A HISTORY OF SUFFOLK 



under which each one is mentioned. Following the example of that 

 excellent authority, the purple gallinule, the Canada goose and the 

 Egyptian goose are excluded from the list as birds which have escaped 

 from captivity or semi-captivity, and the ' parrot-crossbill ' and ' Polish 

 swan ' are not treated as distinct species. 384 species of British birds are 

 described in the Manual, of which 282 find a place in this list. 



Space will not permit individual acknowledgment of all the valuable 

 assistance received, but the writer's cordial thanks are due to Mr. Frank 

 Norgate, who has most kindly read through the MS. and the proof-sheets ; 

 to the Rev. F. C. R. Jourdain and Mr. G. T. Rope for the use of their 

 private notes ; and to Mr. L. Travis for his unvaried courtesy during 

 the last fifteen years in affording opportunities for the inspection of the 

 birds sent to him for preservation and also in giving information of their 

 localities. 



1. Mistle-Thrush. Turdus viscivorus, Linn. 



Locally, Mistier or Mistle-bird. 

 A resident, breeding early, and as a rule 

 rearing only one brood in the year. It does 

 not frequent fruit gardens in the summer, 

 but goes away with its young into meadows 

 and fields. 



2. Song-Thrush. Turdus musicus, Linn. 



Locally, Mavis. 

 A resident, though, as previously stated, a 

 thoroughly migratory species. An early 

 breeder, sometimes having eggs in February, 

 and nesting at least twice in the season. 



3. Redwing. Turdus iliacusy Linn. 



A typical ' winter migrant,' often found in 

 company with the fieldfare, and, like that 

 species, never under any circumstances re- 

 maining to breed here. 



4. Fieldfare. Turdus pilaris, Linn. 



Locally, Fulfer or Dow-Fulfer ( = Dove Field- 

 fare,) probably from the dove colour on its 

 back. 



A winter migrant, which in hard weather 

 abandons its ' field-faring ' habits, and comes 

 into gardens to feed on holly-berries. During 

 a short but severe frost in February, 1902, 

 over forty fell in one day to one gun, a 

 slaughter only excusable from the fact that 

 the fieldfare in good condition is an excellent 

 bird for the table. 



5. Blackbird. Turdus merula, Linn. 

 Resident and common, but a bird whose 



migratory habits are plainly shown by the 

 frequent casualties with which it meets on 

 the lanterns of lighthouses and lightships. It 

 breeds twice or thrice in the season, the first 

 clutch of eggs rarely exceeding four, while in 



May or June five are often and six occasion- 

 ally found. Varieties with more or less white 

 in the plumage are not uncommon. The 

 blackbird much appreciates being fed in win- 

 ter, and a few apples, worthless for the table 

 or kitchen, are a great boon to it in severe 

 weather. 



6. Ring-Ouzel. Turdus torquatus, Linn. 



A spring and autumn visitant, probably 

 occurring every year. One got into a net 

 and was captured in a garden at Icklingham 

 in the summer of 1901. There seems to be 

 no satisfactory record of its nestmg here, 

 though several heaths and commons in Suffolk 

 are well suited to its habits. 



7. Wheatear. Saxicola cenanthe (Linn.) 



Locally, Stone-chuck. 

 A typical ' summer migrant * and one of 

 the earliest, arriving on the east coast about 

 the last week in March. ' The sea-blue bird 

 of March ' is to be seen on rabbit-warrens, 

 heaths and waste grounds, where it builds its 

 nest in rabbit-burrows, rearing two broods in 

 the year. During the last few years no less 

 than three new species of wheatear have been 

 added to the British bird list, of which it may 

 be said that any one who finds himself the 

 possessor of a rather small wheatear with a 

 black or mottled patch under the throat has 

 a very valuable prize, and that, if these rare 

 visitors occur at all, the locality will probably 

 be near the coast, and the time that of the 

 autumn migration. 



8. Whinchat. Pratincola rubetra (Linn.) 



Locally, Furze-chuck. 

 A summer migrant, breeding in rough 

 grass meadows and on furze commons 

 throughout the county. 



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