INTEODUCTION. XI 



and the handsome Butcher-bird in the tall tangled 

 hedges, while all along our brooks the Sedge War- 

 blers and amusing Tits are found hunting inces- 

 santly for their insect food. 



Owing to the greater portion of the farms in 

 this county being grass-land, and to the compara- 

 tive scarcity of stubble and root- crops, Partridges 

 are by no means so numerous as in adjoining 

 counties, and Pheasants are only to be found where 

 strictly preserved. 



Peewits breed regularly with us every year, and 

 Golden Plovers are not uncommon in winter. At 

 that time, too, Fieldfares and Redwings find plenty 

 of food in the hawthorn hedges, and flocks of Wood 

 Pigeons visit the cleared bean-fields and stubbles 

 wherever these are to be found. 



In the order to which the Peewit and Golden 

 Plover above-mentioned belong, — viz., the Gral- 

 latores, or Waders, as well as in the Order Nata- 

 tores, this county has proved singularly rich, 

 considering that it is a midland county and cannot 

 boast of the attractive sea-coast which Norfolk, 

 Sussex, and other counties famous for this class 

 of birds possess. 



