BIRDS 



Penzance or the Lizard. After the lapse of twenty-five years the Dartford 

 warbler has again appeared among the gorse brakes round St. Burian. The 

 blackcap, long-tailed tit, and lately the greater spotted woodpecker breed in 

 the vicinity of Penzance, and the great tit is in evidence there the whole 

 year round, though no nests have been found in that neighbourhood for several 

 years. The whinchat and the goat-sucker nest sparingly, and the red-backed 

 shrike has bred at least twice during the last six years near Marazion. With 

 the exception of the chaffinch the finches seem to be on the decrease. The 

 bullfinch has been well-nigh exterminated around the market-garden area ; 

 the goldfinch is now very scarce about Penzance, though not uncommon at 

 one or two places in the Lizard peninsula, and even the greenfinch and 

 linnet have greatly diminished in numbers round Helston. The corn-bunting 

 is abundant ; the reed-bunting nests in Marazion Marsh, and the cirl-bunting 

 is still a summer migrant on the south of the Lizard. The sand martin no 

 longer breeds about Penzance, and the swallow and martin are not so common 

 as ten years ago. The swift, on the other hand, is much more numerous. 

 The green woodpecker is now ubiquitous, and appears to be still increas- 

 ing. The starling, too, now breeds as far south as the Lizard and as far west 

 as Sennen. The wheatear, the lapwing, and the curlew breed on Lady 

 Downs, near Penzance, and on Goonhilly. The ring-ouzel nests at least 

 occasionally on the latter. The dipper breeds in the Cober valley, and the 

 snipe near the Loe Pool, in the marsh at Penzance and in the parish, of 

 Crowan. Corncrakes are, as a rule, well represented in the Lizard, and 

 cuckoos are usually commoner there than anywhere else in the county. The 

 common sandpiper nests near Zennor and in the marsh at Penzance. Early 

 last century the kite bred both in the Lizard and the Land's End district, and 

 the hen harrier has been known to nest on Goonhilly Downs. The chough 

 nested near Kynance and at Mullion as late as 1832, at Tol-pedn-penwith, 

 near the Land's End till 1849 at least, and on the cliffs at Zennor till about 

 1870. The buzzard used to breed in the Land's End district, and in the late 

 seventies a solitary pair were nesting near Zennor. The peregrine and the 

 raven both breed at intervals round the coast. The tawny owl has a some- 

 what limited distribution, but big flights in winter are not uncommon. The 

 barn owl is now very scarce. During winter the short-eared owl is plentiful, 

 but the long-eared owl is only occasionally seen. Sea birds in places breed 

 abundantly. Oyster-catchers and ring-plovers nest here and there, from 

 Prussia Cove to Newlyn, and less commonly further west. The herring gull 

 is abundant, the lesser black-backed gull nests at Kynance, Mullion, Gurnard's 

 Head, and elsewhere. The kittiwake breeds on Mullion Island, and the 

 greater black-backed gull at the Lizard and near Gurnard's Head. Shags 

 and cormorants nest in considerable numbers all round the coast, and though 

 the latter are in the minority they are much commoner as a breeding species 

 in this district than anywhere else round the mainland. A few guillemots 

 breed west of Kynance, and there is a small colony at Tol-pedn-penwith and 

 probably also at Bosiggran Castle. Large numbers of razor-bills breed from 

 Kynance westwards. Of the non-breeding birds of the district the most 

 remarkable are the golden oriole and the fire-crest. The former is a regular 

 spring visitor to the sheltered parts of the Land's End peninsula from 

 Marazion westwards. One of their favourite haunts is Trevethoe, near 



325 



