Bird Notes and News 



their nesting -sites, while the Warblers 

 trust to their skill in secreting their 

 treasures in thick bramble bushes. The 

 birds are also for the most part late 

 builders, waiting till the leaves are well out. 



It is characteristic of the Parisian birds 

 to use the same site over and over again ; 

 thus, a particularly eligible hole in a tree 

 has been successive^ used by Marsh, 

 Great and Blue Tits. The Blackcaps are 

 specially attached to one area ; year after 

 year the same pair or their descendants 

 use the same patch of brambles to nest 

 in, although all round there are any 

 number of apparently equally suitable 

 places. At all times of the year the 

 different species appear to be limited in 

 their range ; one may almost say that 

 each section of the area has its own 

 peculiar species. 



The summer migrants are as a general 

 thing later in arriving than in the country 

 or than in England. The first Swallow 

 this year (1911) did not appear till the 

 20th of April, and the bulk of them 

 and of the Martins not for some days 

 afterwards. Willow-wrens and Redstarts 

 appeared on the 19th, Nightingales on 

 the 22nd. These dates are unusually late, 

 especially as the weather had, from the 

 14th onwards, been warm, with southerly 

 and south-westerly breezes. The num- 

 bers of the different species resident and 

 migratory are not in the customary pro- 

 portions, there being, as above-mentioned, 

 a great preponderance of those species 

 that nest in holes ; even the Hedge- 

 Sparrow is relatively rare compared with 

 the Tits. But the numbers fluctuate 

 considerably. One of the main factors 

 determining them is the date of Easter, for 

 if this falls in the middle of the breeding 

 time the Bank Holiday crowds account 

 for the loss of many broods. 



The various finches are on the whole 

 the most prominent family ; the beautiful 



Goldfinch is, however, very rare nowadays, 

 while our famihar Linnet appears to have 

 been always unknown. This may be due 

 to the absence of gorse or " common," 

 which is also doubtless why we miss the 

 Chats and the Buntings. Perhaps the 

 most interesting finch is the Serin, a 

 small, canary-like bird, which has occa- 

 sionally been recorded from the south of 

 England. Originally a southern species 

 it has within the last few years extended 

 its range to Paris, where it now breeds 

 fairly freely ; the nest, containing 4-5 

 eggs, is usually made in a garden, in thick 

 evergreens. The Warblers are also well 

 represented. The Blackcap, usually said 

 to be a very shy species, is rather tame 

 than ■ otherwise, and even nests in the 

 gardens of houses near the Bois. The 

 Nightingale was very common some 15 

 years ago, but gradually became quite 

 rare ; of late it has been decidedly on 

 the increase again, and is particularly 

 abundant this year. It is difficult to 

 judge of its numbers, as the nests are so 

 well hidden as to be rarely found. It is 

 probable that the Icterine, Orphean, 

 and Wood Warblers are all nesting species, 

 though I can find no record of this. 



The Thrush family is represented by 

 most of its members, but, with the excep- 

 tion of the Blackbird, they are rather 

 scarce, being in great demand throughout 

 France for eating. The bulk of the Song- 

 Thrushes migrate towards the end of 

 October ; they are never common, and 

 I have only once found a nest. 



The Corvidse are very scarce, but one 

 or two pairs of Jays and Magpies manage 

 to maintain a precarious existence. The 

 Jays keep in companies of four or five 

 even as late as April, and are not at all 

 noisy or conspicuous, always keeping 

 to the most secluded parts. Magpies are 

 much less wary in their habits, but both 

 species select high trees to nest in. 



