178 THE BIRDS OF KENT 



not very numerous, but that it breeds there is evident 

 from the following records. 



In 1844, the Eev. J. Pemberton Bartlett says : " Tree- 

 Sparrows are tolerably abundant in winter, mixing with 

 the House-Sparrows and Finches. I have met with two 

 or three instances of their breeding in the holes of trees." 



The Tree-Sparrow is included in the Birds Observed at 

 Bainham, by Mr. W. H. Power, who writes : " Early on 

 the morning of September 28, 1865, my brother and I for 

 the first time noticed this bird near Rainham. We were 

 returning from the marshes, when we heard the notes of 

 the bird as it flew over in the mist, and recognised it at 

 once. Although we tried hard, it was some days before 

 any were obtained ; indeed, for a day or two we lost 

 sight of them, and began to be afraid they bad departed 

 altogether. I have usually found them associated in 

 flocks with the common House-Sparrow, and although 

 there is little difficulty in distinguishing the note of the 

 Tree-Sparrow from that of the more common species, it 

 is not so easy to tell one bird from another as they fly by 

 in a flock, consequently the chances are considerably in 

 favour of one's killing a House-Sparrow, as I found more 

 than once to my cost. 



. "In 1868, the Tree-Sparrow appeared on Septem- 

 ber 26 at Rainham. Large flocks were passing over in a 

 north-westerly direction during the first part of October. 

 Numbers always remain in the district during the 

 winter." 



Lord Clifton states that a large flock of Tree-Sparrows 

 frequented a small wood at Cobham in the winter of 

 1868-9. Mr. H. K. Swann met with this locally breeding 

 species somewhat commonly in three different places, 

 namely, the seashore at a spot near Ramsgate, where it 



