116 THE BIRDS OF NORTHAMPTONSHIRE 



perhaps worthy of record that in April 1895, an 

 isolated pair built and completed a nest in a small 

 spinney near Aldwincle. This nest was disturbed 

 (probably robbed of its contents), and the old birds 

 quitted the locality, before the middle of May. 

 This departure from their usual habits is probably to 

 be accounted for by the destruction of many of the 

 trees and nests in the heronry at Milton by the 

 disastrous tornado of March 24. 



164. GREAT WHITE HERON. 



Ardea alba. 



A fine specimen of this rare visitor to our Islands 

 was shot in the early summer of 1849 in Thorney fen, 

 within a very few miles of the boundary line of our 

 county and Cambridgeshire, and well within the 

 district that I have assigned to myself to treat of in 

 these Notes ; this bird is preserved in the collection 

 formed by the late Dr. Strong of Thorpe Hall, Peter- 

 borough, and is now the property of his son. Colonel 

 C. Isham Strong, who has most obligingly furnished 

 me with the following particulars with regard to the 

 specimen in question : — " It was shot by Mr. Miller 

 Wigginton of Thorney on his farm there, as he 

 believes, in the first week of May, 1849 ; he sold it 

 to Holeywell, of Peterborough, to whom my father 

 gave £2 25. for it. It has the dorsal plumes and 

 dark bill, both of which, I suppose, would go to 

 corroborate the date of its death, being, according to 

 Gould, the summer dress. I am sorry that I can give 

 you no information as to sex." About fifteen occur- 

 rences of this very beautiful species have been recorded 



