384 Mr Muirhead on the Birds at Paxton. 



There was one in a yew tree, near the Avenue Bridge, in the 

 summer of 1874. 



36. Pied Wagtail. Motacilla Yarrellii. I observed large 

 flocks of the Pied Wagtail at Tweedside, in the month of Sep- 

 tember, 1874. They roosted among the reeds near the mouth of 

 the Whiteadder, and appeared to me to be migrating southwards. 

 For a short time afterwards, only an occasional "Wagtail was to 

 be seen, where there were great flocks the previous week. 



37. Grey Wagtail. Motacilla sulphur ea. A pair of Grey 

 Wagtails frequented the burn which runs through the Old 

 Heronry Wood, in the summer of 1874, aud I think they built 

 their nest there. It is by no means plentiful in this neighbour- 

 hood ; only a few pairs being seen frequenting the sides of the 

 Tweed and Whiteadder, or about some of the small burns. I 

 have not observed Eay's Wagtail, (Motacilla campestrisj nor the 

 Grey Headed Wagtail, f Motacilla flava J, in this vicinity. 



38. Tree Pipit. Anthus arloreus. Two or three pairs fre- 

 quent the plantations of ash and elm trees at Tweedside, near 

 the Boathouse, every summer. Finchy Wood is also a resort of 

 the Tree Pipit. One morning in June, 1873, my attention was 

 attracted to one of these birds in a strip of plantation near my 

 cottage. The bird flew up a short distance in the air from the 

 top of the tree on which it was sitting, and then extended its 

 wings backwards like a pigeon, and came slowly down to its 

 perch, singing all the time. I notice a sketch of one coming 

 down in the way that I have mentioned, in the background of 

 Yarrell's woodcut of the Tree Pipit. 



39. Meadow Pipit. Anthus pratensis. The Meadow Pipit or 

 Titlark, is an occasional visitant to Tweedside in the autumn 

 months. I observed several near the mouth of the Whiteadder, 

 during the severe snowstorm, in December, 1874. 



40. Skylark. Alauda arvensis. This charming bird is com- 

 paratively rare in the immediate neighbourhood of Paxton, but 

 I have heard several singing on Paxton North Mains Farm, near 

 the Tilework. It is more plentiful on the farm of Fishwick. 



41. Bunting. JSmberiza miliaria. The Bunting occasionally 

 presents itself in the autumn months, on the haughs at the 

 mouth of the Whiteadder, where it may be observed perched on 

 the top of the palings and bushes. I have noticed it several 

 times on the roadside hedges, near the National School, on the 

 Berwick road. 



42. Snow Bunting. Plectrophanes nivalis. I have not ob- 

 served the Snow Bunting in this immediate neighbourhood, but, 

 1 saw several of these birds on the road above Longformacusj 

 when I was riding across the Lammermuir Hills, from Paxton t<i 

 Gifford, in the month of January, 1874. When I was crossing 

 the same hills in Nov., 1874, I noticed two large flocks of Snow 



