BIRDS 



well as of the two former ones, the following 

 notes from my diary, taken on the Lydd 

 coast in the autumn of 1896, may be of 

 interest : — 



September \th, 1896. — On my way to Rye. 

 Large numbers of swallows flying to and fro over 

 the hops. The hop fly is very abundant this year. 

 These birds were busy catching them as they left 

 the hops. 



Sept. 6th, near Lydd. — Young swallows and 

 martins are in great strength, skimming to and fro 

 over brackish pieces of water, or basking on the 

 sands at low tide. Towards evening these large 

 bands had moved eastward along the coast and 

 were within two miles of Dnngeness Point. 



Sept. wth. — Stormy, south-westerly wind. 

 Numbers of young swallows and with them a few 

 sand martins. 



Sept. J2t6. — Cloudy, south-westerly winds. 

 Large numbers of sand martins, both old and 

 young. 



Sept. l^ti. — Strong south-westerly wind. The 

 majority of swallows and sand martins have left. 



Sept. z^ti. — Very rainy ; a strong south-westerly 

 gale. 



Sept. zdth. — Squally. A further influx of young 

 swallows and sand martins has taken place. The 

 swallows seemed tired, many squatted motionless 

 on the grass, now and again hovering over it after 

 the manner of kestrels. The sand martins were 

 by far the most active. Their flight appeared 

 steady and strong. 



Sept. 2%th. — A large number of swallows, pro- 

 bably the last batch of migrants. They hovered 

 to and fro over a row of corn stacks, catching the 

 flies and insects that were attracted by the straw. 



3 p.m. — The flocks of swallows round the 

 stacks have suddenly disappeared. Towards even- 

 ing heavy rain came on with a strong south-westerly 

 gale. It looks as if these birds had foreseen the 

 coming storm and had taken advantage of the com- 

 paratively fine afternoon to cross the channel in 

 safety. 



October \th. — A few swallows and house martins 

 about ; they are in very poor condition. The 

 mortality in these late passages must be great. 



Oct. I ith. — The main body of the late broods 

 of house martins appeared on the coast this morn- 

 ing. They attached themselves in parties to cot- 

 tages and farm buildings, in front of which they 

 hovered and circled in a sluggish manner. Several 

 were found perished on the window sills, while 

 not a few lacked tail feathers, looking in this state, 

 as they flitted to and fro, more like little bats than 

 anything else — a routed army flying in full retreat. 

 It would not have been difficult to knock many 

 over with a stick, so weary did they seem, barely 

 possessing enough strength to fly up to the eaves, 

 where they clung to peer and search in vain for 

 tiny mud-beaded houses, like those they had left 

 only a few weeks back. 



63. Greenfinch. Ligurinus chlorU (Linn.) 



A common resident. In autumn and 

 winter these birds resort to the stubble fields 



with chaffinches and sparrows. In September 

 the greenfinch does considerable damage to 

 the hops. During severe weather they leave 

 the fields for the vicinity of farm buildings. 



In the collection of Mr. Prentis there is 

 a wild hybrid between this species and the 

 linnet. This occurrence is extremely rare. 



64. Hawfinch. Coccothraustes vu/garis,V?dhs. 

 Locally, Grosbeak. 



Previous to 1895 this bird was not com- 

 mon. Now it is steadily increasing in the 

 wooded districts, nesting annually in our 

 woods. I have frequently found in one 

 small wood several nests within a short dis- 

 tance of one another. It is only since we 

 have experienced the caterpillar plagues of 

 the oak-moth that this bird has become 

 numerous in the Weald. 



Partial migration of the hawfinch occurs in 

 the winter, the bird returning to our woods 

 in the spring. In Kent it nests in the woods, 

 and in our orchards and pleasure grounds. 

 In the woods the hawfinch generally chooses 

 an overhanging bough of a large oak or the 

 fork of a ' tiller ' for its nest, whose height 

 from the ground varies from 12 feet to 15 

 feet. Sometimes fresh leaves are intertwined 

 with the nest as additional concealment, and 

 this is invariably the case when it is built on 

 a tree-limb which has leaf-shoots. Consider- 

 able discretion is shown in the choice of a 

 nesting site, the oaks that are the most for- 

 ward being selected, so that by the time 

 building is completed the oak may be out in 

 full leaf, when the other trees are merely 

 toned with the filmy green of bursting buds. 



Although this species is shy in character, it 

 prefers to nest in the proximity of dwellings ; 

 for instance, near a keeper's cottage or in a 

 tree that borders a much-frequented ride in a 

 wood. The number of males appear to pre- 

 dominate over the females. Very often in 

 the breeding season the female will have a 

 follower in the shape of another male. Should 

 anything threaten the nest both males appear 

 on the scene and share in the common 

 danger ; and if by chance the female's mate is 

 destroyed, the second male takes his place and 

 performs all his duties. In March a con- 

 siderable influx of these birds occurs. Num- 

 bers of pairs arrive in gardens and enclosures 

 where beech trees grow, and these favoured 

 localities are resorted to yearly. In these 

 places they stay till about the middle of 

 April, when they betake themselves to neigh- 

 bouring woods and copses to breed. The 

 early morning is the time to observe these 

 birds. They go stringing over the tree-tops 

 in single and double file in order to recon- 

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