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 A HISTORY OF WORCESTERSHIRE lives in South Littleton. They were busily engaged in feeding on the seeds in the close hard cones which would have defied even the specially adapted mandibles of the crossbill to open had they not been operated on by the vicissitudes of the previous winter. That flight remained two days until the supply of cones was exhausted. 66. Two-barred Crossbill. Loxia bifasciata (Brehm). I am unable to report a second occurrence of this bird in the county. Mr. Strickland's specimen, long ago noticed, is still preserved in the Cambridge Museum. 67. Corn-Bunting. Emberiza miliaria, Linn. This is one of those birds which, though not uncommon, is not by any means abun- dant. In the valley of the Avon (taking in parts of the counties of Warwick, Glouces- ter and Worcester), this bunting breeds by preference in fields of vetches, and the nests are often destroyed when the vetches are con- sumed by horses and sheep. 68. Yellow Hammer. Emberiza citrinella, Linn. This is one of our most abundant resident birds, and the nest is to be found in the bottom of every hedge and brake as well as in the open fields. The song is said by the country people to be as follows : ' A little bit, a bit, a bit of bread and no cheese.' The ' no ' is strongly accented and the last word drawn out. Another version of the same is — 'A dish, a dish, a dish of green p-e-a-s.' The last word, ' peas,' being much drawn out. 69. Cirl Bunting. Emberiza cirlus, Linn. The cirl bunting is not a rare though a very local bird in Worcestershire, and is ob- served to frequent the same spot in limited numbers from year to year ; the favoured locality being in the clay districts rather than in the alluvial or sandy ones. It is a shy, re- tiring bird, and frequents trees much more than does the yellow hammer, the male often choos- ing a tall elm for his place of song, from near the top of which you will hear him, but will not easily discover his whereabouts. His song bears considerable resemblance to that of the yellow hammer, but has not the long terminal note. 70. Reed-Bunting. Emberiza schagniclus, Linn. The reed-bunting, or, as it is often called, the reed-sparrow, is a resident, and found by the side of all our streams and some of our pools. 71. Snow - Bunting. Pkctorophenax nivalis (Linn.). It is only in severe winters that the present species make its appearance with us, and then only in small numbers, generally singly. Lees records one instance of its occurrence near Malvern, on the hills, in February, 1856. Mr. W. Edwards mentions having seen on two occasions flocks on the Malvern Hills in severe winters. A specimen in the collection of the present writer was shot in the rickyard at the Manor House, Cleeve Prior, on No- vember 27th, 1849, when it was feeding in company with sparrows and other small birds. 72. Starling. Sturnus vulgaris, Linn. The starling is one of the few birds which, in face of all opposition and in a country in which there is a dense and increasing popula- tion, not merely holds its own but actually increases in numbers. The flocks which ac- cumulate in the autumn to visit some common roosting-place are almost incredible in respect of numbers. The reason of their increase may be found in the readiness with which the starling adapts itself to changes of surroundings, especially at nesting time. Take the follow- ing as an instance. For several years a pair bred in a woodpecker's hole in a large elm in close proximity to the writer's residence, but the tree being blown down it might have been supposed that the starlings would have abandoned the hole, which in the prostrate tree was only a few inches from the ground. It was not so, however, for they entered it and successfully reared a brood in it. 73. Rose-coloured Pastor. Pastor roseus (Linn.). Lees in his list of the birds of the Malvern district reports that a female of this species was shot in the vicinity of Powick in August, 1855, and to that record I can add the follow- ing : — A few years since a bird supposed to be a young starling, which had been shot near Worcester, was brought to Mr. H. Holloway of that city for preser'ation, and remained un- noticed in his hands until the year 1899, when it was seen and identified by the present writer as an immature rose-coloured pastor. All that could be learned about it was that it was brought when freshly killed by the man who shot it, and that it was in the company of young starlings near to the city at the time. 74. Chough. Pyrrhocorax graculus (Linn.). This bird was killed at Lindridge in November, 1826. It was perched on the summit of a building adjacent to Sir C. Smith's^ 154