The Birds of Pembrokeshire. 27 
SNOW BUNTING, Plectrophenax nivalis.—A winter visitor, rather 
rare. Never seen by us, Sir Hugh Owen has met with it near 
Fishguard. Mr. Tracy says, ‘‘often obtained in a severe 
winter.” In Mr. Mathias’ list, but does not appear to have 
occurred to Mr. Dix. “White Buntings” are reported to have 
been seen about the rocks at the Smalls Lighthouse on October 
17th, 1884. These were doubtless Snow Buntings migrating. 
STARLING, Sturnus vulearis.—Common resident ; vast arrivals in 
the autumn. When we took up our residence in the county in 
1880, the Starling was only then a nesting species in a few 
localities. We heard of one or two instances of its breeding at 
St. David’s, but there were no nests in our immediate neigh- 
bourhood. Before we left Stone Hall we had numerous nests 
in hollow trees in our grounds, and the bird appeared to be 
rapidly establishing itself throughout the county. Its numbers 
in the autumn and throughout the winter are almost beyond 
belief. A large plantation of laurels at Stone Hall close to the 
house was occupied as a roosting place, and had to be destroyed 
on account of the offensive smell caused by the birds. Another 
great roosting-place in our neighbourhood was in a small fir 
plantation at the back of the singular Treftgarne Rocks. Here, 
as the trees failed to supply sufficient perches to the birds, the 
heather on the mountain adjoining was occupied by them for 
several acres, and the ground was whitened over by their 
mutings. The flocks of an afternoon, as the birds collected to 
fly to their roosting places, were a sight to behold. The air 
was almost darkened as the immense concourse passed, and the 
sound of the wings could be heard at a considerable distance. 
On its way through the sky the vast assemblage indulged in 
wonderful evolutions, at one time suddenly contracting into 
the form of an enormous balloon ; at another time, as suddenly 
expanding, it shot out into a gigantic black ribband drawn 
across the heavens. Numbers roosted in the rhododendrons 
in our grounds, and as flock after flock arrived, we beheld them 
darting suddenly vertically downwards on to their perches, 
where there would be some confusion and chattering before 
