144 J. E. LITTLEBOY — BIRDS OBSERTED IN 1878. 



was correct in his impression. I am further informed by the 

 Rev. H. H. Crewe that the crested grebe is a frequenter of the 

 Reservoirs, and I have recently seen two fine specimens of this 

 beautiful species which were obtained from that district. Our 

 group of the Grebe family is therefore, with only one exception, 

 complete. The red-necked and crested grebes are both migratory, 

 the former being a winter, and the latter a summer visitor. 



7. — The Tufted Duck {FuUgula cridata). — We are again in- 

 debted to our townsman, Mr. Alfred Dyson, for the record of a 

 species new to our district. Mr. Dyson shot a pair of these birds, 

 during the month of December, 1877, on the Colne, near "Watford. 

 The tufted duck is, with but rare exceptions, an exclusively winter 

 visitor in the British Isles. It is distinguished, as its name implies, 

 by a dependent crest of narrow black feathers ; its head and neck 

 are black, the former, in the male bird, being slightly tinged with 

 green ; its back and wings are nearly of the same colour, but the 

 latter are crossed by a white streak. It is common during the 

 winter in Yorkshire and the north of England, but is much 

 scarcer in the midland and southern counties. It is stated by the 

 Rev. C. A. Johns that the flesh of the tufted duck is less fishy, and 

 consequently more palatable than that of most of its class, " being 

 held in the estimation of French gastronomists as tm roti parfait.'''' 



8. — The Golden Eye {Clangtda glaucion). — I have to thank our 

 President for informing me of the recent capture of a pair of 

 these ducks in the Bushey meadows. The golden eye is a regular 

 winter visitor in the British Isles, but is by no means common in 

 the midland counties. A nest of young birds is said to have been 

 found in Sutherlandshire ; * but the golden eye generally breeds in 

 high latitudes, and is remarkable, among ducks, on account of its 

 peculiar habit of building in the holes of trees, frequently at the 

 height of 1 or 1 5 feet above the level of the water. 



I have also recorded, as requested, sundry notes respecting the 

 periods of arrival in this district of diiierent migratory birds, and 

 a few fresh particulars respecting some of the rarer species. I 

 extract the following from my memoranda: — 



The Nightingale {Danlias Luscinia).- — First heard by Miss 

 Wilson, at Watford, on the 17th of April; at Huntou Bridge, on 

 the 20th of April; at King's Langley on the 21st of April; and 

 at Ware, by Lieut. R. B. Croft, on the 22nd of April. The 

 nightingale has been much more abundant during the summer of 

 1878 than during the preceding year. 



The Redstaet {Ruticilla Fhoenicurus). — Seen near Xing's 

 Langley on the 18th of April. 



The Wheatear {Saxicola (Enayxtlie). — I was fortunate in iden- 

 tifying a wheatear on the 19th of August, in a field at the back of 

 St. Andrew's, Watford ; it is the first I have seen in this district. 

 On the same day two were observed by Mr. Barraud on the 



• Harting, * Handbook of Eritish Birds,' p. 66. 



