A HISTORY OF RUTLAND 15. Blackcap. Sylvia atricapilla (Linn.). Locally, Haych.it. Though seemingly somewhat commoner than it was fifty years ago, this species cannot be considered plentiful in Rutland. It is usually much scarcer than the garden-warbler. In some years it is more plentitul than in others. Good years were 1899, 1901, 1905. It arrives about 8 April, but I believe I once saw a female on 23 March (1890). 1 6 Garden-Warbler. Sylvia hortensis (Bech- stein). Arrives a fortnight later than the preced- ing, and, like it, varies in number in different years, but may be considered a much com- moner bird. 17. Goldcrest. Regulus cristatus, K.och. Resident, and, aided by considerable foreign accessions, by no means uncommon. Prob- ably nests in most gardens of any size through- out the county, as well as in all the woods. The song sometimes begins in February, but nest-building is deferred till May. The nest is occasionally in the fork of a tree, resembling that of a chaffinch. In the autumn it associates with the tits and creeper. The Firecrest {Regius ignicapillus) no doubt occurs often enough, but no absolutely certain record has come to hand. However, Mr. J. M. Mitchell and Mr. F. Styan, the well- known ornithologist, saw in December 1872, what they had no doubt was a pair of these birds at Uppingham. 18. Chiffchaff. Phylloscopus rufui (Bech- stein). Though distributed over the whole county, it is nowhere very numerous. Two or three pairs build in the Uppingham Gardens, and I have heard as many as six in one day in Wardley Wood. The bird does not sing on its first arrival if the weather be inclement. It arrives in Rutland during the last ten days of March, usually about 29 March, but it has been heard once as early as 16 March (1893). "^^^ late Mr. Howard Saunders said it ceases to sing in May. If so, it begins again in July, for I have heard it 4, 15, 16 July (1899) and 12 July (1901). 19. Willow- Warbler. Phylloicopus trochilui (Linn.). One of our commonest and most welcome summer migrants, far more numerous than the preceding. Arrives about 3 April, but I saw one unmistakably on a willow by the Eye Brook, 14 March 1903, and it was seen the same year on 18 March. It has been observed as late as 18 November (1900). In spite of Lord Lilford's statement to the con- trary, I feel quite certain this bird does not sing at once upon arrival. 20. Wood-Warbler. Phylloscopus sibilatrix (Bechstein.). Undoubtedly a Rutland summer migrant, though only found in two or three locali- ties. Lord Gainsborough reports its occurrence at Exton Park, and his evidence is corroborated by Mr. J. Whitaker, author of the Birds of Nottinghamshire. It has also been observed by Mr. A. E. J. Dixon at Empingham. One nest alone is recorded, and this, containing one egg, was taken by Mr. J. M. Mitchell at the edge of Wardley Wood in 1872. 21. Reed-Warbler. Acrocephalus streperm (Vieillot). Occurs in some numbers, as a summer mi- grant, at the Burley and Exton Ponds, but elsewhere in the county it is very sparingly distributed, chiefly along the Welland. Nefts have also been found at Ridlington, Beaumont Chase, and Stoke Wood. 22. Sedge Warbler. Acrocephalus phragmitis (Bechstein). Though said to have been rare till 1870, it is now a common, and in some years quite abundant, summer visitor. It arrives about the third week in April. A nest was found in 1902 10 ft. from the ground in a hawthorn tree — a most unusual site. It is a favourite foster-mother for the young cuckoo. 23. Grasshopper- Warbler. Locusulla naevia (Boddaert). Locally, Reeler. For more than fifty years described as a common summer migrant, but of late years it seems certainly to have decreased in num- bers. It has been reported from Uppingham (though not lately), Wardley Wood, Stoke, Barrowden, Luffenham, Home, Barnsdale, Exton, Manton, Wing, Seaton, Shacklewell, and Oakham. 24. Hedge-Sparrow. Accentor modularis (Linn.). Locally, Blue Dunnock. One of the commonest of resident birds, and subject to little variation in numbers. Begins to nest in March. The species most often selected by the cuckoo for the rearing of its young. 60
