Page:VCH Cornwall 1.djvu/384

 A HISTORY OF CORNWALL 29. Hedge Sparrow. Accentor moJularis (Linn.). Resident and abundant throughout the county, except on the Bodmin moors ; large flocb occa- sionally seen at the Lizard in the autumn. A com- mon resident at Scilly. 30. Dipper. Cinclus aquaticus, Bechstein. A resident, fairly common on the upper portions of the Lynher, Inney, and Camel and on the Draynes river, Liskeard ; nests regularly on several of the streams of the middle and west. 31. Bearded Tit. Panurus biamicus (Linn.). A rare accidental visitor, obtained thrice in the county ; once near Helston, by Humphrey Grylls of Bosahan ; once in January, 1 846, in a sedgy bottom near St. Levan church ; and once on the higher moors, St. Mary's, Scilly, in the fifties. 32. Long-tailed Tit. Acredula caudata (Linn.). Locally, Bottle Tit. Resident, fairly abundant, but local throughout the county ; decidedly uncommon about Camelfbrd, and since 1 900 in the Truro district. Small flocks arrive on the south coast during the winter. Till lately the only record of this bird at Scilly was for October, 1876, when David Smith shot three out of a family of seven, but several birds were seen at Tresco in the autumn of 1903 and again in 1905. 33. Great Tit. Parus major, Linn. A common resident and generally distributed ; in some years specially abundant at the Lizard in the autumn ; though common in the Penzance district, has not bred there lately ; scarce about Launceston during the winter. Appears at Scilly in small num- bers in autumn, and occasionally lingers for icveral weeks about Tresco. 34. Continental Coal-Tit. Parus ater, Linn. Though the distinction between this species and the next is dubious, it is interesting to record a typical specimen shot 3 April, 1 904, at Mount's Bay. 35. British Coal-Tit. Parus britannlcus, Sharpe and Dresser. A fairly common resident in fir and pine planta- tions, especially in the east of the county, but not so abundant as the great tit ; nests as far west as Falmouth, but not in the Penzance district, and is rarely seen at the Lizard ; scarce about Launceston in winter. Has occurred only once at Scilly, in October, 1851. 36. Marsh-Tit. Parus palustrls, Linn. Resident but local ; breeding in the east of the county and freely in the west about Falmouth, but elsewhere a scarce bird at all times of the year ; at Trebartha more plentiful than the coal-tit during the breeding season, abundant during the autumn, and in the winter season the commonest member of the family. Obtained at Scilly about the same time as the coal-tit mentioned above, and also seen twice by F. R. Rodd about 1863. 37. Blue-Tit. Parus coeruleus, Linn. Locally, Hackeymall, Hickmall. Resident, abundant and generally distributed. Occurs at Scilly occasionally singly or in pairs during the autumn and winter; probably blown off the mainland by storms, [Crested-Tit. Parus cr'utatus, Linn. John Harris of Liskeard saw two crested-tits in the autumn of 1899 at High Wood, Looe Mills. One was in some alders ; the other in a little adjoining plantation.] 38. Nuthatch. Sitta caeiia, Wolf. Resident ; a familiar bird in the eastern woodlands ; breeds regularly as far west as Doublebois, in most years about Bodmin, and occasionally about Fal- mouth ; has nested twice at Helston ; common in the middle and west as a winter visitor. 39. Wren. Troglodytes parvulus, Koch. Resident ; common and generally distributed through- out the county and at Scilly ; about Truro and Fal- mouth usually more abundant in winter than in summer. 40. Tree-Creeper. CerthiafamiRarii, Linn. Resident; nesting and fairly common in most of the old woods throughout the county ; not infrequently seen at the Lizard. 41. Pied Wagtail. Motacilla lugubris, Temminck. Locally, Dishwasher, Tinner. Resident ; generally distributed except in the Camel- ford district and on the north coast from Pentire, Padstow to Dizzard Head, where wagtails are repre- sented only by occasional casuals ; in many districts extraordinarily abundant. Large migratory flocks chiefly of immature birds occur in the south and west of the county in September. From 6 to 9 Septem- ber, 1904, a flock of two or three thousand lingered on passage in the neighbourhood of Bude. In the spring from the second week in March till the end of the second week in April numerous small flocks come in on the south coast, the first arrivals being ex- clusively adult males. Nests on all the larger islands at Scilly. 42. White Wagtail. Motacilla alba, Linn. Evidently a regular spring and autumn bird of passage about St. Ives, Falmouth, and Penzance, and an occasional passing visitor elsewhere ; almost always associated with migratory flocks of pied wagtails. On 29 May, 1904, an adult male was killed near Truro. Several were seen on St. Mary's early in October, 1903, in a large flock of pied wagtails. 43. Grey Wagtail. Motacilla melanope, Pallas. Resident, but more abundant as a winter visitor ; breeds in considerable numbers by the side of the streams in the east of the county, and occasionally as far west as Truro. At Scilly a regular autumn and winter migrant. In the spring of 1903 was common about High Town, St. Mary's, from 10 to 18 April. 44. Blue-headed Wagtail. Motacilla Jlava, Linn. A casual spring and summer visitor to the west of the county. Two specimens were shot by Pechell at Scilly in September, 1871, but it has not been recorded there since. [Ashy-headed Wagtail. Motacilla cinereicapilla, Savi. Of this subspecies, one of the two recorded English specimens was killed at Penzance and was identified by Gould.] 45. Yellow Wagtail. Motacilla rait (Bonaparte). A spring and autumn visitor in small numbers, lingering at times for several weeks on both journeys ; 332