244 HILLSIDE, ROCK, AND DALE 



none have shown themselves since. Now the men 

 adopt quieter methods, and it is because neither traps 

 nor nets are seen, that the police seem to think that 

 bird-catching is a thing of the past. The large 

 numbers of linnets, redpolls, and many other species 

 which used to be caught in clap-nets, are now not 

 captured to the extent they were formerly, and in 

 consequence the difference in the numbers of wild 

 birds is very apparent to those who ramble in the 

 open air; but, nevertheless, such numbers are still 

 caught, that something ought to be done in their 

 favour. 



In Epping Forest, which, I am glad to say, is fast 

 becoming a birds' paradise, the rarer kinds are in- 

 creasing since bird-catchers were forbidden to follow 

 their murderous pastime on that favoured ground. 

 The hawfinch, a rare bird at all times near London, 

 is increasing, yet I know of a fact which ought to 

 make even the Forest authorities more vigilant. 

 Last year over a dozen I believe twenty nests 

 of the hawfinch were robbed in Epping Forest. I 

 also know that numbers of people visit the Forest 

 on Saturday afternoons solely for the purpose of 

 taking eggs, principally those of the following birds : 

 Nightjar, nightingale, pheasant, redstart, wood wren, 

 woodpeckers, and sparrow-hawk. Two species of 

 woodpeckers are fairly common in Epping Forest, 

 and it has been possible for collectors to cut open 



