BIRDS Herefordshire being an extremely well-wooded county is, as may be expected, very rich in all wood-loving birds, and although there are no large lakes in the county, still it is abundantly watered by the rivers Wye, Lugg, and Teme, and their numerous tributaries. On these have been observed from time to time a greater number of waders and sea-birds than one could have expected, although the latter have generally occurred after rough- weather at sea. The county also has a considerable acreage of moorland — on the Black Mountains — which is eminently suitable to moorland birds. From the following account it will be observed that on the whole the county shows a very satisfactory and an increasing list of British birds, especially as regards the warblers. Unfortunately, the kite is extinct in the county, and I am afraid the same may be said of the hen-harrier ; the peregrine is almost so, but the buzzard still remains and is also likely to have its numbers recruited from time to time from the county of Brecon, where, although it is far from common, it is still to be found in fair numbers. I desire to express my very sincere thanks to Mr. T. Hutchinson of Hereford not only for placing at my entire disposal his own list of Hereford- shire birds, but for giving me also most valuable information. My thanks are also due to Mr. Blake of Ross for many valuable notes relating to the Ross district ; to Dr. H. C. Moore, the secretary of the Woolhope Naturalists' Field Club ; to Mr. J. B. Pilley, the assistant secretary ; and to many others for their kind assistance. The numerous notes of Mr. Ashdown, the naturalist, who formerly resided in Hereford, and which notes have appeared in the volumes of the Transactions of the Woolhope Club, have been of the greatest help to me, as well as the Transactions themselves, for the use of which I wish to express my acknowledgements. Other notes have been taken from the late Dr. Bull's Herefordshire Birds, and also from the list of the late Mr. Home of Hereford. In the following list the nomenclature adopted is that employed in the late Mr. Howard Saunders' List of British Birds (1899). In cases where the record of a bird's occurrence is open to doubt the entry is placed within square brackets. Brackets placed round the name of the original describer of the species indicate that he did not employ the generic name which is now adopted. 130
