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 A HISTORY OF DERBYSHIRE Derbyshire, but less numerous in the northern half of the county. On the lower Dove and Trent there has been a perceptible increase in their numbers during the last year or so, possibly owing to fewer birds having been shot, the kingfisher being now protected by the County Council. To show the destruc- tion formerly carried on by water bailiffs and others, no fewer than twenty-two were trapped in one year by one man on the river Dove. 93. Roller. Coracias garrulus, Linn. One seen and clearly identified by Mr. Davis, an optician of Derby, by the Derwent between Duffield and Darley on May 3, 1856 (Nat. Hist. ofTutbury, pp. 49, 102). 94. Bee-Eater. Merops apiaster, Linn. Two if not three bee-eaters visited Derby- shire in 1879. One was shot on May 4 in the gardens of Stainsby House near Mapper- ley and is now in the possession of Mr. J. Whitaker (Zool. 1879, p. 461). The second now in the Nottingham Museum, was also shot at Mapperley on June i o (Mid. Nat. ii. 235). A third is also said to have been shot in the same neighbourhood but cannot be traced. 95. Hoopoe. Upupa epeps, Linn. A rare visitor. Sir O. Mosley saw one on the Dove and mentions another shot at Swadlincote some time between 1843 an ^ 1863. On September 25, 1885, I saw one on the lawn at Ashbourne Vicarage walking about with depressed crest. It was not at all shy but at last took wing, showing the bril- liant wing colouration and settled on a bank with erect crest. It was not disturbed, but after a few days strayed away and was shot on September 30 about half a mile away by a man named Blore and proved to be a male by dissection. 96. Cuckoo. Cuculus canorus, Linn. A summer visitor to all parts of the county, haunting the moorlands as well as the culti- vated country. In the Trent valley the reed- warbler is frequently used as a foster parent ; in the cultivated country the pied wagtail and hedge-sparrow are most 'often made use of, and on the moors the egg is usually placed in the nest of the meadow-pipit. Besides these the tree-pipit, sedge-warbler, reed-bunting, blackbird and yellow bunting all occasionally take the part of foster parent, and an instance of a cuckoo's egg being found in a deserted thrushes' nest at West Hallam is recorded in the Field for July 6, 1901. The cuckoo occasionally utters its note at night. On May 15, 1896, one was calling steadily at 10.30 p.m., and I have noticed the same thing in the south of England. Mr. Whitaker has a curious pale variety, slightly marked with pale brown. 97. Barn-Owl. Strix fla mmca, Linn. Locally, White Owl, Screech Owl. Although perhaps rather less numerous than the brown owl, this species is found in most parts of the county, and if it were not for the senseless and illegal persecution to which it is subjected might again become common. Although owls of all species are nominally protected, very large numbers find their way annually to the bird-stuffers' shops. Pole traps too are responsible for the death of many of these useful birds : under one trap I have on two occasions found the remains of five and three owls respectively, and this took place on the estate of a landlord who in a letter to me asserted that he has been a pre- server of owls all his life ! An analysis of some 240 pellets of this species from the Dove valley by Mr. L. E. Adams gives the following results : Common shrew, 531 skulls ; field vole, 295 ; long-tailed field mouse, 137 ; bank vole, 107 ; house mouse, 37 ; lesser shrew, 32 ; brown rat, 18 ; water shrew, 1 2 ; noctule, I ; sparrow, 7 ; other birds, 1 8 ; frog, 3 ; cockchafer, i ; and re- mains of beetles in 7 pellets. 98. Long-eared Owl. Asia otus (Linn.). A resident in many of our woods, but more frequently overlooked than either the white or brown species. Migratory birds also visit us in the autumn. In April, 1901, a pair of long-eared owls were found breeding in a new magpies' nest of which they had taken possession, but usually old and deserted nests are made use of. 99. Short - eared Owl. Asia accipitrinus (Pallas). Locally, Lesser Horned Owl (F. Gisborne). Besides being an autumnal visitor, the short- eared owl was formerly a regular breeder on the moors of North Derbyshire, but owing to rigorous persecution it has now become exceedingly scarce. Mr. W. Storrs Fox met with the survivor of a pair, which from its movements had evidently attempted to breed in the vicinity, on June 9, 1894, on the moors above Ramsley Lodge. Migrants from the continent occur not infrequently in various parts of the county, especially in the Trent valley. 134