112 THE BIRDS OF KENT 



the birds of Rainham, Mr. F. D. Power tells us the 

 Yellow Wagtail is "numerous up to the middle of Sep- 

 tember on the marshes, they then rapidly become scarce : 

 last seen on October 6, 1868." It used to breed in the 

 Lower Eainham marshes. Mr. H. Lamb says that he 

 often saw it near Maidstone in the summer, and in the 

 summer of 1877 one was hovering about some clover tops. 

 Mr. E. Bartlett also obtained this species at Maidstone, 

 May 12, 1888, and Mr. H. Kennard procured it on 

 August 16, 1888. The nest and eggs were obtained by 

 the Rev. H. Watson, at Boughton Malberbe, in June, 

 1889. Dr. R. B. Sharpe procured specimens in May, 

 August and September at Plumstead, and in May, July, 

 August and September in Romney Marsh. Captain J. 

 D. Cameron includes it in his birds of Bethersden, and 

 it is a summer resident in the Mailing Valley, according 

 to the Rev. C. H. Fielding. 



Dr. A. G. Butler says : " A nest of this bird w^as brought 

 to me on May 16, 1885, found at Kemsley, in Kent, in 

 the bank of a pit, partly filled with water, amongst rank 

 herbage. This Yellow Wagtail is by no means an un- 

 common species in the neighbourhood of Sheppey ; I have 

 seen it every year, either in the brickfields of Murston 

 or Kemsley." Mr. S. A. Davies, in his Ornithological 

 Notes from East Kent, adds : " On September 29 (1895) 

 there were vast numbers of Yellow Wagtails, with a fair 

 admixture of Pied Wagtails, all along the shore in the 

 direction of Deal." In Captain Boyd Alexander's orni- 

 thological notes from Rye he states that on "August 

 27, 1896, light north-westerly wind. The Yellow Wag- 

 tails are edging eastwards. Towards evening large 

 numbers had concentrated around Dungeness, prior, no 

 doubt, to crossing the Channel." In his notes on the 



