A HISTORY OF 
several pairs of the wood-warbler breed, such 
as around Woburn, Southill, Luton Hoo, the 
woods adjoining Ampthill Park and the plan- 
tations near Clophill, also in the Aspley 
Woods, Everton, and at Bromham, yet we 
must consider this bird as a rather uncommon 
summer migrant and very local in its distri- 
bution, With us it seemingly prefers the fir 
plantations with their sparse undergrowth to 
the oak or other mixed woodlands where the 
under-cover is more dense. 
23. Reed-Warbler. 
(Vieillot) 
Locally, Reed-Bird, Reed-Wren. 
Wherever reed beds abound there also shall 
we find this summer migrant plentiful. There 
are many of its haunts in close proximity to 
the town of Bedford, and throughout the 
whole course of the Ouse it occurs very com- 
monly. On the Ivel at Blunham, Clifton, 
Langford, and other places I have found it 
abundant, and it is no doubt frequent all 
along this waterway. At Southill Lake it 
nests freely, and the lake at Luton Hoo is a 
favourite haunt also. The majority of these 
nests are built, as is usual, suspended between 
the reeds, but not a few are found in osier 
beds built similarly upon the osiers and often 
at a considerable distance from the ground. 
Acrocephalus 
streperus 
24. Sedge-Warbler. 
(Bechstein) 
A summer migrant, and common every- 
where ; along the banks of our rivers through- 
out their course, and about every stream, 
pool, pond, ditch or wherever moist herbage 
grows, and even some distance away from 
any such situation we find its nest. It is 
generally placed in low bushes, on the stumps 
of osiers or amongst the rank herbage, seldom 
more than 2 or 3 feet from the ground, but 
sometimes higher ; one nest that came under 
my notice at Tempsford situated in the top 
of one of the numerous tall hedgerows found 
around that neighbourhood was fully 8 feet 
above the ground. Mr. J. King kindly gave 
me a nest with the eggs of this bird taken at 
Langford 28 May 1897 which were pure 
white, without any markings upon them 
whatever. He once shot a sedge-warbler as 
late as December, having seen it several 
times previously along the river. 
Acrocephalus phragmitis 
Locustella nevia 
25. Grasshopper-Warbler. 
(Boddaert) 
A very scarce summer migrant. According 
to Mr. J. King, Sherhatch Wood near Cople 
seems to have been a veritable stronghold for 
this bird in our county. In 1891 he found 
BEDFORDSHIRE 
a nest containing young in his osier bed close 
to his house at Langford. It has also been 
heard in the woods at Stagsden and Bromham, 
also at Harlington, Thurleigh, Oakley and 
Pegsdon. Its nest is also said to have been 
found at Clapham, Thurleigh, Kempston and 
near Woburn. During the year 1901 I 
found two pairs nesting on Flitwick Marsh, 
and its song was heard at Clapham Park and 
in one of the osier-bed islands in the river 
at Cox’s Pits. 
26. Hedge-Sparrow. Accentor modularis (Linn.) 
A resident throughout the year, and very 
common, evidently preferring, like the robin 
and sparrow, the close vicinity of the haunts 
of man. White, buff and pied varieties of 
this bird have been met with. 
27. Dipper. 
The slow-flowing Ouse and our sluggish 
brooks offer the dipper but little attraction, 
The only authorities for including it in our 
fauna are Mr. Cane, who states that about 
thirty years ago one was obtained in Luton 
Hoo Park, and Mr. W. J. Chalk who saw one 
on the Ivel in March rg00. 
Cinclus aquaticus, Bechstein 
Panurus biarmicus 
28. Bearded Reedling. 
(Linn.) 
The only information that I have relating 
to the occurrence of this bird in the county 
was given to me by Mr. A. Covington, who 
was told by an old sportsman and ornithologist 
that he had killed two or three specimens of 
this bird when shooting down the river fifty to 
sixty years ago. In Mr. Covington’s possession 
is an old male given to him in the flesh which 
was said to have been shot along the river 
below Great Barford in the winter of 1867. 
It is unfortunate that Mr. H. Thompson, as 
the authority on the list of birds given in The 
History of Luton, 1855, only briefly refers to 
this bird as rare, without verifying its actual 
occurrence. 
29. Long-Tailed Tit. | Acredula caudata 
(Linn.) 
Locally, Long-Tom, Pudding-Bag. 
Resident and generally common. Its won- 
derfully constructed nest will be known to 
most of us, and the family parties of this in- 
teresting little bird, which roam about the 
country, implicitly following their leaders, are 
a common enough sight. Mr. A. Covington 
once dissected one of their nests, which con- 
tained no less than 2,050 feathers besides 
wool and other materials used in the con- 
struction of the lining. 
108 
