A HISTORY OF BUCKINGHAMSHIRE 



in January 1864. One was shot at Med- 

 menham in 1851 and specimens are said to 

 have been taken near Chesham (Birds of 

 Berks and Bucks, p. 189). One was shot near 

 the border at Cockmarsh, close to the river, 

 by Mr. Jackson on January 14, 1871 (Cocks, 

 Field, 1873, p. 135). A specimen was shot on 

 Cholesbury Common by a keeper on Decem- 

 ber 12, 1892. It is well known that a pair had 

 bred on the Tring reservoirs in 1 849, the old 

 bird having been killed on the nest(!) and some 

 eggs having been taken. One of the latter is 

 in the collection of Prof. Alfred Newton, 

 another in that of Miss Williams, Tring. 

 This case of breeding is correctly mentioned 

 in the History of Herts, p. 208, but Clark 

 Kennedy claimed it for Bucks. The fact is 

 that the border of Bucks and Herts just 

 touches the outside of the reservoir. 



1 1 8. Grey Lag-Goose, jfnsercinereus, Meyer. 

 A rare winter visitor, sometimes alighting 



in flocks on inundated meadows in the Vale 

 of Aylesbury in the parishes of Hulcott and 

 Aston Clinton (Kennedy, p. 199) ; also seen 

 sometimes, as the late Mr. Wiglesworth told 

 us, near Castlethorpe on the river Ouse. 



119. White-fronted Goose. Anser albifrons 



(Scopoli). 



According to Kennedy (p. 199) it has 

 occasionally been shot on the Thames. In 

 1867 some were seen near Surley, some ob- 

 tained near Eton, Windsor and Datchet. 

 According to information from the Rev. 

 H. Harpur Crewe this species has occurred 

 near Drayton Beauchamp, but no details 

 are known. 



1 2O. Bean-Goose. Anur segetum (Gmelin). 

 Occasionally comes to the Thames in hard 



weather, and flocks are occasionally reported 

 of this as well as of other geese ; it is however 

 not safe to mention these reports as the identi- 

 fication is always uncertain if no specimens 

 have been obtained. According to Kennedy 

 (p. 117) it occurs in cold weather near Slap- 

 ton and Chesham. 



121. Brent-Goose. Bernicla brenta (Pallas). 

 In 1865 a person named Bunce shot a pair 



of these geese near Datchet. Two specimens 

 were shot near Eton in January 1867, when 

 many more were seen. The Rev. H. Harpur 

 Crewe has seen them in severe weather in 

 small flocks near Drayton Beauchamp on the 

 reservoirs (Kennedy, p. 1 1 8). 



122. Whooper. Cygnus musicus (Bechstein). 

 The wild swan, whooper or hooper, is an 



occasional winter visitor, generally less rare in 



severe winter weather. There are a number 

 of records, but it is wise to be careful with 

 records about this swan, as escaped or feral 

 mute swans are often mistaken for the 

 whooper by non-ornithologists, especially if 

 the birds were only seen, not obtained. Mr. 

 Hassell (Field, February 1 86 1, p. 93) says 

 that a pair were shot at Wraysbury on 

 February 17, 1861. One was shot at 

 Latimer, and was in 1868 in the collection 

 of Lord Chesham. On February 21, 1864, 

 five wild swans were seen at Fawley, and 

 with them were two mute swans. The two 

 latter were killed, while the whoopers flew 

 westward over the Chiltern Hills. Mr. Cross- 

 man is in error, saying that the whooper had 

 not occurred on the reservoirs near Tring of 



o 



recent years, though Clarke Kennedy stated 

 that it was formerly an occasional visitor 

 there. A flock visited the reservoirs in the 

 winter of 1891, and two were shot by the 

 head keeper. 



123. Mute Swan. Cygnus olor (Gmelin). 

 Kept on many waters, and often flies away 



to other lakes or ponds. Many are hatched 

 on the river Thames. Feral mute swans are 

 often reported as ' wild swans.' Doubtless 

 (among others) a so-called wild swan that was 

 ' knocked over with a stone ' near Brickhill 

 by a labourer on December 22, 1870, was 

 a mute swan the same that escaped from a 

 water not three miles distant (see Field, 1870, 

 pp. 9, 30) the day before. 



124. Common Sheld-Duck. Tadorna cornuta 



(S. G. Gmelin). 

 Tadorna tadorna (Linn.). 



This species lives on salt water, and is only 

 a rare visitor inland ; but according to Ken- 

 nedy it has occurred on the Thames near 

 Cookham. It appears from time to time on 

 the Tring reservoirs on the borders of Buck- 

 inghamshire. Already in 1868 the Rev. 

 H. Harpur Crewe had seen it ' several times 

 swimming about the reservoirs.' Walter 

 Rothschild saw one on January 8, 1888; 

 Street, the keeper, another on January 10, 

 1897. W. Rothschild shot a young male on 

 November 6, 1893, another young male 

 December 12, 1899, both in the presence of 

 E. Hartert. Both are in the Tring Museum. 

 A gander sheld-drake was shot in this neigh- 

 bourhood in March 1780 by the Earl of 

 Chesterfield's keeper (MS. in Dinton Hall 

 with picture of the bird). 



125. Ruddy Sheld-Duck. Tadorna casarca 



(Linn.). 



These birds are kept in semi-confinemem 



144 



