BIRDS the little river Orton near that place ; they were in a bed of reeds, but a pair allowed him to approach quite close and observe their movements. This record also appeared in the Zoologist for 1849. I am indebted to Mr. Miller Christy's book on the Birds of Essex for the third record, as he states in that book that on July 1 2th, 1888, Mr. Taylor of Bishops Stortford recognized a male bearded tit on the Hertfordshire side of the river Stort near that town. This bird therefore I think we can rightly claim. 32. Long-tailed Tit. Acredula caudata(Linn.). This pretty little bird may be found com- monly all over the county throughout the year, but is perhaps more conspicuous in the winter on account of its going about in family parties. 33. Great Tit. Pans major, Linn. The great tit is a plentiful resident in Hertfordshire and builds its nest in a great variety of situations. 34. Coal-Tit. Parus ater, Linn. Considering the number of these birds that one sees in the winter, I can only imagine that we have a large immigration at that period, as the birds which remain with us during the summer are not sufficient to account for those about later. A curious nesting-site chosen by this bird was a letter-box near Stanmore. In this case however the bird was unfortunately killed on the nest and the eggs broken by some mischievous boys. 35. Marsh-Tit. Parus palustris, Linn. This is also a pretty plentiful species in Hertfordshire. One habit I have noticed about this bird is that it more often than any of the other tits pecks out a nesting-hole for itself in a decayed tree or post instead of taking possession of a ready-made home. 36. Blue Tit. Parus caruleus, Linn. This is another common species, which also varies very considerably the situations it chooses for its nest. Mrs. Brightwen informed the late Mr. Littleboy that a pair of these birds near Stanmore took possession of and held against all comers a cocoa-nut which had been hung up for the birds to feed off. The same lady also mentioned an instance of this species attacking bees at a hive, a habit which it was a matter of some difficulty to cure them of. Amongst other curious nesting-places of the blue tit that I have records of so far as Hertfordshire is concerned may be mentioned a pump, a letter-box and an old boot. 37. Nuthatch. Sitta c<esia y Wolf. The nuthatch is certainly a very plentiful resident in all parts of Hertfordshire which are well timbered. Ashridge Park I may especially mention as a favourite place for them, and I have no doubt many of the other large parks in the county are the same. 38. Wren. Troglodytes paruulus, Koch. This is a very common species, but it cannot, like the tree-creeper, be accused of shyness. It chooses all sorts of situations for its nest and does not seem to be affected by even the hardest weather. 39. Tree-Creeper. Certhia familiaris, Linn. This bird is also pretty common, but on account of its shyness is no doubt less fre- quently seen than it otherwise would be. 40. Pied Wagtail. Motacilla lugubris, Tem- minck. This species is plentifully distributed all over the county, staying all the year round when the weather is not too hard, but leaving us in severe winters and reappearing about the first or second week in March. I have on several occasions found a cuckoo's egg in the nest of this species in Hertfordshire. 41. White Wagtail. Motacilla alba, Linn. It was not until 1895 that this species was actually recorded in Hertfordshire, although no doubt it had occurred here before. How- ever, in that year Mr. H. S. Rivers called my attention to the fact that the bird was fairly plentiful round Sawbridgeworth during the spring, and later I saw several of them at Tring and Berkhamsted. In April of the same year Mr. Rivers examined a nest in his garden and found it contained twelve eggs ; this nest appeared to belong to two pairs of birds one being M. alba and the other M. lugubris. Later in the same year I saw a pair of these birds which, from their movements, certainly had a nest. Since then I have on several occasions clearly identified this species in the county. 42. Grey Wagtail. Motacilla melanope, Pallas. This is a regular winter visitor, arriving usually in October and leaving again towards the end of March. It has however on one occasion been found nesting at the Tring reservoirs ; the nest in question was placed on a bank of clay under an overhanging ledge, and was well concealed behind some grass. During the present year (1900) I saw this species at Berkhamsted on August I4th. 199
