92 
THE ESSEX NATURALIST. 
The Reed Warbler nests rather freely round Mr. G. 
Buxton’s pond at Birch Hall, Theydon Bois, and I also know 
the species at Passingford Bridge. Otherwise, I agree with Mr. 
Christy that it is rare in inland Essex. 
The Grasshopper Warbler occurs annually at Passingford 
Bridge, the strange little song being sometimes uttered at 
midnight in June. 
It is a common experience, in winter, to find cracked and 
emptied hornbeam fruits wedged into crevices in the rough bark 
of oak or hawthorn. By the end of February, in Gaunt’s Wood, 
Theydon Bois, I found that almost all of the thousands of fruits 
which strew the ground are fractured. I suspect the Great . 
Tit as the agent in the work on the ground, for it is the species 
most often seen searching (in a very pretty manner) amongst 
the dead leaves. Probably it is also responsible for the wedged 
fruits. The Nuthatch is a conspicuous native of the wood, 
but in winter it appears to be entirely insectivorous here. 
On the 9th May 1912 I got an excellent view of a White 
Wagtail at Curtis Mill Green, my only experience of this species 
in Essex, although I have met with it in other counties. It 
was extremely wild, and probably a migrant, for I saw the bird 
finally take flight to disappear in the distance. The general 
Tern-like coloration and slightly different voice were well-marked, 
and separated the bird at once from the Pied Wagtails in the 
locality. The latter bird, during winter, has the habit of roosting 
in great flocks in the reeds at Birch Hall, and on the 13th March 
1916 I counted 150 at this place ; and, two years later, I record 
“ double this number.” 5 
Colonies of breeding Tree Sparrows have been noted in the 
Mardyke valley (where they were nesting in buildings) ; near 
Rainham, and near Abridge. On 23rd March 1919 I saw a 
flock of about 200 near Ongar, unaccompanied by the usual 
House Sparrows or other finches. 
The song of the Bullfinch may be heard by anyone who 
devotes a little attention to this abundant Essex bird. It is 
so very subdued as to be inaudible at the distance of more than a 
score of yards, and some of the details of the melody cannot 
easily be heard at half this distance. 
5 The Pied Wagtails, to the number of ioo or more, were still returning to the pond 
each night up to the 15th June, 1919. 
