stromness, Orkney, sent me a bird for identifica-
tion, which had been picked up dead on the island of Sanday
some days previously, and a few days later another one
which had been found with a broken wing at Voy, Stromness,
on September 25, 1937. I identified the first as a young male
Ruff, the second as a young Reeve. G. Carmichael Low.
FLOCK OF RUFFS ON FAIR ISLE.
About mid-day on September 16th, 1937, a flock of waders
whose numbers I estimated at 150 to 200, appeared over
VOL. XXXI.]
NOTES.
197
Fair Isle. The flock was seen by Messrs. Jerome and James
Wilson and James Stout, three of the best island ornithologists,
and they considered that it was composed chiefly of Ruffs
(■ Philomachus pugnax) with some Golden Plover, Knots and a
few Bar-tailed Godwits. An islander who was out shooting
Golden Plover for the pot fired into the flock and brought
down eight Ruffs and two Knots. The flock also flew through
some telegraph wires beneath which three Ruffs and one
Little Stint were subsequently found with broken wings.
Thus eleven out of fourteen birds from the flock were Ruffs,
which suggests that there were over ioo Ruffs in all.
Most of the birds in the flock do not appear to have
remained on the island but a flock of about 30 Ruffs was
present for several days afterwards. P. A. D. Hollom.
MARSH-SANDPIPERS SEEN IN KENT AND SUSSEX.
On September 26th, 1937, we visited the Midrips and the
Wicks, on the western border of Dungeness. In a small
sedge-surrounded pool at the latter, situated almost exactly
on the line of the Kent-Sussex boundary, we found two
medium-sized grey and white waders. They were standing
together in shallow water against the edge of the sedge on
the far side from us, and about thirty yards distant, asleep,
with their bills buried in their back feathers. At first glance
we took them to be Greenshanks ( Tringa nebularia), for we
had already seen one at another pool, five minutes previously,
and knew that there were others about. They were grey
on the upper parts with an obscure indication of striping,
as though the edges were a faint shade paler than the bodies
of the feathers. The tops and sides of their heads and the
backs of their necks were white, rather finely speckled with
grey, leaving a plain white superciliary stripe. Their under
parts were wholly white, their bills dark (apparently black)
and their legs a dark olive.
When we advanced a few steps nearer they woke up, and
one moved a little to one side, and we saw at once that they
could not be Greenshanks. They were at least a third
smaller than a Greenshank, their bills were not long enough
and they stood and walked with their necks gracefully curved,
quite unlike the gawky, stiff-necked, attitude that the Green-
shank assumes when alarmed. The next two most likely
species to be met with in such a place in autumn, the Green
and Wood-Sandpipers (T. ochropus and glareola) we were
able to rule out of court at once, for they were distinctly
larger than either of these two, the colour pattern of their
BRITISH BIRDS.
198
[VOL. XXXI.
backs was totally different, and they lacked any dark markings
on the lower neck and breast.
After being watched for a further few minutes they rose
and flew, almost directly away from us, inland and we lost
them in the distance. In flight they resembled a Greenshank
even more closely, for their backs showed an unbroken area
of white extending from nearly the end of the tail to a point
midway between the shoulders. Their wings appeared to be
grey, the outer primaries slightly darker in tone than the
rest of the wing, and no white showed at all. After flying a
few yards they called, a whistling note repeated four or five
times, quite unlike a Greenshank’s, but a little like a Red-
shank’s, though lower pitched, rather more harsh and the
repetitions less rapid. It also resembled the call of the Wood-
Sandpiper, but seemed to be less twangy. We had heard
Greenshanks a few minutes earlier and we heard and saw
Redshanks five minutes later. The only wader that fits this
description is the Marsh-Sandpiper (T. stagnatilis ) a species
that has already been recorded from the district on three
occasions. N. F. Ticehurst.
Averil Morley.
SANDWICH TERNS IN LONDON.
It may be of interest to note that on October 5th, 1937,
I saw two Sandwich Terns ( Sterna s. sandvicensis ) flying up
and down part of the Thames west of Hammersmith Bridge.
Both birds were calling, and this together with their large
size and black yellow-tipped bills, left no doubt as to their
identity. E. G. Pedler.
SKUAS AND OTHER BIRDS IN THE WASH.
The following observations made while on board Boston
fishing smacks trawling in the mouth of the Wash may be
of some interest.
On September 5th, 1936, about a dozen Skuas were seen,
the Great Skua ( Stercorarius skua) and the Pomatorhine
(S. pomarinus) being identified. On September 24th, 1937,
seven or eight Skuas were seen, but only the Great was
identified ; none had elongated tail feathers. On this date
Swallows ( Hirundo r. rustica ) (mostly young) were passing
continually across the Wash from north to south mostly
singly or in twos and threes. Three lots of Lapwings ( V anellus
vanellus) were seen coming in from the North Sea. Two flocks
of about a dozen flying fairly high and a pair flying just above
the surface of the sea. All were flying due west (by compass)
and the wind was fresh S.W. C. F. Tebbutt.
VOL. XXXI.]
NOTES.
199
Gadwall and Scandinavian Lesser Black-backed Gull
in Somerset. — Mr. H. H. Davis writes us that he identified
an adult male Gadwall ( Anas strepera) at Barrow Gurney
Reservoirs on August 22nd, 1937. The bird remained until
October 10th.
On August 22nd Mr. Davis also identified at the same place
a Lams f. fuscus, which being in company with two British
Lesser-backed Gulls, showed clearly distinctive difference in
the mantle being as dark as the primaries.
Ruff at Lundy. — Mr. H. H. Davis informs us that he
watched a Ruff ( Philomachus pugnax) at a small pond on
Lundy on September nth, 1937. The bird is not common
in the west and had not previously been noted on Lundy.
Little Gulls in Cornwall and Cambridge. — Miss M. M.
Hutchinson writes of a Little Gull ( Lams minutus ) which she
observed diving at Portreath on the north Cornish coast on
September 7th, 1937. The bird dropped into the water after
the manner of a Little Tern but did not totally submerge
and was riding buoyantly on the surface a moment later.
From Miss Hutchinson’s description the bird was possibly
an adult, but the underwing could not be observed.
Mr. D. I. Molteno informs us that he saw an immature
Little Gull feeding among Black-headed Gulls at Cambridge
sewage farm on October 7th, 1937.
Correction. — In review of Bird Behaviour six lines from
bottom of page 158 for “ significant outer back ” read
“significant route back’’.
LETTERS.
THE COURTSHIP AND MATING OF THE GOOSANDER.
To the Editors of British Birds.
Sirs, — With reference to Mr. L. Parmenter’s notes on the above
subject [antea, pp. 152-3) the following observations may be of
interest : —
On January 24th, 1936, a sunny morning with a fresh easterly wind
blowing, there were 17 Goosanders ( Mergus merganser) on the Pen
Ponds, Richmond Park, Surrey. Two of them, a male and female,
flew to the Upper Pond from the Lower. The drake then swam very
slowly about, followed closely by the duck, her head and neck stretched
along the surface of the water, and her crest raised. Once I saw' the
duck lift her neck, head and bill up vertically, then stretch them along
the water again. The drake, though he wras in front and his tail was
tov'ard her, raised his head and bill upward to a vertical position in
response, and then lowered them to normal. The slow' sw'imming
about of the pair, as described above, continued for half an hour, and
200
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
then the duck placed herself across the drake’s path. He swam round
her and proceeded on his former course. At once she again placed
herself before him at right angles to his path. This time the drake
swam to her side and coition followed after the manner of Mallards,
the drake holding the duck by the crown feathers. Both birds then
rose on their tails, flapped their wings, preened, and swam apart from
each other.
On January 31st, 1936, a dull, very mild morning, there were
51 Goosanders on the Pen Ponds. Most were busy diving, but there
were two pairs consisting each of a male slowly swimming about, with
a female closely floating behind him, her head and neck stretched
forward on the water. Neither of the drakes showed any sign of
excitement, unless the very slow swimming is one.
On January 15th, 1937, a dull, mild morning, 2 Goosanders only
were on the Upper Pen Pond, swimming about as described above.
On one occasion they both excitedly stretched the neck and bill almost
perpendicularly upward. The drake was at the time about a length
in advance of the duck. They then continued the slow swimming
until I left, nearly an hour after I first saw them.
These observations support Mr. Parmenter’s suggestion that the
duck Goosander “ usually takes the initiative in mating ” (p. 153).
But there is a possibility that in this species the reproductive organs
of the female may mature somewhat earlier than those of the male,
and observations made at a later date, say in April, are desirable.
W. L. Colyer.
INQUIRY AS TO SONG-PERIODS.
To the Editors of British Birds.
Sirs, — Seventy-nine observers have promised to record bird songs
during part or all of the period, August, 1937, to July, 1938, in con-
nexion with the British Trust Inquiry, particulars of which were
published in the July issue. This is a very gratifying number ; but
unfortunately there are considerable gaps, where, as far as I have
been notified, no regular observations are being made. As it would
be far better to have observations from November or December to
] uly than none at all from these districts, may I make an appeal
for additional recorders from the following areas ?
In England, the counties of Cornwall, Dorset (except the Bourne-
mouth end), Suffolk, Cambridge, Bedford, Huntingdon, Northampton,
Lincoln, Hereford, Shropshire, Stafford, Durham, Northumberland,
all Wales (so fax the only recorder is in Denbighshire), all Scotland
(the only two recorders are in Dumfries and Renfrew), and all Ireland
(the only recorder is in Dublin).
The position is that many parts of lowland England are well
covered, but the mountainous regions of the north, and of Wales,
Scotland and Ireland, seem to have very few observers. As there
may well be important differences in song-periods between these
districts and the lowlands, it is specially desirable to have observa-
tions from them. Regular daily observations are, of course, the
most useful ; but irregular observations will be much better than
nothing. Forms will be sent on application to W. B. Alexander,
University Museum, Oxford. H. G. Alexander.
P.S. — Since the above was written, as a result of the efforts of the
Scottish Ornithologists Union, a few more Scottish observers have been
added ; but big gaps still remain. H.G.A.
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TEXT
SOUND
PICTURES
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BRIIOIBIRDS
With which was Incorporated in January. 1917, " The Zoologist "
rT „ „ edited by
H. F. WITHERBY, F.Z.S.,M.B.O.U.,H.F.A.O.U.
ASSISTED BY
NoRm;AJ°tURDAIN’ M‘A’’ M H.F.A.O.U., F.Z.S., AND
Norman F. Iicehurst, o.b.e., m.a., f.r.c.s., m.b.o.u.
Contents of Number 7, Vol. XXXI., December i, i937.
Ivittiwakes as Shore-Birds. By H. G. Alexander
Report of the Little Owl Food
Hibbert-Ware, M.B.O.U....
'Notes on Outer Hebridean Birds.
M.B.O.U
Inquiry, 1936-37. By
By C. M. N. White,
Alice
B.A.,
'Notes : —
Breeding of Sky-Lark (J. S. Taylor)
Some Breeding Habits of Mistle-Thrush (J . S. Taylor)
Food of Nestling Swallows (J. F. Thomas)
Results of Ringing and Trapping Swallows in Carmarthenshire
(J. F. Thomas)
The Irish Dipper in Argyllshire (Rev. J. M. Me William)
Young Cuckoo in November in Sussex (B. King)
Stone-Curlew in Galway (G. R. Humphreys) ...
Kentish Plover in Norfolk (A. R. Jenkins)
American Pectoral Sandpiper in Cheshire (A. W. Boyd)
- Fort Notes : —
Great Grey Shrikes in Westmorland and Norfolk. Willow-Tit
in Bedfordshire. Swallow nesting in a Box. Little Gull in
Surrey. Ringed American Herring-Gulls ...
Reviews : —
page
202
205
230
233
233
234
235
236
236
236
236
237
23S
More Songs of Wild Birds. By E. M. Nicholson and Ludwie
Koch
A Book of Birds. By Mary Priestley ...
otters : —
Aggressive Display of Robin before a Mirror (E. J. M. Buxton) 240
The Courtship and Mating of the Goosander (A. H.Macpherson) 240
(202)
KITTIWAKES AS SHORE-BIRDS.
BY
H. G. ALEXANDER.
Whilst staying at Seascale, Cumberland, in August, 1937,
I discovered a place on the coast at Sellafield, where quantities
of sea-birds were always to be seen. In addition to thousands
of Curlews and Oyster-catchers and many Redshanks, Lap-
wings, Turnstones and other Waders, there were large flocks
of Gulls and Terns, and I was very much surprised to find
that some hundreds of the Gulls were adult Kittiwakes
(. Rissa t. tridactyla). The part of the shore in question is,
at low tide, a great expanse of muddy shingle and mussel-
beds ; and the two little rivers, the Calder and the Ehen,
here flow out to the sea within a hundred yards of one another.
I first visited the place on August 5th, but my time was
limited, and I could only estimate that there were “ hundreds ”
of Kittiwakes in two or three distinct flocks. I paid a much
longer visit on August 10th, when I estimated the number
as between three and four hundred. I only twice noted a
single immature bird, and it may have been the same bird
each time. On August 17th, the number appeared to be
rather less — probably under three hundred. I passed the
place in the train again on August 25th, when I could see
that Kittiwakes were still present in some numbers. Mr. S.
Marchant made a similar observation from the train on
August 23rd. On September 25th, however, when he again
visited Sellafield, he found fewer birds altogether, and no
Kittiwakes at all.
To this I should add that, even before August 5th, I had
noticed Kittiwakes flying over the sands in twos or threes,
going north — that is, towards Sellafield — and this I continued
to note at various points along the shore from Drigg Point
northwards. Also, at low tide, I several times noted small
numbers of Kittiwakes — up to half a dozen or so — resting on
the sands with Black-headed and other Gulls.
I had hitherto regarded the Kittiwake as a species rarely
to be seen inshore, and very rarely settling on anything but
the sea, except when at its breeding stations. In mid-winter
sometimes a number come close inshore at Dungeness with
the fishing boats, and occasionally one will settle on the
shingle. And off rocky coasts I believe odd birds may fairly
often be seen settling on rocks. But a large assemblage
settling day after day on a flat shore seems to be something
quite abnormal.
vol. xxxi.] KITTIWAKES AS SHORE -BIRDS.
203
I have made some attempt to find out if any similar
observations have been made, and I am indebted to several
other observers for valuable information. Messrs. J. B. and
H. Kenrick, on August 8th, 1937, observed a flock of about
thirty Kittiwakes, including, they believe, some immature
birds, on sands near Aberlady, on the Firth of Forth. Here,
too, the Kittiwakes were near flocks of other sea-birds —
Gulls, Terns and Waders. The birds were on ground that
was covered by every high tide, as was most of the ground
where I saw them in Cumberland. Mr. H. Kenrick also draws
my attention to a statement in Canon Raven’s Rumblings of
a Bird-Lover (p. 53) where he writes : “ On a spit of sand [at
Ownathinchy, near Cork, Ireland] were a flock of dozing
Kittiwakes, their short dark legs and the black-ringed necks
and dark tertiary coverts of the young birds recognizable at
a glance . . . never till Ownathinchy did I note them resting
on the sand.” This, too, is an August observation.
Dr. N. F. Ticehurst also tells me that a number of Kittiwakes,
at one time up to about eighty, were seen on the beach to the
west of Dungeness from May 19th, and through most of June
this year. These were seen by a number of different observers.
After some controversy as to their identity, it was generally
agreed that they were immature Kittiwakes. Mr. J. R.
Tart tells me he has seen small numbers of young Kittiwakes
on that part of Dungeness in previous years ; but this year
the number seems to have been unusually large.
1 have at present little light on where the Sellafield Kitti-
wakes may have come from, or what may have brought them
to the shore. When the Rev. FI. A. Macpherson published his
Verlibrate Fauna of Lakeland in 1892, he had little to say
of the Kittiwake.but he describes it as “in winter and spring . . .
fairly common along our shores ” ; and he adds the surprising
information that in “ the spring of the year a few Kittiwakes
often assemble in the fields a few miles from salt water to
feed on the worms and grubs exposed by early ploughing
At that time Kittiwakes did not nest on the St. Bees cliffs.
To-day they do. These cliffs are only ten miles north of
Sellafield. But I doubt if the Sellafield birds have any con-
nexion with St. Bees. When I visited St. Bees on August
12th, some young Kittiwakes were still on the cliffs, and a
few old and young were sitting on the sea below the cliffs.
It is, I believe, quite a small colony.
It seems possible that some Kittiwakes habitually rest on
the shore during the moult. I did not find any feathers at
Sellafield ; but, as I have said, they were mostly resting
204
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
below high-water mark. It seems practically certain that
they went off to sea when they wanted to feed ; and those
seen flying along the shore at and near Seascale were presum-
ably returning to the resting-ground after feeding. Although
there is a good deal of evidence that they can feed on land,
I did not see them attempting to feed on the shore.
I may perhaps take this opportunity to add that, during the
past ten years, I have accumulated a sufficient number of
records of Kittiwakes observed in the Midlands, hardly ever after
storms, and usually as quickly passing migrants, only spending
a day or an hour at a reservoir, to convince me that they
voluntarily cross the land more often than has been supposed.
Perhaps one may sum up by saying that, although the vast
majority of Kittiwakes spend eight or nine months of the
year at sea, often well out of sight of any land, they seem to
visit the land more often than has been suspected ; and, in
particular, some proportion of both old and young birds
apparently spend part of the summer resting on the shore,
possibly at the time of the moult. But the whole matter
seems to require further investigation.
(205)
REPORT OF THE LITTLE OWL FOOD INQUIRY.
1936-37.
(ORGANISED BY THE BRITISH TRUST FOR
ORNITHOLOGY.)
BY
ALICE HIBBERT-WARE, M.B.O.U. (Analyst).
(' Continued from Page 187.)
Does the Little Owl raid the Nests of Other Birds ?
No instance of this has come before the notice of the regular
field observers.
The full record of nest-raiding during the Inquiry is as
follows : —
(1) Four nestlings were found by the analyst in food remains,
namely, one Blackbird, two House-Sparrows and one Sky-
Lark.
(ii) Two Starlings’ nests were recorded by correspondents
as having been raided in 1936.
(iii) Mr. A. W. Boyd (Northwich) has found the Little Owl
a menace to his colony of Tree-Sparrows in nesting boxes
round his meadow. One ringed nestling was taken from the
Owls’ nest in 1936.
(iv) Mr. A. Clark (Longfield) recorded a Blue Tit’s nest as
being raided in July, 1937. The incident is interesting. A
pair of Blue Tits built in a 2.\ in. pipe stuck vertically in a
bank of lime sludge in a paper mill yard. The nest was 14 in.
from the top of the pipe. It contained young birds on June
18th. On July 2nd a live Little Owl was found lodged, head
first in the pipe. It was pulled out with tongs and flew off.
A young Blue Tit then flew out of the pipe. Three dead
nestlings, full of maggots, were found in the nest. One parent
bird was flying round outside.
The Little Owl had clearly been investigating the pipe for
its contents. The cause of mortality of the decomposed
nestlings is obscure, but the nest was in an unfavourable
position for the parent birds.
The evidence for nest raiding is so scanty as to lead to the
conclusion that it is not a usual habit but takes place excep-
tionally when nests in holes are easily found in situations
such as walls, trees, pipes and nesting boxes.
Storage of Food and the " Beetle Bait Theory”.
(2) Does the Little Owl make a practice of storing food in
quantities more than sufficient for the present needs of itself
and its young ?
200
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
The field observers have searched in vain for any such
stores. None of the many larders cleared by them has
contained more than one entire animal. Everything in a
larder has usually been partly eaten. The one and only case
of an apparent “ store ” was proved to be that of a sick
Little Owl that continued to catch what it was unable to
eat ( Incident i).
Mr. J. C. S. Ellis wrote on September 30th : “ The hole in
the wall is a store — the first I have found. To-day it contained
a few Little Owl feathers, a few from a House-Sparrow, a
quantity of black horse hair, the remains of a dor beetle and
a newly killed but untouched long-tailed field-mouse.” As
nothing was added eventually to the collection, it was,
therefore, not a permanent store. The uneaten parts of birds
and mammals may be left in holes and accumulate and
such debris may sometimes be the source of the carrion
beetles that have been found in nests and pellets in small
numbers. But there is no foundation whatever from the
evidence accumulated during the Inquiry for a belief that
the Little Owl prepares carrion in order to attract carrion
beetles to it, so that after a lapse of time it may return to it
and feed on the beetles. Yet this fantastic story which
accords to the Little Owl a degree of intelligence (including
memory and forethought) entirely unknown among birds,
is believed and even " improved upon ” by credulous people,
as the following letter shows.
From a gamekeeper of 40 years’ experience :
“ This is what I have seen them do to young game. When
the young partridge or pheasant are direct under it, it will
dart down and it will have the brains out of two in less than
a minute. And it will carry them away to their cemetery
(but not till night) and I have found the burial ground when
I have been on my beat. And I have noticed that it always
faces the east. And there you will find that the victims are
half buried. And from May until August they will carry the
game to their cemetery. And when their young are old enough
they will turn over their oldest victims and return to their
nest with black beetles. They pay visits to the cemetery
every half-hour.”
More temperate opinions in favour of the beetle-bait theory
cannot be given, as no others have been sent. Yet this fable
gets credence from some people on account of its frequent
insertion in the Press and even in popular books of Natural
History. Hence it is of importance that if not true, it should
be disposed of.
vol. xxxi ] LITTLE OWL INQUIRY.
207
J he answer of the writer is : In 2,460 pellets and 76 nests
and holes, 75 burying beetles only were found. None were
found in the gizzards. It is, of course, obvious that if the Owls
made a habit of leaving carrion as a bait for beetles, carrion-
feeding species would have occurred much more frequently
than this.
Mr. J. C. S. Ellis expressed the experience of the field
observers when he wrote after the nesting season : —
“ My considered opinion about laying-out is as follows :
A Little Owl kills a bird with intent to feed. If undisturbed,
it eats the choice portions if the bird is large ( e.g ., the breast
is easy to get at). The remainder is erroneously called a
‘ lay-out ’. Beetles frequent the remains. In course of time
a Little Owl may visit them (without fore-knowledge) and
find the beetles.”
Special Incidents and Problems.
Incident 1 — A Sick Little Owl.
(1) A series of observations made by Mr. A. W. Dickinson
(St. Albans) are of great interest though they do not, as was
thought at first, prove a storage habit for the Little Owl.
A pair of Little Owls had for years used a hole in an apple
tree as a nest site. In December last, Mr. Dickinson noticed
feathers in a hole one foot in diameter and depth, on the
opposite side of the tree to the old nest. He found in the
hole 4 House-Sparrows, parts of a Lark and a Tit and 2 field-
mice. A fortnight later all was unchanged. Then after a few
days 6 mice and voles and a House-Sparrow appeared.
Nothing had been eaten. Snow followed, after which
2 Sparrows (except wings) had gone.
From February 20th Mr. Dickinson kept a diary of
observations. Daily he found a Little Owl fast asleep in the
hole. Also daily he found two or three mice added to the
store. These were not always eaten, so they accumulated.
On March 7th they had all been eaten and a fresh mouse
stored. The Little Owl could be seen each evening mouse-
catching in the rick yard at about 6 p.m. and the opportunity
was then taken to count the mice in the hole.
From March 29th the bird was evidently ill and Mr.
Dickinson supplied it with rats and mice. He finally wrote,
“ When I picked the dead bird up, it was smothered with
brown lice. I think they had sucked the bird’s life away
though it did not seem in a really poor condition”. It is
probable that death was due to internal trouble and that the
lice were a result rather than the cause of sickness. The
pellets of this Little Owl were twisted into strange shapes
and were unlike those of a healthy bird.
208
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
Since this Little Owl was probably a sick bird from the
start, the episode gives no certain proof of either essentially
night feeding or of a storage habit for the species. It does
show that the hunting instinct outlasted the bird’s appetite.
It is also worthy of note that the rickyard adjoins extensive
chicken coops and though the Little Owl could easily have
gained access to the latter, it never did so. This has been
Mr. Dickinson’s experience over many years. He is confident
that the Little Owl takes its natural food whenever it is
possible to procure it readily.
Incident 2 — A Red-legged Partridge.
The nest tree of a pair of Little Owls was found at
Lavenham, Suffolk.
On May 25th under the roosting tree (a dead willow in a
field near by) Miss Hutchinson found feathers of a Red-legged
Partridge, in a circle, about 16 feet from the tree. A trail of
feathers led to the tree, where another patch lay. A Little
Owl flew from the tree. Several Little Owl pellets were
collected from beneath the tree.
The feather trail led through the fence on to the railway
embankment. Here the grass was long and a distinct passage
through it was marked by beaten down grass and many
Partridge feathers. A third patch lay by a Red-legged
Partridge’s nest, with 9 cold eggs. The intestines of an adult
rabbit and two young also lay there. Miss Hutchinson then
went to the Little Owl’s nest tree and collected pellets. At
9 p.m. she watched the nest tree. A Common Partridge was
feeding beneath it. At 9.15 a Little Owl came from the hole
and sat in the entrance. On May 27th she revisited the
Red-legged Partridge’s nest. The eggs had all disappeared,
leaving no sign of egg shells.
Miss Hutchinson continued to collect pellets and made a
thorough clearance of the Little Owl’s nest. All the material
was sent to the analyst. Not a trace of Red-legged Partridge
(or any game bird) was found in either pellets or loose material.
The Partridge was probably taken by a mammal. The eggs
may have been removed by a rat. In any case, the incident
was proved to have had no connexion whatever with the
Little Owl. It is reported merely to show the importance of
tracking down circumstantial evidence whenever possible.
Incident 3 — A Pheasant’s Wing.
In July, 1936, Mr. Pumfrett found a wing of a young
Pheasant near his Little Owl’s nest at Old Woking. No
Pheasant remains were found in the thorough nest clearance
VOL. XXXI.]
LITTLE OWL INQUIRY.
209
he made soon after. On August 23rd he sent a large consign-
ment of material from “ a long, large hole in the ground near
where the wing of the Pheasant was found. Is it the debris of
a fox or badger ? ” Badger it probably was, as was shown by
the numerous black and white hairs attached to the faeces.
A number of feathers of a Pheasant were also sent from the
hole. So the matter was settled.
Incident 4 — The Gawsworth Nest.
Mr. R. E. Knowles sent in January, 1937, two consignments
from an old nesting hole at Gawsworth, Cheshire. The weight
of the material was 14! lbs. He felt sure that abundant
remains of game-chicks of past seasons would be found to
justify his belief that Little Owls kill game-chicks but do not
eat them. Accordingly the writer put this material to specially
minute tests.
This material, which represented the nest debris of probably
several seasons contained much wood fibre and many frag-
ments of bracken, oak leaves and acorns. Except for a few
frayed feathers and bones of a Starling and Blackbird and a
few rodent bones (including one large rat jawbone), the whole
mass consisted of a conglomeration of the elytra, legs and
heads of innumerable dor beetles and cockchafers, with a few
carabids, in a matrix of crushed pellet material. There was,
however, one entire skeleton of a medium-sized rat. At the
entrance of the hole were the fasces of a mammal, apparently
those of a stoat. It seems likely that a rat had taken possession
of the hole, but even so, it would hardly have disposed of the
ancient dry remains of mammals and birds so universally
found in old nest holes. The writer can only suggest that
this particular pair of Little Owls made more use of “ larders "
than is usually the case for the preparation of their bird
and rodent food, and that the nest hole had also been con-
siderably used by mammals after the nesting season. The
case is unique for the records of the Inquiry.
Incident 5 — The Buckleigh Nest.
Another consignment of old and puzzling nest contents was
sent by Mr. Howard Lancum on May 25th, 1936, from
Buckleigh, S. Devon. The material consisted of (1) a Green
Woodpecker, (2) some large feathers of an adult poultry fowl,
(3) cockchafers, (4) two full-sized, empty shells of Helix
aspersa, (5) 1 small Little Owl feather. The contents obviously
did not belong to a nest of the season. The Woodpecker was
a complete “ shell", empty from having been fly blown. The
head and body were intact, with one side of the head skele-
tonized. One wing and leg had dropped from the body.
210
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
obviously from decay. The ribs, however, on one side were
broken (from a shot wound ?). The n adult chicken feathers
were the sole traces of a fowl.
These contents were seen by Dr. C. B. Ticehurst. His
opinion (with which the writer agrees) was: “ The Woodpecker
crept into the hole to die. The chicken feathers were taken
there, if by a Little Owl, as roughage.” The Little Owl was
not responsible for either bird.
Incident 6 — A Dead Little Owl.
A mutilated and partly decomposed juvenile Little Owl
was found, in June, 1936, by Mr. Pumfrett at Old Woking,
in a hole in the roots of a tree not 40 feet from the nest. “ The
hole is too small for a fox to enter. I could not discover any
insect or animal remains in this hole.” The hole was kept
under observation for several weeks but it was not used again.
It seems likely that a rat or stoat killed the juvenile Little
Owl and put it in the hole. It is of interest that a single leg
of a Little Owl was found in a Little Owl larder at Hildersham
(Cambs.) and that rodent faeces and a half walnut shell,
bearing marks of rodent teeth, were found in the same hole.
Traces of rats are frequently found when tracking down
evidence connected with the Little Owl.
On the other hand these Little Owls may have been guilty
of cannibalism ! Col. W. A. Payn has recorded a case of a
clean-picked leg of a Little Owl in a nest. The problem must
remain unsolved.
Incident 7 — A Possible Association of Little Owl with Other
Species of Owls.
Capt. W. K. Marshall (Derby) sent a batch of large pellets
in May, 1936, for examination. He was told that they were
those of either Barn or Tawny Owl. He replied : “ I thought
these pellets were large but have you ever known Tawny Owl
pellets in a tree inhabited by Little Owl ? I have known this
oak tree for the past 16 years. In that period it has frequently
been inhabited by Little Owls and when I collected these
pellets, I put two Little Owls out of the tree. The pellets
were on the ground at the entrance to a hole in the tree.
In spite of the size I am not satisfied that these are Tawny
Owl pellets.” The writer then told Capt. Marshall of how
she and her brother were taken in July, 1933, to see “ a Little
Owl’s nest ” in a field at Dry Drayton (Cambs.). On reaching
the tree, to the surprise of all, a Barn Owl flew from the
supposed nest. A Little Owl was perched in a tree a few feet
away. Pellets of both species were found in the hole, which
was a disused nest.
vol. xxxi ] LITTLE OWL INQUIRY.
211
Capt. Marshall was asked to clear his hole. He did so and
wrote : “ I think you are right. I examined the entire hole
and send you all the pellets there were.” They consisted of
io large Tawny Owl pellets composed of mice and finches and
of 5 small insect pellets of the Little Owl. Unfortunately the
hole was then disused by both species.
The Little Owl is sometimes accused of being a menace to
other owls. No evidence of this has been observed. These
two incidents seem to indicate that other owls may even share
the feeding hole of the Little Owl, at least for pellet evacua-
tion. In both the incidents the pellets of the two species
showed entirely different food remains. There had been no
competition over the matter of food.
Some Causes of Mortality among Little Owls.
There has been some evidence to show that a Little Owl
sometimes falls a prey to other animals, e.g., rats (?) ( Incident
6). One of the Bretton Park nests was found denuded of its
eggs this year and blood-stained egg shells were found near
by. It was known that this was not due to human agency.
There is reason to believe that prolonged frost and wet
weather are sometimes a cause of mortality. The writer
received two Little Owls during a wet spell this year and the
post-mortem failed to find any other cause of death. Miss
Julie Schinz (Zurich) records that a family of juvenile Little
Owls succumbed to frost in her bird sanctuary. She also
relates that hard weather in 1929 was responsible for the death
of large numbers of Little Owls near Zurich. ” At a meeting
of the Wissenschaftliche Kommission der Ala, Herr Nageli,
taxidermist for the Zoological Museum, described how in
1929 he received hundreds of dead Little Owls that had been
killed by the intense cold.”
Little Owls are not infrequently killed by hitting motor
vehicles and overhead wires. The writer has received several
such in past years.
It may be that these and other causes are having their part
in the diminishing numbers of Little Owls in some parts of
Britain, though doubtless the gun and trap are the chief
factors. More certain evidence on this subject is needed.
Vertebrates other than Mammals and Birds.
Amphibia.
Frogs ( Rana tempovaria) were very abundant in the Woking nest.
Elsewhere they were occasional.
Reptilia.
Lacertilia. Lizards ( Lacerta vivipara ) were rather frequent from
212 BRITISH BIRDS. [vol. xxxi.
Seaford and Laugharne. Two were found at Little Burstead. One
slowworm (Anguis fragilis) came from Laugharne.
Ophidia. One grass snake ( Natrix natrix), three inches long, came
from Seaford.
List of Rodentia.
Brown rat ( Rattus norvegicus) .
House-mouse ( Mus muse-ulus) .
Long-tailed field-mouse ( Apodemus sylvaticus).
Field-vole ( Microtus agrestis).
Bank- vole ( Clethrionomys glareolus).
Rabbit ( Oryctolagus cuniculus).
Rodents.
During Inquiry Part I the remains of rodents were found
as follows : Rabbits, 17 ; Rats, 50 ; Mice, 220 ; Voles, 141 ;
Mice or Voles, 42, giving a total for the year 1936 of 470
rodents.
During the nesting season large and medium-sized rats
and young rabbits were taken. The dead animal was fre-
quently found under or near the nest tree in a partly eaten
condition. The jaws, bones and some of the fur were among
the nest contents or else in pellets. The rats found during the
rest of the year were usually small, but often larger than mice.
Their jaws, fragments of skulls and the bones and fur were
found in pellets.
Mice, voles and young rats were found in the pellets
throughout the year. In open country the}7 occurred occa-
sionally ; on the edge of woodland and in enclosed fields
they formed an important part of the diet. As the entire
animal is usually eaten, the presence of jaws with their
characteristic teeth made identification easy. If, however,
the jaws were not present, they were recorded as “ small
rodents
When present in large numbers, rodents are undoubtedly
eaten in large numbers. Mr. Dickinson (St. Albans) relates
how for many years Little Owls were invaluable in keeping
down rodents on his farm. Now that the bird has become
scarce, the rodents have become a bad scourge. Several other
people have described the same thing.
The most noteworthy feature of the rodent part of the
Inquiry has been their marked increase as a food item during
the whole of 1937. At Bretton Park, where rodents were
always one of the most frequent tjqoes of food, they became
in January almost the sole constituent. Not only were most
of the pellets completely composed of mice but large numbers
vol. xxxi ] LITTLE OWL INQUIRY.
213
consisted of rodent fur only. This continued to the end of the
Inquiry in July. Further evidence came from Altrincham
(Cheshire). Mr. E. Cohen sent three consignments of material
from a hole at the foot of an oak from which he saw a Little
Owl fly. He wrote : “ It is mixed farming land. There are
plenty of rabbits and lapwings and a few partridges and
snipe.” The material and pellets which he removed from the
hole consisted of : —
1937-
May 25th : 3 Long-tailed field-mice, jaws and most bones present
2 Geotrupes sp. ; 4 Necrophorus sp, (beetles).
May 27th: 2 Long-tailed field-mice ; x Geotnipes sp, ; feathers of
Little Owl.
June 2nd: 2 Long-tailed field-mice; 1 Geotrupes sp. ; feathers of
Little Owl.
Capt. W. K. Marshall kept a nest under observation on
Radburne Hall Estate, Derby and sent material regularly.
May 27th : 1 Long-tailed field-mouse ; feathers of Starling (juv.) ;
beetle fragments.
June 4th : Lower jaw of large vole, enclosed in fur ; wing of Starling
(juv.) ; Geotrupes sp.
June 9th : Much fur, teeth and ribs of long-tailed field-mouse ;
Geotrupes sp.
June 16th : Jaw and fur of vole ; wing of Starling (juv.) ; Geotrupes sp.
The pellets sent by Mr. A. O. Rolls (Wellington, Salop),
which were rich in rodent remains in 1936, showed a great
increase in the number present in the pellets of 1937- Che
same is true of the nest clearances made in 1937 by other
workers of 1936 at Harold Wood, Limpsfield and Old
Woking.
Mr. Rolls and Mr. Chandler (Limpsfield) have taken the
opinion of local gamekeepers as to whether there has been
an increase of rodents in 1937 in their immediate districts
(near the nest sites). In both cases the answer was that this
has been the case to a marked degree.
Mammals other than Rodents.
Insecxivora. The remains of 44 shrews ( Sorex araneus castaneus )
were found in 1936, including one water shrew ( Ncomys fodicns bicolor).
A slight increase in abundance was noted in 1937.
8 moles ( Talpa europczci) occurred in nest contents.
Some claws and broken bones of a hedgehog ( Erinaceus curopcsus)
were found in pellets at Seaford in two consecutive weeks. As similar
claws and bones were also found in pellets of a Carrion-Crow at the same
time and place, the Little Owl had presumably been pecking at carrion.
Cheiroptera. A few hairs of a bat in a gizzard were the only traces
found of this mammal.
214
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
Birds other than Game and Poultry Chicks.
List and Number of the Birds Found in the Food
Remains in 1936
Number
found. Order Passeres.
1 Jay ( Garrulus glandarius) .
58 Starling ( Sturnus vulgaris).
1 Hawfinch ( Coccothraustes coccothraustes) .
2 Greenfinch ( Chloris chloris).
6 Chaffinch ( Fringilla ccelebs).
38 House-Sparrow ( Passer domestious) .
2 Yellow Bunting ( Ember iza citrinella).
9 Sky-Lark ( Alauda arvensis).
1 Meadow-Pipit [A nthus pratensis) .
2 Blue Titmouse ( Parus cceruleus).
4 Mistle-Thrush ( T urdus viscivorus).
19 Song-Thrush (T urdus ericetorum) .
31 Blackbird (T urdus merula).
1 Robin ( Erithacus rubecula ) .
Order Limicolaj.
1 Common Snipe (Capella gallinago) .
5 Lapwing ( Vanellus vanellus).
TABLE 7.
Calendar of the Birds Found in the Food Remains in 1936.
Jan.
Feb.
Mar.
Apr.
May
Jun.
July
Aug.
Sep.
Oct.
Xov.
Starling ...
—
3
—
2
10
12
18
8
4
1
—
Blackbird
House-
—
—
3
2
10
12
3
1
—
—
Sparrow
Song-
6
3
4
2
1
12
4
2
2
2
—
Thrush
1
1
—
3
6
7
1
—
■ — -
— -
Skylark ...
1
—
—
3
r
1
i
1
1
- — -
—
Chaffinch
—
—
—
—
2
2
2
—
—
- —
— ■
Lapwing
(juv.)
Mistle-
1
3
1
Thrush
Yellow
—
—
—
1
2
1
—
—
—
—
Bunting
— •
—
—
— -
—
—
1
1
— •
—
— ■
Titmice ...
1
—
—
—
—
—
1
—
—
—
—
Greenfinch
—
—
—
- — -
—
1
—
—
—
—
—
Hawfinch
— -
— -
— -
—
— ■
—
—
1
—
- —
—
Jay (juv.)
- —
— -
— -
—
- —
1
—
—
—
—
—
Robin
Meadow-
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
1
—
—
—
Pipit ...
—
—
—
1
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
Snipe
(adult)
Unidentified
Total
2
4
5
1
4
4
1
2
—
5
4
1
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
181
22
203
00 o
vol. xxxi.] LITTLE OWL INQUIRY.
215
The study of Table 7 will be seen to lead to the following
conclusions.
(1) From May till mid-July the Little Owl takes a toll of
Starlings, House-Sparrows, Blackbirds and Thrushes. Other
species of birds are taken occasionally but not in important
numbers.
(2) In mid- July a sudden diminution in the amount of bird
food occurs. It must be realized that the numbers quoted
for July belong partly (probably mostly) to the two previous
months, as a single clearance of a nest made when the young
birds have flown, shows the bird food that has been taken
in May and June rather than in July.
(3) From September till April bird food almost disappears
from the diet. House-Sparrows continue to be used occa-
sionally also, very rarely, other species. The eight birds
recorded for January were all found in the hole used by the
sick Little Owl ( Incident 1) and probably do not all belong
to that month.
(4) In April, birds begin to increase in the food, reaching
their maximum during the period of the feeding of the nestlings
in May and June.
The list of species shows that the birds used as food are
almost entirely those that usually or frequently feed on the
ground. They are thus easily procured by a bird of prey
whose habit throughout the year is to pick up rodents and
insects.
The maximum number of birds found in a nest clearance
(with the larders) is fourteen — there are usually eight or ten.
The belief of many people that the Little Owl is a voracious
feeder on birds, at least during the breeding season, is not
justified by the evidence of 1936 and 1937. Two or three
birds weekly is not a large number for the mouths of four or
five birds of prey. It is noteworthy too that all the birds
recorded (with the exception of the Hawfinch) are common
species. There has not been a single reference in the whole
of the correspondence during the years of Inquiry to Warblers,
Nightingales, Shrikes or in fact to any bird that is not on the
list (Table 7) (with the exception of a Tern and a nestling
Tern and Gull, see p. 218 and the Skokholm incident described
subsequently).
Whatever the Little Owl may have done in past years,
it does not appear at the present time either to raid nests
(see Habits) or to feed on birds in such large numbers as to be
harmful to the species that form its prey.
The following incident seems, however, to contradict these
conclusions. It must, therefore, be examined with care.
216
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
Little Owls on Skokholm Island, Pembrokeshire.
This island, occupied by Mr. R. M. Lockley as a bird
reservation, holds an almost unique colony of Storm-Petrels
(. Hydrobates pelagicus). The bird is 6.5 inches long (rather
smaller than a Swift). The nests are in burrows in turf, close
together. About two hours after sunset the Storm-Petrels
fly about and hover over the burrows.
In 1934 a pair of Little Owls nested on the island. In a
hole in a wall a large number of wings and tails of Storm-
Petrels were found. In both 1936 and 1937 a large cache
was again found, numbering in the former case some 200
Storm-Petrels. The island contains rabbits but no rats, and
no horses or cows to provide dung-beetles. Here, in a colony
of small birds which hover just above the ground by night,
were perfect conditions for the Little Owls’ hunting ground.
It is obvious that it is altogether unsuitable that the Little
Owl should be allowed to breed on Skokholm. By every pos-
sible means Mr. Lockley is justified in his efforts to prevent
it from doing so. But the incident has little connexion with
the present Inquiry, for the Skokholm circumstances are
exceptional in every detail. What takes place on a small
island where feeding is abnormal has little relevance to an
Inquiry into the feeding habits of the same bird on the
mainland where its normal diet is easily procured.
Correspondents’ Reports of Food Seen Taken or Found
in Nests, etc. in 1936.
June 28th : “ When I went up to the nest of the Little Owls
I found in it, with the two young Owls, two moles and one
young rabbit.”- — Dr. A. H. Zair (Salop).
June 12th: “ I saw the male Owl kill one young Blackbird.” —
Mr. J. Slee (Middlesex).
August 7th : “ I saw one once with a Blackbird in its bill
but such pellets as I have found show a great preponderance
of beetles.” — Mr. Waterhouse Gibbins (Glos.).
August 7th : “ On one occasion last year, a Little Owl took
a young Blackbird off the lawn within five yards of where
my wife was sitting.”— Mr. G. K. Page (Hants.).
“ My observations cover nearly 30 years. I say very
definitely that the Little Owl’s food almost solely consists
of insects, especially beetles and moths and of small rodents.
This last season (1936) I have had some half-dozen nests under
observation and the only proof I could find of slaughter of
birds has been the presence of legs of young Starlings.” —
Mr. Camden Clarke (Burton-on-Trent).
yol. xxxi.] LITTLE OWL INQUIRY.
217
“ I have only once actually seen one catch a bird — a Black-
bird at 7.30 p.m. (summer time)." — Mr. H. F. Witherby
(Chobham).
May 31st, 1936 : “ In a nesting hole, up a hollow log lying on
the ground on May 26th, where there were two young about a
week old, I found the following : — 2 young Starlings (one
decapitated and the wing of another), the wing and primary
feathers of the same species. Also the hind-quarters of a
short-tailed field-vole and shrew, the hind-quarters of a large
brown rat and four other small rats complete. Three days
later all these had apparently been eaten except a mouse and
the remains of a rat." — Mr. C. W. Heycock (Winchester).
August 18th : 1935 : “ About 9 a.m. I picked up a dead Little
Owl, killed by a car. The gizzard contained a pink and green
grasshopper about f in. long, undigested.” — Mr. M. D. Lister
(Surrey).
April 27th, 1936 : “ A Little Owl here has a rabbit’s skull
and lower jaw in its new nesting hole.” — Rev. R. Pimm
(Leics.).
June 2nd, 1936 : "I took the chance to watch them at work
this evening from 7.30 till 8.30 p.m. It was very interesting.
In the course of that hour the male bird arrived home with
four kills. The first was a young rat about twice the size of
a farm mouse. The others appeared to be field-mice or voles.
After arriving at the tree, each time with the kill in his claws,
he would take it in his bill and get nearer the hole. He would
then make a noise not unlike a hen chicking quietly and the
female would pop out with a little wheezing screech, taking
the food for the young. Not once did the male go into the
nest." — Mr. D. Carter (Abergavenny).
April 24th, 1936 : “ I was walking along a row of hawthorn
trees when I noticed a round hole. A Little Owl sat in the
bottom and by its side was a half-grown rabbit. In the other
larders were mice, beetle wings, bones, birds’ legs and feathers.
One had nothing but mice, fresh killed." — Mr. F. W. Bates
(Copmanthorpe).
September 1st, 1936 : “ A pair of Little Owls nested in a
disused hive for some years at Ringwood farm. Minster Lovell.
We opened the hive one hot summer day and found two owlets
with no less than 17 freshly killed mice round them. Every
one was fresh and we wondered what the total bag that day
must have been. No feathers were found in the nest.” —
Mr. C. B. Bartlett (Charlbury).
May 20th, 1936 : “ Whilst the hen was sitting, three or four
dead mice were placed in a small niche above the nest daily.
218
BRITISH BIRDS.
! VOL. XXXI.
I noticed long-tailed, short-tailed, house mouse, a shrew and
one young rat. When brooding began, the mice were whole,
but throughout the last week of brooding their heads have
been torn off. The eggs are hatching to-day.”- — A. J. Harthan,
Evesham (Worcester).
One pair of Little Owls had chosen a diet different from the
rodents, Starlings, Blackbirds and insects described by the
other correspondents. Mr. A. C. G. Thompson (Streatham)
records, on June 6th, 1936, “ the larder contents of a Little
Owl’s nest I found on the beach at Dungeness. There were
three young in a hole at the foot of an elder tree. With them
were the wings and beak of a Common Tern and the bodies,
minus heads, of a Common Tern chick and a Black-headed
Gull chick.”
It seems probable that this variation from the normal diet,
described by the other correspondents, was due to the fact
that on this particular site, sea birds were more easily procured
than were rodents, Starlings, Blackbirds and insects.
A Tame Little Owl Fed on Dead Day-Old Chicks.
Miss Margaret Perry of Guildford made the following
experiments to test whether the parts of young chicks are too
soft to reappear in pellet form. She sent all food remains to the
analyst together with full notes of her observations on the
bird. Her Little Owl had never seen either a chick or a
mouse previously to the experiments. That she had to train
it to accept its new supper is shown by the fact that the bird
evinced terror when the dead chick was placed in the cage,
beating itself against the bars till the chick was removed.
Hunger eventually forced it to peck at it. This is mentioned
merely to account for the sparsity of results in the first two
experiments. No inference is intended to be drawn. One
cannot deduce habits of wild birds from their behaviour in
captivity. But it is reasonable to suppose that the working
of the alimentary system is alike for both.
Experiment 1. Sept. 16th. Little Owl given one day-old chick.
Result : (a) 1 pellet. Composed of down, tendons, lower mandible.
( b ) Faeces. Contained 5 bits of down in lime.
(c) Uneaten : 2 wings, legs, entrails, vertebrae.
Experiment 2. September 22nd. Given one day-old chick.
Result : Chick pecked but not eaten. Remains found on floor.
No pellet formed and faeces revealed nothing.
Experiment 3. September 24th. Given one day-old chick.
Results : 1 pellet, composed of a mass of down enclosing 1 humerus,
vertebrae, fragments of skull, bill.
Faeces : 2 bits of down in lime.
Uneaten : Legs, 1 whole wing and fragment of the other,
most of the body.
219
vol. xxxi ] LITTLE OWL INQUIRY.
Experiment 4. September 27th. One day-old chick.
Results : 5 pellets (4 very small). The whole chick was eaten except
the wings. The pellets, showing the bones, have been
kept intact as specimen pellets.
Experiment 5. September 29th. Given one day-old chick.
Results : 3 small pellets. Contained much down, the bill, a few bones
and the gizzard.
Faeces : Traces of down.
Uneaten : Wings, one leg and a small quantity of entrails.
Experiment 6. October 2nd. Given one day-old chick.
Results : 4 small pellets contained all the down, both wings and
legs (one leg folded in separate pellet), vertebrae, bones,
bill.
Faeces : Traces of down.
Uneaten : Nothing left except a minute quantity of entrails.
Experiment 7. October 4th. One day-old chick.
4 pellets. Everything was swallowed except the entrails
and one leg.
Pellet 1 contained the wings in down.
Pellet 2 contained one foot in down.
Pellet 3 contained the bill and bones in down.
Pellet 4 contained the gizzard in down.
The second leg was not found but as the cage is used
for feeding and roosting only, it was probably lost by
the Owl in the house. The pellets contained, besides a
vast amount of down, 2 feathers of the Little Owl.
In all the above experiments, the chick (with a little
cabbage) was the whole day’s ration. It was, therefore,
hungry when the chick was presented. On December 17th,
however, it was given a chick and a mouse at 9.40 a.m. at
an hour when not usually fed. The mouse, though new food
to it, was taken first and most completely — only the tail and a
bit of skin were left. Later the chick was eaten. Two pellets
were ejected, one at 6.15 p.m., the other being found at
8 a.m. The first contained the skull and jawbones, a few
other bones and a little fur of the mouse. The second contained
a large amount of down, both wings and several bones of the
chick.
On December 30th the Little Owl was given 2 day-old
chicks. The three resulting pellets contained the whole of
the down, 3 legs, most of the vertebrae, the bills and many
of the bones.
Experiments at the London Zoo.
Two similar experiments were worked at the London Zoo,
through the kindness of Mr. D. Seth-Smith.
(1) On June 22nd the two caged Little Owls were given a
Turkey taken from the egg and four young Pheasants in
down. Results : 5 small pellets. Three of them were analysed,
2 being kept intact as specimens. Copious down enclosed the
bills, bones and feet of the chicks.
220
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
(2) On June 28th 4 poultry chicks of about 10 days were
used. The result was 4 large pellets composed of down, bills,
feet, vertebrae and other bones.
The results of these experiments show clearly that if a
chick is eaten its harder parts reappear in the pellets just as
completely as do those of other birds and mammals. The bill
appeared in the pellet in almost every case and the down, in
large quantity, did so invariably.
It is the opinion of some people that the whole structure
of the chick is so soft as to prevent it from reappearing in
pellet form. This is certainly not so with the down, bill and
feet. The bones are, it is true, very soft in a fresh pellet but
the pellet does contain them and they harden at once on drying
and cannot possibly be overlooked by the analyst. Chick
pellets, moreover, are easily recognized (in birds with pale
down) by their yellow coloration which distinguishes them
from all others known to the writer.
Poultry Chicks.
Records of the Field Observers.
There were two records during the Inquiry of poultry chicks
being taken by Little Owls.
In 1936 two chicks were found by Mr. C. H. Smith in a
nest on his farm and in 1937 he found five more. No traces of
poultry chicks have been found otherwise in pellets, nests,
larders or gizzards.
The details of the two records are as follows : — -
On May 31st, 1936, Mr. C. H. Smith (see Table 2) found two
partly eaten chicks in a Little Owl’s nest on his farm. Some
chick bones and feathers were also found in some pellets he
sent on the same date, doubtless of the same birds.
On June 6th, 1937, Mr. Smith wrote : “I have been
watching the nesting hole and also larder against the house
every day for the last two weeks. In them I have found four
young Blackbirds, one young Song-Thrush, two poultry
chicks and a young rabbit, with the usual large quantity of
beetles. I have been to the nest once a day. The chicks were
partly eaten but these were in the larder.”
June 27th, 1937 : “ The Little Owls have this week killed
three poultry chicks. I actually saw one old bird eating the
chick. The neck was picked clean of flesh from the back of
the head to the shoulders where the neck was severed. This
was at 9.30 p.m. On Thursday at 6 a.m. I found another in
exactly the same condition and on Saturday another. The
head in none of them had been touched.”
vol. xxxi.] LITTLE OWL INQUIRY.
221
Mr. Smith possibly “ asked for trouble ” with his pair. So
certain was he (after many years' experience with Little Owls
on his farm), that they never took live chicks that he allowed
them to act as scavengers with dead chicks by placing them
on the tops of the huts and perhaps created their taste for
them.*
Mr. A. Dickinson (St. Albans), another of the regular
observers, wrote on June 14th, 1936 : —
“ I am rearing upwards of 1,000 head of chickens, Turkeys,
Guinea Fowls and Pheasants. So far I cannot trace a single
case to these birds as having killed any of my young birds.
Nor have 1 seen or heard of them being amongst the coops
any time during day or evening. This includes the period of
incubation and rearing of young.” Some of Mr. Dickinson’s
coops actually adjoin the ricks where, till lately, Little Owls
have hunted regularly for rodents. The writer has visited
the farm and seen the nest and hunting sites.
Several of the observers have questioned local farmers on
the subject.
Mr. J. F. Thomas, Laugharne : “ I talked to many farmers
and rabbit catchers during April. None of them could give
any evidence of Little Owls taking chickens.”
Mr. Chandler, Limpsfiekl : “ The keeper of a Surrey Estate
tells me he has never known the Little Owl take either
Pheasants or poultry chicks. He shoots the birds at every
opportunity, however.”
Mrs. Babb, Shaugh, Devon, collected pellets daily from
feeding haunts on farmland. The two farmers expressed their
opinion freely that the Little Owl is helpful on their farms.
Mrs. Ayre, Gornal (Dudley) : “I asked the farmer if he
knew the Little Owls were there. He said he did but that they
never troubled him. He rears lots of poultry but had no
complaints.”
No adverse opinions about poultry chicks were reported
by the observers.
Reports from Correspondents.
There were none for the years of the Inquiry, 1936 to July,
19 37. Miss Harding (Horley) wrote that in July, 1935, a
number of chicks were taken from her small poultry farm
and the delinquent Little Owls were shot. No other complaints
were made for that year.
*It is interesting to note that Dr. Collinge describes a parallel case.
Of his two records of Pheasant chicks being taken, one was of a Little
Owl that had been fed by the keeper on dead Pheasant chicks.
222
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
Game Chicks.
Records from the Food Remains.
July 24th, 1936 : The bill, bones and a few feathers of a
Pheasant chick were found in 2 pellets from Mildenhall.
May 14th, 1937 : A gizzard sent from Hereford contained
comminuted feather material that might possibly represent a
chick, though on slender evidence.
These are the sole records for 1936 and 1937.
Mr. Grantham who sent the Mildenhall pellets wrote :
“ I am enclosing a few pellets and shall be particularly
interested to hear the contents as there were an exceptionally
large number of both young Pheasants and Partridges in the
vicinity and if these Little Owls really do kill many of these
young birds, I feel sure remains will be found in these pellets.”
There were no game chicks in these pellets but the one
recorded above occurred in a set 10 days later from the
same site.
Experiences of Other Field Observers.
Mrs. Ayre (Gornal, Dudley) wrote in 1936 : “ It may be of
interest that there are three Partridge nests with young within
a radius of 50 yards of the Owl tree.”
Mr. Rolls (Wellington) wrote in 1936 : “ About 50 yards
from the Owls’ nest was a Partridge nesting. This hatched
off 7 young now all strong on the wing, although while watching
I saw the freshly hatched Partridges within 4 yards of the
Owls’ nest with both Little Owls perched on the edge of the
stump. I saw this several times. Another Partridge hatched
off 12 right under one of the haunts of this pair. These
again were not touched. The same with some Pheasants
hatched near.” Mr. Rolls wrote again in 1937 : “ My Little
Owls seem determined not to disgrace themselves by touching
game. You will see by the map they are right in the middle
of it, simply surrounded by the nests of wild game birds.”
Mr. Pumfrett (Old Woking) wrote in August, 1936 :
“ A pair of Partridges has succeeded in raising a covey of
about 10 or 12 youngsters which would have been a sore
temptation to a game-eating owl living in such close
proximity.”
The experience of the field observers has been unanimous
that their special Little Owls have shown no partiality for
poultry or game chicks as such.
Reports from Correspondents.
Owing to the scarcity of reports, in both parts of the
Inquiry, from those specially interested in the rearing of
vol. xxxi ] LITTLE OWL INQUIRY.
223
game, an exception has been made in their favour and any
reports that belong to 1935 have been included with those of
the actual years of the investigation.
Reports of Gamekeepers.
June, 1935, Mr. S. J. Hague, Gawsworth, Cheshire : “ In
the entrance to Owls’ nest were three Partridge chicks about
10 days old.”
Mr. H. Goodall, Chelford, Cheshire : “ Last season, 1936,
1 had trouble with them, 8 Pheasant chicks over a week old
were missing from one coop. A Little Owl was shot ; no more
chicks were afterwards missing.”
July, 1935, Mr. A. Healey, Hedgerley, Slough I watched
Little Owls kill 4 Partridges, take them to their hole in a
tree before killing them.”
1935, Mr. W. Bowen, Black Knapp, Chipping Norton :
” I noticed that 3 chicks had gone. I watched and a Little
Owl came. I shot it but am not sure that he was the culprit.”
Other Reports.
Mr. Howard Lancum wrote : June 5th, 1936, Bexley, Kent :
“ A Little Owl was seen with a freshly killed Pheasant chick
on the border of a wood. The chick was about seven days old.
it was decapitated. Subsequently the larder was found. The
pellets therein contained juvenile Pheasant feathers and skull,
rodent remains, beetle remains and feathers of a Chaffinch.”
Mr. Lancum also recorded for June 12th, 1935, Roburgh
(S. Devon) : “ A Little Owl flushed from larder in old oak.
Larder J mile from game-rearing field. Contained 5 Pheasant
chicks killed on different dates ; oldest being about 14 days
dead and most recent 2 to 3 days. None of the chicks dis-
membered or mutilated. On June 14th larder contained
2 more chicks. Four pellets examined were composed of rodent
bones and fur, elytra of beetles and one snail ( Helix aspersa).
No traces of game.”
Goldington, Beds., Major J. Deane wrote : “ Last year
(I935) we had quite a number of young Pheasants in coops on
the lawn. We more than once saw Little Owls fly off carrying
Pheasant chicks. We shot and trapped four close to the
coops.”
The reports from interested correspondents on the game
chick question have not all, however, been adverse to the
Little Owl. For instance, F. W. King, Walton-on-Thames,
wrote : “ I have reared up to 6,000 birds a season. Night and
day I have lived in the woods and not once have I lost a
bird from an owl. Often I’ve watched the Little Owl come
224 BRITISH BIRDS. [vol. xxxr.
down close to young Pheasants and kill a mouse but never
once did I miss a Pheasant.”
A nest clearance from a Suffolk game estate was received
from the keeper on August 18th just in time to be recorded
in the Report. The large amount of debris had been collected
as soon as the young birds had flown. The main contents
were feathers, etc., of several Starlings, and one Blackbird,
jaws, etc., of several rats of various sizes (one very large),
small rodents, many non-carrion beetles and one burying
beetle. The keeper expressed his opinion that the Little Owls
had not eaten the animals but had stored them at the entrance
to the nest in order to cultivate beetles and maggots. But the
debris was full of portions of pellets containing rodent and
bird remains. Also fragments of only one carrion beetle
were found, and fly maggots have never been found in the
Little Owl’s food. They would be too soft to reappear in dry
remains, but if taken largely, they would certainly have been
found in gizzard contents containing freshly procured food,
and this has never been done.
Comments on the Observers’ Records and the
Correspondents’ Reports.
One game chick in two pellets, another doubtful one in a
Little Owl’s gizzard (based on the slender evidence that there
was no grey down with the feather fragments) and 7 poultry
chicks. Such is the result of i4 year’s intensive search for
game and poultry chicks, in the field and in the laboratory.
