STONECHAT. 31 



rare at Helmsley, though numerous in a certain valley seven 

 or eight miles west of that place, where it breeds, and it 

 occasionally occurs near Pickering ; at Hovingham it is noted, 

 and also from the York district, where it was known to nest 

 up to early in the " eighties " ; in Wensleydale it is scarce, 

 and has been observed very rarely at Leyburn Shawl, and 

 in Bedale neighbourhood, while one instance is known of the 

 nest being reported at Northallerton, in May 1882 ; it is 

 fairly abundant at Hawes ; it nests regularly near Sedbergh, 

 but is seldom seen near Richmond and Thirsk. In Upper 

 Teesdale it is a scarce species, though it has nested on 

 Crossthwaite, and odd birds remain in winter, one so recently 

 as February igoi. In Cleveland, John Hogg in his list {Zool. 

 1845, p. 1058), remarked that it is local and somewhat rare. 

 I formerly observed it almost annually, and often on the 

 sea banks during the migratory period in spring, but it is 

 now extremely scarce as a resident ; it breeds sparingly in 

 several localities on the Cleveland hills, where, after patient 

 watching, the nest was found in gorse bushes ; it is, however, 

 not uncommon in some years on the southward passage in 

 autumn ; it is perhaps more abundant in the Staithes and 

 Loftus districts than in other parts of Cleveland, and has 

 frequently been noticed on the sea-cliffs in the breeding 

 season ; nests have been found on the edge of the Waupley 

 ajid Lingdale Moors, and at Ugthorpe it also receives a place 

 in the list of local birds. 



From the information supplied to the British Association 

 Migration Committee we obtain abundant evidence as to 

 the spring and autumn movements of the Stonechat ; at the 

 latter period young birds are usually reported, occasionally 

 an old female, but adult males are always scarce and are 

 more frequently met with in October than at other times ; 

 it was very plentiful at Spurn in 1880, and there was a con- 

 siderable immigration of immature birds at the latter end 

 of August 1884 ; in 1886 it was quite numerous at Spurn 

 on 28th August, and for ten days afterwards, parties of six 

 being often seen together ; it was common in the autumn of 



