A HISTORY OF KENT 



on their way to the coast. The appearance 

 of these parties is however irregular. On 

 30 August 1896 a small flock of six 

 birds (the first since 1893) appeared in a 

 fallow field near Cranbrook. They caught 

 their prey after the manner of flycatchers, 

 being very busy just at dusk in obtaining it, 

 retiring for the night to a neighbouring turnip 

 field. All these birds were young males with 

 their conspicuous white shoulder patches ; a 

 fact which I have found to be the case on 

 several former occasions, thereby indicating 

 that the males keep separate from the females 

 on migration. The whinchat breeds locally in 

 the county. Two nests have been sent to me 

 from the neighbourhood of Tunbridge Wells, 

 while in the neighbourhood of Edenbridge 

 the bird is common about the rough railway 

 embankments. Mr. Walter Prentis of Rain- 

 ham writes : ' A pair frequented a narrow 

 coppice on my farm in 1886. On mowing 

 clover and making hay in the field adjoining, a 

 nest was discovered containing four blue eggs, 

 built on the ground after the manner of the 

 sky-lark's.' 



9, Stonechat. Pratincola riibicola (Linn.) 



Locally, Furze Chat. 

 Although a resident, this species is more 

 uncommon than the whinchat, since the 

 nature of the county is unsuitable. It is 

 more often observed in winter than summer, 

 usually about our marshland. 



10. Redstart. Ruticilla phcenicurus (Linn.) 

 Locally, Fire-tail. 



The redstart is sparingly distributed during 

 the summer and breeds in suitable localities, 

 appearing in April and leaving again in Sep- 

 tember. Like the nightingale it is generally 

 to be found breeding in colonies, and the same 

 locality will often be resorted to year after 

 year. It is however a shy bird, and if per- 

 secuted will constantly change its breeding 

 haunts. This accounts for their disappearing 

 from districts where they used to be numerous. 

 It is found in the Rainham (Prentis) and Stour- 

 mouth districts (Dowker). Wherever there are 

 fir woods it is generally to be found. Near 

 Cranbrook it breeds annually in the Bedgebury 

 woods, where in May 1896 I observed no 

 fewer than five pairs in a single morning, and 

 found several nests, two of which were on 

 ledges of sandstone in an old disused pit: nest- 

 ing sites the redstart appears to be particularly 

 fond of. In the same month, on 12 May, 

 I discovered another nest in a very curious 

 situation. It was placed inside a disused 

 pheasant's coop, and side by side was another 



nest belonging to a marsh-tit. On my ap- 

 proach the owners flew away, showing eggs 

 in both nests. 



11. Black Redstart. Ruticilla //Vy^ (Scopoli) 

 A scarce winter visitor to Kent. I have 



observed individuals on the hills about Dover 

 and Folkestone. No authenticated instance 

 of the bird breeding in England has yet been 

 recorded. Mr. Oxenden Hammond observed 

 an old male bird near Wingham on 9 May 

 1883, which looks suspiciously as if a pair were 

 breeding in the locality, yet the nest was not 

 discovered. This redstart is by no means com- 

 mon in the county, although it is said to be 

 increasing in other counties. A reason for 

 this may be looked for in the fact that this 

 species generally affects high ground near the 

 sea on its arrival. The only high coast that 

 Kent can show is in the vicinity of Folke- 

 stone, Dover and St. Margaret's Bay, and 

 there specimens of the black redstart have 

 occasionally been obtained. 



12. Red-spotted Bluethroat. Cyanecula suecica 



(Linn.) 

 A very rare visitor in spring and autumn. 

 Kent lies too far south for us to receive 

 many stragglers of this species.' To my 

 knowledge three specimens have been ob- 

 ained in Kent. One in Sheppey in 1844 

 (George Dowker). On 16 May 1845 a 

 fine old male bird was taken in a nightingale 

 trap and was kept alive for several months, 

 and during that time examined by the well 

 known ornithologist, the late Mr. John Han- 

 cock. The third instance occurred in Septem- 

 ber 1 88 1, when a specimen was obtained in 

 the marshes near Dartford. Mr. Grey, the 

 curator of the Dover Museum, writes as fol- 

 lows : ' I once saw a beautiful specimen of 

 the bluethroat in the meadow behind the 

 Castle and followed it for some time. It 

 kept flying from a hedge to a turnip field, 

 but only having a butterfly-net with me I 

 stood no chance of getting it.' 



1 3. Redbreast. Erlthacus rubecula (Linn.) 



A common resident. In September a mi- 

 gration southward may be observed. When 



1 During the autumn migration individuals are 

 obtained almost annually on the Norfolk coast 

 between Wells and Cromer {F.C.H. Norfolk, i. 

 228). This portion of the English coast might 

 be described as a halting or resting place in the 

 movement of migration of those birds that breed 

 in northern Europe, for a northerly wind sends 

 these migrants to this prominent piece of coast-line, 

 whence after a short stay they cross the sea on 

 their way southward. 



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