BIRDS 



winter approaches many of the robins, especi- 

 ally the birds of the year, retire to our thick 

 fir woods, where they roost in the warm beds 

 of pine-needles, or in holes scratched by rabbits 

 and other rodents. 



14. Nightingale. Dau/ias luscinia (Linn.) 



In the third week of April the nightingale 

 appears in the county (the male birds arriving 

 first) to take up their summer quarters in our 

 copses. This species has increased very much 

 within the last three years, and pairs may even 

 be found nesting within the confines of our 

 gardens. A good idea of its distribution in 

 the county may be arrived at by following the 

 course of the valleys, for the nightingale in- 

 variably selects the low wood-covered ground, 

 where streams may be found, in preference 

 to any other ; and in such places colonies 

 may be met with, the birds returning yearly 

 to the same spots. A remarkable instance 

 of devotion towards their offspring occurred 

 near Cranbrook in 1897. A pair chose as 

 a nesting site a bank directly behind the 

 rifle range, where practice was carried on 

 twice a week. The nest was placed in a hole 

 made by former bullets and in a line with the 

 central target. Two days after the young 

 appeared the male bird was killed, but his 

 mate continued to feed her five young 

 ones amid the spattering of bullets. The 

 young eventually left the nest and gained a 

 bunch of faggots just above it, and whilst 

 here one of the little band was killed. After 

 this the mother led them to a safer retreat, 

 out of range. 



15. Whitethroat. Sylvia cinerea (Bcchs^itln) 

 Locally, Nettle-creeper. 



Between 13 and 20 April the common 

 whitethroat may be looked for, but the date 

 of its arrival varies a good deal with the con- 

 dition of the weather, for should the spring 

 be wet and inclement the bird will not be 

 seen much before the latter date. This 

 summer migrant is numerous throughout the 

 county. 



16. Lesser Whitethroat. Sylvia curruca {h'mn.) 

 The lesser whitethroat arrives about the 



same time as its close congener, but it is 

 rather a scarce bird and of local distribution, 

 keeping much to the tops of trees, especially 

 oaks. A marked increase in the numbers 

 of this warbler took place in many localities 

 in the summer of 1896, when both this and 

 the previous season were remarkable for the 

 great plagues of the green oak-moth {Tortrix 

 viridana), whose caterpillars stripped and dril- 

 led to a deplorable extent many of our oaks. 

 I 



On these the young of the lesser whitethroat 

 are principally fed. 



17. Blackcap. Sylvia atricapilla (Linn.) 

 Common in the well wooded districts from 



the middle of April onward, but its distribu- 

 tion varies yearly. Its appearance in Kent 

 has been recorded in the end of March. 



18. Garden-Warbler. Sylvia hartensis {Bech- 

 stein) 



Not so common as the preceding species, 

 and I have noticed that in localities where the 

 one species abounds the other is absent. In 

 the summer of 1896, when our oaks suffered 

 severely from caterpillars, the garden-warbler, 

 which had been scarce in the neighbourhood 

 of Cranbrook, became numerous, while at the 

 same time the blackcap warbler almost dis- 

 appeared. 



19. Dartford Warbler. Sylvia undata (Bod- 

 daert). 



This warbler is named after the town near 

 which it was first recognized as an English 

 species by Dr. Latham, who obtained a pair 

 on Bexley Heath near Dartford on 10 April 

 1773. It is a scarce resident and chiefly 

 confined to the western portion of the county, 

 where there are heath and furze commons. 

 It has been obtained at Guston near Dover 

 (16 March 1887), at Woolwich {Zoologiit, 

 1863, p. 8819) and at Rainham (Prentis). 



20. Goldcrest. Regulus cristatus, K. L. Koch. 

 Found throughout the county. Of late 



years it has become numerous owing to the 

 increase of larch and fir plantations, where it 

 is generally to be found in small parties 

 throughout the winter, returning in the spring 

 to our gardens as soon as the deodars begin to 

 put forth their shoots, beneath whose tray- 

 like branches it suspends its beautiful little 

 nest. About the middle of November, when 

 stormy weather with south-westerly winds is 

 generally experienced, numbers arrive on the 

 coast from the continent and leave again in 

 April. These birds possess a roving disposi- 

 tion and continually shift from one locality to 

 another, never being in one place for any 

 length of time. Mr. Walter Prentis of Rain- 

 ham, writing in 1894, says : 'I have not seen 

 the golden-crested wren for several years ; 

 what has become of them I do not know, 

 unless they have been affected by the cold and 

 wet summers.' 



21. Firecrest. Regulus ignicapillus (C. L. 

 Brehm). 



This wren is a rare visitor to the county. 

 73 35 



