BIRDS 



and nesting in walls and holes of trees. It is 

 a shy bird and its soft alarm note is frequently 

 heard when the bird itself is not seen. Mr. 

 E. W. H. Blagg has taken eggs with distinct 

 fine red spots. 



[Black Redstart. Ruticilla titys (Scopoli) 

 The Zoologist for 1852 (p. 3503) contains an 

 account of the discovery of a nest supposed to 

 belong to this species, which is also referred to 

 by Hewitson in the third edition of his Eggs 

 of British Birds (p. 1 06). The birds, how- 

 ever, do not appear to have been identified at 

 the nest, and the description of the ' situation 

 in which the nest was found points pretty 

 conclusively to the next species, which is known 

 occasionally to lay white eggs.] 



1 1 . Redbreast. Erithacus rubecula (Linn.) 

 Common and partially migratory in very 



severe weather. A pied variety was observed 

 by Mr. E. W. H. Blagg at Forsbrook near 

 Cheadle in 1892 (Birds of Staffordshire, p. 



43) 



12. Nightingale. Daulias lusdnia (Linn.) 



A rare summer visitor. Mr. E. Brown 

 (Fauna of Burton, p. 96) records it as extra- 

 ordinarily abundant near Burton about 1853, 

 but rare subsequently. Further notes of its 

 appearances will be found in the Birds of 

 Staffordshire (p. 43) and the Reports of the North 

 Staffordshire Field Club for 1880, 1893 and 

 1896. 



13. Whitethroat. Sylvia cinerea (Bechstein) 

 Locally, Peggy Whitethroat. 



A very common summer migrant, arriving 

 in May. 



14. Lesser Whitethroat. Sylvia curruca 



(Linn.) 



A summer migrant, but rarer than the last 

 named species. 



15. Blackcap. Sylvia atricapilla (Linn.) 



A fairly common summer visitor, with a 

 sweet little song. 



1 6. Garden-Warbler. Sylvia hortensis (Bech- 



stein) 

 A summer visitant and generally distributed. 



[Dartford Warbler. Sylvia undata (Bod- 

 daert) 



This species is said to have been observed 

 on Cannock Chase, but no specimen appears 

 to have been obtained, and without further 

 evidence its occurrence so far from its usual 

 habitat can hardly be considered as proved 

 (Birds of Staffordshire, p. 47).] 



17. Goldcrest. Regulus cristatus, K. L. 



Koch. 



A resident and to be found in small family 

 parties in winter. 



[Firecrest. Regulus ignicapillus (C. L. 

 Brehm) 



Noted by Garner as 'occasional,' and 

 included in Sainter's list, but no satisfactory 

 identification of this bird has been recorded in 

 the county.] 



1 8. Chiffchaff. Phylloscopus rufus (Bechstein) 

 The earliest of our summer migrants, 



arriving in March and common in most 

 districts. 



19. Willow- Warbler. Phylloscopus trochilus 



(Linn.) 

 Locally, Peep. 



A common summer visitant throughout the 

 county. 



20. Wood-Warbler. Phylloscopus sibilatrix 



(Bechstein) 



A summer migrant, arriving later than the 

 willow-warbler. It is generally distributed 

 in fair numbers in the valleys of the county. 



21. Reed-Warbler. Acrocephalus streperus 



(Vieillot) 



Locally, Reed Sparrow (E. Brown). 

 A local summer migrant to the Trent, the 

 lower part of the Dove and the larger meres 

 of the county, such as Aqualate, Copmere, 

 etc. It is much less common now than 

 formerly on the Trent and Dove. 



22. Sedge-Warbler. Acrocephalus phragmitis 



(Bechstein) 



A common summer visitor to marshy 

 districts. 



[Aquatic Warbler. Acrocephalus aquaticus 

 (J. F. Gmelin) 



A nest and eggs supposed to belong to this 

 species have been taken at Copmere, but no 

 specimens of the bird have been secured and 

 the resemblance of the eggs of the aquatic 

 warbler to those of the preceding species 

 renders identification very doubtful (Birds of 

 Staffordshire, p. 50).] 



23. Grasshopper-Warbler. Locustella navia 



(Boddaert) 



A summer migrant, local in its distribution 

 and far from common. It has been recorded 

 as nesting near Cheadle (1888), Trentham, 

 Stone and Burton-on-Trent (see Reports of 

 the North Staffs Field Club). 



143 



