A HISTORY OF HERTFORDSHIRE situate in a small plantation. In this the bird laid thirteen eggs ; but the owner of the land, fearing that harm might come to the young birds, removed the eggs and put them under a hen. 155. Quail. Coturnix communis, Bonnaterre. This is a not an uncommon visitor to Hert- fordshire, though chiefly along the northern part of the county, where it probably nests. 156. Land -Rail or Corn - Crake. Crex pratensis, Bechstein. This is a common summer visitor to Hert- fordshire, arriving usually towards the end of April. It has on two or three occasions been obtained in the months of December and January. 157. Spotted Crake. Porzana maruetta (Leach). The first record I have of this species in this county is in 1878, when one was shot in the Colne meadows near Watford on September 4th. In October, 1881, another was found under the telegraph wires near the same town, and is I believe now in the possession of Mr. Downer. Two were picked up dead by the railway near St. Albans in October, 1880 ; while in September, 1883, one was shot at the Tring reservoirs, another being obtained there in October, 1885. A spotted crake now in the possession of Mr. Latchmore was killed in November, 1893, by flying against the telegraph wires near Hitchin, in the neighbourhood of which town others have been obtained from time to time, one being procured there during the winter of 189596. In the latter year a bird of this species was obtained at Offley in August. 158. Little Crake. Porzana parva (Scopoli). On the authority of the Hon. Walter Rothschild I include this species in the list. A specimen is said to have been obtained at one of the Tring reservoirs on January 5th, 1887. 159. Baillon's Crake. Porzana bailloni (Vieillot). In the Zoologist for 1892 Mr. W. H. M. Ayres recorded the occurrence of this species in Hertfordshire. The bird in question was shot on October 24th, 1891, in the marshes near Cheshunt, which were then flooded. It was in good plumage but was very thin, and was sent to Rowland Ward for preservation. 1 60. Water-Rail. Rallus aquaticus, Linn. This bird has occurred in different parts of the county at various times, and occasionally in some numbers. It occurs regularly at Tring, where it probably nests, although that has not been definitely ascertained. 161. Moor-Hen. Galllnula chloropus (Linn.). This bird is plentiful throughout the county, often frequenting even small ponds during the nesting season. 162. Coot. Fulica atra, Linn. This species occurs on many of the orna- mental and other waters in Hertfordshire, but nowhere is it to be found in such numbers as at the Tring reservoirs, where it may be seen in scores. 163. Great Bustard. Otis tarda, Linn. Before the day of drills and horse-hoes, hedges and plantations, this bird undoubtedly was found in Hertfordshire, as in several other counties. The chalk hills along the northern boundary made a splendid home for it. Now, alas, it has disappeared for ever, and only one specific record of it remains, though Willughby and Ray gave Royston Heath as one of the districts in which it was then found. It dis- appeared however without any note being made of its habits and haunts in this county. The last occasion on which a great bustard appeared in Hertfordshire was at the beginning of the present century, when one was seen in the neighbourhood of Royston ; this bird the whole population turned out to shoot, but without success, and it eventually disappeared. 164. Thick-knee or Stone-Curlew. (Edicnemus scolopax (S. G. Gmelin). This is another species which I am afraid is following in the footsteps of the last-named bird, and for the same reasons. A very few years ago this bird was by no means uncom- mon along the open country to the north, but now very few visit there in a year. 165. Dotterel. Eudromias morinellus (Linn.). The decrease of this species on migration in Hertfordshire is not due so much to internal as external causes, the bird I am afraid being on the decrease as a breeding species in the British Isles, and therefore there are fewer trips ' of dotterel passing through the county on their way north. It was chiefly in the district between Royston and Hitchin that these birds were seen ; there they appeared fairly regularly every year at one time, but now their visits are few and far between. 1 66. Ringed Plover. /Egialitis hiaticula (Linn.). This bird is a regular visitor to Hertford- shire on the spring and autumn migration, being seen every year at Tring, while it has also been obtained at Royston and at Park Street near St. Albans. 212
