THE DARTFORD WARBLER 253 



red-necked phalarope, roseate tern, bearded tit, 

 grey -lag goose, and great skua. These in their 

 turn will be followed by the chough, hobby, 

 great black-backed guU, furze wren, crested tit, 

 and others. These are the species which, as 

 things are going, will absolutely and for ever 

 disappear, as residents and breeders, from off the 

 British Islands. Meanwhile other species that, 

 although comparatively rare, are less local in 

 their distribution, are being annually extermi- 

 nated in some parts of the country : it is poor 

 comfort to the bird lover in southern England to 

 know that many species that formerly gave life 

 and interest to the scene, and haVe lately been 

 done to death there, may still be met with in 

 the wilder districts of Scotland, or in some forest 

 in the north of Wales. Finally, we have among 

 our annual visitants a considerable number of 

 species which have either bred in these islands in 

 past times (some quite recently), or else would 

 probably remain to breed if they were not 

 immediately killed on arrival — bittern, little 

 bittern, night heron, spoonbill, stork, avocet, 

 black tern, hoopoe, golden oriole, and many 

 others of less well-known names. 



