Mr Muirhead on the Birds at Paxton. 387 



contrive to steal a great deal of the pheasants' food, and he 

 blames them for sometimes helping themselves to a young pheas- 

 ant. 



61. Magpie. Pica caudata. A pair of Magpies had their 

 nest, and reared their young in the small fir wood immediately 

 to the west of Paxton South Mains farm-steading, in the summer 

 of 1874, and as the young birds were allowed to fly a Magpie 

 is occasionally noticed. They are very attractive birds, and it 

 adds a pleasure to a walk in the plantations to see one flying 

 about. 



62. Great Spotted Woodpecker. Picus major. The forest- 

 er here saw a Great Spotted Woodpecker climbing up a larch 

 tree in the policy five or six years ago, and one was shot a year 

 or two since, at Gainslaw House near Paxton. Miss Georgina 

 Milne Home lately presented a specimen to the Berwick Museum, 

 which was shot in Milne Graden policy grounds, some years ago. 



63. Creeper. Certhia familiaris. This bird is frequently 

 seen climbing up the trees in the plantations. 



64. Wren. Troglodytes europceus. The Wren appears to have 

 favourite resorts in the grounds. One is near the Boathouse, 

 and another at the "Waterwheel, near the Avenue Bridge. A 

 colony of "Wrens is to be found in the small plantation near 

 Nabdean, at all seasons of the year. 



65. Cuckoo. Cuculus canorus. The Cuckoo is only occasion- 

 ally heard in this neighbourhood in early summer. I have 

 heard it several times in the Wester Strip. A young Cuckoo 

 was brought to me by the gamekeeper, in the month of August, 

 1873. He had shot it while it was on the wing, mistaking it 

 for a young sparrow-hawk. 



66. Kingfisher. Alcedo ispida. Several Kingfishers frequent 

 the Tweed here, during the spring, summer, and autumn months. 

 The Crow Dean Burn, which runs into the Tweed at Finchy, is 

 a favourite resort of this bird in summer, and I think that a 

 pair had their nest near its mouth, in the summer of 1873 ; for 

 I used to see the old birds there very often. I have noticed 

 Kingfishers occasionally on the Whiteadder, and saw one near 

 the old Bound Eoad in the middle of December, 1874. I have 

 observed the Kingfisher also in winter, on the burn which runs 

 through the farm of Spital Mains. The pond below the Avenue 

 Bridge, in the policy, is usually frequented by a Kingfisher in 

 the summer time. 



67. Swallow. Hirundo rustica. The Swallow is plentiful 

 about here, and nests in the out-buildings, 



68. Martin. Hirundo urbica. This pleasing bird is seen in 

 moderate numbers about Paxton, and builds in the corners of 

 the windows of some of the houses. 



6&. Sand Martin. Hirundo riparia. A colony of Sand 



