BIRDS 



the others were shot in the valley of the Avon 

 in Gloucestershire. 



175. Curlew-Sandpiper. Tringa iubar quota 



(Guldenstadt). 

 A flight of curlew-sandpipers appeared on 

 the Cofton reservoir in September, 1885, 

 some of which were shot, and, having been 

 taken into Birmingham to be mounted, came 

 into the hands of the present writer. This 

 appears to be the only record of the occurrence 

 of this bird in the county. 



176. Sanderling. Calidris arenaria (Linn.). 

 Hastings mentions the sanderling as having 



been shot on the Teme in December, 1826 ; 

 and Lees gives Longdon Marsh as a locality 

 where it has been seen. A specimen in the 

 Worcester Museum is labelled ' Salwarp ' ; 

 and that is all the information to hand of the 

 sanderling as a Worcestershire bird. 



177. Common Sandpiper. Tetanus hypoleucus 



(Linn.). 

 This is a very regular spring visitor to our 

 streams, but only as a passage bird on its way 

 to its breeding places on the moors in the 

 western country. About the first week in 

 May it appears, but soon departs, coming again 

 in the early part of September, at which time 

 the greater number are young birds. 



178. Green Sandpiper. Totanus ochropm 



(Linn.). 

 The green sandpiper can only be mentioned 

 as an irregular and rare visitor to our county, 

 appearing in spring and autumn, and never 

 nesting with us. It is usually, perhaps always, 

 found singly, and not unfrequently in some 

 quiet pool or brook, and more rarely in the 

 larger rivers. I remember on one occasion 

 seeing a bird of this species resting in a very 

 upright posture on a dead branch projecting 

 from the stagnant water of a pool by the side 

 of the Midland Railway between Evesham 

 and Ashchurch, as I was passing in the train. 

 That was in the autumn of 1880. Nearly all 

 the specimens which have come into my hands 

 have been shot from pools in little-frequented 

 pasture fields. 



179. Spotted Redshank. Totanus fuscus {Lmn.). 

 Only once have I met with the present 



species in Worcestershire. In the village of 

 Cleeve Prior there was originally a village 

 green, now enclosed and converted into gar- 

 dens, in the middle of which was a consider- 

 able sized horsepond, and in that pond a 

 spotted redshank was shot on August 15 th, 

 1848, which at once came into my hands, 

 and is now in my collection. 



1 80. Greenshank. Totanus canescens (Gmelin;. 

 As a Worcestershire bird, this rests on the 



authority of Hastings and on Lees, who state 

 that one was shot on the Teme as long ago as 

 1826. I have a specimen which was shot out 

 of a flight in the adjoining part of Gloucester- 

 shire, but it is a not unlikely bird to be met 

 with on migration. 



181. Common Curlew. Nmnenius arquata 



(Linn.). 

 The curlew can only be mentioned as an 

 occasional visitor to Worcestershire, and in- 

 deed is more frequently seen passing over, or 

 resting for a time on some hill-top on its way. 

 The well-known whistle is often heard in the 

 night ; and as the barred quills are sometimes 

 picked up and mistaken for those of falcons, it 

 is not unlikely that our fields and meadows are 

 more often frequented by the curlew than is 

 supposed. Lees says that it appears occasion- 

 ally on the Severn and the Teme. 



[Whimbrel. Numenius phaopus (Linn.). 



Hastings says that the whimbrel has been 

 met with on the Severn and Teme, but the 

 writer has seen no Worcestershire specimen, 

 nor any confirmatory record of its appearance 

 in the county.] 



182. Black Tern. Hydrochelidon nigra (Linn.). 

 An occasional black tern appears on our 



rivers in the spring, that is in April or early 

 in May, but only at long intervals. As the 

 species is becoming scarce in Great Britain, it 

 may not be amiss to note a few instances of 

 its occurrences in Worcestershire. Lees 

 mentions one killed in 1855, but gives no 

 locality, and he also speaks of its appearing on 

 the Severn. An adult male was shot on the 

 Avon, where it divides the counties of Wor- 

 cester and Warwick, on April 5th, 1853. 

 Another was seen on the Avon on May 9th, 

 1884, near Harvington ; and an adult female 

 was shot on the same stream, and very near 

 the same place, on April 24th, 1891. Others 

 have been seen of which I have heard, but of 

 which I have no note ; and an occasional im- 

 mature bird of this species has appeared in the 

 autumn. 



[White-winged Black Tern. Hydrocheli- 

 don leucoptera (Schinz). 



There is no record of this rare and remark- 

 able-looking bird having been certainly seen 

 in Worcestershire, though there is no reason- 

 able doubt that one shot on the Avon at 

 Welford, on May 8th, 1884, had passed 

 through the county on its course up the 

 Avon. And that it did pass up the Avon 

 to the place where it was shot is well known, 



167 



