v.— SOME CHARACTERISTIC BIRDS OF THE SUFFOLK 



MOORLANDS. 



Introductory. 



A GLANCE at any good map of the County of Suffolk will show that 

 much of the land in the vicinity of the coast consists, to a greater 

 or less extent, of rough, heath\- moorlands, intermixed with arable 

 and marsh lands. 



On some of these commons, gorse and bracken predominate ; 

 others are almost entirely covered with heather and little else, and 

 are more suggestive of a Yorkshire grouse-moor than a Suffolk 

 Partridge-ground. In size, they \'ary from patphes of a few acres 

 to large areas some miles in width or length. The surface is 

 generally flat or gently undulating ; but in some cases, e.g., the 

 Dunwich or Westleton " walks, " the ground becomes much more 

 irregular and hilly. 



Of trees there are none, and with the exception of a few strav 

 thorn-bushes, there is nothing to be seen over the wide expanse of 

 greater elevation except a bramble or furze, which may reach a 

 height of six or eight feet. 



Much of the land fringing the moor was at one time broken uji 

 by the plough, and brought under cultivation. 



The soil, however, was so poor, consisting onh* of light sand and 

 innumerable stones, that the experiment, in man\' cases, proved far 

 from successful, and much of the reclaimed land was allowed to fall 

 back into its primitive condition. 



In some cases, this became quick! \' reclothed with furze and 

 heather, and hardh^ recognizable from the surrounding common, 

 except, perhaps, for the remains of the old banks which marked the 

 boundaries of former fields ; in others again, the reclaimed patches 

 have remained naked and stony wastes, bare of any vegetation, 

 except coarse grass or an occasional bracken. This condition is 

 accounted for by the continual scouring of the light, sandy soil b}' 

 winds, and consequent removal of any seeds lying on the surface. 



Here and there a patch of this kind, 40 or 50 acres in e.xtent 



