24 BIRDS OF CHESHIRE. 
Cheshire. The size and handsome coloration of all 
the British species of this order make them a mark for 
every prowling gunner, and noticeable objects to even 
an indifferent observer; yet, with the exception of the 
resident Heron and the Common Bittern, we have 
records of only four species. The Purple Heron and 
Night Heron have each been obtained once, and the 
Spoonbill and Little Bittern twice, whilst the Great 
White Heron, Little Egret, Buff-backed Heron, Squacco 
Heron, American Bittern, White Stork, Black Stork, and 
Glossy Ibis have never been recorded. 
In the West of England the Reed Warbler, Night- 
ingale, Nuthatch, Wryneck, and Great Crested Grebe 
are very rare or quite unknown as breeding species in 
the counties north of Cheshire; whilst, on the other 
hand, the Ring Ousel, Dipper, Grey Wagtail, Twite, 
Red Grouse, Curlew, and Common Sandpiper, birds 
characteristic of the Derbyshire Peak and the East 
Cheshire Highlands, are only met with sparingly 
further south. 
The nomenclature and arrangement we have adopted 
are those used in the second edition of Mr. Howard 
Saunders’ well-known Manual of British Birds. 
The illustrations have been chosen to portray the 
haunts of Cheshire birds. We have selected as typical 
examples, a clough in the East Cheshire Highlands; a 
mere, a wooded valley, ‘flashes’ in Delamere Forest 
(the breeding-place of the Black-headed Gull), and a 
glade in one of the parks of the Plain; and a stretch 
of marsh-land in the Dee Estuary. 
In conclusion, we desire to tender our sincere thanks 
for the ready assistance we have received from those to 
whom we have applied for information. Being under 