And yet the Little Owl is considered by many game preservers
and keepers to be a veritable fiend as a chick destroyer. It
cannot be that the game world was ignorant of the Inquiry
for it was well advertised ; a special appeal was made by the
B.B.C. to game people to take part in the investigation and
when they failed to do so, a special further inquiry was
arranged exclusively for them.
Every suggestion to account for the absence of chicks from
pellets, nests, larders and gizzards has been carefully sifted.
Some say, for instance, that the Little Owl kills chicks but
does not eat them. But Mr. Smith saw it done and the
Mildenhall Pheasant chick was found in pellets. Others say
that it uses as food the brains only of the birds that it kills.
If so, what becomes of the chicks ? They have not been
found in nests and holes. Moreover, the heads of the Osga-
thorpe chicks were found intact. The analyst has spent whole
days searching, with microscope and reagents, for brains in
gizzards and pellets but has found none. A more probable
theory (prior to investigation) was that the chick is eaten but
VOL. XXXI ]
LITTLE OWL INQUIRY.
225
the bones, bill and down are too soft to reappear in pellet
form. But this is confuted by the experiments at Guildford
and the Zoo and by the Mildenhall pellets all of which prove
conclusively that, when chicks are eaten, the down, bill and
bones reappear in the form of very characteristic pellets.
Hence the only conclusion seems to be that chicks are not
an important part of the diet of the Little Owl.
Individual Little Owls undoubtedly sometimes pick up
chicks, but there is no chick-eating habit on the part of the
bird as a species.
This conclusion is endorsed by a study of Table 2, which
shows that the Little Owl sites watched by a band of observers
in different counties, were almost all in close proximity to
Partridges, Pheasants or poultry chicks. The letters just
quoted from the same field observers show how keenly they
were on the watch for chicks being taken by the Little Owl,
yet none were found. The most specialized work done on
this side of the Inquiry was that of Mr. J. C. S. Ellis on Lord
Allandale’s estate at Bretton Park, near Wakefield (Table 8).
He was fortunate in having the friendly collaboration of the
gamekeepers who took a real interest in his investigations
which were very thorough. Extracts from three of Mr. Ellis’s
letters are interesting :
(1) At the start of the Inquiry (May 8th) he wrote :
“ Will you let me know if anything unusual turns up and if
and when you find game remains, as I have a struggle to keep
the ‘ blighters ’ alive, so terrible are the tales I hear from the
keepers about their depredations.”
(2) On June 10th he wrote : “ No Little Owls have touched
any Pheasant chicks to date. I fear more for the Partridges
as there are plenty about round the nests.”
(3) On August 26th (in answer to a direct question by
the writer) : “ The keepers say they have not lost a bird
through Little Owls this season and we have never proved
that a single game bird has been touched by the Little Owl.”
A summary of Mr. Ellis’s work on two of his four nest sites
(see Table 8) shows that rodents and birds (except game)
predominated in the analyses over insect food during the
nesting months. This is partly due to the fact that the Bretton
Park nests were in very inaccessible places, hence they
could not be cleared to the base and the debris which usually
contains prolific insect remains was not collected. Except,
however, for the comparative scarcity of insects in the
records these nest contents may be taken as typical of Little
Owls’ food on the more open parts of estates, where rodents
and birds are easily procured.
226
BRITISH BIRDS
[VOL. XXXI.
TABLE 8.
Food Remains from Bretton Park Nesting Sites.
Hoyland Bank Site.
Rodents
Birds
Invertebrates
April
i Rabbit
i Blackbird
13 Insects
2 Voles
3 Mice
i Skylark
Earthworms
May
6 Mice
i Mouse or
Vole
i Starling
87 Insects
Millipedes
June
i Rabbit
2 Starlings
(Pellets very
July
2 Mice
i House-Sparrow
i Lapwing
scarce)
4 Voles
2 Starlings
i Chaffinch
i Song-Thrush
i Blackbird
2 Insects
(Pellets very
scarce)
August
Rabbit
(probably
carrion)
i Starling
i Skylark
70 Insects
Earthworms
September
1 Rat
2 Mice
Tipula sp. very
abundant
13 other Insects
October
4 Mice
Tipula sp, very
abundant
22 other Insects
November
2 Mice
Hai
[gh Wood Site.
Tipula sp. still
occurred
Rodents
Birds
Invertebrates
April
1 Rat
2 Mice
—
21 Insects
May
2 Rats
3 Mice
1 Bird
(not game)
24 Insects
Millipedes
June
Rabbit fur
1 House-Sparrow
22 Insects
1 Rat
1 Mouse or
Vole
2 Blackbirds
Earthworms
July
1 Rabbit
1 Starling
2 Mice or
1 Mistle-Thrush
47 Insects
Voles
1 Song-Thrush
(33 Earwigs)
August
1 Hawfinch
1 Yellow-hammer
36 Insects
(including
Tipula)
September
1 Mouse or
Vole
Tipula sp. very
abundant
4 other Insects
October
1 Mouse or
Vole
2 Rats
1 Greenfinch
Tipula sp. very
abundant
November
2 Rats
Tipula sp. still
occurred
VOL. XXXI.]
LITTLE OWL INQUIRY.
227
Invertebrates (Other than Insects).
Annelida
(Earthworms)
A rthropoda
(Woodlice,
Spiders,
Insects)
*Myriapoda
(Millipedes)
Gastropoda
(Snails)
Lumbricus sp.
Earthworms occurred very frequently — sometimes
partially digested in pellets, sometimes fresh or dry
in nests. Setce (hairs) were constantly found.
Oniscus sp. Woodlice were very common in the
food remains.
Spiders occurred frequently in pellets.
Millipedes composed whole pellets in some districts
and were abundant in most : e.g., Abington (Cambs.),
Seaford, Lavenham. They were among the com-
monest of the food items. Jidus sp. Polydesmus sp.
Helicella sp. and other small snails were frequent.
There was one record of Helix aspersa.
List of the Insects Identified in the Food Material.
Coleoptera. — Beetles. 12 1 species determined by Dr. Blair,
Mr. Fryer, Mr. F. J. Coulson and Mr. A. A. Allen.
Cicindelidce .
Cicindela
Carabidce .
Cychrus
Carabus
t »
t »
y >
y »
> >
f y
Leistus
$Nebria
Clivina
Broscus
*Psendop honns
%Harpalus
y y
Pcecilus
t *Pterostichus
+ *
+ >>
y y
y y
%A bax
Cyrtonotus
y y
y y
A mar a
Calathus
» y
Lcemostenus
Brachinus
campestris L.
rostratus L.
catenulatus Scop.
nemoralis Mull.
violaceus L.
granulatus L.
monilis F.
monilis F var
consitus Panz
arvensis Herbst
spinibarbis F.
brevicollis F.
fossor L.
cephalotes L.
pubescens Mull.
cenens F.
latus L.
cupreus L.
madidus F.
vulgaris L.
diligens Stm.
macer Marsh.
ater Vill.
fulva DeG.
apricaria Payk.
aulica Panz.
eenea DeG.
fuscipes Goeze.
melanocephalus
L.
terricola Hbst.
crepitans L.
Dytiscidce.
Colymbetes
Dytiscus
Helophoridce.
* Megempleurus
Megalelophorus
Sphceridiidce .
Sphceridium
Staphylinidce.
\Staphylinus
+
+ >’
Philonthus
Oxytelus
Quedius
'Secrophoridce.
Necrophorus
Silphidce.
Silpha
A blattaria
Phosphuga
fuscus L.
marginalis L.
rugosus Ol.
cequalis Th.
scarabceoides L.
olens Miill.
ceneocephalus
DeG.
globulifer Fourc.
ccesareus Ceder.
parumtomentosus
Stein.
( Ocypus ) cupreus
Rossi.
fuscipennis
Mann.
inustus Gr.
sp.
humator Goez
vespilloides
Herbst.
vespillo L.
tristis 111.
tyrolensis Laich
var nigrita
Creu.
obscura L.
Icevigata F.
atrata L.
BRITISH BIRDS.
228
Histeridce .
Hister
f t
9 9
Byrrhidce.
\Byrrhus
Lucanidcs.
Leucanus
Dorcas
Sinodendron
Scarabceidce.
Onthophagus
9 9
9 9
Aphodius
9 9
9 9
9 9
9 9
9 9
9 9
+
+ » *
9 9
9 9
9 9
9 9
J Ceratophyus
Geotrupe's
t
9 9
f *Melolontha
*A mphimallus
Elateridce.
\Lacon
Elater
Melanotus
A thous
unicolor L.
neglectus Germ.
catbonarius 111.
pilula L.
cervus L.
parallelopipedus
L.
cylindricum L.
ovatus L.
vacca L.
fracticornis
Preyss.
fossor L.
fimetarius L.
ater DeG.
granarius L.
merdarius F.
inquinatus F.
punctato-sulcatus
Sturm.
prodromus
Brahm.
contaminatus
Herbst.
obliteratus Panz.
luridus F.
rufipes L.
depressus Kug.
typhceus L.
spiniger Marsh.
stercorarius L.
mutator Marsh.
vulgaris F.
solstitialis.
murinus L.
balteatus L.
rufipes Hbst.
hcemorrhoidalis F.
vittatus F.
*Agriotes
\Corymbites
Cerambycidce.
Clytus
Rhagium
Stenochorus
Chrysomelidce.
Timarcha
9 9
Chrysomela
*
9 9
9 9
CryptostomidcB.
Cassida
T enebrionidce .
Blaps
Anthicidce.
A nthicus
Meloidcs.
Meloe
9 9
9 9
Curculionidce.
Otiorrhynchus
9 9
*
9 9
Strophosomus
9 9
Barypithes
Liophlceus
* Phyllobius
\*Barynotus
A lophus
| *Sitona
%Phytcnomus
9 9
Ty chius
Procas
Cleonus
[VOL. XXXI.
sputator L.
obscurus L.
lineatus L.
pectinicornis L.
arietis L.
bifasciatum F.
meridianus
Preyss.
tenebricosa F.
coriaria Laich.
staphylea L.
polita L.
hyperici Forst.
rubiginosa Mull.
mucronata Lat.
antherinus L.
proscarabceus L.
violaceus Marsh.
rugosus, Marsh.
clavipes Bons.
ligneus Ol.
singular is L.
faber Herbst.
lateralis Payk.
sp.
tessulatus Mull.
pyri L.
obscurus F.
triguttatus F.
humeralis Steph.
punctatus F.
fasciculatus
Herbst.
venustus F.
armillatus F.
piger Sc.
Also larvcB of Telephorus sp. (many) Agriotes lineatus and many
unidentified larvae.
Lepidofitera. — Moths. Eggs determined by Mr. H. Worsley
Wood.
Sphingidce .
Sinerinthus ocellatus (eyed hawk). Eggs.
Sinerinthus populi (poplar hawk). Eggs.
Lasiocampidce.
Lasiocampa quercus (oak eggar) . Eggs.
Cosmotriche potatoria (drinker). Eggs.
N otodontidce .
Phalera bucephala (buff-tip). Larvae.
VOL. XXXI.]
LITTLE OWL INQUIRY.
229
N octuidcz.
*Agrotis exclamationis (heart and dart). Larvae.
*1 riphcena pronuba (yellow underwing). Larvae.
Many unidentified larvae.
Diptera. — Two-winged flies.
Tipulidce.
*t Tipula paludosa (daddy-longlegs. Crane fly). Eggs and larvae.
Hippoboscidce .
Ornithomyia aviculaira. Puparia.
Hymenoptera. — Bees and wasps.
I chneumonidce .
Ophion obscurus.
Many unidentified Hymenoptera.
Orthoptera. — Grasshoppers and earwigs.
*f Forficula auricularia (common earwig).
Unidentified grasshoppers.
Hemiptera. — Bugs.
Podops inunctus.
*Notified as a pest by the Ministry of Agriculture.
fVery frequent.
| Frequent.
List of Correspondents, in addition to the regular Field-workers
(see p. 172), who have sent in Food Material to Miss Hibbert-Ware.
W. G. Bramley, Yorks.
Stewart Boardman, Surrey.
Miss D. B. Brooks, Essex.
Bruton King’s School, Somerset.
Cyril Beresford, Kent.
H. J. Burkill, Surrey.
Miss E. P. Cobb, Herts.
E. A. Cobby, Suffolk.
Dick Carter, Monmouthshire.
John Daniels, Surrey.
Mrs. Denham, Cambs.
Lt.-Col. Foster, Cambs.
E. P. Gawne, Herefordshire.
D. J. Hemmings, Radnorshire.
G. Hibbert-Ware, Cambs.
Hedingham Castle Camp, Essex.
Eric Humphries, Northants.
Miss M. M. Hutchinson, Suffolk.
Donald Johnson, Suffolk.
Knapwell School, Cambs.
Gwyn Lewis, Monmouthshire.
John Lowe, Cheshire.
R. M. Lockley, Pembrokeshire.
G. E. Manser, Kent.
Mrs. M. Mitchell, Cornwall and
Worcs.
Donald Maclnnes, Cambs. and
Sussex.
Miss V. Maxse, Sussex.
E. M. Nicholson, Surrey.
E. L. Nicholson, Essex.
Miss Newnham, I. of Wight.
T. Hyde-Parker, Yorks.
Quendon Camp, Essex.
j. Ross, Essex.
W. A. Ramsay, Sussex.
Jack Sweet, Herts.
John Slee, Middlesex.
Sawston School, Cambs.
Swaffham Bulbeck School, Cambs.
F. Stubbs, Staffs.
Dr. C. B. Ticehurst, Kent.
Miss E. L. Turner, Norfolk.
John Wizzell, Surrey.
[To be continued.)
(230)
NOTES ON OUTER HEBRIDEAN BIRDS.
BY
C. M. N. WHITE, b.a., m.b.o.u.
Since Colonel Meinertzhagen pointed out (Ibis, 1934, pp.
52-61) that the Outer Hebrides present a particularly interest-
ing feature of geographical variation in certain species, several
short notes have amplified details. My own studies of the
subject have caused me to visit North Uist, Harris and
Knapdale, Argyllshire.
The suggestion that high atmospheric humidity was the
factor to which these heavily pigmented races were due,
must now be viewed in the light of certain fresh data. For
one important feature which has emerged is the discovery
that some Hebridean races occur on the western mainland.
This has apparently lead to the suspicion that other birds
found on the western mainland but not reaching the Outer
Hebrides may form similar new races distinct from those of
elsewhere in Great Britain. In Knapdale I paid attention
to common Passeres which do not occur in the Outer Hebrides,
and do not consider that any of them form distinct races.
The idea to the contrary, it may be pointed out, has been
partly fostered by the examination of certain soot-stained
birds which give an apparent but quite misleading impression
of dark pigmentation. Consequently any material quoted
from industrial areas of south-west Scotland requires an
assurance that this source of error has been eliminated in
making a comparison.
It is interesting to note that no general rule can be enun-
ciated for the distribution of Outer Hebridean subspecies.
The Rock-Pipit and Wren are known only from the Outer
Hebrides ; the Stonechat and Hedge-Sparrow are found on
the western mainland ; the Song-Thrush is represented by
an intermediate in west Scotland ; the Starling also occurs
in the Shetlands ; the Red Grouse and perhaps the Dipper
are of the Irish form. It is not out of place to add that our
knowledge of the range of these subspecies is in many cases
far from complete, and as they are mostly common species it
should not be difficult to fill in gaps in the Inner Hebrides
and west Scotland, whilst Ireland also merits further attention
in this respect.
In addition to Outer Hebridean races, I have included a
few records of interest of other species.
Shetland Starling ( Sturnus v. zetlandicus) . — Common in N. Uist,
Harris and Scalpay ; birds which I observed spent a great deal of
time feeding on the shore among seaweed. In the field the dark colour
vol. xxxi ] OUTER HEBRIDEAN BIRDS.
231
of the juvenile plumage was particularly striking. Juveniles from
Scalpay examined are moulting into first winter plumage, but the
remains of the juvenile plumage are still darker than in similar
typical vulgaris. Adults seem to differ only in size — three males have
wings 133, 136, 138 mm. against 126-134 in twelve males from England.
House-Sparrow ( Passer d. domesticus). — This bird is now very
common about human habitations in N. Uist, Harris and Scalpay.
British Chaffinch ( Fringilla c. gengleri). — Birds from Knapdale are
not different from those from elsewhere in Great Britain.
Meadow-Pipit ( Anthus pratensis). — A juvenile from N. Uist is excep-
tionally heavily streaked with black both above and on the breast,
and is darker brown above than juveniles from England. However,
adults from S. Uist to Harris show no peculiar characters ; further
juveniles would be of interest.
Hebridean Rock-Pipit ( Anthus s. meinertzhageni) . — This is perhaps
the best marked Hebridean race, being a blackish-grey instead of
olive-brown bird above, with very heavy breast streaks. It is so far
only known from S. Uist, Benbecula, N. Uist and Scalpay. Birds
examined from Skye and Muck are not this form.
In my experience Rock-Pipits in the Hebrides are as much birds
of the moorlands near the sea as of the actual shore, and are commonly
found in company with Meadow-Pipits.
Rock-Pipit ( Anthus s. petrosus). — I collected one bird on Scalpay
which is not the Hebridean form ; it appears to me inseparable from
British examples and I must therefore refer it to that form with the
caution that it may prove to belong to the Faroe form, which does
not seem distinguishable in autumn plumage. It was with Greenland
Wheatears, and this perhaps suggests the latter view.
British Song-Thrush ( Turdus e. ericetorum). — This form may be
a winter visitor to the Outer Hebrides, as a bird from N. Uist (January
23rd, 1936) shows, unless it came from Stornoway, where typical
ericetorum is known to breed. Birds from south-west Scotland are
much nearer to this form than to T. e. hebridensis, which they slightly
approach in a rather darker upper surface, and particularly greyer
rump. The difference does not seem quite sufficiently constant to
justify a distinct race being named.
Hebridean Song-Thrush ( Turdus e. hebridensis). — In June and
July in N. Uist the Song-Thrush appeared to be scarce, but I am
inclined to ascribe this rather to breeding than to actual fact, as birds
were very difficult to find in the long heather. In Harris it was more
numerous in September, but very wild. A bird from Scalpay was on
the shore and had eaten several small crabs.
Blackbird ( T . m. merula). — I only once saw a Blackbird in N. Uist,
June 29th, 1935, but they were several times observed in gardens in
Harris in September. The only female I saw looked remarkably dark.
Robin ( Erithacus r. melophilus). — Robins were common in croft
gardens about Tarbert and one was seen in Scalpay, September, 1937.
They included juveniles moulting into adult plumage. Argyllshire
Robins are typical melophilus.
Greenland Wheatear (( Enanthe ce. leucorrhoa). — A female was
obtained in Harris on September 16th (wing 106 mm.) and others
were seen in Harris and Scalpay.
Hebridean Stonechat ( Saxicola t. theresae). — Birds from N. Uist
and Scalpay are of this race ; juveniles do not appear to differ in colour
from those of hibernans. Published records suggest that it is rather
uncommon in the Outer Hebrides, but in N. Uist it was tolerably
232
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
common and not uncommon in Harris. I have examined in the
Royal Scottish Museum a small series from the Butt of Lewis, also
of this form.
Hebridean Hedge-Sparrow ( Prunella m. hebridium). — A bird
from Harris is of this race. It appears distinctly scarce in the Outer
Hebrides though quite common in Knapdale, where the Hebridean
form is found. Hedge-Sparrows from Lancashire approach this race
in the colour of the head. In my experience the dark colour of the
Hebridean race is quite noticeable in the held.
Hebridean Wren ( Troglodytes t. hebridensis) . — Common in N. Uist
and Harris ; not noted in Scalpay. A single bird from Knapdale is
to me identical with the typical form.
Buzzard (Buteo buteo). — Two pairs bred in N. Uist in 1935. In
April, 1936, I saw four Buzzards near Loch Sweyn, Knapdale, on
several occasions.
Kestrel (Falco t. tinnunculus) . — In April, 1936, when voles were
numerous in Knapdale Kestrels were correspondingly numerous ; in
July of the same year members of the Oxford Ornithological Society
were surprised at their scarcity, which was also true of April, 1937.
Their presence in numbers together with the Buzzards noted above
was evidently due to the exceptional number of voles. In June, 1935,
in N. Uist Kestrels were also exceptionally numerous, but I was unable
to get any data about voles ; however, in September, 1937, I saw
only one Kestrel in Harris so that the same factor may have determined
their numbers in these localities also.
Sooty Shearwater ( Puffinus griseus ) — Great Shearwater ( P .
gravis). — I saw one Sooty and two Great Shearwaters between Canna
and S. Uist on September 13th, 1937, flying north-east. The cap
contrasting with the back in P. gravis is most striking to distinguish
it from P. kuhlii with which I am very familiar, and this experience
of P. gravis makes it possible to confirm the correctness of my identi-
fication of P. kuhlii off the Sussex coast in September, 1936.
irons*
BREEDING OF SKY-LARK.
I first noticed a Sky-Lark ( Alauda a. arvensis) building
amongst rough grass on the West Lancashire Golf Course
on June 12th, 1937. The nest then consisted of a hollow in
black earth with a partial rim and bottom lining of dry grass.
Once when the hen was collecting material — in doing so she
picked up and threw away many pieces of grass — a cock
paraded around her, walking in zig-zag fashion with his tail
and crest elevated. He appeared to be gathering and rejecting
small pieces of grass continuously. The hen kept chasing him
away and finally made a very determined rush at him, when
he flew away singing.
The nest was completely lined by 9 a.m. on June 13th.
It remained empty and unaltered on the 14th. The first egg
was laid by 8 p.m. on the 15th, the second by 3.30 p.m. on
the 16th and the third and last by 8 p.m. on the 17th. At
8.15 p.m. on the 18th the eggs felt very warm.
When I visited the nest at 8.30 p.m. on June 27th, I was
astonished to find two slightly damp chicks and one
apparently intact egg in the nest. The hen was not brooding
at the time but returned about five minutes later. At 5 p.m.
on June 28th, the hen was brooding three chicks, all the eggs
having hatched, thus giving an incubation period of 10-11
days. On the evening of July 4th, the chicks were still in
the nest but had all left by the evening of July 6th. This gives
a fledging period of under 9 days. The only incubation
periods of the Sky-Lark I have been able to obtain are
between 10 and 12 days. J. S. Taylor.
[All observations made in the field give an incubation period
ranging from 10 to possibly 12 days. Mr. Evans, however, has
recorded 13-14 days in an incubator, but though of considerable
value as checks, these cannot be accepted when opposed to a
series of field observations. As, however, hatching was spread
over 2 days in the case described, incubation probably began
before the clutch was complete, giving an incubation period
of 11 days, — F.C.R.J.]
SOME BREEDING HABITS OF MISTLE-THRUSH.
Recently I came across a case of a Mistle-Thrush ( Turdus
v. viscivorus) apparently selecting a nesting-site just over a
fortnight before building began.
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
m
On the morning of February i8th, a Mistle-Thrush on a
sycamore tree at Crosby, Lancashire, was taking great interest
in a portion of the tree some twelve feet from the ground,
where three branches met the trunk, and kept hopping from
each of these branches in turn into the hollow formed where
the three met. It continued travelling round the hollow for
over five minutes while I was watching it. During the next
fortnight, I noticed a Mistle-Thrush several times in the
adjoining trees, and on the morning of March 6th, found that
building had been started in the hollow in the sycamore.
Little progress was made, however, for snow fell in the following
week and the material was blown down. On March 13th,
building was recommenced but the site was eventually
deserted.
One or both birds of another pair fed their first brood
almost up to the day when the second brood was hatched.
About May 17th, this pair appeared with a brood of four
fledged young ones in the garden and fed them assiduously
for the following days. The cock was tail-less and the hen
had a conspicuous white feather in the breast so that they
were easily distinguished. On May 21st, I noticed the hen
had partially constructed a nest some twenty feet up in a
wych elm in the road opposite, and on the same day a fresh
Mistle-Thrush’s egg appeared on the ground in the next-door
garden. In due course the bird began to sit and all through
the period of incubation, the cock fed the young, although
they appeared well able to look after themselves. On June
10th, I saw the hen feeding one of these young birds in the
garden, when taking a rest from her eggs, while on June
14th she and the cock were feeding newly hatched chicks in
her second nest of the year. J. S. Taylor.
FOOD OF NESTLING SWALLOWS.
For the fifth year in succession I append a list of insects,
brought by adult Swallows ( Hirundo r. rustica ) as food for
their young ; they were obtained during August, 1937, in
Carmarthenshire.
Dr. F. W. Edwards, of the British Museum (Nat. Hist.),
has very kindly identified the insects so far as their condition
permitted.
As usual, Dilophus febrilis occurred most often, and, in fact,
it represents more than half the total number of insects. In
addition to the Diptera there are two plant-bugs and a very
small beetle.
VOL. XXXI.]
NOTES.
235
DIPT ERA.
BlBIONIDAE
Dilophus
febrilis L.
(22)
STRATIOMYIIDAE
Microchrysa
polita L.
(2)
Tabanidae
Hcematopota
pluvialis L.
(1)
Muscid^j
Orthellia
P
ccesarion MG.
(2)
(1)
(2)
Anthomyiidae
PCcenosia
Ephydridae
Notiphila
?
(1)
Opomyzidae
?
Opomyza
germinationis L.
(4)
(2)
COLEOPTERA.
Stapiiylinidae
Tachinus
rnfipes De G.
(1)
HEMIPTERA.
Saldid.e
A canthia
orthochila Tieb.
(1)
Delphacidae
Liburnia
pellucida F.
(1)
The figures in
brackets denote the
number of specimens
obtained. D. febrilis was taken on eight occasions, the
Anthomyiidae on four, and M. ftolita and C. ccesarion twice
each. J. F. Thomas.
RESULTS OF RINGING AND TRAPPING SWALLOWS
IN CARMARTHENSHIRE.
My notes on the above are rather complicated this year,
because in 1936 there were three sheds in each of which two
pairs of Swallows ( Hirundo r. rustica) were nesting and I was
able to catch only three birds out of the four in each shed.
It was annoying also this year to see that two birds (Sheds 15
and 17) had rings on and not to be able to catch them !
I think we may assume that the pair caught (1937) in Shed 18
were likewise a pair in 1936.
Sheds 1-7. — Not nesting in August, 1937.
Shed 8. — Not nesting in August, but caught 100 yards
away.
Sheds 9 and 10. — Both different.
Shed 11. — One bird$ different, mate not caught ; former q
found dead in the shed — probably died in 1936.
Sheds 12-14. — -One bird different $ $ ; mates not caught.
Shed 15. — (Two pairs nesting in 1936 ; three birds caught.)
One pair 1937 : $ different, $ a ringed bird ; one former <$
caught 1,200 yards away.
Shed 16. — (Two pairs nesting in 1936 ; three birds caught.)
One pair 1937 : $ same, $ different.
Shed 1 7. — $ same, $ a ringed bird but not caught.
Shed 18. — (Two pairs nesting in 1936 ; three birds caught.)
One pair 1937 ; same pair.
J. F. Thomas.
236
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
THE IRISH DIPPER IN ARGYLLSHIRE.
Through the kindness of a friend I have recently secured
two specimens of the Dipper from Kintyre, West Argyllshire,
both adult males, shot on September 25th, 1937. Mr. H. F.
Witherby has examined them for me and reports that they
are certainly the Irish Dipper (C inclus c . liibernicus) . Some
time ago Col. Meinertzhagen reported an Irish Dipper from
the Island of Arran in the Clyde, and Mr. Witherby tells me
that he has examined two others from that locality. From
the known range of certain other sub-species of birds on the
west coast, it is likely that this form of the Dipper may be
found in a considerable part of the west of Scotland, though
the extent of its range still requires to be worked out. In the
western islands Dippers are not very easily obtained but no
doubt they will be got in course of time. It is rather unfor-
tunate that the names “ Irish” and “ Hebridean ” have been
given to some of these western sub-species, but, of course,
when they were first discovered no one suspected that they
would have so extended a range as afterwards proved to be
the case. It remains to be seen how far inland in the west of
Scotland the Irish Dipper occurs. J. M. McWilliam.
YOUNG CUCKOO IN NOVEMBER IN SUSSEX.
My daughter writes to me from Wadhurst, Sussex, that on
October 17th, 1937, she heard a persistent plaintive note and
found that it proceeded from a young Cuckoo ( Cuculus
c. canorus). Later she saw it being fed by Hedge-Sparrows
and observed the bird again on the 18th and 19th and on
November 7th. This would seem to be a very late date.
Basil King.
STONE-CURLEW IN GALWAY.
Major R. Archer Houblon informs me that on May 31st,
1937, he saw a Stone-Curlew ( Burhinus ce. cedicnemus ) near
Recess, Co. Galway. The bird was about fifteen yards from the
road-side, and allowed itself to be examined at leisure through
glasses from a car. Major Archer Houblon has seen numbers
of the species abroad. This is the fourteenth record for
Ireland, and the second for the month of May.
G. R. Humphreys.
KENTISH PLOVER IN NORFOLK.
On October 10th, 1937, at Blakeney Point, Norfolk, I watched
a Kentish Plover ( Charadrius a. alexandrinus ) at close range
for over an hour. While I was watching the bird through my
VOL. XXXI.]
NOTES.
237
telescope from about 30 yards distance, a Dunlin came into
the same picture and I could then see that the latter was the
larger bird. Ringed Plover were also present for comparison.
Here is my description of the bird : upper-parts, sandy-
drab, a streak above the eye, and the forehead and under-
parts white. I did not notice any black mark above the
forehead. In a normal light the bill and legs were black, but
when the sun shone immediately on them they showed signs
of a dark chocolate-brown colour. I may add that there were
three or four juvenile Ringed Plovers present, and their legs
were always to be distinguished at any time by their yellowish
or brownish-yellow colour. At one period during my watch
I noticed the Kentish Plover wash itself in a shallow pool,
and had there been any trace of mud on the bird’s legs or bill,
it would have been removed. After this incident the bird’s
legs and bill were exactly the same colour as before.
A. Reavley Jenkins.
AMERICAN PECTORAL SANDPIPER IN CHESHIRE.
On September 13th, 1937, Mr. W. B. Alexander and I visited
a small mere near Nantwich in south Cheshire. The water level
was low and on the muddy margin of the mere a Curlew-
Sandpiper (Calidns testacea ) and an American Pectoral
Sandpiper ( Calidris melanotos), a bird previously unrecorded
for Cheshire, were feeding together. They flew across the mere
and then allowed us to approach within a few yards. In fact,
the Curlew-Sandpiper went to sleep while I was watching
them through a telescope at ten yards distance.
The Pectoral Sandpiper was bulkier and perhaps just a
shade larger than the Curlew-Sandpiper. The following is a
description of its plumage, every detail of which was seen
closely : Head and neck dark and streaked ; crown with a
rufous tinge ; pale eve-stripes and parallel with the eye-stripes
two tiny pale lines on the crown. Bill black or very dark ;
slightly decurved and perhaps not quite so long comparatively
as a Dunlin’s. Iris dark. Breast thickly streaked with fine
grey lines which ended abruptly to form a line cutting off
breast from pure white belly ; these lines extended for a short
way on cither flank beyond this line of demarcation. Back
and wings : feathers dark with pale margins — rather like a
hen Pheasant’s ; across scapulars two pale V’s not unlike
those on a Little Stint, but less distinct and not so white.
Rump and central tail-feathers black or very dark ; white
patches on either side of the tail ; central tail-feathers long
and protruding ; side tail-feathers paler and much fanned in
238
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
flight. The central tail-feathers when seen closely through a
telescope proved to have reddish-chestnut edges. Legs dirty
yellow.
An examination of skins in the Dresser Collection put the
identification (of which Mr. Alexander was already confident)
beyond any doubt. In the skins of the Siberian Pectoral
Sandpiper (C. acuminata ) many of the breast-markings
differed from those of C. melanotos in being V-shaped, whereas
the markings on the breast of the American species were
single lines running parallel and close together. When they
are seen side by side the differences between the two species
are fully apparent. A. W. Boyd.
Great Grey Shrikes in Westmorland and Norfolk. —
Mr. J. W. Cropper informs us that he watched at close quarters
with a telescope a Great Grey Shrike ( Lanins e. excubitor ) on
October 19th, 1937, in Borrowdale. The bird is an infrequent
visitor to the north-west of England.
Miss J. M. Ferrier also informs us that she had a good view
of one at Scolt Head Island on October 8th, rather an early
date.
Willow-Tit in Bedfordshire. — Mr. M. F. M. Meiklejohn
informs us that he saw and heard a Willow-Tit ( Parus a.
kleinschmidti ) on October 19th, 1937, in Luton Hoo Park,
Bedfordshire. The Marsh-Tit is frequent in the locality, but
Mr. Meiklejohn had not previously seen there a Willow-Tit.
It may be remembered that in the article on the distribution
of the Willow-Tit, there appeared to be no record for the
occurrence of the bird in Bedfordshire ( cf . Vol. XXX.,
page 361).
Swallow Nesting in a Box. — Miss J. M. Ferrier informs
us that last June on returning home from abroad she found
that a Swallow ( Hirundo r. rustica) had built a nest in a shoe
box on a shelf six feet from the ground in a large cupboard
leading out of a bedroom, the window of which was always
kept open. The Swallows had two broods and the young
returned to the cupboard to roost each night, so that it was
used by the birds from the beginning of June to October 20th
when the second brood left.
Little Gull in Surrey. — Mr. E. G. Pedler informs us
that on November 1st, 1937, he identified a Little Gull
(Larus minutus) in winter plumage resting within ten yards
of him at Barn Elms Reservoir. The distinguishing features
noted were : “ the bird’s small size and rather rounded wing-
VOL. XXXI.]
NOTES.
239
tip, short coral legs, black bill, and dark spot behind and
somewhat below the eye.”
Ringed American Herring-Gulls. — We arc informed
that over 6,000 Herring-Gulls (Lams argentatus smithsonianus )
were marked with aluminium and bright celluloid rings in
Canada and in the United States in the summer of 1937. Any
observer chancing to meet a straggler on this side of the
Atlantic can learn the origin of the bird by reporting the
exact order of the various bands (including the metal one)
to "Gull Survey”, American Museum of Natural History,
New York City.
REVIEWS.
More Songs of Wild Birds. By E. M. Nicholson and Ludwig Koch.
(H. F. & G. Witherby.) Gramophone Records and Illustrated. 15s.
Perhaps the best thing that can be said of these three new double
records of British Bird songs is that they are even better than the
first set. Not all are of equal merit ; but most are extraordinarily
good. And, unlike the first records, many of these give clear records
of songs that are not very easy for most observers to hear in the open.
To listen to a Wood-Lark in almost continuous, full song for two minutes
is a rare treat. Those who find difficulty in distinguishing the songs
of Blackcap and Garden-Warbler should have much less difficulty
after listening to the records of the two species. There is just enough
of the characteristic call-note of the Willow-Tit — happily without any
background interruptions — to enable many who do not already dis-
tinguish it from the Marsh-Tit to go out into the country with hopes
of discovering it in districts from which it has not yet been recorded.
And so on.
Two of the records might be described as " Studies in Ornithological
Cacophony One is taken underneath a Heronry, and records the
weird bill-clappering and strident cries of old and young Herons,
whilst a number of other woodland species (carefully noted in the
Programme of the Records) provide a more musical background. And
there is a record which includes the clamorous cries of Little Owls and
most of the Crow tribe. These records are very amusing, and provide
an effective contrast to the song-records. The Curlew record is one
of the finest, the Wood-Wren is very good, and so one might go on.
The accompanying book is in this case more strictly a commentary
on the records than the first book was. In addition to the useful
Programme of the Records, we have vivid accounts of the way in which
they were obtained written by Mr. Koch and Mr. Nicholson ; the
latter, especially, as the observer who was not making the records,
can bear witness to the extraordinary difficulties that had to be over-
come last spring. Mr. Nicholson also provides a useful account of the
life-history of each of the birds whose voices are recorded, and there
are good photographs of them all. In fact, another very good fifteen
shillings worth. H.G.A.
A Book of Birds. By Mary Priestley. (Gollancz.) Illustrated. 7s. 6d.
In this anthology Mrs. Priestley has given us a wide and somewhat
haphazard collection of extracts. They range from the Bible to books
and papers of the present day, and from those authors who see but
241)
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
charm and poetry in birds to those who view them with discrimination
and describe their actions with exactness. The birds concerned are also
widely spread and range from the Arctic to the Antarctic and from
South America to Malaya.
Mrs. Priestley’s aim indeed has been to make a book for everybody
“ who has ever taken a moment’s joy in watching a bird”, and in this
she may be said to have succeeded. It is gratifying that she has
generously decided to divide her share of royalties between the British
Trust for Ornithology and the International Committee for Bird
Preservation.
The book is illustrated with most excellent engravings by C. F.
Tunnicliffe. Most of the modern wood-cuts of birds which we have
seen portray what can only be termed as monstrosities, and one can
scarcely imagine any genuine bird-lover looking at them without
shuddering at their distortions, and wishing that we might have a
Hitler to order their abolition. But no such feelings are evoked
by Mr. Tunnicliffe’s engravings. These are really like birds, not only
in detail but in their characteristic and natural poses. Though some
of those of birds in flight are not very successful most are good and not
a few very good.
LETTERS.
AGGRESSIVE DISPLAY OF ROBIN BEFORE MIRROR.
To the Editors of British Birds.
Sirs,— In his article ( antea , p. 137) Mr. George Brown notes that a
Robin (Erithacus r. melophilus) “appeared to take quite an interest in
the Blackbird’s efforts” before a looking-glass, but itself never dis-
played. Since I read this article a Robin has been several times
discovered here in a room in which a mirror tray is set up on a sideboard.
Usually it is content to help itself to fruit (especially to grapes), but
twice it has been observed displaying and violently attacking the
lively image in the mirror until turned out of the house. This Robin,
which is this year’s bird, is very tame, and while still in juvenile
plumage (early in September) it was caught by hand in the house
and ringed. No effort has been made to tame it by feeding, and there is
a dog in the house. But so far from being afraid, once or twice while
the dog slept it has perched on its back. It seems to be quite as much
at home indoors as out of doors. E. J. M. Buxton.
Wilmslow, Cheshire.
THE COURTSHIP AND MATING OF THE GOOSANDER.
To the Editors of British Birds.
Sirs, — In the last paragraph of his letter on this subject (antea,
p. 200) Mr. W. L. Colyer suggests that observations later in the year,
say in April, may show some difference in behaviour. In the London
district most of the Goosanders ( Mergus merganser ) have left by the
last week of March ; but up to the end of their stay I have observed no
change in their behaviour.
At Staines reservoirs, I have sometimes seen two, and on one occasion
three, Goosander ducks posturing in the manner described, almost
submerged and looking like logs of wood, before a drake, which for
twenty minutes or more apparently took no notice of them.
In this matter, the behaviour of Goldeneyes ( Bucepliala clangula)
closely resembles that of Goosanders. The ducks solicit in just the
same manner, and often for as long periods.
A. Holte Macpherson.
ALL READERS OF “BRITISH BIRDS”
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M.A., M.B.O.U., H.F.A.O.U.
N. F. TICEHURST
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and is arranged in such a systematic and uniform way that it can
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ASSISTED BY
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Norman F. Ticeiiurst, o.b.e., m.a., f.r.c.s., m.b.o.u.
Contents of Number 8, Vol. XXXI., January 1, 1938.
PAGE
Skokholm Bird Observatory Homing Experiments I, 1936-37.
Puffins, Storm-Petrels and Manx Shearwaters. By David
Lack and R. M. Lockley ... ... ... ... ... ... 242
Report of the Little Owl Inquiry, 1936-37. By Alice Hibbert-
Ware, m.b.o.u. ( Concluded ) ... ... ... ... ... 249
Morning Song Commencement. By Arnold Clark ... ... 265
- Some Records of the Calls and Cries of British " Waders ”. By
The Rev. F. L. Blathwayt, m.a., m.b.o.u. ... ... ... 267
' Notes : —
Hawfinch in Outer Hebrides (Dr. J. W. Campbell) ... ... 269
Domestic Habits of Spotted Flycatchers (G. B. Gooch) ... 269
Osprey in Devon (M. Blackmore) ... ... ... ... 270
Two New Heronries in Denbigh and Flint (Major W. M.
Congreve) ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 270
Redshank Mating in November (J . S. Taylor) ... ... ... 270
Red-breasted Snipe and Yellowshank seen in Cornwall (R. G.
Walmsley) ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 271
Black Tern in Carmarthenshire (J. F. Thomas) ... ... 273
-Short Notes : —
Rose-coloured Starling in Herefordshire. Late Tree-Pipits
in Montgomeryshire. Water-Pipit in Pembrokeshire — A
Correction. Black Redstart in Middlesex. Black Redstarts
in Norfolk and Carmarthenshire in Winter. Starving
Swallows picking up Vegetable Matter. Rough-legged
Buzzards in Kent and Sussex, Hampshire and Shropshire.
Sheld-Duck in Surrey. Spoonbill in Devon. Stone-
Curlew on Isle of May. Razorbill Inland in Essex ... ... 274
Reviews : —
Studies in the Life History of the Song Sparrow, Vol. I,
A Population Study of the Song Sparrow. By Margaret M.
Nice ... ••• ••• ••• ••• ... 276
Der Brutparasitismus der Kuckucksvogel. By Wolfgang
Makatsch ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 277
I Letters : —
The Little Owl Inquiry and the Skokholm Storm-Petrels
(R. M. Lockley) 278
Kittiwakes as Shore Birds (A. W. Boyd and Seton Gordon) 279
The “ Bridled ” Guillemot (H. N. Southern) 280
R
(242)
SKOKHOLM BIRD OBSERVATORY HOMING
EXPERIMENTS.
1. 1936-37. PUFFINS, STORM-PETRELS AND
MANX SHEARWATERS.*
CONTRIBUTED BY
DAVID LACK and R. M, LOCKLEY.
Methods.
The formation of a Bird Observatory at Skokholm, off the
South Wales coast, has provided opportunities for testing the
homing capacities of various nesting sea-birds, after the
manner of Watson and Lashley [8] with other sea-birds,
and more recently Riippell [5-7] with many land-birds, and
Goethe [1] with Herring-Gulls.
In the present experiments three hole-nesting species, the
Manx Shearwater (. Puffinus p. puffinus), Storm-Petrel ( Hydro-
bates pelagicus) and Puffin ( Fratercula a. grabce) were selected,
but the Puffin proved harder to catch than the others, and
Storm-Petrels tended to desert their nests, hence most ex-
periments were carried out with Manx Shearwaters. Each
bird was marked with a light, numbered, metal leg-ring of the
British Birds Marking Scheme, was taken from its nest,
transported from Skokholm in a closed box and released at a
distance. Observers then kept watch for its return on
Skokholm. Lockley [2, 3] may be referred to for a general
account of the breeding habits of these birds ; Manx Shear-
water and Storm-Petrel return to their nests only during the
hours of darkness, and both these species are in the regular
habit of fasting for several days on their nests when the other
parent fails to relieve the incubating bird. Birds were taken
from certain shallow burrows where they are more easy to
catch than in the deeper warrens. They were released as
soon after catching as possible, being taken by boat to the
mainland and then to British destinations by car and rail,
to farther away by passenger ship, while for the long-distance
experiments in 1937, Imperial Airways kindly provided
facilities.
Experiments with Storm-Petrel ( Hydrobates pelagicus).
Of three birds taken from eggs and released Start Point, S.
Devon, 18/6/36, one was recovered 24/6/36. One taken from
chick 21/7/36, released Isle of May, was recovered 17/8/36.
(For distances travelled, see p. 244.) Other individuals
released at Start Point (two), London (one), Danzig (three),
*Read at the ninth General Meeting of the Institute for the Study of
Animal Behaviour, London, December 20th, 1937.
vol. xxxi ] HOMING EXPERIMENTS.
243
Marseilles (two), were not recovered, remaining parent
deserted nest, so this species was not used again.
Experiments with Puffin (Fratercula a. grabce).
Of six birds taken from nesting burrows and released at
Start Point, S. Devon, 18/6/36, two were recovered 23/6/36.
Experiments with Shearwaters. (See pp. 244-5.)
Discussion.
Failure to recover a bird by no means necessarily implies
that the bird failed to return, for Manx Shearwaters sometimes
slip in and out of their burrows very quickly when feeding
young, and are therefore easily missed. In many of the
recoveries the bird had probably returned before the date on
which it was recorded. Further, in those cases where the other
parent deserted the nest, it would be an extremely lucky
chance to recapture the homing bird among the thousands of
individuals frequenting Skokholm, if it was not in its own
burrow. In the case of the Storm-Petrels sent to Marseilles,
rabbits burrowing caused the nests to be destroyed, thus
preventing return and recovery.
Releases 14 to 18, 23 and 24, were made late in the season,
being birds picked up, not from shallow, easily examined
burrows — there was a shortage of these at the time — but from
a thickly populated warren, and the only way of recovering
these has been to watch for the arrival or departure of the
inmates at the various entrances to this warren. They may,
however, well be recovered in future seasons.
The experiments are not yet adequate to show the limits
of the homing ability of the Manx Shearwater, and are being
continued. For estimating the distance of the homeward
flight, the approximate distance direct from Skokholm is
given, and, where very different, also the distance by the
nearest sea-route. The Manx Shearwater is exclusively
marine except that it comes to the coast to nest. Probably
the bird normally migrates only over the sea, for otherwise
one might have expected more inland records, and Mr. W. E.
Kenrick informs us {in litt.) that of fifty-three accurately
dated inland records of the Manx Shearwater which he has
analysed, all are autumn occurrences covering the period
August to November when young Manx Shearwaters are
leaving their burrows for the sea, and 70 per cent, were
associated with very strong winds from between south and
west, suggesting that these were storm-blown young birds.
It is noteworthy that all those Shearwaters released on the
coast flew straight away from the land on release, even
244
BRITISH BIRDS.
VOL. XXXI.
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*Distances from Koltur.
246
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
when this was directly away from Skokholm. Hence, although
there is no direct evidence, it seems probable that at least most
of the Shearwaters released in these experiments on or by the
sea, have returned by sea exclusively and not overland, and
this should be borne in mind when referring to the tabulated
distances. (Of course, one does not know that the birds
returned by the shortest route, so the figures represent only
the minimum possible distances covered.)
Five birds released inland in England over thirty miles
from the nearest sea have returned successfully, and the
Birmingham bird was about ninety miles from the nearest
sea (Wales), and some fifty from the narrow end of the Bristol
Channel. Hence inland releases up to these distances do not
disturb the homing facility, although the country was pre-
sumably unknown to the birds.
The experiments show that the Manx Shearwater can
successfully return from distances up to at least 900 miles
direct from Skokholm, the farthest distance being from
Venice, about 930 miles direct, while if this bird travelled
the whole way back by sea it must have covered at least
3,700 miles. If this bird crossed Italy by land and then
continued out of the Mediterranean via Gibraltar, it must
still have covered at least 2,600 miles, and if it flew back
direct (as seems unlikely) it must have crossed two high
mountain ranges. Whichever route the bird took, this is
an astounding performance. So far this is the only individual
which has successfully returned from outside the known range
of Puffinus p. puffinus. It was some 660 miles overland from
the nearest haunt in the Bay of Biscay (where Manx Shear-
waters ringed at Skokholm have been recovered in winter)
and nearly 1,200 miles direct from Gibraltar.
The data on the times taken for most of the return flights
are not satisfactory, as it was not possible to keep a strict
watch on every evening, so birds were not necessarily caught
on the first evening of their return. A bird returned from
Start Point in at most ten hours, which means an average
speed of twenty miles per hour assuming it took the sea-route ;
the Frensham birds were both back in at most twenty-four
hours, and the Venice bird returned in thirteen days, the last
being a remarkable achievement if it went by sea the whole
way.
The direction taken by the birds on release has shown great
variation. The records show that while some birds flew off in
the direction of Skokholm, others did not ; and the former
do not appear to form a significant proportion of the whole.
vol. xxxi ] HOMING EXPERIMENTS.
247
Birds released in the same locality have departed in very
different directions, this being specially noticeable for the
two birds released on opposite sides of the Isle of May. The
two birds released inland at Frensham each made a wide
circuit at 500 feet altitude, which suggests that they were
orientating themselves, but the others were not seen to do
this, while those released inland at Birmingham and Evesham
flew low over the land as they would over the sea.
Most of the birds were taken from an egg or chick, which
provides a motive for return. It is interesting that three
birds quickly returned which were taken from empty burrows
and had no parental cares. These birds had probably lost
their eggs earlier in the breeding season.
Different workers on homing have postulated that the
birds find their way back as a result of (a) visual memory
exclusively, the birds flying blindly till they pick up known
landmarks ; ( b ) various special means of orientation, an as
yet unlocated sense organ usually being postulated. Riviere
[4] considers that some individual untrained racing pigeons
may possess a “sense of geographical position”. Another
view, that the bird retraces the path originally taken seems
adequately disproved. That the Shearwaters do not by any
means always fly off in the direction of home on release might
suggest that the first view is correct. The, as yet, solitary
record of one Shearwater returning from some hundreds of
miles into unknown country might or might not be a lucky
accident. However, it is difficult to know what sort of
“ landmarks ” are used by a bird which normally flies only
a few feet above the waves out at sea and which, for most
of its life, is altogether out of sight of land. This same problem
arises in the return of many marine migratory birds to their
breeding grounds in spring. But at this stage the experimental
data do not warrant further discussion.
Acknowledgements.
Thanks are due to the Institute for the Study of Animal
Behaviour for a grant which defrayed the costs involved
in the transport of the birds, and Imperial Airways for
permitting birds to be transported in their planes. The
following individuals helped in the practical work :
A. E. Clark-Kennedy, P. T. Cotton, F. Elder, J. Fisher,
A. Harthan, W. E. Kenrick, D. Lack, R. M. Lockley,
S3. Marchant, A. Napier (H.M. Consul, Venice), C. Niclasen
l(Koltur), R. Purchon, W. A. Ramsden, H. Morrey Salmon,
IP. Saunders and L. S. V. Venables.
248
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
References.
(N.B. — The following list contains only a few of the papers
on homing, and is not intended to be at all complete.)
[1] Goethe, F., 1937. Beobachtungen und Untersuchungen zur
Biologie der Silbermowe ( Lavus a. argentatus Pontopp.) auf der
Vogelinsel Memmertsand. Journ. f. Orn. 85, 91-119.
[2] Lockley, R. M., 1930. On the breeding habits of the Manx
Shearwater, with special reference to incubation and fledging periods.
Brit. Birds, XXIII., 202-210.
[3] Lockley, R. M., 1932. On the breeding habits of the Storm-
Petrel, with special reference to incubation and fledging periods.
Brit. Birds, XXV., 206-211.
[4] Riviere, B. B. The Homing Faculty in Pigeons. Verhand. des
VI Int. Orn. Kon. Copenhagen, 1926. Berlin, February, 1929, 535-555.
[5] Ruppell, W., 1935. Heimfindeversuche mit Staren, 1934.
Journ. f. Orn., 83, 462-524.
[6] Ruppell, W., 1936. Heimfindeversuche mit Staren und Schwal-
ben 1935. Journ. J. Orn., 84, 180-198.
[7] Ruppell, W., 1937. Heimfindeversuche mit Staren, Rauch-
schwalben, Wendehalsen, Rotriickenwiirgern und Habichten (1936).
Journ. J. Orn., 85, 120-135.
[8] Watson, J. B., and Lashley, K. S., 1915. Homing and related
activities of birds. Pap. Dept. Marine Biol. Carnegie Inst, 7.
For recent general discussion of homing in birds and mammals, see
D. Katz (1937). Animals and Men : Studies in Comparative Psychology,
113-136.
British Birds, Vol, XXXI., PI. 5.
Little Owl.
(Photographed by \Y. A. Ramsay.)
British Birds, Vol. XXXI., PI. 6.
Typical pellets of the Little Owl.
( Photographed by J. R. Marriott.)
British Birds, Vol. XXXI., PI. 7
Pellets of some Birds of Prey.
( Photographed by \Y. Tams.)
British Birds, Vol. XXXI., PI. 8.
Remains of Rodents from Little Owl food material.
( Photographed by J. R. Marriott.)
British Birds, Vol. XXXI., PI. 9.
Experiment 7
Day old Chick
L Owl feather
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Upper — Result of experiment, showing the down, bill and bones of
a chick, taken from a pellet.
Lower — Sample taken from 2,000 eggs of daddy-longlegs ( Tipuln )
contained in .6 gram of pellet material.
( Photographed by J. R. Marriott.)
British Birds, Yol. XXXI., PI. 10.
M \^X 4 5
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I Ippkr — Earwig pincers from a pellet containing remains of 130 earwigs.
Lower — Contents of a Little Owl's Larder.
(249)
REPORT OF THE LITTLE OWL INQUIRY.
1936-37.
(ORGANISED BY THE BRITISH TRUST FOR
ORNITHOLOGY.)
BY
ALICE HIBBERT-WARE, M.B.O.U. (Analyst).
( Concluded from page 229.)
(Plates 5 to io.)
The Insect Food of the Little Owl.
The Insect Section of the Report has necessarily to be
lengthy because the Inquiry has shown that the Little Owl
is a feeder on insects at all stages of growth, at all times of
year and in every type of country. Individual Little Owls
may differ in degree in this matter, according to the nature
of the food most readily procured, but they do not normally
differ in the habit of insect feeding. Five nestlings from three
localities, varying from one to three weeks in age, all had
beetles in their gizzards. Every nest clearance has revealed
many insects in its debris. The pellets of juvenile birds are
remarkable for their copious insect contents. It is rare to
find a pellet of an adult that does not contain at least traces
of beetles and the majority of their pellets are made up of
beetles. Hence, one of the main features of the Inquiry is
the great prominence of insects in the food material of the
Little Owl.
Five insects stand out beyond all the rest on account of
their enormous abundance in the pellets. These are : Tipula sp.
' (daddy-longlegs or crane-fly), Forficula auricularia (common
i oarwig), Pterostichus madidus (a carabid beetle), Geotmpes
stercorarius (dung beetle) and Melolontha vulgaris (cockchafer).
Other species (all beetles) that are outstanding for the
same reason but to a rather less degree are : —
Carabus violaceus, C. nemoralis, Nebria brevicollis, Harpalus
ceneus, Pterostichus vulgaris, Abaxater, Cyrtonotus apricaria,
Staphylinus olens, S. ceneocephalus, Byrrhus pilula, Geotmpes
typheeus, Aphodius sp., Amphimallus solstitialis, Agriotes
lineatus, Lacon murinus, Barynotus obscurus, Phytononius
frunctatus, Sitona sp. The rest of the species of beetles on the
list can be grouped as either occasional or rare in the pellets.
There is a great drop in numbers between the frequent and
j t the occasional. Hence the species grouped as “ very frequent ”
ind “frequent” may be taken to represent the normal
i .nsect food of the Little Owl.
250
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
The occasional species are mostly those that are either
found in moderate numbers locally (e.g., Leucanus cervus
in Surrey) or that occur anywhere provided that conditions
of life are suitable (e.g., N 'ecrophorus humator, where carrion is
obtainable). The species marked as “ rarely found ” are
undoubtedly picked up, as it were by chance (e.g., Cicindela
campestris). In this way a few really rare species have been
identified (e.g., Procas armillatus and Meloe rugosus). The
latter had not been found in Britain for many years till the
Little Owl picked it up. The Little Owl is certainly a good
entomologist.
TABLE 9.
Contents of Some Little Owl Pellets.
A. Single typical pellets.
B. Single pellets specially rich in insects.
Spring.
A. Bricket Wood, Herts.
8 Pterostichus madidus.
2 other carabids.
2 Forficula auricularia.
B. Powys, Carmarthen.
6 Abax ater.
1 Leistus spinibarbis.
2 Calathus fuscipes.
2 Geotrupes sp.
1 Byrrhus pilula.
1 Staphylinus ceneocephalus.
1 Agriotes lineatus.
1 Curculionid (weevil).
2 Forficula auricularia.
Autumn.
A. Shaugh, Devon.
Pellet crammed with eggs of
Tipula sp.
Also contained : —
11 Carabids (small).
1 Byrrhus pilula.
1 N ecrophorus humator.
2 Forficula auricularia.
B. Seaford, Sussex.
6 Pterostichus madidus.
6 Other carabids.
1 Staphylinus olens.
2 Geotrupes, sp.
343 Forficula auricularia
(i.e., 686 "pincers”).
Summer.
A. Longstanton, Cambs.
8 Pterostichus madidus.
4 other carabids (small).
1 Staphylinus olens.
1 Geotrupes stercorarius.
3 Forficula auricularia.
B. Seaford, Sussex.
(a) 3 Pterostichus madidus.
1 Harpalus ceneus.
2 Carabus violaceus.
1 Byrrhus pilula.
1 Lacon murinus.
4 Otiorrhynchus clavipes.
19 Forficula auricularia.
(b) From same locality.
16 Melolontha vulgaris
(heads and legs only).
1 Carabid.
1 Otiorrhynchus clavipes.
Winter.
A. Bretton Park, Yorks.
7 Carabids (small).
2 Staphylinus ceneocephalus.
2 Agriotes lineatus.
1 Curculionid (weevil).
B. Laugharne, Carmarthen.
4 Carabids.
2 Geotrupes stercorarius.
2 Staphylinus ceneocephalus.
23 Curculionids.
(chiefly Sitona sp.).
46 Forficula auricularia.
vol. xxxi.] LITTLE OWL INQUIRY.
251
Coleoptera, with their insoluble chitinous parts, lend
themselves to very perfect preservation. Even when very
much pulverized it was generally possible to identify them,
though sometimes impossible to arrive at the full number
present. Hence, strange though it may seem from the immense
numbers recorded, the Coleoptera are, in fact, understated
in the numerical reckonings.
With most members of other orders of insects it was found
impossible to make a definite count, as soft-bodied insects,
such as moths and craneflies, were usually completely
comminuted. Hence the analyst had to depend chiefly on
indestructible traces such as scales, eggs, etc., for the
identification of the pulverized insect. The pincers of earwigs,
however, provided a sure method of reckoning for that insect.
Table 9, showing samples of pellet contents, gives an idea
of the richness of their insect remains. It is also clear from
these analyses that one or two species usually preponderate
in number over the rest of the species represented. In fact,
one species of insect frequently dominates the pellets from
any one site for several weeks. A correct estimate can
therefore probably be made of the seasonal appearance,
increase, peak point, diminution and disappearance of an
abundant species by means of an examination of a series of
pellets. This has been corroborated by observations made on
live insects at the same time that pellets containing remains
of the same species in large numbers were being found.
TABLE xo.
Seasonal Abundance of the Insects Most Commonly Found
in Little Owls’ Food During One Year.
Winter
Spring
Summer
A utumn
T otal for
Year
(244
Pellets)
(760
Pellets)
(782
Pellets)
(163
Pellets)
(2,417
Pellets)
See
Note.
Forficulidce
(Earwigs)
L577
1,283
563
6,794
10,217
Car abides
292
i,I43
2,740
2,862
7.037
StaphylinidcB
(Rove beetles)
972
727
190
1,584
3.473
Curculionidce
(Weevils)
170
883
293
231
1.577
Elateridcs
(Click beetles)
118
254
33i
55
640
Scarabceidce (Geotrupes)
(Dor-Beetle)
476
443
706
L743
252 BRITISH BIRDS. [vol. xxxi.
Average Number of Insects Found in ioo Pellets.
Winter
Spring
Summer
A utumn
F orficulidce
Car abides
Staphylinidce
Curculionidce
Elateridcs
Scarabceidcs ( Geotrupes )
(244
Pellets)
646
116
398
69
48
(760
Pellets)
168
150
95
116
33
62
(782
Pellets)
72
35°
24
37
42
56
(631
Pellets)
1,076
453
251
36
8
hi
Note. — 2,460 pellets were examined during a full year of the
Inquiry. 43 of them were, however, obtained between February and
May, 1937, (after these statistics had been drawn up) by observers
who began their work in May instead of in February, 1936. This
explains the apparent discrepancy in the number of pellets recorded
elsewhere.
There can thus be no doubt that the Little Owl acts as a
check on insects that are very abundant and easily obtained.
