2560 Birds. 



possession of the spot. Last year the cock was shot ; the hen found 

 another mate. Next time the hen was shot; the cock paired again. 

 Afterwards both were shot; another pair came and built. The hole 

 was then plugged up with straw ; they pulled it out piecemeal : it 

 was next plastered over with mortar ; they made a hole through it. 

 They are now tolerated, because their building cannot be prevented." 

 Starlings congregate in August. Before the enclosure, there were 

 large patches of reeds under Donnington Cliff, which were rented at a 

 certain annual sum, and the tenant sold them to builders to use in 

 making plaster- floors and ceilings of rooms. Towards autumn star- 

 lings resorted to them in such numbers to roost, that unless scared 

 away they settled upon the reeds, broke them down, and rendered 

 them completely useless. It required a person to keep watch every 

 evening for some time, and fire at them repeatedly with a gun as they 

 were settling down ; but as the spot was a favourite one, they showed 

 considerable reluctance in quitting it. Higher up the Trent were se- 

 veral smaller reed-beds, and on these they were permitted to roost; 

 and in a short time, they were trodden down so close to the mud, 

 that they appeared as though prostrated by winds and floods. On 

 Oct. 2, 1844, I noticed the most amazing flock of birds that it was 

 ever my lot to witness ; they were starlings. At a distance they re- 

 sembled some gigantic mass of cloud, slowly traversing the heavens, 

 and occasionally changing its form and breaking into smaller masses. 

 It was evening, and the birds had probably collected together to roost 

 for the night in a large wood, over the top of which they were enjoy- 

 ing the few moments before retiring to rest. The ease aud elegance 

 of their flight as they wheeled to and fro — the firm and compact man- 

 ner in which they kept together when moving in mass — the peculiar 

 facility which enabled them to break the main army into numberless 

 smaller ones, and then unite again almost instantaneously, was per- 

 fectly astonishing, and equal to anything I ever witnessed in the flight 

 of the feathered tribes. 



Rose-coloured Pastor {Pastor roseus). Mr. Plant, of Leicester, 

 writes " that Pastor roseus was shot by his grandfather John Plant, 

 close upon Western Cliff, upwards of forty years since, and it was pre- 

 served in the collection of the Rev. W. Dawson, then curate of Wes- 

 ton." A beautiful male of this species was observed amongst some 

 starlings in October, 1842. It was feeding close to a flock of sheep, 

 which saved its life, as it could not have been killed without injuring 

 them. It was first seen in the Trent meadows. 



Raven [Corvus corax). Very rare. 



