Birds. 1691 



and saw him ascend from one tree and descend to the next. I have two tree pipits, 

 said to have been caught on the 7th ; one was shot at Woolwich on the 8th. At the 

 same spot as last year, I this morning heard and saw the lesser whitethroat. Tn the 

 afternoon, I observed one swallow hovering about Eltham. On Monday, the 13th, I 

 met with meggy whitethroat at the old place. There he was, with his dark smoky 

 head and bright throat, magging as incessantly as ever. I had not watched him long 

 before up he went, jigging his long tail and singing most happily. On the 15th, I was 

 much gratified at meeting with my especial favourite, the whinchat : the pretty bird, 

 perched on a sprig of furze, his colours modest and beautiful, his form elegant and com- 

 pact, sang his plaintive and pleasing melody. Saw another swallow on the 23rd, and 

 a cuckoo on the 29th. Met a stray wheatear on Woolwich Common on the 30th. 

 On May the 2nd, heard the melodious song of the garden-warbler. I was more than 

 ever struck with the purity and rich sweetuess of its deep, mellow tone : I found him 

 busily engaged among the young birds of the underwood oak. On the 8th of May, 

 at I past 5 a.m., saw, with the aid of the glass, three swifts high in the air, making a 

 direct passage north. 

 1846. 



March 11th. 



Chiff-chaff. 



1846. 



April 12th. 



Lesser whitethroat, 



„ 28th. 



Blackcap. 





„ 12th. 



Swallow. 



April 1st. 



House martin. 





„ 13th. 



Whitethroat. 



3rd. 



Willow-wren. 





„ 15th. 



Whinchat. 



„ 8th. 



Nightingale, 





May 2nd. 



Garden-warbler. 



12th. 



Tree pipit. 





„ 8th. 



Swift. 



— Matthew Hutchinson; Blackheath, June, 1846. 



Note on the Season of 1846. — In the spring there were comparatively few swallows 

 and martins, though sand-martins were numerous. But on their return passage in the 

 autumn I never observed greater numbers, and I then noticed several Hirundinidae 

 that I could not make out to be either old or young swifts, swallows, or martins. Had 

 not the remarkably warm winter and very early spring induced the summer birds of 

 passage to fly further north than usual ? I found whinchats and cuckoos scarce ; 

 chiff-chaffs, blackcaps, and garden-warblers unusually numerous. I saw but one red- 

 backed shrike all the season, and not one wood-wren. — Matthew Hutchinson ; 

 Blackheath. 



Ornithological and other Observations, in Norfolk, for the months of January 

 and February, 1847. 



January. About the middle of this month, a large white owl, apparently measur- 

 ing as much as six feet from tip to tip of the wings, was twice seen at Brooke. The at- 

 tempts made to procure it were unsuccessful, but the above description, the accuracy 

 of which, there is no reason to doubt, makes it probable that the bird was an example 

 of that rare visiter, the snowy owl. 



The marsh titmouse has been more than usually abundant in Norfolk during 

 the present winter. These birds are observed to associate with the gold-crest, and, 

 perhaps, like that species, their numbers are increased by migratory arrivals in the 

 months of November and December. It may be observed, that the trivial name 

 palustris is badly applied to this species, which, far from being exclusively an in- 

 habitant of marshes, is constantly to be seen in upland and wooded districts. 



About the end of January, a female of the ash-coloured shrike was captured at Nar- 

 ford, by a gentleman who was seeking goldfinches. Having pounced on one of these 

 latter, the shrike placed one foot on the body of its victim, and was apparently proceed- 



