BIRDS OP LEICESTERSHIRE. 2fr 



Tree Pipit, A. trivialis. — Abundant on Charnwood Forest, 

 and also near Loughborough. Scarcer lower down the Soar 

 Valley. 



Red-backed Shrike, Lanius collurio.— Decidedly rare. I have 

 only seen the bird once or twice, but have live eggs taken near 

 Loughborough. 



Pied Flycatcher, Muscicapa atricapilla. — The only occasion 

 on which I have seen this bird was in the case of a pair which 

 nested in a hole in Coates Bridge, about the year 1874. I observed 

 the birds whilst fishing. I had the eggs in my possession for 

 several years. 



Sand Martin, Cotyle riparia. — Nowhere so numerous as in 

 the Leicestershire portion of the Trent Valley. In the cold spring 

 of 1886 large numbers perished soon after their arrival. I saw 

 a white specimen on August Bank Holiday, last year. 



Goldfinch, Carduelis elegans. — Rare as a breeding species ; 

 more often found in the Vale of Belvoir. A few flights of young 

 birds visit the Soar Valley in the autumn. 



Hawfinch, Coccothraustes vulgaris. — Mr. Browne remarks, 

 u Breeding occasionally." In the Loughborough district five 

 nests were found this year in one small wood. I have found the 

 nest in several parts of the Soar Valley. The tenant of an allot- 

 ment garden at Loughborough complained of the havoc the young 

 Hawfinches had made with his peas last year. 



Tree Sparrow, Passer montanus. — Partially migratory, and 

 breeding more freely amongst the pollard willows of the lower 

 grounds than on Charnwood Forest. Plentiful in 1889. 



Chaffinch, Fringilla ccelebs. — I suspect the Chaffinches 

 " flocking in thousands," as noted by Mr. Ingram in the Vale of 

 Belvoir, to have been foreign birds. I observed them in October, 

 1889, arriving in large numbers on the shores of the Wash. 



, Brambling, Fringilla montif ring ilia. — I met with a flock in 

 the early spring of 1874, I think. They were busily searching 

 the branches of some fir trees. 



Lesser Redpoll, Linota rufescens. — I have frequently found 

 the nests in hedgerows in the Soar Valley. This bird was 

 numerous at Christmas, 1886. 



Mealy Redpoll, L. linaria. — Mr. 0. V. Aplin informs me 

 that he has in his possession the skin of a male, which he 

 received from a dealer labelled "Loughborough, 3 October, 1882." 



