THE ZOOLOGY OF NOTTINGHAMSHIRE 77 



suitable localities; the Hare (Lepus europaeus) is very common, and the 

 Rabbit (Lepus cuniculus) occurs in great abundance. 



Ungulata. The Red-deer was formerly abundant in a wild state in 

 Sherwood Forest. A survey taken in 1635 gives the number of deer in 

 the Forest as 1,367, and as late as the reign of Queen Anne a yearly 

 grant of £1,000 was made for the maintenance of a hunting establishment 

 there. At this time they were so numerous as to cause great loss to the 

 surrounding landowners by feeding upon their crops, and many com- 

 plaints were made against ' the intolerable burden of the Queen's deer '. 

 The subsequent disafforestation and enclosure of the district resulted in 

 the reduction of the herds and their confinement in a semi-domesticated 

 state within the limits of the parks formed out of the ancient forest. 



[Fallow-deer have been introduced into many of the principal parks. 

 The Roe-deer formerly occurred, as its bones have been found in super- 

 ficial deposits at Wheatley, near Retford, and in the Creswell caves. 

 Remains of the Wild-boar (Sus scrofa) and wild Cattle {Bos taurus) occur 

 in the recent deposits in the Creswell caves, and herds of ' Wild White 

 Cattle ' formerly existed in Wollaton and Annesley Parks]. 



Cetacea. The Porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) occurs very frequently in 

 the tidal portion of the Trent, and occasionally ascends the river as far 

 as Newark. 



AVES 



For an inland county, Nottinghamshire possesses a fairly rich avifauna, 

 no fewer than 259 fully-authenticated species having occurred within its 

 borders. A detailed account of these is given by the late J. Whitaker in 

 his Birds of Nottinghamshire (Nottingham, 1907). The substance of 

 the notes which follow is taken from this work or from the same author's 

 article in the Victoria History (1906). 



The extreme northern part of the county lies very low, often only a 

 few feet above sea-level, and is drained by sluggish streams and many 

 dykes; this region is frequented by the Redshank and Snipe which find 

 it a congenial breeding ground. Further south is the forest land with a 

 considerable area of ancient woodland, mainly oak and birch. In the 

 old hollow oaks hundreds of Jackdaws nest. The open forest includes 

 a large stretch of ling and heath with occasional clusters of fir and other 

 trees : here a few black-game still linger. On several of the great estates 

 comprised in this region — such as Welbeck, Clumber, Thore-sby and 

 Rufford — are large lakes which attract great numbers of water- 

 fowl of many species. On the Rainworth ponds numbers of tufted Duck 

 have nested for over a century. On all these estates the birds are care- 

 fully protected, and the same is true of the Sherwood Lodge, Bestwood 

 and Annesley Parks. They accordingly form safe sanctuaries for numer- 

 ous species of birds. Duck-decoys exist at Annesley Park and Park Hall. 



The Trent runs through the greater part of the county from south-west 

 to north-east and forms a natural highway from the sea for many species 

 of sea-birds and water-fowl. 



In the southern part of the county there are large areas of grass-land 