This fact is clearly seen in Table 10 which shows the numerical
rise and fall through the seasons of the insects most universally
present in the pellets. Earwigs, for instance, diminished
steadily in numbers from late spring till late summer,
increasing suddenly with an enormous leap in early autumn.
Carabidae, on the contrary, whilst abundant throughout the
year, increased steadily through the summer months, reaching
their maximum in autumn.
Two comments on these tables are necessary : —
(1) The Melolonthidae have not been included though
cockchafers are among the most abundant insects eaten by
the Little Owl. The reason is that their season is short.
The “ May bug ” appears in small numbers in May, is
extremely abundant in the food in June and July and dis-
appears in August. Hence its numbers, however great,
cannot compete with insects found throughout the year.
(2) Among the Scarabceidce, Geotrupes (dor-beetle) only has
been included. The reason is that Aphodius, another very
frequent dung beetle is of very fragile consistency, con-
sequently its remains, though identifiable, are frequently too
comminuted for an accurate count. As a family, the Scara-
bceidce would take a place much higher numerically than
appears in the list for Geotrupes only.
Insects That Occurred Abundantly in the Food.
Forficula auricularia (common earwig) is at the top of the
list as the commonest insect eaten by the Little Owl. Even in
vol. xxxi.] LITTLE OWL INQUIRY.
253
May and June, when its members were diminishing till only
one to ten had contributed to single pellets, large numbers still
appeared locally, e.g., from 30 to 40 in single pellets from
Looe (Cornwall), Longstanton (Cambs.) and Seaford (Sussex).
By September these numbers had become the normal ones for
all districts and were enormously exceeded in some of them.
A plague of earwigs in 1935 at Seaford, for instance, was
registered by the huge numbers still found in the pellets of
1936. The record number of 343 (686 pincers) in a single large
pellet (1.6 gr.) has already been quoted. Other single pellets
from Seaford during the autumn contained 255, 243, 181,
162, 128 earwigs respectively and many in October and
November contained from 50 to 100. The insects appear to
be taken direct from the ground since the pincers in the pellets
were almost invariably buried in a matrix of soil or dung and
pulverized earwigs.
Ptsrostichus madidus was by far the most abundant species
of the Car abides. In fact, there were very few consignments
of material throughout the year that did not contain it. This
beetle has already been referred to under “ Nest Contents ”.
The most numerous of the rest of the smaller carabid beetles
were Pterostichas vulgaris, Abax ater, Har pains census, Nebria
brevicollis and Cyrtonotus apricaria. These were more
locally represented than P. madidus. The large Carabus
violaceus (violet ground-beetle) and C. nemoralis occurred
in small numbers through the winter and spring and
were somewhat abundant from May till October. Seven
in one pellet was a record number for Ashford (Kent) on
July 6th.
Two species of the Staphylinidce were found somewhat
sparsely in the pellets from most districts but abundantly in
pellets from open country, such as downs and sandhills.
Staphylinus olens (devil’s coach horse) occurring in small but
steady numbers as a rule, rose to abnormal numbers in one
locality — Seaford Downs — in October. The sender remarked :
“ No wonder, the beetle is running about everywhere.” By
far the most numerous species, however, was Staphylinus
ceneocephalus. From autumn to spring most of the pellets
from open country contained it in considerable or even very
large numbers, for example 82 in three and 212 in six pellets
from Seaford (December) and 34 and 24 in single pellets from
Laugharne (December). Yet the entomologists do not
consider that this species is either very abundant or gregarious.
But the Little Owl apparently knows how to find it.
Scarabcsidce. There were very few pellets and nests that did
254
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
not contain Geotrupes sp. (dor-beetle). 1 hough on account
of the bulk of the beetle, the numbers found are not so
impressive as those of some other insects, Geotrupes is un-
doubtedly the most constantly present of all the insects that
form food for the Little Owl. The fragments of Geotrupes are
usually embedded in dung, showing that the Little Owl had
delved to procure the beetle. Also, not only is dung near the
nests and roosts usually well turned over, but two observers
have noticed that the bird seems to follow the cows ; when
their grazing place is changed in autumn no more pellets are
found in the usual site ; when the cows return, so do the
pellets. Three or four Geotrupes often occur in one pellet and
occasionally even seven. In such cases the heads and legs
only are found. G. stercorarius (the common dor beetle)
appears throughout the year. The black Geotrupes typhceus
which frequents rabbit dung becomes abundant in spring
disappears in summer and reappears in considerable numbers
in autumn.
Aphodius is represented by more species in the pellets than
any genus in the whole list. Though not nearly so widely
distributed or abundant as Geotrupes in the pellets, it occurs
very frequently.
Melolonthidce. This family forms a very important food
item during the summer. Melolontha vulgaris (cockchafer)
appeared in the pellets and nests at the end of May and
became extremely abundant in June and July. Though still
present in August, it was superseded by Amphimallus sol-
stitialis (summer chafer) which continued into autumn. The
nest debris was often permeated with the elytra, heads and legs
of cockchafers. Whole pellets sometimes consisted entirely
of the comminuted insects, whilst in others the legs and
heads only were found.
Examples are : 26 cockchafers in two pellets ; 23 in two pel-
lets ; 28 in three pellets all from Seaford on July 6th, 12th
and 15th respectively.
Several correspondents had seen a Little Owl catching
cockchafers. Mr. Clark wrote : “ In July, 1936, for several
nights I watched two adults and a young bird feeding on May
beetles. These they took chiefly as the beetles left the grass
but occasionally they took them on the wing.”
Curculionidce (weevils) were eaten throughout the year.
They became very abundant rather suddenly in March and
April, in food material from all localities. Barynotus obscurus,
for instance, appeared simultaneously from many districts,
in large numbers. This species, together with Phytonomus
vol. xxxi.] LITTLE OWL INQUIRY.
255
punctatus and Sitona sp. were the most common and widely
spread of the weevils. Some ot the records are 36 in one pellet
and 49 in six from Longstanton on March 28th and April 2nd ;
41 weevils in four pellets from Ludlow on April 21st ; 51 in one
pellet from Laughame on April 10th ; 76 in four pellets from
Hereford on April 29th. These are merely samples to show
the sudden abundance of weevils that occurred from March
onwards.
An interesting detail is that the presence of Barynotus
obscuras was very frequently accompanied by the presence of
chunks of wood, usually pine wood in the pellets. Yet the
species is one that frequents vegetable refuse, and roots of
grass and is often found under stones. The explanation has
not been found.
Elateridce. This family also appeared suddenly in early
spring, sometimes in large numbers and reached its peak in
summer. Agriotes lineatus (click beetle) was by far the
commonest representative. Examples of its occurrence are :
17 in two and 23 in four pellets from Ludlow on May 12th
and July 6th ; 48 in three pellets from Market Harborough,
on June 4th ; 56 in three pellets from Seaford on June 17th.
The larva (wireworm) was fairly frequent at all times of vear.
Two other species, Agriotes obscurus and Lacon murinus,
in smaller numbers, were also widely distributed.
Tipulidce. Tipula sp. (daddy long-legs or crane-fly) afforded
one of the most interesting records of the year. No crane-flies
had been found in the pellets in early summer. At the end of
August they suddenly appeared almost simultaneously from
eleven counties, in very great numbers. 204 Tipula pellets
were received between August and November. Many of them
consisted of little else but Tipula eggs in a matrix of pulverized
Tipula. The black chitinous egg-cases 1 mm. in length liter-
ally rained down as the pellets were broken. A pinch of
•6 gram (half a pellet) taken haphazard from 80 grams of
this material yielded 2,000 eggs (see photo). As very few of
the Tipula pellets were without eggs, it seems as though the
female flies must have been taken as they hovered over grass
in the act of egg-laying. The crane-fly is believed to lay her
eggs in batches of about 200. The species was chiefly T.
paludosa.
Several cultures were made to test whether the eggs
would hatch when taken from pellets. None did so.
The Little Owl must obviously have acted as a controlling
factor on leather jackets during 1936.
256
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
Necrophoridce (carrion beetles).
In view of the opinion of some people that Little Owls are
specially partial to carrion beetles as food, the exact record
of the experience gained by the Inquiry is now given.
Only three specimens of the brightly coloured species of
burying beetles were found, the rest, 72 in all, were the black
Necrophorus humator. Of other genera of carrion beetles,
such as Silpha less than 20 specimens were found. The
seasonal record for Necrophorus sp. was : winter, nil ; spring,
27 ; summer, 28 ; autumn, 20. This gives an average of 3 for
every 100 pellets.
A similar calculation made for Geotrupes, the commonest
dung beetle, gives an average of 75 for every 100 pellets in
the same three seasons. Dung beetles therefore seem to be used
as a food supply more than those from carrion. The fact is that
carrion does not lie about so frequently as dung. When it is
found within the Little Owl’s food territory, no doubt it is dealt
with in the same way — turned over and the beetles extracted.
The largest number of burying beetles for any one spot was
eight in the Woking nest. Five were found in a larder at
Wilmslow and four in food remains from Bretton Park
and Shaugh. Otherwise the beetle occurred singly or in pairs
in pellets containing many non-carrion beetles. A late autumn
record was explained by the fact that a rabbit catcher had
left many dead rabbits on the Seaford feeding haunts of the
Little Owl. But even then, only four were found in a batch
of pellets.
An examination of the habits of the common insects
recorded shows that in almost all cases the species are such
as hide by day and are active by night. Several of them, such
as the carabids, earwigs and weevils, only use their wings
under special conditions ; others do not possess any. More-
over, the fact that soil, moss or dung is almost invariably
present in the pellets containing them is a further proof that
they were taken direct from the ground. Hence the evidence
goes to show that the Little Owl feeds to a great extent on
what is common on the ground at dusk and by night.
Individuality in Food Habits ?
Any signs of individuality that have appeared in the food
habits can be explained by the prevalence of certain food
items on or near the feeding ground. Thus the Seaford,
Carmarthen and Shaugh pellets are outstanding for the
abundant remains of those kinds of insects that frequent open
country. The Harold Wood, Bretton Park and Limpsfield sites
were in wooded country, consequently rodents and birds were
vol. xxxi ] LITTLE OWL INQUIRY.
257
used as food in greater numbers than in open country, though
insects by no means disappeared. On the damp meadows
round the Woking nest frogs are very plentiful, hence they
appeared in the food in greater numbers than from any other
site. On the beach at Dungeness sea-bird chicks may be easier
to obtain than the normal food, though there is no evidence
at hand to show what else the nest contained. The propen-
sity for Storm-Petrels on Skokholm, as has already been
described, is due to the abnormal food conditions of the
Little Owl on the island.
How then does it happen that game chicks have not
appeared in the food in districts where they are abundant ?
Partly (in the opinion of the writer) because they are under
shelter when the Little Owl begins its night hunting, but
chiefly because chicks are not its natural normal food and the
latter is taken first wherever it is abundant.
To quote from Mr. Rolls once more : “ It seems to me from
watching so much the one pair of owls (surrounded by
Partridge chicks) that they have got to be hard pushed for
food to take game birds ; it does not appear to be natural
food for them."
An occasional so-called “ rogue ” Little Owl may, however,
acquire a taste for chicks (as, for instance, with the Osgathorpe
and Roburgh pairs) and make depredations. But there has
been no other evidence of this during the Inquiry.
In the matter of day-hunting, some individuals may practise
this as a habit and others only rarely. From the evidence
obtained this seems probable. But such factors as frost, rain
and need of food for the young may act as an occasional urge.
It cannot yet be stated with certainty that some Little Owls
hunt habitually by day and others do not.
The results of the Inquiry into the nature of the food of
the Little Owl have now been fully recorded. A summary of
the conclusions arrived at by the writer from the combined
work in the field and in the laboratory is as follows : —
SUMMARY OF THE CONCLUSIONS.
I. — General Feeding Habits.
(1) The Little Owl is chiefly crepuscular and nocturnal in
its feeding habits.
(2) It sometimes hunts by day, especially during the
nesting season. The extent to which this is done appears to
vary with individuals. Very few observers have recorded
habitual day-hunting.
258 BRITISH BIRDS. [vol xxxi.
(3) It is primarily a ground feeder. The rodents and insects
found in the food prove this.
(4) The prevalent food at all times of year consists of
insects and rodents.
(5) Carrion is very little used as food.
(6) There is no evidence to show that the Little Owl kills
prey in order to store it, returning later to procure carrion
beetles from it. The evidence is entirely against such a
practice.
(7) The so-called “ larders ” are not used for the storage
of food beyond present needs. They contain wings, bones
and partially eaten animals. They might better be called
“ carving holes ” or “ refuse dumps ”.
(8) There is no evidence to show that the Little Owl is in
any way a menace to other species of owls. The pellets of the
Little Owl found in the same tree holes as those of the Bam
and Tawny Owls respectively have shown entirely different
food remains.
II. — Rodent Food.
(1) Small rodents are used as food throughout the year.
During the nesting season large and medium-sized rats and
small and medium-sized rabbits are also found frequently
in the food remains.
(2) In districts and during seasons where voles and mice
are abundant, they appear in regular succession in the food
remains. This has been a marked feature of the food in 1937
in most districts.
III. — Bird Food.
(1) Birds take their place with insects and rodents as an
important food constituent during the nesting season.
(2) At other times of year they are used sparsely.
(3) The birds most commonly taken are Starlings, House-
Sparrows, Blackbirds and Song-Thrushes, in that order of
abundance. There is a great numerical drop between these
and all others recorded.
(4) The birds used as food are such as often frequent the
ground (see Table 7).
(5) Very little evidence of nest-raiding has been recorded.
Nests in holes, e.g., walls, trees, boxes, are occasionally
raided. No evidence of the destruction of nests and their
contents concealed in thick bushes or herbage (e.g., warblers)
has been obtained.
(6) No eggs of other birds have been found in the Little
Owls’ nests or food.
vol. xxxi.] LITTLE OWL INQUIRY.
259
(7) Game chicks are taken rarely. One certain and one
doubtful game chick and seven poultry chicks (the latter from
one Little Owl’s nest during two seasons) is the sum total
of the evidence gained by the field workers and analyst during
sixteen months. But the reports of other correspondents
have shown that locally, individual Little Owls sometimes
acquire a tendency to take chicks.
IV. — Insect Food.
(1) The Little Owl feeds largely on insects at all times of
year, during all stages of growth and in all localities.
(2) The dominant species used as food are extremely
abundant, either seasonally or through the year, e.g., cock-
chafers, dor beetles, carabid beetles, weevils, earwigs and
crane flies. There is a great numerical drop between the
dominant species and the rest of the insects recorded.
(3) Any insect that appears in great numbers locally or
universally becomes dominant for a time in the food remains,
e.g., cockchafers, crane flies, earwigs, devil’s coach-horses.
Readers of the Report are reminded once more that the
tables of animals, recorded as found in the food remains,
refer to the period February, 1936, to July, 1937, only and
include only those that have been actually seen by the
regular field observers and the analyst.
From the evidence of the 1936-1937 Inquiry, the Little Owl
cannot be said to feed habitually on game and poultry chicks.
That it takes them in small numbers is certain. That it takes
them in large numbers has not been proved during the sixteen
months of investigation. The same is equally true of song
birds, with the exception of Blackbirds and Song-Thrushes.
The writer has made no attempt to group the animals used
as food according to their degree of usefulness or harmfulness.
The obvious reason is that, with many species, even those
engaged in biological research in agriculture do not yet feel
qualified to do so. It is, of course, a known fact that cock-
chafers, daddy-longlegs, click beetles and millipedes are very
harmful to agriculture. On the other hand, the Carabid beetle
( Pterostichus madidus ) (extremely frequent in the food
remains) is useful on account of its predatory habits and yet
harmful in destroying the fruit of strawberry crops. Earwigs,
again, which may be comparatively harmless on ordinary
farm land are troublesome under horticultural conditions, as,
for instance, by spoiling the petals of pyrethrum and other
flowers grown for market. They are regarded as even more
objectionable when they invade houses in large numbers as
260
BRITISH BIRDS
[VOL. XXXI.
sometimes occurs. The truth perhaps is, that with many
species of insects it is impossible to generalize, and their
usefulness or harmfulness can only be estimated by relation
to the local circumstances in which they may at the time be
occurring. Readers must therefore be left to form their own
opinions on species such as these, and all that has been possible
in the lists of invertebrates is to indicate by means of an *
those species definitely known to be important as pests.
The above summary brings the Report of the Inquiry into
the food of the Little Owl to a close.
Helpers in the Investigation.
Dr. Claud Ticehurst and Mr. Kinnear have given unstinted
help with the bird section throughout the investigation. Their
advice has been as valuable as their help with the identification
of feathers. Dr. Blair provided a basis for the whole of the
insect work, when he named the first sets of beetles that were
found in the pellets. Mr. Hugh Main procured for the analyst
a collection of the most frequently occurring beetles, in order
that the fragments could be compared with the entire insects.
At the end of the investigation the bits of beetles were sent,
in their Families, to Messrs. Coulson and Allen, who named
every species that had not been seen by Dr. Blair. This was
an extremely lengthy and intensive piece of work. Mr. Fryer
gave time and valuable advice whenever called upon. To all
these experts the Trust owes its warm thanks and the analyst
deep gratitude. To Miss Margaret Perry and Mr. Seth-Smith
for their experiments, to Mr. Kenneth Humphries for great
help with the practical work of analysis, and to Mrs. Burrows
(Girton) and Miss Sturge and Dr. Janet Vaughan (Cambridge)
who made the “ spade-work ” lighter than it would otherwise
have been, the analyst offers her warm thanks. The comple-
ment to this assistance in the analysis is the co-operation of
the field workers, whose efforts have been fully described
already. Without them a thorough inquiry would have been
impossible.
A Former Investigation of the Little Owl’s Food.
Dr. Walter E. Collinge made an extensive three-year
investigation of the Little Owl’s food from 1918, the Report
of which was published in his book, The Food of some
British Wild Birds.
His researches comprised the examination of the gizzards
of 194 adults and 18 nestlings, of 267 pellets and many
larder holes. When this work was completed he received an
offer to supply him with dead Little Owls from estates in
vol. xxxi] LITTLE OWL INQUIRY.
261
Hampshire. This resulted in a further examination of 96
gizzards, representing 27 estates.
The gist of his conclusions, as the result of both parts of
the investigation, was that insects, voles, and mice constitute
the chief items of the Little Owl’s food throughout the year.
He found that birds are not taken in large numbers and that
“ in comparison with other food items the amount of game
birds used is infinitesimal”.
Readers of this Report cannot fail to be impressed by its
similarity to that of the present Inquiry. Any differences
are those of mere details. The same predominating types of
food are reported by both. Moreover, the conclusions drawn,
in each case from first-hand experience, are alike.
If the opinions, given below, of various Scientific Institu-
tions of Europe are also carefully read, it will be seen that they
too correspond with the results recorded in the two Reports.
The conclusions of this Inquiry are, therefore, fully
corroborated by those of other workers in this country and in
Europe.
Opinions of the Little Owl from Other Countries.
The following reports from Scientific Institutions on the
Continent were sent to the writer shortly before the Inquiry
began.
Switzerland : A. Schifferli, Station Suisse d’Ornithologie
de Sempach :
“ In Switzerland the Little Owl (C. noctua) is among the
birds which are protected by the Government. Among
ornithologists this Owl is everywhere appreciated as very
useful because it is well known that its food consists chiefly
of mice, harmful insects as grasshoppers, cockchafers, crickets,
etc. I can confirm that by my own experience. It happens
exceptionally that the Owl kills a pigeon in the dove-cot but
only when it is bitterly cold and nothing else to get for food.
And even then we cannot speak about a damage. The Owl is
known as very useful.”
Holland : Dr. G. J. Van Oordt, Zoologisch Institut der
Rijksuniversiteit : “ I have now a long letter from the Phyto-
pathological service at Wageningen by which the investiga-
tions about utility of birds are done. This is stated : the Little
Owl is a rather common bird all over the country. It is
especially a bird of the pollard willows in which it likes to
breed. The food after investigations of a number of balls
(pellets) consisted of 214 shrews, 79 mice, 18 Sparrows,
7 Starlings, 1 young Blackbird, 3 frogs, many beetles (especi-
ally Geotrupes). Hunters declare the bird to be harmful and
262
ERITISH BIRDS
[VOL. XXXI.
of course Little Owls will take young Pheasants when there
are many available. But the standpoint of the Phyto-
pathological service is that the Little Owl is only harmful
in a few cases and must be preserved mostly.”
Germany : Dr. phil. h.c. Hans Freiherr von Berlepsch,
Versuchs und Musterstation fur Vogelschutz :
“ The small Owl (C. noctua) is without doubt of the greatest
use in Germany. 90-98 per cent, of its prey are mice, chiefly
field-mice (Arvicolidce) . It is only during hard winters when
there is heavy snowfall that an owl will occasionally get
into a Pigeon cot. Its utility is beyond doubt.”
Hungary : James Schenk, Director of the Royal
Hungarian Institute of Ornithology : “ The Inquiries in
Hungary have given the result that the Little Owl eats
chiefly little mammals and insects, also to a small extent
little birds. The Little Owl is in Hungary therefore a useful
bird and protected by the law of Bird Protection. The birds
that it takes are generally Sparrows but sometimes Redstarts
and other birds which breed in holes of trees. Keepers and
farmers here see first the harmfulness and last the usefulness.
I think it is the same also in England.”
Denmark : Ingvald Lieberkind (Mag. Scient.), Copen-
hagen : “ Both farmers and gamekeepers formerly considered
the Little Owl as being a great destroyer and many have been
killed for that reason. Now this opinion is changed and the
Little Owl is considered a harmless bird.” Herr Lieberkind
sent the letter to Halfaan Lange who had made a special
investigation in various parts of Denmark. He sent the
following list of contents from pellets and gizzards : Many
earthworms (he enclosed a packet of setae), mice and voles
in great numbers, moles. Starlings, House-Sparrows, Chaf-
finches, Larks, many Scarabceus beetles.
It is interesting to note that Aristotle (384-322 b.c.) was
probably the first naturalist to describe the feeding habits
of the Little Owl. His results coincide very closely with those
of the present Report in a.d. 1937.
“ The Glaux and the other birds which see imperfectly
procure their food by hunting in the night. They do not this
all the night, but in twilight and at early dawn. They hunt
mice and lizards and beetles and such other small animals.”
“ Glaux and all other birds with crooked claws eat the
Kalaris.” ( i.e ., White Wagtail, exceedingly frequent on
migration in the Mediterranean countries.)
vol. xxxi.] LITTLE OWL INQUIRY.
263
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
Report of the Special Committee of The British Trust for
Ornithology
Geographical Distribution of the Little Owl. History of its
Introduction into the British Isles
Organization by The British Trust for Ornithology of an
Investigation into its Food Habits. Scope of the Inquiry
Counties and Localities from which Food Material was sent
Numerical Status of the Little Owl. Evidence of a decrease
in numbers in some districts
Field work done by regular observers. Areas worked during
Part I. of the Inquiry. The special game and poultry
investigation of Part II.
Food Pellets. Their varieties. Methods of finding and
examining them. Periodicity of pellet evacuation
Nests and “ Larders”. Characteristics of contents. Table
of contents. “ Roughage.” Use of nest after nesting
season
Gizzards. Tables of gizzard contents examined during the
Inquiry (Parts I. and II.). Sparsity of contents in many
gizzards
Problems concerning Feeding Habits. Daylight feeding ?
Nest raiding ? Food storage ? The “ beetle-bait ”
theory ...
Special Incidents. A Sick Little Owl. A Red-legged Partridge.
A Pheasant’s Wing. The Gawsworth Nest. The Buckleigh
Nest. A Dead Little Owl. A possible Association between
Little Owls and other species of Owls
Some Causes of Mortality
Vertebrates found in the food remains
Rodents. Their prevalence. Increase in number in the food
during 1937
Birds (other than game). Calendar of species found during
Inquiry. Skokholm Island Incident. Evidence of
Correspondents on the Little Owl’s food ...
Poultry and Game. Experiments with caged Little Owls
fed on chicks ...
Poultry and game chicks as food of the Little Owl in the field.
Comments on the results recorded. Summary of work done
on Bretton Park Estate
PAGES
162-163
164
165-166
167
167-171
171-176
176-178
178-182
182-186
186-187
and
205-207
207-21 1
21 1
211- 226
212- 213
214-218
218-220
220-226
264
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
PAGES
List of Invertebrates found in the food remains 227-229
Prevalence of insects in the diet. Contents of some insect
pellets. Seasonal abundance of definite species in food
remains. Notes on insects of special interest ... ... 249-256
Individuality in food habits determined by the local pre-
valence of certain food items or by external conditions ... 256
Summary of Conclusions, drawn from the results of the
Inquiry ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 257-260
Helpers in the Investigation ... ... ... ... ... 260
Dr. Collinge’s previous Investigation of the Little Owl’s food 260
Opinions from other European Countries on the Little Owls’
food ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 261-262
ERRATA.
Pages 167 and 169: Carmarthenshire (Laugharne) (not Abercorran).
Pages 167 and 182 : Lancs. (Warrington) (not Cheshire).
Page 169 : Westmorland (Windermere) (not Cumberland).
Page 169 : (2). Yorks (Filey, East Riding) (not North).
Page 1 71 : (7). Essex, Little Burstead (not Bursted).
Page 175 : Cheshire, Wilmslow (not Wimslow).
Page 175 : Shropshire, Apley Castle Estate (much wild game)
(delete parentheses).
Pages 182 and 183 : Berks (Newbury) (not Bucks.).
Page 184 : H. Britten (not Britton).
Page 213 : line 9 from bottom. Also one water shrew (not including
one water shrew).
Page 213 : line 2. Wilmslow (not Altrincham).
Page 228, 2nd column : * Agriotes lineatus L. (insert sign of fre-
quency— l).
Page 228, 2nd column : \Corymbites pectinicornis L. (delete sign of
frequency).
Page 228 : Lepidoptera, Smerinthus ocellatus (not Sinerinthus) .
Page 228 : Lepidoptera, Smerinthus populi (not Sinerinthus).
Page 229 : Stuart Boardman (not Stewart Boardman).
Page 229 : E. M. Nicholson, Sussex (not Surrey).
(265)
MORNING SONG COMMENCEMENT.
BY
ARNOLD CLARK.
The following records, which show the times at which certain
birds begin to sing in the early morning, were obtained at
Hartley, near Gravesend, Kent, in the spring of 1937. An
attempt was made to take these records at frequent intervals
(two or three times a week) during the song period and this
was done, except during the first half of May when I was away
from the district.
The records taken during each half of a month are repre-
sented in the table by an average figure which gives the time
in minutes before sunrise. The last two columns give the
earliest and latest times recorded for each species. Except
in the case of the Blackcap the records under species do not
refer always to the same bird. No attempt was made to take
exclusive records of one bird of a species. The times of sunrise
were taken from a table giving the times for sunrise in London.
The listening period extended from dawn until some minutes
after sunrise and the blank spaces in the table indicate that
no song was heard during this period.
Table Showing Average Figures for Song Commencement in
Minutes before Sunrise.
March
April
May
June
July
Extremes
T3
G
(/) '♦H
T3
G
O ***
TJ
O
CO '*-•
T3
G
O v*-4
■*-»
(/) «*-«
(/>
O
■*-»
(/)
a>
O — •
0) 03
CO.G
O — •
0) o3
co js
O — ^
<u c3
CO.G
£.3
O —
O RJ
CO J3
•- ~n
fe J3
a
W
hJ
Blackbird
53
60
56
62
63
57
—
68
50
T. m. merula
Song-Thrush
55
53
55
63
67*
63
32
7i
43*
1 . e. encetorum
Robin
41
47*
50
59
64
50
23
7i
23
E. r. melophilus.
Hedge-Sparrow
—
54
53
36
—
37
33
65
8
P. m. occidentalis .
Wren
39*
42 £
37
43
4°*
32
30
57
22
T. t. troglodytes.
Great Tit
12
24
27
23*
33
—
—
38
1 1
P. m. newtoni.
Chaffinch ... 12 9 26 20 14 7 — 33
F. c. gengleri.
Blackcap
— — — 244
30 32*
33*
38
20
5. a. atricapilla.
Wi 1 low- Warbler. . .
— — 18 32
40 —
41
1 1
P. t. trochilus.
Garden-Warbler
— — — 6 5
54£ 3i
22
7 1
15
S. borin.
* Apart from Ju
ly 4th when the first song was heard at one minute
after sunrise.
f Seven minutes after sunrise (April 5th).
The above records show that amongst this group of birds
the Blackbird and Song-Thrush were the earliest and most
r
266
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
consistent of dawn singers ; the Robin was a little behind the
Blackbird and Thrush in April but just as early at the
beginning of June ; the Hedge-Sparrow was a consistently
early singer during April but afterwards most unreliable. The
Wren shows a fairly consistent average time but the daily
records show that he sang at greatly varied times throughout.
The Great Tit was inclined to sing a little before the Chaffinch
but neither of these birds was heard during those moments
which are given to concentrated song from the Blackbirds
and Thrushes. The times for the Blackcap and Willow-
Warbler did not differ greatly from those for the Great Tit or
Chaffinch, if anything they were more consistent. It is
interesting to note that on July 4th when the song of the
resident birds was deteriorating, the Blackbird was not
heard, a Robin sang at 23 minutes before sunrise, a Song-
Thrush at one minute after sunrise, whilst the Blackcap sang
at 34 minutes before sunrise, a time which I had learnt to
expect from him.
The Garden-Warbler was an early singer while in full song
but as the song deteriorated the time for starting approached
nearer to that of sunrise. This was also true of the Song-
Thrush and Robin.
In his article on fluctuations in song ( antea , Vol. XXVIII.,
page 364), Mr. J. P. Burkitt gives the following times for the
commencement of the song of the Blackbird and Song-Thrush
in north-west Ireland : “ . . . about 40 minutes before
sunrise in February ; 45 minutes before it at mid-March ;
56 minutes at mid- April ; 70 minutes at the end of April,
and 84 minutes at the end of May.” The times for mid-March
and mid-April compare reasonably well with those given
above for north-west Kent. From the end of April onwards,
however, Mr. Burkitt’s times exceed these by an appreciable
amount. It would be interesting to know how much this is
due to a difference in the duration of twilight in the two
districts. It seems probable that this period of time — the
period between dawn and sunrise — is longer from the end
of April to the end of May in northern than in southern parts.
Mr. Burkitt also says regarding the song of the Chaffinch:
“ His morning song does not begin at earliest till, say, 15
minutes after sunrise in February and 27 minutes before
sunrise in June”, and these times agree more closely with the
times I have recorded above for the Chaffinch.
The difference in song commencement between some species
is wide enough to be of some significance. It is particularly
noticeable between the Blackbird and the Chaffinch, the
Garden-Warbler and the Blackcap, and it is consistent through-
out that period which marks the full song of these birds.
(267)
SOME RECORDS OF THE CALLS AND CRIES
OF BRITISH “WADERS”.
BY *
The Rev. F. L. BLATHWAYT, m.a., m.b.o.u.
Attempts have often been made to put down in writing a
rendering of the notes of birds. A difficulty at once presents
itself from the fact that few of these renderings really cor-
respond adequately with the original. Yet they have a
certain value because they serve to recall for the recorder
the notes he has heard and enable him to recognize them when
heard again. To other ears they might suggest a sound
entirely different from that produced by the bird.
The following is an attempt to represent the usual calls
of 28 of the British examples of the order Limicolce or
“Waders” jotted down “on the spot” as they have appealed
to my ears, not so much at the breeding-stations as by
reservoir or on mud-flat marsh or sea-shore. This attempt
presents a sequence of sounds as they strike a single listener,
and from this fact may be of some interest.
Stone-Curlew ( Burhinus cedicnemus). — “Cur-lee” loud
and clear.
Oyster-Catcher ( Hcematopus ostralegus). — A clear, far-
reaching “ peep
Ringed Plover ( Charadrius hiaticula). — A fluty low, clear
“ too-it
Kentish Plover ( Ch . alexandrinus) . — “ Prrr-ip — prrr-ip ”
rather low.
Golden Plover [Ch. apricarius). — Aloud, clear “klee-ip”.
Grey Plover ( Squatarola squatarola). — “ Kleee-ee ” shrill,
with a downward slur giving a mournful effect. A triple note.
Lapwing ( V anellus vanellus). — “Peee-weep” rather harsh.
Turnstone ( Arenaria interpres). — A sharp chattering,
“ tet-tet-tet ”.
Ruff ( Philomachus pugnax). — A very silent bird. Some-
times on rising, an almost inaudible, low “ kut
Sanderling ( Crocethia alba). — A sharp “ wick ”.
Knot ( Calidris canutus). — A mellow, soft “too-y-ut”, and
also a low “ kurp
Dunlin (C. alpina). — A drawn-out, rather harsh “ dreee ”.
Curlew-Sandpiper ( C . testacea). — “ Chirr-up ”, not loud.
Little Stint (C. minuta). — A low, sharp “ tit-tit-tit ”.
'268
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
American Pectoral Sandpiper (C. melanutos). — “ Trip-
trip ” not loud, but liquid, musical and with little harshness
in it. Somewhat reminiscent of the note of Curlew-Sandpiper.
Purple Sandpiper (C. maritima). — A squeaky, harsh and
low “ chee-you-chl-chi ” or “ ah-chee-chee ” slightly remini-
scent of note of Turnstone.
Common Sandpiper ( Tringa hypolencos) . — A shrill “ chi-
•chee-chee ”.
Wood-Sandpiper ( T . glareola). — A loud, startled chattering
note, “ chee-chee-chee-chee ”.
Green Sandpiper ( T . ochropus). — Loud and sharp,
gwi-i-wick
Redshank ( T . totanus). — “ Tiew-too-too ”, mellow and
clear. Last two notes shorter and of lower pitch.
Spotted Redshank (T. erythropus) . — “ Chew-et ”, rather
low.
Greenshanic ( T . nebularia). — A clear, very loud, ” tew-
tew-tew ”, all on one note.
Grey Phalarope (Phalaropus fulicarius) . — A very sharp
■“ tchick ”.
Bar-tailed Godwit ( Limosa lapponica). — A barking
“ terrek-terrek ”.
Black-tailed Godwit ( L . limosa). — Usually silent. Some-
times a quick barking “ querk-querk-querk”.
Common Curlew ( Numenius arquata). — “ Ker-lee ”.
Whimbrel (N. phoeopus). — A sharp chattering “ tet-tet-tet”
about seven times.
Common Snipe ( Capella gallinago). — A harsh “ scaap ”,
imrns*
HAWFINCH IN OUTER HEBRIDES.
As there is apparently no previous record for the Outer
Hebrides, it may be of interest to report that a Hawfinch
(' Coccothraustes c. coccothvaustes) was killed in North Uist
on October 27th, 1937, and that I saw another at Newton
Lodge, North Uist, on November 4th, 1937.
James W. Campbell.
DOMESTIC HABITS OF SPOTTED FLYCATCHERS.
Regarding the note on this subject ( antea , pp. 194-6),
I should like to augment this interesting account in two
directions.
I was able to watch a pair building on my house in May,
1935, at a distance of six feet. Shortly after laying commenced
the hen disappeared and the nest was deserted, but after ten
days, the cock was joined by a second hen and a new nest
was immediately begun in a different place.
The two points I would like to make are :
(1) The hen alone did all the building. Sometimes the cock
would jump on to the nest and poke about in it for a few
moments, but without actually moving anything. Once,
however, when he was waiting by the nest, instead of greeting
the hen in the usual way on her return, he suddenly pushed
in front of her, sat on the nest and scratched the floor of the
nest hard with his legs, exactly as the hen bird did in her
normal nest-building operations. On no other occasion did
he show the slightest inclination to help. But when she
disappeared he started two nests on his own account. Both
these were the merest beginnings of a nest, soon blown down
by the wind.
(2) The cock bird sang but rarely during his brief spell as a
widower. I got the impression that a Flycatcher’s song carries
so short a distance that perhaps it is not used to advertise
the presence of a cock in possession of a territory. The bird
has a call-note, however, that is loud and clear, and for those
ten days my cock called continuously all day long. When the
second hen arrived, he stopped calling and began to sing
again regularly. The first hen, by the way, sang a delightful
little warbling sub-song of short duration just before laying
her third egg. G. B. Gooch.
270
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
OSPREY IN DEVON.
As the bird is seldom observed in the south-west, I desire
to record that on October 17th, 1937, Messrs. R. F. Moore
and M. G. Palmer and myself watched an Osprey (Pandion
halicetus ) on the estuary of the Taw. It was flying leisurely
over the water and once or twice struck at the surface with
outstretched talons, but did not appear to catch anything.
After being mobbed by a Great Black-backed Gull it soared
to an immense height, but later came lower and flew out to
sea. Michael Blackmore.
TWO NEW HERONRIES IN DENBIGH AND FLINT.
It may be of interest to record that in 1936, two new nesting
sites of the Heron ( Ardea c. cinerea) suddenly arose, late in
the breeding season, in the Vale of Clwyd. I am of opinion
that both these colonizations were the result of the Glan-y-
wern heronry, near the village of Llandyrnog, Denbighshire,
being partially deserted after nesting had commenced in
March, 1936. The new sites are as now detailed.
(1) In a small wood on the Cerrigllwydion property, near
Llandyrnog and under 2 miles SSE. of Glan-y-wern. In the
first year there were 3 nests and in the following an increase
to 7.
(2) In Green bach Wood, near Trefnant and close to the
River Clwyd, but on the Flintshire side of that river. This
wood is under 4 miles NNW. of Glan-y-wern and there were
two nests in the first year and I am informed, the same
number in the following year, but as the larches are very
high and dense it is not easy to be quite certain, once the
trees are in leaf. Glan-y-wern heronry, which one recent year
held as many as 20 nests, appears to be suffering badly from
the increase of Rooks and certainly one normal nesting tree,
which always held 3 or 4 nests, is now completely dead.
W. M. Congreve.
REDSHANK MATING IN NOVEMBER.
The courting of Redshanks ( Tringa totanus) in December
has been noted ( antea , Vol. XXIX., p. 328) but no mating
was seen.
On November 6th, 1937, on the shore at Crosby, Lancs.,
I was fortunate enough to watch a pair courting for over an
hour, during which time they mated once. The weather was
cold and it was drizzling slightly.
One bird (A) with feathers puffed out, its beak pointing to
VOL. XXXI.]
NOTES.
271
the ground and its head held in, thus giving it a “ bunched-
up ” appearance, was walking round the other bird (B),
which stood erect with feathers in the normal position.
B moved away from A, which followed, attempting to walk in
circles around B. Now and then, A squatted fiat on the
ground in the “ bunched-up ” position and then resumed the
chase. After a very short time, B flew off over a channel
and A straightened np and started to feed normally.
After about io minutes, a Redshank (presumably B) flew
back across the channel and landed near A, calling vigorously
— a rather rippling, shrill version of the ordinary call carried on
with no break. B soon stopped calling ; A assumed the
“ bunched-up ” attitude, bending forward, and started to
parade round B as before. After following B for some time,
A hovered above B, which immediately moved away. A
persisted, however, and amidst much wing-flapping finally
leapt on B’s back, where it stayed for 5 to 10 seconds, obtaining
its balance by vigorous wing-flapping. B apparently shook
A off and walked off with A following in the “ bunched-up ”
attitude. After going a few yards, B, walking quickly in an
upright normal attitude, would fly off a few yards with the
white rump and wing patches showing up well. A would
then stand motionless and “ bunched-up ” for a few seconds
and then fly off to B, assume the “ bunched-up ” attitude,
and the process would continue, but I saw no further actual
mating. J. S. Taylor.
RED-BREASTED SNIPE AND YELLOWSHANK SEEN
IN CORNWALL.
I have to report the presence of a bird, which I identified as a
Red-breasted Snipe ( Limnodromus griseus), in Cornwall.
I first saw the bird on October 19th, 1937, when it was at a
small water pool on the moors above Zennor. On November
2nd I saw it again on Marazion Marsh and it was still there on
the 7th, after which I did not see it. As the bird is such a rare
visitor to this country the following details of my observations
appear advisable to establish its identity.
Size : When in the air with Common Redshanks, it was seen
to be slightly smaller than them. A fair estimate of its length
would be io| inches.
Bill long, and bulbous at the tip. Appeared to be curved a
little downward at the tip, but I think this may have been
due to the enlargement at the tip. It was thick like a Snipe’s,
and in colour it was reddish in places. The carriage upon the
272
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
ground was fairly horizontal. In flight the bill was held
lowered, like a Green Sandpiper’s ; but when the bird was
descending to the ground the bill was thrust forward and
downward very much in the manner of a Common Snipe.
Upper-parts brown patterned dark brown or black ; a dark
line passing through eye and a pale superciliary stripe. The
forehead noticeably pale. Breast flecked and mottled pale
brown — likewise the belly ; a brown shading on the flanks was
especially noticed. It was noticeable on October 19th that
there was really no white on the under-parts at all — the ground
colour was buff. I did not notice any white upon the throat.
By November 2nd the breast was very much paler.
A. pure white area on the back was the most conspicuous
feature. This resembled the upper-part of a Common Red-
shank’s white back-patch or a Greenshank’s — but the base
of the white cone in this bird was higher up than a Green-
shank’s — due, I think, to the upper tail-coverts and base of
the tail being brown in colour.
The tail, as shown when the bird was on the ground, had a
very dark tip. In flight it appeared to be coloured brown up
to the base ; I could not see sufficient detail to make out any
bars, but I imagine, by inference from the appearance of other
barred species, that the tail of this bird was barred.
The legs were olive brown.
The flight was something between that of a Green Sandpiper
and a Common Snipe. The bird associated with Teal and also
with Common Redshanks. It probed the mud for food, and
I also saw it feed wading in the water. It was rather lethargic
and not readily flushed.
I regret that owing to deafness I cannot describe its cry.
I feel that an apology is needed in recording the presence
of a Yellowshank ( Tringa fiavipes) at Marazion a year after
its appearance. But the fact that another American wader
as above recorded has been at Marazion this autumn gives an
added interest to the visit of the Yellowshank, and seems to-
justify its tardy notification.
On September 17th, 1936, I found a bird upon Marazion
Marsh that I took at first to be a young Spotted Redshank.
Its legs were deep yellow, and long ; the bird was obviously
a shank, and it had the Redshank’s mannerisms in regard to
jerking the head and shoulders ; it had a white rump, like
the Common Redshank’s, but its secondaries were of dark
grey. I was surprised to find that it allowed me to walk right
up to it ; curiously enough, although it “ jerked ” violently
at me, it did not otherwise seem to be in the least nervous.
VOL. XXXI.]
NOTES.
273
and it was only with difficulty that it could be induced to fly ;
when it did so, it uttered a call which I, being deaf, only just
heard, but I have a record that it was of four notes, and of a
lower pitch than the Common Redshank’s. I saw the bird
almost daily up till October nth. Apart from its very
atypical behaviour, my suspicions as to its identity were first
aroused when I saw the bird in the company of a Common
Redshank, and noticed that it was very definitely the smaller,
and later with plenty of Common Redshanks for comparison,
this was confirmed. A description of other points is as
follows :
Bill : about times the length of the head — quite straight
and uniformly black.
Legs : deep yellow, and proportionately of the same length
as a Redshank’s.
Head, neck and upper breast, dark grey, with stippling :
dark longitudinal streaks were noted on the neck and breast.
Dark line passing through eye ; pale superciliary streak.
Lower breast and belly white.
Back and wings greyish brown, sprinkled with some irregular
white blotches. Tail showed distinct barring, and appeared
darker in the centre than at the sides. Upper tail-coverts not
noticed to be different from a Common Redshank’s.
The flight was fairly strong and erratic, but the bird was
not easily flushed. The bird as a rule kept to itself, standing
feeding upon the grass bank at the edge of the water. It had
a slim figure and its carriage was fairly upright.
Mr. A. W. H. Harvey, who has considerable knowledge of
the birds of this district, came to the conclusion that the bird
was a Yellowshank, and personally I have no doubt whatever
that it was. As I have already written, the combination of the
shank’s nervous jerking and dipping with the inordinate
tameness and indifference to human observers was very
singular. R. G. Walmsley.
BLACK TERN IN CARMARTHENSHIRE.
On August 28th, 1937, an immature Black Tern ( Chlidonias
n. niger) appeared over a piece of water near the sea in Car-
marthenshire. The bird, which was a dirty brownish colour
above, had a black cap with a little white on the forehead.
It picked a few insects off the surface of the water without
diving.
Mr. G. C. S. Ingram tells me that this appears to be the
first reported occurrence of the species in Carmarthenshire.
J. F. Thomas.
274
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
Rose-coloured Starling in Herefordshire. — Mr. N. M.
Collins states [Field, November 27th, 1937, p. 1,406) that he
observed a Rose-coloured Starling [Pastor roseus) from
September 2nd to 14th, 1937, while staying at Leintwardine.
The bird frequently fed on mulberries.
Late Tree-Pipits in Montgomeryshire. — Rear-Admiral
H. Lynes informs us that he saw a party of five Tree-Pipits
[Anthus trivialis) at Cyfronnyd on November 13th, 1937 — a
very late date.
Water-pipit in Pembrokeshire. — A Correction. — Mr.
R. M. Lockley writes from Skokholm Bird Observatory that
a Pipit ringed there on July 18th, 1934, and recorded as a
Water-Pipit [Anthus s. spinoletta) [antea, Vol. XXVIII.,
p. 310) was retrapped on Skokholm on April 16th, 1936. It
should then have been in spring plumage, but there was no
obvious pink on the underparts, which were lightly streaked.
Unfortunately it was accidentally released before being
thoroughly examined. Some doubt as to its identity therefore
remains, and it is possible that it may have been an aberrant
Meadow — or other Pipit — the fact that it was retrapped two
years later is rather significant. It was hoped to remove
this doubt by retrapping in 1937, but the bird has not been
seen since. It has been deemed advisable therefore to publish
this note.
Black Redstart in Middlesex. — Mrs. L. Parker writes
that on October 31st, 1937, she saw a Black Redstart
[Phcenicurus 0. gibr altar iensis) in a garden at Hendon. From
Mrs. Parker’s description the bird was a female or young male.
Black Redstarts in Winter in Norfolk and in Car-
marthenshire.— Mr. J. F. Thomas gives us the following
dates of Black Redstarts [Phcenicurus 0. gibr altar iensis)
observed by him. At Hunstanton, Norfolk, one on December
29th, 1928 ; at Laugharne, Carmarthen, single birds on
December 21st, 1935, January 1st, 1936, October 21st and
November 1st and 3rd, 1937.
Starving Swallows Picking up Vegetable Matter. —
Messrs. J. Aspinall and D. Brophy inform us that on October
6th, 1936, at Innsbruck, Austria, they observed a pair of
Swallows [Hirundo r. rustled) on the edge of the pavement
of a main road apparently eating pieces of decayed vege-
tation, which had fallen from horse-chestnut trees. The
birds allowed a very near approach, and appeared to be in
a very weak condition and did not seem capable of flying
VOL. XXXI.]
NOTES.
275
more than a few yards. Two days later in a different part
of the town, the same observers saw some twelve Swallows
behaving in exactly the same way. The weather for a week
previously had been very cold, and the Brenner Pass was
covered with snow over a large area.
Rough-legged Buzzards in Kent and Sussex, Hamp-
shire and Shropshire. — Mr. B. T. Brooker informs us that on
October 17th, 1937, he and Mr. H. A. R. Cawkell saw near
Dungeness on the borders of Kent and Sussex a Buzzard with a
pale sandy head contrasting with the brown upper-parts, a
white base to the tail and a striking dark patch on the white
under-wing at the carpal joint. The bird was seen again a
week later and its identification as a Rough-legged Buzzard
(Buteo lagopus) was confirmed by Dr. N. F. Ticehurst who
had a good view of it on November 14th.
Mr. H. Lloyd Wilson also informs us that on October 9th,
while on the Long Mynd, Shropshire, he saw a bird he
identified as a Rough-legged Buzzard. It was in company
with a Common Buzzard and had a white tail with a broad
dark bar at the end, and was very much whiter on the
under-parts than the other bird.
Mr. B. J. Ringrose also writes that on December 9th he
saw a bird, which from the light underparts and black-banded
tail, must have belonged to this species, on the western out-
skirts of the New Forest.
Sheld-Duck in Surrey. — Mr. D. G. Pumfrett informs us
that he saw a Sheld-Duck ( Tadorna tadorna) on some flood
water at Pyrford on December 5th, 1937.
Spoonbill in Devon. — Mr. Michael Blackmore informs
us that Messrs. R. F. Moore and M. G. Palmer observed
a Spoonbill ( Platalea leitcorodia ) in N. Devon on October 3rst,
1937-
Stone-Curlew on Isle of May (Forth). — Among birds
observed on the Isle of May by the Midlothian Ornithological
Club in the spring of 1937 the most important was a Stone-
Curlew ( Burhinus cedicnemus) seen on April 23rd (Scot. Nat.,
1937, P- I27)- There are very few previous records of the
bird for Scotland and it had not before been noted in the
Forth area.
Razorbill Inland in Essex. — Mr. F. C. Bromley informs
us that on September 18th, 1937, he watched a Razorbill
(Alca torda) in a lake at Knighton, Epping Forest.
276
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
REVIEWS.
Studies in the Life History of the Song Sparrow. Vol. I. A Population
Study of the Song Sparrow. By Margaret M. Nice. Transactions of
the Linnean Society of New York, IV : April 1937. 247 PP- 3 plates,
18 charts, 33 tables. (American Museum of Natural History, New
York City). Obtainable from H. F. 8c G. Witherby, Ltd., at 6s.
As this modestly presented paper includes at least as much original and
significant observation of the essential facts of bird behaviour as almost
any dozen ordinary bird books it is by no means easy to review.
Ornithologists have known for some time that Mrs. Nice was engaged
in an extraordinarily thorough study of a small bird community, but
only with the issue of this complete summary of one aspect of her
work does its full magnitude and importance become evident. Although
she writes of a few hundred individuals of a species ( Melospiza melodia)
unknown to most European ornithologists, located upon some 40 acres
of waste land just outside the city of Columbus, Ohio, she deals with
problems which concern any bird-watcher in any country, and she
has taken great care to present her findings so that they are of interest
and value to those who have never seen a Song Sparrow in their lives.
In fact, her account is a fundamental and original study of how birds
live, worked out in the field in terms of one species, but checked and
illuminated by frequent references to work on the same problems
with many other species in many countries.
In this volume, after summarizing the life history and environment
of the Song Sparrow and the technique of the inquiry, she gives accounts
of the weights and measurements of the species, its migrations,
territorial habits, relations between the sexes, nests, laying, eggs,
incubation and care of young, nesting success and failure, parasitism
by Cowbirds, survival of the adults and young, longevity and popula-
tion problems. These points are handled in such a way as to make our
total knowledge of most British species appear a comparative blank.
For example, we learn not only the weights and measurements by
sexes, but also that weight increases during the day by as much as
4 or 5 per cent., that it is highest in January, falling to a minimum at
midsummer, and that females put on weight during incubation, but
both sexes lose up to 9 per cent, while feeding the young.
The Song Sparrow is, like several British species, a partial migrant,
about half the breeding males, and from 11 to 33 per cent, of females,
wintering on or near their territories while the rest go south, to be
replaced by some winter residents, and by transients during March
and October. Pedigrees based on identifying individuals of successive
generations through ringing show that there is no distinct migratory
strain. On the contrary, two migratory parents have had a resident
son, and the same bird may migrate one winter and not the next, or
vice versa. High temperatures in late February or early March will
bring an early wave of spring immigrants, but high temperatures at
earlier dates have no effect in stimulating, nor low temperatures later
in deterring, the impulse to migrate.
Song Sparrows have territorial habits similar to our Reed-Bunting’s,
although Mrs. Nice has worked them out sufficiently to show many
new points. She confirms that song is in this case the chief means of
proclaiming territory. Winter male residents may range over areas
of about 150 by 225 metres, but the breeding territory is only half
to one and a half acres. In cold weather small loose flocks are formed,
but these are of casual assembly and are not family parties. Song,
VOL. XXXI.]
REVIEWS.
277
like migration, can within certain date limits be brought on earlier by
high temperatures. A temperature of 54°F. will start singing on
January 7th, and the “ threshold ” falls by .7° a day, so that 40° is
sufficient by the end of January.
Some males keep the same territory year after year, others make
slight changes. Well over a third of the females watched two years
running also returned to the same territory. Young males settled in
22 cases at distances of 100-1,400 metres from their birthplace. The
choice of mates by females, apart from their homing preference, seems
to be haphazard. Remating a second year was unusual, and there
were four cases of bigamy. The nest is built by the female and she makes
her first one as expertly as her last. It does not appear that the colour,
size and shape of eggs are inherited. A Song Sparrow probably eats
from 10 to 15 per cent, of its weight each day, and feeds from 30 to
30 times, taking 2J hours to empty completely its stomach and
intestines after food, which is mainly weed seeds and insects.
The average number of eggs per nest was 4.2. During the first two
years 70 per cent, of eggs were hatched and 44 per cent, got as far as
fledged young. In the next four years these figures dropped to 52 per
cent, and 29 per cent., largely owing to wholesale disturbance and
destruction of cover. Mrs. Nice shows by comparison with other
North American and British work that about 62 per cent of eggs
hatched and 43 per cent, fledged appear normal for open passerine
nests in temperate conditions, while hole-nesting species are frequently
about 50 per cent, more successful.
Song Sparrows are heavily parasitized by Cowbirds (Molothrus ater
ater) and these did not decline as rapidly as Song Sparrows and the
other suitable hosts after the clearance of cover, so that the proportion
of female Cowbirds to pairs of possible hosts rose with disastrous
results from about 1 : 15 to about 1 : 8. The percentage of Song
Sparrow nests parasitized actually rose from one-quarter to three-
quarters on this account. Mrs. Nice concludes with an important
survey of population composition and survival, which cannot be
summarized but brings out many interesting points, including the
fact that for adult birds the breeding season is the period of greatest
mortality.
These few examples must suffice to show to what an extent Mrs.
Nice has supplied facts on points where there has hitherto been little
beyond guesswork to go upon. Although a model of clarity and
excellently summarized her account is inevitably rather full of
statistics, but this bias will be offset by the second volume, on
behaviour, which we eagerly await. Meanwhile we have here enough
stimulating ideas and information to keep us busy for years in trying
to follow up some of the points raised, and it is to be hoped that all
ornithologists who take any interest in intensive research upon wild
birds will lose no time in getting this admirable study. E.M.N.
Der Brutparasitismus der Kackucksvdgel. By Wolfgang Makatsch.
8vo. One coloured and 8 monochrome plates (Quelle & Meyer,
Leipzig.)
In this little work of 152 pages we have a careful summary of all
the evidence up to 1937 on tlle breeding biology of the European
Cuckoo (Cuculus c. canorus), with special reference to its German
fosterers. There are also chapters on the development of “ breeding ”
parasitism : resemblance of Cuckoos’ eggs to those of fosterers and a
278
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
list of the literature bearing on the subject, which extends to twenty
closely printed pages ! The life-history of the Cuckoo has proved
extremely difficult to elucidate, but with the exception of the method
of deposition, most of the problems have one by one been definitely
solved. The author has studied most of the English contributions on
these questions and reviews them impartially, but it is somewhat
unfortunate that the book was written before the recently published
observations on the laying of the egg directly into the nest in India
were accessible, as the greater part of the older evidence was based
on the assumption that insertion by means of the bill was the normal
method, and it has now been proved that this is not the case.
We notice that while Mr. Marples’s note on a Cuckoo’s egg in the nest
of a Reeve (Br. Birds, Vol. XXV., p. 34) occurs in the list of literature,
there is no mention of it among the casual fosterers of which a list is
given on p. 95. Such accidental cases have little value and in many
instances are not satisfactorily authenticated. It would be better to
relegate all species in whose nests the Cuckoo’s egg has only been found
once or twice, to a separate list. The plates illustrating the growth of the
young Cuckoo are excellent ; the coloured plate of eggs is, however,
less satisfactory.
LETTERS.
THE LITTLE OWL INQUIRY AND THE SKOKHOLM
STORM-PETRELS.
To the Editors of British Birds.
Sirs, — Miss Hibbert-Ware (Little Owl Inquiry, antea, pp. 215-216)
prefaces her remarks on Little Owls on Skokholm Island, Pembroke-
shire, with the words : “ The following incident seems, however, to
contradict these conclusions [that the Little Owl does not appear to
feed on birds in such large numbers as to be harmful to the species
that form its prey]. It must, therefore, be examined with care.”
In view of the latter statement it might have been anticipated that
Miss Hibbert-Ware would have prepared this particular evidence with
the greatest impartiality and care, from all available material. But
reading through the relevant paragraphs which follow I find that she
infers, but offers no direct evidence, that Little Owls were responsible
for the “ large number of wings and tails of Storm-Petrels found in
a hole in a wall”, and for the large caches again found in 1936 and
1937. She does not refer to the all-important evidence, of which she
had possession, of Little Owl castings found with the carcases in the
same caches, that these caches were in the nest-hole, and even formed
the immediate environment of the nest, and that each pellet examined
was found to consist wholly of the feathers and bones of Storm-Petrels,
with, in some cases, a small percentage of beetle and ground-up insect
remains. Yet in a letter to me dated July 18th, 1936, Miss Hibbert-Ware
acknowledges receipt of such a " charnel house ” (in her words)
cleared from a Little Owl cache on Skokholm, and containing several
pellets and, by her own counting subsequently, 174 wings of the
Storm-Petrel. Nor, in Table 1 {antea, p. 167), is there reference to
Pembrokeshire as a county from which food material was sent.
I trust that in my anxiety to make the Skokholm Little Owl-Storm-
Petrel situation perfectly clear, I shall not appear too critical. I may be
myself in default in having failed to explain the situation more fully
VOL. XXXI.]
LETTERS.
279
to Miss Hibbert-Ware at the time of the Inquiry. At least we are fully
agreed on one point — that “ it is obvious that it is altogether unsuitable
that the Little Owl should be allowed to breed on Skokholm”. But the
rest of Miss Hibbert -Ware’s observations under the same heading on
page 216 call for some correction.
Storm-Petrels on Skokholm breed under stones and in wall and
rock-crevices, usually far apart ; few breed in turf burrows or close
together. There is an abundance of natural food, other than Storm-
Petrels, for Little Owls. In any case, Storm-Petrels are absent from
November to the end of April, and yet during this winter period Little
Owls are much more numerous on the island, due to a westward
movement from the mainland, and it is during this period that we
receive a fresh colonization to replace the residents which we endeavour
to exterminate each summer. So it is obvious that Little Owls can
thrive on Skokholm without feeding on Storm-Petrels. And probably
for the following reasons :
In addition to rabbits, large and small, there are plenty of common
house-mice (Mus musculus ), (which for lack of other shelter, live freely
out in the pastures all the year round), frogs, newts, and slow worms.
There have always been horses, sheep and goats, which with the rabbits
provide dung on every square yard of the island. Burying and carrion
beetles are very numerous owing to the enormous number of dead
sea-birds and rabbits which litter the island as a result of work by
predatory gulls and Raptores. As these beetles are most numerous
during the summer, coinciding with the presence of the Storm-Petrels,
the Owls’ opportunities for feeding must not be classed arbitrarily as
“ abnormal ”, in the sense conveyed by Miss Hibbert-Ware, i.e.,
“ restricted ”.
It will be of interest to add that in 1937 a pair of Little Owls was
taken from a hole on Skokholm, which contained 3 chicks and 4 eggs,
and a large cache of decapitated Storm-Petrels. One of the adults
was found to be wearing a ring put on its leg (as a fledgling captured
on Skokhom) in July, 1934, at which time it had been deported and
released on the mainland opposite the island. Both adults in 1937
were taken farther afield, and released near Bath, Somerset. They
did not return, but subsequently a bird of the year arrived on Skokholm
towards the end of the summer. This young Little Owl may well have
been blown over from the neighbouring island of Skorner by a strong
north wind which prevailed at the time. Several pairs breed on
Skorner, where they are not controlled, and where of late years Storm-
Petrels have grown steadily scarcer (a member of the staff of The
National Museum of Wales failed to locate the Storm-Petrel at all
on Skorner in 1937). The new arrival was captured in a rock-crevice
littered with the fresh remains of Storm-Petrels.
