J. E. LITTLEBOY BIRDS OBSERVED IN 1879. 73 



of obsorvors, and. witli (Iroopiiiij; Aviiig, absolutely dying of starva- 

 tion and cold. A icw tieldt'arcs are reported to have been seen in 

 sheltered districts dnring the month of December, 1879, but they 

 are again scarce, and the same remark ^Yill eciixally apply to red- 

 wings. Lord Ebury writes as follows : " Moor Park, 15th Dec, 

 1879. — Redwings and fieldfares are this year conspicuous by their 

 absence." 



The Blackbird [Tardus Menda). — Blackbirds suffered very 

 severely from the cold of last winter, but not, I think, to the same 

 extent as the birds last mentioned. I am indebted to a gentleman 

 at St. Albans for the following interesting anecdote : — A pair of 

 blackbirds frequented, during the spring and summer, a garden near 

 the River Ver. One morning the owner of the garden found, to his 

 extreme annoyance, that the cock-bird had been shot, and was 

 lying on one of the paths ; he also noticed that the hen was 

 perched upon a neighbouring tree, apparently bemoaning the fate 

 of her mate and watching over him. He took up the bird, and 

 examined it, and finding it lifeless, threw it into the stream. No 

 sooner had he done so than the hen blackbird flew to its rescue, 

 and actually plunged twice into the water in fruitless attempts to 

 recover the body of her companion. 



The Chiffchaff (Fhi/Uusco/nm coUylita). — First heard at King's 

 Langley on the 18th of March, at Kimpton on the 14th of April, 

 by the Rev. T. D. Croft, and at Hunton Bridge on the 24th. 



The Willow- Wrex {P. Trochilus). — Several seen at Odsey 

 Grange on the 13th of May. 



The "VVhitethroat [Sylvia rufa). — First seen at King's Langley 

 on the 19th of April, and near Hunton Bridge on the 27th. 



The Lesser Whitethroat (*S. curruca). — First seen at King's 

 Langley on the 26th of April, and in the garden, Hunton Bridge, 

 on the 5th of May. 



The Blackcap (*S. atricapilla). — First noticed by Miss "Wilson, 

 near Nutfield House, Watford, on the 29th of March, and at King's 

 Langley on the 19th of April. 



The Sedge-Warbler ( Calamodus schoenohcenus). — First seen at 

 Hunton Bridge on the 5tli of May. 



The Cole-Tit [Parus ater), the Great-Tit (P. major). — 

 Respecting tits, Mr. Edward Brown, of Luton, writes to me as 

 follows: "Tits will frequently enlarge holes in trees in which 

 they wisli to build. For several days last spring I watched a cole- 

 tit continually carrying small pieces of wood out of a hole in a 

 root, all of which it carefully deposited out of sight, no doubt in 

 order to prevent the discovery of its nest." And again: "Tits 

 always exhibit the greatest affection for their eggs. Last summer, 

 on thrusting my hand into a hole in a root, I was greeted by a 

 loud hiss, which 1 soon found proceeded from a great tit. I wished 

 to see the eggs, and determined to frighten her off, but it was no 

 e:isy task. After a few minutes she worked herself into a perfect 

 fury, and hissed and snap])ed her beak at me whenever I tried to 

 disturb her. At last I lifted her off with a stick, and she flew 



