BIRDS Penzance or the Lizard. After the lapse of twenty-five years the Dartford warbler has again appeared among the gorse brakes round St. Burian. The blackcap, long-tailed tit, and lately the greater spotted woodpecker breed in the vicinity of Penzance, and the great tit is in evidence there the whole year round, though no nests have been found in that neighbourhood for several years. The whinchat and the goat-sucker nest sparingly, and the red-backed shrike has bred at least twice during the last six years near Marazion. With the exception of the chaffinch the finches seem to be on the decrease. The bullfinch has been well-nigh exterminated around the market-garden area ; the goldfinch is now very scarce about Penzance, though not uncommon at one or two places in the Lizard peninsula, and even the greenfinch and linnet have greatly diminished in numbers round Helston. The corn-bunting is abundant ; the reed-bunting nests in Marazion Marsh, and the cirl-bunting is still a summer migrant on the south of the Lizard. The sand martin no longer breeds about Penzance, and the swallow and martin are not so common as ten years ago. The swift, on the other hand, is much more numerous. The green woodpecker is now ubiquitous, and appears to be still increas- ing. The starling, too, now breeds as far south as the Lizard and as far west as Sennen. The wheatear, the lapwing, and the curlew breed on Lady Downs, near Penzance, and on Goonhilly. The ring-ouzel nests at least occasionally on the latter. The dipper breeds in the Cober valley, and the snipe near the Loe Pool, in the marsh at Penzance and in the parish, of Crowan. Corncrakes are, as a rule, well represented in the Lizard, and cuckoos are usually commoner there than anywhere else in the county. The common sandpiper nests near Zennor and in the marsh at Penzance. Early last century the kite bred both in the Lizard and the Land's End district, and the hen harrier has been known to nest on Goonhilly Downs. The chough nested near Kynance and at Mullion as late as 1832, at Tol-pedn-penwith, near the Land's End till 1849 at least, and on the cliffs at Zennor till about 1870. The buzzard used to breed in the Land's End district, and in the late seventies a solitary pair were nesting near Zennor. The peregrine and the raven both breed at intervals round the coast. The tawny owl has a some- what limited distribution, but big flights in winter are not uncommon. The barn owl is now very scarce. During winter the short-eared owl is plentiful, but the long-eared owl is only occasionally seen. Sea birds in places breed abundantly. Oyster-catchers and ring-plovers nest here and there, from Prussia Cove to Newlyn, and less commonly further west. The herring gull is abundant, the lesser black-backed gull nests at Kynance, Mullion, Gurnard's Head, and elsewhere. The kittiwake breeds on Mullion Island, and the greater black-backed gull at the Lizard and near Gurnard's Head. Shags and cormorants nest in considerable numbers all round the coast, and though the latter are in the minority they are much commoner as a breeding species in this district than anywhere else round the mainland. A few guillemots breed west of Kynance, and there is a small colony at Tol-pedn-penwith and probably also at Bosiggran Castle. Large numbers of razor-bills breed from Kynance westwards. Of the non-breeding birds of the district the most remarkable are the golden oriole and the fire-crest. The former is a regular spring visitor to the sheltered parts of the Land's End peninsula from Marazion westwards. One of their favourite haunts is Trevethoe, near 325