An interesting point which has not been mentioned under the
heading “ Storage of Food ” (anted, p. 205), has been the large number
of headless but otherwise untouched carcases of Storm-Petrels which
have been found in Little Owl nest-caches on Skokholm. These have
always been tucked away in the burrow close to the nest. Obviously,
from the dried-up state of the “ back ” layers of carcases, much is
left unconsumed for long periods, and perhaps altogether, but having
destroyed the Owls or deported them whenever possible, it is not for
us to do more than surmise what would have happened to this food
store if the Owls had been undisturbed.
R. M. Lockley.
Skokholm Bird Observatory.
280
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
KITTIWAKES AS SHORE-BIRDS.
To the Editors of British Birds.
Sirs, — Though from Mr. H. G. Alexander’s article (anted, pp.
202-204) it is clear that Kittiwakes ( Rissa t. tridactyla) are not often
observed to settle on a sandy or muddy shore, I think that this must
occur more frequently than is believed. In British Birds, Vol. XXL,
p. 194, Messrs. F. W. Holder and R. Wagstaffe record “ the appearance
of small parties of adult Kittiwakes on Ainsdale Beach [Lancashire]
in late spring ”. On July nth, 1937, I saw about twenty on Ainsdale
Beach, some fully adult and some evidently in their second year.
Again I find I have a note of several score adults on the banks at the
harbour mouth at Blakeney, Norfolk, on June 30th, 1928. A. W. Boyd.
To the Editors of British Birds.
Sirs, — Mr. Alexander’s paper on the Kittiwake as a land bird is
interesting to me, as on the island of Colonsay I have seen large
numbers of Kittiwakes standing close together on the golden sands of
Killoran. In Unst, most northerly of the Shetland Islands, is a long
fresh-water loch, the Loch of Cliff. Here, during any hour of daylight
during summer, large numbers of Kittiwakes may be seen bathing.
A continuous stream of these birds is always coming in from sea to
bathe in the loch, and another stream is returning to sea, and sometimes
the flight-line is over high moors. In Orkney, too, the Kittiwake flies
in each day to bathe in fresh water. Seton Gordon.
THE “ BRIDLED ” GUILLEMOT.
To the Editors of British Birds.
Sirs, — I have for some time been collecting information concerning
the proportion of the “ ringed ” or bridled form of the Common
Guillemot ( Uria aalge ) at British colonies and abroad. The results
show such an interesting increase in the percentages with latitude,
that it is proposed under the auspices of the British Trust for Orni-
thology to ask help in obtaining as complete figures as possible during
the coming year. I should be very much indebted to readers of British
Birds, who may already have counts taken during previous years in
their notebooks, or who will be in the neighbourhood of a Guillemot
colony during the coming breeding season and could undertake to make
a representative count, if they would get in touch with me.
IT. N. Southern.
c/o Department of Zoology,
University Museum,
Oxford.
mull
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SONG SPARROW
VOLUME i
A POPULATION STUDY OF THE SONG SPARROW
By Margaret Morse Nice
For the past eight years the author has concentrated on the study
of the life history of one species of bird, which has produced results
of undoubted value. The method has been almost entirely that of
observation with a minimum of experimentation and no collecting,
the hope being to find out what actually happens in a population
of wild birds.
The present volume is concerned with the population aspects of
the study, leaving more detailed treatment for a second volume.
This first volume deals with the Song Sparrow and its environment,
its ecology, migration, territory and reproduction, all from a some-
what statistical point of view, and finally with survival problems.
Volume II will deal with the behaviour of the Song Sparrow,
including detailed observations on the technique of territory estab-
lishment, courtship, song, etc., etc. ,
Owing to the importance of this publication to British
Ornithologists it has now been arranged to make it obtainable
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Price 6s. 6d. post free from
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REPORT OF
THE LITTLE OWL
FOOD INQUIRY
1936-37
Organised by the British "Trust for Ornithology
BY
ALICE HIBBERT-WARE, M.B.O.U. (Analyst)
The text of this important Inquiry as reprinted
with corrections from “ British Birds” has now been
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Illustrated with 8 Plates - 8-§-" X Si" ~ 3 /6 net
PUBLISHED FOR THE BRITISH TRUST FOR ORNITHOLOGY BY
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in preparation by Mr. H. F. Witherby, the Rev. F. C. R. Jourdain,
Dr. N. F. Ticehurst and Mr. B. W. Tucker.
• THE FIRST VOLUME WILL BE PUBLISHED EARLY THIS
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• THE WORK WILL BE COMPLETED IN FIVE VOLUMES AT
£5 5s. THE SET.
• AN IMPORTANT AND ENTIRELY NEW FEATURE of the
book will be the coloured plates, which will depict the species
on the British Lists in many plumages. In all approximately
1,800 birds are shown in the five hundred paintings by the
following artists : Roland Green, H. Gronvold, M. A. Koekkoek,
G. E. Lodge and Philip Rickman.
H. F. & G. WITHERBY Ltd., 326 High Holborn, W.C.I
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Norman F. Ticeiiurst, o.b.e., m.a., f.r.c.s., m.b.o.u.
Contents of Number 9, Vol. XXXI., February i, 1938.
PAGE
Notes on the Gannetries of Sule Stack and Sula Sgeir. By
Malcolm Stewart ...
Birds seen in two Winter Transects of the North Atlantic. By
L. S. V. Venables
Birds in Middlesex. By William E. Glegg
Recovery of Marked Birds. By Miss E. P. Leach
282
295
297
302
Notes : —
Northern Bullfinch in Northumberland (T. R. Goddard) ... 309
Water-Pipit in Carmarthenshire (G. C. S. Ingram and H. M.
Salmon) ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 309
Northern Tree-Creeper in Berwickshire (T. R. Goddard) ... 309
Short Notes : —
Male Spotted Flycatcher’s Rapid Replacement of Lost Mate.
Shags in Inner London and Essex.] Fluctuations in
Numbers of Black Grouse in Germany ... ... ... 310
Letter : —
The Little Owl Inquiry and the Skokholm Storm-Petrels
(Alice Hibbert-Ware) ... ... ... ... ... ... 311
Kittiwakes as Shore Birds (H. G. Alexander) ... ... ... 312
u
(282)
NOTES ON THE GANNETRIES OF SULE STACK
AND SULA SGEIR.
BY
MALCOLM STEWART.
(Plate ii.)
It may be safely said that in a quarter of a century no new
information has been added to our previous knowledge of the
gannetry of Sule Stack, and with the exception of my
notes on Sula Sgeir [io]* these same remarks apply to this
latter gannetry. The reason for this is obvious when the
geographical position of these two islands is considered.
There are four islands and rocks lying to the north of the
Scottish mainland and the Isle of Lewis and to the west of
the Orkneys, but owing to a similarity in the names of three
of them a dreadful confusion has arisen. It has been stated
that the late J. A. Harvie-Brown did much to straighten the
position, but even in his own works it is easy to find the same
place referred to under two different names, and the late
Duchess of Bedford made the same t}^pe of mistake.
The names of the four islands and rocks, together with
their positions, are : —
Sule Skerry
Sule Stack ...
North Rona
Sula Sgeir ...
Lat. 59°4,N.
Lat. 5902'N.
Lat. 59°7'N.
Lat. 59°6'N.
Long. 4°24'W.
Long. 4°3o'W.
Long. 5°49'W.
Long. 6° g'W.
of Sutherland and some 40 miles west-north-west of Stromness
in Orkney to which latter point they are said to pertain.
North Rona and Sula Sgeir are some 45 miles north-west of
*Figures in brackets refer to list of references at end of article.
British Birds, Vol. XXXI., PI. it.
Sron na Lice or Solan’s Rock. Sula Sgeir. August 5th, 1937.
(. Photographed by Malcolm Stewart.)
vol. xxxi ] GANNETRY OF SULE STACK.
283
Cape Wrath and a like distance north-east of the Butt of
Lewis, and form part of the parish of Barvas in Lewis.
North Rona is a fair-sized island, but Sule Skerry, Sule Stack
and Sula Sgeir are little more than barren rocks.
The etymology of the words Sule {Sula), Skerry, Stack and
Sgeir presents no difficulty. Sule, or Sula, is from the Gaelic
Sulaire , a Gannet [cf. Sula bassana). Skerry is of Scandinavian
origin, denoting a reef or rock whose base area is considerable
relative to its height. Stack, also Scandinavian, is the opposite
— a pillar of rock whose height is great compared with its
base. Sgeir is a Gaelic word meaning a sea rock in general.
Such nomenclature as Stack of Stack and Skerry or Stack-Skerry
is, of course, meaningless.
Of the four places discussed, Sule Stack and Sula Sgeir
are gannetries, and the object of this present paper is to
review our previous information on them, and to add further
notes as the result of a short visit to both in the summer of
r937- These visits were made possible by the fact that
my father, Sir P. Malcolm Stewart, Bart., had chartered
the steam yacht “ Golden Eagle ” for cruising among the
Western Isles.
Methods of Estimating Gannet Populations.
It is here necessary to discuss briefly the different methods
that have been adopted for estimating Gannet populations.
In the first place the reason for counting birds is to form
some idea of their relative rates of increase or decrease, and
it would appear that Lockley, and others [4, 9], are correct
when they state that Gannet populations should be estimated
in numbers of breeding pairs. This is the factor which has
the first bearing on population.
Of the methods themselves there are only two which can be
described as accurate. The Direct method of physically count-
ing the nests in the field by eye, and the Photographic method
of taking a series of overlapping exposures so as to cover the
whole ground, and then of counting up the nests from enlarged
prints. The ingenious method of Vevers and Fisher [13] of
estimating from the numbers of birds alighting in a given time,
while useful, is, of course, a computation, not a count, while
estimates of numbers of breeding birds from the number of
nestlings known to have been taken in any one year cannot
be accurate, though they may be helpful.
Is it, therefore, possible to estimate accurately pairs
of breeding Gannets except under extremely favourable
circumstances ? The answer is that it is impossible.
284
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
On the Bass Rock [8] and Ailsa Craig [13] the Direct method
has been adopted successfully. Both these places are easily
accessible and time is therefore of no object. The Bass Rock
is also small, and though Ailsa Craig is larger the Gannets
nest entirely on ledges in the vertical columnar cliffs of the
western side and all the nests can be seen from the shore or
off-shore in a boat. At Grassholm [9] the Photographic
method has been employed, and this island, too, is more or less
accessible.
The cases of Sule Stack and Sula Sgeir, and indeed also
Borreray and Stacs Lii and Armin of St. Kilda, are entirely
different. These islands are situated in the middle of the
open western ocean, tens of miles from civilization, and
subjected to the full force of the Atlantic swell. The chartering
of a suitable boat is a great expense, and even then the chance
of a landing is only possible in the very finest of weather, and
in the case of Sule Stack extremely remote. Time, therefore,
is the essential factor and rules out any question of Direct
counting. As for the Photographic method, this is also hard
to operate as the Gannets are not only confined to the steep
cliffs but nest also on the flattish top of the rocks. When
ashore it is often impossible to take the cliff sections, while
it is likewise difficult to photograph the top of the rock from
the sea as it may be dead ground. Difficulties also arise in
taking the cliffs from the sea as the swell not only unduly
moves the camera but also prevents a small boat being rowed
within a suitable distance. In addition the most suitable time
to attempt to visit these places is in July or August when
the swell is likely to be lowest, but by then the nestlings
are easily conspicuous and confuse the issue.
From these general remarks it will be seen that it is
impossible to obtain any direct count of pairs of breeding
Gannets at Sule Stack and Sula Sgeir, and extremely difficult
even to obtain a rough estimate. The figures mentioned in
the following pages may possibly be of some help in solving
the question, but at the most they can be little more than
very rough estimates.
Sule Stack.
Topographically Sule Stack is nothing more than a high
rounded lump of hornblende gneiss [12], 120 to 130 feet in
height and of perhaps six acres in area. It is entirely devoid
of any form of vegetation, but covered with white guano.
It is oval in shape, orientated approximately north-north-east
and south-south-west, and is divided into two portions by
a narrow gully. It is this gully that makes landing so difficult,
vol. xxxi.l GANNETRY OF SULE STACK.
285
as the swell, which is always severe round Sule Stack, rushes
through between the two portions of the rock with the result
that even on the east side there is little shelter. It was this
gully that prevented the Duchess of Bedford from landing [2].
Of the two portions the northern is the higher as well as the
larger. With the exception of the west side, which is pre-
cipitous, the whole rock is rounded so as to permit climbing
in most places. The two photographs reproduced here, by
kind permission of Canon j. V. Bullard, were taken while
I was on the island. Other good photographs of Sule Stack
have been published by the Duchess of Bedford [2].
Gurney’s book [5] is so well known that I have no intention
of repeating the early history of this gannetry that is con-
tained therein. A few remarks are, however, necessary on
the visits of Harvie-Brown and the Duchess of Bedford.
Harvie-Brown, who considered Sule Stack to be “ certainly
one of the most inaccessible of all our Scottish islets”, made
three unsuccessful attempts to land, in July, 1887, on June
29th, 1889, and on a further occasion. He cautiously
abstained from making an estimate, but remarked on the
very large number of immature birds, due possibly to the
fact that this gannetry was less robbed of eggs and nestlings
than others [3, 5].
This feature of the numbers of immature birds was also
noticed by Professor Newton and Mr. A. H. Evans when
they were near the rock, but did not land, on fune 28th,
1890 [5].
The Duchess of Bedford also paid three visits to Sule Stack
on May 17th, June 19th and 22nd, 1914, but could not land
[2, 6], She likewise remarked on the large number of immature
birds and stated that in places they amounted to one bird
in six. As to numbers, she “ counted the birds before many
of them rose on a portion of the rock which was most thickly
occupied ”, and in her opinion there were from 5,000 to 6,000
at the time of her visit. She considered also that the birds
nested only on the upper third of the northern portion of Sule
Stack, and on a small point of rock on the southern portion.
From the foregoing it would seem that my landing on the
eastern side of the northern portion of Sule Stack on the
morning of July 31st, 1937, was no mean feat. Indeed, it
would appear that it was many years since anyone had
actually landed, save perhaps a few fishermen. This landing
was possible only because of the exceptional fine weather.
Immediately on landing a very large number of Gannets
left the rock and did not return until an hour or so later
Upper — Sule Stack (east side). July 31st, 1937.
Lower — Sule Stack (from the north-west).
July 31st, 1937. The arrow indicates the writer.
(■ Photographed by J. V. Bullard.)
vol. xxxi.] GANNETRY OF SULE STACK.
287
when I left. An enlarged photograph taken while I was
actually on the rock shows at least 1,200 Gannets in the air
and in the immediate vicinity of the rock. As it is most
unusual for more than one adult to be in attendance on the
nestling at any one time, it seems probable that many of
these were the immature birds so frequently mentioned by
previous writers. The reason why the large number of
immature birds was not so obvious to me as to others is no
doubt due to the fact that previous recorders did not actually
land on Sule Stack. It is my experience that it is considerably
easier to approach and observe a bird on an island from the
water. Directly a landing is made, birds will leave the island
even though the observer is farther away.
One of the points that struck me most was the big variation
in age of the different nestlings. At the date of my visit
there were nestlings still without down, while the wing-
feathers of only a third had begun to shoot. It would seem,
therefore, that nesting had begun very late this year.
As to the area of Sule Stack covered by nesting Gannets,
I am in general agreement with the Duchess of Bedford
[2, 6], though perhaps it is more correct to state that the
Gannets nest on the upper half, rather than the upper third,
of the northern portion. All the available nesting sites on this
portion are occupied, as it is inconceivable that the Gannets
could nest lower down for fear of the sea, and the western
cliffs provide no ledges suitable. As for the southern portion,
there are, indeed, few nests. As mentioned later, 118 pairs
are estimated for this portion — probably an over-estimate.
The actual method attempted in estimating the number of
breeding pairs was to obtain photographs of all the Gannets
visible by means of overlapping exposures, so that after-
wards prints could be joined up and correlated. The diffi-
culties, however, were enormous and some of the major ones
are worth recording.
1 . Owing to the lack of distinctive physical features, it was impossible
to join up any two photographs not actually taken from the same
point.
2. As the whole rock was covered by Gannets it was impossible to
get both the birds in the foreground and also those in the background
in focus.
3. Owing to the roundness of Sule Stack, any photograph gave an
almost infinite number of birds in the background.
4. The rock being covered with excreta, distant birds did not stand
out well against the white background.
5. It is only possible to distinguish between adults and nestlings in
the foreground of the photographs, where indeed the adults have often
been frightened away.
288
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
Actually from 28 photographs it was possible to count
3,645 Gannets, of which number only 804 were definitely
distinguished as nestlings. There can be little doubt but
that some of the birds appeared in more than one photograph,
but where this could be definitely ascertained they were only
counted once.
The first problem is to estimate how many of the 3,645 birds
were nestlings. 804 are known to have been but there must,
of course, have been many others. On careful consideration
I do not think that more than a third of the nestlings would
be likely to appear in the photographs. The nestlings are
smaller than the adult- — it will be remembered that some had
not yet grown their down, and are inclined to be hidden in a
cleft in the rock, and also by the parent. A large number of
the birds in the background of the photographs could only be
counted by their necks ; the nestlings sitting less upright
would not be visible. If then this assumption that only a
third of the nestlings appear in the photographs is correct,
the original number of birds counted, 3,645, can be resolved
into 2,734 adults and 911 nestlings.
It is obvious that it was impossible to photograph all the
nests on Side Stack, and the second problem is to estimate
the number of nests that have not been accounted for. On
Grassholm in 1924 Acland and Salmon [1] estimated the
breeding pairs of Gannets from only four of the five photo-
graphs they took of the colony. They considered that an
addition of only 20 per cent, was necessary to account for the
nests now shown on their photographs. At Side Stack I
took 28 photographs, but decided to add 25 per cent, to
allow for the nests not shown. This should be on the safe
side. The total of breeding pairs is now brought up to 3,418
or roughly 3,500.
This figure of 3,418 pairs includes 118 pairs (125 birds
counted =94 adults and 31 nestlings : add 24 for hidden
birds =118) estimated for the southern portion — probably
an over-estimate. The Duchess of Bedford also noticed the
small number of Gannets here, and this is no doubt accounted
for by the fact that the southern portion is by no means as
high or as large as the northern.
I am by no means satisfied with these results, which owing
to the two unknown factors — the number of nestlings in the
photographs, and the proportion that the total number of
nesting pairs photographed bears to the whole breeding
population — cannot be considered in any way trustworthy.
It might appear that this figure of approximately 3,500
vol. xxxi ] GANNETRY OF SULA SGEIR.
289
breeding pairs means a decrease in the Gannet population of
Sule Stack, but there is no reason to assume this. Gannets
generally seem to be on the increase, and it is not thought
that any nestlings have been taken for food for many years.
There is a general tendency to over-estimate large numbers of
birds and it is difficult to make out whether previous writers
included immature birds in their figures.
The Duchess of Bedford [2] referred to the large number of
Kittiwakes and Guillemots that confused the issue, but
the present writer saw only a few Guillemots and no Kitti-
wakes at all. Possibly the Kittiwakes have abandoned Sule
Stack for North Rona and Sula Sgeir where there is a large
increase [11].
Sula Sgeir.
I landed on Sula Sgeir on the morning of August 5th, 1937.
This was my second visit as I stayed on the rock for some
36 hours on July 23rd to 24th, 1932 [10]. The ground was
not therefore new to me. Sula Sgeir is a much larger island,
or rock, than Sule Stack and extends to some 30 acres. The
fact that it has been surveyed on the six-inch scale is a con-
siderable advantage and much facilitates the counting and
marking of the nesting sites occupied by the Gannets. The
cliffs of Sula Sgeir are much steeper than those of Sule Stack,
indeed, it is only possible to climb the rocks at the central
narrow neck of rock where the landing was made. The
Gannets which occupy only the most southern portion nest
both on ledges in the cliffs and on the top of the rock.
When at Sula Sgeir in 1932 I did not attempt any accurate
estimate of the Gannet population, but stated that I con-
sidered there to be about 6,500 adults which Lockley con-
strued as about 5,000 breeding pairs [4]. I did, however, draw
a line on the map to indicate the northern limit of the nesting
area. This map is reproduced here with a further line drawn
to show the area occupied in 1937. It is not easy to draw
these lines accurately, but every care was taken to obtain as
correct a drawing as possible. A feature that is marked on
the map and which may help other observers is the broken
down dry-stone dyke that runs across the top of the island.
It will at once be seen from the map that the area occupied
has greatly diminished, and is now only some four or five acres
as compared with nine or ten in 1932. The reasons for
this apparent decrease will be discussed later.
The same procedure was adopted at Sula Sgeir as at Sule
Stack, and from a series of 28 photographs the following
results were obtained.
290
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
LO*.6°IO'w LON«3«'w
MAP OF SULA SGEIR.
(. Reproduced from the Ordnance Survey with the sanction of the Controller
of H.M. Stationery Office .)
AREA (See Map).
Total number of
Nestlings.
Gannets counted.
( Included
in Total).
Sgeir an Teampuill
542
50
Meagh Cich and Creag Trithaiga
2,163
201
Pairc as Iar
1,090
291
(South end near summit)
92
36
Sron na Lice, or Solan’s Rock
826
22
Total Area
4,713
600
Concerning these figures a word of caution is needed. The
varying percentage of Gannets ascertained as nestlings to the
total number of birds counted, bears no relation to the
numbers of immature or non-breeding birds. It is due entirely
vol. xxxi ] GANNETRY OF SULA SGEIR.
291
to the varying distance at which the photographs were
taken. The number of immature birds was extremely small.
Very few Gannets were disturbed, and only a small number
were flying over the colony.
Again working on the assumption that only a third of the
nestlings were visible, the total number of breeding pairs
would be 3,535.
For Side Stack I have considered that an addition of
25 per cent, would account for the nests not shown on the
photographs. At Sula Sgeir there were more cliff sections
than at Sule Stack and it was possible to take more cross-
bearing photographs by reason of the number of projecting
spurs of rock. The result is that I feel much more confident
of the photographic results, and think that it will be on the
generous side to add the same figure of 25 per cent. This,
then, brings the total number of breeding pairs to 4,418,
or roughly 4,500, divided as under.
Sgeir an Teampuill 508 (South end near summit) 86
Meagh Cich and Sron na Lice, or
Creag Trithaiga ... 2,028 Solan’s Rock .. 774
Pairc as Iar ... 1,022
Before proceeding to discuss this apparent decrease in the
numbers of Sula Sgeir Gannets, there is one point worth
noting. When Harvie-Brown was at Sula Sgeir on June 20th,
1887, Mr. Nome took a photograph that was reproduced in
Gurney’s book under the title “ Solan’s Rock, Sulisgeir”.
This rock is marked on the map as Sron na Lice. From Norrie’s
photograph I was able to count only some 100 Gannets, a
very small number, due no doubt to the fact that the Lewismen
had taken a large number of Gannets and eggs just prior to his
visit. A similar photograph taken by me in 1932 showed
some 452 Gannets, while of the 826 in the photograph of
1937 about 541 cover the identical area of the other two
photographs.
Gurney [5] put the Gannet population of Sula Sgeir at
8,000. In 1932 I mentioned 6,500 subsequently altered by
Lockley [4] to 5,000. Now the figure appears to be lower still,
about 4,500. It is obvious therefore that there has been a big
decrease in numbers. This is evidenced by the fact that the
breeding ground has been reduced nearly 50 per cent, in the
last five years, though possibly this is partly due to the birds
packing tighter on some of the more inaccessible places such
as Sron 11a Lice (Solan’s Rock). One does not have to look
far for the reason. Sula Sgeir is now probably the only
292 BRITISH BIRDS. [vol. xxxi.
British gannetry where a large number of nestlings are taken
each year as they have a supposed food value.
Most years in the early days of September — the Wild Birds
Protection Acts unfortunately only protect the Gannets till
August ist — a party of men from the district of Ness in the
Island of Lewis have nothing better to do than to undertake
the unpleasant voyage to Sula Sgeir and stay there a few days,
taking all the gugas, or nestling Gannets, they can. These
are taken back with them and eaten. Not even the most
grumbling Lewisman can complain of a food shortage, and
this annual venture is nothing short of an unnecessary
destruction of bird-life. The following is a list of the numbers
of Gannets taken annually in recent years, and I am pleased
to have this chance to publish the figures so that the public
interested in bird-life can know what goes on in this remote
part of Scotland.
Gannets Taken at Sula Sgeir.
Date.
Number.
Remarks.
1884
2,800
Taken in 3 days.
1898
2,500
19x5
1,100
(During the war
shell-fire practice by warships made a large number
Gannets desert Sula Sgeir.)
1931
2,000
1933
2,000
1934
1,400
Illness curtailed visit !
1935
—
No visit owing to bad weather.
1936
2,060
Work of 9 men in 14 days.
1937
... c. 2,000
Exact figures not forthcoming.
It would seem that an average year’s taking is about 2,000 ;
small wonder then that this gannetry, at one time one of the
largest, is gradually being exterminated. Unfortunately
there seems little one can do to stop this destruction. The
proprietor has been appealed to, and it is hoped that he will
have sufficient interest in the matter to intervene. The only
action that could really be relied on to put an end to the
slaughter would be to speed up the passage through Parliament
of the Wild Birds Protection (Scotland) Bill. Once this Bill is
on the Statute Book it will be illegal to take wild birds at any
time during the year. No doubt with a maximum fine of
five pounds per bird the Lewismen will think Gannet an
extravagant luxury.
Comparison of the Two Gannetries and Concluding
Remarks.
It is almost impossible to compare directly the two gan-
netries of Sule Stack and Sula Sgeir. Their differences are
vol. xxxi ] GANNETRY OF SULA SGEIR.
293
great. Sule Stack is just a small sea rock and generally speak-
ing the whole of it provides nesting sites. Sula Sgeir on the
other hand is considerably larger and here the Gannets only
nest on the extreme southernmost parts. At Sule Stack the
Gannets nest in a concentrated area, while at Sula Sgeir the
area, though complete as a whole, can be split up into different
portions owing to the nature of the ground.
On first considerations one might be tempted to consider
Sule Stack as the larger of the two gannetries, as if one lands
there it is impossible to move a yard without displacing a
nestling or frightening away an adult. One is surrounded by
Gannets. On Sula Sgeir there is little need to walk among the
Gannets as they can be approached and photographed from
the non-nesting part of the island. The cliffs, too, are sheer,
and a considerable number nest on ledges that are inaccessible
except to an experienced climber with ropes. There can,
however, be no doubt that Sula Sgeir is the larger gannetry
of the two. This has been the opinion of all authorities and
is amply borne out by my photographs.
Before concluding I wish to state that for the various
reasons mentioned in this article I am far from satisfied with
my figures, which, of course, can only be accepted as rough
estimates. I v/ould, however, like to state that in my opinion
the results obtained for Sula Sgeir are likely to be the more
accurate of the two. Without being unduly pessimistic
I see little chance of better results being obtained for Sule
Stack owing to the enormous difficulties of approach and
landing. While the prospect of obtaining an accurate count
at Sula Sgeir is possibly a little more hopeful, there are
probably not many who will have the opportunities of landing
and also sufficient time and good weather at their disposal
to examine minutely the cliffs from a small boat.
Summary.
The geographical position of Sule Stack and Sula Sgeir is
explained, and certain points concerning their nomenclature
are elucidated. A description of Sule Stack is given together
with the observations of certain naturalists on this gannetry.
The difficulties of the writer in estimating the number of
Gannets as the result of his visit on July 31st, 1937, are
mentioned, together with his methods of arriving at an
estimate of approximately 3,500 breeding pairs. The decrease
in area occupied by nesting Gannets at Sula Sgeir is recorded,
and an estimate of approximately 4,500 breeding pairs, divided
into five groups, is given as the result of the writer’s visit on
294
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
August 5th, 1937. Notes are made on the photographs of
Sron na Lice or Solan’s Rock taken in 1887, 1932 and 1937.
The decrease in Gannets at Sula Sgeir is accounted for by
the annual practice of taking the nestlings. In this connexion
figures are given and show that about 2,000 nestlings are
taken each year. This practice is condemned, and a plea is
made for the Wild Birds Protection (Scotland) Bill. Reasons
are given for the difficulties of a direct comparison of the
numbers of Gannets at Sule Stack and Sula Sgeir. The
writer’s concluding remarks and the prospects of obtaining a
more satisfactory census at a later date.
REFERENCES.
[1] Acland, Clemence M. and Salmon, H. Morrey. “ The
Grassholm Gannets in 1924 — a great increase.” British Birds. 1924.
Vol. XVIII. Pp. 178-185.
[2] Bedford, Duchess of. " Spring Bird Notes from various
Scottish Islands.” The Annals of Scottish Natural History. 1914.
Pp. 179-180.
[3] Buckley, T. E. and Harvie-Brown, J. A. A Vertebrate Fauna
of the Orkney Islands. 8vo. Edin. 1891. Pp. 45-48, 160-61.
[4] Edwards, V. C. Wynne, Lockley, R. M. and Salmon, H.
Morrey. “ The Distribution and Numbers of Breeding Gannets
( Sula bassana L.).” British Birds. 1936. Vol. XXIX. Pp. 262-276.
[5] Gurney, J. H. The Gannet. A bird with a history. 8vo. Lond.
1913. Pp. 150-164.
[6] ‘‘The Gannetry at ‘The Stack’, Orkney Islands.” The Ibis.
19x4. Pp. 631-634.
[7] Harvie-Brown, J. A. and Buckley, T. E. A Vertebrate Fauna
of the Outer Hebrides. 8vo. Edin. 1888. Pp. xxxv-liv. 94-95.
[8] Ritchie, J. " A Census of Bass Rock Gannets.” The Scottish
Naturalist. 1929. Pp. 127-132.
[9] Salmon, H. Morrey and Lockley, R. M. ‘‘ The Grassholm
Gannets — A survey and a census.” British Birds. 1933. Vol. XXVII.
Pp. 142-152.
[10] Stewart, Malcolm. Ronay. A description of the islands of
North Rona and Sula Sgeir, etc. 8vo. Lond. 1933.
[11] " Natural History Notes on Certain Scottish Islands.”
The Scottish Naturalist. (In the Press.)
[12] ‘‘ Notes on the Geology of Sule Stack, Orkney.” The Geological
Magazine. (In the Press.)
[13] Vevers, H. G. and Fisher, James. “ A Census of Gannets on
Ailsa Craig, with a new method of estimating breeding cliff populations.”
The Journal of Animal Ecology. 1936. Pp. 246-251.
(295)
BIRDS SEEN IN TWO WINTER TRANSECTS OF
THE NORTH ATLANTIC.
BY
L. S. V. VENABLES.
Various bird-counts of the North Atlantic crossing have
already appeared, and in these the significance of the figures
has been fully discussed. The most comprehensive is by
V. C. Wynne-Edwards ( Proc . Boston Soc. Nat. Hist., Vol. XL.,
No. 4, pp. 233-346. January, 1935), who crossed eight times
between May and September, 1933, and published the results
in great detail. It is not proposed, therefore, in this note to
discuss the figures at all, but merely to record them for the
benefit of the workers in this field.
Both the crossings were made in the “ Europa ” (Nord-
deutscher Lloyd Bremen). Owing to the cold winds and
flying spray, it was not found practicable to make the counts
from the bows or even from the sides of the ship. At the stern,
however, one is well sheltered and commands a wide-angle
view on both sides ; the upper deck of the steerage quarters
being the best. The vast majority of the birds flew to the
wake, thus rendering identification particularly easy. Some
merely inspected it, momentarily, from the air ; others
swooped down and picked up some invisible object and some
alighted on or followed it for a minute or more. The first
table shows how many birds came to the wake.
I counted only the “ deep-sea ” days ; i.e., not the first and
last days of each crossing. On January 18th, the day with
most birds, I was, unfortunately, able to watch for one hour
only — a NW. blizzard for the rest of the time giving a visibility
of a few yards.
In these winter transects the increase of Kittiwakes and
the decrease of Fulmars and Great Shearwaters should be
noted when compared with the summer months.
TABLE I.
Number seen.
Kittiwake ... ... 224
Herring-Gull ... ... 17
Great Black-Backed Gull 2
Gannet ... ... 1
Great Skua ... ... 1
Fulmar ... ... 2
“ Auks ” 6
“ Storm-Petrels ” ... 9
“ Great Shearwaters ” 15
Number that
came to Wake.
201
17
2
2
1
3
277
Total ...
226
296
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
to to to io h Jrr'
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Wind Direction
and Force
Visibility
Co OJ CO CO CO
Lo to
Lo
-
4-
Number of Hours Watch
S n 1 1
Lo
Ln
GO
Kittiwake
0 10 | Sl I
III i-i
1 1 1 CO 40
^4 Lo
I |
0
1
0
1
Ln
I
(. Rissa tridactyla )
Herring-Gull
1 1
1
1
to
(Larus argentatus )
Great Black-backed Gull
II 1 1 1
[Larus marinus)
1 1 1 1 1
1 1
1
1
M
Gannet
(Sula bassana )
1 1 1 1 1
1 1
1
1
t— i
Great Skua
( Stercorarius skua)
-INI
1 w
1
1
1
F ulmar
1 1 1 1 1
I
1
( Fulmarus glacialis)
Mill
1 4^
I |
1
I
1
I
1
|
“ Auk ” (sp.?)
Little Auk
1 Ln
1
1
1
[A lie alle)
Storm-Petrel ” (sp. ?)
1 1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1 1
1 4-
1
1
1
Leach’s Fork-tailed Petrel
1
I
( Oceanodroma leucorrhoa)
1 1 ^ 1 1
1 M
1
‘Great Shearwater ” (sp.?)
lull
I I
|
1
|
Great Shearwater
( Puffinus gravis)
1 40 O' 1
1 1
1
1
1
Great Shearwater
(. Puffinus kuhlii borealis)
CO sj | tO |
Co Co Co
to p\
Lo Ln
h-t
o
Ln
O
to
M
to
Average Kittiwakes
CO LO CO
Lo
Ln
per hour
Co Ooco Co Cn
M
o
Ln
O
to
to
Average Birds
O' O' Co Co Oo
O' O' Co Co Co
LO
Lo
to
Ln
per hour
TABLE II.
(297)
BIRDS IN MIDDLESEX.
BY
WILLIAM E. GLEGG.
In addition to the construction of houses, which proceeds
apace, two other types of alteration are taking place which
will have considerable influence on the avifauna. Bv reason
of the centralization of the sewage disposal works the local
sewage-farms are disappearing, which means that many birds,
particularly waders, will be deprived of their feeding grounds.
The second change is that another large reservoir is now in
course of construction on the ground between the existing
reservoir and Staines Moor. Although this will eventually be
of advantage to birds yet it will mean the loss of some. This
was the only locality where the Corn-Bunting was strongly
represented and it seems certain that it will be driven out.
Unless otherwise stated the present writer is responsible
for the records included in these notes. I take the opportunity
to thank Mr. C. S. Bayne for his very interesting account of
the Cormorants in St. James’s Park.
Carrion-Crow (Corvus c. cor one). There have appeared occasionally
in British Birds notes on birds having taken rubber objects. A
remarkable instance of this has come to my notice. I found at Littleton
Reservoir on October 26th, 1937, an extraordinary pellet or casting.
It contained the following rubber objects : a washer, diam. 27 mm. by
3 mm. thick ; a ring, diam. 39 mm. by 5 mm. wide by 3 mm. thick ;
and a complete baby’s dummy or comforter, length 46 mm. by width
16 mm. by diam. of guard 39 mm. As to the colours the washer is
red, the ring grey, the nipple of the dummy is red and the remainder
of it horn-colour. The constituent parts of the pellet are matted
together with feathers. I have no proofs that this pellet was cast by a
Carrion-Crow — it may have been one of several other species — but
my knowledge of the locality suggests that it is the most likely.
White Wagtail ( Motacilla a. alba). Staines Reservoir, one, April
1 8th, 1937.
Black Redstart ( Phcenicurus 0. gibraltariensis). A male on the
concrete parapet at Littleton Reservoir on December nth, 1936.
Peregrine Falcon ( Falco p. peregrinus) . While making my way
round Littleton Reservoir on July 8th, 1937, I observed four large
birds perched on the posts of the cattle-fence and just beneath them
at the edge of the water a party of Common Herons. A gradual approach
with halts for examination proved them to be Peregrines. A loud hissing
sound, apparently coming from the nearest bird, was heard as
I advanced and one of the falcons, probably that farthest from me,
flew down the bank and disappeared before it could be fully examined.
A closer view showed that the nearest bird was seemingly in adult
plumage and when I got within a hundred yards it flew away from
the water in a circle, the completion of which would have brought
it back to the other birds but it dropped into the grass behind me. The
two remaining birds had very brown heads and moustachial stripes
and were, no doubt, birds of the year. The one farthest from me flew
v
298
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
first, following the line of the first bird to fly, and then the fourth bird
flew out over the water in a semi-circle and landed on the concrete
facing not far from where the adult had disappeared. This bird called
almost incessantly during its flight. The feet, projecting below the
body when the falcons were flying, were very conspicuous. I had had
the good fortune to meet a migrating family party.
Sheld-Duck (Tadorna tadorna). Seven seen on Staines Reservoir
on May 4th, 1937. This number included the permanent bird, which
was still in residence on November 7th, thus having entered its
sixth year.
Pintail ( Anas a. acuta). A male and female, Littleton Reservoir,
April 30th, 1937.
Shoveler ( Spatula clypeata). One or two were seen at both Littleton
and Staines Reservoirs to about the middle of June, 1937. and probably
remained through the nesting season but no evidence of breeding has
been obtained. After the close of the nesting season considerable
numbers were present at both the reservoirs mentioned, thirty to forty
having been seen at Littleton Reservoir on September 30th.
Tufted Duck (Nyroca fuligula). A nest with seven eggs was found
in a clump of tall grass at the end of the baffle at Littleton Reservoir
on July 26th, 1937. The female was flushed from the nest and she
vigorously feigned injury as she went across the water. These eggs
disappeared and I am afraid the nest was robbed.
Scaup-Duck ( Nyroca m. marild). Staines Reservoir ; two, October
25th ; one adult male, December 27th, 1936 ; two (one adult male),
January 10th ; three (two adult males), March 21st ; four (three adult
males), March 28th ; one adult male, April 4th ; one, October 3rd to
November 14th, 1937.
Long-tailed Duck ( Clangula hy emails). One was seen by Mr. A.
Holte Macpherson at Staines Reservoir on September 25th, 1937.
This is the earliest appearance of this species. Since that date to
November 14th from one to three have been seen on various occasions.
Common Scoter ( Oidemia n. nigra). Staines Reservoir: two adult
males and five others, July 18th ; eight females, November 7th, 1937.
Velvet-Scoter ( Oidemia f. fusca). A female at Staines Reservoir
on April 18th, 1937. There are only two previous occurrences for
the county, the last in November, 1929.
Goosander (Mergus m. merganser) . On May 30th, 1937, some weeks
after all the wintering birds had disappeared, I identified a brown-
headed bird at Staines Reservoir and it was seen again on June 1st.
It was unusually tame and had a crest similarly imperfect to that
possessed by the bird, which spent the summer of 1936 on a pond on
Clapham Common. On May 31st I visited Clap ham Common where
I was informed that no Goosanders had been seen since the previous
September. This was probably the bird which was seen a few days
later at Barn Elms Reservoir. The best explanation of these unusual
occurrences is that the bird is physically abnormal. An adult male,
obviously incapacitated, remained on the River Colne at Staines Moor
to July 18th when it was seen resting on the grass. It probably died
soon after.
Cormorant ( Phalacrocorax c. carbo). There must be some fatal
fascination about Syon Park for last year I had to disprove a story of a
heronry and this year it is the turn of the Cormorant. In the report for
1936 of the Committee on Bird Sanctuaries in Royal Parks (England),
Kew Gardens, p. 34, will be found the following : “ In the summer a
pair of Cormorants nested in Sion House marsh, opposite Isleworth
vol. xxxi.] BIRDS IN MIDDLESEX.
299
Gate of the Gardens, and produced three young which could fly by
September 13th. All disappeared about four days after but one of the
old ones was seen several times flying to and fro over the Gardens as
late as November. This is the first record for their nesting here”.
I have written to the recorder, Mr. H. N. Ridley, inviting him to give
proofs of this nesting. In his reply he informs me that ” the nest was
in a very inaccessible part of the marsh, in a very swampy place only
approachable by boat so that it was not actually seen by anyone ”.
This story has arisen through Cormorants having been seen in the
vicinity and all that remains to do is to say that it is quite unacceptable.
If these reports (Bird Sanctuaries in Royal Parks) are to be accepted
ornithologically they must be edited with greater severity.
In my A History of the Birds of Middlesex I described this species
as ” an unusual and irregular visitor”. In view of the position in
St. Jeimes’s Park and at Littleton Reservoir this calls for reconsidera-
tion. Mr. C. S. Bayne, in a letter to British Birds, Vol. XXVI., p. 283,
dealt with the breeding of this species in the former locality to the
end of 1932 and he has given me the following account to bring the
matter up to date. “ They were eleven years in the park before they
nested. They completed their first nest in the summer of 1931 and
hatched two chicks in September of that year. One of these died
but the other was reared. The old pair, which by the way were pinioned,
nested again in 1932 and hatched another chick on May 10th, and reared
it successfully. They made two more attempts that same year and on
both occasions hatched a chick but failed to rear it. There were now
four Cormorants in the Park, the original pair and their two youngsters,
which were allowed to retain their wings and flew about freely. During
the autumn of that year (1932) a fifth Cormorant was observed on
several occasions on the lake. In 1933 the original pair nested again
and reared one youngster. Their first chick (hatched 1931) paired with
a stranger and built a nest close by theirs and brooded all through the
summer without success. There were now six Cormorants in the Park
and during the autumn a seventh was seen there several times. In
1934 these two pairs nested again. The young pair failed to produce
a chick but the old pair reared four youngsters, one in April, one in
June and two in September, so in October there were nine full-grown
birds in the Park. In 1935 the results were, young pair two, old pair
nil. The largest number seen at one time in the Park was ten. In 1936
the old original pair nested again, the second pair also nested and a
third pair, which cannot be accurately placed but presumably it con-
sisted of at least one of the offspring of the original pair, also nested.
This time the old pair failed to rear any young, but each of the other
pairs reared one chick. This gives a total of seven reared by the
pinioned pair and four reared by the full-winged birds. These full-
winged birds are, of course, free to fly where they please and no doubt
they go off to the river and most probably to the reservoirs. We know
that they fish in the Serpentine. At the annual cleaning of the lake
most of the full-winged birds disappear, but when the lake is refilled
a number return. Whether all those that come back are birds that were
reared in the Park, it is impossible to say but the total has increased year
by year until at the end of last year (1936) there were thirteen Cormorants
in the Park. We know definitely that No. 5 was a stranger and we
also know that No. 13 which was a ringed bird, was a stranger, but
we cannot say definitely that any of the others were. But as the original
pair plus seven offspring plus four chicks of the two younger pairs,
plus the two strangers make altogether fifteen, there is more than a
300
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
possibility that none were strangers but 5 and 13. The non-breeding
birds are all more or less in juvenile plumage. This year (1937) only
two pairs have nested so far, and since the lake was cleaned I have not
seen more than nine Cormorants on the lake, but two chicks have been
reared, one by pair No. 2 (presumably : I say this because the nest
of No. 2 has been in the same position each year : the original pair
invariably built their nest on the site which they used in 1931 but
since the old hen died the old cock has adopted a new site), and the
other by the old cock, which this year has paired with a young hen.
The old pinioned hen died at the end of last year or the beginning of
this year. The old cock is probably about twenty years old now, perhaps
more, as he may have been kept by his donor for some time before he
was handed over to the Park."
During the past three years I have been permitted to visit Littleton
Reservoir — previously I could not obtain a permit — and have seen
this species, from 1 to 6, in every month of the year although not in
any one year. If the behaviour of these birds is of any value, then they
do not come from St. James’s Park as they do not permit a close
approach. The reason of the preference for Littleton to the neighbouring
Staines Reservoir, where six flew over on May 9th, 1937, and where it is
very unusual, is the concrete baffle which projects about halfway across
the reservoir and provides the Cormorants with seclusion similar to
their natural haunts.
Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps n. nigricollis) . One, Littleton
Reservoir, January 19th and 29th. One, Staines Reservoir, November
7th, 1937. The latter was probably a bird seen by Mr. A. Holte
Macpherson on November 2nd.
Golden Plover ( Charadrius apricarius subsp. ?). A party of fifteen
flew past, low down, at Staines Reservoir on February 28th, 1937.
Ruff ( Philomachus pugnax ). One, sex undetermined, Brent Reser-
voir, from September 29th to October 29th. It was not seen on October
5th but was probably present.
Greenshank ( Tringa nebularia). Staines Reservoir: one flew over,
calling. May 16th. There are only two previous spring records for the
county ; one, September 12th and 19th ; Staines Moor, one, September
1 2th, 1937.
Common Curlew ( Numenius a. arquata). Littleton Reservoir :
one, April 23rd ; 3 July 16th. Staines Reservoir : one, July 4th ; 2, July
1 8th, 1937.
Black Tern ( Chlidonias n. niger). Littleton Reservoir : three, April
25th ; one, May 21st. Staines Reservoir : one. May 2nd ; two,
September 26th, 1937.
Arctic Tern ( Sterna macrura) . One, with other terns, seen and
heard, Staines Reservoir, October 10th, 1937.
Little Tern [Sterna a. albifrons). One, Littleton Reservoir, May
2 1st, 1937.
Little Gull [Larus minutus). One, Littleton Reservoir, January
29th and February 1st, 1937.
Black-headed Gull ( Larus r. ridibundus) . On October 10th, 1937,
Staines Reservoir presented a scene of unusual animation. Many
Black-headed Gulls, accompanied by a few terns, were dashing about
close to the surface of the water. They seemed to be feeding on some
small object too small to be detected by the human eye, even aided
by a telescope and it was obvious that the birds were also eating a
similar object in the water. It was noticed that the wind, which was
blowing from a northerly direction, had carried a great mass of small
vol. xxxi ] BIRDS IN MIDDLESEX.
301
greyish objects to the south bank. A closer examination showed that
these objects were the pupa cases of some insect. Several were taken
as specimens and identified at the British Museum (N.H.) as belonging
to the harlequin ily ( Chironomus plumosus) . I have no doubt that the
( mils were devouring this insect. As Mr. A. Holte Macpherson had seen
the Gulls behaving in this manner several days previously and when
I returned on October 12th they were still at work although in much
reduced numbers, 1 am able to say that this had lasted for a week.
A remarkable feature of this incident is that the emergence of this
insect was apparently confined to the northern and higher part of
the reservoir. No Gulls were seen feeding over the southern part and
no pupa cases were found there, although a thorough examination was
made of the banks. It may be well to explain that the two parts really
form a single reservoir, separated by a baffle which carries a footpath.
Syphons permit water to flow from the northern to the southern
section. A view of the reservoir will be found in A History of the Birds
of Middlesex. It may be well to add that the Black-headed was the
only Gull seen feeding and that the terns did not seem to be taking the
insect.
Great Black-backed Gull ( Lams marinus). Staines Reservoir :
One adult and one immature, March 21st ; one adult, November 7th,
1937-
(302)
RECOVERY OF MARKED BIRDS.
COMMUNICATED BY
E. P. LEACH.
Hon. Sec., Bird-Ringing Committee, British Trust for Ornithology.
No.
RR.7784
RX.4396
RX.7428
RS.5250
AG. 53 1
RX.2494
RX.5504
RV. 2009
RW. 9475
CA.i 130
RW.7070
RW.7076
OF. 472
ON. 561
OM.346
YM.479
YM.512
YK.114
YH.609
YV.115
Ringed. Recovered.
Carrion-Crow ( Corvus c. corone).
Blagdon (Som), 16.6.28, young, Winterbourne (Glos),
by J. D’eath. 15.10.37.
Rook ( Corvus /. frugilegus) .
RINGED AS NESTLINGS.
Rawdon (Yorks), 24.4.37, by Bramhope (Yorks), 15. 7. 37.
C. Wontner-Smith.
Ditto 4.5.37. Allerton (Yorks), 13.8.37.
Stodmarsh (Kent), 16.4.33, by Where ringed, — .9.37.
Oxford Orn. Soc.
RINGED AS FULL-GROWN.
Gt. Budworth (Ches), 17 7.35, Acton Bridge (Ches), — -6.37.
by A. W. Boyd.
Whipsnade (Beds), 18.10.36, by Where ringed, 9.7.37.
Zool. Soc.
Ditto 6.12.36. Ditto, 16.6.37.
Jackdaw ( Colceus m. spermologus) .
RINGED AS FULL-GROWN.
Shipley (Yorks), 26.5.34, by Where ringed, 20.5.36 ;
C. Wontner-Smith. 23-5-37-
Whipsnade (Beds), 17.7.36, by Markyate (Herts), 19.7.37.
Zool. Soc.
Ditto 19.12.36. Where ringed, 18.6.37.
Magpie ( Pica p. pica).
Shipley (Yorks), 27.5.36, young Where ringed, 4.4.37.
by C. Wontner-Smith.
Ditto 27.5.36. Ditto, 18.4.37.
Starling ( Sturnus v. vulgaris).
RINGED AS NESTLINGS.
Penrith (Cumb), 21.5.36, by
H. J. Moon.
Wolsingham (Durham), 26. 5. 37,
by R. Martinson.
Glenridding (Westmor),30.5.36,
by H. J. Moon.
Shipley (Yorks), 23.5.37, by
C. Wontner-Smith.
Ditto 5-6. 37-
Whipsnade (Beds), 13.6.37, by
Zool. Soc.
W. Lavington (Wilts), 18.5.37,
by B. Coulson.
Netheravon (Wilts), 28.7.37, by
A. G. B. Wainwright.
Carlisle (Cumb), 14.12.37.
Crook (Durham), 4.10.37.
Ferryhill(Durham),i3.i2.37
Blackpool (Lancs), 19.9.37.
Garstang (Lancs), 28.11.37.
Down Hatherley (Glos),
31-38.
E. Ivnoyle (Wilts), 6.12.37.
Ipplepen (Devon), 20.10.37
VOL. XXXI.]
RECOVERY OF MARKED BIRDS.
303
No.
OV.668
YH.266
OA.479
FB.691
GS.416
ZR.87
YF.638
GK.552
ZT.942
zv.4b3
zv.418
ZT.9S5
ZT.825
S.4542
OP. 979
OX. 790
GX.977
FP.448
OX. 683
OA.50
GX.873
OX. 398
GX.963
ZX.228
OX. 83 1
AN. 7350
OC.210
YA.81
GB.392
FH.678
ZX.87
YB.588
Ringed. Recovered.
Starling ( continued ).
RINGED AS FULL-GROWN.
Whalsay, Shetland, 13.12.37.
Outskerries, Shetland, 24.10. 37,
by Skokholm Bird Obs.
Preston (Lancs), 12.9.37, by
H. Martin.
York, 17.2.36, by Bootham
Sch. '
Ditto 27.2.1*+*
Alderley Edge (C.hes), 18. 11.34,
by E. Cohen.
Wilmslow (Ches), 23.12.35, by
E. Cohen.
Gt. Budworth (Ches), 13.12.33,
by A. W. Boyd.
Ditto
9-1-35-
Ditto
16.1.36.
Ditto
10.12.36.
Ditto
6.12.36.
Ditto
I71 36.
Ditto
16.1.36.
Ditto
19.2.30.
Carlton (Notts),
2.11.36, by
J. Staton.
Malvern (Worcs),
10.12.36, bv
P. Morshead.
Ditto
10.11.35.
Ditto
23-2.34-
Ditto
29.11.36.
Ditto
25.10.36.
Ditto
26.10.35.
Ditto
23.11.36.
Ditto
9-H-35-
Ditto
I-3-3b.
Ditto
12.12.36.
Birmingham, 22.3.32, by F. R.
Barlow.
Moreton - in - Marsh (Glos),
21.2.36, by G. Charteris.
Ascott-u.-Wychwood (Oxon),
11. 12. 36, by Oxford Orn.Soc.
Oxford, 5.1.35, by Oxford Orn.
Soc.
Ditto 28.11.33.
St. Neot’s (Hunts), 10.2.36, bv
C. F. Tebbutt.
West Lavington (Wilts),
6.12.36, by B. Coulson.
Waterford, 1.1.38.
Odense, Fyen, Denmark,
I-9-37-
Kexby (Yorks), 29.12.37.
Macclesfield (Ches), 17.9.37.
Stockport (Ches), 3. 11.37.
Widnes (Lancs), 27.11.37.
Helsby (Ches), 4. 11.37.
Wilmslow (Ches), 22.11.37.
Northampton, 22.8.37.
Dagenham (Essex), 16. 11.37.
Bremen, Germany, 7.7.37.
Hamburg, Germany, 13.9.37.
Lopik (Utrecht), Holland,
21.8.37.
Southwell (Notts), 1.7.37.
Clifton-on-Teme (Worcs),
8.10.37.
Warwick, 3.1 1.37.
Lichfield (Staffs), — .8.37.
Tamworth (Staffs), 24.10.37.
Thornbury (Glos), 13. 11.37.
Utena, Lithuania, 18.8.37.
Botilsater (Varmland),
Sweden, — .7. 37.
Jordlose, Sjaelland, Den-
mark, 7.9.37.
Avnede, Laaland, Denmark,
3-9-37-
Hoevelaken (Guelderland),
Holland, 10.9.37.
Purmerend, Noord Holland,
21.12.37.
Brailes (Warwick), 14.10.37.
Grootebroek, Noord Hol-
land, —.7.3 7.
Brodnica, N. Poland,
10.10.37.
Blankenberge, Belgium,
—.11.37.
Hertford, 12. 11.37.
Hereford, 2.1.38.
304
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
No.
OT.791
AS. 8577
ZM.91 x
ZE.92S
YD. 3 86
ZF.13
OE.614
LK.385
LJ.508
GV.790
MW. 224
KL.505
KH.651
HE.851
HM.468
LE.35
LL.770
LL.915
4 Birds
JA.164
KE.657
MR. 444
KE.658
Ringed. Recovered.
Starling ( continued ).
Dymchurch (Kent), 27.12.36, Headcorn (Kent), 18. 1 t .37.
by A. H. Bishop.
Dungeness Lighthouse (Kent), Kidderminster (Worcs),
6.10.37, by N. H. Joy. 18.10.37.
Alton (Hants), 6.1.36, by M. H. Lekkerkerk, Zuid Holland,
Williams. ' _ 2.10.37.
Brent Knoll (Som), 22.12.35, Aylesbury (Bucks), 17. 11.37.
by E. G. Holt.
Redruth (Cornwall), 31. 1. 37, by Sherborne (Dorset), 7.10.37.
H. B. Smith.
Greenfinch ( Chloris ch. chloris).
Cressage (Salop), 18.4.35, ad., Atcham (Salop), 26.3.37.
by G. Pollitt.
Ditto 18.4.36. Ditto, 26.3.37.
Chaffinch ( Fringilla ccelebs).
Evesham (Worcs), 4.2.35, ad., Pitea, Norrbotten, Sweden,
by A. J. Harthan. 1936.
Stanway (Glos), 27.1.35, ad., Antwerp, Belgium, 15.10.37.
by G. Charteris.
Brambling ( Fringilla montifringilla) .
Newbold-on-Stour (Worcs), Sauveterre (Gironde), France,
14.2.37, ad., by P. Carr. — .12.37.
Moreton - in - Marsh (Glos), Montaubon (Tarn-et-Gar-
29.12.34, by G. Charteris. onne), France, 5.1.38.
Reed-Bunting ( Embcriza s. schceniclus) .
Wilmslow (Ches), 2.2.36, ad., Where ringed, 1 .4.37.
by E. Cohen.
Oxford, 26.3.36, ad., by Oxford Ditto, 13.2.37.
Orn. Soc.
Meadow-Pipit ( Anthus pratensis).
RINGED AS FULL-GROWN.
RECOVERED AWAY FROM WHERE RINGED.
Skokholm Bird Obs., 19.8.37. Capbreton (Landes), France,
25.10.37.
Malvern (Worcs), 5.10.37, by Droitwich (Worcs), x6.12.37.
P. Morshead.
RECOVERED WHERE RINGED.
Oxford, 29.1.35, by Oxford 2.3.36 ; 27.1 1 .36.
Orn. Soc.
Skokholm Bird Obs., 29.8.35. 27.4.36 ; 9.5.37.
Ditto, 8.4.36. 14.4.37.
Ditto, July and August, 1936. — .4.37.
Ditto, 17.8.36. 6.9.37.
Rock-Pipit [Anthus. s. petrosus).
I. of May Bird Obs., 19.4.36, ad. Where ringed, 9.4.37.
Skokholm Bird Obs., 12.7.34, Ditto, 10.5.37.
ad.
Pied Wagtail ( Motacilla a. yarrellii).
I. of May Bird Obs., 22. 4. 36, ad. Where ringed, 14.5.37.
VOL. XXXI.]
RECOVERY OF MARKED BIRDS.
305
No.
H.6566
HE. 764
ZE.379
OW .547
OR.875
RF.989
YM. 17
YN. 99
OH.611
YV.131
ZR.758
FE.884
YJ.446
YJ-432
OR.9S7
ZK.282
OV.736
OD.343
U.2768
LL.849
Ringed. Recovered.
Blue Tit ( Pams c. obscurus).
Arnside (Westmor), 14.12.30, Where ringed, 18.12.37.
ad., by J. Barnes.
Whitethroat ( Sylvia c. communis).
RINGED AS MIGRANT IN MOULT.
Skokholm Bird Obs., 2.8.37. Where ringed, 4. 9. 37.
Song-Thrush ( Turdus e. ericetorum) .
RINGED AS NESTLINGS.
Penrith (Cumb), 12.5.35, by
H. J. Moon.
Wetherby (Yorks), 30.4.37, by
" A.G.M. Wippletree'.’.
Stanway (Glos), 18.4.37, by
G. Charteris.
Woodstock (Oxon), 27.4.34, by
W. A. Cadman.
Bealings (Suffolk), 10.5.37, by
A. May all.
Rye (Sussex), 19.4.37, by R. G.
Williams.
RINGED AS FULL-'
Arnside (Westmor), 18.1.37, by
J. Barnes.
Figheldean (Wilts), 17.8.37, by
A. Wain wright.
Ring-Ouzel ( Turdus t.
I. of May Bird Obs., 14.4.36,
ad.
Pendle (Lancs), 26.5.34, young,
by Oakes & Battersby.
Newmarket (Cork), 8.12.37.
Thornaby-on-Tees, 29.12.37.
Cheltenham (Glos), — .7.37.
Waterloo, Belgium, 17.10.37.
Coimbra, Portugal, 14. 11.37.
Amou (Landes), France,
26.11.37.
tROWN.
Beverley (Yorks), 16.9.37.
Shipton Bellinger (Wilts).
—.12.37.
torquatus) .
Nages (Tarn), France,
-10.37.
Lourdes (Htes. Pyrenees),
France, 28.3.35.
Blackbird ( Turdus m. merula).
RINGED AS NESTLINGS.
Clifton (Westmor), 16.5.37, by Bally go wan (Down),
H. J. Moon. — 12.37.
Hackthorpe (Westmor), — 5. 37, Blackrock Lighthouse
by H. J. Moon. (Mayo), 9.1 1.37.
Stanway (Glos), 4.5.37, by Winchcomb (Glos), 3.8.37.
G. Charteris.
Brede (Sussex), 24.5.35, by Peasmarsh (Sussex), 20.8.37.
P. Allen.
RINGED AS FULL-GROWN.
North Ronaldshay, Orkney, Inchigeelagh(Cork), 25.1 1.37.
30.10.37, migrant, by Skok-
holm Bird Obs.
I. of May Bird Obs., 8.4.37. Farsund, S. Norway, 4. 11.37.
Malvern’ (Worcs), 11.7.28, by Where ringed, 30.11.37.
P. Morshead.
Wheatear [CEnanthe ce. oenanthe).
Skokholm Bird Obs., 6.4.36, ad. Where ringed, 20.8.37.
306 BRITISH BIRDS. [vol. xxxi.
A To. Ringed. Recovered.
Robin ( Erithacus r. melophilus) .
G.5987 Ivelling (Norfolk), 23.5.29, Where ringed, 10.9.37.
young by R. M. Garnett.
