16 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



22nd. — Very mild. 



24th. — The floods have been larger than any since 1894. 



26th. — Mr. Fowler writes from Kinghani : — " I rarely see a 

 Stonechat here ; but yesterday, in the morning, I found a pair — 

 the male in such gorgeous spring plumage that he shone re- 

 splendent even at a distance. In the afternoon the rector and I 

 found several more. All were on hedge-tops by the roadside, in 

 places which here are never their haunts." Vast flocks of Bramb- 

 lings near the village at the end of the month. Over five inches 

 of rain fell this month. 



March 3rd. — Only a small -number of Brambliugs in their old 

 haunt. To judge by the amount of their respective songs to be 

 heard, Blackbirds have withstood the severe weather better than 

 the Song-Thrushes. 



5th. — Crossing an upland field near the village through which 

 a ditch runs, a Jack- Snipe rose under my feet as I crossed the 

 ditch. A large flock of Peewits in the meadows near Somerton, 

 though some were at the breeding-places on the fallows, and had 

 the spring calls. A big flock of Linnets on a clover-field. 



12th. — Mr. Bartlett showed me a male Tufted Duck, shot at 

 Wroxton recently. Also a blue-billed Hawfinch, shot there from 

 a flock of twenty, and several Bramblings, which had been very 

 abundant in the east of Banbury, twenty having been killed at a 

 couple of shots ; several of them were females. 



17th. — About sundown a great flock of Starlings passed over, 

 going S.E. Although they were so high up that they looked no 

 larger than Tomtits, the rushing noise they made attracted my 

 attention. Possibly they were going to a large fox-cover called 

 Dene Hill, for I heard later that such vast numbers had roosted 

 there that they had caused the Foxes to vacate it. 



18th. — About three inches of snow on the ground, and snow- 

 showers. 



24th. — A Robin building in one of the boxes. 



27th. — During a long and unsuccessful search for spring 

 migrants, I saw two Barred Woodpeckers, a female Redpoll, and 

 some Bramblings, including a good dark male : it is very late for 

 this bird to be with us. 



30th. — Another Barred Woodpecker. 



April 3rd. — Weather still very cold. 



