BIRDS 



Tomlinson has occasionally seen one in 

 March at Burton (Birds of Derbyshire, p. 66). 



40. Tree-Pipit. Anthus trivia/is (Linn.) 

 Locally, Titlark, Bank Lark. 



A common spring visitor, generally dis- 

 tributed throughout the county, except on the 

 moors, where it is replaced by the meadow 

 pipit. It is very conspicuous in spring on 

 account of its habit of ascending from its 

 perch on the top of a tree and returning again 

 to its post with outstretched wings, singing all 

 the way. 



41. Meadow-Pipit. Anthus pratensls (Linn.) 

 Common on the uplands and moors, and 



partially migratory in its habits, moving south 

 in severe weather. Many cuckoos are reared 

 in nests of this species in north Staffordshire. 



42. Richard's Pipit. Anthus richardi (Vieillot) 

 Garner in his Appendix (p. 34) mentions one 



example, which was obtained near Stone and 

 was in Mr. Ration's collection (Garner MS.) 

 Mr. R. W. Chase has an adult male which 

 was taken near Handsworth on 21 October 

 1887 (Birds of Staffordshire, p. 59). 



43. Golden Oriole. Oriolus galbula, Linn. 

 A rare visitor which has occurred twice. 



One was shot near Barton-urider-Needwood 

 about 1869 (Birds of Staffordshire, p. 59), and 

 another was killed by a boy near Burton-on- 

 Trent on 19 April 1871 (Birds of Derbyshire, 

 p. 69). 



44. Great Grey Shrike. Lanius excubitor, 



Linn. 



Another rare visitor, usually occurring in 

 the autumn and winter months. Garner 

 (p. 274) says it has been obtained at Need- 

 wood, Bramshall, etc., and in his MS. notes 

 mentions a later occurrence at Stone, where 

 it was shot by Mr. Hatton (Birds of Stafford- 

 shire, p. 60). Sir O. Mosley (Nat. Hist, of 

 Tutbury, p. 37) mentions two : one shot at 

 Burton Bridge on 2 December 1844, and 

 the other killed by a stone on 4 April 1845 

 between Dunstall and Burton (Zoo/, p. 1209). 

 In the North Staffs Field Club Report for 1886 

 two are recorded as having been killed near 

 Alton in the spring of the previous year. 

 Somewhere about this time one was shot at 

 Mayfield and passed through the hands of 

 Poole, the Ashbourne bird-stuffer. The latest 

 occurrence is that of one at Grindon in 1898 

 (Report North Staffs Field Club, 1899). 



45. Red-backed Shrike. Lanius collurio, Linn. 

 A regular summer migrant to the south, 



but rare in the north of the county. Nests 

 are mentioned in the Birds of Staffordshire 

 (p. 60) at Clayton, King's Bromley (1891), 

 near Stoke and Alton (1892). A pair gener- 

 ally breed near the entrance to Dovedale. 



46. Waxwing. Ampelis garrulus, Linn. 



A rare winter visitor. Garner includes it 

 in his list on the authority of Dr. Hewgill and 

 Mr. Brown. Sir O. Mosley (Nat. Hist, of 

 Tutbury, p. 43) says that it visits the banks of 

 the Trent at irregular periods during the 

 winter months, and that many were observed 

 in the Burton district in 1827, l %35 ar >d 

 1850. Writing later in the Zoologist (1868) 

 he states that on Sunday, 31 May, a young 

 bird was caught by his brother near a Pinus 

 douglasii in his grounds. When placed on an 

 iron railing the two old birds immediately 

 came to it and were distinctly identified, the 

 red marks on the wing-tips being clearly seen. 

 Although the whole family were noticed by 

 several people for upwards of a week after- 

 wards none were captured. A nest was sub- 

 sequently found on a branch of the Douglas 

 pine about 60 ft. from the ground, and ' con- 

 sisted of wool intermixed with fibres of grass 

 and bits of the same fir.' In January 1893 

 one was killed by a boy at Oulton near Stone 

 while feeding on the fruit of the wild rose. 



47. Pied Flycatcher. 

 Linn. 



Muscicapa atricapilla, 



A rare summer visitor, recorded by Garner 

 from Bagot's Park and Trentham (1843). 

 Mr. E. Brown (Fauna of Burton, p. 94) says 

 it has ' been killed at Bagot's Park and at 

 Stretton, near Burton-on-Trent.' Mr. W. 

 Wells Bladen found a nest at Sandon on 7 

 May 1880 which he took to be that of this 

 bird, but the date is unusually early and the 

 situation unlikely. In 1883 Mr. E. W. H. 

 Blagg obtained a male near Cheadle, and Mr. 

 H. Meynell observed one at Alton on 2 May 

 1889, while Dr. McAldowie saw one at 

 Northwood near Trentham in June 1892. 

 Mr. H. G. Tomlinson saw a cock bird in 

 May 1898 near Tutbury, and Mr. Forshaw 

 two at Uttoxeter the same year, and another 

 was seen by the writer at Cheadle 28 April 

 1902 (Reports North Staffs Field Club}. 



48. Spotted Flycatcher. Muscicapa grisola, 



Linn. 



An abundant and familiar summer migrant, 

 arriving in May and frequenting garden rail- 

 ings and bare branches in orchards, from 

 which it takes short flights in search of prey, 

 returning to the same spot after the capture of 

 each fly or other insect. Very soon after its 



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