36 
THE BIRDS OF OXFORDSHIRE. 
Feb., 1891 . 
however, only once seen an example; this is singular, con¬ 
sidering it is not uncommon in parts of England, and indeed 
in some localities on the increase. 
A few pairs of Stone Curlew continue to haunt one locality, 
although, with the present rage for egg collecting, it is not 
unlikely they will shortly have to be numbered with other 
extinct species once belonging to the county. 
Considering that Oxfordshire is so far removed from the 
nearest coast, it is interesting to find so many species of shore 
birds in the faunal list, including the Grey Plover, Turnstone, 
Knot, Sanderling, Little Stint, Temmincks’ Stint, Curlew 
Sandpiper, Purple Sandpiper, Spotted Redshank, Greenshank, 
Bar-tailed Godwit, and Wliimbrel, all representing species 
which rarely stray inland during the periods of migration, 
but are found in greater or less abundance on the sea coast. 
The Black, Sandwich, Roseate, Common, Arctic, and 
Lesser Terns, also the Sooty Tern, are all included in Mr. 
Aplin’s list. Of these the first is an occasional spring 
and autumn visitor, and there is reliable evidence to show 
that it at one time remained to nest. A nest with four 
eggs of the Arctic Tern is said to have been taken on Otmoor 
in the summer of 1834—as far as England is concerned, 
perhaps the only instance of the species breeding in an inland 
situation. The number of the eggs —four—suggests an error 
in determining the species, as the Arctic Tern has sometimes 
three, but usually only two eggs in number. 
One of the only two authenticated instances of the Sooty 
Tern obtained in England was an example shot when flying 
over the Thames, near Wallingford, on the borders of the 
county. 
The Kittiwake, an almost purely marine gull, is an occa¬ 
sional and not an uncommon visitor from autumn to spring. 
Mr. Aplin has shot it as late as March 24th. A young Iceland 
Gull, in the first year’s plumage, was obtained in the spring 
of 1836 on Port Meadow. Storm-driven wanderers like the 
Skuas, Fulmar, Manx Shearwater, Leach’s and the Stormy 
Petrel, with the Guillemot, Razor-bill, Puffin, and Little Auk 
have been obtained, and the Cormorant, Shag, and Gannet are 
likewise all accidental in their occurrence. 
Two pair of the Great Crested Grebe nest annually on 
Clattercote Reservoir, and the Red-necked, Sclavonian, and 
Eared Grebes have been occasionally seen. The Little Grebe 
or Dabchick, is a resident, breeding in some numbers in all 
likely localities. 
The Heron also is a resident nesting in a few spots. The 
oldest established heronry is that in Tar Wood, near Stanton 
Harcourt, but the number of nests in late years appears to 
