Page:VCH Buckinghamshire 1.djvu/194

Rh 176. Ruff (? Reeve). Machetes pugnax (Linn.).

Kennedy mentions a specimen shot near Chesham. It was shot at Dinton Hall on August 8, 1774, and it has occasionally been shot on the Tring reservoirs, specimens shot on September 5, 1894 and September 19, 1898, being in the Tring Museum, but not on August 17, 1 895, as Mr. Grossman says.

177. Common Sandpiper. Totanus hypoleucus (Linn.).

A common bird in the migration periods. It has been reported to breed on suitable watercourses, such as the Chess, Colne, etc., which is probably correct, as it may be seen during the greater part of the year in most of these places. Frequently called the ' summer snipe.' Mr. Cocks tells us that it is now much rarer on the Thames.

178. Wood - Sandpiper. Totanus glareola (Gmelin).

Uncommon, but a more or less regular visitor during the migration periods, and generally stated to be rarer than the following species, which is however not the case near Tring.

179. Green Sandpiper. Totanus ochropus (Linn.).

Also seen during both migration periods, especially the autumnal one, but nowhere frequent.

[Mr. Grossman, in the list of birds of Hert- fordshire, has not mentioned the recording of a specimen of the Marsh-Sandpiper, T. stagnatilis, by W. Rothschild in October 1887. This bird was identified by means of Dresser's Birds of Europe, and with regard to the note in Mr. Saunders' Manual (p. 620) E. Hartert can only say that in 1891 he found his collaborator fully acquainted with the distinctive characters of T. stagnatilis and all its allies. Unfortunately the specimen in question was inadvertently burnt by the care- taker with a number of other very rare birds in 1890.]

180. Redshank. Totanus calldris (Linn.).

Occasionally met throughout the county. At Dinton Hall it was shot on August II, 1774. We have several specimens from the Tring reservoirs, where we have often seen the bird. A few years ago Mr. Charles J. Wilson observed one and sometimes two pairs of redshanks frequenting the river Ouse, just above Olney, during the months of May and June, for two or three years, and he is inclined to think that this species may breed there, which is quite possible.

181. Greenshank. Totanus canescens (Gmelin).

A more or less regular, though not fre- quent visitor, especially during the autumnal migration.

182. Bar-tailed Godwit. Limosa lapponica (Linn.).

' For a notice of the only occurrence in Buckinghamshire I am indebted to the Rev. Bryant Burgess of Latimer, who kindly wrote me word that in the first week of May 1 846 a pair of these birds were observed to frequent a field on the farm of Mr. Biggs, in the parish of Slapton. The hen bird was shot by Mr. Biggs, but unfortunately he neglected to skin it, and it became putrid. When in this state it was examined by Mr. Burgess, who found it to be in an intermediate state of plumage, having nearly acquired the red breast which is peculiar to this species in sum- mer ' (Clark Kennedy, p. 193). In winter 1895 (the exact date was not noted down) a man in the employ of Mr. H. M. Roberts in Ivinghoe shot a specimen that was feeding (or resting) near the brewery (H. M. Roberts in litt.).

183. Curlew. Numenius arquata (Linn.).

Sometimes the cry of this bird is heard at night, and small flocks are seen in the county during the migration periods, especially near the Thames and other waters. Specimens have been obtained near Chesham, Maiden- head, Woburn and in the Chiltern Hills (Kennedy, p. 143). In 1900 one was shot near Dinton Hall.

184. Whimbrel. Numenius phæaopus (Linn.).

According to notes given by the Rev. H. H. Crewe to Clark Kennedy, this bird is often seen on the reservoirs and canals near Halton and Tring, but we have no recent evidence of this. Two were shot in the north- eastern corner of Buckinghamshire, not far from the river Ouse, in the second week of May (Aplin, Zoologist, 1894, p. 267).

185. Black Tern. Hydrochelidon nigra (Linn.).

A not unfrequent but somewhat irregular visitor to the Thames and other waters throughout Buckinghamshire. In the late spring and early summer it appears however every year in some numbers on the Tring reservoirs. ' These birds were shot by Sir John van Hatton and the Rev. W. Nance on May 10, 1774, at Elthorpe ' (Dinton Hall MS.).

186. Sandwich Tern. Sterna cantiaca, Gmelin.

Mr. Heneage Cocks (Zoologist, 1895, p.