n6 Wild Birds and their Haunts 



for the county), and bullfinch. Mr. Browne mentions 

 the parrot crossbill, one occurrence in 1849, and the 

 common crossbill as a rare visitor. I have no records 

 of either, and though in 1911 there was a large invasion 

 of crossbills from the Continent, and many remained and 

 bred in various parts of the country rich in conifers 

 which are necessary for their existence, I neither saw 

 nor heard of them here, though I did of two at 

 Belvoir. 



' ' The next sub-family is the ' EmberizincB,' buntings, 

 and we have four of these, the corn bunting, yellow ham- 

 mer, reed bunting and snow bunting. These are resident, 

 except the last, which only occasionally visits us in 

 winter. One of our bird-catchers, in the winter of 1913, 

 asked me to call and see a beautiful plumaged bird he 

 had caught in this neighbourhood. I did so, and found a 

 very fine male snow bunting in, as he said, beautiful 

 plumage. He soon found a purchaser at a good price. 

 Mr. Browne mentions one occurrence only of the cirl 

 bunting* (very many years ago), and the ortolan bunting 

 also one only, and that he gives with some reserve. The 

 ' Sturnidce ' are represented with us only by the starling. 

 Mr. Browne mentions also the rose-coloured pastor as 

 having occurred twice many years ago (one at Enderby). 

 The ' Corvidce ' include the jay, magpie, jackdaw, carrion 

 crow, hooded crow (of which I have only a record of one, 

 shot by my eldest son at Stoke Golding in the winter of 

 1913 while shooting with Mr. Robertson, who now has 

 it stuffed), and rook, the raven being extinct in the 

 county. The ' Alaudidce ' with us include only the 

 skylark. We have not the woodlark, and Mr. Browne 

 says he has no knowledge of it. The swift represents 

 the family, ' Cypselida,' and of the next family, the 

 ' Caprimulgidce,' the nightjar is very rare. One was shot 

 at Newbold Verdon by a party of sportsmen of whom Mr. 

 Frank Bouskell was one, in Sept., 1914, and Colonel 

 Harris recollects some at the Shade, Sharnford, when he 

 lived there as a boy. 



*Mr. Davenport, of Melton Mowbray, has recently recorded the nesting 

 of the Cirl Bunting near there. S.H.P. 



