BIRDS 



April to the middle of September and occasionally 

 breeding. Mr. Babington mentioned Grace Dieu and 

 Groby Pool as localities for it, and Mr. Bevans reports 

 it as commonly occurring years ago, in spring, in the 

 Abbey Meadow. I have obtained specimens from 

 Aylestone, Belgrave, Saddington, and Thornton Reser- 

 voirs, and Wistow. One which I shot at Aylestone 

 was merely wounded and thereupon swam and dived 

 with ease a little-known habit of this bird. Mr. 

 W. A. Evans reported that in August, 1885, he saw 

 six common sandpipers fly up the new flood-works 

 cutting into Leicester, but of course they turned back 

 immediately. I saw three at the Flood Works, Ayles- 

 stone, 30 July, 1888. Harley recorded that it bred 

 on the banks of Groby Pool, as he learned from 

 Chaplin who found it there. The late Dr. Macaulay 

 stated that it bred at Saddington Reservoir (Mi d.' Nat, 

 1 88 1, p. 256), but his only ground for this assertion 

 was the fact of his having seen immature birds there 

 during late summer. Mr. H. A. Payne, of Elm 

 House, Enville, wrote in August, 1888 : 'About 

 three years ago I found a sandpiper's nest in the old 

 walled garden adjoining the brook in Bradgate Park. 

 The bird is what is called about there a summer 

 snipe. Another nest was found the same year at 

 Bradgate, the eggs of which I have.' 



One was shot at Potters Marston in 1892 by 

 Mr. J. Choyce, who presented it to the museum. 

 The Rev. Hugh Parry found a nest containing four 

 fresh eggs on a bank of the Eye Brook near Skef- 

 fington, 26 May, 1906. Mr. W. J. Horn, writing 

 in 1907, gives the following records: 2 May, 1896, 

 two seen near Hinckley ; 20 Sept., 1902, two seen 

 at Saddington Reservoir; 4 May, 1904, one seen 

 on canal, Market Harborough ; 1 7 May, 1 904, one 

 seen on canal, Market Harborough ; 2 May, 1905, 

 one seen on canal, Market Harborough. 



1 80. Wood-Sandpiper. Totanus glareo!a(]. F. Gmelin). 



A rare straggler on migration. Harley characterized 

 this species as more rare and shy than its congener, 

 T. ocfiropus, and stated that it was met with at Groby 

 Pool in 1 840, and also occurred during the winter of 

 1852-3. 



181. Green Sandpiper. Totanus ochnfus (Linn.). 



A spring and autumn visitant, not common, but 

 sometimes remaining during winter. Mr. Babington 

 (Potter, op. cit. App. 69) recorded its occurrence 

 at Groby Pool. A mounted specimen was presented 

 to the museum, 7 April, 1851, by Mr. Job Glover, 

 * killed in Leicestershire,' presumably at Bagworth. 

 This species was noticed by Harley on the Wreak, 

 who also reported that ' it had also been shot on the 

 banks of the Soar and Trent, and had occurred in 

 several instances during the autumn and winter of 

 1853.' I saw in the possession of Mr. J. S. Bevins, 

 of Ingarsby Old Hall, a specimen shot by his father 

 at Wellesborough, sometime about 186570. The 

 Rev. G. D. Armitage shot one at Broughton Astley on 

 6 Sept., 1878. The late Dr. Macaulay showed me a 

 specimen shot by Mr. John Peberdy at Smeeton Brook 

 about 1882. He also informed me of two shot by 

 Mr. A. K. Perkins at Saddington, August, 1883, and 

 now in the possession of Mr. Douglass, of Market 

 Harborough. A fine female in the museum was 

 shot at Saddington Reservoir on 19 Aug., 1887, by 

 Mr. A. K. Perkins. Dr. Macaulay also informed me 

 that his son, Mr. T. A. Macaulay, shot one out of 



the Smeeton Brook on 1 6 Dec., 1889, and there was 

 another with it. Mr. O. Murray-Dixon shot one 

 at Swithland Reservoir at the end of October, 1901. 

 The late Dr. Ogle shot one on the Swift near Lutter- 

 worth in 1902, which he presented to the museum. 

 Mr. G. Frisby saw five on I Aug., 1906, and some every 

 week until I November, at Swithland Reservoir. Mr. 

 W. J. Horn writes in 1907 : 'I have seen this bird 

 on the Welland in every month of the year except June 

 and July. It wintered on the Welland near the Market 

 Harborough Sewage Farm in 1899, 1900, 1901, and 

 1902. On 27 Aug., 1898, Mr. W. H. Symington 

 shot one at Ashley which he presented to me. I shot 

 a young bird in the autumn of 1902 ; two were seen 

 on the Welland, near Market Harborough Sewage 

 Farm, on 6, and five on 14 October, 1899; whilst 

 up to 14 April, 1904, I saw eighteen others.' 



182. Common Redshank. Totanus calidris (Linn.). 

 This new record for the county I am able to add 



on the testimony of several competent observers, 

 viz., Mr. A. Dalby of Castle Donington, writing 

 26 Jan., 1891, says: 'The redshank breeds every 

 year near the Trent, generally several pairs. I have 

 seen a nest and young birds, the latter several times. 

 They come here at the beginning of April and leave 

 in August. One spent several days in our garden 

 three springs ago, feeding on the worms and insects 

 on the grass plots.' Mr. E. L. Ferrall observed it 

 near Market Harborough, 18 May, 1906 ; whilst its 

 nesting is placed beyond dispute by the Rev. Hugh 

 Parry, who found a nest with four incubated eggs 

 in a tuft of grass in a meadow in the Welland Valley 

 between Great Easton and Medbourne, 17 May, 1906. 

 Mr. W. J. Horn writes in 1907 : ' On 21 April 

 one was seen at Wclham. The Rev. A. W. Pulteney 

 reports it having bred on two occasions in the Welland 

 Valley near Ashley (it certainly breeds several pairs 

 a few miles lower down the valley at Seaton).' 



183. Spotted Redshank. Totanus fuscus (Linn.). 



A rare straggler on migration. Inserted in this 

 list on the authority of Mr. J. Whitaker, of Mansfield, 

 Notts., who informed me that he had a spotted red- 

 shank, shot by Mr. W. Whitaker, in 1880, on the 

 side of Thornton Reservoir. 



184. Greenshank. Totanus canescens (J. F. Gmelin). 



A rare spring and autumn visitant. Harley wrote : 

 ' It has been shot on the banks of Groby Pool and 

 also at Swithland. Yarrell, on the authority of a 

 resident at Melton Mowbray, 10 stated that 'it is not 

 uncommon in the more eastern parts of the county.' 

 I saw a specimen in the hands of Elkington, said to 

 have been shot at Enderby. Writing to Mr. Joseph 

 Burchnall of the Cottage Farm, Enderby, for confirm- 

 ation, he replied : ' I shot the Greenshank some time 

 in August, 1885, in Shenton Meadow, parish of 

 Enderby.' 



Mr. W. J. Horn writes in 1907 : 'On 29 August, 

 1898, T. Turner, the postman, and a good naturalist, 

 reported to me that he had seen the Greenshank at 

 Saddington Reservoir (I. think this very probable, as I 

 have seen the bird at the neighbouring reservoir of 

 Naseby, and in the fishing cottage there, a pair is set 

 up which was shot on that water).' 



50 Probably the late Mr. Widdowson, who wa often in com- 

 munication with Yarrell. 



