NOTES ON THE ORNITHOLOGY OF OXFORDSHIRE. 409 



28th. — Willow-Wren singing; an early resumption of the 

 song. 



31st. — Mr. Fowler reports from Kingham the curious abun- 

 dance there of the Grasshopper- Warbler in this month. He 

 heard one close to the road to the station, and his dog put one 

 up in a bean field, and he thought others also. Other birds had 

 been reported from the Marsh-Warbler's osier-bed, &c. The 

 Grasshopper-Warbler has been rare in my neighbourhood for 

 several years past. Mr. Calvert reports about forty pairs of 

 Sand-Martins in the sand-pit on the left of the railway near 

 Bruern level crossing. 



August 13th. — Swifts all here. Hardly any birds about the 

 garden. No Starlings, for there is no fruit ripe just now ! 

 Drought most severe. 



14th. — Half-a-dozen Swifts. 



15th. — Greater Titmice destructive to peas now, and Blue 

 Tits to apples. One Swift. 



16th. — Two Swifts. Wheat in splendid condition. 



20th. — A Clouded Yellow butterfly on potato flower. Chiff- 

 chaff sang ; an early resumption of song. Goldfinch sings ; 

 there was a family party of them in my garden on the 15th. 



22nd. — News from Mr. Calvert that he had recently heard a 

 Quail on two occasions in pea and barley fields on the Witney 

 and Burford road. 



23rd. — A few Bay's Wagtails on a ploughing ; passing 

 migrants, I think. 



24th. — Blackbirds and Starlings have returned now that the 

 Victoria plums and " soft " apples are ripening. The damage 

 these two birds do gets greater year by year, if possible — and I 

 remember when both were practically harmless (except with 

 cherries). 



26th. — A female Clouded Yellow on potato bloom. Swarms 

 of House-Martins came off this roof at 6.15 a.m., and I could 

 see many on another roof facing east. 



27th. — A Bay's Wagtail by the railway at Milcomb. Near 

 Ascott-under-Wychwood four immature Black-headed Gulls were 

 on a wheat-stubble which had been newly ploughed this morn- 

 ing. When I was in the train (slow) between Shipton and 

 Kingham, I saw two Hobbies flying up the Evenlode valley 



