BIRDS 



I approached to within a few yards and then 

 flew away in a northerly direction. Two or 

 three Richard's pipits have been taken within 

 the county. 



57. Water-Pipit. Anthus splpoletta {L'\nn.) 

 The water-pipit is a scarce spring and 



autumn migrant to the Sussex littoral. I 

 have seen specimens in the hands of the 

 Brightoxi naturalists, and there are examples 

 in my own and the late Mr. Borrer's collec- 

 tion taken on the south coast. 



58. Rock-Pipit. Anthus obscurm (Latham). 

 Resident along the coast where rocks are to 



be found. Sometimes a rarer form or sub- 

 species known as the Scandinavian rock-pipit, 

 Anthus rupestris, hocczilomWY obtained on the 

 coast in the autumn and spring. 



59. Golden Oriole. Orio/us galhula, Linn. 

 A rare summer visitor. One or two speci- 

 mens are seen almost annually in the south of 

 the county. A fine adult male was killed at 

 Denne Park in 1880, and is now in the pos- 

 session of Miss Pigott. Mr. Borrer once had 

 the good fortune to see fourteen of these 

 beautiful birds as they were sunning them- 

 selves on a low bush on Henfield Common. 



60. Great Grey Shrike. Lan'ius excubitor, 



Linn. 

 A somewhat rare though regular late 

 autumn and winter visitor to Sussex. As a 

 stranger it exhibits the same shy and watchful 

 nature that is characteristic of its ways even 

 in its summer home. 



61. Red-backed Shrike. Lanius co//urio, Linn. 

 The butcher bird is distinctly local and 



sparingly distributed throughout the county in 

 the summer months. I am inclined to think 

 that nearer to the coast they are more 

 numerous than further inland ; certainly I 

 have seen many more in the neighbourhood 

 of Lancing and Worthing than towards the 

 Surrey border. Butcher birds will return 

 year after year and nest in the same thorn 

 bush if their nest is undisturbed. 



62. Woodchat. Lanius pomeranus, Sparrmzn. 

 An adult male of this species was taken 



near Brighton on May II, 1856 (Borrer). 

 In Mr. Borrer's notes, written by himself, in 

 his copy of The Birds of Sussex, is the follow- 

 ing : ' Woodchat, adult male, 25th July, 

 1892 : shot near Fairlight Church.' This 

 specimen is now in the collection at Cowfold, 

 where I have recently seen it. A male was 

 seen by Mr. M. J. Nicoll at St. Leonards on 

 April 29, 1898, and was afterwards shot on 



May I in the same year. It passed through 

 the hands of Mr. G. Bristow. 



63. Waxwing. Ampe/is garrulus, Linn. 



A rare winter visitor, occurring sometimes 

 in large flocks. The first mention I find of 

 the occurrence of this chatterer in Sussex is 

 in Markwick's MS. (now at Denne Park), 

 where he alludes to the capture of a specimen 

 near Catsfield in February, I 80 1. 



64. Pied Flycatcher. Muscicapa atricapilla, 



Linn. 

 A rare spring and autumn migrant. Mr. 

 R. Butterfield informs me that he has several 

 shot by himself at both seasons near St. 

 Leonards. 



65. Spotted Flycatcher. Muscicapa grisola, 



Linn. 

 Only a few pairs remain to breed in west 

 Sussex, but this species is very common in all 

 other parts of the county. 



66. Swallow. Hirundo rustica, Linn. 



The swallow arrives regularly in Sussex 

 immediately after the sand-martin and some 

 time before the house-martin, whose advent 

 is often delayed. I have seen it as early as 

 March 20 and as late as December 10. A 

 pure albino swallow was killed on Warnham 

 pond by the late Mr. F. M. Lucas in the year 

 1883. 



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

 Of late years, owing to the increase of the 



common sparrow, the house-martins in Sussex 

 have had to submit to almost constant per- 

 secution. In one row of houses with which 

 I am acquainted six martins' nests were built, 

 and of these all were seized by the robber 

 sparrows. The martins then again com- 

 menced their house building and four com- 

 pleted their nests : from three of these again 

 the rightful owners were evicted, while the 

 fourth pair eventually deserted their nest. 

 The two following years the martins were 

 subjected to the same inhospitable treatment, 

 and now they have wisely deserted the spot. 

 Certainly this species suffers more than any 

 other bird from the plague of sparrows. 

 Large numbers of house-martins breed annu- 

 ally in Scotland at a late date, and their young 

 work south and reach Sussex in numbers 

 about November 10. These young birds are 

 generally the stragglers of the main body that 

 have departed, and should a night frost occur 

 before they leave numbers of them will be 

 found lying dead beneath the houses where 

 they have roosted. 



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