166 J. p. NTTNJSr — BrRDS OF NORTH HERTFORD SHIHE. 



having been shot were killed by the keeper in the Newnham 

 Plantation, not far from Baldock, about the year 1878. They were 

 a fine pair, and are or were in the possession of Mr. Simpson. 



I may state that the foregoing remarks, with a few exceptions, 

 apply chiefly to the hilly and wooded districts, while the following 

 refer to the district aroimd Eoyston, which I regret to say is rapidly 

 becoming a birdless region. It is true we have a sample avifauna, 

 but no birds — not even Passer domesticus — in bulk. The wryneck 

 is a lost bird : I cannot say that of the nuthatch, having never 

 seen but one in the district. All the ordinary tits breed here, and 

 also the goldcrest. The nightingale is found in numbers, and 

 nearly all the general run of common birds. As we have no water, 

 I have no aquatic birds to report beyond a water-rail {Rallus 

 aquaticus) caught in the town, having come in contact with the 

 telegraph-wires, which are responsible for the lives of very many 

 biixls. 



The main causes of the decrease of birds are : (1) the cats, which 

 are far too numerous and utterly useless; (2) the gardeners; 

 (3) the modem gunner. " The Boy" is not in it, for birdsnesting 

 is not carried on as it was formerly. 



