( 33 ) 
Y. 
NOTES ON BIRDS OBSERVED IN HERTFORDSHIRE DURING 
THE YEAR 1902. 
By William Bickerton. 
Mead at Watford , 2Uh February , 1903. 
In accordance with the nsnal practice I will commence my notes 
on the birds observed in 1902 with a few considerations in con¬ 
nection with the two species which, as I have mentioned in the 
previous paper, are new to our county list. 
1. The Bose-coloured Starling ( Pastor roseus). — Mr. A. E. 
Gibbs informs me that a specimen of this bird has just been added 
to the County Museum at St. Albans. It is said to have been shot 
at Bovingdon some years ago. A gentleman noticed the bird along 
with many others set up in a case in a local inn, and on enquiry 
was informed that all the specimens had been shot in the locality 
by the former landlord. The gentleman referred to purchased the 
specimen in question and handed it over to the Museum. 
The record certainly is not as convincing as one could wish, hut 
I think the evidence in its favour is at least as good as that which 
has sufficed to carry many other very rare visiting species into the 
official list. 
The winter home of this bird seems to be in India and Turkestan, 
but in Summer it seems to be an irregular migrant to Asia Minor 
and the central and southern parts of Europe, occasional stragglers 
travelling so far as Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and the British 
Isles. Although specimens have been taken in Wales, Devon, and 
Cornwall, it occurs most frequently in the eastern counties. The 
adult male has a fine crest, which, with the head, neck, and throat, 
is of a glossy violet-black; its wings and tail are a metallic 
g'reenish black, while its back, shoulders, breast, and under parts 
are rose-pink. From this latter circumstance it has received its 
trivial name. 
2. The Scops-Owl ( Scops giu). —This bird has, I am informed, 
nested during the past Summer in Moor Park, Bickmansworth. It 
is the smallest owl which occurs in the British Isles, where it 
appears as a summer visitor, and examples have been previously 
obtained in Essex, Middlesex, and Bucks, though not in Herts. 
Three specimens were shot a few years ago in the valley of the 
Colne between Harefield and Heronsgate, in each case just beyond 
the county border. The winter home of this tiny owl—it is only 
about 7i inches in length — is in Abyssinia and Senaar. In 
summer it migrates to the temperate and warm parts of Europe, 
and is especially abundant in the countries of the Mediterranean 
area. Mr. Howard Saunders states that it is partial to cork and 
olive woods as well as to groves of trees on the banks of the rivers ; 
that its note may be frequently heard in the gardens of large cities 
such as Seville and Florence; that it is particularly nocturnal in 
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VOL. XII.—PART I. 