JA.225 Skokholm Bird Obs., 4.9.36, Ditto, — .9.37.
migrant.
Hedge-Sparrow ( Prunella m. occidentalis) .
RECOVERED WHERE RINGED.
KW.356 Skokholm Bird Obs., 11.6.36, nestling 7-9-36 ; 5-5-37-
MR. 549 Ditto, 23.8.34, juv. 22.4.36 ; 13.4.37.
LL. 731 Ditto, 6.8.35. 22.4.36 ; 6.5.37.
Wren ( Troglodytes t. troglodytes) .
JA.385 Skokholm Bird Obs., 1.10.36, Where ringed, 12.4.37.
migrant.
Swallow ( Hirundo r. rustica).
RINGED AS NESTLINGS.
RECOVERED AWAY FROM WHERE RINGED.
LM. 840 Stanway (Glos), 6.7.35, by G. Notgrove (Glos), 5.6.37.
Charteris.
LW.226 Weybourne (Norfolk), 3.7.35, Salthouse (Norfolk), 7.8.37.
by R. M. Garnett.
RECOVERED WHERE RINGED.
LC.131 Glenorchard (Stirling), 21.8.34, by J. Bartholomew. — -8.37.
MV.527 Ditto, 29.6.35. 1 1. 5-37-
LN.956 Laugharne (Carms), 4.8.36, by J. F. Thomas. 31.7.37.
RINGED AS FULL-GROWN.
RECOVERED WHERE RINGED.
Laugharne (J. F. Thomas).
No.
Ringed.
Recovered.
No.
Ringed.
Recovered
LN.715
14-8-35-
2.9-37-
LN.960
5.8.36.
30-7-37
LN.765
19-8-35-
3-8-36 ;
LN.968
7.8.36.
30.8.37
LN.906
31-8.37.
LP.103
12.8.36.
30.8.37
30-7-36
31-7-37-
LP.X2I
15.8.36.
21.8.37
LN.907
3I-7-36.
28.7.37.
LP.127
17.8.36.
25-8-37
No.
Ringed.
Recovered.
Martin ( Delichon u. urbica).
JH.435 Arundel (Sussex), 26.7.36, Where ringed, 25.7.37.
young, by A. Mayall.
KR.772 Ascott-u.-Wychwood (Oxon), Ditto, 24.5.37.
30.7.36, young, by Oxford
Orn. Soc.
4 Birds Ditto, Summer 1936, ad. Ditto, Summer 1937.
Swift [Apus a. apus).
ZW.531 Charlbury (Oxon), 24.6.36, ad.. Where ringed, 24.6.37.
by Oxford Orn. Soc.
Cuckoo ( Cuculus c. canorus).
208906 Reading (Berks), 19-7-37, Stree (Hainaut), Belgium,
young, by Leighton Pk. Sch. 24.8.37.
AR.2852 Skokholm Bird Obs., 16.7.37, Where ringed, 11.8.37.
juv. migrant.
VOL. XXXI.]
RECOVERY OF MARKED BIRDS.
307
No.
AB.8460
AB.7042
AB.7043
RX.4063
RX.8142
RX.8154
RX.8564
RW. 8085
RX. 3348
RX.9210
RW.6422
121056
121042
1 191 10
1 1 91 05
113136
1 1 91 2 7
II9I33
119120
114911
4oi653
401649
Ringed. Recovered.
Tawny Owl ( Strix a. sylvatica).
Hastings (Sussex), 20.5.37, Where ringed, 3. 11.37.
young, by Brooker & Cawkell.
Barn-Owl ( Tyto a. alba).
Stocksfield(Northumb),27.7.37, Winlaton (Northumb),
young, by Mrs. Hodgkin. — -H -37-
Ditto, 27.7.37. Stockton-on-Tees (Durham),
15-11-37-
Kestrel ( Falco t. tinnunculus) .
RINGED AS NESTLINGS.
Lothianburn (Midlothian),
IO-7-37> by Midlothian Orn.
Club'
Ivirkandrews-on-Eden (Cumb),
21.6.37, by E. Blezard.
Ditto, 21.6.37.
Canterbury (Kent), 19.6.37, by
St. Edmund’s Sch.
Carluke (Lanark), 14.8.37.
Skinburness (Cumb), 9-9-37-
Penrith (Cumb), — .11.37.
Doddington (Kent), — 12.37.
RINGED AS MIGRANT.
Skokholm Bird Obs., 1 1.4.36. Where ringed, 17.8.36;
5-7-37-
Sparrow-Hawk ( Accipiter n. nisns).
Nether Welton (Cumb), 27. 6. 36, Where ringed, 14.7.37.
young, by R. H. Brown.
Dalston (Cumb), 5.7.37, young, Thursby (Cumb), 14.9.37.
by R. H. Brown.
Cumdivock (Cumb), 14.7.35, Westward (Cumb), 24.12.37.
young, by R. H. Brown.
Heron ( Ardea c. cinerea).
RINGED AS NESTLINGS.
N. Uist, Hebrides, 7. 7. 37, bv
J. W. Campbell.
Ditto, 7.7.37.
Ely (Cambs), 25.5.37, by C. S.
Clarke.
Ditto, 24.5.37.
Ditto, 12.5.37.
Ditto, 1.7.37.
Ditto, 17.37.
Ditto, 4.6.37.
High Halstow (Kent), 23.5.35,
by P. Hollom.
Kingussie (Inverness),
2.10.37.
Stornoway, Hebrides,
12. 11. 37.
Cirencester (Glos), 6.8.37.
Deerhurst (Glos), 29.9.37.
Lydbury North (Salop),
9.12.37.
Chelmsford (Essex), 2.1.38.
Barking (Essex), — .11.37.
Moissac (Tarn-et-Garonne),
France, 21. 11.37.
Vange (Essex), — .11.37.
Mallard {Anas p. platyrhyncha) .
RINGED AS FULL-GROWN.
RECOVERED AWAY FROM WHERE RINGED.
Leswalt (Wigtown), 14.3.36, by Ardwell (Wigtown), 17.8.37.
J. Law.
Ditto, 2.3.36. Dunragit (Wigtown), 7. 9. 37.
308
BRITISH BIRDS
[VOL. XXXI.
No.
4°2952
402996
401922
7 Birds
AB.4765
401603
401601
Ringed. Recovered.
Mallard (continued) .
Ludham (Norfolk), 29.9.37, by
M. Boardman.
Ditto, 21.10.37.
Ditto, 30.1.37.
Ditto, — .9.37-
Essex, 9.9.36, by G. Fane.
Hamptworth (Wilts), 5.9.36,
for H. A. Gilbert.
Ditto, 24.9.36.
Horsey (Norfolk), 19. 11.37.
Belton (Suffolk), 3.1.38.
Hook of Holland, 24.12.37.
Dilham (Norfolk), Sept, and
Oct., 1937.
Rye (Sussex), ■ — .8.37.
Charlton-All-Saints (Wilts),
30.11.37.
Makkum (Friesland), Hol-
land, 17.9.37.
RECOVERED WHERE RINGED.
3 Birds Ludham (Norfolk), Sept., 1936, Sept, and Oct., 1937.
by M. Boardman.
2 Birds Orielton (Pern), March and July, Oct. and Nov., 1937.
1936, by S. Greenslade.
Wigeon (Anas penelope).
RINGED AS FULL-GROWN.
RINGS OF THE ORIELTON DECOY, PEMBROKE.
1938
Orielton,
1. 1. 37.
Vashka River, N. Russia,
n-5-37-
1545
Ditto
29.11.36.
Nordstrand, N. Frisian Is.,
26.10.37.
902
Orielton,
(Hants),
clipped.
released Petersfield
26.1.36, wings
Petersfield, 8.12.37.
Shoveler (Spatula clypeata).
RINGED AS FULL-GROWN.
RINGS OF THE ORIELTON DECOY, PEMBROKE.
1702
Orielton,
12.12.36.
Ludham (Norfolk), 25.9.37.
1675
Ditto
11. 12. 36.
Ysselmeer (Overyssel), Hol-
land, 28.8.37.
1621
Ditto
4.12.36.
Dordrecht, Zuid Holland,
6.10.37.
Tufted Duck (Nyroca fuligula).
RINGED AS FULL-GROWN.
AA.8308 Molesey (Surrey), 5.1.34, by Wonersh (Surrey), 9.12.37.
P. Hollom.
401461 Ditto 21. 11. 35. Walthamstow (Essex),
11. 10. 37.
Eider (Somateria m. mollissima).
II3394 Slains (Aberdeen), 7.6.34, ad., Berwick-on-Tweed, 20.12.37.
by M. Portal.
[To be continued.)
fcTIOTES*
NORTHERN BULLFINCH IN NORTHUMBERLAND.
On April 15th, 1937, a male Bullfinch which appeared to be
much larger than the British Bullfinch {Pyrrhula p. pileata )
was seen moving about in some trees on Holy Island. Later
in the day this bird was shot by a resident on the island and
was sent in to the Hancock Museum, Newcastle upon Tyne.
Upon arrival it was carefully examined and measured and
found to be the Northern Bullfinch ( Pyrrhula p. pyrrhula).
The wing measurement was 93 mm. and the tail 69 mm.
The bird was made up into a cabinet skin and this has been
examined by Mr. H. F. Witherby who has confirmed the
identification. This is the first record of the Northern Bull-
finch for Northumberland. T. Russell Goddard.
WATER-PIPIT IN CARMARTHENSHIRE.
On December 7th, 1937, a Pipit was caught by Mrs. Tregoning
in her house at Ferryside. She took it to Professor J. W. W.
Stephens, who, recognizing it was something out of the
ordinary, sent it to us for identification. It had seemed to be
vigorous, but died during the night.
After carefully comparing it with plumage details given in
the Practical Handbook and with skins of Rock and Meadow-
Pipits in the National Museum of Wales, we had no doubt
that the bird was a Water-Pipit ( Anthus spinoletta). It was
dissected by the taxidermist at the Museum and proved to
be a female.
The skin has been submitted to Mr. H. F. Witherby who
has kindly confirmed our identification, and states it is a
specimen of the typical race Anthus s. spinoletta.
This is the second occurrence of this species in South
Wales, and the first for Carmarthenshire.
Geoffrey C. S. Ingram.
H. Morrey Salmon.
NORTHERN TREE-CREEPER IN BERWICKSHIRE.
During a recent overhaul of the exhibited series of British
birds in the Hancock Museum, Newcastle upon Tyne, my
assistant, Mr. S. E. Cook, called my attention to a bird which
was labelled “Tree Creeper ( Certhia familiaris) Duns,
Berwickshire, 1899”. As soon as I saw this specimen I realized
310
BRITISH BIRDS
[VOL. XXXI.
that it was markedly different from the normal British form
( Certhia familiaris britannica). The much paler upper-parts,
especially the pale rufous rump, and the pure silvery white
under-parts were striking. There is no doubt that this speci-
men is the Northern Tree-Creeper ( Certhia familiaris
familiaris). The paler upper-parts cannot be attributed to
fading for they are very markedly paler than the same parts
of a specimen which was killed in 1832 and which has been on
exhibition in the Museum at least from 1884. The most
striking difference between this bird and all other specimens
of the typical British form in the Museum, apart from the
more silvery-white under-parts, was the pale rufous rump.
The Museum Accession Book for 1899 reads : “ 7th Sept. —
A specimen of the Creeper ( Certhia familiaris) from Duns,
Berwickshire. R. Mitford, Esq., Duns, N.B.” There is
nothing to say whether the bird was received in the flesh or
mounted but as various members of the Natural History
Society of Northumberland, Durham and Newcastle upon
Tyne and their friends were shooting birds in various parts
of the north of England and sending them in to the Hancock
Museum in the flesh during that year this specimen is
extremely likely to have been received in the flesh also.
If that is so it was probably killed on September 5th or 6th,
1899, for the specimen is in perfect condition and is beautifully
mounted. It was probably set up by J. Jackson, of Newcastle
upon Tyne, who was doing most of the taxidermy for the
Museum at that time. At any rate the form of the entry in
the Museum Accession Book makes it obvious that the bird
was obtained at Duns, Berwickshire. T. Russell Goddard.
Male Spotted Flycatcher’s Rapid Replacement of
Lost Mate. — Mr. H. T. Gosnell writes that on May 18th,
1936, at Bordon, Hampshire, a pair of Spotted Flycatchers
( Muscicapa s. striata) arrived in his garden and were busy
inspecting a nesting-site. On the same evening the hen was
killed by a cat. The cock then called continuously and in the
evening of the following day a new mate was found. On the
next day a fresh nesting-site was chosen, and two broods
were eventually reared in that year.
Shags in Inner London and Essex. — Mr. E. G. Pedler
informs us that he identified a Shag ( Phalacrocorax a.
aristotelis) which was in company with a Cormorant on the
Serpentine on December 17th, 1937. The bird’s comparatively
small size and its characteristic leap out of the water when
diving were specially noted.
VOL. XXXI.]
NOTES.
311
Mr. I. Steuart writes that he found a Shag in an exhausted
and emaciated condition about 12 miles from the sea at
North Farnbridge, Essex, on December 19th.
Fluctuations in Numbers of Black Grouse in Germany.
— In connexion with the indictment of the Pheasant as an
important factor in the decrease of the Black Grouse ( Tetrao
tetrix) in Dumfriesshire by Mr. H. S. Gladstone ( antea ,
pp. 188-93), Dr. Heck of the Berlin Zoological Gardens writes
to us that in the neighbourhood of Berlin Black Grouse were
numerous in former days, but old reports showed that their
numbers fluctuated considerably. In the last few years the
number of Black Grouse has become very much smaller owing
to increased drainage and intensive development of agriculture.
But at the present time it is noticeable that Black Grouse on
extensive meadowland (its primary habitat in this area)
appear in certain districts, increase in number, then decrease
and often disappear, only to reappear after a further lapse of
time. In these meadow districts Pheasants are by no means
plentiful. “ That the Pheasant exercises an influence over
Black Grouse cannot therefore be accepted here.”
LETTERS.
THE LITTLE OWL INQUIRY AND THE SKOKHOLM
STORM-PETRELS.
To the Editors of British Birds.
Sirs, — In reply to Mr. Lockley’s letter under this heading [antea,
pp. 278-9), I had two main points to make in my report on Skokholm
Island, namely : —
1. That owing to its depredations on Storm-Petrels, the Little Owl
should, if possible, be prevented from nesting on the island.
2. That Storm-Petrels being unprocurable on the mainland, the
Skokholm incidents have little relevance to the Inquiry into the
nature of the habitual food of the Little Owl as a species. With the
first point Mr. Lockley states in his letter to you that he agrees un-
reservedly. With the second he agrees at least partly, for he wrote to
me in July, 1935, that though “ there was overwhelming evidence
that the Little Owl was the culprit, surely no one is using this incident
as a prime reason for its extermination elsewhere”.
It is, therefore, on the details of my report that he offers criticisms.
These apparently fall under two headings.
1. He considers that I only infer damage done by the Little Owl
whereas he maintains (correctly) that I actually know it to have been
done. Lest anyone else should read inference rather than certainty
into my report, I will give the details of the consignment (alluded to
bv Mr. Lockley) from a Little Owl’s nest hole, received from Skokholm
oil July 18th, 1936. This consisted of : (1) A highly fly-blown Little
Owl, (2) a mass of Storm-Petrel remains in an advanced state of
putrefaction (doubtless due to contact with the Owl in transit).
3i2
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
From this mass I picked out 163 separate wings, 5 headless, other-
wise complete, bodies and 3 pellets, all composed of Storm-Petrel.
As Mr. Lockley wrote that he was sending “ about half of the contents
of the hole,” I recorded in the report “ some 200 Storm-Petrels,”
allowing a margin on account of the special difficulties in exact counting.
As this was the only consignment I received, it was the only numerical
record I could give.
2. Mr. Lockley considers that the word “ abnormal ” is not applicable
to the general food conditions for Little Owls on Skokholm. Here
I definitely disagree. A main result of the whole Inquiry has been
to show that Little Owls feed on what is easily obtained on or near
the ground chiefly by night. This accounts for Storm-Petrels as a
dominant, abnormal food during the nesting season. The absence of
cow dung which, on the mainland, is by far the largest source of insect
food for the Little Owl is another abnormal feature of great importance.
Goat and sheep dung have produced no insect pellets during the
Inquiry and rabbit dung only from autumn to spring, in connexion with
the black dor beetle ( Geotrupes typhosus). It would also require a
constant large relay of carrion to yield insects on a scale approximating
to the number derived from cow dung. This subject could be dealt
with more fully did space allow.
With regard to the possible storage of headless Petrels, I can offer
no definite opinion since we have found no certain example of storage
on the mainland. It seems likely that in its night-hunting the Little
Owl may sometimes collect (without intention) more Petrels than it
uses for present needs and that they accumulate mechanically during
the nesting season. This is merely a surmise.
Hilary, Girton, Cambridge. Alice Hibbert-Ware.
KITTIWAKES AS SHORE BIRDS.
To the Editors of British Birds.
Sirs, — I am interested to see the additional information supplied
by Messrs. Boyd and Gordon on this subject. Although I asked several
people about their experiences before I wrote my original note, by
some mental aberration I failed to ask my brother, W. B. Alexander.
He sends me the following notes : June 26th, 1927. — Many at the
mouth of the Tees with other gulls on the mud-flats and the water ;
June 19th, 1932 : A number of adults and first-year birds on the beach
at Tayport; September 6th, 1936 : Over 100 on the rocks at Hoylake,
Cheshire, at high tide, probably driven in by stormy weather ; September
ist-8th, 1937 : Flocks of adults and young always sitting about with
terns on the North Ness, Isle of May.
Mr. H. E. Forrest also tells me that on his most recent visit to
Llandudno, for the first time he saw Kittiwakes on the shore with other
gulls, but he has no record of the date.
It is evident that Kittiwakes rest on flat shores much more regularly
than I had realized, but apparently only in the summer months,
from June (or perhaps May) till September.
It is perhaps worth while to add that, on January 2nd, 1938, I saw
four Kittiwakes resting with other gulls on the beach at Dungeness.
Three of the four were very badly oiled, and the other seemed to have
a little oil on it. One of the badly oiled birds tried again and again to
settle on the sea, but as soon as it tried to close its wings it seemed to
lose its balance and it had to fly up again. After many vain attempts,
it was finally obliged to settle again on the shore, from which I had
unintentionally driven it. IT. G. Alexander.
I A NATURE-LOVER IN
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SONG SPARROW
VOLUME i
A POPULATION STUDY OF THE SONG SPARROW
By Margaret Morse Nice
For the past eight years the author has concentrated on the study
of the life history of one species of bird, which has produced results
of undoubted value. The method has been almost entirely that of
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the hope being to find out what actually happens in a population
of wild birds.
The present volume is concerned with the population aspects of
the study, leaving more detailed treatment for a second volume.
This first volume deals with the Song Sparrow and its environment,
its ecology, migration, territory and reproduction, all from a some-
what statistical point of view, and finally with survival problems.
Volume II will deal with the behaviour of the Song Sparrow,
including detailed observations on the technique of territory estab-
lishment, courtship, song, etc., etc.
Owing to the importance of this publication to British
Ornithologists it has now been arranged to make it obtainable
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Price 6s. 6d. post free from
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(ix
MARCH 1,
1938.
Vol. XXXI.
No. 10.
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Studies in the Life History
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SONG SPARROW
VOLUME i
A POPULATION STUDY OF THE SONG SPARROW
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EDITED BY
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ASSISTED BY
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Norman F. Ticehurst, o.b.e., m.a., f.r.c.s., m.b.o.u.
Contents of Number 10, Vol. XXXI., March i, 1938.
PAGE
The Breeding Behaviour of Temminck’s Stint. By H. N.
Southern and W. A. S. Lewis ... ... ... ... ... 314
Recovery of Marked Birds. By Miss E. P. Leach ... ... 322
Notes : —
The Song of the Crossbill (L. S. V. Venables) ...
Notes on some Birds from Skye (C. M. N. White) ...
Roosting of Blue Tit (C. E. Martin)
Great Spotted Woodpecker eating Pheasant's Eggs (Miss M
Barclay) ...
Montagu’s and Hen-Harriers in Denbighshire (W. H. Dobie
Shearwaters in the Thames Estuary (R. S. R. Fitter)...
Little Stints in Sussex in Winter (N. F. Ticehurst) ...
Iceland Redshank in Wigtownshire (H. Tetley)
Western Little Bustard in Yorkshire. A new British Bird
(H. F. Witherby)
330
331
33i
332
332
333
333
333
334
Short Notes : —
Garden-Warbler and House-Martin in Outer Hebrides.
Gadwall in Merionethshire. Long-tailed Ducks in Surrey,
Middlesex and Sussex. Shag in Surrey and Essex (Correction) .
Spotted Redshank in Norfolk in January. Greenshanks in
Winter in Cumberland. Black-headed Gulls Nesting in
Devonshire. Kittiwakes as Shore Birds ... ... ... 334
Reviews— Local Reports : —
Report on the Birds of Warwickshire, Worcestershire and S
Staffordshire, 1936
Transactions of the Cardiff Naturalists’ Society, 1935
Birds in the Bournemouth District, 1936-37
Skokholm Bird Observatory Report for 1937
336
336
336
336
w
(314)
THE BREEDING BEHAVIOUR OF TEMMINCK’S
STINT.
BY
H. N. SOUTHERN and W. A. S. LEWIS.
(Plate 12.)
In view of the recent attempt of Temminck’s Stint ( Calidris
temminckii) to breed in Scotland ( antea Vol. XXVIII, p. 97)
and of the general paucity of information in regard to the
breeding biology of this species, some notes which the authors
took concerning courtship, habitat, etc. (though unfortunately
incomplete) in Swedish Lapland during June and July, 1937,
may be of interest to British ornithologists.
The district in which the observations were made lies about
150 miles north of the Arctic Circle, and is close to the frontier
between Sweden and Norway. The general topography is
dictated by the vast extent of Lake Torne Trask, which
stretches in a direction roughly east and west for a distance of
about 50 miles. The altitude of the lake above sea-level is
1,000 ft. The country to the south consists of a number of
large river basins, all emptying into the lake. The particular
basin, which was the centre of observations, is that of the
Abiskojokk river, and is about 50 square miles in extent,
being bounded by a semicircular line of mountains running
up to about 5,000 ft. The vegetation consists of silver birch
forest from the river banks up to about the 2,000 ft. contour,
and open fell from there to the mountains.
The description of the neighbourhood is given in some
detail, since the bird seems most often to nest on lower ground
fairly near the coast. This would naturally be so farther east
in Finland and Russia, where there are no mountains on the
scale of the Scandinavian ones, but even in such circumstances
they seem to avoid the higher ground as a general rule ;
Blair [1] found that on the Varanger peninsula the majority
of Temminck’s Stints nested from sea-level up to 300 ft., while
only a few went up as high as 700 ft. This is supported by
Hortling and Stuart Baker [2], who found it commonest on
grass meadows near farm houses in Finnish Lapland.
For Scandinavia there are records of birds breeding at high
altitudes. Gyldenstolpe [3] mentions the species as nesting
fairly commonly at Vassijaure not far from Abisko, which
is about 1,900 ft. above sea-level, and says that he found small
colonies on the fells as well as on the lower swamps and deltas
around the river there. In Norway, Chaworth Musters [4]
British Birds, Yol. XXXI , PI. 12.
Temminck's Stint Incubating.
{Photographed by H. N. Southern.)
VOL. XXXI. J
TEMMINCK’S STINT.
315
found Temminck’s Stints breeding at “ considerable alti-
tudes ” near Roros, and Collett [5] in his book mentions
breeding at the same place and also at Jonset. The opinion
of the last author is, however, that the species is exceptional
and rare at any considerable distance from the sea. It
appears for the most part to be confined to the coastal
districts and to holms and islands in the larger fjords.
In this case it is interesting to note that the highest colony
discovered by the authors during 1937 was at 3,000 ft. by the
shores of a lake at Lapporten about 12 miles to the SE. of
Abisko.
It is possible that there is some correlation with the
earliness of the spring, for if the migrants arrive at a fairly
regular date, it seems likely that they will nest at once in
the areas that are free from snow at the time. Thus, in an
early year, such as 1937, it will be possible for them to nest
at higher altitudes than in a late year, when the fells are still
under snow on their arrival.
Habitat.
This appears to be somewhat variable. Haviland [6] found
that at Golchika, on the estuary of the Yenesei, Temminck’s
Stint nested only in dwarf willow by running water. This is
interesting because on the delta of the Abiskojokk there was a
great deal of this type of vegetation, but every scrape that
was found was on the shore in fairly short grass growing little
more than 9 inches in height, while another small focus of
birds occupied a subsidiary island of the delta, which was
covered only by this type of vegetation with two small patches
of Salix. Collett records the commonest Norway habitat as
flat ground, either dry with Enipetrum and sparse grass, or
damp with sedge and a few small willow bushes. Hortling and
Stuart Baker ( loc . cit.) mention the bird as nesting in grass
fields, while Blair found it in the same kind of situation and
also in sallow scrub. The particular point is that in dense
scrub, such as Haviland describes, it would seem difficult
for a courtship of the kind mentioned below to take place.
It would be interesting to know whether in circumstances,
such as she relates, the courtship is carried on away from the
future nesting site, and whether scrapes are similarly removed
from it.
The habitat of the nesting colony found on the fells was
surprising enough. Some of the birds were nesting by the
lake side, but at least one nest was situated quite 200 yards
up the hillside in a dry and comparatively unsheltered patch
316
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
of grasses. This was a late nest too, for it contained eggs,
while some of the birds farther down had already hatched
their young. Thus it could not have been lack of a suitable
habitat that had dictated the site.
A further anomaly encountered by the authors may perhaps
be mentioned here, and that is the curious desertion of the
colony on the Abiskojokk delta, which incidentally prevented
the complete working out of the courtship. Trilling flights
were going on with great vehemence in the third week of
June, scrapes were made and birds were clearly attached to
their own particular areas. Then came three days of rain and
high winds at the solstice, and no bird was seen afterwards.
It is well known that birds in the Arctic are particularly
susceptible to weather conditions in their breeding, and the
failure of many Arctic birds to breed in some seasons may
be due to the restraining influence of weather conditions
continuing beyond the normal term. The above case of the
Temminck’s Stint forms an extension, where breeding was
not only inhibited, but was even inhibited after it had
commenced.
Courtship Activities.
The courtship flight and trill of Temminck’s Stint have been
mentioned and admired by many authors, but there seems
to be little reference in the literature to the ground display.
Collett remarks that when the male has alighted after the
courtship flight upon a stone or sallow bush it often remains
there trilling with wings stretched up. A brief mention of
ground display in the Little Stint ( Calidris minuta) is given
in a summary by Grote [7] of some Russian literature on the
subject, where it is said that in the less frequent ground
display the wings are held up and flickered, and apparently
the same actions attend copulation. Unfortunately, as
explained above, observations at the colony on the delta
were cut short at a very critical period, and it was not possible
to come to any conclusions as to the meanings of the various
courtship actions. The authors give their observations,
therefore, rather baldly and in the hope that others will be
able to complete the objective record. Until this is achieved
it is useless to indulge in speculation.
{a) The Courtship Flight. This may last for a long while
(1 to 2 minutes), and as far as could be seen was performed by
the male only, though this is not absolutely certain. Collett
records that hens, subsequently sexed by dissection, have been
heard to utter a “fine twittering’’. It may be performed
VOL. XXXI.]
TEMMINCK’S STINT.
317
the whole time over one small patch of ground (the “ terri-
tory”, vide infra), the bird hanging in the air and turning
and twisting in complicated spirals, or it may on occasions be
performed some distance from the island, when the bird rises
and falls in the air in long sweeps, rather like a Snipe during
its drumming flight. The whole impression of the flight
might be more aptly compared, however, to the roding of the
Woodcock, for there is just the same effect of the progress
being retarded in some way and of the wings beating fran-
tically to make way against some inhibition. In the flight over
the “ territory ” the quick twists and turns are accompanied
by an expansion of the tail, no doubt for mechanical rather
than display reasons.
The trill that accompanies this flight is compared by
Haviland to a chorus of natterjacks. It is best compared to
the Grasshopper- Warbler, however, though it is not, as she
remarks, so reminiscent of a mechanical source. In timbre
it is just that faint ticking sort of noise. It may perhaps be
rendered by “ wee . . . trrrr . . . er • • • trrrr ”, the falling
“ er ” creating a drop in tone somewhat similar to what occurs
in the Nightjar’s churring. This note is not only limited to
the flight, but is given also from the ground when the tail
seems to vibrate in unison. Sometimes a low “ churrr” was
heard at the same time as the trill, but it could not be deter-
mined whether this was produced by the same bird. If it was,
it was a remarkable achievement.
A variation which is interspersed here and there in the trill
is a long-drawn-out “ cheer, cheer ”.
The only other note that was heard was a sharp “ chit,
chit ” rather like the “ chip-er ” of the Snipe, but fainter.
( b ) The Ground Display. This may occur on the branch of
a sallow, but more often on a favourite stone or tussock. On
the smaller island at the delta, each of the four males had a
particular perching place, which was used almost to the
exclusion of any other, as the amount of droppings collected
round each of them testified. Generally the performance
would follow a courtship flight : the male would alight either
directly upon the stone, or close by, in which case he would
run to it at once. As soon as he was settled upon this perch
he would begin to trill, and then gradually to flick his wings
in an excited way. The emotional tone of the performance
would then rise by stages, the wings being fluttered in a more
and more pronounced way, until at last they were being
fanned up and down rapidly. Since they were lifted each time
to their utmost extent, the effect produced was one of quickly
BRITISH BIRDS.
318
[VOL. XXXI.
alternating flashes, as the light axillaries and under-wing
coverts were momentarily exposed to view.
The presence of other birds going through the same display
always seemed to provide mutual encouragement, and the
trills and wing-fanning were of longer duration and greater
vehemence under such circumstances.
(c) Scrape-making. This was a regular habit with the birds
at the delta, and they seemed to increase in number as
courtship progressed, though more than two were never
found for each “ territory ”. They consisted of small circular
depressions evidently excavated by the bird with a rotatory
movement, though actual scrape-making was never witnessed.
They were generally situated in a fairly thick tuft of grasses
about 4-6 ins. in height, and were lined with bents and in
one case a feather.
(d) Relations of these Activities. It is impossible to do
more than relate these activities chronologically, since
observations were not sufficient to allow casual connection
to be established between all or any of them.
The delta colony consisted of two sections, as already
mentioned ; on the larger island, which formed the main
part of the delta, and where the Stints were confined to the
shore, activities were clearly the most advanced, but this was
an awkward place for observation. Courtship flights were
in full swing on June 18th, and some ground display was
noticed ; on the 19th the ground was examined and numbers
of scrapes were found.
On the other hand, on the smaller island, which was little
more than a bank, which had been captured by rough grass
and a patch or two of sallow, the birds had not settled in so
soon. On the 19th there was some courtship flight, but no
ground display and no scrapes were found in spite of a careful
search. Only one of the four males that occupied this island,
seemed to have a female with him, and her reactions to his
trilling were inevitably to put her head under her wing and
doze.
By the 22nd, however, ground display was frequent and
scrapes were made. The courtship of the same pair was
watched and the male was evidently exerting his utmost
fascinations. Continual trilling and wing-fanning from his
stone combined with occasional walks to the scrape seemed
as if he was trying to entice the female to it. However, she
remained apart and betrayed little interest beyond an
occasional flick of the tail or dip of the head.
The final result of watching on this day was the departure
VOL. XXXI.]
TEMMINCK’S STINT.
319
of the two females (the other two males apparently had no
mates as yet), and the four males were left trilling and
wing-fanning away at each other from their various vantage
points. It may be worth noting here that possibly the failure
of some Arctic birds to breed in some seasons may have
another contributory factor, the failure of the female to come
into the receptive phase immediately conditions are suitable
for breeding. This would aggravate the inimical effect of
weather conditions, if the chance of breeding could not be
taken immediately it was offered.
After this date no more birds were seen at the colony at all.
It seems from this that the flight forms the preliminary of
the courtship, while ground display and scrape-making follow
almost at the same time. The observations suggest that the
courtship is conducted largely by the male, but the possibility
of mutual activities cannot be excluded since the females
were clearly not in breeding condition.
“ Territory.”
Even the ascription of this name must be considered as
tentative, since further observations are needed upon this
aspect of behaviour. On the small island, perhaps half an
acre in extent, the four males seemed to keep very fixedly
to their own corners, dominated in each case by the stone or
tussock from which the ground display was conducted.
This circumscription, as mentioned above, also applied in
some degree to the courtship flight, each bird hovering and
diving largely over its own area, any more extended flights
being conducted over the lake. No actual aggression was
witnessed, though if one male in his flight came near another’s
ground, the latter would rise and join in, and an extended
flight, in which one followed the other, would take place over
the lake.
That such areas may represent true breeding territories
may be indicated by the strong focal point of the vantage
ground, around which the scrapes were always made. There
is no question of food value involved, for the island was often
deserted, the birds being presumably elsewhere for feeding,
and also no resentment was shown to birds feeding round the
shore.
Other Biological Points.
The time of breeding varies greatly according to the wide
range of climatic conditions in the bird’s breeding area and
also from year to year. Hortling and Stuart Baker and Blair
found that the second or third week of June was the usual
320 BRITISH BIRDS. [vol. xxxi.
time in Finland, and Haviland in mid-Siberia the early part
of July.
“ Injury-feigning ” was noted by Haviland only in one
instance though this behaviour was common with the Little
Stint. It is recorded by other observers, e.g., Hall [8] and
Collett, who found that it was more usually evinced if the
bird was surprised on the nest. The experience of the authors
in regard to Temminck’s Stint was similar to that of Haviland.
The incubating bird that was found up on the fells did an
elaborate performance the first time it was flushed, tumbling
about with the white feathers at the side of the tail expanded
and the wings drooped. Then it flew away some distance
(c. 30 yards) and stood in the same sort of attitude, doing a
sort of shuffle with its feet and sometimes moving backwards.
The contour feathers were at the same time erected, giving
the bird a larger appearance.
However, the response soon died out, and the second time
the bird was flushed, it was much weaker. After that no
reaction at all could be elicited.
With all other birds, even with chicks, no such response
was shown. Instead the parents hovered over one’s head
calling continuously with a short annoyed version of the trill.
Haviland mentions a sharp alarm note, when the young are
hatched, which she distinguishes from the trill, but to the
authors it seemed a clear derivative of it.
It would be very interesting to know more clearly the
details of courtship in this species, and it is to be hoped
that other ornithologists will be more fortunate in their
observations than the authors were.
Summary.
Temminck’s Stint was found breeding in small numbers
between 1,000 and 3,000 ft. in Swedish Lapland. Such an
altitude is not very usual according to observations of other
authors, but this may be correlated with the exceptionally
early spring.
The habitat was on open grassy ground with stones and
sallow bushes as “song posts’’. The potency of climatic
factors in the breeding of Arctic birds was shown in the
desertion of a colony after it had reached the scrape-making
stage.
The courtship flight and trill is the chief form of courtship
activity, but there is also a distinct ground display, which is
conducted by a flickering of the wings gradually increasing
in vigour, and accompanied by trilling.
About two scrapes were found to each pair, and a sort of
vol. xxxi ] TEMMINCK’S STINT.
321
“ territory ” was evidently claimed, since four pairs on one
small island kept to their particular parts for most of the time.
No actual aggression was seen, but trespassing was usually
for feeding.
“ Injury-feigning ” was not common, and the response of
the one bird that exhibited it well died away quickly, when
it was subsequently flushed.
REFERENCES.
[1] Blair, H. M. S. (1936) : “ Birds of East Finmark.” Ibis., p. 660.
[2] Hortling, I., and Stuart Baker, E. C. (1932) : “ Bird Notes on
a Trip to Lapland.” Ibis., p. 120.
[3] Gyldenstolpe, N. (1911): ” Ornithologiska iakttagelser fr&n
Tome Lappmarks fjalltrakter.” Fauna och Flora, p. 149.
[4] Chaworth Musters, J. L. (1930). Norsk Ornitlwlogisk Tidsskrift,
p. 220.
[5] Collett, R. Norges Fugle. Vol. II., p. 422.
[6] Haviland, Maud D. (1916) : “ Notes on the Breeding Habits of
Temminck’s Stint.” British Birds. Vol. X, p. 157.
[7] Grote, H. (1937) : " Zur Fortpflanzungsbioiogie einiger Strand-
lauferarten ( Calidris ).” Beitrage fiir Fortpflanzungsbioiogie der Vogel.
Vol. XIII., p. 127.
[8] Hall, R. (1904), Ibis., p. 422.
(322)
RECOVERY OF MARKED BIRDS.
COMMUNICATED BY
E. P. LEACH.
Hon. Sec., Bird-Ringing Committee, British Trust for Ornithology.
(' Concluded from page 308).
No. Ringed. Recovered.
Teal ( Anas c. crecca).
RINGED AS FULL-GROWN.
73149
Longtown
W. Bell.
(Cumb),
1-3-33, by
Stamford Bridge (Yorks),
27.12.37.
RINGS
OF THE
ORIELTON DECOY, PEMBROKE.
1480
Orielton,
25.II.36.
Tenby (Pem), 8.11.37.
1957
Ditto
5-1-37-
Penybont (Radnor), — .9.37.
1863
Ditto
26.i2.36.
Glencaple (Dumfries),
18. 11. 37.
1591
Ditto
3O.II.36.
Solway Firth (Cumb),
4-H-37-
1736
Ditto
I3.i2.36.
Darlington (Durham),
18.10.37.
180
Ditto
26.IO.35.
Altrincham (Ches), 22.9.37.
1516
Ditto
27.II.36.
Atherstone (Warwick),
21.9.37.
1917
Ditto
30.i2.36.
Hickling (Norfolk), 28.10.37.
1307
Ditto
9.II.36.
Quy (Cambs), 18.9.37.
557
Ditto
I4.i2.35.
Pitsea (Essex), 9.9.37.
*744
Ditto
I4.i2.36.
Faversham (Kent), 29. 11.37
772
Ditto
28.i2.35.
Taunton (Som), 2.12.37.
1524
Ditto
28.ll.36.
Braunton (Devon), 13.10.37.
2453
Ditto
I9.H.37.
Gunwalloe (Cornwall) ,
112.37.
299
Ditto
l8. II.35.
Downpatrick, 19.10.37.
1355
Ditto
19. II. 36.
Coolaney (Sligo), 28.11.37.
1670
Ditto
IO.i2.36.
Athlone (Westmeath),
28.11.37.
748
Ditto
27.i2.35.
L. Corrib (Galway), 21. 11.37.
524
Ditto
13-12. 35.
Ditto, 27.11.37.
1028
Ditto
24.9.36.
Youghal Bay (Tipperary),
8.11.37.
1015
Ditto
24.9.36.
Tallow (Waterford), 15. 12. 37.
2067
Ditto
23-1-37-
Kittila, N. Finland, 21.8.37.
1814
Ditto
21.12.36.
Salla, N. Finland, 20.8.37.
1522
Ditto
27.11.36.
Vesanka, Central Finland,
26.5.37.
1239
Ditto
2.11.36.
Leningrad, Russia, 29.4.37.
1464
Ditto
24.11.36.
Tukkum, Latvia, 25.7.37.
460
Ditto
7-12.35.
Deutsch-Krone, West
Prussia, 3.8.37.
2098
Ditto
30-1-37-
Arvidsjaur, Norrbotten,
Sweden, 1.9.37.
2096
Ditto
30.1.37-
Savar,Vesterbotten, Sweden,
6-5-37-
1332
Ditto
14. 11. 36.
Lastringe, Sodermanland,
Sweden, 4.8.37.
vol. xxxi ] RECOVERY OF MARKED BIRDS.
323
No. Ringed. Recovered.
Teal ( continued ).
2031
Orielton,
I5I-37-
Nesbyen, Hallingdal, Nor-
way, — .9.37.
594
Ditto
20.12.35.
Roskilde Fjord, Sjaelland,
Denmark, — .8.37.
855
Ditto
17.1.36.
Quickborn, Schles. -Holstein,
5-8.37-
1145
Ditto
17.xo.36.
Lunden, Schles. -Holstein,
18.10.37.
641
Ditto
2312. 35.
Pellworm, N. Frisian Is.,
I9-9-37-
776
Ditto
29.12.35.
Holland, — .11.37.
880
Ditto
22.1.36.
Ditto, — .11.37.
1005
Ditto
119.36.
Makkum (Friesland), Hol-
land, 24.9.37.
1445
Ditto
24.11.36.
Ditto, —.9. 37-
1889
Ditto
29.12.36.
Ditto, 4. 9.37.
1187
Ditto
24.10.36.
Ysselmeer (Overyssel), Hol-
land, 16.9.37.
2108
Ditto
4-2.37.
Moerdyk (Brabant), Holland,
3-9-37-
1743
Ditto
14.12.36.
Antwerp, Belgium, 28.3.37.
1129
Ditto
14.10.36.
Dunkirk (Nord), France,
15-8.37-
1998
Ditto
II.I-37-
Merlimont (Pas-de-Calais),
France, 27.9.37.
1271
Ditto
5.11.36.
St. Etienne d’Orthe (Landesl
France, 10.9.37.
922
Orielton, released
Bishop’s
Wigmore (Hereford),
Castle (Salop), 8.2.36.
I5-H-37-
RECOVERED WHERE
RINGED.
1398 [66]
3°I-35
Winter 1935, ’36, ’37.
4 Birds
Winter, 1935-36.
—.11.37.
16 Birds
Oct. -Dec., 1936.
—.11.37.
Cormorant ( Phalacrocorax c. carbo).
RINGED
AS NESTLINGS.
119565
Mochrum (Wigtown
). 15-7-37.
Loch of Strathbeg (Aber-
by Lord Dumfries
deen), 9. 11. 37.
119442
Ditto
I5.7.37.
Tay Estuary, 3.12.37.
2 birds
Ditto
I5-7-37-
Alloa (Clackmannan),
— -9-37-
3 birds
Ditto
I5.7.37.
East Lothian, Autumn, 1937.
119330
Ditto
I5-7-37-
Horse I. (Ayr), 25.9.37.
H97°4
Ditto
I5-7-37-
Troon (Ayr), 3.1.3S.
H9524
Ditto
I5-7-37-
Dairy (Kirkcudbr.),22.i2.37.
11393°
Ditto
3°-6.35.
Eastriggs (Dumfries), 10. 9. 37.
119540
Ditto
I5.7.37.
Newbiggin (Northumb),
28.10.37.
H9539
Ditto
I5.7.37.
Skeffling (Yorks), 28.11.37.
1 1991 1
Ditto
I5.7.37.
St. Clear’s (Carms), 30.12.37
119446
Ditto
I5.7.37.
Weymouth (Dorset), 25.9.37
113989
Ditto
1935-
Belfast Lough, - — .12.37.
324
BRITISH BIRDS
[VOL. XXXI.
No.
II99I3
119908
II957I
101819
112078
1 19207
107332
107330
107325
1x2143
119161
119168
1 19240
118525
118421
120455
120396
120391
120879
4 birds
117x51
1 M795
117710
1 1 7344
3 birds
117810
Ringed. Recovered.
Cormorant ( continued ).
Mochrum (Wigtown), 15.7.37.
by Lord Dumfries.
Ditto 15-7-37-
Ditto 15-7-37-
Ditto, 14.6.19, by J. Gordon.
Fame Is. (Northumb), 7.7.35,
by Bootham Sch.
Ditto 28.6.36.
Puffin I., N. Wales, 18.7.37, by
T. Tallis.
Ditto 18.7.37.
Ditto 18.7.37.
Skomer (Pem), 29.6.33, by
R. M. Lockley.
Roundstone (Galway), 28.6.36,
by S. Marchant.
Ditto 28.6.36.
Cranfield Point (Down),
22.12.37.
Penvenan (Cotes-du-Nord),
France, 11.12.37.
Paimpol (Cotes-du-Nord),
France, 10.12.37.
Loch Lomond, Scotland,
28.8.37.
Leith (Midlothian), 14.10.37.
Blyth (Northumb), 16.10.37.
Montford Bridge (Salop),
18.12.37.
Weston-super-Mare (Som),
10. 11. 37.
Bovey Tracey (Devon),
—-9-37-
Belle lie (Morbihan), France,
3.1 1 .37.
Clifden (Galway), — .8.37.
Portumna (Galway) , — . 11.37.
Shag (Phalacrocorax a. aristotelis) .
Bass Rock, Scotland, 4.7.36, St. Osyth (Essex), 12.10.37.
young, by Midlothian O.C.
Gannet (Sula bassana).
RINGED AS NESTLINGS.
Ailsa Craig, Scotland, 29.7.35,
by Lord Dumfries.
Ditto 29.7.35.
Ditto, 31.7.37, by Rugby Sch.
Ditto 31 -7-37-
Ditto 31 -7-37-
Bass Rock, Scotland, — -7-37.
by H. W. Robinson.
Grassholm, 1.8.37,
by Skok-
holm Bird Obs.
Ditto
1.8.37.
Ditto
22.8.37.
Ditto
1.8.37.
Ditto
1.8.37.
Skegness (Lines), 28.8.37.
Off C. Blanco, Rio de Oro,
13.2.36.
Loch Gilp (Argyll), 9.10.37.
Ivilcoole (Wicklow), 26.9.37.
Safi, Morocco, 14. 11.37.
Off Dunkirk (Nord.), France,
—.11.37.
Pembrokeshire, Aug. and
Sept., 1937.
Atlantic Ocean, 47°2o'N,
n°5'W, 10.10.37.
Lacanau (Gironde), France,
18.9.37.
Capbreton (Landes), France,
9-9-37-
St. JeandeLuz (B. Pyrenees),
France, 10.9.37.
RINGED AS FULL-GROWN.
Grassholm, 1934, by Skokholm Where ringed, 1.8.37.
Bird Obs.
Ditto 29.6.35. Torquay (Devon), 28.12.37.
vol. xxxi ] RECOVERY OF MARKED BIRDS
325
Ringed. Recovered.
Storm-Petrel (Hydrobat es pelagicus).
RINGED AS FULL-GROWN.
Skokholm Bird Obs., 16.7.33. Where ringed, 10.8.35.
19-7-36 ; 1-7-37-
Ditto 7-7-35- Where ringed, 9.8.37.
Ditto 1936. Where ringed, 1937.
Manx Shearwater ( Puffinus p. puffinus).
RINGED AS NESTLINGS.
Skokholm Bird Obs., 1.9. 37. Rhondda Valley (Glam),
10.9.37.
Ditto 25-8.35. Where ringed, 10.4.37.
RINGED AS FULL-GROWN.
RECOVERED AWAY FROM WHERE RINGED.
Skokholm Bird Obs., 9. 5. 37. Trevone (Cornwall), 30.6.37.
Skokholm, 3.8.37, by S. Mar- He de Groix (Morbihan),
chant. France, 4.8.37.
RECOVERED ON BREEDING-GROUND WHERE RINGED.
Skokholm Bird Observatory.
No.
Ringed.
Recovered.
No.
Ringed.
Recovered.
1 Bird
1931
1932, ’33. ’34-
1 Bird
1933
1935. ’36. '37
1936, ’37
’35. ’36, ’37
1 Bird
1933
1 Bird
1931
1933. ’34. ’35.
’36, ’37
3 Birds
1934
1936, ’37
1936, ’37
4 Birds
1935
5 Birds
1933
I934- '35- ’36,
2 Birds
1935
1937
'37
51 Birds
1936
1937
Skokholm (E
. Cohen).
Skokholm (R.
Pollard).
8 Birds
1936
1937
3 Birds
1935
1937
Skokholm (Oxford Orn. Soc.).
Skokholm (E. M
. Nicholson).
5 Birds
1936
1937
1 Bird
1936
1937
Skokholm (T.
Tallis).
3 Birds
1936
1937
REMOVED TO A DISTANCE FROM SKOKHOLM BIRD OBSERVATORY AND
RELEASED EXPERIMENTALLY.
No.
Ringed.
Recovered.
SAT.341
Nesting adult. Released Fren-
Skokholm, 9.6.37.
sham (Surrey),
8.6.37.
EXP.306
Ditto
8.6.37.
Ditto,
9.6.37.
SAT.341
Nesting adult.
Released
Ditto,
24-7-37-
Venice, Italy,
10.7.37.
300240
Adult with young.
Released
Ditto,
3-8-37-
Limerick, Ireland,
27-7-37-
SAT.488
Adult not nesting.
Released
Ditto,
18.7.37.
Evesham (Worcs),
13 7-37-
SAT.487
Adult not nesting.
Released
Ditto,
1.8.37-
Birmingham,
13-7-37-
SAT. 421
Nesting adult. Released R.
Ditto,
6.6.37.
Mersey (Lancs),
23-5-37-
RW.9918
Adult. Released off
C. Finis-
Ditto,
S-5-37-
terre, Spain,
20.7.36.
RW.9882
Adult not nesting.
Released
Ditto,
2-5-37-
Evesham (Worcs),
14-7-36-
No.
ZA.538
[ZA.362]
ZA.350
6 birds
300653
RW.7748
SAT. 1 81
300998
326
BRITISH BIRDS
[VOL. XXXI.
No.
RT.7368
RT.5711
RS.2099
X.7264
AP.9508
213241
P.8490
AS.7143
AS. 4649
205391
AS. 7240
205297
205402
AP.8555
AP.7326
AS. 4497
AP.9261
203239
AP.8645
205136
AS. 3605
203698
AP.7328
AS. 4885
AP.8173
212385
Ringed. Recovered.
Wood-Pigeon ( Columba p. palumbus).
Penrith (Cumb), 14.5.34, young, Goostrey (Ches), 29.1.38.
by H. J. Moon.
Stock-Dove ( Columba cenas).
Yeadon (Yorks), 30.4.33, Where ringed, 18.9.37.
young, by C. Wontner-Smith.
Gt. Budworth (Ches), 30.6.35, Ditto, 22.7.37.
ad., by A. W. Boyd.
Lapwing ( Vanellus vanellus).
RINGED AS NESTLINGS.
RECOVERED AWAY FROM WHERE RINGED.
Glenorchard (Stirling), 20.5.26,
by J. Bartholomew.
Ditto 24.5.34.
Ditto 15.6.37.
Ayr, 16.5.35, by Rugby Sch.
Newton Stewart (Wigtown),
8.6.36, by H. J. Moon.
Plumpton (Cumb), 7.5.36, by
H. J. Moon.
Langwathby (Cumb), 24.5.36,
by H. J. Moon.
Pooley Bridge (Cumb), 9.5.36,
by H. J. Moon.
Calthwaite (Cumb), 26.5.36, by
H. J. Moon.
Greystoke (Cumb), 25.6.36, by
H. J. Moon.
Penrith (Cumb), — .5-33, by
H. J. Moon.
Ditto — -5-33-
Tebay (Westmor), 19.6.35, by
H. J. Moon.
Mytton (Lancs), 6.5.33, by
Oakes and Battersby.
Ribblehead (Yorks), 16.5.36,
by H. J. Moon.
Clapham (Yorks), — -5-33. by
H. J. Moon.
Settle (Yorks), 17.5.36, by
H. J. Moon.
Mobberley (Ches), 12.5.35, by
E. Cohen.
Dymchurch (Kent), 16.5.37, by
A. H. Bishop.
Pallasgreen (Limerick),
5-I2-37-
Glenarm (Antrim), 9.12.37.
Chateau d’Oleron (Charente
Inf.), France, 13.12.37.
Tarnos (Landes), France,
12.12.37.
Kirkinner(Wigtown),29-7.37.
Came (Wexford), 12.12.37.
Barrow-in-Furness (Lancs),
15.IZ.37.
Penruddock (Cumb), 13.9.37
Bayonne (B. Pyrenees),
France, 17.12.37.
Two Mile Borris (Tipperary),
—.11.37.
Kinsale (Cork), 10.12.37.
Baldoyle (Dublin), 23.1.38.
Texel, Holland, 20.9.37.
Kildimo (Limerick), 12. 12. 37.
Arnside (Westmor), 22.1.38.
Carnforth (Lancs), 13. 11.37.
Hesketh Bank (Lancs),
7.10.37.
Carentan (Manche), France,
18.12.37.
Sherborne (Dorset), 13.9.37.
RECOVERED WHERE RINGED.
Penrith (Cumb), — -5-33, by H. J. Moon 26.10.37.
Bashall Eaves(Yorks),23.5.37,byOakes and Battersby 28.11.37.
Salthouse (Norfolk), 30.4.36, by R. M. Garnett 30.11.37
Coombe (Berks), 29.5.37, by G. Brown — .12.37.
RECOVERY OF MARKED BIRDS.
327
VOL. XXXI.]
No.
AN. 6184
ZM.152
212160
YS.81
RR.1260
RT.9645
AB.3222
65623
ZM.148
OL.601
RT.8257
W.7149
AR.5530
AR.6825
201738
202426
202344
201554
AS. 1425
X.6953
203169
S.8311
AS. 1869
200108
201202
2 birds
Ringed. Recovered.
Redshank ( Tringa t. britannica).
RINGED AS NESTLINGS.
Aberlady (E. Lothian). 26.7.31,
by the late A. Jameson.
Ditto, 19.5.37, by Mrs.
Greenlees.
Rockcliffe (Cumb), 19.5.37, by
R. H. Brown.
Uldale (Cumb), 15.5.37, by
R. H. Brown.
Where ringed, 25.12.37.
Ditto, 24.9.37.
Powfoot (Dumfries), 29.7.37
Saltash (Cornwall), 25.1.38.
Curlew ( Numenius a. arquata).
RINGED AS NESTLINGS.
Witton - le - Wear (Durham),
23.6.28, by Col. Pollitt.
Tebay (Westmor), 22.5.37, by
Sedbergh Sch.
Cliburn (Westmor), 7.6.36, by
H. J. Moon.
Halton (Lancs), 30.5.37, by
H. S. Greg.
Srah (Mayo), — .11.37.
Johnstown (Kilkenny),
—.12.37.
Where ringed, — .1.38.
Cockerham (Lancs), 11.9.37.
Snipe ( Capella g. gallinago).
Aberlady (E. Lothian), 19.5.37, Campbeltown (Argyll),
young, by Mrs. Greenlees. 9.9.37.
Dunmore (Galway), 11.6.36, Where ringed, 1.10.37.
young, by J. Blake.
Woodcock ( Scolopax r. msticola).
RINGED AS NESTLINGS.
RECOVERED AWAY FROM WHERE RINGED.
Logiealmond (Perths), 8.7.35, Amulree (Perths), 18.8.37.
by Lord Mansfield.
Dupplin, Perth, 20.4.27, by Clough (Antrim), 17.12.37.
Lord Mansfield.
Aberlady (E. Lothian), 19.4.35, Ford (Midlothian), 18.12.37.
by G. Charteris.
Wolsingham (Durham), 12. 6. 35, Colby, I. of Man, 8.12.37.
by R. Martinson.
RINGS ISSUED FOR WOODCOCK INQUIRY, I934-35.
Altyre (Moray), 6.6.35. Broom of Moy (Moray),
Ballindalloch (Banff), 25.6.37.
Forglen (Banff), 26.6.36.
Fasque (Kincardine), 26.7.35.
Glen (Peebles), 1935 or 1936.
RECOVERED WHERE
Meigle (Perths), 10.6.26, by C
14.12.37.
Deskie (Banff), 14.9.37.
Fyvie (Aberdeen), 19. 11.37.
Gannochy (Angus), 28.8.37.
Dunblane (Perths), 17. 11.37.
RINGED.
Walker 2.10.37.
Blair Drummond (Perths), 23.4.35, by J. Bartholomew
27-H-37-
Buchlyvie (Stirling), 29.5.34, by Sir S. Bilsland 6.12.37.
Beaulieu (Hants), 22.4.37, by E. Crispin 4.12.37.
RINGS ISSUED FOR WOODCOCK INQUIRY, I934'35.
Clunas (Nairn), 3.5.34 8.9.37.
Kirriemuir (Angus), 1936 13. 11.37.
Ditto, 1937 — •I2-37-
328
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
No.
202767
201971
AS. 1435
202495
200523
202102
2H95°
AS. 9526
AP.441
AP.7777
213916
KT.899
KV.145
YP.658
YV.38
RT.9624
RW.8222
AR.8810
RT.6773
300159
AC. 1054
AC. 1082
AB. 7811
AC. 1 2 76
Ringed. Recov ered.
Woodcock ( continued ).
Brechin (Angus), 9.5.37 8.12.37.
Blair Drummond (Perths), 28.5.35 18.1r.37.
Glen (Peebles), 5.5.37 29.11.37.
Dalswinton (Dumfries), — .6.37 15. 11.37.
Edencrannon (Tyrone), 30.6.34 21.9.37.
Ditto, 12.6.37 24.11.37.
Sandwich Tern ( Sterna s. sandvicensis) .
RINGED AS NESTLINGS.
Ravenglass (Cumb), 1.7.37, by
S. Marchant.
Walney I. (Lancs), 10.6.36, by
H. W. Robinson.
Scolt Head (Norfolk), 17.7.37,
by Lond. Nat. Hist. Soc.
Salthouse (Norfolk), 8.6.33, by
R. M. Garnett.
Ditto, 27.6.37, by E. Cohen.
Llanfairfechan (Carnarvon),
15-8.37-
Temma, Gold Coast, March
or April, 1937.
Palling (Norfolk), 21.9.37.
Mossel Bay, Cape Province,
15-4-37-
Skegness (Lines), — -8.37.
Common Tern ( Sterna h. hirundo).
RINGED AS NESTLINGS.
Walney I. (Lancs), 13.6.37, by Whalley (Lancs), 15.8.3 7.
H. W. Robinson.
Ditto 26.6.37. Coxwold (Yorks), 16.9.37.
Blakeney (Norfolk), 11.7.37, by Gisors (Eure), France.
E. Arnold. 23.8.37
Scolt Head (Norfolk), 20.7.37, Ambleteuse (Pas-de-Calais),
by Lond. Nat. Hist. Soc. — -8.37.
Black-headed Gull [Larus r. ridibundus).
Tebay (Westmor), 11.6.34, Bretherton (Lancs), 25. 12. 37.
young, by Sedbergh Sch.
Littleton (Middx), 11.2.36, ad., Southampton, 16.12.37.
by P. Hollom.
Ditto 2.1.35. Thames Embankment, Lon-
don, 24.1.38.
Common Gull [Larus c. canus).
RINGED AS NESTLINGS.
Eynhallow, Orkney, 6.6.35, by Rousay, Orkney, 21.7.37.
D. Robertson.
Islay (Argyll), — -6.37, by Gleneely (Donegal), 6.9.37.
H. W. Robinson.
Herring-Gull [Larus a. argentatus) .
RINGED AS NESTLINGS.
Cruden Bay (Aberdeen), 6.7.37,
by C. S. Clarke.
Ditto 6.7.37.
I. of May Bird Obs., 11.7.36.
Puffin I., N. Wales, 16.7.37, by
L. Monks.
Fraserburgh (Aberdeen),
2.8.37.
Campbeltown (Argyll),
19-9-37-
Newbiggin (Northumb) ,
—•8-37-
Baschurch (Salop), 20.12.37.
vol. xxxi.] RECOVERY OF MARKED BIRDS.
329
No.
AB.9442
AB.9474
AB.9450
AB.9470
402166
400349
AB.6527
AB.3129
400276
AB.3938
AB.5849
AB.5822
Ringed. Recovered.
Herring-Gull ( continued, ).
Kinmel Bay (Denbigh),
Puffin I., N. Wales, 18.7.37, by
T. Tallis.
Ditto 18.7.37.
Ditto 18.7.37.
Ditto 18.7.37.
Skokholm Birds Obs., 1 1.7. 35.
Dungeness (Kent), 26.6.34, by
P. Hollom.
Ditto, 14.6.36, by R. G.
Williams.
Ballintoy (Antrim), 29.6.35, by
T. Kerr.
Ditto 29.6.35.
28.7.37.
Penketh (Lancs), 1.1.38.
Manchester (Lancs), 4.1.38.
Dublin, 30. xi. 37.
Pembroke Dock, 3.1.38.
Camber (Sussex), — .12.37.
Boulogne, France, 15. 11.37.
