OF NORXn ITEItTFORDSmUE. 10)5 



Since the cold winter of 1894 the common (now nncommon) 

 linnet lias disappeared, and on the west side of Iloystou is a rare 

 bird ; it would not be possible to find a pair of them. 



The swift in the Forties was quite a rare bird at Royston ; now 

 it breeds there freely. On the other hand, in those days it was 

 a constant visitor to Kelshall and Sandon, and bred there, but in 

 the Sixties it was scarcely ever seen at either of these places. 



The plovers — golden plover ( Charadrius pluvialis) and green 

 plover ( Vanellus cristatus) — appear to be rather erratic in their 

 movements. In the Forties thousands of golden plovers used to 

 visit the neighbourhood of Odsey Heath during the autumn. In 

 the Fifties they discontinued their visits, but now they have 

 appeared again in very considerable numbers in our fields on the 

 extreme northern borders of Herts, and during the winter of 

 1895-96 both the green and golden plovers were to be seen in 

 numbers never before witnessed. It was truly a most wonderful 

 sight when they were all on the wing together, the whole country 

 being full of them : the plovers stayed with us until the 4th of 

 March, 1896, on which day the lapwings took their depai'ture, not 

 even a stray bird being left to tell the tale, and the golden plovers 

 left the next day. Both kinds returned during the closing days of 

 October, 1896, but left as soon as the snow came, about Christmas, 

 reappearing about the middle of February, though not in their 

 former numbers. 



In the spring of 1893 that rare bird the grey plover {Squaterola 

 helvetica) was found here (Royston), having come in contact with 

 the telegraph-wires. The specimen, which was a female, came 

 into the possession of the late Mr. W. Norman, who brought it 

 to me. I have no other record of this bird having been seen here. 



In the autumn of 1894 a little auk was brought to me alive: 

 it is now in the possession of Mr. D. H. Nash, of Royston. 



I have never met with the tawny owl in Hertfordshire, although 

 it has been found nesting a couple of miles over the border in 

 Cambridgeshire. 



During my twenty-three years on the hills in North Herts, I 

 never met with the tree-sparrow {Passer montanus), but within the 

 last five years I have received the eggs from that district. This 

 bird, although having always been a constant visitor during the 

 "svinter to the immediate locality of Royston, has only very recently 

 stayed to nest, but now I find it breeding freely on my farms. 

 It is exceedingly curious how little is known of the tree-sparrow, 

 very few people being aware of its existence. 



In former times I used to hear the grasshopper-warbler, but 

 I have never heard of its nest having been found. The kingfisher 

 used occasionally to pay a visit to our ponds, but never stopped to 

 nest. The red-backed shrike (Lanius collurio) may be seen nearly 

 every year along the borders of Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire, 

 but I have never met with it on the hills. 



The peregrine {Falco peregrhms) is occasionally seen in our open 

 fields. The last pair of these birds I have any recollection of 



