A HISTORY OF KENT 



increased during the last few years. Thick 

 copses in the vicinity of woods are favour- 

 ite resorts, where it is not unusual to find 

 several nests in close proximity to one 

 another. A ' tiller ' or some other small 

 tree is chosen as a look-out post, and this is 

 resorted to some time before building is com- 

 menced. Incubation is performed by the 

 female, who leaves the nest and flies to the 

 ' tiller,' and is there fed by the male. When 

 the young are about a week old the parents 

 display great activity in searching after food. 

 Should the male come to the nest and find 

 his mate feeding the young ones he straight- 

 way impales the prey upon the thorns around 

 the nest and is off again into the thicket. In 

 the less enclosed portions of the county the 

 nest is generally built in thick thorn bushes 

 on the borders of pastures or in roadside 

 hedges. In August the red-backed shrikes 

 with their families may be observed basking 

 on the sunny side of palings that border 

 plantations. By the end of the month these 

 parties have left us. 



56. Woodchat Shrike. Lanius pomeranus, 



Sparrman. 

 A very rare summer visitant. It has been 

 obtained four times in the county : one near 

 Faversham, July 1868 [Zool. 1869, p. 1863) ; 

 two near Rainham, one on 7 May 1868, in 

 the collection of Mr. Walter Prentis ; one 

 caught by bird-catchers in the warren between 

 Dover and Folkestone and identified by Mr. 

 Hammond, in whose collection it may be 

 seen. 



57. Waxwing. Jmpe/is garru/us, Linn. 

 A rare winter visitor, by no means regular, 



many years elapsing between the visits ; the 

 occurrences being generally marked by a 

 severe winter. It appears in small parties 

 and is sometimes found in company with 

 starlings. In the autumn of 1840 a specimen 

 was obtained at Kingston near Canterbury 

 (Pemberton Barlett). In January 1848 eight 

 were killed at Deal. In 1850 a remarkable 

 visitation took place. Several were obtained 

 in January of that year near Maidstone, from 

 Eltham and Rainham, and from Brenchley 

 near Tunbridge Wells. In December 1867 

 eight specimens were procured in the Plum- 

 stead marshes near Woolwich, and three in 

 the woods about Faversham ; and according 

 to Mr. Prentis of Rainham, ' one was shot 

 from a pair in our woods in 1867, another 

 obtained in an orchard, while a small flock 

 was seen in an orchard near Milton.' 



The last recorded visitation took place in 

 January 1893, when a female was shot at 



280 



Smarden, and on 24 January a male at 

 Marden. Both specimens I examined in the 

 flesh ; they were shot when in company with 

 starlings, and were feeding at the time on 

 the haws in a hedgerow. The winter was 

 a severe one. 



58. Pied Flycatcher. Muidcapa atricapillci, 

 Linn. 



A scarce spring and autumn migrant. 

 There is no evidence of its breeding in Kent. 

 In the autumn of 1894 I obtained near Cran- 

 brook a female, evidently on migration. It 

 was at the top of a tall oak tree and in com- 

 pany with some willow-warblers. 



In the collection of Mr. Prentis there is an 

 adult male, obtained at Rainham in 188 1. 



59- 



Spotted Flycatcher. 

 Linn. 



Muicicapa grisola, 



A well distributed summer visitant, arriving 

 in the county during the first week in May. 

 It is wonderfully punctual in its appearance 

 every summer, and for three consecutive years 

 I have recorded its arrival within a day of 

 each other. It leaves in the middle of Sep- 

 tember. 



60. Swallow. Hirundo rustica, Linn. 

 A well known summer migrant, but not 



so plentiful during the last fsw years. The 

 migration movement southward in autumn 

 may be well noticed on the south coast be- 

 tween Rye and Dungeness. Throughout 

 September large batches of swallows on migra- 

 tion break their journey along this portion of 

 the coast. Flock after flock comes and goes, 

 always edging to the eastward — to Dun- 

 geness, where the crossing is effected. 



61. House-Martin. Chelidon urhica (Linn.) 

 A common summer migrant. In many 



localities it nests in considerable numbers, 

 but in others it has disappeared, owing to the 

 persecution it receives from the house-sparrow, 

 which appropriates and takes possession of its 

 nest. 



62. Sand-Martin. Cottle rtparia (Linn.) 

 A summer migrant of local distribution. 



It nests in many of our railway cuttings and 

 sand pits. Throughout the Weald it is by 

 no means common. It breeds near Cran- 

 brook, where I have taken the eggs ; near 

 Dover ; and there is a large colony close to 

 the station at Chislehurst. The breeding 

 distribution of this species in Kent may be 

 roughly taken as running along the chalk 

 range from Dover to the neighbourhood of 

 Sevenoaks. 



Regarding the migration of this species, as 



