The Rarer Birds of the Solway Area. 42r> 



and have to explain that the selection of species has been of a 

 rather arbitrary character on my part. I divide them into the 

 following classes so as to give the subject a rather clearer 

 view : — 



I. 



Spring or Summer Visitants. 



The Golden Oriole — a really brilliant bird of tropical 

 appearance, closely allied to the thrushes. It comes to Great 

 Britain with considerable frequency, and if left alone by the 

 Kentish cherry farmers would certainly breed there, but so far 

 north as this it is one of the greatest rarities we have. In fact 

 there are only two occurrences — one near Sanquhar thirty or 

 thirty-five years ago, and the other at Newton-Stewart within the 

 last three years. 



The White Wagtail — The continental form of the ordinary 

 pied wagtail, but with a grey back, while ours has it black. 

 Within recent years it has been found that a migration flight line 

 of the white wagtail is along the west coast of England and Scot- 

 land, passing about the latter end of March, and proceeding by 

 some convenient short cut up the west of our islands, so as- 

 perhaps to avoid the east wind, and on to the northern part of 

 Scandinavia. 



The Hawfinch was a rare bird about 30 years ago, but it 

 has so rapidly increased that in many parts of England it is 

 already a great pest on green peas. We have had three occur- 

 rences of the bird — one in 1869 at Newton-Stewart, another at 

 Moffat three years ago, and only last season one was seen in 

 Troqueer parish. 



The Wryneck is one of the most interesting of our visitors, 

 but its migration limits are strictly defined to a line which passes 

 across the country somewhere in the latitude of York. There 

 has been only two occurrences, both in Nithsdale, many years- 

 ago. 



The Hoopoe comes to us very rarely now-a-days, and all the 

 records we have are old ones. 



Of the Lesser-spotted Woodpecker only one occurrence is 

 known, namely, at Troqueer Holm, in i860, and the specimen 

 was in the possession of this Society till it became moth-eaten. 



The specimen of the Roller shown is the ordinary south- 



