A HISTORY OF SUFFOLK under which each one is mentioned. Following the example of that excellent authority, the purple gallinule, the Canada goose and the Egyptian goose are excluded from the list as birds which have escaped from captivity or semi-captivity, and the ' parrot-crossbill ' and ' Polish swan ' are not treated as distinct species. 384 species of British birds are described in the Manual, of which 282 find a place in this list. Space will not permit individual acknowledgment of all the valuable assistance received, but the writer's cordial thanks are due to Mr. Frank Norgate, who has most kindly read through the MS. and the proof-sheets ; to the Rev. F. C. R. Jourdain and Mr. G. T. Rope for the use of their private notes ; and to Mr. L. Travis for his unvaried courtesy during the last fifteen years in affording opportunities for the inspection of the birds sent to him for preservation and also in giving information of their localities. 1. Mistle-Thrush. Turdus viscivorus, Linn. Locally, Mistier or Mistle-bird. A resident, breeding early, and as a rule rearing only one brood in the year. It does not frequent fruit gardens in the summer, but goes away with its young into meadows and fields. 2. Song-Thrush. Turdus musicus, Linn. Locally, Mavis. A resident, though, as previously stated, a thoroughly migratory species. An early breeder, sometimes having eggs in February, and nesting at least twice in the season. 3. Redwing. Turdus iliacusy Linn. A typical ' winter migrant,' often found in company with the fieldfare, and, like that species, never under any circumstances re- maining to breed here. 4. Fieldfare. Turdus pilaris, Linn. Locally, Fulfer or Dow-Fulfer ( = Dove Field- fare,) probably from the dove colour on its back. A winter migrant, which in hard weather abandons its ' field-faring ' habits, and comes into gardens to feed on holly-berries. During a short but severe frost in February, 1902, over forty fell in one day to one gun, a slaughter only excusable from the fact that the fieldfare in good condition is an excellent bird for the table. 5. Blackbird. Turdus merula, Linn. Resident and common, but a bird whose migratory habits are plainly shown by the frequent casualties with which it meets on the lanterns of lighthouses and lightships. It breeds twice or thrice in the season, the first clutch of eggs rarely exceeding four, while in May or June five are often and six occasion- ally found. Varieties with more or less white in the plumage are not uncommon. The blackbird much appreciates being fed in win- ter, and a few apples, worthless for the table or kitchen, are a great boon to it in severe weather. 6. Ring-Ouzel. Turdus torquatus, Linn. A spring and autumn visitant, probably occurring every year. One got into a net and was captured in a garden at Icklingham in the summer of 1901. There seems to be no satisfactory record of its nestmg here, though several heaths and commons in Suffolk are well suited to its habits. 7. Wheatear. Saxicola cenanthe (Linn.) Locally, Stone-chuck. A typical ' summer migrant * and one of the earliest, arriving on the east coast about the last week in March. ' The sea-blue bird of March ' is to be seen on rabbit-warrens, heaths and waste grounds, where it builds its nest in rabbit-burrows, rearing two broods in the year. During the last few years no less than three new species of wheatear have been added to the British bird list, of which it may be said that any one who finds himself the possessor of a rather small wheatear with a black or mottled patch under the throat has a very valuable prize, and that, if these rare visitors occur at all, the locality will probably be near the coast, and the time that of the autumn migration. 8. Whinchat. Pratincola rubetra (Linn.) Locally, Furze-chuck. A summer migrant, breeding in rough grass meadows and on furze commons throughout the county. 180