Barrow-in-Furness (Lancs),
7-H-37-
Cloyfin (Londonderry),
20.9.37.
Lesser Black-backed Gull ( Laras f. graellsii).
RINGED AS NESTLINGS.'
Foulshaw (Westmor), 26.7.35, Settle (Yorks), 31.8.37.
by H. W. Robinson.
Ditto 23.7.37. Skipton (Yorks), 15.9.37.
Ditto 23.7.37. Oporto, Portugal, — .11.37.
Razorbill (Alca t. britannica).
RINGED AS NESTLINGS.
RECOVERED AWAY FROM WHERE RINGED.
AC. 1570 Skokholm Bird Obs., 22.7.37. Appledore (Devon), 1 1.9.37.
TSA.336 Ditto 2.7.37. Falmouth (Cornwall), 2.9.37.
RECOVERED WHERE RINGED.
RV.5094
Skokholm Bird Obs., 15.7.34.
18.7.37,
AB.2022
Ditto, 9-7-35-
3-7-37
AB.2034
Ditto, 9-7-35-
n-7-37
AB.6644
Ditto, 8.7.36.
RINGED AS FULL-GROWN.
9-7-37
4 birds
Skokholm Bird Obs., — -7-35
—-7-37
4 birds
Ditto, — -7.36
—-7-37
Northern Guillemot ( U ria a. aalge).
RW.9194 I. of May Bird Obs., 27.6.36, St. Valery (Somme), France,
young. 14. 11.37.
Southern Guillemot ( Uria a. albionis).
AC. 1406 Skokholm Bird Obs., 11.7.37, Porth Nigel (Carnarvon),
young. 3-IO-37-
Moor-Hen ( Gallinula ch. chloropus).
Or. 149 Orielton (Pern), 4.10.35, by Milford (Pern), 1.9.37.
S. Greens! ade, released 7
miles SW.
Coot ( Fulica a. atra).
RINGED AS FULL-GROWN.
Or. 1014 Orielton (Pern), 24.9.36, by Barrow Gurney (Som),
S. Greenslade. J9-9-37-
O.1655 Ditto 8.12.36. Where ringed, 3.1.38.
Starling — correction. — FB.691 ( antea , p. 303) date of ringing should be
27.2.34, not 27.2.24.
x
THE SONG OF THE CROSSBILL.
I have paid particular attention to the singing of Crossbills
(Loxia c. curvirostra) for some years, on and off, and I find
that the song can be divided into four main varieties. In
attempting to describe these songs below, I use the two sound
descriptions squeeze and whit. The first is a prolonged harsh
wheezing, very reminiscent of a note frequently used by the
Greenfinch ( Clitoris c. chloris). The second is loud and clear,
and is well-known as the typical Crossbill call-note.
(1) The musical “ Greenfinch ” song. Short groups of the
squeeze note and the whit note stand well out. On a calm
frosty day they are just audible at a quarter of a mile with
hands cupped over the ears. On getting close, however, it
will be heard that these loud note-groups are bridged by
subdued ripples and trilling whistles, joining the whole into
a long varied “ramble”, both pleasing and musical. Sung
by adult males only.
(2) The unmusical “ Greenfinch ” song. As above but
without the subdued notes. The squeeze is very frequently not
repeated : whit-whit-whit squeeze whit-whit-whit squeeze, etc.
Sung by adult males only.
(3) Short song. This is the least usual song and is sung
for only a short while. (The other songs frequently go on for
long periods.) Burrr-burrr-burrr-whit-whit-whit, etc., hurried
over and curtailed. The burn is a full, rising note but appar-
ently is merely a variation of the harsh squeeze. Probably
sung by adult males only.
(4) Sub-song. I call this the sub-song for no better reasons
than that it is the quietest song, that it is sung by both adult
males and females and occasionally by grey birds, and that
it is frequently sung from a concealed position inside the
canopy, whereas the above three songs are practically always
sung from the very top. Short groups of a somewhat softer
whit-whit than the call (though still of much carrying power),
joined up by subdued twitterings and murmurings.
All these songs show variation but to my ear the grouping
seems satisfactory and constant. Crossbills are spasmodic in
Surrey and, when present, erratic in singing so I have made
no attempt to assign songs to different seasons.
The two main calls are the loud, clear whit whit and the
rather harsh, chattering chack-chack-chack. These, too, seem
VOL. XXXI.]
NOTES
33 1
to be used somewhat as songs ; for a bird will sit on the top
of a tree and call one or the other for minutes at a time.
In the case of the former, two tones will sometimes be used
with quite a fixed, definite rhythm.
As these notes were all taken in S.W. Surrey, it would be
interesting to see whether there is much geographical variation
— with Loxia c. scotica, for example. L. S. V. Venables.
NOTES ON SOME BIRDS FROM SKYE.
Examination of some material from Skye as a result of a
visit in December, 1937, makes it possible to amplify my
previous note on Hebridean birds ( antea , pp. 230-2).
Rock-Pipit ( Anthus s. petrosus). I stated that birds from Skye were
not the Hebridean race. This was based on two spring birds in the
Natural History Museum. A winter series shows that Skye Rock-Pipits
are on the whole darker olive above with heavier streaks. They are,
however, much nearer to A . s. petrosus than to A. s. meinertzhageni
with the exception of one bird. Thus, in a sense they are perhaps
slightly intermediate.
Hebridean Song-Thrush ( Turdus e. hebridensis). Birds from Skye
seem not to be separable from Hebridean Song- Thrushes unless in
series the spots are sometimes rather smaller. Miss Baxter has kindly
drawn my attention to a statement of Mr. Seton Gordon that in
November hundreds of Thrushes come to Skye, remaining until
February or March. I find difficulty in believing that Outer Hebridean
birds winter in Skye in such numbers and that this explains my
birds. A single breeding bird in the Natural History Museum agrees
also with Hebridean specimens. Further comparison with Thrushes
from S.W. Scotland shows that these are more like Hebiidean on the
back, but like ericetorum below. Some very worn birds from Islay
(in the Royal Scottish Museum) are like T. e. ericetorum below. A winter
bird from Gairloch is like T. e. hebridensis. In any case even if it can
be shown later that these very dark Thrushes are not the breeding form
of Skye, it is an important discovery that Hebridean birds occur here in
large numbers in winter.
British Song-Thrush ( Turdus e. ericetorum). One bird from
Skye is a very typical ericetorum.
Hebridean Wren ( Troglodytes t. hebridensis). A series from Skye is
referable to this race with a slight indication of intergradation. Birds
from S.W. Scotland are nearest typical T. t. troglodytes with sometimes
a tendency towards hebridensis in being browner below.
C. M. N. White.
ROOSTING OF BLUE TIT.
Noticing early in December, 1937, a Blue Tit ( Pants c.
obscurus) entering about dusk a nesting box within 6 inches
of my study window at St. Leonards, Bucks, I began watching,
with the following results:
December, 1937* Average roosting time on 13 evenings,
1. 1 minute after 4 p.m.
Earliest time, 3.45 p.m. ; latest, 4.16 p.m.
332 BRITISH BIRDS. [vol. xxxi.
January, 1938 : Average roosting time on 15 evenings,
17.6 minutes after 4 p.m.
Earliest time, 4.4 p.m. ; latest 4.46 p.m.
Of 13 occasions when I noted the time of sunset, the earliest
time of roosting was 12 minutes before sunset, the latest
17 minutes after sunset. Average of 13 times 4.3 minutes after
sunset.
Unfortunately, after January 22nd, the Blue Tit ceased
roosting in the box, perhaps because of pairing, for the
local birds soon after were noticed about in pairs.
On 5 occasions during my observations the bird came out
after entering the box, but returned later. Once in the
interval it was noticed on a nearby tree, preening.
A clear sky made the roosting time 4 to 12 minutes later.
On 5 occasions a second bird appeared on the scene, twice
perching on the lid, once going in and out again, and twice
staying in altogether. On three evenings when watched,
no bird entered the box. These facts suggest a certain
irregularity in the roosting place of the species.
Cyril E. Martin.
GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKER EATING
PHEASANT’S EGGS.
In April, 1937, R. Gibbons, the ex-keeper for Gunton, Norfolk,
whom I know personally to be reliable, seeing a bird at a
Pheasant’s nest actually in the act of eating one of the eggs
outside the nest, shot the bird and not knowing what it was
took it to the Rev. Canon Wilson W. White. Canon White,
who is well acquainted with the species, identified it as a
Great Spotted Woodpecker ( Dryobates m. anglicus). The bill
of the Woodpecker still had some remains of the egg upon it.
M. Barclay.
MONTAGU’S AND HEN-HARRIERS IN
DENBIGHSHIRE.
The following occurrences of Harriers, which have unfor-
tunately been killed, have come to my notice and should,
I think, be put on record. Several Montagu’s Harriers ( Circus
pygargus) have been killed on one of the Denbighshire moors
in recent years : an adult male, May 27th, 1933 ; an immature
male, dark variety, August 9th, 1935, and a female nearly
adult, with ovaries well matured, on May 18th, 1936.
The Hen-Harrier ( Circus cyaneus ) occasionally occurs.
I have seen four in a gamekeeper’s house, trapped or shot
soon after the war — three females and an immature male.
VOL. XXXI.]
NOTES.
333
Of three others of more recent date one occurred on April 9th,
1934, another on February 5th, 1936, and a third was shot on
November 5th, 1937, and brought to me in a fresh state. All
were females. This last was apparently an adult. The iris was
dark, not yellow. A recent meal consisted of much flesh with
some feathers of a Grouse but no bones. There were also
traces of heather and bilberry. W. H. Dobie
SHEARWATERS IN THE THAMES ESTUARY.
The following records of Shearwaters in the Thames Estuary
may be of interest.
On September 4th, 1932, Mr. E. H. Gillham had several
views of a Manx Shearwater {Puffinus puffinus) on the Swale,
between Sheppey and the mainland.
On September 4th, 1937, a fine, warm day, Mr. G. D.
Elcome saw a Great Shearwater (P. gravis or kuhlii ?) off
Southend Pier. After approaching quite close to his boat it
flew off towards the Kentish shore, but owing to the light
Mr. Elcome was unable to observe exact details of colouring.
On September 26th, 1937, a party of the London Natural
History Society saw a Shearwater flying strongly upstream
between Egypt and St. Mary’s Bays on the Kentish shore of
the estuary. The weather was fine, and the river quite calm,
but the bird was careening from side to side as though there
were waves. It was probably a Manx Shearwater (P. puffinus),
but might possibly have been the Western Mediterranean
form (P. p. mauretanicus) . R. S. R. Fitter.
LITTLE STINTS IN SUSSEX IN WINTER.
In Vol. XXVIII., p. 54, I recorded the occurrence of a Little
Stint ( Calidris mi nut a) at Bulverhythe, St. Leonards, on
January 9th and 10th, 1934. On January nth, 1935, my son,
R. N. Ticehurst, found another at the same spot. This bird
was feeding alone, but Dunlin and Ringed Plover were both
in the vicinity to serve as a comparison of size. On January
8th, 1938, we found a pair in the same place again, this time
in company with a wintering party of Turnstones and a
Grey Plover. The latter were still there on the 22nd, but
I failed to find the Stints. It seems a remarkable coincidence
meeting with Little Stints at the same place in January in
three years out of five. N. F. Ticehurst.
ICELAND REDSHANK IN WIGTOWNSHIRE.
The skin of an Iceland Redshank ( Tringa t. robusta ) from
Wigtown Bay, Solway, is in the Bristol Museum and Art
334
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
Gallery collections. The bird is a juvenile female, taken on
August ioth, 1937, and has wing 172, bill 43 and tarsus 46 mm.
H. Tetley.
WESTERN LITTLE BUSTARD IN YORKSHIRE.
A NEW BRITISH BIRD.
It is now well known that two races of the Little Bustard are
distinguishable. The Eastern race ( Otis tetrax orientalis)
inhabiting W. Siberia, Turkestan, Afghanistan, the Russian
Steppes, south at least to Macedonia and Yugo-slavia and
apparently in eastern Germany, periodically migrates west-
wards and to this race the British-taken birds, hitherto
critically examined, have belonged. Only some twenty of the
numerous examples obtained in this country have, however,
been so examined.
Recently Mr. A. Hazelwood informed me of a Little Bustard
in the possession of Capt. E. W. S. Foljambe of Osberton,
Notts. On being applied to Capt. Foljambe very kindly sent
me the bird for examination and comparison at the Natural
History Museum.
Capt. Foljambe informs me that this was one of two birds
shot during a Partridge drive on December 9th, 1922, on his
Wadworth estate just south of Doncaster in Yorkshire. It
was given to him by Mr. E. J. Noble, his shooting tenant, who
shot this bird and the other cannot be traced. The bird was
stuffed by Spicer of Leamington, who sexed it as a female.
This bird is clearly an example of the Western Little Bustard
(Otis tetrax tetrax) and is the first British specimen of this race
to be identified.
The Western Little Bustard differs from the Eastern in
having the upper-parts and wing-coverts of a considerably
more sandy (warmer) shade of buff, while the black markings
are usually less pronounced and the vermiculations rather finer.
This race inhabits Spain, Portugal and France as well as
N.W. Africa. It is taken as the typical race as in describing
Otis tetrax, Linnaeus gave its range as “ Habitat in Europa,
imprimis in Gallia ” so that the typical locality is France.
H. F. WlTHERBY.
Garden-Warbler and House-Martin in Outer
Hebrides. — Dr. James W. Campbell among some notes on
birds in Scotland (Scot. Nat., 1937, p. 175) states that a
Garden-Warbler (Sylvia borin) was singing at Tarbert, Harris,
on June 27th, 1937, and he saw a House-Martin (Delichon
u. urbica) at Newton, N. Uist, on June 5th, 1937. Both
species have been rarely observed in the Outer Hebrides.
VOL. XXXI.]
NOTES.
335
Gadwall in Merionethshire. — Mr. E. U. T. Bible informs
us that he and Mr. L. Rees identified a Gadwall ( Anas
strepera) amongst some Mallards in the estuary of the River
Dovey on December 12th and 13th, 1937.
Long-tailed Ducks in Surrey, Middlesex and Sussex.
— Mr. D. A. T. Morgan writes that he and Miss M. Butterworth
watched a female or immature male Long-tailed Duck
(1 Clangula hyemalis ) on January 29th, 1938, on one of the
Molesey (Surrey) reservoirs. Three others which had been
present at Staines (Middlesex) since last September were seen
there by Messrs. H. H. Davis and R. C. Homes on the following
day, when the bird was still at Molesey, so this must have
been a new arrival.
Mr. F. W. Blake informs us that he identified a Long-tailed
Duck, of which he sends a description, in a brackish pool near
Selsey, Sussex, on December 12th, 1937.
Shag in Surrey and Essex ( Correction ). — Mr. E. G.
Pedler informs 11s that he watched a Shag ( Phalacrocorax a.
aristotelis ) at Barn Elms Reservoirs on February 4th, 1938
{cf. antea, p. 310). In the second paragraph of this note on
p. 311, the observer was Mrs. (not Mr.) I. Steuart and the
locality Fambridge, (not Farnbridge).
Spotted Redshank in Norfolk in January. — Miss M.
Barclay informs us that she identified a Spotted Redshank
{Tringa erythropus) at Gunton, Norfolk, on January 24th,
3:938 — an unusual date.
Greenshanks in Winter in Cumberland. — Mr. S.
Marchant writes that he saw a Greenshank ( Tringa nebularia)
on the estuary of the River Irt near Ravenglass on January
2nd, 1938, and on several occasions between January 1st and
10th, 1937, one was also present in the same locality. A good
many Greenshanks have been noticed in various parts in
winter during recent mild years.
Black-headed Gulls Nesting in Devonshire. — With
reference to Mr. D. Munro-Smith’s note {antea, p. 90), Mr.
H. J. Harrison writes that he has personally known of two
colonies of the Black-headed Gull ( Lams r. ridibundus) in
North Devon for at least twelve years and states that they
have probably been in existence much longer.
Kittiwakes as Shore Birds. — Mr. G. H. Clegg informs
us that he has seen hundreds of Kittiwakes (Rissa t. tridadyla)
standing on the stony shore of the Isle of Arran in August
{cf. antea, pp. 202-4 and 280).
336
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
REVIEWS.
LOCAL REPORTS.
Report on the Birds of Warwickshire, Worcestershire and S. Staffordshire,
1936. Prepared under the direction of the Birmingham Bird Club,
is. 6d. (H. G. Alexander, 144, Oak Tree Lane, Birmingham, 29.)
This, the third annual. Report is an advance on its predecessors, and
has much matter of interest. It contains an account of birds on Rotton
Park Reservoir, migrant dates, special accounts for each county on the
Grey Wagtail, Lesser Redpoll and Little Owl, lists (with a map) of
movements of ringed birds to and from the counties and a number of
classified notes. There were no startling events to record during the
year, but the Report shows that much solid work was done. The
classified list contains interesting items especially among the water
birds — an Oystercatcher, a Bar-tailed Godwit, two Red-throated
Divers, two Long-tailed Ducks, two Grey Lag-Geese and three Skuas
(probably Pomatorhine) being among the more interesting species noted.
Transactions of the Cardiff Naturalists’ Society, 1935.
These contain a few ornithological notes selected by G. C. S. Ingram
and H. M. Salmon. Among these we note that an Avocet, a very rare
visitor to Glamorgan, was seen at Aberthaw on April 28th, 1935, and
a party of seven Black Grouse, which had become extinct in the
county, was satisfactorily identified in the same year near Llangynwyd.
Observations on Birds in the Bournemouth District, October, 1936 to 1937.
By Rev. F. C. R. Jourdain.
This is a very condensed report on the birds observed in rather an
indefinite area. As in other parts, the Dartford Warbler, benefiting
by several favourable years has greatly increased in numbers. Six
Whooper Swans wintered (1936-7) at Beaulieu. The Raven is still
spreading slowly eastwards. Montagu’s Harriers had an unfortunate
year and no young were reared. Several Garganey bred on the Avon.
Skokholm Bird Observatory Report for 1937.
This Report has many points of interest. In 1937 one hundred and
eleven observers stayed on the island and there were other day visitors,
and observational and ringing work was carried on daily. Over six
thousand birds were ringed on the island during the year. Mr. Lockley’s
efforts to control the rabbits with the hope of making the island a sheep
farm have failed. A serious attempt is to be made to control the
bracken which is steadily encroaching. Mr. Lockley considers that
bracken encourages Lesser Black-backed Gull, Hedge-Sparrow,
Blackbird and Whitethroat and discourages Manx Shearwater, Storm-
Petrel, Oystercatcher, Lapwing, Wheatear, Meadow-Pipit and Sky-Lark.
A very interesting ten-year census of the nesting birds only partly
supports this suggestion, Lapwings and Oystercatchers having
decreased and Lesser Black-backed Gulls having increased. But the
Herring-Gull has also increased, while the Great Black-backed shows
a much larger proportionate increase. It also appears that Manx
Shearwaters are not decreasing and that Storm-Petrels are increasing
as are Guillemots and Razorbills. We note with interest that Mr. M. C.
Harman is now owner of Grassholm and has put it under the guardian-
ship of Mr. Lockley. The Report ends with a number of valuable notes
in a classified list. It is observed that Fulmar Petrels now haunt the
island coast in some numbers in summer though none as yet breed
there. Razorbills have been ringed and caught intensively and birds
ringed as nestlings were caught as adults at nesting places a year later.
REPORT OF
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This is an appeal on new lines to all who are interested in nature study
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Norman F. Ticeiiurst, o.b.e., m.a., f.r.c.s., m.b.o.u.
Contents of Number ii, Vol. XXXI., April x, 1938.
page
Black Redstart Breeding in an Eastern County of England. By
S. Marchant ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 338
The Index of Heron Population, 1937. By E. M. Nicholson ... 341
Report of the Bird-Ringing Committee : Progress for 1937.
By A. Landsborough Thomson, c.b., d.sc. ... ... ... 345
Notes : —
Song of Grey Wagtail (J. Lodge) ... ... ... ... 352
Continental Great Tit in Gloucestershire (H. Tetley) ... 352
Blue Tit’s Swinging Roost (G. B. Gooch) ... ... ... 352
Nestling Redwing (J. Armitage) ... ... ... ... 353
The Irish Dipper in West Scotland (P. A. Clancey) ... ... 353
Shoveler Breeding in the Isle of Wight (W. K. Froggatt) ... 354
Oiled Birds resorting to Fresh Water (N. F. Ticehurst) ... 354
Black-throated Diver in Warwickshire (C. A. Norris)... ... 355
Arctic Ringed Plover in Somerset and Devon (H. Tetley) ... 356
The Long-tailed Skua in the Channel in November (D. L.
Serventy) ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 356
Short Notes : —
Early Martin in Gloucestershire. Bee-eater in Cork. Rough-
legged Buzzards in Kent and Sussex. Early Garganey in
Middlesex. Smews in Surrey. Little Auk Inland in Dorset.
Ruff in Devonshire in Winter ... ... ... ... 357
Review : —
Handbuch der Deutschen Vogelkunde. Edited by G.Niethammer 358
Letters : — -
Inquiry into the Status of the Landrail or Corncrake, 1938
(C. A. Norris) 359
Bird-Flies (G. B. Thompson) 360
Y
(338)
BLACK REDSTART BREEDING IN AN EASTERN
COUNTY OF ENGLAND.
BY
S. MARCHANT.
(Plate 13.)
It is only comparatively recently that the breeding of the
Black Redstart ( Phcenicurus 0. gibr altar iensis) in the British
Isles has been authentically recorded. During the spring and
summer of 1937 a number of observers had the good fortune
to watch a pair breeding in one of the eastern counties of
England, an occurrence which is of interest both because
the nest has never before been recorded so far north in this
country, and because previously the bird has only been
observed in the district on three occasions, two of which
were in October and November, and the third not known.
The male bird first attracted attention while feeding during
the evening of April 25th. Its identity was immediately
obvious by its reddish-brown tail, by its otherwise black
plumage of various shades, by the whitish patches on its
wings, and by the absence of white on the forehead. Until
May 14th nothing further was seen of the bird or its mate, but
for the next live days from that date the male visited a
bakehouse area for cockroaches so regularly that there seemed
a distinct possibility that it had a nest. The hen bird was
first definitely noted on May 19th, and the same morning
J. G. Appleyard and the writer found the nest. Later in the
day Miss E. L. Turner, K. B. Rooke and others had good
views of both birds as they brought food to their young. An
inspection of the nest on the next day showed that there
were only two young birds, fully fledged and almost ready
to leave the nest ; they were probably nearly a fortnight old.
This is an abnormally small brood but both on that day and
on a later occasion no trace could be found of other young
birds or of unfertile eggs. The nest was built chiefly of
cotton waste and placed in a cavity in a wall beside a drain-
pipe. One of the young birds was seen outside the nest on
May 24th, the other probably having left the previous day,
when no observations could be made.
From that date it became more difficult to watch the
birds. It is doubtful whether the young birds were ever seen
again, and it seems certain that one of them died the next
day (25th) by falling down a drain-pipe. Until June nth
the old birds were seen regularly, the male attracting most
attention by his song. From July 5th to 20th R. N. Ticehurst
British Birds. Vol. XXXI., PI. 13.
Upper — Cock Black Redstart with food for young.
Lower — Hen Black Redstart perched above nest.
[Photographed by R. N. Ticeliurst.)
vol. xxxi ] BLACK REDSTART BREEDING.
339
constantly saw and heard the male, and during that time an
attempt was made to build a second nest in a similar place not
far from the original site. Dr. Billington and Canon Raven tell
me that about July gth the birds were seen to bring materials
on one day ; on the next, however, they were disturbed and
did not return. Whether another more successful attempt
was made elsewhere is not known. At the beginning of
October Black Redstarts were still present in the town,
being recorded from various parts. The hen was last seen on
October 25th by J. L. R. Baiss, and fine views of the cock
in much brighter plumage than during the spring and with
most conspicuous white patches on the wings, noticeable even
in flight, were obtained up to October 23rd. (During the
breeding season and after, the white wing-patches could only
be detected when the bird was at rest.)
Evidence can be produced that the birds bred in the same
place in 1936, though, while breeding, they escaped the
notice of ornithologists.
One or two points of interest arise in connexion with this
record. Mr. Nicholson ( antea , Vol. XXX., p. 320) sug-
gested that the occurrence of Black Redstarts during the
summer in Inner London might be much more regular than
is supposed owing to the ease with which the bird is over-
looked. The story of these birds amply bears this out, for
not only were they completely overlooked in 1936 while
breeding, but even in 1937 although their presence had been
recognized they were not seen for over a fortnight at a
critical period. Admittedly in the light of future knowledge,
it was realized that the song was heard once during that
period, and had this happened to anyone with a previous
acquaintance with the birds, it would no doubt have led to
an intensified search and the original occurrence would not
have been regarded as a chance.
Owing to the difficulties of making continued observations
little could be found out about the habits of the birds. Only
a vague idea of their territory was obtained, but certainly
after the young had flown, the cock was seen and heard much
more regularly at places some distance from the breeding site,
suggesting that different territories were adopted in turn.
Perhaps there was some connexion with the attempt to build
a second nest. During nest-building and incubation their
behaviour can only be conjectured, but shortly after the
young were hatched, the cock apparently extended his range
somewhat, or altered it. The hen bird either remained much
closer to the nest or else went to other areas until the young
340
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
birds were nearly ready to fly, that is if she ever visited one
place so regularly as the cock. The song was first recognized
on May 20th. The fact that afterwards it became a common
occurrence to hear the song or at least the first few, loud,
warbling notes (the bird being perched in the most con-
spicuous positions), even when the observer was a consider-
able distance away, makes one wonder why the song was not
heard earlier, that is, omitting the one unrecognized occasion
mentioned above. Even though originally unfamiliar with it,
I feel it would have been difficult to overlook the charac-
teristic opening notes, especially so since I later found that
they could be heard at considerable distances, even above the
interference from jangling church bells and such-like noises.
It soon became possible to recognize the bird by its actions
and behaviour. Its weak, dipping flight was very noticeable
over a fairly long distance, recalling that of a tit, and while
feeding it behaved so as to remind one in part of a Robin,
when it flew down to the ground to seize an insect and then
returned to its perch, and in part of a flycatcher, as pointed
out by R. N. Ticehurst, from its habit of fluttering off a
higher perch, chasing insects and returning. Perhaps most
characteristic of all was the slight oscillation of the tail
during the short periods of rest between these excursions.
It is worth while recording that on one occasion R. N. Tice-
hurst saw the hen bird bring a white Pierid butterfly to the
young. Apparently a very favourite food was Orthoptera but
other insects, probably Diptera, were collected for the young.
I am indebted to R. N. Ticehurst for the accompanying
photographs.
(341)
Publication of the British Trust for Ornithology
THE INDEX OF HERON POPULATION, 1937
BY
E. M. NICHOLSON.
For the fourth year in succession* we were able in 1937 to
keep accurate record of the fortunes of a large part of the
breeding population of Herons ( Ardea c. cinerea). It can
hardly be said that the results have been dramatic. In
England and Wales as a whole the Heron does not appear,
over this period, to have been markedly increasing or
decreasing, or to have been spreading or contracting its range.
Nor are there appreciable year-to-year fluctuations, although
certain regions, and, above all, certain heronries undergo
striking changes of numbers.
The number of counties covered was slightly fewer in 1937
than in 1936, those omitted in England and Wales being
London, Middlesex and Rutland (where there are no
heronries) and Hampshire, Herefordshire, Breconshire and
Monmouthshire. From the remaining 46 counties the sample
has, however, been greatly increased, and the total number
of nests now counted in the 82 heronries for which we have
both 1928 and 1937 figures is almost two thousand — about
a fifty per cent, sample.
In Scotland 23 heronries were counted in 1937 compared
with 14 in 1936, and in Ireland 10 compared with 7. Al-
together in the British Isles we have reports of breeding
numbers in 1937 from no less than 154 sites in 64 counties.
One result of so greatly extending the sample has been to
confront us with a number of statistical problems, because
several of the 1928 heronries have lapsed, while new ones
have come into existence, and a few are now known which
were extant in 1928 but were not counted in that year. After
taking authoritative advice we are meeting this difficulty
by starting a fresh index based on 1936, wdiich will for the
present be given in addition to, and not in substitution for,
the index based on 1928. As the Scottish and Irish samples
are so much smaller the main index figures will continue to
be given for England and Wales, but supplementary figures
will be supplied for other areas.
It will be observed that while the original 1928 index yields
a slight increase of some 2 per cent, for England and Wales
for 1937 as compared with 1936, the new' 1936 index show's
no change in the same period. This is an interesting indication
♦See British Birds, Vol. XXVIII., pp. 332-341 ; Vol. XXIX.,
pp. 98-101, and Vol. XXX., pp. 202-205.
342
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
of the margin of error inherent in the sampling method, and
will come as no surprise to those who recall the warning
given when the index started ( antea , Vol. XXVIII., p. 336)
that “ the index certainly does not reliably mirror minute
changes of, say, one or two per cent., and certainly does mirror
substantial changes of the order of say, forty or fifty per cent.”.
The national status of the breeding Heron population in
1937 may therefore be summed up by saying that for England
and Wales it was probably about the same as, and perhaps
even a little higher than, in 1936 and in 1928. In Scotland
the figures for both Highlands and Lowlands agree in
indicating an increase of rather more than ten per cent,
between 1928 and 1937 in spite of a drop of rather less than
ten per cent, between 1936 and 1937. The inference that
Scottish heronries in 1936 were some twenty per cent, above
1928 strength should, however, not be relied on, as the sample
even for 1936 included only 147 nests. On the even smaller
Irish sample of less than 80 nests the movement between
1936 and 1937 was very similar, but material for comparison
with 1928 is lacking.
The usual table of percentage changes can, therefore, be
brought up to date as follows :
Provisional Index of Heron Breeding Population
(1928=100) (England and Wales).
Number of
Number of
nests in
nests in
Year.
Index.
Sample.
Year.
Index.
Sample.
1928
IOO
1,032
1933
104
360
1929
85
487
1934
102
1,196
1930
92
566
1935
99
1.235
1931
III
2 77
1936
IOI
1,264
1932
IOO
223
1937
103
1.999
Owing to further material which has
come to light the
dex can,
however, now be revised
as follows :
Number of nests
on which
Year.
Revised Index.
revised index is based.
1928
IOO
3.949
1929
87
605
I930
94 (94)
5ii
(521)
1931
98
362
1932
96 (99)
321
(339)
1933
97 (99)
4i3
(478)
1934
98 (100)
1,422 (i,547)
1935
105 (104)
1,624 (1,771)
1936
101 (102)
1,824 (
1.985)
1937
103
1.999
vol. xxxr ] INDEX OF HERON POPULATION. 343
The extra figures given in parentheses show the effect of
adding in figures of heronries for which no 1928 return is
available, each being adjusted by the index figure of the
year for which earlier figures are known. Scottish and Irish
returns are excluded. Finally we can obtain a further check
by taking 1936 as 100 and starting an entirely new index
which gives the following results :
1936
100 (England and Wales)
1,982
1937
100
T974
1936
100 (Great Britain)
2,129
1937
99
2,111
1936
100 (British Isles)
2,208
1937
99 > > > ,
2,183
As might be expected the material now available suggests
that the Heron population is even more stable than had
previously been supposed, as the set-back in 1929 and the
recovery during 1930-31 were both rather exaggerated by
the smallness of the earlier sample. The need for special
caution in using the 1929-33 figures has repeatedly been
emphasized in previous papers. The new index figures for
Great Britain (that is England, Wales and Scotland) and for
the British Isles (including Ireland) are still heavily dominated
by England and Wales returns, but it is interesting that in
spite of this there should be some indication that Heron
population may move differently in the different countries.
We now have the basis for a very interesting record of the
effects of any sudden blow such as a really severe winter.
During 1937 a great extension was achieved in the area
believed to be completely covered by the sample census.
In addition to the Thames Drainage Area, which has been
surveyed annually, and the county of Sussex, covered by
the independent exertions of Mr. E. M. Cawkell, all known
heronries were counted in a large region of northern England
covering most of Durham, Westmorland, Lancashire, York-
shire, Cheshire, Derbyshire and Staffordshire. In this last
region, excluding heronries whose numbers for both 1928
and 1937 are not known, and all those which have become
extinct or started in the period, there appears to have been
an increase during that period of some 16 per cent. Unfor-
tunately this big increase in the established colonies is
approximately cancelled out by the coming to an end of such
notable heronries as Bagot’s Park and Ilam in Staffordshire,
Rossington in Yorkshire, and Rusland Moss in Lancashire.
The area taken as a whole shows little change.
344
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
Persecution of breeding Herons appears to be a serious
factor in parts of the midlands and north, and reports of
destruction of colonies have reached us from Northumberland,
Roxburgh, Cumberland and Derbyshire, the birds in the last
case having been shot while feeding young, which were left
to starve. Staffordshire, as we pointed out last year, has the
unenviable distinction of having lost in the interval since 1928
no less than four of the six heronries then extant in the county,
largely through deliberate destruction. Cheshire, on the
other hand, has increased the size of its Heron population
quite considerably.
Of the other two areas completely surveyed, Sussex has
now made good the slight decline noted in 1935 and the
Thames Drainage Area which has stayed consistently below
the 1928 level during the previous three years is now well
above it.
To sum up the experience of the different regions, north-east
and north-west England suffered a fairly general set-back
between 1936 and 1937 but both are still above the 1928
level ; east England has had the opposite experience of being
above 1936 breeding strength but still below 1928 levels for
the same heronries ; the Midlands are appreciably above
1936 and also above 1928 ; Wales and the neighbouring
counties, like northern England showed some increase on
1928 but a set-back since 1936, and both south-east and
south-west England showed declines on 1936 and also on 1928.
Looking at the results as a whole it is, however, remarkable
that so much stability should be maintained, and the data
being gathered must prove of value for comparison with
future work on more sharply fluctuating species. As in
previous years it must be pointed out that the credit for this
work belongs not to the writer, who has merely summed up
the results, but to the many volunteer observers who last
spring visited more than 150 heronries for this purpose in
different parts of the country, and to Mr. W. B. Alexander,
University Museum, Oxford, who organized the operations
and drew up the necessary returns on behalf of the British
Trust for Ornithology.
(345)
A Publication of the British Trust for Ornithology.
REPORT OF THE BIRD -RINGING COMMITTEE:
PROGRESS FOR I937.*
BY
A. LANDSBOROUGH THOMSON. c.b., d.sc.
Chairman of the Committee.
During the period now under review, on June ist, 1937, the
control of the former British Birds Marking Scheme was
transferred to the Bird-Ringing Committee appointed for the
purpose by the British Trust for Ornithology, under arrange-
ments which have already been announced. f At the same
time the headquarters were moved from the office of Messrs.
H. F. & G. Witherby, Ltd., to the Bird Room in the British
Museum (Natural History) at South Kensington, which is
now the address of the Scheme. All new rings are being
inscribed “ BRITISH MUSEUM NAT. HIST. LONDON ”,
but existing stocks will continue to be used. A close association
is being maintained with British Birds, which will still be
the medium of publication.
The Committee highly appreciates the honour of being
entrusted with the future management of a Scheme which
has already had such great success and is in so flourishing a
state. The maintenance of this active and fruitful investiga-
tion for twenty-eight years isnot the least among Mr. Witherby’s
important contributions to ornithological science, and
it is indeed a privilege to be allowed a share in carrying
on his work. The Committee is also most fortunate in being
allowed to conduct the Scheme from the British Museum
(Natural History), and desires warmly to thank the Trustees
for the facilities given there.
The Committee is constituted as follows : Dr. A. Lands-
borough Thomson (Chairman), Mr. A. W. Boyd, Mr. A. B.
Duncan, Mr. P. A. D. Hollom, Lord Ilchester (representing
the British Museum Trustees), Lord Mansfield, Mr. H. F.
Witherby (representing British Birds) and Miss E. P.
Leach (Hon. Secretary). On the last-named the main
burden of the task has naturally fallen ; her colleagues on the
Committee are very sensible of the fact that the Scheme is
greatly dependent on the time and trouble which Miss Leach
♦Continuing the series of reports published annually since 1910, of
which the last was “ The British Birds Marking Scheme : Progress
for 1936”, by H. F. Witherby, British Birds, 1937. Vol. XXX., p. 337.
f" The Future of the British Birds Ringing Scheme : Transfer to
the British Trust for Ornithology”, British Birds, 1937, Vol. XXXI., p. 5.
346
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
gives so freely to the heavy headquarters’ work, of which she
had acquired full experience as Mr. Witherby’s associate in
the enterprise during recent years.
Finance.
The question of finance has given the Committee some
concern, as under the new arrangements it is necessary that
the Scheme should be entirely self-supporting. Expenditure
has increased owing to the growing volume of correspondence,
to the higher price of certain improved types of ring, and to
the cost of clerical assistance which was previously provided
free of charge in the office of British Birds. Apart from a
generous subvention of £25 per annum from British Birds
in lieu of former services, there is no regular source of income
except the subscriptions from co-operators at the rate of 6s.
per hundred rings issued.
The Committee is reluctant to propose a general increase in
the rate of subscription, say to 7s. 6d. per hundred rings ;
although this would no more than cover the cost, it might
make it difficult for some ringers to continue their co-operation
on the present scale. The Committee therefore decided, in
the first instance, to make a limited appeal for special
contributions to the fund from such ringers as might be able
and willing to give further help. To this there has already
been a generous response, in donations ranging from 2s. 6d.
to £5, for which the Committee is most grateful.
In addition to the need for covering essential expenses,
the Committee is most anxious that some extra funds should
be available for extending the Scheme in particular directions.
With provision for expenses it should be possible to make
special arrangements for ringing large numbers of certain
species from which results of unusual interest may be expected.
Accounts will be published in due course.
Number of Birds Ringed.
In 1937
„ 1936
„ I935
„ I934
„ I933
,, 1932
„ I93i
Trapped.
Nestlings.
Total.
21,900
23,281
45,l8l
19.235
29,428
48,663
16,066
30,364
46,430
17.835
31,816
49,651
10,466
27,975
38,441
7.643
22,950
30,593
7,041
22,513
29,554
[VOL. XXXI.
REPORT OF BIRD
-RINGING.
347
In 1909
2,171
In 1920
5,276
,, 1910
7,910
,, 1921
8,997
,, 1911
10,416
,, 1922
9,289
,, 1912
11.483
„ 1923 ...
12,866
„ 1913 ...
14.843
,, 1924
18,189
.,1914 •••
13,024
„ 1925 ...
18,233
1915 •••
7,767
,, 1926
23,432
., 1916
7,107
„ 1927
21,625
» 1917 •••
6,926
,, 1928
24,479
,, 1918
5,937
„ 1929
25,243
,, 1919
3,578
,, 1930
28,610
Grand Total
575>9I4
As will be
seen from the table.
the total of birds
ringed
in x9 37 is very satisfactory, although it is rather less than in
any of the last three years. The number of birds trapped is
again a record, but the number of birds ringed as nestlings
has fallen ; the two figures seem to be approaching equality.
The second table shows the numbers ringed by individual
co-operators. Fourteen of the totals run into four figures,
and five of them exceed two thousand.
The highest total was achieved by the Skokholm Bird
Observatory, with 4,402. This included 1,448 Manx Shear-
waters, 904 Gannets, and 603 Razorbills. This represents a
very noteworthy contribution to the work.
Mr. Charteris has once more marked over three thousand
birds. His total of 3,044 includes 1,396 Chaffinches, mostly
netted at their winter roosts.
Mr. Morshead has again been active in trapping. His
excellent total of 2,546 includes 1,272 Starlings.
Mr. Robinson maintains a high total, 2,108, mostly by
ringing nestlings. These include 1,367 Terns of various
species, and 200 Gannets. An interesting item, however, is
220 adult Puffins caught at their nesting burrows.
Mr. Mayall’s total of 2,024 is also largely made up of
nestlings, including 348 Nightingales.
The London Natural History Society has a total of 1,976,
including 937 Manx Shearwaters. The Oxford Ornithological
Society’s 1,835 is niainly made up of trapped birds, notably
Starlings. Mr. Marchant has a well-distributed 1,234. The
1,144 marked for the Zoological Society at Whipsnade by
Mr. E. A. Billett include 333 trapped Jackdaws. Mr. Cohen’s
1,129 include 303 nestling Sandwich Terns. Rugby School
records 1,114 ; Mr. Boyd 1,056 ; Dr. Moon, who has for many
years headed the list, but was not able to do so much last
season, 1,030 ; and Winchester College, 1,004.
348
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
The third table, in the usual cumulative form, gives the
totals under species, with the numbers and percentages of
recovery records to date. The most notable difference is the
further increase in the number of Manx Shearwaters marked,
the grand total for the species being now over 10,000. There
has also been a big increase in the number of Gannets marked
during the year.
Some species not shown in the table have been marked in
small numbers. They include, for the first time, Mealy Redpoll,
Little Bunting, Yellow-breasted Bunting, Waxwing, Red-
breasted Flycatcher, Yellow-browed Warbler, Siberian Lesser
Whitethroat, Hen-Harrier and Common Scoter.
Recoveries.
Two lists of recoveries* have been published since the last
report, and these give ample evidence of the value and
interest of the results which are being steadily accumulated.
Nest-
Nest-
Trapped.
ling.
Total.
Trapped.
ling.
T otal.
SkokholmB.Obs.2,059
2,343
4,402
J. Barnes ... 207
211
418
G. Charteris 2,401
643
3,044
E. L. Arnold ... 239
161
400
P. Morshead 2,313
233
2,546
R. M. Garnett ... 158
222
380
H. W. Robinson
242
1,866
2,108
Bootham School 1 72
195
367
A. Mayall
304
1,720
2,024
P. Hollom ... 320
19
339
LondonN.H.Soc.1,075
901
1,976
Blundell’s S. ... 24
3ii
335
Oxford Orn.Soc. 1,560
275
1,835
Miss Ferrier ... 13
322
335
S. Marchant
656
578
1,234
Sedbergh S. ... 75
260
335
Zool. Society 1
,021
123
1,144
C. F. Tebbutt ... 88
213
301
E. Cohen
433
696
1,129
W. A. Cadman... 61
239
300
Rugby School ...
88
1,026
1,114
M. Boardman ... 275
—
2 75
A. W. Boyd ...
671
385
1,056
E. G. Holt ... 242
28
270
H. J. Moon
184
846
1,030
C. S. Clarke ... 19
226
245
Winchester Coll.
513
491
1,004
J . Bartholomew 9
200
209
“Wippletree” ...
270
629
899
University Coll.
Leighton Park S.
648
130
778
Exeter ... 163
45
208
I. 0. May B. Obs.
753
9
762
Midlothian Orn.C. 7
199
206
A. J. Harthan ...
556
57
623
Cheltenham Coll. 22
183
205
A. H. and W. J.
Lord Dumfries... 23
173
196
Eggeling
455
145
600
R. H. Brown ... 1
188
1 3g
C. Wontner-Smith 60
524
584
St. Edmund’s S. 4
184
188
N. H. Joy
435
68
503
G. Brown ... 8
179
187
A. Wainwright...
315
178
493
II. B. Smith ... 175
—
175
R. G. Williams...
17
472
489
C. Oakes and
B. Coulson
287
181
468
E. Battersby ... 3
170
173
W. Pollok-Morris
204
244
448
Woodcock Inquiry 1
170
171
Mrs. Hodgkin ...
8
434
442
Brentwood S. ... 16
145
161
R. Martinson ...
35
398
433
E. Peake ... 155
5
160
J. F. Thomas ...
39
387
426
A. H. Bishop ... 34
112
156
*“ Recovery of Marked Birds”, by E. P. Leach, British Birds, 1937,
Vol. XXXI., pp. 1 12 and 139 ; and British Birds, 1938, Vol. XXXI.,
pp. 302 and 323.
vol. xxxi ] REPORT OF BIRD-RINGING
349
Nest- Nest-
Trapped.
ling.
Total.
Trapped.
ling.
Total.
Is. J. Buxton ...
22
133
155
Miss Medcalf ...
4
65
69
H. G. Alexander
147
147
Repton School...
48
19
67
L. Monks and
Miss Elisabeth
K. 'Williamson
2
145
147
Sharp
2
63
65
E. U. Savage ...
—
146
146
R. V. Marshall...
11
53
64
D. Lack
87
58
145
J. Sumner and
H. S. Langstafi
10
128
138
C. Buchan ...
60
1
61
Barnard Castle S.
61
76
137
H. V. Bamford...
—
57
57
L. C. Kaye
7i
62
133
F. A. Craine
7
48
55
T. R. Tallis ...
—
129
129
R. D. Chancellor
15
39
54
A. Clark
127
—
127
R. E. Knowles
25
27
52
J. W. Lochore ...
14
112
126
H. Tully
48
2
50
W. E. Kenrick...
113
4
117
H. Martin
21
28
49
Miss Hutchinson
5
104
109
Mrs. Greenlees
3
45
48
W. S. Cowin
96
9
105
H. S. Greg
—
48
48
P. A. Hirst
8
96
104
C. H. Kaye
18
29
47
R. S. Harkness
47
56
103
M. Philips Price
26
20
46
C. W. Heycock...
49
53
102
Shrewsbury S. ...
6
38
44
J. Staton
70
3i
IOI
Perths.N.H.Soc.
—
43
43
E. Blezard
1
97
98
J. Cunningham
40
2
42
M. Wainwright...
2
90
92
H. Pease
42
—
42
D. J. Robertson
I
86
87
Abbotsholme S.
10
29
39
E. H. Bray
64
15
79
F. Oflen
26
12
38
E. Wishart
4
72
76
Sutton Valence S.
10
28
38
Miss Henderson
I
68
69
F. J. Ramsay ...
19
16
35
NUMBERS OF EACH SPECIES RINGED. RECOVERED
1909
1937
Grand
of those
to
Trapped. Nest-
Total.
Total.
ringed
Per-
1936
lings.
1909-36.
centage.
Raven...
117
—
16
16
133
IO
8-5
♦Crow, Carrion
1043
I
107
108
H5I
60
5-8
Rook ...
4094
125
289
414
4508
187
4.6
Jackdaw
2652
383
225
608
3260
104
3-9
♦Magpie
726
8
69
77
803
24
3-3
Jay
382
10
29
39
421
25
6-5
Starling
43839
498i
934
5915
49754
1893
4-3
Greenfinch
2 1 803
1543
326
1869
23672
1423
6-5
♦Goldfinch
360
6
27
33
393
7
i-9
Redpoll, Lesser
544
3
1 1
14
558
3
0.5
Linnet
8391
142
515
657
9048
61
0.7
Bullfinch
1387
12
37
49
1436
49
3-5
Chaffinch
23020
2741
310
3051
26071
890
3-9
Brambling
525
255
—
255
780
24
4.6
Sparrow, Tree
1969
62
72
134
2103
45
2-3
Bunting, Yellow 4371
233
5i
284
4655
229
5-2
Bunting, Reed
1600
42
4i
83
1683
75
4-7
Lark, Sky
3376
71
11
82
3458
33
1.0
Pipit, Tree
1641
13
12
25
1666
4
0.2
Pipit, Meadow
4X33
3i8
62
380
4513
79
1.9
Wagtail, Yellow 890
21
27
48
938
4
0.4
Wagtail, Grey
662
—
22
22
684
1
O.I
Wagtail, Pied
5180
117
166
283
5463
69
i-3
Tit, Great
3841
376
60
436
4277
608
15.8
Tit, Blue
5299
873
78
951
6250
981
18.5
350
BRITISH BIRDS
[VOL. XXXI.
NUMBER OF
1909
to
1936
Shrike, R. -backed 765
Flycatcher, S.
3i3i
♦Flycatcher, Pied
975
Chiffchaff
749
Warbler, Willow 8830
Warbler, Wood
945
Warbler, Reed
860
Warbler, Sedge
1038
Warbler, Garden
1150
Blackcap
838
Whitethroat ...
3525
Thrush, Mistle
3860
Thrush, Song...
56932
Redwing
314
Ouzel, Ring ...
437
Blackbird
47000
Wheatear
1547
Whinchat
1532
Stonechat
698
Redstart
1792
Nightingale ...
2018
Redbreast
18327
Sparrow, Hedge 12134
Wren ...
3521
Dipper
1054
Swallow
36434
Martin
10425
Martin, Sand...
433i
♦Swift ...
818
Nightjar
198
Kingfisher
596
Wryneck
344
Cuckoo
618
♦Owl, Little ...
461
Owl, Long-eared
193
Owl, Barn
483
Owl, Tawny ...
780
Peregrine Falcon
62
♦Merlin...
167
Kestrel
698
♦Buzzard
231
Hawk, Sparrow
416
Heron, Common
1775
Sheld-Duck ...
413
Mallard
5678
Teal ...
1035
Wigeon
232
Duck, Tufted
151
Eider ...
799
Cormorant
1636
Shag ...
1549
Gannet
5126
Shearwater.Manx 6886
SPECIES RINGED.
1937
Trapped. Nest- Total,
lings.
2 IO 12
45 41 86
33 1 2 * * * * * 86 119
61 12 73
485 30 515
3 22 25
1 20 21
103 15 118
31 25 56
10 23 33
353 15 368
28 247 275
555 2510 3065
262 — 262
42 — 42
1436 2282 3718
67 8 75
16 23 39
10 33 43
37 39 76
1 366 367
851 6x5 1466
567 390 957
47 15 62
1 49 50
128 2094 2222
53 298 351
93 47 140
20 32 52
— 13 13
1 14 15
4 26 30
11 28 39
5 51 56
6 49 55
1 15 16
1 62 63
— 3° 30
2 32 34
1 102 103
— 23 23
292 9 301
628
5—5
5—5
1 910
— 189 189
1 7 8
25 1233 1258
2089 1157 3246
RECOVERED
Grand
Total.
of those
ringed
Per-
777
1909-36.
3
centage.
0.4
3217
9
0-3
1094
7
0.7
822
5
0.7
9345
41
0-5
970
2
0.2
881
4
0.4
1156
4
0.4
1206
1
O.08
871
X
0.1
3893
20
0.6
4*35
84
2.2
59997
1045
1.8
576
—
—
479
5
1. 1
50718
1935
4.1
1622
30
1-9
I57i
11
0.7
74i
5
0.7
1868
10
0.6
2385
4
0.2
19793
1567
9-1
1 309 1
986
8.1
3583
16
0.5
1104
10
0.9
38656
327
0.9
10776
69
0.7
4471
11
03
870
5i
6.2
211
2
1.0
611
27
4-5
344
6
i-7
648
17
2.8
500
42
9-i
193
7
3-6
539
42
8.7
835
46
5-9
62
7
1 1-3
183
39
23-4
761
76
10.9
261
13
5-6
450
58
13-9
1878
193
10.9
436
20
4.8
5979
772
13.6
1043
134
12.9
237
25
10.8
156
29
19.2
809
40
5-0
1825
317
19.4
1557
154
9-9
6384
188
3-7
10132
228
3-3
vol. xxxi ] REPORT OF BIRD-RINGING
351
NUMBER OF EACH
SPECIES RINGED.
RECOVERED
1909
—1937 —
Grand
of those
to
Trapped
Nest-
Total.
Total.
ringed
Per-
1936
lings.
1909-36.
centage
Wood -Pigeon...
2490
4
96
IOO
2590
92
3-7
Dove, Stock ...
510
15
22
37
547
39
7.6
Dove, Turtle ...
537
17
19
36
573
51
9-5
Stone-Curlew...
187
27
27
214
9
4.8
Oyster-catcher
1134
I
no
in
1245
44
3-9
Plover, Ringed
1149
—
104
104
1253
15
i-3
Plover, Golden
266
—
12
12
278
3
1 .1
Lapwing
31119
I
1630
1631
32750
672
2.2
Sandpiper, C.
786
—
31
31
8X7
3
0.4
Redshank
1876
I
85
86
1962
67
3-6
Curlew, Common 2518
—
IO4
104
2622
99
3-9
Snipe, Common
1328
8
67
75
1403
73
5-5
Woodcock
4586
1
300
3°x
4887
33i
7.2
Tern, Sandwich
13169
—
1163
1163
14332
229
1-7
Tern, Common
165x6
23
1305
1328
17844
444
2.7
Tern, Arctic ...
1611
—
371
37i
1982
8
0-5
Tern, Little ...
633
7
27
34
667
3
0.4
Gull, B. -headed
13244
374
20
394
13638
614
4.6
Gull, Common
1561
17
70
87
1648
45
2.9
Gull, Herring...
6339
13
455
468
6807
133
2.1
Gull, L. Blk.-bkd.9839
—
3x2
312
10151
37i
3-7
Gull, G. Blk.-bkd. 399
4
14
18
417
13
3-3
Kittiwake
1350
3
123
126
1476
15
1. 1
Razorbill
2179
87
519
606
2785
42
1.9
*Guillemot
1744
20
90
no
1854
39
2.2
Puffin...
3724
322
97
419
4M3
46
i-3
Rail, Land
387
—
1
1
388
4
1.0
Moor- hen
1438
58
20
78
1516
34
2.4
Coot ...
134
3
—
3
137
n
8.2
*Of species so marked no record was kept of the number ringed
from 1913 to 1920.
SONG OF GREY WAGTAIL.
I find that Mr. H. G. Alexander’s Chart of Bird-Song ( antea ,
Vol. XXIX, p. 194) has no record of the song of the Grey
Wagtail ( Motacilla c. cinerea ) between mid-January and
mid-March. The report of a song which I heard at 5.20 p.m.
on February 24th, 1938, may therefore be of interest.
Throughout the winter I have been watching a young Grey
Wagtail which haunts a deep ditch with running water and
overhanging trees and bushes near the river Weaver at
Beambridge, Nantwich, Cheshire. This evening, as I ap-
proached the ditch from the side which is lined by hedge-row
and trees, I heard unusual rather tit-like notes, interspersed
occasionally with little trills, proceeding from the ditch.
I crossed the footbridge to the other side and saw two
Grey Wagtails perched on the wire fence on the other side
of the ditch, and the song was coming from one of these.
I mentally figured the song as “ see-see, see-see, trill ”, or
“ see-see, see-see ” without a trill, repeated several times
with little pause. This seems to agree with the recordings of
E. M. Nicholson and Stanley Morris as given on page 105 of
Nicholson and Koch’s Songs of Wild Birds and is not unlike
“ the longer songs ” noted by Voigt ( Exkursionsbuch 10th
edn., p. 90) as zisisisi huit huit sirrrr doit sasdsdsd zuit.
J. Lodge.
CONTINENTAL GREAT TIT IN GLOUCESTERSHIRE.
A Continental Great Tit [Pants m. major) with a Rossitten
ring, G 463182, was found dead in a garden in Cotham Park,
Bristol, on February 4th, 1938. This bird was ringed as a
nestling near Bautzen, Saxony, on May 20th, 1937, and is
the first occurrence in this country of a ringed Great Tit
from the Continent. Bautzen is about 700 miles east of Bristol.
It may be mentioned that there is in the Bristol Museum
a Black-headed Gull (. Larns r. ridibundus), which was ringed
also near Bautzen, on June 4th, 1931, and found dead at
Blagdon, Somerset on January 5th, 1935. H. Tetley.
BLUE TIT’S SWINGING ROOST.
During three successive winters a Blue Tit [Partis c. obscurus )
roosted close to my window, in a small cardboard cream
carton that hung, upside down, on a length of string tied to
the branch of a tree. The bird slept on a perch wedged across
the mouth of this carton about half an inch from the lip.
VOL. XXXI.]
NOTES.
353
I wice the string rotted, precipitating the bird during the
night, and in time holes appeared in the roof and sides of this
improvised “ tit-bell ”, but without, it seems, affecting the
amenities of this strange roosting place.
A breath of wind would set the bell swinging or spin it
round (to a lesser extent) on its own axis. And on very windy
nights the bird was literally blown out, after a buffeting of
sometimes two hours. On moderately windy nights, however,
it managed to cling to its swaying perch, even though the
bell frequently struck the branches of the tree, and all the
time twisted and jerked backwards and forwards through an
arc of more than a yard.
I did not ring the bird and do not know whether it was the
same individual that slept in this way for three winters. On
the other hand, I got a second Tit to sleep in an inverted
flower-pot hanging in a more sheltered position by another
window. And later, when T had lost sight of these two birds,
a Blue Tit roosted for a while in a bell swinging amongst
the branches of a willow two hundred yards from the house.
One must believe, I suppose, either that a swinging and
revolving roost is highly attractive to at least a small fraction
of this acrobatic species ; or, which seems more likely, that
an inverted bell-shaped roost is so attractive that its many
disadvantages are borne with equanimity. G. B. Gooch.
NESTLING REDWING.
As there appears to be no published description of the
nestling Redwing (T urdus m. musicus), the following notes
taken on a fjeldside above Vossevangen, West Norway, on
July loth, 1934, may be of interest.
Nest in juniper ; four young, three days old. Description
of nestling : Down fawn, plentiful and long but very scanty
on orbital tract ; distribution, inner supra-orbital, occipital,
spinal, humeral and ulnar. Bill purplish grey. Mouth, inside,
gamboge yellow ; tongue similar and unmarked ; gape-flanges
ivory. Skin on body yellow ; legs purplish pink.
John Armitage.
THE IRISH DIPPER IN WEST SCOTLAND.
Col. R. Meinertzhagen, writing in the Ibis, 1934, p. 58,
was, I believe, the first to show that the Irish form of Dipper
( Cinclus c. hibernicus) extended beyond Ireland, when he
recorded that three examples from the Isle of Arran were
referable to this darker race. A short note (anted, p. 236)
enumerated this race from Kintyre, the most southern
point of the Argyllshire mainland, and facing Arran.
354
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
I am fortunate in possessing considerable autumn and
spring material from West Scotland, and a critical examina-
tion of this shows that the range of C. c. hibernicus covers
Ayrshire and Renfrewshire, though a few examples from the
latter county are slightly intermediate. What worn breeding
specimens I have from north Lanarkshire, are hard to place
accurately, but they most certainly show a leaning towards
hibernicus rather than gularis. I also place a single June
example from Dumbartonshire in the same category, but a
breeding female from Callander, Perthshire, is without doubt
Cinclus c. gularis. As far as my material goes at present the
range of C. c. hibernicus in West Scotland is almost identical
with that of Saxicola t. theresce, and Prunella m. hebridium,
and it is improbable that this form of Dipper extends much
further inland. Philip A. Clancey.
SHOVELER BREEDING IN THE ISLE OF WIGHT.
It may be of interest to record that, in April, 1937, the
Shoveler ( Spatula clypeata) bred in the Isle of Wight.
The nest was on Brading Harbour, situated in coarse grass
some distance from water. It contained 12 eggs, 11 of which
were successfully hatched, the remaining one being infertile.
I had the nest under observation throughout the period of
incubation. The duck sat very closely, even in the early
stages of brooding and when flushed always gave me an
excellent example of “ injury feigning ”. On one occasion
I followed her until she took wing and after pacing carefully
back found she had led me 125 yards !
I am unaware of a previous record of the Shoveler breeding
in the island. W. Kenneth Froggatt.
OILED BIRDS RESORTING TO FRESH WATER.
Mr. E. C. Arnold writes to us that on visiting a pond in the
shingle near Rye Harbour on December 29th, 1937, he found
a collection of the following dead birds : —
Over 70 Scoters ( Oidemia n. nigra), about 20 Velvet-Scoters
(0. f. fused) and a Red-throated Diver ( Colymbus stellatus).
There were also a few live birds on the water, namely a
Red-throated Diver, 3 Velvet-Scoters and several Common
Scoters. This fresh-water pond is some 200 yards from the sea.
Such collections of dead birds are regularly to be observed
in the winter at the fresh-water or brackish pools just inland
of the sea-wall bordering Romney Marsh. At the beginning of
January, 1935, Mr. P. Allen counted at the Midrips and Wicks
the corpses of 40 Scoters and 81 Velvet-Scoters, while on
January 9th, 1938, I saw 34 Scoters and 15 Velvet-Scoters
VOL. XXXI.]
NOTES.
355
there. I he large totals are always the result of a process
that has been going on over several weeks. It is seldom that
the birds all come into the pools at once. Of those seen, for
instance, this January, 2 Velvet-Scoters came in at the end
of October and one of these was still alive (but the other had
died) a fortnight later. Most of the others came in between
December 10th and 26th and had been gradually dying since
then.
