106 
BIRD NOTES.—YORK DISTRICT. 
SYDNEY H. SMITH. 
York. 
I CANNOT but comment on the large numbers of Redwings that 
have visited us this winter. They literally swarmed all over 
the country during December, but I am afraid their flocks were 
sadly decimated by the severe weather in January. Fieldfares 
do not appear as plentiful as in previous years, and for some 
weeks I have only remarked these handsome immigrants in 
small batches of four to twelve birds. Hooded Crows, locally 
termed Grey Backs, appeared about the middle of October, and 
were in full force by November, many thousands roosting 
nightly in Crompton Wood, their usual winter quarters, sharing 
the branches with parties of immigrant and local Carrion Crows 
and a tremendous body of Rooks and Jackdaws. At dusk the 
immense circling flock of dusky birds made all the din they 
possibly could, and was apt to leave a lasting impression on 
the mind of a student of nature. A small party of Grey and 
Pied Wagtails frequents the shallows along the River Foss. 
Thanks to the Birds’ Protection Order, the brilliantly plumaged 
Kingfisher is more often seen on both Ouse and Foss, some- 
times I notice one right in the heart of the city. A few Siskins 
have been caught on the Malton Road, and several Bramblings 
seen in private gardens during the recent hard weather, when 
they fed along with Sparrows and Chaffinches. On the flooded 
meadows at East Cottingwith duck appeared in their usual 
number (about 400 birds), chiefly Mallard and Wigeon, with 
a few Teal, Scaup (occasional), Pochards, Tufted, and Golden- 
eye. A gaggle of geese pitched one night, but it was too dark 
to distinguish the species (probably brent or grey), and half- 
a-dozen handsome Whooper Swans spent two days on the fresh 
water, departing in the night to other parts. Mr. Snowden 
Sleights, the local fowler, sent me two female Goosanders early 
in January ; every year a few females turn up at Cottingwith, 
but no males. According to Messrs. Booth and Riley Fortune, 
a small party of males appears in the Washburn Valley every 
year. The question to be settled is, are these birds all of one 
immigrant party, the sexes mutually agreeing to separate during 
their stay in Yorkshire ? 
Naturalist, 
