GARDEN AND ORCHARD BIRD-LIFE. 63 



the orchards. On the 23rd of April 1891 I met 

 with the only example of the Pied Flycatcher I 

 have seen in the county, in an orchard near the 

 quaint old church at Churston. It was a female, 

 and remarkably tame, flying in little stages before 

 me right down the lane, and always perching on 

 the outermost twigs of the hedge. This example 

 had evidently crossed the Channel with a great 

 flight of small birds Cuckoos, Redstarts, and 

 Warblers and been driven so far to the west- 

 ward by a strong south-easterly gale that had been 

 raging just previously. Another species rare in 

 Devonshire, yet occasionally seen in the orchards, 

 is the Wryneck. We have the record of the 

 arrival of this species for two years in succession 

 in the same orchard, close to Shorten, on the 

 2nd of April one spring, the roth of April another. 

 Whether the bird breeds in Devon we are not 

 prepared to say, but as the species is so retiring 

 and so chaste in colouration, rendering it liable to 

 be overlooked, we strongly suspect that it may do 

 so. Similarly, we may state that in our opinion 

 the Lesser Whitethroat, a bird described as an 

 accidental visitor only, breeds in the district of the 

 South Hams. 



