A HISTORY OF DERBYSHIRE 



ous. It is the last to arrive of our Phylloscopi, 

 being seldom noticed before the last week in 

 April. 



24. 



Acrocephalus streperus 



Reed-Warbler. 

 (Vieillot). 



Locally, Marsh Reedling (N. Wood), Reed 



Sparrow, Reed Wren. 



A very local summer visitor to the south of 

 the county, breeding usually in osier beds on 

 the banks of the Trent and the lower part 

 of the Dove. A few pairs are said to breed 

 among reeds in the country south of the 

 Trent, and this species is reported to have 

 occurred on the Derwent near Matlock about 

 1889-91, but further evidence is desirable. 

 Most Derbyshire nests are placed in willows, 

 often at considerable height, and though fre- 

 quently built over the water they may also 

 be found at some distance from any river. 

 In south Derbyshire the reed-warbler is fre- 

 quently made use of as a foster parent by the 

 cuckoo. 



25. Sedge-Warbler. Acrocepbalui phragmitis 



(Bechstein). 



Locally, Sedge Reedling (N. Wood). 

 A common summer visitor to most parts of 

 the county below 1000 feet, but rather less 

 numerous towards the north. In the flat 

 country watered by the Trent it is exceed- 

 ingly common. 



26. Grasshopper-Warbler. Locustella ntcvia 



(Boddaert). 



Locally, Brake Locustelle (Sir O. Mosley), 

 Sibilous Brake-hopper (N. Wood). 



A somewhat erratic summer visitor, vary- 

 ing much in its numbers from year to year. 

 In some seasons it may be found locally all 

 over the county, from the grouse moors in the 

 north to the osier beds and marshes of the 

 Trent valley in the south ; but at other times 

 most of the favourite haunts are deserted. 

 I have met with breeding pairs among the 

 heather on the slopes of the Derwent moors 

 at a height of 1,200 to 1,300 feet. In 1898 

 and 1901 some six or seven pairs were 

 breeding in the Ashbourne district, but in 

 the intervening years they were altogether 

 absent. 



27. Hedge - Sparrow. Accentor modularis 



(Linn.). 



Locally, Hedge Batty, Hedge Dunnock (N. 

 Wood). 



Generally distributed and common almost 

 everywhere. Two buff-coloured and one pied 

 individuals are recorded by F. B. Whitlock 

 (P- 52-3). 



126 



28. Dipper. Cine/us aguaticus, Bechstein. 



Locally, Water Ouzel, Water Crow or Water 

 Pyot (Glover). 



A resident in fair numbers on nearly all 

 our mountain streams. A few pairs may be 

 found breeding in the Dove valley as low as 

 Doveridge and in the Derwent valley near 

 Ambergate, while stragglers have occurred at 

 the junction of the Dove and Trent and close 

 to the town of Derby. In the Dove valley 

 it begins to be fairly common above Mapple- 

 ton. Each pair has its own beat of a few 

 hundred yards of water, and somewhere on 

 this the nest is made. Where a cliff descends 

 sheer to the water's edge is a favourite spot, 

 but in default of this the nest is frequently 

 built in a wall, underneath a bridge, under 

 the river bank, or even in a hollow in some 

 old tree stump. On the smaller streams the 

 nest is often placed underneath a waterfall. 

 One well-known nesting place which has 

 been used for twenty years, and probably 

 much longer, is a hole in the roof of the cave 

 known as the Dove Holes, where I have often 

 seen the old birds removing the droppings of 

 the young in their bills. 



All the nests which I have examined have 

 been lined with dead beech leaves. Some- 

 times two broods are reared from one nest in 

 the year, and I have known the same nest 

 used for two successive seasons, but this is 

 unusual. The young can swim, fly and dive 

 on leaving the nest. 



29. Bearded Tit. Panurus biarmicus (Linn.). 



R. Garner (Nat. Hist, of Staffordshire) says 

 that this species has occurred on the Dove on 

 the authority of Mr. Emery ; and Messrs. 

 Sterland and Whitaker (Birds of Nottingham- 

 shire) have recorded a specimen which was 

 shot at Toton in an osier bed on the Notting- 

 ham border. Captain Henniker, who knows 

 this bird well, having met with it frequently 

 in Asia Minor, assures me that he saw one 

 in the summer of 1896 in a reed bed between 

 Marchington and Sudbury. 



30. Long-tailed Tit. Acredula caudata 



(Linn.). 



Locally, Bottle Tit, Jug (E. Brown). 



Thinly distributed over those parts of the 

 county which are below 600 feet and scarce 

 above that height. The number of breeding 

 birds varies considerably from year to year. 

 In the spring of 1899 they were exceedingly 

 common in south-west Derbyshire, but in the 

 following year hardly a bird was seen. 



The nest is variously placed ; sometimes 

 in a bush or hedge a foot or two from the 



