1891. England.
June 27
(No 6)
Chester. - metallic tones.
  A Pied Wagtail in the road. Very graceful
bird. Flight slow and deeply undulating the
long tail streaming out behind loosely. Flight
note a chattering cry.
  Return to station passing a colony of
Sand Martins about their holes in a
red sandstone bank. About 50 pairs. Notes
exactly like those of our birds.
   Follow a road out into the open country.
Skylarks surging occasionally but too much
wind to hear them satisfactorily. A Lesser 
White-throat mounts from a hedge and
sings in the air very like a Tree Pipit
but the song itself resembling a Skylark's 
closely, in fact evidently copied from it, - a
piece taken bodily from it as it were.
A Gray Wagtail alights in road near us and
runs about chasing small flies; very active
graceful bird largely yellow beneath. Newstead
pronounced it a female & says it is not common.
It piped exactly like our Titlark as it flew 
off.
  Yellow hammers common along the hedges
bordering this road. I saw them also in 
the scattered oaks. A pretty bird with
short, feeble song ending with dee, dee.
  At least 500 Rooks circling over a pine
grove and cawing finally alighting in the
trees. Newstead says they have a roost
there. Their caw is hoarser and more