BIRDS 



few favoured localities. Mr. Aplin says, 'In 

 the north of the county [Oxfordshire] where 

 the crow has it all his own way it is particu- 

 larly abundant.' As might be expected it is 

 common in the adjacent part of Warwick- 

 shire, At the commencement of the breed- 

 ing season the crow goes through some 

 remarkable vocal exercises, wholly unlike the 

 incessant and monotonous caw, caw, caw of 

 the rook. He commences with a rather shrill 

 repetition of a note something like the syllable 

 ' crocht,' which is followed by some low 

 modulated sounds, and he ends with a deep 

 double note sounding like ' ka!6re ' repeated 

 many times, the last and accented syllable 

 being accompanied by an upward fling of the 

 wings, for the wind up of the performance 

 generally takes place on the wing. The 

 alarm note is one which once heard, especially 

 at nightfall when all is still, is not easily for- 

 gotten. 



79. Hooded Crow. Corvus cornix. Linn. 

 An occasional visitor to the county, some- 

 times frequenting the sides of streams and 

 feeding on mussels and other molluscs at low 

 water as well as associating with herds of 

 cattle in pastures. Mr. Chase records the 

 breeding of the hooded crow in Sutton Park 

 in May, 1883, and Mr. Steele Elliott men- 

 tions its nesting there in 1894. 



80. Rook. Corvus frugi/egus, Linn. 



The abundance of the rook depends wholly 

 on its protection at breeding time. 



81. Sky-Lark. Alauda arvensis, Linn. 



A common and resident bird, whose music 

 is heard in almost every field. 



82. Wood-Lark. Alauda arborea, Linn. 

 An uncommon and local bird in the county, 



and even rare in the northern part, as I am 

 informed by Mr. Chase. Its rather peculiar 

 song at once announces its presence. 



83. Swift. Cypselus apus (Linn.) 



This, perhaps the most remarkable of our 

 birds, is a common summer visitor whose 

 numbers have suffered no diminution. It 

 exists almost entirely on the wing except 

 during the period of nesting. The inter- 

 course between the sexes takes place high 

 up in the air, where also it is now supposed 

 to spend the night as well as the day. Its 

 habits have led country people to say that 

 they retire to the upper regions of the atmos- 

 phere to roost. There is no doubt that the 

 swift is a more or less nocturnal bird. The 

 large and rather deeply sunken eyes seem to 



I 97 



indicate as much, and the whole face of the 

 bird has a very owl-like appearance. When 

 or where the swift retires to rest is not at 

 present within our knowledge. 



84. Nightjar. Caprimulgus europaus, Linn. 

 A summer visitor which cannot be termed 



rare, though it is nowhere plentiful. It is 



quite as common in the north as the south 



side of the county, and breeds where there 

 are suitable surroundings. 



85. Wryneck. lynx tore/ui/la, Linn. 



The wryneck is most certainly less com- 

 mon than formerly. Its peculiar and unmis- 

 takable song, if such it can be called, is not 

 as often heard, and specimens are more rarely 

 brought to the bird stuffers for preservation. 

 It is more a local than a rare bird. 



86. Green Woodpecker. Gecinus viridis 



(Linn.) 



Wherever the growth of timber suits the 

 habits of this bird no diminution in its numbers 

 appears to have taken place, and its well known 

 laughing voice may be heard. 



87. Great Spotted Woodpecker. Dendrocopus 



major (Linn.) 



Although much less common than the green 

 woodpecker, this species is not rare in the 

 county, but it is more dependent than even 

 the last species on the presence of large and 

 aged trees. The nest, to judge by the very 

 few instances which have come to the 

 knowledge of the writer, is high up in 

 some half-decayed tree, and not in a con- 

 spicuous place ; the beech appears to be 

 frequently chosen. There is no longer any 

 doubt that the loud jarring rattle which this 

 bird makes in the spring is caused by very 

 rapid strokes of the bill on hard wood or 

 bark. It is reported by Mr. Steele Elliott to 

 be not uncommon in the park at Button Cold- 

 field, where it breeds, choosing by preference 

 the oak and holly trees in which to excavate 

 a nesting place. 



88. Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. Dendrocopus 



minor (Linn.) 



A commoner bird than the last and more 

 generally distributed. At the end of January 

 and all through February, its presence is known 

 by the jarring sound that it makes and which 

 resembles that made by the greater spotted 

 woodpecker, except that the vibrations are 

 smaller and more rapid. Ancient orchards 

 are favourite haunts of this little bird, but 

 the nest is not easy to find, being generally 

 more or less out of sight, and only to be dis- 



