20 



27. — House Martin (Chelidon Urbica). 



This welcome little visitor generally arrives at "The Cedars " 

 with the swallow, sometimes a day or two earlier. 



28. — Greenfinch (Ligurinus Chloris). 



At " The Cedars" I can only remember one nest, in a holly 

 near the house, and on 24th April, 1895, the sitting bird let me 

 remove five eggs from under her (I was searching for a Cuckoo's 

 egg), merely pecking my finger as I carefully replaced them. I 

 therefore conclude the Greenfinch is not a shy bird. 



I saw a pair down by " The Cedars' " pond on 4th March, 

 1903, and several times afterwards. The female was much the 

 dullest in colour. 



29. — Hawfinch (Coccothraustes Vulgaris) 



For all I know, Hawfinches may have haunted " The 

 Cedars " for years, but my own personal experience of them 

 commences 4th March, 1898, when I saw from " The Cedars' " 

 billiard-room window what to me seemed a strange bird, hopping 

 about with the starlings and sparrows. Perhaps the following 

 extract that I wrote to a local paper will best explain the whole 

 circumstance : — 



" I have for many years kept a list of our local birds, but to 

 my ornithological friends and myself the Hawfinch (Cocco- 

 thraustes Vulgaris) is new in this locality. One first made its 

 appearance on our front lawn on 2nd March, 1898. On the 6th, 

 it was accompanied by what I take to be a female, as it had not 

 such bright glossy plumage as its companion. On the 24th, four 

 appeared, the two strangers being, I should think, two young of 

 last year, as they showed no white on the tips of their tails, and 

 were altogether slightly immature looking. The old male 

 appears by itself nearly every afternoon, always feeding, some- 

 times picking something off the grass, at other times eating the 

 holly berries. It clips off the prickly leaves if they are in the 

 way, mouths about a berry, and finally, having eaten the pips, 

 drops the skin nearly whole to the ground. All this I watch 

 through glasses from " The Cedars' " billiard-room window. It 

 moves about like a mechanical toy, with little spasmodic hops, 

 and flies like a very pronounced Chaffinch. It has short pink 

 legs, tarsi, and feet, and its wings, when folded, just clear the 

 pure white at the tip of the tail. When flying, it shows the 



