A HISTORY OF WORCESTERSHIRE may with equal probability have been killed in either county. An enquiry made with a view to determine the point only proved that it was shot near the village. The present species has been reported to have visited the Malvern Hills, but there is no mention of it in the list compiled by Lees. 29. Dipper. Cinc/us aquaticus, Bechstein. So long ago as 1834 Sir Charles Hastings wrote of the dipper as ' of unfrequent occur- rence ' in the county; and Lees, in 1870, reports it as ' becoming rare ' in the neigh- bourhood of Malvern. It is still by no means scarce on the tributaries of the Severn and Teme on the Herefordshire side of Wor- cestershire, on some of which it nests annu- ally. In 1896 there was a nest on the Teme within two miles of Worcester. In other parts of the county it is much less common. Occasionally, but only very occasionally, one is shot on one or other of the small streams which feed the Avon, and some have been seen in very immature plumage on the Avon, leaving no doubt that they were bred there. [Bearded Reedling. Panurus hiarmicus (Linn.). Locally, Bearded Tit. This bird can only be mentioned as a pro- bable former inhabitant of Worcestershire, and the ground for the belief that it did at one time frequent some parts of the county may be briefly stated as follows : It has been traced up the Thames into Gloucestershire and the upper reaches of the river are fed by stream- lets which pass through parts of Worcester- shire, in which, where reeds grow, the bird would find suitable haunts. In the second edition of Pennant's British Zoology, the author relates having seen the bearded tit near Gloucester, and it is more than merely probable, therefore, that the reed beds of the Severn and its tributaries would be frequented by it.] 30. Long-tailed Tit. Acredula caudata (hinn.). This is one of the numerous birds found in our county, which, though hardly to be styled rare, is nevertheless not often seen in places where years ago it was common. Its beautiful nest is so conspicuous that, except in very little-frequented districts it stands no chance of escaping notice and destruction. The nests are still brought into the Worcester market for sale as curiosities, in spite of the Wild Bird Acts. 31. Great Tit. Pants major, Linn. The great tit is a bird which can well take care of himself, and there is no danger of the species becoming a rarity. No food is more to his taste than the seeds of the sunflower. Years ago that handsome plant might be seen in almost every garden, and this bird, as well as the blue tit, fed freely on its ripened seeds, but for a long period the sunflower was but rarely grown. Quite recently, however, it has again made its appearance, though not so abundantly as formerly, and the tits are again busy in the autumn with the great disc- shaped heads. Nuts also at that season are much relished by the great tit, but their kernels are difficult of access. The heads of the garden poppy are often broken into by this bird, not however to reach the seed, but for the earwigs which are always con- cealed in them. The rough stone walls around the village of South Littleton furnish very favourite nesting-places for this tit, where however their eggs or young are not infrequently destroyed by mice. 32. Coal-Tit. Parus ater, Linn. Of all our tits, excepting the long-tailed tit, the present species is the least common in Worcestershire ; and from the circumstance that the nest is very rarely if ever found in the county, it seems probable that it is only a winter visitor to us. In the southern coun- ties it is far more abundant at all seasons. It is a shy bird, having but little if any of the impudence which is so conspicuous in some of the tits, giving way to all the other species when food is put out for their use in the winter. The coal-tit is not infrequently seen in the company of the goldcrest searching the tops of coppice trees and overgrown hedge- rows. 33. Marsh-Tit. Parus palustris, Linn. Second in degree of infrequency in the county is the marsh-tit, and it is most com- monly seen in small companies in woods, coppices and brakes, and not often near houses and homesteads. A nest of which I made a particular examination, was in the soft touchwood of a pollard withy tree ; the hole which contained it having been exca- vated by the pair of birds, which I watched bringing out the fragments of decayed wood. 34. Blue Tit. Parus caruleus, Linn. This is one of the birds which can adapt itself to such varying conditions that there is no probability of its becoming rare, or even fewer in number, besides which it appears to be a prolific species. A pair of these birds took possession of the letter-box at the house where the present writer at one time dwelt, and having constructed a nest in it an egg was laid. The nest and egg were removed [48
