BIRDS and his companion at Lilford are the only individuals of this species that I have been fortunate enough to see in Northamptonshire. 76. Carrion-Crow. Corvus corone, Linn. Neither do I hold a brief for this bird ; I am afraid it is inexcusably bad. I would have every bird protected but the sparrow, jackdaw, carrion-crow, grey crow, and, on trout and salmon streams, the heron, merganser and cormorant. No doubt the carrion-crow feeds to some extent on insects, but I cannot believe that it anything like compensates thereby for the harm it does in other ways. It is fairly common with us in wooded districts, breeding at the end of April, placing its nest in a high tree, usually one with a good look-out all round. 77. Grey or Hooded Crow. Corvus cornix, Linn. A regular and undesirable winter visitor in considerable numbers, breeding numerously in north and west Scotland and crossing the sea from northern Europe in October. It is as predatory as the last species ; but, as it leaves us before there are eggs or young birds, the harm it does in our country is comparatively little. 78. Rook. Corvus frugllegus, Linn, This bird, which with us is commonly spoken of as a ' crow,' is a gregarious and common resident. Builds its nest during March, as is well known. Numbers cross the North Sea in the autumn ; I have seen on the east coast a more or less constant stream of rooks and jackdaws coming in from the sea, which lasted all day. I am convinced that the main and favourite food of this bird con- sists of insects and larvae, and that, though it cannot be denied that they feed their young partly on half-digested corn, and that some individuals imitate the predacious habits of the carrion-crow with regard to game eggs, I do not believe that the rook offends nearly so much in this respect as his sly associate the jackdaw, and that on the whole he is a most useful friend to agriculture. But the numbers of the rooks ought to be kept within bounds, and any individuals that develop a poaching ten- dency (they are easily to be recognized) should be dealt with summarily. 79. Skylark. Alauda arvensis, Linn. A common resident, migrating southwards in autumn, and replaced by large flocks from further north. Breeds in April, nesting on the ground amongst vegetation, and raising two broods in the season. 80. Woodlark. Alauda arborea, Linn. A scarce and local resident, or summer visitor, somewhat intermittent in its appear- ance. It haunts clearings in woods, where it breeds, nesting on the ground amongst grass, from the middle of March to the end of April. 81. Swift. Cypsrlus apus {Lmn.). A summer visitor, locally common, reaching us about the last week in April, breeding in holes in buildings or under eaves, raising but one brood in the season, and leaving us about the first week in September. 82. Nightjar. Caprimulgus europtsus, Linn. Locally, Night-Hawk. A local summer visitor, not uncommon in the eastern part of Northamptonshire, which it reaches the second week in May, breeding on the ground in the edges or clearings of woods, and leaving early in September. 83. Wryneck, lynx torquilla, Linn. A not uncommon summer visitor, arriving towards the end of March, breeding about mid-May in a hole in a tree at low elevation, and leaving about the middle of September. A shy, unobtrusive bird, and one which but for its note would be little noticed. 84. Green Woodpecker. Gecinus viridis (Linn.). A not uncommon resident, somewhat local in distribution, from reasons mentioned under species 85. I was struck, in February, 1886, by noticing that this bird, not very abundant about Irchester previously, suddenly seemed to have its numbers largely increased, and became a comparatively common bird. I ascertained subsequently that a good deal of old wood in the vicinity had been recently felled. In east Northamptonshire it is not uncommon, and I have known of several nests in most of the years I have been here. Breeds in April, in holes in trees, and has eggs about the middle of the month. 85. Greater Spotted Woodpecker. Dendro- copus major (Linn.). A scarce resident, affected, like other tree borers, by the limited quantity of older timber now existing, and therefore to be seen most commonly in old parks. The present is the rarest in Northants of the three British species, but it escapes notice from being to a great extent a tree-top bird. It nests in holes in dead branches or decaying trees, at a good height from the ground, about the middle of May, 119
