206



Mr. P. F. M. Galloway.



the Almond is in bloom, only instead of at Easter, the wild Bullace

and Blackthorn have been in full bloom for some time past.


Nearly a month ago, I visited an open common in Oxford¬

shire, and the furze was quite yellow with bloom, and a pair of

Stonechats were flitting about on the topmost sprays, the cock bird

was wonderfully forward in colour, being as bright as you would

find him early in May.


Hawfinches are to be seen about their breeding haunts, quite

a number of them, and are in song much earlier than usual.


A gamekeeper told me that he found a Blackbird’s nest which

contained eggs, this year as early as 20th of February, and the bird

had commenced incubating.


Redwings, which usually flock together prior to their depar¬

ture to the north about the end of March, are now in large flocks,

and may be heard already singing together loudly. The Chaffinch,

which usually comes into song early in March has been singing

freely and in rivalry for close upon three wneks.


Starlings are separating from the flocks and can be seen here

and there hanging around their old nesting-places, especially in the

morning time ; this generally takes place at the end of March instead

of the beginning. Green Woodpeckers have already started their

rattling or boring noise made by striking the bill in rapid succession

against the tree trunk, probably to attract a mate, as this is one of

the Green Woodpeckers ways of making love; the other way is, that

when the cock bird is near the hen, especially when on the ground

in a meadow, he will continually nod his head up and down and

make a low-pitched noise, nodding the head up and down much

after the fashion of a Drake. The hen appears to take no notice of

him, but they evidently understand each other.


These mild open winters are a great help to this species and

should cause the Green Woodpecker to become more numerous, for

although this bird can stand as much cold as a common House

Sparrow, yet if snow and hard frost should last under a fortnight,

this species is the first to die of starvation, as it subsists almost

entirely on ants in winter and ants and their eggs in summer.


The first of this species to die off are those that are in a

neighbourhood where they are compelled to feed upon the small



