36 SCIENTIFIC SURVEY OF LEICESTER AND DISTRICT 
The nightjar visits the county each year, and nests are frequently found 
at Bradgate Park, ‘The Brand, and other parts of Charnwood Forest. 
The nightingale is by no means a rare visitant, and reports of its singing 
are annually received from many parts of the county. 
Among records of casual visitors the following are worth noting: the 
black-throated diver (C. arcticus) at Blackbrook Reservoir in 1919 ; 
the peregrine falcon at Barkby Thorpe, 1930 and 1931; the spotted 
crake (Rallus porzana L.) at Wanlip, 1919; the black redstart (Ruticilla 
tithys L.) at Thurmaston, 1925 ; the dipper at Bradgate Park, 1913 (the 
dipper was formerly resident there). 
REPTILES AND BATRACHIA. 
The common grass-snake (7. matrix) is still fairly frequent all over the 
county, whilst the viper or adder (V. berus) and the common lizard 
(L. vivipara), though not common, are occasionally met with, chiefly in 
the Charnwood Forest area. No occurrence of the sand lizard (L. agilis) 
seems to have been recorded to support Harley’s supposition that this 
species existed in the county. 
The blind-worm (A. fragilis) is still to be found, though it is not so 
common as formerly. 
The common frog and the toad are widely distributed, but the natter- 
jack (B. calamita) has never occurred in the county. ‘The great crested 
and the smooth newt are common, and the palmated newt is believed to 
occur, though there is no reliable record. 
FISHES. 
According to early records the brook trout (S. trutia) was fairly plentiful 
in many of the smaller streams. Its present status is entirely dependent 
upon private enterprise in regard to re-stocking. Some of the large 
reservoirs, including Thornton and Cropston, contain trout, but owing to 
the enormous number of perch which have by some means been intro- 
duced into these waters, they are only maintained with great difficulty. 
Leicestershire waters have produced some very large perch. It is recorded 
in the Victoria County History of Leicester and Rutland, 1907, that in 1888 
two specimens taken from Thornton Reservoir weighed g lb. together. 
The pike, too, is particularly abundant, and very large specimens have 
been recorded from time to time. 
The common carp (C. carpio) is to be found in many pools throughout 
the county, whilst the crucian carp (C. carassius) is sparingly distributed. 
The barbel (B. vulgaris) is practically unknown in Leicestershire waters, 
though one or two examples have been taken by anglers at the confluence 
of the rivers Soar and Trent. The gudgeon, roach, chub and dace are 
all very widely distributed, but the rudd is very rarely met with. The 
bleak, once very common, is now rarely seen. The common bream 
(A. brama) and the white bream (A. blicca) both occur in the river Soar, 
though sparingly of late years. ‘The species last named is common in 
some of the larger pools in the county, including Groby Pool and Moira 
Reservoir. ‘The stone loach (N. barbatulus) and the spined loach (C. tenia) 
have both been recorded. ‘The former species is still to be found in the 
