A HISTORY OF DERBYSHIRE ous. It is the last to arrive of our Phylloscopi, being seldom noticed before the last week in April. 24. Acrocephalus streperus Reed-Warbler. (Vieillot). Locally, Marsh Reedling (N. Wood), Reed Sparrow, Reed Wren. A very local summer visitor to the south of the county, breeding usually in osier beds on the banks of the Trent and the lower part of the Dove. A few pairs are said to breed among reeds in the country south of the Trent, and this species is reported to have occurred on the Derwent near Matlock about 1889-91, but further evidence is desirable. Most Derbyshire nests are placed in willows, often at considerable height, and though fre- quently built over the water they may also be found at some distance from any river. In south Derbyshire the reed-warbler is fre- quently made use of as a foster parent by the cuckoo. 25. Sedge-Warbler. Acrocepbalui phragmitis (Bechstein). Locally, Sedge Reedling (N. Wood). A common summer visitor to most parts of the county below 1000 feet, but rather less numerous towards the north. In the flat country watered by the Trent it is exceed- ingly common. 26. Grasshopper-Warbler. Locustella ntcvia (Boddaert). Locally, Brake Locustelle (Sir O. Mosley), Sibilous Brake-hopper (N. Wood). A somewhat erratic summer visitor, vary- ing much in its numbers from year to year. In some seasons it may be found locally all over the county, from the grouse moors in the north to the osier beds and marshes of the Trent valley in the south ; but at other times most of the favourite haunts are deserted. I have met with breeding pairs among the heather on the slopes of the Derwent moors at a height of 1,200 to 1,300 feet. In 1898 and 1901 some six or seven pairs were breeding in the Ashbourne district, but in the intervening years they were altogether absent. 27. Hedge - Sparrow. Accentor modularis (Linn.). Locally, Hedge Batty, Hedge Dunnock (N. Wood). Generally distributed and common almost everywhere. Two buff-coloured and one pied individuals are recorded by F. B. Whitlock (P- 52-3). 126 28. Dipper. Cine/us aguaticus, Bechstein. Locally, Water Ouzel, Water Crow or Water Pyot (Glover). A resident in fair numbers on nearly all our mountain streams. A few pairs may be found breeding in the Dove valley as low as Doveridge and in the Derwent valley near Ambergate, while stragglers have occurred at the junction of the Dove and Trent and close to the town of Derby. In the Dove valley it begins to be fairly common above Mapple- ton. Each pair has its own beat of a few hundred yards of water, and somewhere on this the nest is made. Where a cliff descends sheer to the water's edge is a favourite spot, but in default of this the nest is frequently built in a wall, underneath a bridge, under the river bank, or even in a hollow in some old tree stump. On the smaller streams the nest is often placed underneath a waterfall. One well-known nesting place which has been used for twenty years, and probably much longer, is a hole in the roof of the cave known as the Dove Holes, where I have often seen the old birds removing the droppings of the young in their bills. All the nests which I have examined have been lined with dead beech leaves. Some- times two broods are reared from one nest in the year, and I have known the same nest used for two successive seasons, but this is unusual. The young can swim, fly and dive on leaving the nest. 29. Bearded Tit. Panurus biarmicus (Linn.). R. Garner (Nat. Hist, of Staffordshire) says that this species has occurred on the Dove on the authority of Mr. Emery ; and Messrs. Sterland and Whitaker (Birds of Nottingham- shire) have recorded a specimen which was shot at Toton in an osier bed on the Notting- ham border. Captain Henniker, who knows this bird well, having met with it frequently in Asia Minor, assures me that he saw one in the summer of 1896 in a reed bed between Marchington and Sudbury. 30. Long-tailed Tit. Acredula caudata (Linn.). Locally, Bottle Tit, Jug (E. Brown). Thinly distributed over those parts of the county which are below 600 feet and scarce above that height. The number of breeding birds varies considerably from year to year. In the spring of 1899 they were exceedingly common in south-west Derbyshire, but in the following year hardly a bird was seen. The nest is variously placed ; sometimes in a bush or hedge a foot or two from the
