214 W. BICKERTON NOTES ON BIRDS 



out, and indeed in a pliotograph wliich I took of the eggs, two of 

 them are seen to be " chipping." Now, taking twenty-six days 

 as the period of incubation of this species, it will be evident that 

 the whole of the eggs were laid by about January 4th, and 

 assuming that they were laid at the rate of one each day, it 

 follows that some five or six of them were laid (hiring the last 

 week of December, 1905 ! The locality was in the Colne Valley 

 between Watford and Rickmansworth. 



Long-tailed Duck (Harelda glacial is). —This bird has only 

 once been recorded for the countv, a specimen having been taken 

 at Tring in October, 1892. The" Hon. Walter Eothschild, M.P., 

 informs me that : " On 12th November, 1906, a fine male long- 

 tailed duck was shot on the reservoirs. The head and underside 

 were fully moulted into the winter plumage, while the back was 

 in full moult from the summer to the winter plumage." This 

 particular duck, as a rule, only nests in any numbers to the 

 north of the Arctic Circle, and especially in Iceland. 



Moorhen (Gallimila chloropus). — I had a note in my last 

 report as to the tendency of moorhens to become tamer and 

 less shy of approach. The following note sent by Mr. A. W. 

 Dickinson (St. Albans) gives further evidence of the same 

 tendency : — " A male moorhen came to the garden here in the 

 middle of March, and washed every day in a small cavity in 

 large ' pudding ' stone on rockery in front of house, and only 

 a few yards from windows. The cavity is only large enough 

 for the moorhen to sit in, and is kept filled with water for the 

 use of smaller birds, and is frequently used as a bath by many 

 different species." 



Ringed Plover (jEgialitis hiaticola). — On October 7th I saw 

 six birds of this species, associated with three dunlins (Tringa 

 aljnna) at the Marsworth Reservoir. These are the first I have 

 personally seen in the county, although they visit these reservoirs 

 regularly each year. 



GTolden Plover (Charadrius pluvialis). — Mr. Dickinson (St. 

 Albans) reports this bird as scarcer during 1906 than in previous 

 years. On the other hand, Mr. Vaughan (Haileybury) writes 

 as follows : — " A good year for golden plover. I saw large flocks 

 on January 24th, February 22nd, 28th, and March 1st. On 

 March 1st the biggest flock I have seen for years, consisting of 

 quite 300 birds. In a few cases the black breast was beginning 

 to show." Mr. Vauglian also reports that he first saw it on its 

 return in autumn on October 30th. Now these are very 

 interesting notes, and when one looks back over the records for 

 several years past, one is forced to the conclusion that the 

 golden plover is a regular — and in some years a very numerous — 

 visitor to the eastern part of the county ; that it gradually 

 " thins off " towards the central parts (Mr. Dickinson, New 

 Farm, St. Albans, reports it almost every year) ; and over here 

 in the western district it is extremely scarce. I have never seen 



