Birds. 619 



Short-eared owl, Strix brachyotos. Common in Romney-marsh, 

 and occasionally met with throughout the county. 



White owl, Strix flammea. Common. I am always grieved to see 

 this beautiful and most useful bird nailed, with extended wings, to 

 bams and other depositaries of gamekeepers' trophies. It is truly the 

 farmer's friend, and at the same time I think not the game-preserver's 

 enemy ; at all events, to so slight an extent is it so, that the good it 

 does abundantly counterbalances its slight poaching propensities. 



This is 



" The owl, that, watching in the barn, 

 Sees the mouse creeping in the corn, 

 Sits still and shuts his round blue eyes 

 As if he slept — until he spies 

 The little beast within his stretch — 

 Then starts and seizes on the wretch ' '' 



Tawny owl, S. stridula. Not uncommon. 



Long-eared owl, S. otus. Rare. 



Ash-coloured shrike, Lanius excubitor. This bird has been shot in 

 the neighbourhood of Dover. 



Red-backed shrike, L. collurio. A year or two since I observed a 

 male shrike of this species, flying with a bird in its claws, after the 

 manner of an owl. Being curious to know which bird it was, I threw 

 a stone at it ; whether I hit it or not, 1 could not tell, but the effect 

 was, that it dropped its prey, which I found to be a blue-headed tit- 

 mouse. These birds are very generally distributed throughout the 

 county. They arrive in this neighbourhood about the first or second 

 week in May, and are seldom seen after the end of August. 



Pied flycatcher, Muscicapa grisola. Rare. 



Water ousel, Cinclus aquaticus. Very rare. 



Rose-coloured ousel, Pastor roseus. One specimen in Mr. Plom- 

 ley's collection. 



Ring ousel, Tardus torqaatus. Not uncommon in spring and 

 autumn. 



Missel thrush, T. viscivorus. Common. 



Fieldfare, T. pilaris. Very abundant throughout the winter. They 

 arrive about the middle of October, and take their departure about 

 the end of April. Stragglers are occasionally seen early in May. 



Song thrush, T. musicus. These "heralds of approaching spring" 

 are abundant. 



Redwing, T. Iliacus. Redwings generally arrive a short time before 

 the fieldfares, but depart about the same time. 



Blackbird, T. Merit la. Abundant. 



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