The birds appear to be poisoned by something in the oil
which they swallow when preening to rid themselves of it.
In many cases the actual extent of the oiling on the feathers
is quite insufficient to interfere with either flight or diving
and often patches of oil are only 3 or 4 inches long by 2
inches wide on one flank and yet the bird has died in a
condition of extreme emaciation. Probably it is an irritant
poison that causes thirst that only freshwater can satisfy and
hence probably the urge to seek these pools. Starvation, no
doubt, has some bearing on the fatal issue and this may to a
certain extent be voluntary in that the birds’ digestive organs
are so affected as to destroy all desire for food. In any case
there is no normal food available for them in these pools and
except during the first few days after their arrival, when a
certain number flight to and from the sea, they evince no
desire to leave the fresh water. Later they become too weak
to do so.
Occasionally odd birds seek fresh water much farther inland,
such as the Romney Marsh Fleets, three or four miles
from the sea, while Mr. B. J. Brooker informs me of single
corpses being found recently in the Brede valley and of a
living bird on the lake in Ashburnham Park between five and
seven miles inland.
An incidental point noticed by Mr. Arnold and confirmed
by my own observations over a number of years is the pre-
ponderance in these collections of oiled corpses of adult
males and especially in the case of Velvet-Scoters.
N. F. Ticehurst.
BLACK-THROATED DIVER IN WARWICKSHIRE.
On February 24th, 1938, on one of the groups of lakes at
Earlswood I discovered a Black-throated Diver ( Colymbus
a. arcticus). The bird, which was in winter plumage was
very tame, allowing of close approach, this together with
a good light and telescope rendered observation excellent.
The shape of the bill was necessarily the main feature in
identifying this bird.
356
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
During the afternoon I got in touch with Mr. H. G. Alexander
who visited the Reservoir and confirmed my diagnosis. The
bird was last seen on March 2nd.
It is interesting to note that although both Great Northern
and Red-throated Divers have appeared in the county from
time to time this is, as far as I am aware, the first time that
the Black-throated has been recorded. C. A. Norris.
ARCTIC RINGED PLOVER IN SOMERSET AND DEVON.
The under-mentioned skins in the Bristol Museum and Art
Gallery collections have been identified by Dr. G. Carmichael
Low as those of the Arctic Ringed Plover ( Charadrius h.
tundra) and he has kindly supplied the measurements.
Details are : —
Sex. Locality and Date.
Ad. Portishead, Somerset,
August 29th, 1922 ...
Ad. <$ Burnham, Somerset,
August 13th, 1923 ...
Juv. $ Cheriton Fitzpaine,
Devon, January 9th,
1935
These are the first definite records for Somerset and also,
it is believed, for Devon. H. Tetley.
Wing.
Tail
Bill.
T arsus.
130
56
15
25 mm.
128
52
15
25 mm.
125
49
14
24 mm.
THE LONG-TAILED SKUA IN THE CHANNEL
IN NOVEMBER.
V. C. Wynne-Edwards (“ On the Habits and Distribution
of Birds in the North Atlantic”, Proc. Boston Soc. Nat. Hist.,
Vol. XL, 1935, p. 306) convincingly shows how predominantly
the Long-tailed Skua ( Stercorarius longicaudus) is an oceanic
migrant and how rare by comparison is its coastwise transit.
For this reason and also because of its unusual lateness
it may be of interest to record an observation I made of the
species in the English Channel on November 2nd, 1937.
When crossing from Cherbourg to Southampton by the
Arlanza on that day, I became aware of the Skua among the
flock of following gulls (mostly Herring-Gulls with a few
Lesser Black-backs) when about half-way across, at 11.54 a.m.
I had a good view of this quite distinctive species on numerous
occasions as it gracefully kept its place with the gulls and
scrambled with them for cast-off scraps. It kept in the ship’s
company for the remainder of the journey, even continuing
for a little way up the Solent, when I lost sight of it. Wynne-
Edwards states that this species starts on its autumn passage
VOL. XXXI.]
NOTES.
357
to the south in the last week of July, the movement reaching
its maximum by the second half of August and being prac-
tically over by mid-October. He quotes October records for
the eastern Atlantic for Ushant and the Bay of Cadiz. My
observation appears to be among the latest on record for
this latitude. D. L. Serventy.
Early Martin in Gloucestershire. — Mr. R. N. H.
Whitehouse informs us that he and Mr. D. J. Brown observed
a Martin ( Delichon u. urbica ) near Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire,
on March 8th, 1938. The bird flew within a few yards of them
and they particularly observed its white rump and white
under-parts. This is a very early date for the appearance of
the bird.
Bee-eater in Cork. — Mr. A. E. 0. Waters states ( Irish
Nat. Journal, 1937, p. 278) that he saw a Bee-eater ( Merops
a piaster ) near Aghern, co. Cork, on August nth, 1937. Very
slight particulars are given, but from information supplied
the identification appears to have been correct.
Rough-legged Buzzards in Kent and Sussex. — A
Rough-legged Buzzard ( Buteo l. lagopus) was reported in
October, 1937, near Dungeness ( antea , p. 275) and Mr. R. I\.
Cornwallis and Miss J. M. Swan inform us that this bird has
remained in the same locality and on February 13th was seen
there with a second bird which they identified as of the same
species.
Early Garganey in Middlesex. — Mr. W. R. Philipson
informs us that he identified a drake Garganey (Anas quer-
quedula) on Ruislip Reservoir on March 7th, 1938, and that
the bird remained until the 10th.
Smews in Surrey. — Mr. P. A. S. Hirst informs us that he
saw a Smew (Mergus albellus ) on a pond near Godaiming on
February 13th, 1938, on the 16th and for several days later
two others were with it. The birds were in female plumage.
Little Auk Inland in Dorset. — Mr. G. K. Yeates informs
us that a Little Auk (A lie alle) was picked up apparently
exhausted, but in no way damaged, at Glanville’s Wooton
(about 20 miles inland) on February 15th, 1938.
Ruff in Devonshire in Winter. — Mr. R. F. Moore reports
that he with Messrs. Blackmore and Palmer watched a
Reeve ( Philomachus pugnax) in the Taw Estuary marshes
on December 12th, 1937.
358
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
REVIEW.
Handbuch der Deutschen Vogelkunde. Edited by G. Niethammer.
Bd. i. Passeres (Leipzig : Akademische Verlagsgesellschaft, 1937).
The late Ernst Hartert was so impressed with the plan of the Practical
Handbook that after this had been taken in hand he immediately
proposed the production of a similar handbook for Germany. Pre-
parations for this were actually begun under Dr. le Roi in 1913, but
his death and the War held up the work, and later the difficulty of
finding an editor was such that it was not until 1934 that Dr. G. Niet-
hammer undertook to carry it through, with the assistance of seven
other German ornithologists. The first volume of this excellent and
compact Handbook, which we understand is to be completed this
summer by a further volume in two sections, is now before us and
reflects the greatest credit on all concerned.
The main difference in plan of the Handbuch and the Practical
Handbook is that orders, families and genera are not described, no
reference is given to the original description in the synonymy and the
descriptions of plumages, moults and structure are much less full.
Unusual visitors are much less fully treated in all sections than residents
and regular migrants. On the other hand there is an additional section
on parasites and a section is devoted specially to habitat, as it is in our
new Handbook. The classification, following as it does Hartert’s Die
Vogel der paldarktischen Fauna, agrees closely with ours, though we
notice that the Sparrows and Snow-finches are retained in the Fringillidce
instead of being placed in the Ploceidce, which we now consider to be
their correct position, as will be seen in the new Handbook. The
nomenclature of this Handbuch and ours are remarkably uniform,
which justifies in a striking way the claim that adherence to the
principles of strict priority in nomenclature would bring uniformity.
The distributional data are divided under the heads of general
distribution of the species or “ Rassenkreis ”, general distribution of
the race or races occurring in Germany, German distribution or
occurrence of the same, and migrations, including ringing results.
This method entails some repetition, but certainly adds to lucidity
and the requisite space is secured by condensation in some of the
other sections. In the case of species in which no sub-species are
recognized the first two sections are combined in one. The diagram-
matic maps illustrating the distribution or migrations of certain
species are a new and valuable feature.
The section on field-characters while containing much useful matter
undoubtedly suffers from over-compression. This is particularly true
of the portion devoted to notes. We fully recognize that only a summary
treatment of the main notes is intended, but too often this is confined
to verbal renderings without, or without adequate, indications of the
quality of the sound, and rarely with any attempt at comparison with
the notes of allied species, even where this is important for field
purposes. There can be no doubt that a quite small expansion on the
lines indicated would have considerably enhanced the value to field
workers of the data given.
Undoubtedly the best and most complete section is that devoted to
Reproduction. Here we find a significant and very remarkable
advance. The Practical Handbook was a pioneer work in this field,
but the researches of the last twenty years have added enormously
to our knowledge of the life-history of birds. In the Handbuch a con-
siderable saving of space has been effected by the omission of all
VOL. XXXI.]
REVIEWS.
359
details of the breeding and often even the habitat of species which
do not nest in Germany. This is, we think, to be regretted, though it is
certainly arguable that the breeding of a rare migrant is not strictly
a point which concerns the field-worker on German birds. This is so.
Yet unless we have some details as to the reproduction of all species
it is impossible to generalize from those which happen to breed within
an arbitrary limit. But dealing with the German breeding species
alone, there is now the skeleton of a complete history of the breeding
cycle. Condensed, but useful, particulars are given in many cases
with regard to such matters as territorial behaviour, choice of nest-
site, etc., while data on age at which maturity is reached, period when
incubation commences, share of sexes in feeding, etc., are all new
features, and many details previously unknown have been added to
those already recorded. The work of British observers has been
carefully noted, though we find in some cases that notes on British
local races are incorporated without comment under corresponding
Continental forms. The work is naturally still incomplete, but has
set a new standard in general European literature on this subject.
A few errors and discrepancies are inevitable in work of this kind, but
the general advance is very striking.
The Food section has been carefully worked out, but in rather
general terms. Here again the work has been much simplified by the
omission of food paragraphs in the case of occasional visitors. Pre-
sumably the information given relates solely to German limits — but
we have not noticed any statement to that effect, though occasionally
there is a general statement as to the usual food in the breeding haunts
abroad. The book is illustrated, apart from the maps already men-
tioned, by good, if rather infrequent, text-figures and a coloured plate.
Dr. Niethammer and his collaborators have produced a thoroughly
sound and most useful work, which should afford a very valuable
aid and stimulus to ornithological work in Central Europe.
LETTERS.
INQUIRY INTO THE STATUS OF THE LANDRAIL OR
CORNCRAKE, 1938.
To the Editors of British Birds.
Sirs, — Since at one or two widely separated localities in the Midlands
this bird appears to be on the increase, and in places is actually
re-establishing itself after years of absence, it has been thought
desirable to hold a thorough inquiry into the present status of the
species throughout the British Isles and this has been arranged in
conjunction with the British Trust for Ornithology.
The Questionnaire sent out in this issue of British Birds is more
or less self-explanatory. It is, however, desired that as much attention
as possible should be paid to detail, especially in determining the
state of the land frequented, as it has been suggested that the cause
of the widespread decrease of the species was in some way connected
with this question.
It should be noted that even a negative answer is of value. Whilst
information not asked for in the Questionnaire will be welcome,
manuscript will not be returned.
In estimating numbers, care should be taken to avoid being misled
by the bird’s ventriloquistic powers.
All communications connected with this Inquiry should be addressed
to me. C. A. Norris.
Grassholme, Stratford-on-Avon.
360
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
BIRD-FLIES.
To the Editors of British Birds.
Sirs, — Once again may I make an urgent appeal to all those
ornithologists engaged in bird-ringing to collect ectoparasites, especially
bird-flies, from birds. Having recently received a copy of an interesting
report on the Hippoboscid flies collected from birds at the Austin
Ornithological Research Station on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, it seems
that we are far behind our American colleagues in making the utmost
use of our opportunities to obtain parasites from birds without killing
them. In order to learn something of the habits of these bird-flies
(and other parasites such as ticks, fleas and lice) a vast amount of
collecting is necessary and those engaged in bird-ringing have excellent
opportunities to collect the various parasites.
In a paper shortly to be published in the Entomologist’ s Monthly
Magazine, I have summarized briefly the evidence presented by about
seventy records of two common species of bird-flies, namely Ornitho-
myia avicularia (Linn.) and O. fringillina Curtis. The former species
seems to occur for the most part on the owls, hawks and pigeons, the
latter species on waders, game-birds and small passerines. Two other species
of bird-flies which are probably well known to most ornithologists are
C. pallida (Latr.) specific parasite of the Swift ( Apusa . apns) and S.hirun-
dinis (Linn.), specific parasite of the House-Martin ( Delichon u. urbica).
These bird-flies are a remarkable group of insects which have become
modified in accordance with their parasitic habits. They are dorso-
ventrally flattened insects, with a tough leathery integument ; the head
is sunk into an emargination of the thorax ; the eyes are large, the
antennas are inserted in a depression in the front of the head ; the
mouth parts are of a piercing type and all the species are blood suckers.
The legs are strong, bearing toothed claws. Ornithomyia spp. have
well developed wings and are able to fly, whereas the two species
occurring on the House-Martin and the Swift have reduced wings and
are quite unable to fly.
The particular points concerning which I am anxious to obtain
data are as follows : —
1. The earliest and latest dates when these flies are observed.
2. Whether the puparia (shining brown to black, ovoid, seed-like
bodies) are observed among the feathers or in the nests of birds.
3. Whether juvenilebirdsaremorefrequentlyparasitized than adults.
4. The extent to which birds carry these flies on migration. (It
seems fairly evident that they are not brought into the British Isles
to any great extent by migrating birds, but it will be interesting to
learn how many are found on birds leaving these islands on migration.)
5. The species of birds parasitized by the bird -flies. (Information
regarding the number of birds examined which do not bear these flies
is of equal interest.)
A method suggested by an American ornithologist for obtaining
bird-flies is to hold the bird for a brief period in front of a closed window
while its feathers are ruffled vigorously. The flies, then disturbed,
fly to the window where they can be easily placed in a small tube.
These flies together with any other parasites from a single bird
should be placed in a tube of approx. 70-80% alcohol together with a
label bearing the following data : (1) Name of host, (2) adult or juvenile
(sex, if possible), (3) locality, date and collector’s name and (4) migratory
or resident.
I shall be pleased to get into touch with anyone who is willing to
collect parasites. If necessary, I can supply small tubes. All material
received will be acknowledged and reported on. Communications
should be addressed to me as below. Gordon B. Thompson.
53, Arodene Road, London, S.W.2.
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Contents of Number 12, Vol. XXXI., May 2, 1938.
page
Breeding-Habits of the Dunlin. By R. H. Brown ... ... 362
Further Notes on the Habits of Sheld-Duck. By Henry Boase 367
Birds of Inner London. By A. Holte Macpherson ... ... 372
Notes from Reservoirs and Sewage Farms : —
Staffordshire Reservoirs, 1937 (By A. W. Boyd) ... ... 376
Altrincham Sewage Farm, Cheshire, 1937 (By A. W. Boyd)... 377
Notes : —
Water-Pipit seen in Cambridgeshire (E. L. Arnold and D. I.
Molteno) ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 380
Iceland Redwing in Renfrewshire (P. A. Clancey) ... ... 380
Share of Sexes in Incubation of the Dipper (Rev. F. C. R.
Jourdain) ... ... ... ... ••• ••• ••• 3$°
Little Stints in Spring in Northumberland (FI. Tully) ... 3S1
Tameness of Whooper Swans in Hampshire (Sir T. H. C.
Troubridge, Bart.) ... ... ... ... ... 381
Short Notes : —
Early Whinchats in Hampshire. Common Sandpiper in Kent
in Winter ... ... ... ... ••• ••• 3^2
Reviews : —
De Nederlandsche F ogels. Edited by Dr. C. G. B. ten Kate ... 383
A Historv of Richmond Park, with an Account of its Birds and
Animals. By C. L. Collenette ... ... ... ... 3^3
Studies of British Birds. By ” Fish-Hawk ” 384
Letter : —
Song of the Chaffinch (H. Rait Kerr) 384
AA
(362)
BREEDING-HABITS OF THE DUNLIN.
BY
R. H. BROWN.
The Dunlin ( Calidris a. schinzii) breeds on the salt marshes
fronting the Cumberland side of the Solway Firth and on the
fells of the north Pennines. On the salt marshes the breeding
ground is the level area of short grass intersected with little
creeks and gutters and occasional pools. The breeding ground
on the fells is usually above the two thousand feet altitude,
where stretches of peaty land, growing cotton grass and
broken up into hummocks and deep gutters, with odd little
peaty pools, occur amongst the short grass and moss and
creeping willow, with outcrops of limestone, that form the
vegetation of the fell summits.
On the salt marshes the Dunlin usually has for nesting
companions the Lapwing ( V anellus vanellus) and Redshank
( Tringa t. britannica ) and occasionally the Snipe ( Capella
g. gallinago) and Oystercatcher ( Hcematopus o. occidentalis)
and Ringed Plover ( Charadrius h. hiaticula). On the fells its
usual nesting companion is the Golden Plover ( Charadrius
a. apricarius), and occasionally the Lapwing and Snipe.
I have not, so far, found the Dunlin breeding at a greater
altitude than 2,700 ft. (young found) and have found both
the Golden Plover and the Lapwing breeding at this altitude —
young found of both species — whilst I have suspected the
Snipe of breeding at this altitude, as I have heard “ bleating ”
in the spring above such high-lying land. On the salt marshes
I have found occupied nests of the Dunlin and Redshank
thirty-Lve yards apart ; occupied nests of Dunlin and Snipe
twenty-two yards apart, and of Dunlin and Lapwing twenty
yards apart.
In April the Dunlin begins its courtship flight, which is
performed by both sexes, whilst frequently three, or even four,
birds partake in it and in addition it is often carried out whilst
the adults are rearing young. Thus, in twos or threes or fours
the Dunlins pursue each other in single file through the air,
in a very rapid flight full of sudden twists and sharp turns ;
varied with long intervals of gliding when the birds hold
their wings half vertically or V-shaped above their backs ;
legs straight out ; whilst a rich trilling note is uttered that
rises in cadence for several seconds, carrying a long way on
the still marsh air, then abruptly ceasing. When only two
birds, presumably cock and hen, partake in the courtship
flight, sometimes only the one bird (the cock ?) utters the
vol. xxxi ] BREEDING-HABITS OF DUNLIN.
3 f)3
trilling notes, but on several such occasions both birds of a
pair have been heard to utter the trilling notes, indicating
that the hen trills as well as the cock.
At times a Dunlin will fly almost perpendicularly into
the air, and, a certain altitude reached, will hover like a
Skylark, gently rising and falling, whilst trilling the lovely
rich notes that last for several seconds. Or again, after rising
vertically into the air a Dunlin will begin to glide, with wings
outstretched and slightly arched, head upturned, legs straight
out, and uttering first a series of slow notes that finally merge
into the rich trilling notes that rise in cadence for several
seconds and then cease.
Although it is more usual for the birds to glide with their
wings held half-vertically, on several occasions, especially
after hovering, they have been observed to glide with wings
outstretched and slightly arched, and twice the gliding bird,
before trilling, has made a peculiar humming noise that, on
a small scale, can be likened to the sound made by the wind
through telegraph wires. A somewhat similar humming
noise, although on a larger scale, is occasionally made by the
Golden Plover during its courtship flight.
The trilling notes are sometimes uttered whilst the birds
are walking in single file on the mud flats, and parties of obvious
non-breeding Dunlins will occasionally burst forth into the
trilling notes.
There is probably a display on the ground as after perform-
ing the courtship flight a Dunlin, on alighting, will frequently
hold one wing aloft, bannerlike, to display the silvery-white
underparts.
The nest is usually hollowed out in a small tuft of grass,
the nest site generally near a pool or small creek. Exceptionally
a depression in a grass mound or a peat mound is lined and
used, a type of nest site used by the Golden Plover.
I have not found a full clutch of eggs earlier than May ioth,
but on the other hand day-old nestlings have been found by
May 27th one year, and in four different years by May 29th.
Mr. Jourdain in Practical Handbook of British Birds, quotes
W. Evans’s record of the incubation period as twenty-two days;
therefore the eggs that had hatched on May 27th must have
been laid by May 5th, and those that hatched on May 29th
by May 7th. These records refer to the salt marshes but day-
old nestlings have been found on the fells, at an altitude of
2,700 ft., by June 1st.
The nestlings are an attractive sight on a fine sunny day
when crouched on the short turf ; their small size, the rich,.
364
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
warm, reddish-buff down shading in places to light fawn and
tipped with whitish spots, their little downy bodies make an
agreeable contrast with the emerald green of the marsh turf.
The nestlings are brooded fairly constantly for the first
few days of their lives, usually by the hen, but at times the
cock will brood them, and it is during this period that the
nestlings are easiest to find. After they are a week old and
there is no longer any necessity, especially if the weather is
fine and warm, to brood them constantly, the young take to
hiding in the gutters and creeks and are very difficult to find,
as the adults will not reveal their hiding places, but merely
stand, at times preening themselves, and call to their young
in hiding. I have ringed forty-three nestlings, and the
majority were found when only a few days old.
When a pair of Dunlins have young a few days old, usually
one adult, presumably the hen, will brood them whilst the
cock keeps guard. As soon as a human being approaches the
vicinity of the brooding adult the cock gives the alarm note,
a short, sharp “ twee", at the same time flying up into the
air where he is quickly joined by the hen, and the two adults
will fly around for several minutes in their rapid twisting
flight, varied with intervals of gliding with their wings held
half-vertical when the trilling notes are uttered. Finally, if the
intruder is seated, both adults will presently alight near him
and begin calling to each other, a note like “ quoi-quoi".
Then the cock slowly walks towards the intruder until he is
within twelve or fifteen yards distance of him, the hen
meanwhile remaining stationary. The cock is now stationary
but still calls to the hen which, after a varying interval of
time, if she thinks everything is safe, flies back to her young
in a series of short flights, seldom more than three in number,
her last flight landing her beside her young. As long as the
human intruder makes no movement the cock wifi continue
to call the “ quoi-quoi " notes at intervals to the brooding
hen, but should the intruder attempt to find the young, then
the cock at once gives the alarm-note, the sharp “ twee",
and the hen usually flies off the young.
On one occasion a pair behaved as above except that the
hen walked slowly through the grass for about sixty yards
and then disappeared where she was flushed from a nest of
unchipped eggs.
On three occasions I have found one adult only with the
young, and on two of these occasions the adult, when disturbed
from the young, has crept along the ground Sandpiper-fashion,
with its back humped, tail fan-spread and trailing, wings
vol. xxxi ] BREEDING-HABITS OF DUNLIN.
365
outspread with their tips trailing on the ground, the bird
uttering the single alarm note of “ twee”. On the third
occasion the adult, when disturbed from young, flew around
the air, frequently gliding with half-vertical wings and
trilling the rich notes of the courtship song. If the first two
adults from their behaviour were hens, then possibly the third
adult, from its behaviour, was a cock. When both adults of a
pair are present it is usual for the brooding adult to fly off
the young, but once the young have been found, and especially
if the young run a few yards to take fresh hiding, one adult will
approach the intruder within a few feet and then begin
creeping away from him with humped back and trailing tail
and wings, whilst the other adult runs ahead calling, or flies
around, hovering at times. It is assumed that it is usually
the hen that creeps Sandpiper-fashion along the ground,
although, of course, the cock may display like this. Certainly
both adults assist at times in brooding the young, as on
three separate occasions I have watched both the cock and
the hen of a pair brooding the young in turn, and on one
occasion I saw a pair changing-over during incubation.
One day a solitary adult was flushed from a brood of six
young and began creeping along the ground with humped
back and trailing wings and tail, at times uttering the alarm
note, and in a very short time six or seven adults arrived
upon the scene and began running ahead and calling or flying
around and gliding or hovering. After an adult had alighted
from such a flight it frequently displayed with one wing held
aloft, bannerlike, to show the silvery white underparts.
On the coast and about the estuaries flocks of non-breeding
black-breasted adults may be seen throughout the summer
months, but on the salt marshes where the species breeds,
flocking of the breeding adults and young is not usual before
the second or third week in July although exceptionally
I noticed flocking in one year by the end of June. On the
other hand I have watched breeding adults on the salt marshes
in the second week of July which from their behaviour
obviously had young in hiding.
I have seen black-breasted Dunlins until the second week
of October and white-breasted birds, in winter plumage,
until the first week of April.
Once the breeding season is ended the salt marshes and fells
are deserted until the next breeding season and the Dunlins
are now to be found about the estuaries and low-lying coast,
where they congregate commonly in flocks of hundreds whilst
occasionally two or three of these flocks may unite and form
366
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
one large flock of several thousand birds, and the aerial
evolutions of such a large flock on a sunny winter’s day, now
strung out in one long column, then hanging like a gigantic
swarm of bees in the air, are very fascinating to watch. The
Dunlin also associates readily with other waders, and parties
or small flocks of Dunlins are commonly found during the
autumn months feeding in company with Ringed Plovers or
Sanderlings or Curlew-Sandpipers about the newly exposed
mudflats or where the ebbing tide has left a thin film of water
upon a stretch of sand ; whilst in company with Sanderlings
the Dunlins frequently feed in the tidal shallows, although
the Sanderlings usually wade in deeper than the Dunlins.
Ringed Plovers and Sanderlings are also its associates during
the winter months, as well as Knots and Redshanks and
Godwits.
(307)
FURTHER NOTES ON THE HABITS
OF SHELD-DUCK.
BY
HENRY BOASE.
In British Birds for January, 1935 (Vol. XXVIII.,
pp. 218-224), the writer gave an account of the courtship and
other habits of Shelcl-Duck ( Tadorna tadorna). Since then
other matters of interest in the life-history of this species
have come under notice, and these are detailed in this paper.
Little additional material has been found relating to the
courtship. Reference is made in the 1935 notes to the
distinctive forms of greeting used by the male and female.
On March 3rd, 1935, these two forms were seen used at
different times by a male and a female, both apparently
unmated, without producing any response on the part of the
other birds present (both male and female). It seems
therefore that these two forms are definite display acts in
themselves. Another minor variation relates to the
ak-ak-ak ” trill. In April, 1936, a number of pairs feeding
along the tide line gave trills so altered as to recall the call
of Linnet in flock. The calling seemed to run in waves from
silence to silence, and the sounds produced were quite unlike
any normal duck notes so far heard.
Some records have been got which indicate that pairs may
remain intact during the whole year. Pairs have been seen
on the following dates : September 29th, 1934, September
8th, 1936, October 28th, 1922, October 10th, 1937, July 14th,
I935> July 27th, 1937, and repeated records in December.
So far, display has been seen only once before January
(October 25th, 1924), and only three times in January itself.
There is little doubt, however, that the bulk of the Sheld-Duck
are unmated during the winter.
During the last year or two the writer has paid some
attention to the question of plumage details of paired birds.
(Breeding pairs — that is, pairs with broods — are too few to
serve here.) So far as field observation can go, there seems
no doubt that one or both birds of a pair may show clear
traces of juvenile characters in plumage. On the other hand,
in the first days of March, 1937, a party of sixteen Sheld-Duck
was noticed keeping apart. These were examined on March
20th, and at least eight (which could be seen properly) showed
juvenile characters, and one had no trace of the chestnut
pectoral band. One at least of this group lingered on its own
until mid-May, and farther up-river two birds together with
dull brown primaries were seen on the same day. A Sheld-Duck
368
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
without the pectoral band was seen off Kingoodie on
May 26th . probably the bird seen in March. Similar records for a
single bird and for a couple in this plumage were seen in
April, 1935. At the end of June, 1937, two groups of seeming
adults (the range was too great for detailed examination)
were seen feeding in close company, evidently quite free
from the jealousies of courtship, yet pairs were numerous all
round them, ready to dispute with each other, and the single
partners of brooding birds were feeding alone as usual. The
number of birds present in June, 1937, amounted to about one
hundred, although counts for May and July reached one
hundred and fifty, so that the possible non-breeding group
may have been from 13 to 20 per cent, of the total.
During the last few years, a partial albino Sheld-Duck
has been seen repeatedly. It was first noticed in a party
of young birds and one or two adults in eclipse on October 3rd,
1933, and recorded tentatively as abnormal. Not until 1935
was it seen again (if it were the same bird), on April 28th,
and it lingered until June 2nd at least. At that time the
black area of the head and neck in the abnormal bird was
ashy-brown, the back was ashy, the wing-quills brown, and
the pectoral band was absent. Seen again on April 5th, 1936,
the head was patchy, the little colouring being pale ashy-brown.
The bill was dull orange-red. This bird was seen again in
1937 during May and up till July 6th.
When this albino was seen off Kingoodie on April 5th, 1936,
it seemed to be in company with a group of four or five pairs
and one unattached bird judged to be a male. The abnormal
bird seemed to be of interest to the solo male and also to the
males of the various pairs. When it swam near, all seemed to
watch it. Twice at least the albino gave the “ bill-toss ’*
display (a male act), yet it also gave the “ scooping ” action
used by the normal female in greeting its mate. The males
seemed puzzled. Later, the albino seemed to join company
with the unattached male, but was later seen alone. In 1937
it was seen once again on one occasion in company with a
normal adult.
The appearance year after year of this marked bird gives
a clue to the possible life of the Sheld-Duck, and, of course,
demonstrates the return to the same area each year. It is
probable that it was a juvenile of the year when first seen in
1933, so that in 1937 it was already five years old.
Some matters of interest relating to breeding have been
met with in the last year or two. In 1937 two broods were
seein on Lochendores on July 1st. One brood consisted of
I
vol. xxxi ] NOTES ON HABITS OF SHELD-DUCK. 369
seven recent young with the two adults, the other of five
recent young but without the adults in attendance. Four days
later both pairs were present and the broods had shrunk to
five and one. Again after four days (on the 9th) two pairs
of adults were seen — one pair without any young, the other
with only two. On the 13th only one pair remained and the
two young seemed healthy, and these remained until July
27th. On the 30th only one adult and one juvenile were left.
They were there again on the 31st but on August 7th none
remained. There was nothing to indicate what had caused the
loss of the broods ; perhaps the rather cold weather and heavy
rain of the period had something to do with it. At the end
of July the juvenile was about half grown. During the whole
of the time at Lochendores, both adults (but particularly the
female) were very nervous and called the juveniles into hiding
when they found themselves under observation. Sometimes
both adults went into the reed-bed with the brood, more
usually the male remaining outside. At first the juveniles
merely picked food from the herbage and the surface of the
water, but by the 9th the two survivors were diving — an easy
slow dive, almost a glide under water — with a duration of
dive of about six seconds. On one occasion both were running
actively to and fro on the shore, feeding restlessly, a behaviour
usual on. the mud-flats of the estuary. On July 18th one
juvenile was “ up-ending ” on the shallows and one diving,
and on the 30th the survivor was “ up-ending ”.
On the Tay Estuary, or at least on that part under
observation by the writer, no broods were seen in 1937 until
July 6th, when broods of five, four, five and seven, all within
seven days old, and one brood of two, almost half grown (say,
one month old) were seen on the flats, each brood in charge
of the two adults. Of more interest, however, was the
presence of a “ pack ” of at least thirty-seven juveniles,
perhaps of slightly different age, if size is any indication,
in charge of one adult only. This pack numbered twenty-nine
on July 23rd still with the adult, and twenty-three on July
28th ; then no adult was with them. My absence from the
district broke the sequence of the records and it is only
surmise to suggest that the party of juveniles and perhaps
one or two adults in eclipse, in all twenty-six on September
5th, twenty-nine on September 9th, and thirty-two on
September 26th, were in the main the survivors of the pack.
The only other indication of this behaviour was got on August
1st, 1936, when one adult was seen in company with nine
juveniles, about three-quarter grown. On three other dates
370
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
in August, this party of juveniles was seen, on the 3rd with
the adult and on the 15th and 25th alone, and by then reduced
to eight. It is, of course, quite possible that this was a brood
complete in itself. On the other hand, the rather marked
absence of broods in most years, and the apparent high
mortality of those watched, suggests the packing so clearly
found in 1937. Attention was drawn to the group of nine in
the first instance at long range by the rapid motions of the
young birds as they fed over the flats. They kept up a steady
run, sweeping over an area repeatedly in line abreast for the
most part. This behaviour was noticed in the much larger
pack seen in 1937 and was in itself so conspicuous as to render
it unlikely that previous packs could have been overlooked.
Actually the five broods, equal to twenty-three, and the
thirty-seven juveniles in the pack, represent the total number
of young detected for a total number of pairs of about
seventy, assuming the counts of May 14th and July nth
to represent peak figures. The count for July 6th — the
date of these broods, etc. — was made to be at least ninety-three,
and possibly one hundred and ten, or only about two-thirds
of the peak figure, so the fifty juveniles seen represent
an increase at that early stage of their lives of only
about 50 per cent, on the lower count and 33 per cent,
on the higher, a remarkably low figure. Not only so, but the
figures for 1937 are far higher than anything that has ever
been recorded before for juveniles, while that for adults,
certainly greater than ever before, but not more than 25 per
cent, on previous high counts. There is, of course, the
complication that Sheld-Duck may take the young brood
away to other feeding grounds at once, just as the Eider does,
yet the counts of adults does not indicate this at all. That
the Sheld-Duck holds its own and even increases must be
accounted for by the absence of effective enemies rather
than fertility, and so the records for the albino already referred
to take a new interest in giving some indication of the
possible life.
The actual numbers of Sheld-Duck passing the summer in
the upper portion of the Tay Estuary (that section from the
western boundary of Dundee extending westwards about
three miles) seem to have increased greatly in recent years.
Although in April, 1919, the count reached 100, this
figure was not equalled again until 1935 (120 mid-May).
In 1936, the highest count was 108 and in May, 1937, the count
reached 150 and remained at this figure up to July nth at
least. When tabulated, the figures show an increase from
vol. xxxi ] NOTES ON HABITS OF SHELD-DUCK. 371
before the War ; the rate of increase, however, seems to be a
good deal higher in the last few years.
At the beginning of July, 1937, the pairs at Lochendores
were watched to determine the onset of moult. On July 1st
the female of the pair present showed traces of change, and
the male seemed perfect. By July 18th the male was clearly
in moult about the base of the bill (white feathers showing),
and on July 23rd both were very ragged. On the Tay Estuary
some individuals had already lost the pectoral band at this
time. The male did not depart from the loch until after
July 27th, and the female after July 31st. From the very
rapid decrease in numbers on the flats off Kingoodie, from
about 150 on July nth to ten on July 28th, and only one on
August 16th, clearly the imminent moult compelled a depar-
ture to cover, and seemed to fix the main period of moult
for early August. In 1922 one adult lingered at Lochendores
until August 10th, surely an exceptionally late date, and
reference has been made to the adult (probably a female)
with the small pack of juveniles until August 3rd. The
August records indicate that few show themselves at this
time. Presumably they are in hiding at this time in the
reed-beds of the upper estuary as no indication of them has
been got far out on the flats. This is in contrast with the
behaviour of Mallard. In September, in some years at least,
there is an abrupt reappearance about the second week.
Some of the evidence seems to point to these birds being
almost all juveniles of the year and as later opportunities
arise for examining them, this point will be investigated still
further. The return to breeding dress seems to be irregular.
The numbers seen in autumn and winter are not great so
that records on this point are rather few. The earliest record
so far of the breeding dress showing well (that is, the head
black and the chestnut band showing clearly) is September
2 1st, 1924. Other early records are September 29th, 1934
October 5th, 1924, October 8th, 1933, October nth, 1936
and October 10th, 1937. In the Tay Estuary September
records appear to be exceptional. Juveniles of the year may
be much later in changing to the first adult dress. Several
seen on November 15th, 1925, and on November 4th, 1934,
showed no sign of change, and three seen on December 7th,
1937, were far from perfect. One still without any trace of
the pectoral band was seen on January 7th, 1935.
(372)
BIRDS OF INNER LONDON.
BY
A. HOLTE MACPHERSON.
During 1937 there was one addition to the list published in
this magazine in 1929 (Vol. XXII, pp. 222-244) and
subsequently extended.* The list, excluding doubtful
occurrences, now numbers 141 species or sub-species.
Additional Species.
A Red-necked Grebe (Podiceps g. griseigena) appeared on
the Round Pond, Kensington Gardens, on January 31st and
remained there till Februa^ 10th. It has already been
recorded in these pages (Vol. XXX, p. 323).
Additional Notes in 1937.
As was the case in the previous year, only one pair of
Jackdaws ( Colceus m. spermologus ) appears to have bred in
Kensington Gardens, where Miss M. S. van Oostveen watched
a young bird being fed by its parents.
A Goldfinch ( Carduelis c. britannica) was seen on the bank
of the Regent’s Canal on June 16th by Mr. D. Seth-Smith, and
another by Sir Cyril Hurcomb on December 3rd near Ken-
sington Palace. Mr. G. W. Collett saw a Lesser Redpoll
[Carduelis f. cabaret ) in St. lames’s Park on November 3rd
(C. S. Bayne).
On March 2nd Mr. D. Seth-Smith noticed a Brambling
( Fringilla montifringilla) in a flock of mixed finches on
Primrose Hill.
A Grey Wagtail ( Motacilla c. cinerea) was seen by a pond
in the Zoological Gardens on January 17th and another by
the Regent’s Canal on September 24th (D. Seth-Smith).
Mr. C. W. Baxter saw one on October 29th in Hyde Park.
On January 17th a Nuthatch (Sitta e. affmis) visited the
garden of Mr. G. R. Hayes at 177, Holland Park Avenue.
When Spotted Flycatchers ( Muscicapa s. striata) arrived,
the Parks were almost entirely covered with tents, but there
is evidence that one or two pairs remained and bred.
A Chiffchaff ( Phylloscopus c. collybita) with an unusual
song could be heard almost any day from the beginning of
May until the second week of July in the grounds of
*For other reports on this subject see Vol. XXIII, pp. 266-268 ;
Vol. XXIV, pp. 323-325 ; Vol. XXV, pp. 355-356 ; Vol. XXVI,
pp. 292-294 ; Vol. XXVIII, pp. 34-35 and 292-294 ; Vol. XXIX,
PP- 345-348 I Vol. XXX, pp. 365-368.
vol. xxxi ] BIRDS OF INNER LONDON.
373
Holland House. The song began normally, but its end was
indistinguishable from that of a Willow-Warbler. It appeared
to be a solitary bird.
There was no very hard weather during the year. I saw
only one Fieldfare ( Turdas pilaris ) which was in Kensington
Gardens in December, and fewer Redwings ( Turdas musicus)
than usual were reported.
Several Wheatears ( (Enanthe ce. cenanthe ) were noticed
in spring, but observations at this season were greatly
hampered by preparations for the military camps which
occupied most of the Parks in connexion with the Coronation
Celebrations.
No Redstarts ( Phasnicur-us ph. phcenicurns) were reported
during the spring migration, but one was seen on September
4th by Mr. C. W. Baxter in Kensington Gardens.
A Kingfisher ( Alcedo a. ispida) visited the Long Water in
September and was noticed by several observers. I saw
another there a month later.
A Green Woodpecker ( Ficus v. virescens ) frequented the
garden of Marlborough House for some weeks, and Mr.
Hinton, the bird keeper, tells me that it occasionally visited
St. James’s Park.
Great Spotted Woodpeckers ( Dryobates m. anglicus ) were
noticed in Kensington Gardens and various squares in the
neighbourhood. A pair was seen in St. John’s Wood and
Regent’s Park, and on October 2nd one visited the Zoological
Gardens (D. Seth-Smith). A pair bored a hole 25 feet up the
trunk of an elm in the grounds of Holland House, but Starlings
took possession of it.
The Lesser Spotted Woodpecker ( Dryobates m. comminutus)
was reported from Kensington Gardens on four occasions :
by Mr. C. W. Baxter on March 23rd, by Miss M. S. van
Oostveen on April 9th and September 6th, and by Mr. F.
Verry on November 7th.
The Cuckoo ( Cuculus c. canorus ) was heard by Miss M. S.
van Oostveen on April 24th in Kensington Gardens ; and by
myself on May 6th in Regent’s Park, and May 14th in Holland
House grounds.
No less than four Kestrels ( Falco t. tinnunculus ) were seen
soaring over the Imperial Institute in the last week of
February. Some weeks later a pair established itself in a
window slit high up on the western tower of that building
and were watched on many days by Mrs. E. MacAlister.
From their behaviour it is probable that they nested, though
the fact was not definitely established.
374
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
The Sparrow-Hawk ( Accipiter n. nisus) was reported three
times : from Regent’s Park on March ist, on the bank of the
Regent’s Canal on October 31st, and over the Zoological
Gardens on December 18th (D. Seth-Smith).
In June two broods of Mallard ( Anas p. platyrhyncha ) were
hatched in long grass among the tombstones in Brompton
Cemetery.
A large proportion of the Tufted Duck ( Nyroca fuligula )
to be seen in winter on the waters round London must have
sprung from St. James’s Park, where for some years 80 to 100
or more have been bred annually. In 1937 a North American
White Pelican recently deposited in that Park developed a
taste for the ducklings. The Superintendent estimated that
not more than 40 Tufted ducklings escaped.
A Shag ( Phalacrocorax a. aristotelis) was seen by Mr. W. B.
Alexander on the Serpentine on February 17th. Another was
caught alive by a policeman in Golden Square, Soho, on
December 14th and was taken to the Zoological Gardens, where
it soon died. A third Shag was identified by Mr. E. G. Pedler
on December 17th on the Serpentine.
As usual, Great Crested Grebes ( Podiceps c. cristatus)
appeared on various occasions in spring and autumn in Hyde
Park and Kensington Gardens. Two were also reported from
Regent’s Park.
A Slavonian Grebe ( Podiceps auritus) was to be seen from
February ist to 6th on the Serpentine and Long Water. It
was the second known to have occurred in Inner London and
has already been recorded in this magazine (Vol. XXX, p. 323).
From one to four Little Grebes ( Podiceps r. ruficollis) were
on the Round Pond on many days in the autumn. One
appeared on the lake in Regent’s Park in November and one
was seen on December 10th on the Regent’s Canal
(D. Seth-Smith).
Mr. T. R. Garnett saw three Common Sandpipers ( Totanus
hypoleucos ) on May 7th on the steps leading to the Thames
near Westminster Bridge. In the autumn, the species was
identified in Kensington Gardens on three occasions : one
bird being seen by Dr. G. Carmichael Low on August nth,
one by myself on August 16th, and two by Mr. E. G. Pedler
on August 27th.
A Woodcock (( Scolopax r. rusticola) was seen by Mr. T. R.
Garnett on March 27th in Vincent Square, Westminster ; it
flew quite close to him in an easterly direction. Another was
flushed by Mr. Hinton on October 30th from the Kensington
Gardens bird sanctuary.
vol. xxxi ] BIRDS OF INNER LONDON.
375
A Common 'Fern ( Sterna h. hirundo) was seen by Major
W. M. Beckwith on September nth over the Round Pond.
Owing to the dense fog on Christmas Day, hundreds of
Black-headed Gulls ( Lams r. ridibundus ) which leave the
Parks each evening at sunset to roost on the reservoirs
surrounding London, had to spend the night in town. The
Superintendent reported that the Gulls were very agitated ;
the loud cries of the invisible birds sounding most mysterious.
I saw a Scandinavian Lesser Black-backed Gull ( Lams f.
fuscus) on the Serpentine on February 6th, and again on
November 25th. Another for three days in March frequented
the Round Pond, where it was observed by Dr. G. Carmichael
Low and myself.
On November 5th Mr. C. S. Bayne saw an adult Kittiwake
( Rissa t. tridactyla), a bird of very rare occurrence in London.
He had excellent views of it as it hew round and round over
the lake in St. James’s Park.
A Puffin ( Fr liter cilia a. grabce) was found alive on the
Thames Embankment on November 21st and was taken to
the Zoological Gardens where it died about a week later.
In January a Common Partridge ( Perdix p. perdix) was
found, alive but injured, in the garden of Buckingham Palace.
It was taken to St. James’s Park and handed over to the
bird-keeper but did not long survive.
Note. — I have omitted a Wood-Lark, recorded as having been
seen in Regent’s Park. The observer saw the bird flying over his
head and identified it by its short tail and characteristic flight, but he
heard no note and did not see any other diagnostic character.
It should also be mentioned that a Sandwich Tern over the Round
Pond and a Little Gull on the Serpentine were recorded, but a good
naturalist was satisfied that the Tern was a Common Tern ; and with
regard to the Little Gull other observers searched the Serpentine for it
in vain, and the observer himself expressed to me his doubts as to
whether the bird was not a Black-headed !
(376)
NOTES FROM RESERVOIRS AND SEWAGE
FARMS.
STAFFORDSHIRE RESERVOIRS, 1937.
The following notes refer to Bellfields Reservoir except when
Gailey Pool is specially mentioned.
Once again Mr. H. G. Alexander has kindly sent me his
notes and others made by Miss C. K. James and Messrs. G. M.
King, H. LI. Wilson and C. Wilson.
Hooded Crow ( Corvus c. cornix). — One shot at Gailey on November
28th (Mrs. LI. Twentyman).
White Wagtail ( Motacilla a. alba). —One or more on March 29th
(H. G. A.).
Garganey (Anas querquedula) . — A pair on June 28th (H. G. A.).
Wigeon ( Anas penelope). — Reached their maximum at the end of
December (about 400 — H. G. A.). There had been an increase in the
previous February when up to 300 were seen (A. W. B.). One shot on
August 14th near Pen bridge (C. Wilson).
Pintail ( Anas a. acuta).— Two on November 29th (A. W. B.).
Shoveler ( Spatula clypeata). — Throughout the year. Most in
January, February, March and November up to 30 in number.
Pochard (Nyroca f. ferina). — Throughout the year. Two lots seen
on June 28th may possibly have been family parties (H. G. A.).
Largest flock 170 at Gailey, September 24th (H. G. A.).
Tufted Duck (Nyroca fuligula). — In increased numbers : over 150
at Gailey in February, March and September and about 150 at Bellfields
on April 28th ; on June 28th about 80 (H. G. A.).
Goldeneye (Bucephala c. clangula). — Fewer than usual : from Janu-
ary 2nd to April 28th but never more than eleven. Again in November
and December.
Long-tailed Duck (Clangula hy emails). — Two recorded at the end
of 1936 remained till March 29th.
Goosander (Mergus m. merganser) . — Throughout January and
February to March 29th. In pairs in March (H. G. A.). Largest number
23 to 25, February 21st (A. W. B.). First seen in autumn on November
29th — one drake ; 39 on December 27th (A. W. B.).
Smew (Mergus albellus). — Three (one ad. drake) on February 21st
(A. W. B.) and a pair on March 10th (H. LI. W.).
Cormorant (Phalacrocorax c. carbo). — At Gailey January 12th,
February 1st, March 29th, April 13th. Two at Bellfields November
10th (G. M. K.).
Slavonian Grebe (Podiceps auritus). — In rather unusual numbers.
First seen (3) on February 15th (A. W. B.), and on February 18th,
4 or 5 (H. G. A.). On February 21st and March 14th, one ; on March
29th, two (H. G. A.). On April 25th, two — one in full plumage (A. W. B.)
and one on May 1st in half plumage (G. M. K.).
Red-necked Grebe (Podiceps g. griseigena) . — One on February 18th
(H. G. A.), and on February 21st (A. W. B.).
Black-throated Diver (Colymbus a. arcticus). — One at Gailey
March 20th (C. K. J. and H. LI. W.) and on March 29th (H. G. A.).
Red-throated Diver (Colymbus stellatus). — On February 18th,
two at Gailey (H. G. A.).
Ringed Plover (Charadrius hiaticula). — One (or 3) on September
24th (H. G. A.).
vol. xxxi ] NOTES FROM RESERVOIRS.
377
Knot ( Calidris c. canutus). — One on November loth (G. M. K.).
Dunlin ( Calidris alpina). — One March 29th and four September
24th (H. G. A.).
Common Sandpiper ( Tringa hypoleucos). — In April, on June 28th
and on September 24th (H. G. A.).
Jack Snipe ( Lymnocryptes minimus). — In January, on September
24th and in December (H. G. A.). In November (A. W. B.). Near
Penkridge first on October 2nd and subsequently 20 to 30 seen in a
day (C. W.).
Black Tern ( Chlidonias n. niger). — One on April 25th (A. W. B.).
Black-headed Gull ( Larus r. ridibundus). — Common in the winter
months — often about 100 present. Seen also in April and on Tune 28th
(2— H. G. A.).
Common Gull ( Larus c. canus). — Seen only on January 12th (1 —
H. G. A.).
Herring-Gull ( Larus a. argentatus). — A few in the winter months
and odd immature birds in March and April.
Coot ( Fulica a. atra). — Though numerous never in such great
numbers as in some years. June 28th, about 100 (H. G. A.) and
December 27th, 200 (A. W. B.). At Gailey 197 on November 29th.
A. W. Boyd.
ALTRINCHAM SEWAGE FARM, CHESHIRE, 1937.
The following notes have been compiled from the observa-
tions of Messrs. R. Storey, G. G. Uttley and myself and
include several sent to me by Mr. E. L. Arnold. As usual the
migration of waders was at its height in the last week of
August and first two of September. A Glaucous Gull was a
new bird to the farm and, indeed, to Cheshire.
Yellow Wagtail (Motacilla f. rayi). — Last seen on October 2nd —
a late date (A. W. B.).
Sheld-Duck ( Tadorna tadorna). — One on four days in January and
two on April 25th.
Pintail ( Anas a. acuta). — A pair on May 19th (A. W. B.).
Shoveler ( Spatula clypeata). — Seen in May, June (eleven on 21st
(R. S.) ) and September.
Ringed Plover ( Charadrius hiaticula). — In each month from April
to October ; often seen. The largest number was 39 on August 21st.
Golden Plover ( Charadrius apricarius). — Though the largest
numbers have been, as usual, found on meadow-land in the neighbour-
hood (200 on January 21st), they visited the farm more often than in
other years and were almost always present from August to November
— at least 100 on August 30th, 60 on November 2nd.
Lapwing ( V anellus vanellus). — Mr. R. Storey kept a careful record
of this species : March 20th to April 15th — fifty, decreasing to twelve ;
June 20th to July 10th — twelve, increasing to forty (very many
August 2 1st (A. W. B.) ) ; September 15th to 30th — variable numbers
up to 150 ; December 15th to 30th — one to six — only one when tanks
frozen.
Turnstone ( Arenaria i. interpres). — Two on August 15th and one
almost daily till September 12th.
Ruff ( Philomachus pugnax). — On June 21st a Ruff in full breeding
plumage and a Reeve on June 28th (R. S.). One on July 26th (A. W. B.).
BB
378
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
From August ist to October 2nd usually a few ; six on September
18th (A. W. B.) and twelve on September 19th (G. G. U.) the largest
numbers.
Sanderling (Crocethia alba). — Two in full plumage on May 19th,
one on May 27th and one on August 21st (A. W. B.). One August 22nd
and two on October 3rd (R. S.). It never occurs in any numbers ;
more this year than usual.
Knot ( Calidris c. canutus). — A chestnut-breasted bird on August
28th and two on September 4th (A. W. B.). Five on September 19th
and one on November 7th (G. G. U.) ; one December 31st (E. L. A.).
Dunlin ( Calidris alpina). — In every month of the year except
possibly in June in rapidly changing numbers. Specially numerous in
spring (87 on May 8th (R. S.) ) and again in July, August, September.
Curlew-Sandpiper ( Calidris testacea). — From August 21st to
October 3rd a few almost always present ; largest number fifteen on
September 5th (A. W. B.).
Little Stint ( Calidris minuta). — One on three days in January
(R. S. and A. W. B.) ; one September 26th and 27th (G. G. U. and
E. L. A.).
Common Sandpiper ( Tringa hypoleucos). — First seen April nth
(G. G. U.).
Green Sandpiper ( Tringa ochropus ). — Seen singly in June, July,
August and September. Three on August 15th and one November 2nd
(G. G. U.).
Common Redshank ( Tringa totanus). — Thioughout the year in
fluctuating numbers. Fewer in May than in other months. Greatest
numbers : 200 on January 13th (R. S.) ; 2/300 on July 25th and 100 on
August 15th (G. G. U.) ; 100/120 September 4th (A. W. B.).
Spotted Redshank {Tringa erythropus). — Singly on April 19th
September 18th and 20th (A. W. B.), and on November 7th (G. G. U.).
Greenshank {Tringa nebularia). — One May ist (E. L. A.) and May
15th (R. S.) — rarely seen in spring. Two on July nth (G. G. U.) ;
three, August 15th (G. G. U. and A. W. B.) and one August 22nd (R. S.).
Bar-tailed Godwit ( Limosa l. lapponica) . — One on May 8th (R. S.j.
Black-tailed Godwit {Limosa l. limosa ). — Three on May ist and
one on September 7th (E. L. A.). One from September 8th to 12th
(A. W. B.).
Curlew {Numenius a. arquata). — Still strangely uncommon ; seen
in April, August, September and October, but never more than two
together.
Snipe {Capella g. gallinago) . — At the maximum in the first week of
September, when several hundred were present. An increase was noted
early in August and by August 21st very many in close flocks. These
large numbers persisted through September and October.
Black Tern {Chlidonias n. niger ). — One on August 13th (A. W. B.).
Common or Arctic Tern {Sterna h. hirundo vel macrura). — One on
May 8th (R. S.).
Little Gull {Larus minutus). — One seen on November 14th
(G. G. U.).
Glaucous Gull {Larus hyperboreus) First seen on August 29th by
Mr. G. R. Vlies and on the 30th by A. W. B. It was seen on a number
of occasions up to September 20th by several observers ; on the last
date it was found half a mile from the farm in a field with Herring-Gulls,
birds with which it always associated. It was very tame at first and
allowed approach within a few yards. Not fully mature in plumage —
probably about two years old.
vol. xxxi ] NOTES FROM RESERVOIRS.
379
Herring-Gulls ( Larus a. argentatus) frequent the farm in much greater
numbers than was the case a few years ago ; from 150 to 200 in winter
and an increase noted in August and September. Common Gulls
(L. c. canus ), so common on Cheshire meadows, are rare on the farm —
one on October 2nd. Lesser Black-backed Gulls (L. fuscus) several
with the Herring-Gulls in August, September and October and one on
November 17th (A. W. B.). One on January 10th and three on March
2 1st (G. G. U.). Black-headed Gulls (L. r. ridibundus ) almost invariably
present at all times ; a great flock of unusual size on August 21st.
Red Grouse ( Lagopus s. scoticus). — The occurrence of two on July
24th (R. S.) was of particular interest, for the neighbouring land was
once a grouse moor. It was reclaimed almost 50 years ago and the last
Grouse was shot in 1895 (Coward’s Fauna of Cheshire ). A very few
Red Grouse are still to be found on Chat Moss on the north side of the
River Mersey a few miles away. A. W. BOYD.
MOTES
WATER-PIPIT SEEN IN CAMBRIDGESHIRE.
On March 3rd, 1938, at Cambridge sewage farm we observed
a Pipit which we were able to identify as a Water-Pipit
(. Anthus s. spinoletta). It was first seen feeding amongst other
birds (Meadow-Pipits, Pied Wagtails and waders) on one of
the tanks and its different appearance was clearly marked.
Viewed from behind its general appearance was uniformly
greyish with a slight buff tinge below the nape, whilst the
under-parts were whitish (no pinkish tinge noticed) with
scarcely any markings on the breast or throat. It had a
whitish eyestripe and the legs were dark grey.
On March 5th the bird was again watched and it was seen
to be slightly larger than the many Meadow-Pipits about, and
to have a more upright pose. On this occasion, too, it was
seen, when in flight, to have light outer tail-feathers, but it
seemed very shy and flew off when disturbed and has not
been found since. E. L. Arnold,
D. I. Molteno.
ICELAND REDWING IN RENFREWSHIRE.
On December 19th, 1937, an example of the Iceland Redwing
( Turdus m. coburni) was obtained near Cathcart, east
Renfrewshire.
The specimen, an adult male with a wing measurement
of 121.5 mm., would appear to be the first record of this
race in the Clyde area. Philip A. Clancey.
SHARE OF SEXES IN INCUBATION OF THE DIPPER.
When the article on the Breeding-Habits of the British Dipper
( Cinclus c. gularis) in the Practical Handbook was published in
1920, we had little information on the share of the sexes in
brooding, and their great similarity rendered observation,
except under very favourable conditions, extremely difficult.
There were, however, a number of cases from Derbyshire and
Staffordshire in which the sitting birds were seen to leave the
nest voluntarily, and yet after quite short intervals it was
found to be occupied. Another point which seemed to show that
the male shared was the fact that we never saw the hen fed
on the nest, although the cock was assiduous in feeding the
young. Mr. O. G. Pike ( The Nightingale, etc., p. 166) also
provided confirmatory evidence, as he stated that the male
VOL. XXXI.]
NOTES.
381
usually took up his duties in the morning after his mate had
been sitting during the night. Jagerskjold also says that the
male relieves the female at intervals in the case of C. cinclus
cinclus. Recently the new German Handbuch (p. 442) quotes
the statements of Jagerskjold and myself in the Practical
Handbook in favour of both sexes, and Lonnberg and
Eggebrecht as ascribing all incubation to the hen. Since
1920 fnrther observations have come to hand which seem
to prove that normally all the work is done by the hen.
Col. B. H. Ryveshas shown in a series of observations that the
hen alone incubates and is very rarely fed by the male on the
nest, but normally leaves the nest from time to time to feed.
Mr. Pike (in litt.) informs me that he has changed his views
and that what he took for the male must have been the hen
returning after a short feed. He also adds that in Scotland,
while filming this bird, he came to the conclusion that the
female alone incubated and in this case she also did all the
feeding, the male not coming near the nest once during a
week of watching, though in another nest close by both sexes
were bringing food. Still further confirmation is provided
by a most painstaking piece of work by Herr O. Eggebrecht
(Journal f. Orn., 1937, pp. 636-676) in which he records the
fact that during one day’s incubation the hen left the nest
20 times, at average intervals of 32 minutes and was off the
eggs for about 9 minutes on each occasion. This applies to
C. cinclus aquaticus, but there seems to be little doubt that
it is also true of the other races and that normally the hen
of Cinclus cinclus alone incubates. F. C. R. Jourdain.
LITTLE STINTS IN SPRING IN NORTHUMBERLAND.
On June 5th, 1937, I saw two Little Stints (Calidris minuta )
in summer plumage, with a large flock of Sanderlings (Crocethia
alba) on Goswick Sands, Northumberland. This appears to be
the first spring record for this county. Only two of the
Sanderlings appeared to be in full summer plumage.
H. Tully.
TAMENESS OF WHOOPER SWANS IN HAMPSHIRE.
In the winter of 1936-37 six Whooper Swans ( Cygnus cygnus )
appeared on the Beaulieu River and stayed some months,
and were undisturbed by passing motor cars and pedestrians
along the road close to them.
This winter two birds appeared at the end of October, 1937,
and are still here in April, 1938. Captain J. A. Macdonald
382
BRITISH BIRDS.
[VOL. XXXI.
who has a house on the bank of the river has been feeding the
birds all the winter and they have become remarkably tame
and will almost feed out of his hand. The photograph herewith
Wild Whooper Swans at Beaulieu, Hants.
Photo by Captain MacDonald — off Ms garden — just after high-water.
was taken without a hide of any kind and shows how very
close the birds can be approached without their taking alarm.
Thomas H. C. Troubridge.
Early Whinchats in Hampshire. — Mr. B. J. Ringrose
informs us that he and Mrs. Ringrose identified three Whin-
chats ( Saxicola rubetra ) on March 9th, 1938, at Keyhaven.
The only records which we have of an earlier date of the bird’s
appearance are March 6th, 1919, Berkshire, and March 8th,
1853, Middlesex, while there is a record for March 9th, 1930,
in Surrey.
Common Sandpiper in Kent in Winter. — Mr. P. A.
Rayfield writes that he had a Common Sandpiper ( Tringa
hypoleucos ) under observation in a small creek off the Medway
at Strood on December 27th and 31st, 1937, and on several
dates in January, February and March 1938. From his
description it is clear that the bird was correctly identified.
VOL. XXXI.]
REVIEWS.
