A HISTORY OF HERTFORDSHIRE 



43. Yellow Wagtail. Motacilla ran (Bona- 



parte). 



This is a regular summer visitor to all parts 

 of the county where the locality is suitable ; 

 it is especially fond of the neighbourhood of 

 water. The date of its arrival is usually about 

 the middle of April. 



44. Tree-Pipit. Anthus trivia/is (Linn.). 

 This species is to be found all over the 



county, arriving early in April. 



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

 About the distribution in Hertfordshire of 



this species during the nesting season a great 

 deal has yet to be learnt. At present I can 

 only mention Royston, Ickleford, Oughton 

 Head Common and Berkhamsted Common 

 as localities in which it nests. In winter the 

 meadow-pipit is commonly distributed all over 

 the county, and I have actually seen it in very 

 hard weather in Berkhamsted High Street. 



46. Water-Pipit. Anthus spipoletta (Linn.). 

 On the authority of the Hon. W. Roths- 

 child, who reported their occurrence to the 

 late J. E. Littleboy, two of these birds are 

 said to have been obtained at the watercress 

 beds at Berkhamsted in 1886. 



47. Golden Oriole. Oriolus galbula, Linn. 

 This county can be included among those 



in which the golden oriole has nested, as in 

 1 88 1 a nest with three eggs was found at 

 Charlie Farm, in the parish of Amwell near 

 Ware, by Mr. H. Beningfield and his son in 

 the month of June. It was built, curiously 

 enough, high up in a hawthorn hedge, about 

 ten feet from the ground. The eggs and nest 

 were seen by the late J. E. Littleboy. On 

 June 4th, 1886, a golden oriole was shot on 

 the borders of Sherrards Wood, Digswell near 

 Welwyn, and was mounted by Mr. Lloyd of 

 St. Albans. The last authenticated record I 

 have of this species in Hertfordshire is of a 

 pair which visited the garden of Mr. Thorne 

 of Broxbourne about the 2Oth of July, 1888, 

 one of them nearly getting caught in a straw- 

 berry-net. 



48. Great Grey Shrike. 

 Linn. 



Lanius excubitor, 



This species has occurred on a good many 

 occasions in Hertfordshire, but unfortunately 

 few of the records specify whether the bird 

 obtained or seen had one or two wing spots, 

 the number of spots being the means of 

 ascertaining whether the bird was L. excubitor 

 or L. major, the latter being the more northern 

 race. The first note I have of this bird was 

 in January, 1881, when two of them were 



shot on Mr. Ginger's farm at Boxstead near 

 Hemel Hempstead. These specimens were 

 examined by the late J. E. Littleboy, and 

 were then in the possession of Mr. Bowers of 

 Hemel Hempstead. In November, 1882, a 

 bird of this species was obtained near Throck- 

 ing by a Mr. Coleman. It was mounted by 

 the late William Norman of Royston, and 

 eventually passed into the hands of the Rev. 

 C. W. Harvey of Throcking. Another was 

 shot about the same time by Mr. Gibbs's 

 keeper at Elstree. Mr. R. W. Brett men- 

 tioned that a great grey shrike was shot on 

 December i6th, 1883, ' n tne neighbourhood 

 of Hertford ; while on the 26th of the same 

 month Mr. Marlborough R. Pryor saw one 

 near Weston Manor flying with a shrew 

 mouse in its claws. In 1884 a specimen was 

 obtained on Tyler's Farm near Bushey, on 

 September 23rd, and was mounted by Mr. 

 Bowers. In the following year a specimen 

 was shot in Ware Park by the head keeper on 

 March i6th. In January, 1886, Mr. Sutton 

 shot a male at Hill Farm, Northchurch ; this 

 bird, which is now mounted in his possession, 

 when shot was sitting on a tree from which 

 it fell into the snow, where it could not be 

 found for some time. 



The only time this bird has occurred in the 

 summer in this county was in July, 1887, 

 when Mr. Pryor saw one at least a dozen 

 times in the parish of Willian near Steven- 

 age, occasionally getting as near to it as half a 

 dozen yards. Mr. William Hill, jun., of 

 Hitchin, informed the late Mr. Littleboy that 

 a great grey shrike was captured by a profes- 

 sional birdcatcher to the west of Hitchin at 

 the end of November or early in December, 

 1887 ; it attacked the call-bird which was 

 pegged to the ground, and the man pulled his 

 net over it : he then put it into a cage with a 

 hedge-sparrow, which it immediately attacked 

 and killed. After careful identification it was 

 released, apparently none the worse for its 

 experience, although during its short captivity 

 it was most pugnacious. The Hon. Walter 

 Rothschild states that a great grey shrike was 

 seen at Tring in October, 1888. Mr. H. S. 

 Rivers shot a young male on Roderick's 

 Farm near Latton Mill on December 5th, 

 1890, and saw another near the same place on 

 December 27th, 1898 ; this latter he watched 

 for some time. Mr. Charles H. Emson, in a 

 letter to the Field, mentioned that he saw a 

 fine male grey shrike on Berkhamsted Com- 

 mon on February i8th, 1900; this bird he 

 watched for some time. On April 7th 

 following I also saw a grey shrike (probably 

 the same as that seen by Mr. Emson) on 

 Berkhamsted Common, and watched it 



200 



