BIRDS 
liar twitter, and after one or two rapid turns 
in the air return to the spot whence they had 
been driven a few moments previously. To 
me the snow-bunting is ever a poem in 
feathers, its very presence being suggestive 
of rocky screes and gloomy glaciers. 
76. Starling. Sturnus vulgaris, Linn, 
A scarce bird in the county at the com- 
mencement of the nineteenth century the 
starling has become very numerous, and now 
holds its own in every possible vantage point, 
adapting its existence to a variety of circum- 
stances. Its present extraordinary numbers 
are the more surprising when we remember 
that it usually rears but one brood in a season. 
Exceptions to this rule are not uncommon, 
but in many districts adults and young begin 
to flock in June, and pass a gregarious life 
until the following spring. 
77. Rose - coloured Pastor. Pastor roseus 
(Linn.). 
This vivacious and charming bird has been 
procured within our present limits in very few 
instances, chiefly in the north and west of 
the county. Two specimens were killed at 
Hayton and Alston in the summer of 1837 ; 
another was shot near Flimby ; others at Pap- 
castle, Rose Castle, and at High Seaton. John 
Dawson has often described to me how his 
brother shot a rose pastor, which he treasures 
in his cottage at Allonby ; the bird was ob- 
tained about the year 1877. A bird of this 
species was seen on several occasions near 
Allonby in the summer of 1898 ; Mr. Clark- 
son in particular saw it very closely near 
Beckfoot. 
78. Chough. Pyrrhocorax graculus (Linn.). 
The Cornish chough is not known to have 
bred at any time in the interior of the county, 
but two or three pairs of these birds nested 
in the sandstone cliffs between St. Bees and 
Whitehaven until about 1860. From the 
fact that this chough still breeds in a few 
places in the Isle of Man, we might expect 
that it would still visit us as a rare straggler. 
It has, in fact, occurred in two instances since 
1860, single birds being procured near Long- 
town and Wigton respectively. As early as 
1828 the late Dr. Stanley catalogued the 
chough as rare at Whitehaven. 
79. Jay. Garrulus glandarius (Linn.). 
Locally, Jay-Pyat. 
Fairly numerous as a resident in our larger 
fir woods, especially near Penrith and Kes- 
wick, of less frequent occurrence in the north 
and west, breeding in favourite localities annu- 
ally, appearing in others chiefly as a winter 
visitant. 
80. Magpie. Pica rustica (Scopoli). 
Locally, Pyat. 
Less widely distributed than formerly, since 
every man’s hand is against it ; but constantly 
to be seen crossing the fields or jauntily perch- 
ing on the tall thorn hedges in the neighbour- 
hood of the Solway Firth, e.g. between Mary- 
port and Silloth. It is also fairly common in 
certain dales, and would be most abundant if 
tolerated. A white specimen was found ina 
nest near Lyneside some years ago. 
81. Jackdaw. Corvus monedula, Linn. 
Locally, Jack. 
An abundant and increasing resident, fre- 
quently destructive to the eggs of game birds, 
especially in dry summers. A pure white 
jackdaw was shot some years since near Little 
Salkeld. A grey specimen frequented the 
neighbourhood of Cotehill from 1888 to 
1893, when it was shot. ‘The crown was 
black ; otherwise, this bird was entirely of a 
uniform silver-grey. 
82. Raven. Corvus corax, Linn. 
A local resident, almost entirely confined 
to the mountains in the. centre and west of 
the county. Indeed, ravens may be seen on 
any of our higher fells east or west on a 
winter day casting about in search of carrion ; 
but their chief strongholds, some of them very 
difficult of access, are to be looked for among 
the precipices of the Lake district proper. I 
placed in the Carlisle Museum a very fine 
pair of old birds that had been poisoned near 
their nest on Crossfell, and have likewise met 
with them, though rarely, on the cliffs at 
Sandwith ; but their breeding area mainly 
corresponds with the sheep farms of the 
wilder regions. Mr. Marshall of Keswick 
informed me in 1898 that he considered the 
raven too numerous, as he could find a score 
of birds any day; but it should be borne in 
mind that the region which these birds in- 
habit is very limited, and that their nests 
are constantly harried by those who wish to 
secure either eggs or young birds. The price 
formerly paid by the churchwardens for the 
heads of ravens varied from one penny to 
fourpence. 
83. Carrion-Crow. Corvus corone, Linn. 
Locally, Corbie, Dope. 
A resident in many parts of the county, 
scarce where absence of cover or persecution 
renders any locality unsuitable, but in certain 
places so well represented as to become gre- 
garious. A reddish-fawn variety was reared 
near Cotehill in 1884. 
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