164 J. p. NUNN — ON THE BIRDS 



crow was a constant visitor, and in considerable numbers during 

 the winter, but of late years we have seen very few of them. 

 They generally used to arrive about October 18th. 



Before leaving the Forties I may say that a woodchat shrike 

 {Lanius pomeranus^) was shot at Sandon, and came into the 

 possession of the late Mr. John Norman, but I am unable to give 

 any more particulars. About the same time (1845) a pair of hen- 

 harriers {Circus cyaneus) were shot in Sandon. They were pre- 

 served by the late Mr. John Norman, and were in the possession of 

 the late Mr. Henry Fordham at the time of his death. 



In the year 1847 I went to reside in the parish of Kelshall, the 

 upper part of which was then almost a forest in its primeval state. 

 I found the rooks and jackdaws breeding in the village, and the 

 can-ion-crow, sparrow-hawk, kestrel, hobby, magpie, white and 

 long-eared owls, and jay in undisturbed possession of the woods, 

 but when a keeper was installed in this El Dorado, most of these 

 birds were cleared off. The carrion-crow (Corvus corone) was 

 the first to disappear ; then followed the beautiful hobby \Falco 

 subbuteo), the last of which was shot from the nest in the breeding 

 season of 1849, and is now in my possession. I have never heard 

 of another being seen. The owls kept losing ground, and, at the 

 time of my leaving Kelshall in 1870, they were quite rare birds: 

 however, as they lost ground on the hills, they established them- 

 selves in the plantations on the northern border, and now breed 

 there. The long-eared owl is a temble enemy to our small birds, 

 and there is a most decided falling-off of all the small birds in the 

 plantations referred to, which are commonly known as The Fox 

 Covert or Church Hill Plantations. 



The short-eared owl is occasionally seen in our tumip-fields in 

 the autumn. The kestrel still lingers in the open fields called 

 Odsey Heath. A few years back a nest with eggs was found on 

 the top of a wheat-stack, but, needless to say, the eggs were 

 destroyed. 



The magpie, which was common over all this district, is now 

 extinct. The jay, on the other hand, has held its own against 

 all comers, and is fairly numerous. 



The woodpeckers were never common, although the whetile 

 (the local name for the green woodpecker) was frequently heard. 

 I never, however, met with it breeding. In the spring of 1893 

 a pair of the lesser spotted woodpecker {Pictis minor) were shot 

 about a mile soiith of Eoyston. The nightingale never paid us 

 a visit in the woodlands, but the whitethroat was exceedingly 

 plentiful. The strong and beautiful hawfinch never visited us, 

 but, curious to relate, it has within the past three years established 

 itself in the \illage of Therfield, very much to the annoyance of 

 the gardeners. I have never seen but one of these birds in its wild 

 state near Eoyston. 



* [This is probably the woodchat referred to in the 'Zoologist' for 1892, 

 p. 348, as having been shot near Baldock in the spring of 1856, although the 

 date mentioned by Mr. Nuun is somewhat earlier. — A. F. C] 



