76 Transactions of the 



There are five species of wagtail, — tlie only other one seen here 

 is the yellow wagtail. It frequents downs and open arable lands, 

 and is siniilar in its habits to the grey species. The nest is built 

 on the ground, and the bird is a migratory one, arriving here in 

 IMarch. 



The shrikes are very- interesting birds in many respects. There 

 are two species, — the great grey shrike, and red-backed shrike. 

 The latter only is to be found in this neighbourhood, and is the 

 comuionest of the two species. There is a hedge not far from the 

 Stoke woods in which this bird builds, and I believe it is the only 

 place where the bird can be found in or near here. The food of 

 the red-backed shrike consists of small birds and mice, but I have 

 heard that they will sometimes pursue even blackbirds. They are 

 frequently taken in the nets of fowlers when in the act of striking 

 at their decoy birds. 



Another remarkable bird, which perhaps I ought to mention, is 

 the nightjar or goatsucker. It has frequently been heard in the 

 Leigh woods, and was seen a few evenings ago by the President of 

 this Society, on Durdham Down, It is a migratory bird, visiting 

 this country about the middle or end of May, and leaving again 

 at the end of September. One remarkable trait in its character 

 is, that it perches lengthwise, instead of crossivise, on the branch 

 of a tree. It is a bird of nocturnal habits, and its power of flight 

 surpasses that of the swallow. 



The woodpeckers are not so common in the neighbourhood of 

 Clifton as one might expect, but they can often be seen and heard 

 in Leigh woods. Some time ago a specimen of the green wood- 

 pecker was shot there by A. D. Greene, and it is now stujffed in the 

 museum. This bird is the handsomest of all the woodpeckers, 

 and at the same time one of the commonest. Morris also men- 

 tions Gloucestershire as one of the few places where the lesser 

 spotted woodpecker occurs, but I have never seen it myself. 



The nuthatch and tree-creeper are closely related, in many 

 respects, to the woodpeckers. They both commonly occur in this 

 neighbourhood, particularly the tree-creeper. The nuthatch feeds 

 on berries, acorns, nuts, seeds, and insects. The nest is placed in 

 some hole in a tree, and, if the entrance is too large, the bird 

 narrows it with clay until it is of the proper dimensions. 



The tree-creeper ' remains with us throughout the year, though 

 in other countries it moves from more exposed to more sheltered 

 localities, for the purpose of rearing its young, arriving thereat in 

 March, and departing again in September or October.' It is very 

 similar in its habits to the nuthatch. 



I will now say a word or two about the thrush family. These 

 are excessively interesting birds, the most important being the 



