A HISTORY OF RUTLAND 58. Brambling. Fringilla mont'ifringilla, Linn. A constant, though not very plentiful, visitor to Rutland in winter, and occurs most commonly where there are beech trees. As many as twenty have been seen together at Exton and Normanton. Their winter stay extends from November to the middle of April. 59. Linnet. Linota cannahina (Linn.). Resident and common. Every patch of gorse, and these are numerous, contains many nests. A four-mile radius would, I should say, contain at least five hundred pairs, and as each pair has two broods, if not more, and five eggs in a clutch, the yearly increase of linnets must be very great. 60. Lesser Redpoll. Linota rufescens (Vieillot). Seems to have become much commoner as a breeding species since i860. Small flocks are frequently seen in the winter, and pairs remain to nest here and there over the county. Nests have been recorded from Preston, Sea- ton, Caldecott, Beaumont Chase, and Glaston, and as a bird was seen on 18 May 1899 in one of the Uppingham gardens it probably nested there. 61. Twite. Linota Jlavirostris (Linn.). No doubt occurs occasionally, but has only been identified by Mr. W. J. Horn on 4 March, near Morcott. The small flock seen were feeding with larks, and I observed them two days later near the same place. 62. Bullfinch. Pyrrhula europaea, Vieillot. Plentiful throughout the county, perhaps shifting its quarters in winter, though, during the severe weather of December 190 1, I saw a dozen together feeding on the 'keys ' of the ash near Uppingham. As many as nine have been shot at one time in an orchard, and certainly the bird is most destructive to fruit trees. 63. Crossbill. Loxia curvirestra, Linn. A somewhat late winter visitor. It has been recorded from Seaton, Normanton, Ry- hall, Pickworth, Bisbrooke, Uppingham, and Wardley. One was shot 17 August 1859 at Seaton, and Mr. J. M. Mitchell saw three in March 1872 at Uppingham, a date at which they should have been nesting. 64. Corn-Bunting. Emhertza miliaria, Linn. Locally, Bunting Lark. Resident and common in many parts of the county, though rare in others. On the east side of Uppingham twenty may be seen in one day. Near Empingham and Normanton the bird is rare. Though its song may be heard in March, the bird does not usually nest before June. No satisfactory explanation has been given of the lateness of its nesting. 65. Yellow Hammer. Emberiza cttnnetla, Linn. Locally, Writing Lark. One of the commonest residents. Mr. A. E. G. Dixon reports seeing a bird of this species building a nest on 24 February 1905, an almost incredibly early date. Unusual nesting sites reported are, 8 ft. from the ground in a hedge, and under the eaves of a haystack. A yellow hammer which I caught in my house shammed death. 66. Cirl-Bunting. Emberiza cirlus, Linn. Very rare. Mr. J. M. Mitchell records one that was shot near Uppingham about 1870, and says that he saw a pair between Uppingham and Rockingham on several occa- sions a year or two later. He also possesses an egg found in May 1872 at Liddington, which was said, and appears, to be an egg of this species. It has also been seen near Thisleton. 67. Reed - Bunting. Emberiza schoeniclus, Linn. Locally, Reed Sparrow. To be found throughout the county along all the streams and water-courses. This species is no doubt migratory, but some can always be seen. 68. Snow- Bunting. Plectrophanes nivalis. Linn. Seldom seen. Two were seen in 1883, one at Cottesmore and a second at Tixover, the latter being shot. Three were seen at Ayston in 1895, and possibly one in 1901. 69. Starling. Sturnus vulgaris, Linn. Locally, Starnel or Sturnel, Shepster. By no means abundant about 1835 ; it is now exceedingly plentiful, flocks of a thousand being no uncommon sight. It is doubtful whether the starling is double-brooded, but its numbers are increased by accessions from abroad, and the species is now so numerous that nesting sites for all are becoming in- creasingly difficult to find. Consequently even woodpeckers are evicted from their nest- ing holes. Is it a new art that the starling has acquired, namely, hawking for flies high in the air like swallows ? At all events it is only during the last ten years or so that this has been observed in Rutland. A beautiful cream-coloured specimen was seen at Ayston 64
