10 THE BIRDS OF KENT 



•the Bulletin of the B.O.C., voL xvii., it is reported that 

 the Kedwing was taken on April 28, at Long Sand 

 Lighthouse, Kent. Keferring to Mr. G. Dowker's note 

 above, respecting the breeding of Redwings in Kent, 

 the only confirmation of this that can be found is given 

 by Mr. A. Kennard in the Zoologist, 1886. He says : 

 "A nest of this bird has been found at Cranbrook, Kent. 

 Of the identity of the species I am quite sure, for the 

 bird vi^as killed on the riest, and proved to be a Redwing." 

 On looking over the Rev. C. Swainson's book of Pro- 

 vincial Names and Folk Lore of British Birds, the 

 following curious story may be extracted : — 



"A rushing, rustling sound is heard in the English 

 Channel on the dark, still nights in winter, and is called 

 the 'herring spear,' or 'herring piece,' by the fishermen 

 of Dover and Folkestone. This is caused by the flight 

 of those pretty little birds, the Redwings, as they cross 

 the Channel on their way to warmer regions. The 

 fishermen listen to the sound with awe, yet regard it, 

 on the whole, as an omen of good success with their 

 nets" — quoting Dr. Buckland's Curiosities of Natural 

 History, Series II., 285-6. 



FIELDFARE. 



Tttrdus pilaris, Linnaeus. S.N., i., p. 291 (1766). 

 Felt, and Pigeon-Fieldfare. 



The Fieldfare is a regular winter visitor to this 

 county ; the numbers vary according to the severity of 

 the seasons. Some years they appear in large flocks, 

 and scatter over the more open country, especially along 

 the lanes and fields that are largely surrounded by haw- 



