A HISTORY OF DERBYSHIRE 



Derbyshire, but less numerous in the northern 

 half of the county. On the lower Dove and 

 Trent there has been a perceptible increase 

 in their numbers during the last year or so, 

 possibly owing to fewer birds having been 

 shot, the kingfisher being now protected by 

 the County Council. To show the destruc- 

 tion formerly carried on by water bailiffs and 

 others, no fewer than twenty-two were 

 trapped in one year by one man on the river 

 Dove. 



93. Roller. Coracias garrulus, Linn. 



One seen and clearly identified by Mr. 

 Davis, an optician of Derby, by the Derwent 

 between Duffield and Darley on May 3, 

 1856 (Nat. Hist. ofTutbury, pp. 49, 102). 



94. Bee-Eater. Merops apiaster, Linn. 

 Two if not three bee-eaters visited Derby- 

 shire in 1879. One was shot on May 4 in 

 the gardens of Stainsby House near Mapper- 

 ley and is now in the possession of Mr. J. 

 Whitaker (Zool. 1879, p. 461). The second 

 now in the Nottingham Museum, was also 

 shot at Mapperley on June i o (Mid. Nat. ii. 

 235). A third is also said to have been 

 shot in the same neighbourhood but cannot 

 be traced. 



95. Hoopoe. Upupa epeps, Linn. 



A rare visitor. Sir O. Mosley saw one on 

 the Dove and mentions another shot at 

 Swadlincote some time between 1843 an ^ 

 1863. On September 25, 1885, I saw one 

 on the lawn at Ashbourne Vicarage walking 

 about with depressed crest. It was not at all 

 shy but at last took wing, showing the bril- 

 liant wing colouration and settled on a bank 

 with erect crest. It was not disturbed, but 

 after a few days strayed away and was shot 

 on September 30 about half a mile away by 

 a man named Blore and proved to be a male 

 by dissection. 



96. Cuckoo. Cuculus canorus, Linn. 



A summer visitor to all parts of the county, 

 haunting the moorlands as well as the culti- 

 vated country. In the Trent valley the reed- 

 warbler is frequently used as a foster parent ; 

 in the cultivated country the pied wagtail and 

 hedge-sparrow are most 'often made use of, 

 and on the moors the egg is usually placed in 

 the nest of the meadow-pipit. Besides these 

 the tree-pipit, sedge-warbler, reed-bunting, 

 blackbird and yellow bunting all occasionally 

 take the part of foster parent, and an instance 

 of a cuckoo's egg being found in a deserted 

 thrushes' nest at West Hallam is recorded in 

 the Field for July 6, 1901. 



The cuckoo occasionally utters its note at 

 night. On May 15, 1896, one was calling 

 steadily at 10.30 p.m., and I have noticed the 

 same thing in the south of England. Mr. 

 Whitaker has a curious pale variety, slightly 

 marked with pale brown. 



97. Barn-Owl. Strix fla mmca, Linn. 

 Locally, White Owl, Screech Owl. 



Although perhaps rather less numerous 

 than the brown owl, this species is found in 

 most parts of the county, and if it were not 

 for the senseless and illegal persecution to 

 which it is subjected might again become 

 common. Although owls of all species are 

 nominally protected, very large numbers find 

 their way annually to the bird-stuffers' shops. 

 Pole traps too are responsible for the death of 

 many of these useful birds : under one trap I 

 have on two occasions found the remains of 

 five and three owls respectively, and this took 

 place on the estate of a landlord who in a 

 letter to me asserted that he has been a pre- 

 server of owls all his life ! An analysis of 

 some 240 pellets of this species from the 

 Dove valley by Mr. L. E. Adams gives the 

 following results : Common shrew, 531 

 skulls ; field vole, 295 ; long-tailed field 

 mouse, 137 ; bank vole, 107 ; house mouse, 

 37 ; lesser shrew, 32 ; brown rat, 18 ; water 

 shrew, 1 2 ; noctule, I ; sparrow, 7 ; other 

 birds, 1 8 ; frog, 3 ; cockchafer, i ; and re- 

 mains of beetles in 7 pellets. 



98. Long-eared Owl. Asia otus (Linn.). 



A resident in many of our woods, but 

 more frequently overlooked than either the 

 white or brown species. Migratory birds 

 also visit us in the autumn. In April, 1901, a 

 pair of long-eared owls were found breeding 

 in a new magpies' nest of which they had 

 taken possession, but usually old and deserted 

 nests are made use of. 



99. Short - eared Owl. Asia accipitrinus 



(Pallas). 

 Locally, Lesser Horned Owl (F. Gisborne). 



Besides being an autumnal visitor, the short- 

 eared owl was formerly a regular breeder on 

 the moors of North Derbyshire, but owing 

 to rigorous persecution it has now become 

 exceedingly scarce. Mr. W. Storrs Fox met 

 with the survivor of a pair, which from its 

 movements had evidently attempted to breed 

 in the vicinity, on June 9, 1894, on the 

 moors above Ramsley Lodge. Migrants from 

 the continent occur not infrequently in various 

 parts of the county, especially in the Trent 

 valley. 



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