LEHERS 



SPORADIC NESTING. 

 To the Editors of British Birds. 



Sirs, — I\Ir. Jourdain in hi? editorial note has so completely replied 

 to Mr. Meares's letter, that there is very little more for me to add. I 

 have never disputed Mr. Witherby's grounds for describing the 

 Crossbill as a sporadic breeder in England ; on the contrary I consider 

 at the time the statement appeared it was fully justified. But since 

 the statement was made, i.e. soon after the great irruption in 

 1909-10, I have proved conclusively that it bred in 1911 and 1912. 

 Apart from this, the evidence which I have collected from several 

 keepers and keen observers left no doubt in my mind that it has always 

 bred in Suffolk and possibly Norfolk. Mr. H. M. Upcher remarked 

 that the Crossbill used to breed regularly in a small clump of fir-trees 

 near Brandon station, Norfolk {Bulletin B.O.C., Vol. XXVII., p. 61), 

 and I now respectfully submit that Mr. Witherby has no longer any 

 claim to maintain that the Crossbill is not a resident breeding species 

 in England. If some foreign .species has a right to be placed on the 

 British list as the result of securing a solitary example, then surely 

 the Crossbill has some claim to be classed as a resident English 

 breeding species, on the strength of the evidence which has been 

 submitted from time to time and placed before your readers. 



If I do not succeed in discovering the CrossVjiIl breeding in Suffolk 

 in 1913, it would be mere supposition to say that it had not bred, and 

 in my opinion this would not alter the question in the slightest. 



An important fact which should not be overlooked, is that Suffolk 

 and Norfolk are eminentlj' suited to the habits of the Crossbill. It is a 

 resident breeding species in Scotland and Ireland, and to my mind 

 there is nothing remarkable in its being so in England. 



As to the use (I would prefer to say the misuse) of the word 

 "sporadic," "erratic" would I think have been more applicable to 

 the case. However, I will not attempt to offer any opinion as to the 

 correct definition of a word which apparently can be " drawn and 

 quartered " at will, but )f Mr. Meares Ls correct in his interpretation 

 of the word, then I have not the slightest hesitation in saying that 

 the species mentioned by me as a comparison are undoubtedly 

 sporadic ; indeed to a certain extent all migratory species must be, as 

 the distribution of any species over a given area must depend entirely 

 on the numbers which arrive in this coimtry. 



