74 A. F. CEOSSMAN — XOTES 0^ BIRDS 



this species. These statements seem to point to the fact that the 

 bustard was formerly resident in Hertfordshire, but there is still no 

 specific mention of the bird having been actually obtained in the 

 county. Very probably, indeed, this is nearly all that will ever 

 now be known about its occurrence here, unless some one seeing 

 this report may call to mind having heard somebody in days 

 gone by speaking about the bird having been obtained or seen in 

 Hertfordshire. Besides these birds I have to mention the occurrence 

 of several others, which, although not new to the Hst, are only very 

 occasional visitors to our county. 



1. White Wagtail {Motacilla alha). — This bird does not appear 

 to have been recorded before in Hertfordshire, although most 

 probably it occurs annually. Mr. Eivers first mentioned its 

 occurrence in our county, for in a letter to me he stated that he 

 had seen one of these birds in company with two pied wagtails 

 at Sawbridgeworth, on March 17th last year. On April 6th I saw 

 a bird of this species at Wilstone Reservoir, feeding on some 

 floating masses of reeds which had been washed down by the force 

 of the storms of March. On April 21st Mr. Rivers examined 

 a wagtail's nest in a thick yew hedge, and found that there were 

 twelve eggs in it. Three of these eggs he afterwards sent to me 

 for examination, and one of them is certainly different from the 

 others, though whether it is a white wagtail's egg or not, I do not 

 attempt to say, but it seems extremely probable that such is the 

 case, as Mr. Rivers saw both a white and a pied wagtail about 

 round the nest. During the spring and summer I saw several 

 white wagtails, and I have good reason to believe that the species 

 nested near Eerkhamsted and reared its young, inasmuch as I saw 

 some young wagtails about the place where I had continually seen 

 a pair of birds of the white species. Mr. Kearton, in his recent 

 book on ' British Birds' ISTests,' remarks of this bird : " Migratory, 

 but little is known of its comings and goings. Although a common 

 bird on the Continent, only a few well-authenticated instances 

 of its breeding in the British Isles are on record, and those in the 

 southern counties of England. It is, however, thought that it may 

 often have been overlooked from the fact that its general appearance 

 and eggs are so similar to those of the pied wagtail to all except 

 the practical and experienced ornithologist." Mr. Saunders, in his 

 ' Manual of British Birds,' says : " This bird occurs all over Europe 

 and Northern Asia, as well as in Asia Minor, Palestine, and 

 Northern Africa. The situations selected for the nest are similar 

 to those chosen by the pied wagtail, while the eggs, though 

 sometimes of a rather bluer grey with bolder ashy markings, 

 frequently cannot be distinguished from those of that bird, and 

 their average measurements are identical." The bird practically 

 takes the place of the pied wagtail on the Continent. 



2. Two-BAEKED Ceossbill {Loxia hifasciata). — In the 'Zoologist' 

 for 1893, there is a note from Mr. H. Somers Rivers of the 

 supposed occurrence of the American white - winged crossbill 

 (Z. leuco2)tera) in Hertfordshire. I wrote to Mr. Rivers for 



