177 



for it is unknown in Ireland, of rare occurrence in Scotland, and in 

 England is found chiefly in the midland and southern counties, though 

 we have a few pairs every season in this district. The pair belonging to 

 our museum was procured in the valley between Derwentwater and 

 Bassenthwaite Lake, in the summer of 1875; ^'^d, curiously enough, two 

 other Butcher Birds took possession of the same thorn bush the next 

 season ; perhaps it was that the shambles were ready fitted up, and the 

 place being unoccupied, they were tempted to secure it. 



A young Butcher Bird was observed last summer on the line of the 

 Cockermouth, Keswick, and Penrith railway, near The How, with one 

 foot amputated, supposed to have been done by a passing train ; the bird 

 seemed not to have been injured in any other part. Perhaps this was 

 one of the progeny of a pair of Butcher Birds which have been known to 

 nest in a thorn bush by the river side, near to Braithwaite bridge, for 

 several years. I have also been informed by a very trustworthy person, 

 that about thirty years ago, two pair of Butcher Birds regularly nested in 

 Langton Moss for many years. 



The hen bird is much the plainer in appearance, being of a dull and 

 somewhat mottled brown above, and buffy white beneath, with crescentic 

 brown markings on the breast and flanks. The bill in both is short and 

 thick; the upper mandible is hooked at the point, and prominently 

 notched or toothed, as in a hawk. The feet are strong, with sharp and 

 curved claws, and well adapted for seizing and holding a struggling prey. 

 Both birds assist in the construction of the nest, which is a substantial, 

 well built structure of twigs, dry grass, and moss, lined with fibrous roots 

 and horse-hair, and is usually placed at some height from the ground in 

 the middle of a white-thorn bush, or thick hedgerow. The eggs, five 

 and sometimes six in number, vary a good deal in colour, being yellowish 

 or grayish white, with lilac or pale brown markings disposed in a zone at 

 the larger end ; or pale salmon colour, with dull red markings distributed 

 in the same way. 



The following are some dates of arrival in this district since 1857 : — 



