102 WHITE 



Birds that breed most early in these parts : 



RAII NOMINA 



Raven, Corvus. \ Ha ' ches . in Februar y and 



\ March. 



Song-thrush, Turdus. In March. 



Blackbird, Merula. In March. 



Rook, Cornix frugilega. \ ^^ be S innin S of 



Woodlark, Alauda arbor ea. Hatches in April. 



Ring-dove, Palumbus torquatus. \ La f .J he beginning of 



t April. 



All birds that continue in full song till after midsummer 

 appear to me to breed more than once. 



Most kinds of birds seem to me to be wild and shy some- 

 what in proportion to their bulk ; I mean in this island, where 

 they are much pursued and annoyed ; but in Ascension Island, 

 and many other desolate places, mariners have found fowls so 

 unacquainted with a human figure, that they would stand still 

 to be taken ; as is the case with boobies, etc. As an example 

 of what is advanced, I remark that the golden-crested wren 

 (the smallest British bird) will stand unconcerned till you 

 come within three or four yards of it, while the bustard (Otis), 

 the largest British land fowl, does not care to admit a person 

 within so many furlongs. 1 



I am, etc. 

 NOTE 



1 The bustard, once common in several parts of the country, is now almost 

 extinct. Its last abiding place was the fenny part of Norfolk, but the gun 

 and snare, indiscriminately used, have banished it. One way of destroying 

 it was by baiting a spot within range of a battery of shotguns, so laid that 

 a person at a distance could, by means of a long string, discharge them when 

 the bustards came sufficiently near. Two or three years ago a male bustard 

 was seen on the fens, and every effort was made by the landowners to keep 

 it safe. They even turned out two female birds in the hope that it would 

 pair with one and breed ; but after staying about for a few days it flew away, 

 and was not again seen. G. C. D. 



