A HISTORY OF DURHAM 



41. Blue-headed Wagtail. Motacilla fava, 



Linn. 

 An irregular spring and summer visitor. 

 Has bred several times between the Tyne and 

 the Derwent. 



42. Yellow Wagtail. Motacilla rati (Bona- 



parte). 



A regular summer visitor arriving early in 

 April, and leaving in September. 



43. Tree-Pipit. Anthus trivialis (Linn.). 



A summer visitor. Abundant. Arrives in 

 the middle of April. 



44. Meadow-Pipit. Anthus pratensis (Linn.). 



A resident species, abundant in the west, 

 but found wherever there is open ground. 



45. Rock-Pipit. Anthus obscurus (Latham). 



Frequently obtained on our coast. I am 

 not aware of its breeding here, though it 

 does on the coasts of Northumberland and 

 Yorkshire. 



46. Golden Oriole. Oriolus galbula^ Linn. 



A female was taken at Hebburn in 1831, 

 now in Newcastle Museum. 



47. Great Grey Shrike. Lanius excuhitor, 



Linn. 



A winter seldom passes without one or 

 more captures being reported. A few years 

 ago one remained for several days about the 

 shrubberies and gardens near Durham city. 

 The bird with only one bar on the wing, 

 known as Lanius major (Pallas) has frequently 

 occurred. 



48. Red-backed Shrike. Lancus collurio, Linn. 

 A rare accidental visitor. 



49. Waxwing. Ampeits garrulus, Linn. 



An irregular winter visitor. When it does 

 arrive, it is generally in considerable numbers. 

 In 1849 and '866 it was very numerous in 

 South Durham. Though not in flocks, I 

 noticed daily, walking in different directions, 

 three or four perched on trees by the highway. 

 Another flight was in 1876, and a few in 1871. 



50. Pied Flycatcher. Muscicapa atricapilla, 



Linn. 



A summer visitor, not so rare as is generally 

 supposed. It breeds regularly in several parts 

 of the county. One year a pair inhabited the 

 ' Hanks,' a public wooded walk by the river 

 side, in the city of Durham, for nearly a 

 month. They were undoubtedly breeding 

 when tlicy were shot by a miscreant. In 



1866 several pairs bred near Barnard Castle, 

 and in 1 901, many pairs about Wolsingham 

 and Stanhope. 



51. Spotted Flycatcher. Muscicapa grisola, 



Linn. 

 A most abundant summer visitor. Found 

 anywhere from the end of April. 



52. Swallow. Hirundo rustica, Linn. 



Nothing can be more distressing to the 

 lover of nature, than the rapid diminution of 

 the swallow tribe within the last ten years. 

 Where there used to be fifty skimming about, 

 there are now but two or three. This year 

 there is scarcely a swallow to be seen in the 

 neighbourhood of the city of Durham. I am 

 at a loss to account for the disappearance, for 

 it is not from persecution on the spot, and the 

 reduction has been gradual. Perhaps it is 

 due to the awful slaughter of the returning 

 migrants on the south coast of France. 



53. House-Martin. Chelidon urbica (Linn.). 



Arrives generally a day or two later than 

 the swallow. Formerly most abundant, but 

 of late years becoming fewer and fewer, till 

 now in the eastern and central parts of the 

 county it is almost extinct. Ten years ago 

 it nested in numbers about the Cathedral 

 windows, and on many houses in and about 

 the city of Durham. This year there is not 

 one. The destructive instincts of urban 

 housemaids, but chiefly the seizure of its nests 

 by that avian rat, the house-sparrow, may 

 partly, but only partly, account for the 

 change. 



54. Sand-Martin. Cotile riparia (Linn.). 



Generally arrives a few days before its con- 

 geners. It seems to have maintained its num- 

 bers fairly, wherever there are suitable banks 

 for nesting. 



55. Greenfinch. Ligurinus chloris (Linn.). 



A common resident. Often seen in flocks 

 during the winter. 



56. Hawfinch. Coccothraustes vulgaris,V^\\^s. 



Formerly a rare casual visitor, but of late 

 years steadily increasing, and that in all parts 

 of the county. In 1902 I knew of nests in 

 a garden near Durham, also in the most 

 secluded part of Upper Weardale, and in other 

 places too numerous to mention. 



57. Goldfinch. Carduelis rligans, ?>tcphens. 



An occasional visitor, generally in autumn. 

 I have been unable to find any proof of its 

 having bred in the county, though it is said to 

 have done so near the Tecs. 

 80 



