BIRDS 



79. Starling. Sturnus vulgaris, Linn. 

 Locally, Shepster. 



A resident, abundant everywhere, nesting in 

 hollow trees and about dwelling houses so 

 numerously as to amount now to a nuisance. 

 Its numbers are increasing with great rapidity 

 every year. During winter immense flocks con- 

 gregate in every suitable shrubbery. 



80. Rose-coloured Starling. Pastor roseus (Linn.). 

 A rare visitor on migration during autumn. 



81. Chough. Pyrrhocrax graculus (L'mn.). 



The chough, or red-legged crow, as it is often 

 called, has no suitable breeding place nearer to 

 Lancashire than Anglesea and the Isle of Man. 

 It frequents the Fells, however. It is said to 

 have nested formerly, if not now, at Whitbarrow 

 in Morecambe Bay, just over the Westmorland 

 border. 



82. Jay. Garrulus glaudarius (Linn.). 



A resident. Common in woods where it is 

 not persecuted by gamekeepers. 



83. Magpie. Pica rustica (Scopoli). 

 Locally, Piet, Pyanet. 



A common resident, but more abundant in the 

 uplands and Fell districts. 



84. Jackdaw. Corvus monedula, Linn. 



An abundant resident throughout Lancashire, 

 breeding in steeples and in old beeches and oaks. 



85. Raven. Corvus cor ax, Linn. 



The raven is a resident breeding annually 

 among the cliSs in the high Fells and on crag 

 ledges of the unfrequented dales of the northern 

 districts. 



86. Carrion-Crow. Corvus corone, Linn. 

 Locally, Kar-crow, Doup-crow. 



A resident species, occurring locally, but every- 

 where becoming rarer through persecution. Its 

 nesting places are chiefly in the retired districts 

 of the Lancashire lakeland. 



87. Grey or Hooded Crow. Corvus cornix, hinn. 



Locally, Manx Crow, Royston Crow, Sea Crow. 



A late autumn and winter visitor to our shores 

 from the Isle of Man chiefly. In the early hours 

 of a November morning they may often enough 

 be heard announcing their arrival to sleepless 

 dwellers near the coast. In the hurricane of 

 3 December, 1 821, a very large number of wild 

 birds, such as 'sea-crows, snipe, and other aquatic 

 birds,' were washed ashore dead on the Lancashire 

 coast. (Bland, Annals of Southport, p. 82.) 



88. Rook. Corvus frugilegus, Linn. 



An abundant resident. During severe winter 

 rooks may be seen feeding along the shore singly 

 or in pairs widely separated, in company with 

 plovers, gulls, and starlings. 



89. Sky-Lark. Alauda arvensis, Linn, 

 Abundant. 



90. Wood-Lark. Alauda arborea, Linn. 



A once abundant but now very rare species, 

 yet still probably often undistinguished from the 

 sky-lark. 



91. Shore-Lark. Otocorys alpestris (Linn.). 

 A very rare visitor and only in winter. 



92. Swift. Cypselus apus (Linn.). 



Locally, Devil skirler, Develin, Devil Screamer. 

 An abundant summer visitant. 



93. Alpine Swift. Cypselus melba (Linn.). 



Of this bird only two occurrences are on 

 record. (Mitchell, Birds of Lancashire, ed. 2, 

 p. 102.) 



94. Nightjar. Caprimulgus europaus, Linn. 



Locally, Night Hawk, Fern Owl. 



A summer visitant, common in suitable locali- 

 ties. 



95. Wryneck. lynx torquilla, Linn. 

 Locally, Lang tongue. 



Formerly numerous, but now a very rare 

 summer visitor. Observed on Stiperden Moor, 

 Burnley, on 30 August, 1905. 



96. Green Woodpecker. Gecinus viridis (Linn.). 

 Locally, Heyhough (Leigh). 



A resident and not uncommon in thick woods, 

 where it nests, but scarce elsewhere. 



97. Great Spotted Woodpecker. Dendrocopus 



major (Linn.). 



A sparsely distributed resident, chiefly fre- 

 quenting our fir woods. Specimens were taken 

 on Cartmell Fell and near Ulverston in Novem- 

 ber 1889. It nests in Witton Park, Blackburn. 

 (Zoologist, 1904, p. 260.) 



98. Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. Dendrocopus 



minor (Linn.). 

 A resident species, but much more rarely seen 

 than the previous species, yet probably more 

 numerous than is generally supposed. Nests are 

 found every year. 



[Great Black Woodpecker. Picus martius, 

 Linn. 



Yarrell [History of British Birds, ed. 3, ii. 

 138) records that an individual had been shot in 

 the county by Lord Stanley, but it was proved 

 to be a mistaken idea. (Harting, Handbook of 

 British Birds, p. 304.)] 



99. Middle Spotted Woodpecker. Dendropicus 



medius (Linn.). 

 One visit of this species to Lancashire is on 

 record. (Pennant, Brit. Zool, i. 180.) 



[' The Brazilian Magpie.' Rhamphastidarium 

 sp. ig. 



195 



