152 A. F. GROSSMAN NOTES ON BIHDS 



White Wagtail {Motacilla alba). — I saw this "wagtail on several 

 occasions near Berkhamsted in 1896, but could obtain no actual 

 proof of its nesting in the neighbourhood. 



Geet Wagtail {Motacilla melanope). — This bird remained with 

 us in 1896 until nearly the end of March, and appeared again about 

 the middle of September, which was nearly a month earlier than 

 the date on which I first saw it in 1895. 



Meadow-Pipit {Anthus pratensis). — I saw one or two pairs of 

 meadow-pipits on Berkhamsted Common during the summer, but 

 could not discover whether they were actually nesting there. The 

 bii'd appears to nest in the neighbom'hood of Boyston, but there 

 does not seem to be any other place in the county where the fact 

 of its nesting has been actually proved. 



Gkeat Grey Shrike (Zanius excubitor). — Mr. F. Sutton informed 

 me that he shot a male of this species at Hill Farm, Xorthchurch, 

 in January, 1886. It was sitting on a high tree, and when shot 

 fell off into the snow, and on account of its colour could not at 

 first be found. He has the specimen in his possession now. 

 Mr. Latchmore states that he has one of these birds which was shot 

 on Norton Common, near Baldock, and Mr. Lucas tells me that 

 specimens have been seen from time to time near Hitchin. This 

 bird has been obtained in Hertfordshire on about a dozen occasions 

 since 1880. 



Pied Flycatcher {Muscicapa atricapilla). — A specimen of this 

 species was seen in Hitchin by Mr. Lucas in the summer of 1896, 

 and was eventually shot and preserved. Mr. Latchmore also 

 mentions that the pied flycatcher has occasionally been seen in the 

 neighbourhood of Hitchin. Only thi'ee examples of this bird have 

 been previously recorded in Hertfordshii'e, the last of the three 

 being shot at Stevenage in May, 1887. 



Hawfinch {Coccothraustes vulgaris). — The hawfinch was fairly 

 plentiful in the Berkhamsted district in 1896, although I did 

 not notice it in such large numbers as in 1895. On June 21st 

 I saw three of these birds in our garden at Berkhamsted feeding 

 on a cherry-tree ; so far as I could see, they were a female and 

 two young birds. Mr. Rivers informs me that this species is 

 resident in the neighbourhood of Sawbridgeworth, and he mentions 

 Pishiobuiy as a place where he thinks they nest, although he 

 has not had an opportunity of actually verifying the fact. He also 

 says that one or two families may sometimes be seen during the 

 summer feeding together on the peas in his garden. Mr. Lucas 

 states that he has observed this bird in the neighbourhood of 

 Hitchin, while Mr. Nunn informs me that within the last three 

 years the hawfinch has established itself in the parish of Therfield, 

 very much to the annoyance of gardeners there. In the 'Zoologist' 

 for 1849 there is a note from the late Rev. H. H. Crewe, in which 

 he mentions that a male hawfinch had been killed at Berkhamsted 

 about six years previously, and that in April, 1849, he had 

 observed a pair in a wood near Tring, and he then wrote as if 

 this species was at that time a comparatively rare bird in the 



