BIRDS (Birds of Derbyshire, p. 155), and a male was killed by another keeper on Mr. Burkett's trout ponds at Langwith in the spring of 1889 (Zoo/. 1890, p. 357). 127. Common Bittern. Botaurus stellaris (Linn.). Not an uncommon winter visitor and prob- ably formerly a resident, as Mr. Gisborne records his having killed one in July, 1768. F. B. Whitlock in the Birds of Derbyshire gives particulars of some twenty-four occurrences, in nearly all of which the birds were killed. To these may be added the following : One shot on Christmas Eve, 1860, at Kniveton ; another at Morley in November, 1889 (G. W. Pullen) ; a third from Egginton, and a fourth from Smally in January, 1900 (A. S. Hutch- inson) ; a fifth from Spondon on January 17, 1901. The Rolleston Hall Museum also contains one which was shot at Chatsworth in December, 1894. The latest of which I have any note was killed at Lea near Matlock early in January, 1902 (R. Hall). 128. White Stork. Ciconia alba, Bechstein. According to R. Garner (Nat. Hist, of Staffordshire) : ' Has occurred several times on the Dove.' One of these birds, killed by Mr. Emery (prior to 1 844), is referred to by Sir O. Mosley as having been killed in the neigh- bourhood of Tutbury. 129. Glossy Ibis. Plegadis falcinellus(L,mn.). F. B. Whitlock (Birds of Derbyshire, p. 1 59) mentions three cases in which this bird has been shot in Derbyshire, at Chellaston, Wal- ton-on-Trent and Derby respectively. None of these occurrences are recent, but date back to fifty or sixty years ago. 130. Spoonbill. Platalea leucorodia, Linn. This conspicuous bird has been twice ob- served (ibid. p. 159) : one having been killed at Butterley reservoir ' many years ago,' and another shot on the Erewash near Toton in 1847. The specimen in the Rolleston Hall Museum was shot within a mile of the Dove on June 14, 1872, and probably passed up the Trent valley. 131. Grey Lag-Goose. Anser cinereus, Meyer. Comparatively few wild geese visit us, and those which are seen frequently pass over the Trent valley far out of shot. Sir O. Mosley (Nat. Hist, of Tutbury, p. 55) however de- scribes them as common fifty years ago (about 1813), and states that he has shot them him- self on the Dove in severe winters ; but at the present time they are seldom seen and still less frequently shot. 132. White-fronted Goose. Anser albifrons (Scopoli). An occasional visitor to the Trent valley in severe weather. 133. Bean -Goose. Anser segetum (J. F. Gmelin). Although reported to have occurred once or twice the only definite record of this species is Mr. Hutchinson's note in the Birds of Derbyshire, p. 161. Two were killed and a third wounded in December, 1890, on the Trent, by a keeper of the late Sir F. Burdett. The wounded bird was afterwards found dead at Repton. 134. Pink-footed Goose. Anser brachyrhyn- chus, Baillon. Probably the greater number of our visiting wild geese belong to this species. In 1856 a large flock visited the Trent valley, and seven were shot on December 7 (J. J. Briggs) at Weston, while Sir O. Mosley mentions an- other killed at Winshill near Burton in the same year. Other specimens have been re- corded from the Trent valley in 186970, 1877, 1880, 1881, about 1887, and in 1891 Whitlock saw a flock of forty-three flying over the Erewash. 135. Bernacle - Goose. Bernicla ieucopsis (Bechstein). Although one of the more exclusively shore- haunting species, this bird has nevertheless several times occurred in Derbyshire. Pil- kington mentions one obtained at Barlborough. Sir O. Mosley says it 'has been occasionally shot' near Tutbury, and that one associated with his Canada geese for some weeks in December, 1859. A small gaggle of, I think, four birds, doubtless attracted by the presence of the resident Canada geese, visited Ash- bourne Hall pond about 1880, and subse- quently I saw a single bird on the same water in hard weather. 136. Brent Goose. Bernicla brenta (Pallas). Stragglers of this species have also been seen and shot in Derbyshire. In Pilkington's time it occasionally visited Sinfin Moor. J. J. Briggs says (Zoel. p. 2822) that a flock visited the Trent in January, 1841. Whit- lock observed a single bird at the mouth of the Erewash on October n, 1881, and Sir R. Payne Gallwey (Letters to Young Shooters, ser. 3, p. 64) describes how two were seen on the Derwent near Derby about 1 890 and one secured by an extemporized charge of gravel. 139
