A LIST OF THE BIRDS OF BERWICK-ON-TWEED 79 



A LIST OF THE BIRDS OF BERWICK-ON-TWEED, 

 WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO "THE BIRDS 

 OF BERWICKSHIRE," AND NOTICES OF THE 

 OCCURRENCE OF SOME OF THE RARER 

 SPECIES IN THE ADJOINING DISTRICTS. 



By GEORGE BOLAM, F.Z.S., etc. 



( Continued from p. 14.) 



JACKDAW, Corvus monedula, Linnaeus. Very abundant, nesting 

 in large colonies in the sea cliffs, at Marshall Meadows, and north- 

 wards. Numbers of them come to roost regularly with the Rooks 

 at Castle Hills ; and in the early morning they may constantly be 

 met with in the streets of the town, picking up any refuse that is to 

 be found. 



Individuals with a few white feathers are frequently noticed, and 

 the gray upon the nape is sometimes extended to the margins of the 

 feathers of the back, and even to the shoulders of the wings. 



RAVEN, Corvus corax, Linnreus. Sixteen or seventeen years ago 

 I used to see a Raven, or a pair of them, occasionally along the sea 

 banks, between Berwick and Marshall Meadows, and as these some- 

 times occurred in the breeding season, they would no doubt be 

 nesting at no great distance. Since that time, however, it seems to 

 have been almost banished from the Berwickshire coast. 



There is an old nest, in a sheltered corner of the cliff, at Blakey, 

 near Burnmouth, but the fishermen tell me it has not been tenanted 

 for over twenty years. Viewed through a telescope, from the heights 

 above, it is difficult to believe that the nest can be so old, for the 

 sticks are quite fresh and clean looking at that distance, but as it is 

 several years now since it was first pointed out to me, and during 

 that time I have noticed no change in it, the story begins to seem 

 not so improbable after all. 



In September 1892 a shepherd, whom we met near Fast Castle, 

 told us that the Raven "had got very uncommon there now," but 

 that a pair had nested, two years previously, on a scar, about half a 

 mile north of the Castle. 



In September 1880 one was observed to frequent Lamberton 

 Moor for a short time. In July 1895 the lighthouse-keepers in- 

 formed us that they had noticed a single Raven at St. Abb's Head, 

 one day during the previous winter, but had seen no others for some 

 time past. On iyth March 1895 a solitary bird flew past me, on 

 the sea banks, near Berwick, going in a northerly direction. These 

 dates supplement the information given by Mr. Muirhead. 



