BIRDS January 1894; a fourth, shot I believe at Hiddenham, was set up for the late Mr. C. Howard. Mr. A. Covington says that one or more of these buntings used to be brought in every winter. He saw three together in company with two stonechats near Cardington Cross in March 1897, and again, two at Putnoe in February 1899. O n 7 Novem- ber 1900 a male was obtained at Keysoe and another at Ampthill in November 1903. 71. Starling. Sturnus vulgaris, Linn. An exceedingly numerous resident though a partial migrant, and it is probable that large numbers are autumn immigrants and winter with us. 72. Rose-coloured Pastor. Pastor roseus (Linn.) The only instance of this rare migratory straggler to our islands occurring in Bedford- shire was brought to my notice by the late Mr. Cane, taxidermist of Luton, who stated that a young bird of the year was killed at Barton-in-the-Clay in August 1855. 1 73. Jay. Garrulus glandarius (Linn.) Locally, Jay-pie. In all the larger woodlands this bird be- comes very common if game preserving is not carried out too strictly, but even then it seems capable of withstanding all the devices used for its total extermination. 74. Magpie. Pica rustica (Scopoli) In years past, before game preserving became so extensive as at present, the magpie was common generally, but nowadays it has become far more local. In the poorer agri- cultural districts, where no quantity of game can be supported, we now find this bird most abundant ; in such districts as around Stags- den and Turvey and even more so in the neighbourhood of Bolnhurst and Thurleigh it is very common. Throughout the whole of the northern portion of the county it occurs more or less plentifully, whereas in the southern half it is rarely met with, and in many parishes is unknown. A variety, with the usual black portion of the plumage considerably pied with white, was killed many years ago at Sherhatch Wood. 75. Jackdaw. Corvus monedula, Linn. Although a fairly common resident, it is by no means so abundant a bird with us as in other parts of the midlands. In many of the parks, where the holes in old timber offer suitable accommodation, such as at Wobum, Ampthill, Silsoe, Turvey and Bromham, it 1 See also the Naturalist, 1856. nests very freely. Formerly it nested in many of the church towers in the county, but at the present day I am only aware of one at Marston Morteyne church. 76. Raven. Corvus corax, Linn. Until the middle of the nineteenth century the raven must have been fairly well known as a resident bird within the county, in all probability continuing to nest regularly where- ever it had done so from time immemorial. As Davis, on the authority of Mr. H. Thomp- son in his History of Luton and Neighbourhood, published in 1855, refers to the raven as com- mon, we can at least infer that one or more pairs had nested regularly up to that date in that particular district. At Haynes Park in 1849 a pair still had their home. A former keeper there, named Franklin, told me these birds each year occupied a group of tall elms, which were known as the • Raven tree clump.' As soon as the young were strong upon the wing the whole family departed from that immediate locality, and were not seen again till the old pair returned the fol- lowing spring. Occasionally one of the pair would be shot, but the remaining bird, after a lapse of a few days' absence, always returned with a fresh mate, whence no one knew. Although his father, who was at that time head-keeper, frequently gave orders for the destruction of these birds, on account of the damage caused by them amongst the young poultry and game, no one cared to carry out his orders ; as for himself, he added, he would sooner have lost his situation than have killed one. They continued breeding there up to the time he left that neighbourhood. ' In Silsoe Park, a pair built every year in the large elm trees that stood on Cain Hill ; the young ones were frequently robbed and taken up to London by some of the servants and sold. This pair still continued nesting there in the year in which the present house was being rebuilt ' (J. S. Wright). < At South- hill Park, some fifty years ago, when I was working on that estate, every year a pair nested in one of the large oaks, standing be- tween the house and the lake. They still continued nesting there when I left that village in 1844' (J. King). The last nest- ing haunt of the raven in the county, as far as I am able to ascertain, was in Woburn Park. ' To my knowledge a pair nested in Woburn Park from 1848 to 1 87 1, in which year I left there. For twenty years they built in what was known as " the big beech," a tree unique for its perfectly smooth bole, measuring in height some 54 feet to where the branches all grew out together in a 115
