2224 Birds. 



On the Arrival of Migratory Birds in the Neighbourhood of Kendal in 1848. 



Wheatear March 29 Common whitethroat April 28 



Ring ouzel April 7 Whinchat „ 29 



Willow warbler „ 12 Common swift „ 30 



Swallow „ 12 Wood warbler May 1 



Redstart „ 16 Sedge warbler „ 5 



Common sandpiper „ 16 Garden warbler „ 7 



Tree titling „ 18 Landrail „ 11 



Ray's wagtail „ 19 Blackcap „ 11 



Cuckoo „ 19 Lesser whitethroat „ 11 



Sand martin „ 20 Spotted flycatcher „ 14 



House martin „ 26 



The above list contains all the summer migrators of this district, with one excep- 

 tion, viz., the nightjar, of the precise date of whose arrival I have no observation ; the 

 distance of its favourite haunts being too great to allow of daily visits about the period 

 of its arrival. On bushy heaths, either on slate or limestone formations, the nightjar 

 may be found from about the end of May till the middle of September. Our partial 

 and irregular migrators are also omitted. The curlew and lapwing quit the coast, 

 and arrive on our moorlands during the first week of March, the latter species appear- 

 ing a few days earlier. A few pied wagtails remain with us through the winter, but 

 the majority migrate southwards in autumn : they return in March (25th of the pre- 

 sent year), and resort to farm-yards and the margins of our river. When the plough 

 gets to work, we meet with them busily employed in running over every portion of 

 fresh-turned earth, their cleanly white contrasting beautifully with the dark parts of 

 their plumage and with the dusky soil ; and their sprightly movements and merry 

 chirpings forcibly reminding us that they are among the earliest announcers of re- 

 turning spring. This species has attracted the attention of agricultural labourers, to 

 whom it is known by the name of ' seed bird.' The pied wagtail conceals its nest in 

 old walls, or under the eaves of out-houses. About the latter end of September, old 

 and young birds assemble on our public walks over-shaded with trees, whither they 

 are evidently attracted by insect-food falling to the ground upon scattering leaves. A 

 month later, large flocks of them may be seen along the shores of Morecamb Bay, 

 where they loiter awhile before the general migration southwards. To the account of 

 the gray wagtail already given in the ' Zoologist ' (Zool. 136, 230, 358), I have nothing 

 to add. The greenfinch is occasionally met with in the early part of winter ; the same 

 may be said of the lesser redpole ; but in the severe weather of January both species en- 

 tirely disappear, and rarely return till the spring. The greenfinch makes known its arrival 

 by incessant chattering, about the middle of March (25th of this year), and the red- 

 pole returns to the larch and alder in the early part of April (9th). Coots return to 

 our towns in March. The moorhen is a constant resident with us, but it makes a 

 partial change of abode with the seasons : in winter, bushy sheltered rivers and mill- 

 ponds are its favourite haunts ; as spring returns (early in March), it seeks a summer 

 residence on our more exposed tarns, the sedgy borders of which furnish a suitable 

 hiding-place for its nest. In the same locality we also meet with the spotted crake, 

 which arrives later in the spring, and remains till October. With us the water rail is 

 a winter visitor ; nor am I aware of this species ever having been found here in the 

 summer months. In the latter part of April, golden plovers and dotterels occasionally 



