BIRDS 



Berkshire, owing to its inland position, cannot be considered rich 

 in birds; and there is an absence of those periodical visitations of rare 

 wanderers from the far north and east which from time to time occur in 

 the counties which have a sea frontage. Yet what is lost in this respect 

 is more or less made up by the numbers of resident birds and the large 

 flocks of migrants which annually visit us both in spring and autumn. 

 Then again we are favoured by our rivers which form the county boun- 

 dary on nearly every side ; for these waterways induce many a wanderer 

 to rest which would otherwise continue its flight to or from its northern 

 home, and it is for this reason that our list contains twenty-five out of 

 the forty-three species of Anatidce that have from time to time visited the 

 British Islands. The character of the county is varied in the extreme : 

 from the chalk hills of Lambourn to the fertile valleys of the Thames 

 and Kennet, from the heathery wastes of Wokingham and Bagshot to 

 the thickly wooded districts west from Maidenhead to Reading, it would 

 be hard to find a county better suited to the varied wants of its feathered 

 population. Regretfully we notice from time to time that some resident 

 or breeding species has left us to return no more, expelled either 

 directly through the destructive hand of man or indirectly through the 

 drainage of marsh lands or better cultivation. The great bustard, 

 once the pride of Lambourn, has gone for ever; the bearded reedling 

 and marsh-harrier that once bred in our waste lands are now only 

 accidental visitors ; and the red kite, formerly numerous and resident, 

 has long since been exterminated, the last example on record having been 

 killed in 1875. But while we cannot but deplore the loss of these 

 interesting species, it must not be forgotten that in all probability the 

 total number of birds now resident and visiting our lands is larger than at 

 any previous period. This may be accounted for in many ways the 

 destruction of birds of prey, the increase of plantations and gardens 

 which afford adequate feeding grounds, and the Wild Birds' Protection 

 Acts, although as regards this last we have none in Berks, and, except 

 for a very limited number of species, protection is not called for. 



The literature on the ornithology of Berkshire is meagre in the 

 extreme, and the only writings I have been able to discover are as fol- 

 lows : 



In or about 1814 Dr. Lamb wrote a paper called ' Ornithologia 

 Bercheria,' which he sent to Thomas Marsham for publication in the 

 'Transactions of the Linnean Society. For some reason or other it never 

 appeared, and the original manuscript was lost ; a copy was however in 



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