622 Birds. 



them to avoid blowing them to pieces. Although I have myself never 

 found a nest of the crossbill, I have ascertained from good authority 

 the fact of their nidification in the fir-plantations of Sir H. Oxenden, 

 Bart., at Broome. In a note to Bewick's ' British Birds,' the visit of 

 a vast number of crossbills in Kent is mentioned, in the year 1593. 



Starling, Sturnus vulgaris. Common. 



Chough, Fregilus graculus. These birds are still rarely to be met 

 with in the neighbourhood of the cliff at Dover, where, in the time of 

 Shakspeare, they were wont " to wing the midway air." But there is 

 every probability that the hissing and roaring of engines and railway 

 trains will speedily and for ever scare them from their ancient haunts. 



Raven, Corvus Corax. Not uncommon. 



Hooded crow, C. Comix. Common in winter. 



Carrion crow, C. Cor one. Common. 



Rook, C.frugilegus. Abundant. 



Jackdaw, C. Monedula. Ditto. 



Magpie, Pica melanoleuca. Common. 



Jay, Garrulus glandarius. Ditto. 



Nutcracker, Nucifraga caryocatactes. A specimen of this rare bird 

 has been obtained in Kent. 



Wax-wing, Bombycilla garrula. Several specimens of this beau- 

 tiful bird have been taken in Kent. In the autumn of 1840, I was 

 attracted by the strange note of a bird in an Acacia in the garden, 

 which proved to be a wax-wing. I speedily got my gun and shot at 

 it, and it fell in a fir-plantation near, but from the high grass, and not 

 being certain of the exact spot in which it fell, I was unable to find it, 

 although I made a long and keen search. 



Green woodpecker, Picus viridis. Common. 



Greater spotted woodpecker, P. major. Not uncommon. 



Lesser spotted woodpecker, P. minor. This is a rare bird ; it has 

 been found in Blean woods, near Boughton. 



Wryneck, Yunx torquilla. Arrives here generally the first week 

 in April and leaves us in September. 



Creeper, Certhia familiar is. Common. 



Hoopoe, Upupa Epops. We generally receive an annual visit from 

 one or more specimens of this very pretty bird. Mr. Plomley has 

 three specimens, killed in Romney marsh. Two more were killed at 

 Fredville, a year or two since, and one at Ileden, in this parish. 



Nuthatch, Sitta europwa. Not uncommon. 



Cuckoo, Cuculus canorus. Common. The cuckoo arrives here 

 about the first week in April and departs at the end of August. 



