BIRDS 



9. Stonechat. Pratincola rubicola (Linn.) 



Locally, Furze-chuck. 

 A resident, though more numerous in sum- 

 mer, and only nesting on furze commons. It 

 breeds twice in the year, building a nest so 

 well concealed in the thickest part of a furze 

 bush that its discovery is almost impossible 

 unless the bird is seen to go to it or suddenly 

 flushed from it. 



10. Redstart. RuticUla phanicurus {LAnn.) 

 Locally, Fire-tail or Red-tail. 



This pretty species is well known as a 

 summer migrant throughout the county. 



1 1 . Black Redstart. Ruticilla titys (Scopoli) 

 Though a regular winter migrant to some 



parts of England, in Suffolk this bird is a 

 decidedly rare winter visitant, usually found 

 near the coast. If a redstart is seen in the 

 eastern counties after September, it is pretty 

 certain to be one of this species. 



12. Red-spotted Bluethroat. Cyanecula suecica 



(Linn.) 

 A very rare spring and autumn visitant, 

 of which Dr. Babington mentions the occur- 

 rence of seven specimens, and no more seem 

 to have been recorded. The bluethroat is 

 unlikely to be found except near the coast, 

 and in the plain plumage of the first year 

 might easily be overlooked. 



13. Redbreast. Erithacus ruhecula (Linn.) 

 The title ' robin ' is so often applied to 



this bird that it can hardly be given as a 

 local name. Though a common resident, 

 there are numerous records of its migrations 

 on the east coast and elsewhere, even on the 

 Shetland Islands. Wherever the custom of 

 feeding birds in the winter is practised the 

 robin is always well to the front, and often 

 comes so late in the afternoon that his colour- 

 ing cannot be seen. In April, 1903, a pair 

 hatched off in a garden at Bury, of which the 

 cock would take meal-worms from the hand 

 and carry them to the young brood. An old 

 kettle with the lid removed and placed on its 

 side in a bush or in ivy on a wall is a favourite 

 nesting place. Occasionally a clutch of per- 

 fectly white eggs is found, and the second 

 nest of the robin is in Suffolk frequently 

 selected by the cuckoo for the reception of 

 its egg. 



14. Nightingale. Daulias lusc'tnia (Linn.) 

 About the middle of April this well known 



summer migrant arrives in Suffolk in large 

 numbers, and those who know it well by 

 sight often recognize it before it makes its 



presence known by its song. Its nest — of 

 which oak leaves always form a part — and 

 eggs are both unlike those of any other bird 

 nesting in Great Britain, though the eggs vary 

 a good deal. Perhaps a circle with a ten mile 

 radius and the Norman tower at Bury for 

 its centre would contain as many nightingales 

 in May as any district of equal area in this 

 country, and they indirectly enjoy the benefit 

 of the protection of the gamekeeper, who likes 

 his woods ' kept quiet ' in the breeding time. 

 Only one brood is reared in the season, and 

 as soon as the young are hatched the song of 

 the cock ceases, so when it is heard after the 

 first week in June it is usually due to the 

 fact that the first nest has been taken or de- 

 stroyed. 



15. Whitethroat. Sylvia cinerea (Bechstein) 

 Locally, Hay-jack. 

 This lively little summer migrant is com- 

 mon everywhere, and its nest, usually built in 

 what is known in Suffolk as the ' brew ' of a 

 ditch, is often disclosed by the bird darting 

 out at the feet of any one passing by. 



16 



Sylvii 



'via curruca 



Lesser Whitethroat. 

 (Linn.) 



A much less abundant summer migrant 

 than its larger congener, building a very 

 small neat nest in hedges, generally two or 

 three feet from the ground. 



17. Blackcap. Sylvia atricapilla (Linn.) 



A summer migrant whose song is only in- 

 ferior to that of the nightingale. The fact of 

 the cock being often seen on the nest has 

 sometimes given rise to the mistaken idea 

 that both sexes are alike, whereas the ' cap ' 

 of the hen is reddish brown. 



18. Garden- Warbler. Sylvia hortensis (Bech- 



stein) 

 Locally, Hay-jack. 

 This summer migrant shares the above 

 local name with the whitethroat from the 

 dry grass used in the building of their nests. 

 Its eggs often much resemble those of the 

 blackcap, but the garden-warbler is a much 

 later breeder, and the nest is larger, while the 

 eggs never show any trace of the beautiful 

 red tint sometimes seen in a clutch of black- 

 cap's eggs. 



19. Dartford Warbler. Sylvia undata (Bod- 



daert) 

 The discovery of the breeding of the Dart- 

 ford warbler in Suffolk is due to the late Sir 

 Edward Newton, whose observations arc re- 

 -orded in the Birds of Norfolk (iii. 387). It 



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