240 



Armitt: The Birds of Rydal. 



or third week of April. Great accession of numbers about the 

 fourth week, when singing - is general.. Nests wherever there is 

 foliag-e of small trees. 6th April 1893 ; 20th September 1894. 



Chiffchaff. Phylloscopus minor (Forst.). Somewhat rare 

 in the Lake country. It nests, however, in several woodland 

 patches on the lower slopes of Loughrigg. One of these, by 

 Fox Ghyll, in Rydal parish, it resorts to year after year. On 

 nth September I have seen and heard this bird at a spot above 

 the Hawkshead valley where it never nests. As a friend has 

 heard it there also in late summer, it may travel that way when 

 migrating". 



Sedge Warbler. Acrocephalus phragtnitis (Bechst.). 

 Summer visitant. Thoug-h its song- is occasionally heard, in 

 passing, at other spots, it probably nests nowhere but about 

 the dykes of the marsh at the head of the lake. Arrives towards 

 the end of the first week in May. 



Blackbird. Merula merula (L.). Permanent resident. 



Ring-Ouzel. Merula torquata (L.). Summer visitant. 

 Nesting occasionally in Rydal Head, or on Fairfield. This 

 species is, in fact, rare in Lakeland, where ground fruits such 

 as belong' to true moor-lands are scarce. I have seen it above 

 Yewdale, and on Skiddaw. 



Redwing. Turdus iliacus L. Winter visitant. Present 

 in the old woods, singly or in considerable parties, when Holly, 

 Thorn, and Ivy are fruited. I have known it appear (13th 

 October) before the coveted harvest of Yew berries has been 

 cleared by Throstles and other residents. 



Song Thrush. Turdus musicus L. Resident, in the sense 

 that odd birds may be occasionally seen in winter, even in times 

 of severe frost. But the mass withdraws from these rocky 

 lands (where no deep clay soils exist) in November. By 

 early February they are back and beginning to sing. 



Mistle Thrush. Turdus viscivorus L. Permanent resi- 

 dent. Is perhaps the first bird, except the Starling, to flock 

 when the nest-season is over, and parties of 12 to 20 may be met 

 with in early July, scouring the wilder lands for food. In winter, 

 however, it feeds singly on the fruit of Thorn, Ivy, and Holly. 

 The song is certain to be heard about the 22nd of January, but 

 often begins earlier. 



Fieldfare. Turdus pilaris L. Winter visitant. Erratic 

 in its immigration, which depends — along with the length of its 

 stay — on the quantity of food in a neighbourhood, and on the 



Naturalist, 



