Aug., 1890. a naturalist's notes in north Devon. 
179 
repeatedly swooped down to the ground and appeared to be 
occupied for a few minutes with some small object, the 
nature of which my glasses did not reveal. Having reached 
the top—some 750 feet—and enjoyed the grand sea view, I 
was coming down again when a sharp, ringing cry arrested 
my attention. The cry was essentially corvine in character, 
but I knew at once that the sound was fresh to my ear, and, 
guessing the origin of it, I hurried to the edge as fast and as 
near as I dare. Fortunately I was in time to see half-a- 
dozen glossy blue-black birds, with widely separated prima¬ 
ries, flying round the bend of the cliff wait far below me. 
As they passed with undulating buoyant flight, one, turning 
upwards, showed the orange-red bill of the Chough ( Pyrrho - 
corax graculus). Perhaps these were a wandering band, for 
although there are on this range of cliffs certain spots which 
Choughs are known to frequent pretty regularly, the Little 
Hangman is not one of them ; and in the case of a local, and, 
it is feared, decreasing species like the present, it would, 
perhaps, be unwise to indicate the precise situation of these 
favoured habitats. Suffice it to gladden the heart of the 
enthusiastic field ornithologist to know that he can still meet 
with this interesting bird on the cliffs of North Devon. 
In Devonshire, ferns generally absorb the amateur 
botanist’s attention. That it should be so is only natural in 
a county so rich in this class of plant, and in which Harts- 
tongues and the Maiden-hair and Black Spleen worts, with 
many another, clothe the hedge banks like weeds. And who 
can forget the ferny glories of the Hobby Walk at Clovelly ! 
But for my part I always prefer the flowering plants. 
In August many interesting plants have flowered and are 
over, and the sightseers gather with a reckless hand whole 
bunches of any showy flowers. But a few things still remain 
to interest the naturalist accustomed to the flora of the 
Midlands. On the cliffs we have the Thrift ( Armeria maritima ) 
in abundance, with delicate pink flowers, Filago germanica, 
the Carline Thistle ( Carlina vulgaris), the Dwarf Tufted 
Centaury [Erythraa littoralis), and the Broad-leaved Centaury 
(E. latifolia). The rough stony places yield magnificent 
plants of the Giant Mullein ( Verbascum Thapsus), Foxglove 
{Digitalis purpurea), Perfoliate Yellow-wort ( Chlora perfoliata), 
and Buck’s Horn Plantain {Plantago coro7iopus). In the 
hedges we find the Tutsan ( Hypericum Androscemum) abund¬ 
antly; also the Golden-rod {Solidago Virgaurea), and the broad 
deep-green, sword-shaped leaves of the Stinking Iris {Iris 
fcetidissima). Among the rocks at Morthoe I gathered the 
true Samphire {Gnthmum maritimuw), a very different plant 
