121 



Great flocks of Lapwings ( Vanettus vulgaris) and Starlings 

 (Sfurnus vulgaris) have been about this district all the winter, 

 owing, I suppose, to the very open weather we have had. A 

 Wryneck was shot in the district in the late summer, and a 

 Eose-coloured Pastor (Pastor roseus) was shot out of a flock of 

 Starlings at Kedcar, and came into the hands of Mr. T. H. 

 Nelson. Fieldfares (Turdus pilaris), Eedwings (T. iliavus), and 

 Hooded Crows (Corvus comix) have been here in their usual 

 numbers. 



Of the Sand-Grouse (Syrrhaples paradoxus) which favoured this 

 district with their presence in some numbers during the late 

 invasion, I have heard nothing lately, and I question very much 

 whether there is one alive in the district. 



THE RUFF IN THE NORTH OF ENGLAND. 





The account of the breeding of the ruff in England, as described 

 by Montagu, has been so frequently quoted as to have become 

 familiar to the majority of ornithologists, though at the present 

 day the bird is not included among the nesting species of this 

 country. It is, therefore, with feelings of great satisfaction I am 

 enabled to announce the fact that, for three successive seasons, 

 a pair, at least, of these interesting and peculiar birds have 

 successfully nested and brought off young within a very short 

 distance of this corner of Cleveland. The first intimation I 

 received of their presence in the neighbourhood was late in June, 

 1901, when my friend Mr. C. Milburn informed me that a ruff 

 had been seen several times by his friend C. and himself on the 

 edge of the marshes. A diligent search for the nest was, 

 unfortunately, not attended with success, and, in the light of 

 subsequent experience, it appears to be probable that the reeve 

 would by that time have hatched off her eggs and taken her 

 brood away. The ruff disappeared about the end of July. 



In the following season an anxious watch was kept for the 

 appearance of the visitors, and on May 10th notice was forwarded 

 to me that the ruff and two reeves had arrived on the scene. 

 The following observations, as noted in my journal, while the 



Reprinted from " Country Life " by permission of the Editor. 



