4 The Food of Some British Wild Birds. 



1 'We have about two hundred and eighty species of British 

 birds, a fair percentage of which are so rare or so small in numbers, 

 that they do not effect the subject under consideration. In the 

 same manner, all those species aquatic or littoral in their habits 

 may be left out of consideration. Thus we reduce the list down to 

 about eighty-five species, of which fifty may be said to feed exclu- 

 sively upon insect life, such, for instance, as the swift, swallow, 

 martin, flycatchers, wagtails, etc. 



This leaves us about thirty-five species, of which the commonest 

 are : 



Missel Thrusli (Turdus viscivorus. Linn.). 

 Song Thrush (Turdus musicus, Linn.). 

 Fieldfare (Turdus pilaris, Linn.). 

 Blackbird (Turdus merula, Linn.). 

 Whitethroat (Sylvia cinerea, Bechstein). 

 Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla (Linn)). 

 Great Tit (Parus major, Linn.). 

 Blue Tit (Parus caeruleus, Linn.). 

 Wren (Troglodytes parvulus, Koch). 

 Greenfinch (Ligurinus chloris (Linn)). 

 Goldfinch (Carduelis elegans, Stephens). 

 House Sparrow (Passer domestic us (Linn.)). 

 Chaffinch (Frinyilla coelebs, Linn.). 

 Linnet (Linota cannabina (Linn.)). 

 Bullfinch (Pyrrhula europaea, Viedllot). 

 Yellow Bunting (Emberiza citrinella, Linn.). 

 Starling (Sturnus vulgaris, Linn.). 

 Jay (Garrulus glandarms, Linn.). 

 Magpie (Pica rustica (Scopoli)). 

 Jackdaw (Corvus monedula, Linn.). 

 Rook (Corvus frugilegus, Linn.). 

 Skylark (Alauda arvensis, Linn.). 

 Barn Owl (Strix flammea, Linn.). 

 Brown Owl (Syrnium alues (Linn.)). 

 Kestrel (Falc.o tinnunculus, Linn.). 

 Sparrow Hawk (Accipiter nisits (Linn.)). 

 Wood Pigeon (Columba palumbus, Linn.). 

 Stockdove (Colttmba oenax, Linn.). 

 Plover (Vanellus vulgaris, Bechstein). 



Respecting these twenty-nine species, I have for some years 

 been collecting information as to the nature of their food, and 

 generally their economic status, full details of which are now set 

 forth. 



