Rrltisli nirds in and around my A7'iancs. 263 
now of increasinj^-. Tlie Kestrel I have seen once in a while, 
iioveriny over the aviaries, and a Sparrow Hawk, one day this 
week, nearly knocked niy gardener's hat off, as it swept around 
the corner in pursuit of a Blackhird. We have also had one or 
two visits from a Merh'n. Init, as far as I know, no damag'e has 
ever been done to the aviarv occupants hy any of tliese birds. 
Another \ isitor I must note 's the Xiy-litiar. whose weird 
crv can often lieard in tlie dusk of tlie evening". When 
disturbed, it has a peculiar hal^it of flying- a short distance, and 
then alis'htin!:'- on the road or patli. with its face towards its 
disturber. I liave often wondered wdiat these birds do for food 
in a hard winter. Do they hibernate ? One that was broui^ht 
to me, unable to fly, lived for an extraordinary length of time 
without food (several w^eeks), and when it finally " gave up the 
ghost." its body did not decay. They are interesting birds, 
and Irive. T believe, been successfully kept in captivity. 
Other attractive birds that visit us in the summer months 
are the Redstart and the Spotted Flycatcher; from three nests 
of this latter bird young were reared, v/ithin fifty yards of the 
aviaries this vear. 
Of the birds in my aviaries, T will mention those fir.st that 
find their way in of their own accord. ( )ne large aviary is 
covered on the top with 2-inch wire-netting, the sides and ends, 
with a view to keeping out rats, being of i j-inch mesh. The 
most welcome visitors to this one are a pair of Kingfishers, who. 
attracted by the Sticklebacks that breed in the pond, are often 
to be found fishing there. Whilst they find their way in through 
the 2-inch mesh easily enough, they generally have a little 
difficulty in finding their way out, so one gets a good view of 
them as they circle around. Blackbirds. Thrushes. Starlings, 
and many others visit the pond here for l)athing, and it is a 
pretty sight to watch them on hot days, all splashing in the 
water together. 
The neighbouring aviary is covered with 5^-inch mesh 
netting, and through this the following birds have at difJerent 
times found their way — Golden-crested and Willow Wrens, 
also ChiffchafTs, the latter in considerable numbers. After a 