383
REVIEWS.
Dc N ederlandsche Vogels. Bewerkt door Dr. C. Eykman, P. A. Hens,
Jhr Dr. Ir F. C. van Heurn, Dr. C. G. B. ten Kate, J. G. van Marie,
G. van der Meer, M. J. Tekke en Tsj. Gs. de Vries. Eerste Deel.
(Wageningen : Boek en Handelsdrukkerij).
This is the first volume (of two) of a compact “ Handbook ” of the
birds of Holland by a number of Dutch ornithologists each being
responsible for sections and the whole edited by Dr. ten Kate. It is
produced under the auspices of the “ Club van Nederlandsche Vogel-
kundigen ” and is a much amplified successor to Baron Snouckaert
van Schauburg’s “ Handlist ” of 1908. There is an elaborate illustrated
key at the beginning. Under each species a list of vernacular as well
as English, German and French names, diagnostic characters, a series
of measurements, description, field-characters and a brief account of
notes and song, a detailed account of breeding-habits, a carefully
worked out Dutch distribution including information on ringing results
and migrations, and a brief account in general terms of distribution
abroad. There is no mention of food. A number of the species are
illustrated by small blocks from good wash drawings of heads by
Dr. Eykman. The book contains a great deal of sound information
in a comparatively small compass and is a great advance, more
especially on the biological side, on any previous work on Dutch birds,
and equips the ornithologists of yet another European country with a
work more or less on the lines of our Practical Handbook.
.1 History of Richmond Park, with an Account of its Birds and Animals.
By C. L. Collenette. Plates and Map. (Sidgwick & Jackson.)
7s. 6d.
This book is divided into two parts, the first being historical and the
second dealing with the birds and mammals. The second part
naturally concerns us most, but the first part seems carefully drawn up
and besides its historical interest, contains a number of notes concerning
birds and animals (chiefly game) and gives an idea of the changes made
by cutting of timber, drainage and so on.
In the second part the author, who has been the official bird-observer
since 1932, has made a verv careful and valuable annotated list of the
birds. He has had the advantage of a previous good list in 1905 by
Mr. L. B. Mouritz from which to draw comparisons, and the regular
official reports of birds during the last twelve years contributed by
many observers have provided much information. Besides these and
other special sources a very considerable list of more general references
is given.
Mr. Collenette’s list of birds comprises 46 residents and 13 summer
residents which usually breed, 16 winter residents, 5 regular passage
migrants and 52 irregular visitors. Amongst the breeding birds the
Carrion-Crow has increased and in its present numbers it appears to
be a menace. Several species have decreased or disappeared during
the present century. The Yellow Wagtail, Wheatear and probably the
Nightjar no longer breed and the Wryneck has decreased. Wood-Larks
fluctuate and are now unfortunately dangerously scarce. On the other
hand ducks have increased. Several pairs of Tufted now breed and the
Pochard has bred, while Goosanders especially are numerous in
winter. Altogether Richmond Park has much to interest the bird-lover
and the many observers who take advantage of it will greatly appreciate
Mr. Collenette’s sound piece of work.
384 BRITISH BIRDS. [vol. xxxi.
Studies of British Birds. Written and illustrated by “ Fish-Hawk”.
(Duckworth.) 15s.
The main attraction of this book is probably in its illustrations in
black-and-white from drawings by the author. These vary in quality.
Those of the larger birds and especially the swans, geese and ducks are
the best. The small birds are not very successful and there is often an
indefiniteness which gives a weak effect, and this style suits better a
group than single birds. Some of the attitudes are well done and
probably the artist is at his best with birds in flight.
The text is disappointing as one would have expected more personal
observation rather than a somewhat humdrum account of a large
number of birds, giving details which would be more easily found and
more fully and satisfactorily given in a good textbook. Here and there
we find some curious statements given without the support of any
evidence. For instance : that “ in self defence ” (from the Great
Black-backed Gull) Manx Shearwaters “ no longer come ashore during
the hours of daylight, and leave their mates to brood their egg without
food until the coming of darkness” ; that it is usually the hen Robin
which sings during the earlier winter months ; and that Fieldfares will
begin nest-building and even laying before they leave this country
though they do not rear a brood.
In another category is an interesting account of Guillemots, Puffins
and Razorbills becoming incapacitated during a long spell of hot,
calm weather in the North Sea in 1933 by their plumage becoming
clogged with a marine diatom which came to the surface in vast
quantities. In this area five-sixths of a bucket filled in the sea consisted
of diatoms, and the whole surface of the water was milky white.
The author had on board some thirty birds which he tried to clean, but
could not relieve until he reached an area clear of these diatoms, which
he states have a high oil content.
LETTER.
SONG OF THE CHAFFINCH.
To the Editors of British Birds.
Sirs, — I have read with great interest the note upon the song of the
Chaffinch ( Fringilla c. gengleri) in The Handbook of British Birds
especially in reference to the " alternative call ” as described by
Mr. H. G. Alexander, i.e., the single prolonged “ tswee-e-e ” resembling
the note of the Greenfinch.
It may be of interest to record that the first time I heard this note
was in Ireland in the spring of 1933, when it was uttered by a male
bird, and for considerable periods on each occasion. Since then I have
heard it occasionally in London in the Parks, and in Ken Wood, and
on March 27th I had under observation two male birds on Berkhamsted
Common which uttered this note continuously for periods of eight,
twelve and fifteen minutes without ceasing. The birds sat perched in
the top branches of an ash and sycamore, and appeared to be rivals in
song and other notes ; a female was also there but paid no attention to
either male. I watched these birds for over an hour and a half and
during that time the most frequent note from both males was the
" Greenfinch note”. H. Rait Kerr.
(385)
INDEX.
Note. — The nomenclature followed in this volume is in accordance with the
Systematic List ” printed at the end of the Volume II of A Practical
Handbook of British Birds and reprinted in A Check List of British
Birds and the additions and alterations appearing on pages 101-2
of Volume XXII, pages 24 and 25 of Volume XXIV, pages 8 and 16 of
Volume XXVI, pages 2 and 3 of Volume XXVII, pages 90-96 and
T86-187 of Volume XXVIII and pages 7-13 of Volume XXXI of
British Birds.
aalge, Uria a., see Guillemot,
Northern.
acredula, Phylloscopus trochilus, see
Warbler, Northern Willow-.
acuta, Anas, see Pintail.
Additions and Alterations to the
British List, 7, 334.
ceruginosus, Circus, see Harrier,
Marsh-.
affinis, Sylvia curruca, see White-
throat, Siberian Lesser.
alba, Tyto a., see Owl, Barn.
albellus, Mergus, see Smew.
albionis, Uria a., see Guillemot,
Southern.
Alexander, H. G., Kittiwakes as
Shore-birds, 202, 312 ; Notes on
Water-Pipits in Cheshire and
Suffolk, 26 ; Barred Warbler in
Northumberland, 196 ; Gar-
ganey in Northumberland, 196;
Letters on Inquiry as to Song
Periods, 64, 200 ; on the Influx
of Grebes and Divers, 31.
alexandrinus, Charadrius a., see
Plover, Kentish.
zlle, A lie, see Auk, Little.
zlpina, Calidris, see Dunlin.
zltifrons, Charadrius a., see Plover,
Northern Golden.
zmericanus, Coccyzus a., see Cuckoo,
American Yellow-billed.
znglicus, Dryobates m., see Wood-
pecker, Great Spotted.
znglorum, Regulus r., see Goldcrest.
znser, A riser, see Goose, Grey Lag-.
zpiaster, Merops, see Bee-eater.
%pus, Apus a., see Swift,
j quaticus, Iiallus, see Rail, Water-
zrborea, Lullula, see Lark, Wood-.
zrctica, Fratercula, see Puffin.
, zrcticus, Colyrnbus, see Diver, Black-
throated.
azrgentatus, Larus a., see Gull,
Herring-.
aristotelis, Phalacrocorax a., see
Shag.
Akmitage, John, Field Notes on the
Corsican Citril Finch, 98 ;
Note on Nestling Redwing,
353-
Arnold, E. L., and Molteno,
D. I., Note on Water-Pipit
seen in Cambridgeshire, 380.
arquata, Numenius a., see Curlew,
Common.
arundinaceus, Acrocephalus a., see
Warbler, Great Reed-.
arvensis, Alauda, see Lark, Sky-.
ater, Parus a., see Tit, Continental
Coal.
Atlantic, North, Birds seen in two
winter Transects of the, 295.
atra, Fulica, see Coot.
Auk, Little, Inland in Dorset, 357 ;
seen in winter transect of
North Atlantic, 295.
aureola, Emberiza, see Bunting,
Y el low-breasted .
auritus, Podiceps, see Grebe,
Slavonian.
Avocet, Movements from abroad,
46.
avosetta, Recurvirostra, see Avocet.
Barclay, Miss M., Note on Great
Spotted Wroodpecker eating
Pheasant’s eggs, 332.
bassana, Sula, see Gannet.
Bee-eater, in Co. Cork, 357.
bernicla, Branta, see Goose, Brent.
Betts, E. St. George, Letter on
the Influx of Grebes and Divers,
63-
Bird-Flies, 360.
Birds taking Moths, 122, 155 ;
taking rubber rings, 64.
cc
386
BRITISH BIRDS
Blackbird, Movements to and from
abroad, 18 ; Activities in winter
of resident, 34 ; Nest-building
instinct, 56 ; brooding Duck’s
egg, 58 ; Recovery of marked,
1 16, 305 ; Aggressive display
of, before a looking-glass, 137 ;
in Outer Hebrides, 231.
Blackmore, Michael, Note on
Osprey in Devon, 270.
Blathwayt, Rev. F. L., Some
Records of the Calls and Cries
of British “ Waders”, 267.
Bluethroat, Lapland, to be called
the Red-spotted Bluethroat, 13.
, Norwegian, To be struck out
of the List, 13.
, Red-spotted, in Norfolk in
May, 62 ; in Yorkshire in
May, 157.
blythi, Sylvia curruca, see White-
throat, Siberian Lesser.
Boase, Henry, Further notes on
the Habits of Sheld-Duck, 367.
borealis, Puffinus kuhlii, see Shear-
water, North Atlantic Great.
borin, Sylvia, see Warbler, Garden-.
Boyd, A. W., Note on American
Pectoral Sandpiper in Cheshire,
237 ; Letter on Kittiwakes as
Shore-birds, 280 ; Notes from
Staffordshire Reservoirs, and
Altrincham Sewage Farm, 1937,
376.
brachydactyla, Calandrella b., see
Lark, Short-toed.
Brambling, Recovery of marked,
114, 304.
Brindley, Mrs. M. D., Note on
House-Sparrow feeding young
Hedge-Sparrows, 25.
britannica, A lea torda, see Razorbill,
British.
, Carduelis c., see Goldfinch.
, Tringa totanus, see Redshank,
British.
britannicus, Lyrurus t., see Grouse,
Black.
“ British Birds ” Ringing Scheme,
Future of ; Transfer to the
British Trust for Ornithology, 5.
British List, Additions and Altera-
tions to, 71, 334.
British Trust for Ornithology : The
Future of the “ British Birds ”
Ringing Scheme : Transfer to
the, 5.
British Trust for Ornithology,
Publications of : The Index
of Heron Population, 1937,
341; Report of the Bird Ringing
Committee : Progress for 1937,
345 ; Report of the Little Owl
Food Inquiry, 1936-37 ( Plates
5-10), 162, 205, 249.
Brown, George, Aggressive dis-
play of Birds before a looking-
glass, 137.
, R. H., Breeding-habits of the
Dunlin, 362 ; Note on Birds
taking Moths, 155.
bruniceps, Emberiza, see Bunting,
Red-headed.
Bullfinch, Northern, in Northum-
berland, 309.
Bunting, Corn-, taking Moths, 122.
, Little, at Isle of May, 123.
, Ortolan, in Shetland, 124.
— — — , Red-headed, Addition to the
British List, 7.
, Reed-, Mortality in March
storm in Midlothian, 25 ; in
Shetland, 124 ; Recovery of
marked, 304.
, Yellow, taking Moths, 157.
, Yellow-breasted, at Isle of
May, 123.
Bustard, Great, in Shetland, 124.
, Western Little, in Yorkshire,
A new British Bird, 334.
buteo, Buteo b., see Buzzard,
Common.
Buxton, E. J. M., Letter on
Aggressive display of Robin
before mirror, 240.
•, , and Harkness, R. S.,
Note on the Diving of the
Shag, 153. 1
Buzzard, Common, Recovery of
marked, 117; in Outer
Hebrides, 232.
, Rough-legged, in Kent, 275,
357 ; in Sussex, 275, 357 ; in
Hampshire, 275, and Shrop-
shire, 275.
calidris, Totanus, see Redshank.
caligata, Hippolais c., see Warbler,
Booted.
Calls and Cries of British Waders,
267.
INDEX.
387
Campbell, I)r. James W., Notes on
Sedge-Warbler breeding in
Outer Hebrides, 121 ; Birds
taking Moths, 122 ; Note on
Hawfinch in Outer Hebrides,
269 ; Letter on Wildfowl and
Heron in Outer Hebrides, 128.
candicans, Falco r., see Falcon,
Greenland.
cannabina, Carduelis c., see Linnet.
canovus, Cuculus c., see Cuckoo.
cantillans, Sylvia c., see Warbler,
Subalpine.
canus, Larus c., see Gull, Common.
car bo, Phalacrocovax c., see Cor-
morant.
Cawkell, E. M., Notes on unusual
display by Chaffinches, 55 ;
Aquatic Warbler seen in Kent,
150.
Chaffinch. British, Addition to the
British List, 9.
■ , Movements to and from
abroad, 16 ; Unusual display,
55 ; Recovery of marked, 114, I
304 ; Taking Moths, 157 ; Song
of, 384.
, Continental, in Renfrewshire,
92.
Chiffchafif, on Achill Island, Co.
Mayo, 58 ; Recovery of marked I
ii5-
cchloris, Chloris ch., see Greenfinch.
chloropus, Gallinula ch., see Moor-
hen.
cinerea, Ardea c., see Heron,
Common.
,Motacilla c., see Wagtail, Grey.
(Citril Finch, see Finch, Citril.
1 city inella , Emberiza, see Bunting,
Yellow.
(Clancey, Philip A., Notes on the
Irish Dipper in West Scotland,
353 ; Iceland Redwing in
Renfrewshire, 380.
Clark, Arnold, Morning Song i
Commencement, 265.
C3larke, W. J., Note on Waxwings
in Yorkshire, 56.
Clegg, John, see Wagstaffe,
Reginald.
1 lypeata, Spatula, see Shoveler.
oburni, Turdus m., see Redwing,
Iceland.
occothraustes, Coccothraustes c., see
Hawfinch.
ccelebs, Fringilla c., see Chaffinch,
Continental.
collybita, Phylloscopus c., see Chiff-
chaff.
columbarius , Falco, see Merlin.
Colyer, W. L., Letter on the
Courtship and Mating of the
Goosander, 199.
comminutus, Dryobates minor, see
Woodpecker, Lesser Spotted.
communis, Sylvia c., see White-
throat.
Congreve, Major W. M., Notes on
a Five Clutch of the Pine-
Grosbeak, 120 ; Two new
Heronries in Denbigh and
Flint, 270.
Coot, Recovery of marked, 143, 329.
corax, Corvus c., see Raven.
Cormorant, Movements to abroad,
42 ; Early breeding in Somer-
set, 54 ; Recovery of marked,
119, 323; Breeding in St.
James’s Park, 299.
, Southern, Movements from
abroad, 43.
Corncrake, Inquiry into the Status,
1938, 359-
cornix, Corvus c., see Crow, Hooded.
cor one, Corvus c., see Crow, Carrion-.
corsicana, Carduelis citrinella, see
Finch, Citril.
Crane, Common, in Northampton-
shire, 91.
crecca, Anas c., see Teal.
Creeper, Northern Tree-, in Ber-
wickshire, 309.
crex, Crex, see Rail, Land, or
Corncrake.
cristatus, Podiceps c., see Grebe,
Great Crested.
Cropper, Miss Sibyl, Notes on
Red-crested Pochard in West-
morland, 27 ; Whooper Swans
in Co. Donegal in August, 151.
Crossbill, Song of, 330.
Crow, Carrion-, Recovery of marked,
112, 302.
, Hooded, Movements from
abroad, 14.
Cuckoo, Movements to abroad,
19 ; Young, in November in
Sussex, 236 ; Recovery of
marked, 306.
, American Yellow-billed in
Orkney, 125.
388
BRITISH BIRDS.
Curlew, Movements from abroad,
46 ; Recovery of marked, 141,
327-
— , Stone-, in Galway, 236 ; on
Isle of May (Forth), 275.
Currie, D. W. E., Note on Black-
necked Grebe in Kent in spring,
60.
-, , see Gibson, R. B.
curvirostra, Loxia c., see Crossbill.
cyaneus, Circus, see Harrier, Hen-.
cygnus, Cygnus, see Swan, Whooper.
Delamain, Jacques, Letter on the
Function of the Goldcrest’s
Crest, 160.
Dipper, Recovery of marked, 116;
Nesting in Warwickshire, 150 ;
Share of sexes in Incubation,
380.
, Irish, in Argyllshire, 236 ; in
West Scotland, 353.
Distribution, Psychological Factor
in Bird, 130.
Diver, Black-throated in Yorkshire,
62 ; “ Mewing ” of, in winter,
128 ; in Warwickshire, 355 ; in
Staffordshire, 376.
•, Red-throated, Influx of, 32,
63 ; in North East Land 66 ;
“Mewing” of, in winter, 128.
Dobie, Dr. W. H., Note on
Montagu’s and Hen-Harriers
in Denbighshire, 332.
Dobson, Roderick, Letter on
reflected colour of Nightjar’s
eyes, 31.
domesticus, Passer, d., see Sparrow
House-.
Dotterel, on Holy Island, 60.
Dove, Stock-, Recovery of marked,
139. 326.
■ •, Turtle-, Movements to abroad,
45 ; Recovery of marked, 140.
Duck, Long-tailed, in Middlesex,
298. 335 i in Surrey, 335 ; in
Sussex, 335 ; in Staffordshire,
376.
, Mandarin, Movements of
ringed put down in London, 27.
-, Ruddy Sheld-, in Dum-
barton, 29.
, Scaup, Movements from
abroad, 42 ;in Middlesex, 298.
Duck, Sheld-, Movements to abroad,
21 ; Recovery of marked, 117 ;
in Surrey, 275 ; in Middlesex,
298 ; on Habits of, 367.
, Tufted, Movements from
abroad, 42 ; Nesting in Middle-
sex, 298 ; Recovery of marked,
308.
Dunlin, Breeding-habits of, 362.
Eider, Common, in Kent, 59 ;
Recovery of marked, 119, 308.
, King, at Fair Isle, 124.
enucleator, Pinicola e., see Grosbeak,
Pine-.
ericetorum, Turdus e., see Thrush,
British Song-.
erythrinus, Carpodacus, see Gros-
beak, Scarlet.
erythropus, Tringa, see Redshank,
Spotted.
europcea, Sitta, see Nuthatch.
europceus, Caprimulgus , see Night-
jar.
excubitor, Lanius, see Shrike, Great
Grey.
fceroeensis, Capella g., see Snipe,
Faeroe.
Falcon, Greenland, on Lundy, 92.
, Peregrine, in Middlesex, 297.
familiaris, Certhia /., see Creeper,
Northern Tree-.
ferina, Nyroca, see Pochard, Com-
mon.
Ferrier, Miss Judith M., Notes
on Kentish Plover in Norfolk,
155, Arctic, Great and Long-
tailed Skuas in Norfolk, 155.
ferruginea, Casarca, see Duck,
Ruddy Sheld-.
Fieldfare, Movements from abroad,
17-
Finch, Citril, Field notes on, 98.
Firecrest, in Gloucestershire, 54.
Fitter, R. S. R., Note on Shear-
waters in the Thames Estuary,
333-
flava, Eremophila a., see Lark,
Shore-.
fiavipes, Tringa, see Yellowshank.
INDEX.
389
Flycatcher, Pied, in Perthshire, 56 ;
Recovery of marked, 115; in
Shetland, 124.
» Red -breasted, at Isle of May,
123 ; seen in Wiltshire, 149.
. Spotted, Recovery of marked
1 15 ; in Shetland, 124 ; taking
Moths, 122, 195 ; Male's rapid
replacement of lost mate, 310 ;
Some Domestic Habits of a
pair of, 194, 269.
Froggatt, W. Kenneth, Note on
Shoveler breeding in the Isle
of Wight, 354.
IFrohawk, F. W., Note on Red-
breasted Flycatcher, seen in
Wiltshire, 149.
frugilegus, Corvus /., see Rook.
fuligula, Nyroca, see Duck, Tufted.
Fulmar, see Petrel, Fulmar.
fusca, Oidemia /., see Scoter,
Velvet-.
fuscus, Lanis /., see Gull, Scan-
dinavian Lesser Black-backed.
CGadwall, Movements from abroad,
21 ; in Somerset, 199 ; in
Merionethshire, 335.
.o' alericulata , /Ex, see Duck, Man-
darin.
if allinago , Capella g., see Snipe,
Common.
(Gannet, Movements to abroad, 43 ;
Recovery of marked, 139, 324 ;
Seen in winter transect of
North Atlantic, 295.
(Gannetries of Sule Stack and Sula
Sgeir, 282.
• Garganey, in Fifeshire, 30 ; in
Kinross, 30 ; in Lanarkshire,
30 ; in Northumberland, 196 ; I
Early in Middlesex, 196' in
Staffordshire, 376.
. 'arrulus, Bombycilla, see Waxwing.
, ’atkei, Luscinia svecica, see Blue-
throat, Norwegian.
. ' engleri , Fringilla ccelebs, Chaffinch, j
British.
■ibraltariensis, Phcenicnrus o., see
Redstart, Black.
Gillham, E. H., see Gibson, R. B.
ylacialis, Fulmar us g., see Petrel,
Fulmar.
Gladstone, Hugh S., “ Mr. Alex-
ander Moniepennie : Birds of
Angus and the Mearns : 1834”
and “ Mr. J. Penruddock’s
Tantivy Times (Ackerman,
1841) ”, 144 ; The decrease in
Blackgame in Dumfriesshire,
188.
Glegg, William E., Birds in
Middlesex, 297.
Goddard, T. Russell, Note on
Northern Bullfinch in
Northumberland, 309 ; North-
ern Tree-Creeper in Berwick-
shire, 309.
Godwit, Black-tailed, in Gloucester-
shire, 30 ; in Cheshire, 378.
Goklcrest, Function of crest, 82,
127, 160 ; Incubation and
fledging periods, 85.
Goldfinch, Movements from abroad,
16.
Gooch, G. B., Notes on Domestic
Habits of Spotted Flycatchers,
269 ; Blue Tit’s swinging roost,
352.
Goosander, Recovery of marked,
1 19 ; Courtship and Mating of,
151, 199, 240.
Goose, Dark-breasted Brent, from
the Bristol District, 54.
, Grey Lag-, Movements from
abroad , 21.
Gordon, Seton, Letter on Kitti-
walces, as shore-birds, 280.
grabce, Fratercula a., see Puffin.
graellsii, Lams /., see Gull, British
Lesser Black-backed.
gravis, Puffinus, see Shearwater,
Great.
Grebe, Black-necked, in Kent in
spring, 60 ; Influx of, 32.
, Red-necked, Influx of, 32, 62,
63-
, Slavonian, Influx of, 32, 62,
63-
Greenfinch, Movements to abroad,
16 ; Recovery of marked, 114,
3°4-
Greenshank, in Middlesex, 300 ;
in winter in Cumberland, 335.
griseigena, Podiceps g., see Grebe,
Red-necked.
griseus, Limnodromus, see Snipe,
Red-breasted.
, Puffinus, see Shearwater,
Sooty.
390
BRITISH BIRDS.
Grosbeak, Pine-, a “ five ” clutch,
120.
-, Scarlet, in Shetland, 123.
Grouse, Black, Decrease of, in Dum-
friesshire, 188 ; Fluctuations
in numbers of, in Germany, 3 1 1 .
grus, Grus, see Crane, Common.
grylle, Uriag., see Guillemot, Black.
Guillemot, Flight -speed of, 123.
, Black, Recovery of marked,
143-
, “ Bridled ”, Information
wanted on, 280.
•, Northern, Movements to
abroad, 53 ; Recovery of
marked, 143, 329.
, Southern, Movements to
abroad, 53 ; Recovery of
marked, 329.
gularis, Cinclus c., see Dipper.
Gull, American Herring-, 6,000
Ringed, 239.
, Black-headed, Movements
from abroad, 48 ; nesting in
Devonshire, 90 ; taking Moths,
122 ; Recovery of marked, 142,
328 ; Feeding on Harlequin
Fly, 300 ; Nesting in Devon-
shire, 335.
■, Common, Movements from
and to abroad, 150 ; taking
Moths, 122 ; Recovery of
marked, 328.
-, Glaucous, in Yorkshire, 62 ;
in Cheshire, 378.
-, Great Black-backed, Move-
ments from abroad, 52 ; Re-
covery of marked, 142 ; seen in
winter transect of North
Atlantic, 295.
.Herring-, Recovery of marked,
142, 328 ; seen in winter
transect of North Atlantic,
295-
, Lesser Black-backed, scarcity
of, on spring migration across
Pennines, 28 ; Movements to
abroad, 52 ; Scarcity of
immature on spring migration,
64 ; Recovery of marked, 142,
329-
-, Little, in Norfolk in spring,
30 ; in Yorkshire, 62 ; Adult in
Norfolk, 89 ; in Cornwall, 199 ;
in Cambridge, 199 ; in Surrey,
238 ; in Middlesex, 300 ; in
Cheshire, 378.
Gull, Scandinavian Lesser Black
backed, Movements from
abroad, 51 ; from the Bristol
District, 54 ; in Somerset, 199.
halicetus, Pandion, see Osprey.
Handbook of British Birds. — A new
edition of A Practical Handbook
of British Birds, 84.
Harkness, R. S., see Buxton, E.
Harrier, Hen-, on Lundy, 92 ; in
Denbighshire, 332.
, Marsh, Recovery of marked,
117.
, Montagu’s, breeding in York-
shire, 122; in Denbighshire, 332.
Hartley, P. H. T., Note on Sooty
Shearwater in the mouth of the
Channel in June, 89.
Hawfinch, in Outer Hebrides, 269.
Hawk, Sparrow-, Recovery of
marked, 117, 307.
hebridensis, Troglodytes t., see Wren,
Hebridean.
, Tardus e., see Thrush,
Hebridean Song-.
hebridium, Prunella m., see Sparrow,
Hebridean Hedge-.
Henderson, Mary, Note on Black-
bird brooding Duck’s egg, 58.
IIendy, E. W., Letter on The
Function of the Goldcrest’s
Crest, 127.
Heron, Common, Movements to and
from abroad, 19 ; Recovery of
marked, 117, 307 ; Information
wanted of, in Outer Hebrides,
128 ; Index of Population,
1937. 341 •
, Squacco, in Lancashire, 59.
Heronries, Two new, in Denbigh
and Flint, 270.
hiaticula, Charadrius h., see Plover,
Ringed.
Hibbert-Ware, Miss Alice, Re-
port of the Little Owl Food
Inquiry, 1936-37. 162, 205,
249 ; Letter on Little Owl
Inquiry and the Skokholm
Storm-Petrels, 3 1 1 .
hibernicus, Cinclus c., see Dipper,
Irish.
Highfield, A. H., Note on Kitti-
walces nesting on a building in
East Lothian, 91.
INDEX.
391
hirundo, Sterna h., see Tern,
Common.
Hobby, Recovery of marked, 117.
Hollom, P. A. D., Observations on
the Courtship and Mating of
the Smew, 106 ; Note on a
flock of Ruffs on Fair Isle, 196.
Homing experiments, Skokholm
Bird Observatory, 242.
hortulana, Emberiza, see Bunting,
Ortolan.
Humphreys, G. R., Note on
Stone-Curlew in Galway, 236.
hyemalis, Clangula, see Duck, Long-
tailed.
hyperborens, Larus, see Gull,
Glaucous.
hypoleuca, Muscicapa h., see Fly-
catcher, Pied.
hypoleucos, Tringa, see Sandpiper,
Common.
ignicapillus, Regulus i., see Fire-
crest.
Ingram, Geoffrey C. S., and
Salmon, H. Morrey, Note on
Water-Pipit in Carmarthen-
shire, 309.
International Ornithological Con-
gress, The Ninth, 157.
inter pres, Arenaria i., see Turnstone.
ispida, Alcedo a., see Kingfisher.
Jackdaw, Movements from abroad,
15 ; Recovery of marked, 112,
302; number of eggs laid by, 25.
, Scandinavian, Movements
from abroad, 15.
Jay, Recovery of marked, 113.
Jenkins, A. Reavley, Note on
Kentish Plover in Norfolk, 236.
Jordan, Karl, Obituary notice of
Lord Rothschild, 146.
Jourdain, Rev. F. C. R., Notes on
number of eggs laid by the
Jackdaw, 25 ; Male Mallard
covering eggs with down, 30 ;
Short Incubation-period of
Skylark, 56, 233 ; Incubation-
period of Water-Rail, 62 ; Size
of clutches of eggs of Pine-
Grosbeak, 120 ; Incubation-
period of the Fulmar Petrel-
154 Share of sexes in incuba-
tion of the Dipper, 380.
Joy, Dr. Norman H., Note on the
Northern Razorbill in Kent — a
new form for the British List,
90.
Kay, G. T., Letter on Scarcity of
Immature Lesser Black-backed
Gulls on spring migration, 64.
Keith, David B., The Red-
throated Diver in North East
Land, 66.
Kerr, Mrs. H. Rait, Letter on song
of the Chaffinch, 384.
Kestrel, Recovery of marked, 307.
King, Basil, Note on young
Cuckoo in November in Sussex,
236-
Kingfisher, Recovery of marked,
1 16.
Kittiwake, Movements to abroad,
52 ; inland in Cheshire, 63 ;
Nesting on a building in East
Lothian, 91 ; Recovery of
marked, 142 ; as Shore-birds,
202, 280, 312, 335 ; seen in
winter transect of North Atlan-
tic, 295.
kleinschimdti , Parus a., see Tit
Willow-.
kuhlii, Puffinus, see Shearwater,
Mediterranean Great.
Lack, David, The Function of the
Goldcrest’s crest, 82 ; The
Psychological Factor in Bird
Distribution, 130.
, , and Lockley, R. M.,
Skokholm Bird Observatory
Homing Experiments, 242.
lagopus, Butco, see Buzzard, Rough-
legged.
Lapwing, Movements from and to
abroad, 45 ; Recovery of
marked, 140, 326 ; in the Wash,
198.
Lark, Eastern Short -toed, in Shet-
land, 123.
, Shore-, in Shetland, 124.
, Skv-, Incubation-period of,
55. 233 ; taking Moths, 122 ;
Breeding of, 233.
, Wood, in Shetland, 123.
392
BRITISH BIRDS.
Leach, Miss E. P., Recovery of
marked birds, 112, 139, 302,
322.
, , see Witherby, H. F.
Ledlie, Reginald C. B., Note on
Turnstone in Surrey, 28.
leucopterus, Chlidonias, see Tern,
White-winged Black.
leucorodia, Platalea /., see Spoonbill.
leucorrhoa, Oceanodroma, see Petrel,
Leach’s Fork-tailed.
, CEnanthe ce., see Wheatear,
Greenland.
Lewis, Stanley, Note on Some
Domestic Habits of a pair of
Spotted Flycatchers, 194.
, W. A. S., see Southern,
H. N.
I’herminieri, Puffinus assimilis, see
Shearwater, Audubon’s Little.
limosa, Limosa, see Godwit, Black-
tailed.
Linnet, Movements to and from
abroad, 16 ; Recovery of
marked ,114.
Lockley, R. M., Letter on the
Little Owl Inquiry and the
Skolcholm Storm-Petrels, 278.
, , see Lack, David.
Lodge, J., Note on Song of Grey
Wagtail, 352.
London, Birds of Inner, 372.
Long, Dr. Sydney H., Note on
Dotterel on Holy Island, 60.
longicaudus, Stercorarius, see Skua,
Long-tailed.
longipennis, Calandrella brachydac-
tyla, see Lark, Eastern Short-
toed.
Looking-glass, aggressive display
of birds before a, 137.
Low, Dr. G. Carmichael, Note on
Ruffs in Orkney, 196.
Macpherson, A. Holte, Letter on
The Courtship and Mating of
the Goosander, 240 ; Birds of
Inner London, 372.
macrura, Sterna, see Tern, Arctic.
Magpie, Recovery of marked, 302.
major, Parus m., see Tit, Conti-
nental Great.
, Puffinus, see Shearwater,
Great.
Mallard, Movements to abroad, 21 ;
Behaviour of male Mallards
with broods, 29, 31 ; Recovery
of marked, 117, 307.
Mansfield, Earl of, Note on
number of eggs laid by the
Jackdaw, 25.
March ant, S., Black Redstart
breeding in an Eastern county
of England, 338.
marila, Nyroca m., see Duck, Scaup.
marinus, Larus, see Gull, Great
Black-backed.
Marked Birds, recovery of, 112, 139,
302, 322.
Martin, Rev. Cyril E., Notes on
the young of the Lesser Spotted
Woodpecker, 88 ; Roosting of
Blue Tit, 331.
Martin, House-, Movements to
abroad, 19 ; Recovery of
marked, 116, 306 ; in Outer
Hebrides, 334 ; early in
Gloucestershire, 357.
McWilliam, Rev. J. M., Note on
the Irish Dipper in Argyllshire,
236.
Medlicott, W. S., Note on
Montagu’s Harrier breeding in
Yorkshire, 122.
Meiklejohn, M. F. M., Note on
adult Pied Wagtails using
roost in June, 85.
meinertzhageni , Anthus s., see Pipit,
Hebridean Rock-.
melanotos, Calidris, see Sandpiper,
American Pectoral.
melophilus, Erithacus r., see Robin,
British.
merganser, Mergus m., see Goos-
ander.
Merlin, Movements from abroad,
19.
merula, T urdus m., see Blackbird.
Middlesex, Birds in, 297.
minimus, Lymnocryptes, see Snipe,
Jack.
minor, Lanius, see Shrike, Lesser
Grey.
minuta, Calidris, see Stint, Little.
minutus, Larus, see Gull, Little.
Moffat, C. B., Letter on the
Function of the Goldcrest’s
Crest, 127.
Molteno, D. I., see Arnold, E. L.
mollissima, Somateria m., see Eider.
INDEX.
393
monedula, Colceus, see Jackdaw,
Scandinavian.
Moniepennie, “ Birds of Angus and
the Mearns : 1834 ” and “ Mr.
Penruddocks’ Tantivy Times
(Ackerman, 1841) ”, 144.
montifringilla, Fringilla, see Bram-
bling.
Moody, A. F., Note on Common
Cranes in Northamptonshire,
91.
Moorhen, Recovery of marked, 143,
329-
morinellus, Charadrius, see Dotterel.
Morley, Miss Averil, Some
Activities of resident Black-
birds in winter, 34.
, , see Ticehurst, N. F.
musicus, Turdus m., see Redwing.
nebularia, Tringa, see Greenshank.
newtoni, Parus m., see Tit, Great.
Nicholson, E. M., The Index of
Heron Population, 1937, 341.
, , see Witherby, H. F.
niger, Chlidonias n., see Tern,
Black.
Nightjar, Reflected colour in eyes
of, 31.
nigra, Oidemia n., see Scoter,
Common.
nigricollis, Podiceps «., see Grebe,
Black-necked.
nilotica, Gelochelidon, Gull-billed
Tern.
nisoria, Sylvia n., see Warbler, I
Barred .
nisus, Accipiter, see Hawk, Spar-
row-.
Norris, C. A., Notes on Dipper
nesting in Warwickshire, 150 ;
Black-throated Diver in War-
wickshire, 355 ; Letter on
Inquiry into the status of the
Landrail or Corncrake, 1938,
359-
Nuthatch, at Fair Isle, 124.
Oakes, Clifford, Note on Scarcity
of immature Lesser Black-
backed Gulls on spring migra-
tion across Pennines, 28.
Obituary : Lord Rothschild, 146.
obscurus, Parus c., see Tit, Blue.
occidentalis, Prunella m., see Spar-
row, Hedge-, British.
, H&matopus 0., see Oyster-
catcher.
cedicnemus, Burhinus oe., see Curlew,
Stone-.
cenanthe, CEnanthe ce., see Wheatear.
cenas, Columba, see Dove, Stock-.
Oiled Birds resorting to fresh water,
354-
Oldham, Chas., Note on Whinchat
and Chiffchaff on Achill Island,
Co. Mayo, 58.
orientalis, Otis tetrax, see Bustard,
Western Little.
Oriole, Golden, in Devonshire, 29.
oriolus, Oriolus 0., see Oriole,
Golden.
Osprey, in Devon, 270.
Outer Hebrides, Notes on Birds of
the, 230.
Ouzel, Ring-, Recovery of marked,
305.
Owl, Barn, Recovery of marked
116, 307.
, Little, Recovery of marked,
1 16; taking Spider, 126;
Report of the Food Inquiry of,
!936-37. 162, 205, 249 ; Letter
on, inquiry of, 278, 31 1.
, Tawny, Recovery of marked,
116, 307.
Oyster-catcher, Movements to
abroad, 45 ; Recovery of
marked, 140.
paludicola, Acrocephalus, see Warb-
ler, Aquatic.
palumbus, Columba p., see Pigeon,
Wood-.
parasiticus, Stercorarius, see Skua,
Arctic.
Parmenter, L., Notes on the
Courtship and Mating of the
Smew and Goosander, 15 1.
parva, Muscicapa p., see Flycatcher,
Red -breasted.
Pedler, E. G., Note on Sandwich
Terns in London, 198.
pelagicus, Hydrobates, see Petrel
Storm-.
pevelope, Anas, see Wigeon.
peregrinus, Falco p., see Falcon
Peregrine.
394
BRITISH BIRDS.
perspicillata, Oidemia, see Scoter,
Surf.
Petrel, Fulmar, Nesting on the
Bass Rock, 154 ; Incubation-
period, 154 ; seen in winter
transect of North Atlantic, 295.
, Leach’s Fork-tailed, Seen in
winter transect of North
Atlantic, 295.
, Storm-, Homing Experiments
with, 242 ; Letter on Skokholm
Inquiry on, 278 ; on Skokholm,
31 1 ; Recovery of marked, 325.
petrosus, Anthus s., see Pipit,
Rock-.
philomelus, Turdus e., see Thrush,
Continental Song-.
pica, Pica p., see Magpie.
Pigeon, Wood-, Recovery of
marked, 326 ; Movements from
abroad, 45.
pilaris, Turdus, see Fieldfare.
pileata, Pyrrhula p., see Bullfinch,
British.
Pintail, Breeding in Angus, 30 ;
breeding in Sutherland, 30 ;
in Middlesex, 298.
pipilans, Carduelis flavirostris, see
Twite, British.
Pipit, Hebridean Rock-, Distribu-
tion of, 231 ; Range of, 331.
, Meadow-, Movements to
abroad, 17 ; Recovery of
marked, 115, 304.
— , Petchora, at Fair Isle, 124.
, Richard’s, in Shetland, 124.
, Rock-, Late Breeding be-
haviour of, 2 ; in Outer
Hebrides, 231 ; Recovery of
marked, 304.
* — — ■, Tree-, in Shetland, 124 ; Late
in Montgomeryshire, 274.
, Water-, in Cheshire, 26 ; in
Suffolk, 26 ; in Pembrokeshire,
a Correction, 274 ; in Car-
marthenshire, 309 ; seen in
Cambridgeshire, 380.
platyrhyncha, Anas p., see Mallard.
Plover, Arctic Ringed, at Fair Isle,
124 ; in Somerset and Devon,
356.
, Kentish, in Cheshire, 61 ; in
Norfolk, 155, 236.
-, Northern Golden, Movements
from abroad, 45.
, Ringed, Recovery of marked,
140.
Pochard, Common, Movements
from abroad, 42 ; breeding in
Carmarthenshire, 58.
, Red-crested, in Lincolnshire,
27 ; in Westmorland, 27 ;
Breeding in Lincolnshire, 126.
pomarinus, Slercorarius, see Skua,
Pomatorhine.
pratensis, Anthus, see Pipit,
Meadow-.
Psychological Factor in Bird Dis-
tribution, 130.
Puffin, Movements to and from
abroad, 53 ; Flight-speed of,
123 ; Recovery of marked, 143.
, Homing Experiments with,
242.
puffinus, Puffinus, p., see Shear-
water, Manx.
pugnax, Philomachus, see Ruff.
pusilla, Emberiza, see Bunting,
Little.
pygargus, Circus, see Harrier,
Montagu's.
pyrrhula, Pyrrhula p., see Bullfinch,
Northern.
querquedula, Anas, see Garganey.
Rail, Land-, Inquiry into the status
of, I938. 359-
, Water-, Movements from
abroad, 53 ; Incubation-period
of, 62, 96 ; Breeding in Inver-
ness-shire, 155.
ralloides, Ardeola, see Heron,
Squacco.
Raven, Recovery of marked, 112.
Razorbill, Movements to abroad,
52 ; Flight-speed of, 123 ;
Recovery of marked, 143, 329 ;
Inland in Essex, 275.
, British, Addition to the
British List, 11.
, Northern, in Kent — A new
form for the British List, 90.
Recovery of marked birds, 112, 139,
302, 322.
Redshank, British, Addition to the
British List, 10 ; Incubation-
period of, 61 ; Recovery of
marked, 140, 327 ; Mating in
November, 270.
INDEX.
395
Redshank, Iceland, Movements
from abroad, 46 ; in Wigtown-
shire, 333.
, Spotted, at Fair Isle, 124 ;
in Norfolk, in January, 335;
in Cheshire, 378.
Redstart, Black, in Shetland, 124 ;
in Middlesex, 274, 297 ; in
winter in Norfolk, 274 ; in
Carmarthenshire, 274 ; Breed-
ing in eastern county of
England, 338.
Redwing, Description of nestling,
353-
, Iceland, Movements from
abroad, 18 ; in Renfrewshire,
380.
Reviews : —
The London Naturalist for
1936 and the London Bird
Report for 1936, 92.
Committee on Bird Sanctuaries
in Royal Parks (England)
Report for 1936, 93.
Transactions of the Hertford-
shire Natural History Soci-
ety and Field Club 1937, 93-
Report of the Oxford Ornitho-
logical Society on the Birds
of Oxfordshire, Berkshire and
Buckinghamshire 1936, 93.
The Hastings and East Sussex
Naturalist, Vol. V, No. 4
(Hastings and St. Leonard’s
Nat. Hist. Soc.), 94.
Ornithological Report for the
County of Hampshire, 1936
(Proceedings of the Hamp-
shire Field Club and Arch.
Soc.), 94.
Report of the Marlborough
College Natural History
Society, 1936, 94.
Report on Somerset Birds,
1936, Somerset Arch, and
Nat. Hist. Soc., Somerset
County Museum, Taunton,
94-
Transactions of the Norfolk
and Norwich Naturalist’s
Society for the year 1936, 95.
Report of the Cambridge Bird
Club, 1936, 95.
Ornithological Record for
Derbyshire, 1935-6 (Derby-
shire Arch, and Nat. Hist.
Soc. Journal, 1936), 95-
Reviews ( contcl .) : —
Lancashire and Cheshire Fauna
Committee, Twenty-second
Annual Report . . . for
1935. 96.
St. Kilda Papers, 1931, 96.
British Trust for Ornithology,
126.
Bird Behaviour, 157, 199.
A Bird Lover’s Britain, 159.
A List of Irish Birds, showing
the species contained in the
National Collection, 159.
More Songs of Wild Birds, 239.
A Book of Birds, 239.
Studies in the Life-History of
the Song-Sparrow, Vol. I,
276.
Der Brutparasitismus der
Kuckuckvogel, 277.
Report on the Birds of
Warwickshire, Worcester-
shire, and S. Staffordshire,
1936, 336.
Transactions of the Cardiff
Naturalists Society, 1935,
336.
Observations on Birds in the
Bournemouth District,
October, 1936 to 1937, 336.
Skokholm Bird Observatory-
Report for 1937. 336.
Handbuch der Deutschen
Vogelkunde, 358.
De Nederlandsche Vogels, 383.
A History of Richmond Park,
with an account of its
Animals and Birds, 383.
Studies of British Birds, 384.
richardi, Anthus r., see Pipit,
Richard’s.
ridibundus, Lavas, see Gull, Black-
headed.
Ringed Birds, Movements of, from
Abroad to British Isles and
from British Isles Abroad, 14,
42.
Ringing — Future of the “ British
Birds ” Scheme : transfer to
the British Trust for Orni-
thology, 5.
Ringing, Bird-, Report of the
Committee : Progress for 1937,
345-
Roberts, E. L., Note on Red-
crested Pochards in Lincoln-
shire, 27.
396
BRITISH BIRDS.
Robin, Taking Moths, 157 ; Aggres-
sive display before mirror, 240 ;
Recovery of marked, 306.
Robinson, H. W., Letter on the
“ Mewing ” of Divers in winter,
128 ; Note on Nesting of
Fulmar Petrel on the Bass
Rock and Incubation-Period,
!54-
robusta, Tringa t., see Redshank,
Iceland.
Rook, Movements from abroad, 14.
Recovery of marked, 112, 302.
Rooke, K. B., Letter on birds
taking rubber-rings, 64.
roseus, Pastor, see Starling, Rose-
coloured.
Ross, Miss Winifred M., Notes on
Incubation- and Fledging-
periods of Goldcrest, 85 ; Water
Rail breeding in Inverness-
shire, 155.
Rothschild, Lord, Obituarial
notice, 146.
rubetra, Saxicola r., see Whinchat.
Ruff, in Orkney, 196 ; flock of, on
Fair Isle, 196 ; at Lundy, 199 ;
in Devonshire in winter, 357.
rufina, Netta, see Pochard, Red-
crested.
mfitergum, Garrulus g., see Jay.
rustica, Hirundo r., see Swallow.
rusticola, Scolopax r., see Woodcock
Salmon, H. Morrey, see Ingram,
Geoffrey C. S.
Sandpiper, American Pectoral, in
Cheshire, 237.
, Common, in Kent in winter,
382.
, Marsh-, seen in Kent and
Sussex, 197.
sandvicensis, Sterna s., see Tern,
Sandwich.
saxatilis, Monticola, see Thrush,
Rock-.
schinzii, Calidris a., see Dunlin.
schceniclus, Emberiza s., see Bunting,
Reed-.
schoenobcenus, Acrocephalus, see
Warbler, Sedge-.
scirpaceus, Acrocephalus s., see
Warbler, Reed.
Scoter, Common, in Middlesex, 298.
Scoter, Surf-, at Fair Isle, 124,
, Velvet-, in Middlesex, 298.
Serle, William (Jun.), Note on
Mortality amongst Reed-
Buntings and other Birds in
March storm in Midlothian,
25 ; Letter on the behaviour
of Male Mallards with broods,
3i-
Serventy, D. L., Note on The
Long-tailed Skua in the
Channel in November, 356.
Shag on the River Thames, 30 ; in
Cambridgeshire, 30 ; Recovery
of marked, 119, 324; Diving
of, 153 ; in Inner London, 310 ;
in Essex, 31 1, correction, 335 ;
in Surrey, 335.
Shearwater, Audubon’s Little, at
Bexhill-on-Sea,
, Great, at Fair Isle, 124 ; seen
in winter transect of North
Atlantic, 295 ; in the Thames
Estuary, 333.
, Manx, Movements to and
from abroad, 44 ; Homing
Experiments with, 242 ; Re-
covery of marked, 139, 325 ;
in the Thames Estuary, 333.
, North Atlantic Great, seen
in winter transect of North
Atlantic, 295.
, Sooty, in the mouth of the
Channel in June, 89 ; near
Outer Hebrides, 232.
Shoveler, Movements to abroad,
42 ; Recovery of marked, 308 ;
Breeding in the Isle of Wight,
354-
Shrike, Great Grey, in Westmor-
land, 238 ; in Norfolk, 238.
, Lesser Grey, in Shetland,
124 ; at Fair isle, 124.
Sibson, R. B., Note on Kentish
Plover in Cheshire, 61.
, , Currie, P. W. E., and
Gillham, E. H., Note on
Common Eiders in Kent, 59.
sinensis, Phalacrocorax c., see
Cormorant, Southern.
Skokholm Bird Observatory Hom-
ing Experiments, 242.
Skua, Arctic, in Norfolk, 155.
, Great, in Norfolk, 155 ; in
the Wash, 198 ; seen in winter
transect of North Atlantic,
295-
INDEX
397
Skua, Long-tailed, in Norfolk, 155 ;
in the Channel in November,
356-
, Pomatorhine, in the Wash,
198.
skua, Stercorarius s., see Skua,
Great.
Skye, Notes on some birds from,
331-
Smew, Courtship and mating of,
106, 151 ; in Surrey, 357.
Smith, D. Munro, Note on Black-
headed Gulls nesting in
Devonshire, go.
smithsonianus , Lams argentatus,
Gull, American Herring-.
Snipe, Common, Movements from
abroad, 46 ; Recovery of
marked, 141, 327.
— , Faeroe, Movements from
abroad, 46.
— -, Jack, Movements from
abroad, 47.
, Red-breasted, seen in Corn-
wall, 271.
Song, (Morning), Commencement,
265.
Song-Periods, Inquiry, 64, 200.
Southern, H. N., Some Notes on
the Late Breeding Behaviour
of the Rock-Pipit ( Plate 1), 2 ;
The supercilium of the Grey-
headed Wagtail, 1 01 ; Note on
the Nest-building instinct of a
Blackbird, 56 ; Letter on the
“ Bridled ” Guillemot, 280.
, , and Lewis, W. A. S.,
The Breeding behaviour of
Temminck's Stint, 314.
Sparrow, British Hedge-, Recovery
of marked, 306 ; Fed by House-
Sparrow, 25.
, Hebridean Hedge-, in Knap-
dale, 232.
— , House-, Feeding young
Hedge-Sparrows, 25 ; Breeding
in South Uist, 125 ; in Outer
Hebrides, 231.
spectabilis, Somateria, see Eider,
King-.
spermologus, Colauts m., see
Jackdaw.
spinoletta, Anthus s., see Pipit,
Water-.
Spoonbill, in Devon, 275.
stagnatilis, Tringa, see Sandpiper,
Marsh-.
Starling, Movements from and to
abroad, 15 ; Recovery of
marked, 1 13, 302 ; a Correction,
329-
, Rose-coloured, Reports of
occurrences in the British
Isles, 149, 194, 274.
Steep Holm, Birds of, 62.
stellatus, Colymbus, see Diver,
Red -throated.
Stendall, J. A. Sidney, Note on
Subalpine Warbler at Maidens
Lighthouse, Co. Antrim, 12 1.
Stewart, Malcolm, Notes on the
Gannetries of Sule Stack and
Sula Sgeir, 282.
Stint, Little, in Sussex in winter,
333 ; in Northumberland in
spring, 381.
, Temminck’s, in Shetland,
124 ; Breeding behaviour of,
3i4-
strepera, Anas, see Gadwall.
striata, Muscicapa s., see Flycatcher,
Spotted.
subbuteo, Falco s., see Hobby.
svecica, Luscinia s., see Bluethroat.
Swallow, Movements to abroad, 19 ;
Recovery of marked, 116, 306 ;
. in the Wash, 198 ; Food of
nestling, 234 ; results of Ring-
ing and Trapping, in Car-
marthenshire, 235 ; Nesting in
a box, 238 ; Starving, picking
up vegetable matter, 274.
Swan, Whooper, in Co. Donegal in
August, 151 ; tameness of, in
Hampshire, 381.
Swift, Recovery of marked, 306.
sylvatica, Strix a., see Owl, Tawny.
tadorna, Tadorna, see Duck, Sheld-.
tarda, Otis t., see Bustard, Great.
Taylor, J. B., Note on Short
Incubation-period of Skylark,
55-
, J. S., Notes on Breeding of
Sky-Lark, 233 ; Some Breeding
Habits of Mistle-Thrush, 233 ;
Redshank mating in Novem-
ber, 270.
Teal, Movements to and from
abroad, 21 ; Recovery of
marked, 118, 322.
398
BRITISH BIRDS.
Tebbutt, C. F., Note on Skuas and
other birds in the Wash, 198.
temminckii, Calidris, see Stint,
Temminck's.
Tern, Arctic, Movements to abroad,
48.
, Black, in Carmarthenshire,
273-
, Common, Movements to and
from abroad, 48 ; Recovery of
marked, 142, 328.
-, Gull-billed, in Norfolk, 89.
, Sandwich, Movements to
abroad, 47 ; Recovery of
marked, 141, 328 ; in London,
198.
, White-winged Black, in
Norfolk, 89.
testacea, Calidris, see Sandpiper,
Curlew-.
Tetley, H., Notes from the Bristol
District, 54 ; Iceland Redshank
in Wigtownshire, 333 ; Con-
tinental Great Tit in Glouces-
tershire, 352 ; Arctic Ringed
Plover in Somerset and Devon,
356 ; Letter on the Birds of
Steep Holm, 63.
tetrix, Tetrao, see Grouse, Black.
Thomas, J. F., Notes on breeding
of Common Pochard in
Carmarthenshire, 58 ; Incuba-
tion-period of Redshank, 61 ;
Food of nestling Swallows, 234 ;
Results of Ringing and Trap-
ping Swallows in Carmarthen-
shire, 235 ; Black Tern in
Carmarthenshire, 273.
Thompson, C., and G. B., Note on
Some Birds in relation to
Rifle-fire, 156.
, Gordon B., Letter on
Bird Flies, 360.
, G. B., see Thompson, C.
Thomson, Dr. A. Landsborough,
Report of the Bird-Ringing
Committee, Progress for 1937,
345-
Thrush, British Song-, Movements
to and from abroad, 17 ; in
Outer Hebrides, 231.
, Continental Song-, Move-
ments from abroad, 18.
, Hebridean Song-, Range of,
33i.
Thrush, Mistle-, Movements from
abroad, 17 ; Some Breeding-
Habits of, 233.
, Rock-, at Fair Isle, 124.
, Song-, Recovery of marked,
115. 305-
thunbergi, Motacilla /., see Wagtail,
Grey-headed.
Ticehurst, Dr. C. B., Note on
Great Reed-Warbler in Kent,
120.
-, Dr. N. F., Notes on Little
Stints in Sussex in winter, 333 ;
Oiled Birds resorting to Fresh
Water, 354.
, , and Morley, Miss A.,
Note on Marsh-Sandpipers seen
in Kent and Sussex, 197.
tinnunculus, Falco, see Kestrel.
Tit, Blue, Recovery of marked,
305 ; Roosting of, 331 ;
Swinging Roost of, 352.
, Coal, at Fair Isle, 124.
— - — -.Continental Great, in
Gloucestershire, 352.
— — , Great, Recovery of marked.
1 15 ; Aggressive display before
a looking-glass, 137.
, Willow-, Supplementary notes
on the distribution of, 104 ; at
Fair Isle, 124 ; in Bedfordshire,
238.
torda, Alca, see Razorbill.
torquatus, Turdus t., see Ouzel,
Ring-.
torquilla, Jynx, see Wryneck.
totanus, Tringa t., see Redshank.
tridactyla, Rissa t., see Kittiwake.
trivialis, Anthns t., see Pipit, Tree-.
troglodytes, Troglodytes t., see Wren.
Troubridge, Sir Thomas H. C.,
Bart., Tameness of Whooper
Swans in Hampshire, 381.
Tully, H., Note on Little Stints
in spring in Northumberland,
381.
tundrce, Charadrius h., see Plover,
Arctic Ringed-.
Turnstone, in Surrey, 28.
turtur, Streptopelia t., see Dove,
Turtle-.
Twite, British, Change of specific
name and status, n.
INDEX.
399
urbica, Delichon u., see Martin,
House.
vanellus, Vanellus, see Lapwing.
t ’aria, Mniotilta, see Warbler,
American Black-and-White.
Vaughan, H. R. H., Note on flight
speed of Guillemots, Razorbills
and Puffins, 123.
Venables, L. S. V., Birds seen in
two winter transects of the
North Atlantic, 295 ; Note on
the Song of the Crossbill, 330.
Vernon, Rev. Edward T., Note on
Pied Flycatcher in Perthshire,
56.
vidalii, Athene n., see Owl, Little.
Vincent, J., Notes on Incubation-
period of Water-Rail, 62, 96 ;
White-winged Black Tern,
Gull-billed Tern and adult
Little Gull in Norfolk, 89 ;
Letter on Incubation of Water-
Rail, 96.
viscivorus, Tnrdus v., see Thrush,
Mistle-.
vulgaris, Sturnus v., see Starling.
Waders, Some records of the Calls
and Cries of British, 267.
Wagstaffe, Reginald, and Clegg,
John, Note on Squacco Heron
in Lancashire, 59.
Wagtail, Grey, Song of, 352.
, Grey-headed, The supercilium
of, 101.
, Pied, Movements to abroad,
17 ; Recovery of marked, 115,
304 ; Adults using Roost in
June, 85, 124 ; breeding in
South Uist, 125 ; Aggressive
display of, before a looking-
glass, 137.
Walmsley, R. G., Note on Red-
breasted Snipe and Yellow-
shank seen in Cornwall, 271.
Warbler, American Black-and-
White, in Shetland, 125.
, Aquatic, seen in Kent, 150.
, Barred, at Isle of May, 123 ;
in Shetland, 124 ; in Northum-
berland, 196.
Warbler, Booted, at Fair Isle, 7 ;
Distribution of, 8.
, Garden-, in Outer Hebrides,
334-
, Great Reed-, in Kent, 120.
, Northern Willow-, Change of
specific name and status, 12 ;
from Somerset, 54.
, Reed-, nesting in Co. Down,
125.
, Sedge-, Breeding in Outer
Hebrides, 12 1.
, Subalpine, at Maidens Light-
house, Co. Antrim, 121.
, Yellow-browed, at Isle of
May, 123.
Waxwing, in Yorkshire, 56 ; Large
Immigration of, in Scotland,
86 ; in Cumberland, 157.
Wheatear, Taking Moths, 122 ;
Recovery of marked, 305.
— . Greenland, in Outer Hebrides,
231.
Whinchat, Movements to abroad,
18 ; on Achill Island, Co.
Mayo, 58 ; in Shetland, 124.;
early in Hampshire, 382.
White, C. M. N., Notes on Outer
Hebridean Birds, 230 ; Some
birds from Skye, 331.
Whitethroat, Recovery of marked,
115. 3°5-
, Siberian Lesser, Change of
specific name and status, 12 ;
at Isle of May, 123 ; in
Shetland, 124.
Wigeon, Movements from and to
abroad, 24 ; Recovery of
marked, 119, 308.
Wildfowl, Information wanted of,
in Outer Hebrides, 128.
Witherby, H. F., A Personal Note
on the Future of the “ British
Birds ” Ringing Scheme, 6 ;
Additions and Alterations to
the British List, 7 ; Notes on
full-winged Mandarin Ducks
ringed and put down on the
Buckingham Palace lake, wan-
dering to Hungary and Sweden,
27 ; “ The Handbook of British
Birds,” 84 ; young of the
Lesser Spotted Woodpecker,
88 ; Western Little Bustard in
Yorkshire — a new British Bird,
334-
400
BRITISH BIRDS.
Witherby, H. F., and Leach, Miss
E. P., Movements of Ringed
Birds from Abroad to the British
Isles and from the British Isles
Abroad, Addenda V., 14, 42.
, , and Nicholson, E. M.,
Supplementary notes on the
distribution of the British
Willow-Tit, 104.
Woodcock, Movements from and to
abroad, 47 ; Recovery of
marked, 141, 327.
Woodpecker, Great Spotted, eating
Pheasant’s eggs, 332.
Woodpecker, Lesser Spotted, Young
of, 88.
Wren, Taking Moths, 157; Re-
covery of marked, 306.
, Hebridean, Range of, 331.
, Fire-crested, see Firecrest.
, Golden-crested, see Goldcrest.
yarrellii, Motacilla a., see Wagtail,
Pied.
Yellowshank, seen in Cornwall, 271.
5 - MAY 1938
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