A HISTORY OF KENT 169. Long-tailed Duck. Harelda glacialh (Linn.) A scarce winter visitor. Immature speci- mens are sometimes obtained. I have an adult male shot at sea ofF Dungeness in Feb- ruary 1895 and an immature female from the lake at Bedgebury Cranbrook, 9 Novem- ber 1898. 170. Common Eider Duck. Somateria moliis- sima (Linn.) A rare visitor. There is a specimen in the Plomley collection, obtained at Lydd. 171. Common Scoter. CEdemia nigra {Linn.) Locally, Black Duck. Common from November onwards, and found in large flocks off the coast between Rye and Dungeness. Also off Heme Bay and Whitstable (Dowker). 172. Velvet Scoter. CEdemia fusca (Linn.) Locally, White-winged Black Duck. Not so plentiful as the former species. In November I have observed small flocks at sea off the Lydd coast. In the Prentis collection there is a pair obtained in November 1898 on the Medway. I have also a fine adult male shot off Rye. 173. Goosander. Mergus merganser, Linn. Rare. I have never met with this species. In the collection of Mr. Meade-Waldo there is a specimen obtained near Edenbridge. 174. Red-breasted Merganser. Mergus ser- rator, Linn. Locally, Sawbill. Not uncommon. Has been obtained at Sheerness (Maidstone Museum), and in the creeks of the Medway (Prentis) during cold weather. 175. Smew. Mergus albellus, hmn. Locally, Small Herring-bar. The immature or red-headed birds of this species are sometimes met with, rarely the adults. Mr. Prentis records an adult male from Rainham. 176. Ring-Dove or Wood-Pigeon. Columba palumbus, Linn. A well distributed resident, most numerous throughout the Weald. Towards the end of October our homebred birds are augmented by large flocks of migrants, especially when the year has been good for acorns. They invade our woods in enormous flocks at the fall of the year, staying with us for about a month and then leaving. 177. Stock-Dove. Columba cenas, hum. Locally, Blue Rock. Locally distributed throughout the year, generally observed singly or in small flocks. In autumn partial migrations occur, when parties may be found on the arable fields near the coast and on our marsh land. In some localities it breeds in rabbit holes. 178. Turtle-Dove. Turtur communis, Selby. A common summer visitor, breeding plenti- fully in our woods and copses. Some years more numerous than in others. 179. Pallas's Sand-Grouse. Syrrhaptes para- doxus (Pallas) A rare accidental visitor. The occurrences in Kent were during the well known inva- sions of this species to the British Isles — in 1859, 1863 and to a smaller extent in 1888. In November 1859 several specimens were obtained on the sands near Lydd. One of these is in the Maidstone Museum, another in a fisherman's house near Rye. The fisher- man, who saw these birds, told me that they appeared on the sands near the dunes after a severe storm, were quite tame, and could have been knocked over with sticks. The next visitation took place in June 1863. On 7 June six birds were seen in the Vale of Elmley, Sheppey. Two of these were shot, a male and female. Two days later another four were seen, and one of these, a female, was obtained. In November 1888 four were seen upon a ploughed field for several days in the parish of Hoo. On 14 Decem- ber during a thick fog, a male bird was picked up dead, with head cut clean off by the telegraph wires on the Isle of Grain rail- way. 180. Black Grouse. Tetrao tetrix, Linn. This species existed in Kent in the time of Henry VIII. ' It is in an ordinance for the regulation of the royal household dated from Eltham that the word " Grouse " makes its first appearance in our language as "Grows"' (Howard Saunders, Man. Brit. Birds, 1898, P- 493)- In 1853 a grey hen was killed in one of the woods at Hever near Edenbridge, another was also seen (Meade- Waldo). They were still found at that time on Brasted Chart. 181. Pheasant. Phasianus colchicus, h n. Throughout the Weald the numbers of pheasants yearly increase. In the Cranbrook district, within a radius of ten miles, large numbers running into thousands are annually reared at Bedgebury, Glassenbury, Angley 2Q2
