A HISTORY OF DERBYSHIRE 



loose stone walls, stone heaps, rabbit holes 

 and crevices in the rock. The breeding 

 range of this species has evidently become 

 more restricted during the past century, as the 

 older writers speak of it as a common bird. 

 At present it is confined to the north-western 

 portion of the county, Thorpe Cloud being 

 the southern limit of its breeding grounds. 



8. Whinchat. Pratincola rubetra (Linn.). 



Locally, U-tick, Furze Bunting (N. Wood). 

 A common summer visitor to all the low- 

 lying parts of the county, more especially to 

 the southern plain where it is very plentiful. 

 The whinchat arrives about a month later 

 than the wheatear, and the eggs are usually 

 laid during the latter half of May and are 

 generally six or seven in number. Sometimes 

 the nest is placed in a tussock in the open 

 field, at other times on a bank side or in a 

 small bush. It is usually well concealed, but 

 the cock bird is very demonstrative as long as 

 any one remains in the vicinity. 



9. Stonechat. Pratincola rubicola (Linn.). 



Locally, Stone-chatter (Pilkington). 

 Apparently this bird was formerly a not 

 uncommon resident, but at the present time it 

 is exceedingly scarce and its somewhat erratic 

 appearances are made during the summer 

 months. No doubt the enclosure of waste 

 lands and commons have contributed to 

 diminish its numbers, but it is remarkable that 

 a bird which was considered in 1863 by Sir 

 Oswald Mosley to be more plentiful than the 

 whinchat should now be quite a rarity. A 

 pair or two may occasionally be found breed- 

 ing in the upper Dove valley and in the Bake- 

 well district, while single birds have been re- 

 ported from different parts. In 1886 two 

 nests were found near Ashbourne, one contain- 

 ing five eggs and the other newly hatched 

 young. 



10. Redstart. Ruticilla phoenlcurus (Linn.). 

 Locally, Firetail, Redster. 



A common summer visitor, being found 

 both in the stone wall country and also in 

 the well wooded valleys, arriving generally 

 about the middle of April. It is perhaps most 

 numerous in the north, west and extreme 

 south of the county and rather local in the 

 central plain. The nests are built in holes of 

 almost any kind, in stonework, rocks or trees, 

 especially when covered by ivy. A nest at 

 Ashbourne was built inside an old swallow's 

 nest in an outhouse, and at Clifton a pair 

 were found breeding near the end of a hori- 

 zontal bough of a Scotch fir. 



11. Black Redstart. Ruticilla titys (Scopoli). 



A hen bird was recorded by Mr. J. J. 

 Briggs (Zoo/, p. 5365) as having been trapped 

 accidentally at Melbourne on November 3, 

 1856. Another was seen shortly afterwards. 



12. Redbreast. Erithacus rubecula (Linn.). 



A very familiar resident. In spite of its 

 confiding habits the robin generally exercises 

 a good deal of caution in keeping its nesting, 

 place secret even when built quite close to a 

 house. The eggs vary a good deal : white 

 or almost white specimens are not uncommon, 

 and one particularly fine clutch is boldly 

 marked with deep red on a white ground. 



A cream coloured robin is in the possession 

 of Mrs. Briggs from Chellaston. An instance 

 of the robin breeding in December is recorded 

 in the Ornithologist (p. 58). 



13. Nightingale. Daulias luscinia (Linn.). 



A regular visitor in small numbers to the 

 south and south-east of the county. Occa- 

 sionally a pair or two nest in the Dove valley 

 and on the eastern border. 



Mr. E. Brown, writing of the Burton dis- 

 trict, says : ' During one season about ten years 

 ago (i.e. about 1853) h' s bird was to be found 

 in every grove in the district, but it has rarely 

 occurred since.' More or less dependable 

 reports of the occurrence of this bird in spring 

 have been received from Creswell, Bakewell 

 and Winster. A pair certainly bred about 2 

 miles from Ashbourne in 1895, and in the 

 lower Dove and Trent valleys they have fre- 

 quently been noticed. In 1901 several pairs 

 bred near Derby (W. H. Walton), and a cock 

 bird in full song was reported from Snelston. 

 On the Nottingham border they appear occa- 

 sionally, especially in the neighbourhood of 

 Sherwood Forest. 



14. Whitethroat. Sylvia cinerea (Bechstein). 



Locally, Jacky Scrawch, Hayjack, Peggy White- 

 throat, Thinstraw. 



A very common summer visitor to all the 

 valleys and low-lying districts of the county, 

 but absent from the high ground and therefore 

 very local in the north-west of the county. 



15. Lesser Whitethroat. Sylvia curruca 



(Linn.). 



A summer visitor, as a rule in much smaller 

 numbers than the preceding species. Its 

 numbers however vary considerably, and some- 

 times its monotonous little song may be heard 

 in all directions. Its distribution is similar to 

 that of the common whitethroat. 



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