Page:The Zoologist, 4th series, vol 2 (1898).djvu/382

350 Lincolnshire, but it is not so in the "broad-acred shire," and long may it be before its "mournful, piercing, despairing cry" ceases to be a common country sound.

On June 3rd, with Mr. James Backhouse, I watched on a certain fell, 2225 feet above the sea-level, at the distance of only five or six yards, a Dunlin brooding her just-hatched young; it was sleeting and bitterly cold, and the poor little birds must have wished they were back in the shell. There were a nice lot of the birds about, and the name they are known by in this district is "Jack Plover."

On the estate of a well-known Yorkshire naturalist, whose grounds are a perfect paradise of bird-life, and a haven of refuge to rare and common alike, the Nuthatch, Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, and Hawfinch have bred this year; and what is of still greater interest, though the nest could not be found, the owner told me that the Crossbills, which are there all the year round, were seen carrying bits of bark, fir-needles, moss, wool, &c.; but the covers are so dense that though every effort was made to trace the birds, the attempts hitherto have failed.

The Turtle Dove is yearly increasing its range, and it breeds in parts of the county where a few years ago it was unknown.

In secluded places the Goldfinch, locally known as "Redcap," still breeds not uncommonly, despite the fact that I knew of nearly forty being caught by one birdcatcher in less than a week one autumn.

The Pied Flycatcher is by no means rare, and all the nests I have examined were lined with the leaves of Luzula campestris or pilosa. In one valley I knew of a dozen pairs, but they each keep to their own district, and the nesting places are a good distance apart. I never found hair myself in a Pied Flycatcher's nest; they are very loosely put together and difficult to get out intact. The Grasshopper Warbler has been common. Most people consider it rare, but it is a very peculiar little bird and wants a good deal of knowing. After a spell of cold weather they will sometimes leave the district entirely, or, as they did in one locality this year, remain there but keep perfect silence. There is a good deal of art in finding their nests; my tutor therein, a past master at the game, has found more Grasshopper Warblers' nests than