30 THE BIRDS OF KENT 



furze, his colours modest and beautifal, his foriu elegant 

 and compact, sang his plaintive and pleasing melody. 

 On April 30, 1861, saw one Whinchat at Kidbrooke, 

 springing" up catching gnats. On April 23, 1866, strolled 

 round to the south-west face of Shooter's Hill ; saw one 

 Whinchat and one Redstart alternately take possession 

 of the elevated stump of an old tree ; down went the 

 Whinchat to seize its prey, up went the Redstart ; the 

 moment he darted down, up went the Whinchat. On 

 April 27, 1866, in a walk by Kidbrooke, I saw two 

 Whinchats." 



Morris, in his Historij of British Birds, says the 

 Whinchat is " one of the most common visitors in 

 Surrey, Sussex and Kent." Mr. C. Collingwood gives the 

 date of its " arrival at Farm Lane, Lee, Kent, as May 4, 

 1854." While bird's-nesting in Kent, Mr. A. G. Butler 

 found a nest at Bobbing, " on June 11, 1875, with 

 young birds in it. The nest was placed in a bramble 

 through which furze was growing." 



Mr. H. Lamb, in his Birds of the Maidstone District, 

 says that it is " not common here. Last year (1875) I 

 found a nest with eggs in it, under the eaves of a barn 

 near Farleigh, which I thought unusual, as it builds 

 on the ground," Mr. R. J. Balston made a note in 

 which he says : "I believe I saw a pair of these birds on 

 March 21, 1868, on Boxley Warren, but although I 

 watched and followed, could not get sufficiently near 

 them to be certain." It is also included in the Birds of 

 Higham, by the Rev. C. H. Fielding. There are speci- 

 mens in the Maidstone Museum, obtained at Linton in 

 August, 1888, and October 25, 1889, by Mr. H. Kennard. 

 In the Birds of East Kent, 1889, Mr. G. Dowker says it 

 is " moderately common," including Nonington, W. 0. 



