276 BRITISH BIRDS. 



the call during the late summer, when the birds are presumably 

 moulting. 



The Great Spotted Woodpecker {D. m. anglicus*) 

 apparently makes a similar call only very rarely ; its song 

 is the drumming noise, and its ordinary call a single sharp 

 note. We have not heard either of these species drum in 

 the autumn. 



The Green Woodpecker {Gecinus viridis) makes a number 

 of different notes ; the full laughing cry, which we take 

 to be the song, is, "we believe, only uttered from January 

 to late summer, and not in autumn ; this species also drums, 

 but apparently not often. 



Cuckoo {Cuculus canorus). — Period. From arrival to late 

 June, generally stopping within a few days of the 20th ; a 

 few sometimes continue till the first week in July. 



Pigeons. 



All the three Pigeons make a " coo," which seems to 

 constitute the song ; as far as we know none of them makes 

 any other note : — 



Wood-Pigeon [Columba palumbus). — Occasionally in 

 January and February, and regularly from March to the 

 beginning of October. 



Stock-Dove (C. cenas). — It sings later in the autumn 

 than the Wood-Pigeon, and possibly less in the summer. 



Turtle-Dove {Turtur communis). — Irregularly for a week 

 after arrival, and then regularly to the beginning of August. 

 Wo have a record as late as the 23rd of August, 1910 (Reading). 



Rails. 



The call of the Corn-Crake {Crex pratensis) seems to be a 

 song, as it is uttered regularly only up to about the end of 

 June. The " sharming " of the Water-Rail [Rallus 

 aquaticus) seems to be made chiefly in March and April. 

 We know .of no song in the case of the Moor-hen or Coot. 



Waders. 



Of the waders breeding in our district the Lapwing, 

 Snipe and Redshank have definite songs. 



Lapwing {Vanellus vulgaris). — -The earliest record we have 

 is on January 13th, 1910 (Tunbridge Wells) ; occasionally 

 in February, regularly from the middle of March to the middle 

 of May, and occasionally to the close of the month. 



Snipe {Gallinago coslestis) (drumming). — Chiefly in April ; 

 we have records as early as February 24th, 1908 (Tunbridge 

 Wells), and as late as July 24th, 1910 (Tunbridge Wells). 



