240 
ST. ALBANS AND ITS NEIGHBOURHOOD. 
There are specimens in the County Museum from Bernard’s 
Heath and Shenley, captured in 1902 and 1903 respectively, and 
it has been observed at St. Albans and Munden. The viviparous 
lizard is occasionally seen on the heaths and in sandy hedge- 
banks, while the slow-worm, though now rare, has been taken in 
recent years near Wheathampstead and St. Albans. 
5. Aves. 
A rigid classification of the' birds of a restricted area can 
seldom prove entirely free from exception or objection; yet, as 
this brief account of the birds which have been recorded within 
a radius of about five miles from St. Albans is written mainly 
for the information of visitors to the district, it is thought 
well, both for the sake of clearness and with the object of 
giving a detailed review of the birds which may be found here 
“ according to their seasons,” to attempt the classification 
here given. 
(1) Resident Species. These are species of which individuals 
may be found throughout the year, and which therefore include, 
generally speaking, our native, resident, breeding birds. It is 
not suggested, however, that in all cases the individuals of any 
particular species met with in summer are also those which are 
present in the winter, nor is it suggested that every bird which 
appears in this list nests every year within the district. The 
list comprises the following 55 species:—Missel-thrush, song- 
thrush, blackbird, stonechat, redbreast, goldcrest, hedge-sparrow, 
long-tailed titmouse, great titmouse, coal - titmouse, marsh- 
titmouse, blue titmouse, nuthatch, wren, tree-creeper, pied 
wagtail, greenfinch, ^hawfinch, goldfinch, house-sparrow, tree- 
sparrow, chaffinch, linnet, bullfinch, corn - bunting, yellow- 
hammer, reed-bunting, starling, jay, magpie, jackdaw, carrion- 
crow, rook, skylark, swift, greater spotted woodpecker, lesser 
spotted woodpecker, green woodpecker, kingfisher, barn-owl, 
brown or tawny owl, little owl, sparrow-hawk, kestrel, common 
heron, mallard, ring-dove, stock-dove, pheasant, partridge, 
red-legged partridge, moorhen, coot, lapwing, and little grebe or 
dabchick. 
Of the birds in this list it may be remarked that as nesting 
species, the stonechat, the goldcrest, the hawfinch, the reed¬ 
bunting, the carrion-crow, the woodpeckers, the kingfisher, and 
the owls are by no means common, while the goldfinch, the 
tree-sparrow, the corn-bunting, the magpie, and the sparrow- 
hawk are decidedly rare. The little owl, moreover, is a recent 
addition to the permanent bird life of the district; while 
the heron, though it may be seen more or less all through the 
year, has never (to the writer’s knowledge) been known to 
nest in the district. In fact there is no known heronry 
m the whole county of Hertfordshire. The goldfinch, it is 
gratifying to record, has decidedly increased in numbers during 
recent years. 
