BIRDS stone walls the nest is sometimes made in a hollow in the wall or else on the ground near at hand. Besides our resident birds, which appear to move only under stress of weather, we are visited by many flocks of migratory birds in the autumn and winter. Albinos have been recorded from Egginton and Sudbury, and a beautifully marked speci- men, ' spangled and dashed all over with white,' was shot at Derby in 1888 (Whitlock, Birds of Derbyshire, p. 26). 3. Redwing. Turdus iliacus, Linn. A common winter visitor to most parts of the county : it is not particularly common in the Dove valley however, and appears to be rather local in the north. In January, 1786, a specimen was shot which was entirely white, excepting the feathers under the wing which were tinged with reddish orange (Pilkington). 4. Fieldfare. Turdus pilaris, Linn. A common winter visitor. As a rule the fieldfare does not make its appearance in Derbyshire before mid-October and some- times not till November. In the autumn of 1900 however small flocks were reported between Ashbourne and Buxton as early as September 6, and others were reported from various villages in the district during the next fortnight (Field, September 20, 1900). In south-west Derbyshire these birds affect the higher ground as a rule, except during severe weather when they come down to the valleys and may be seen in gardens. In the north of the county the low-lying districts appear to be most extensively patronized. 5. Blackbird. Turdus merula, Linn. Locally, Blackie, Ouzel (obs.) A very common resident in almost all parts of the county. On the high moors its place is taken by the ring-ouzel (T". torquatus) but the ranges of the two birds overlap and in some places they may be found breeding close together. Mr. W. Storrs Fox found a black- bird's nest with eggs on the summit of Glos- sop Moor (about 1,500 feet), but this is an exceptional case (F. B. Whitlock, Birds of Derbyshire, p. 28). Soon after the first thrushes' nests are seen those of the blackbird may be found. In one case a nest with four eggs was found in the Dove valley on February 15, 1898, but as a rule eggs are seldom found before the last week of March. The situation of the nest varies considerably. I have seen them in conifers quite 30 to 35 feet from the ground, inside old barns and outhouses, in haystacks, in the walls of loose stone which take the place of hedges on the high ground, and actually on the ground, although the usual position is in a hedge or tree a few feet up. Three distinct types of egg are found : one resembles that of the ring-ouzel, but is as a rule less strongly marked ; another type recalls the egg of the jay, and the pale blue eggs scantily marked with faint brown spots or quite spotless are almost indistinguishable from lightly marked eggs of the thrush except for their rougher surface. Pied, white and cream-coloured birds have frequently occurred. 6. Ring-Ouzel. Turdus torquatus, Linn. Locally, Tor-ouzel. A common summer visitor to the highlands of the county, arriving during the last days of March or the first week in April. Its breed- ing ground is north of a line drawn from Ashbourne through Wirksworth to Chester- field, and is defined with wonderful exactness by the 1,000 feet contour lines. 1 It is perhaps commonest in the High Peak, nesting on the moors, but a good many pairs breed in the precipitous sides of the numerous dales which intersect the uplands. On the moorland the nest is usually placed in a sheltered spot amongst the ling on a bank, often by a road- side or near a stream, and a few cases of nests in trees or bushes have been recorded. In the dales the nests are placed on ledges of the limestone rock. The first clutches are gene- rally laid during the second or third week in May and the number of eggs is generally four, not infrequently three, and rarely five. Mr. W. Storrs Fox took a nest containing the latter number from a hedge on May 10, 1900. It had apparently been built upon an old thrushs' nest. Except in its breeding grounds the ring-ouzel is a scarce bird in Derbyshire and only occurs casually on migra- tion. A good account of this bird as observed in north Derbyshire by Mr. W. Storrs Fox will be found in the Zoologist (1900), p. I. 7. Wheatear. Saxicola cenanthe (Linn.). Locally, White-ear (Pilkington). A summer visitor but rather local in its distribution, being only found on rocky and broken ground and in the ' stone wall ' dis- tricts, and arriving about the third week in March. In the plain country it is only known as a scarce visitor on migration. The eggs are five to seven in number and may be found from the beginning of May onwards in 1 Mr. Storrs Fox has however found nests in Lathkill Dale considerably below 900 feet. 123
