BIRDS 157. Water-Rail. Ra //us aguaticus, hinn. Although the water-rail is a resident bird in Great Britain, it is certainly to a consider- able extent migratory in Worcestershire, there being a great addition to its numbers late in the autumn, mostly in November. Indeed, as there is not up to the present time any re- corded instance of its breeding in the county, the question is whether it is not wholly mi- gratory with us. 158. Moor-Hen. Ga//inu/a ch/oropus {Linn.). A common and resident bird, found in all our streams and ponds, where it breeds. It is not generally known that the moor-hen will feed freely on apples. A brook which passes near South Littleton, and has orcharding on its banks, is frequented by moor-hens, where the writer has repeatedly seen them feeding on the fallen fruit. Sometimes nearly a dozen have been seen so engaged at one place. 159. Coot. Fu/ica aira, Linn. The coot is common, but seems to need some protection, being found in great num- bers on ornamental water, rather than on rivers on which there are pleasure boats, while it is rarely seen on streams having a public navigation. 160. Crane. Grus communis, Bechstein. The admission of the crane into this list rests solely on a statement made by Mrs. Perrott, which is quoted by Hastings (p. 68), and given verbatim when speaking of the white stork. The heron {/i. cinerea) is locally called the crane, and this probably gave rise to the occurrence of the crane as a Worces- tershire bird. 161. Great Bustard. Otis tarda, Linn. 'A straggler of the great bustard, Otis tarda, was killed near Worcester a few years ago' [Hastings, p. 70). 162. Stone-Curlew. (Edicnemus sco/opax (S. G. Gmelin). This bird is stated by Sir Charles Hastings to extend ' its range just within the southern limits of our county, a few breeding among the stony barren parts of the Broadway and Bredon Hills.' In a note he adds : ' A young bird of this species was caught alive in the summer of 1832, near Twining, and brought to Worcester, where it was identified by the curator of our museum.' The Worcester Museum contains two specimens of the stone- curlew which were killed at Eardiston. In the near part of Warwickshire, in the vale of the Avon, two specimens have been shot, both of which came into the hands of the present writer when freshly killed. 163. Dotterel. Eudromias morine//us (Linn.). The dotterel is so rare in Worcestershire that its occurrence is confined to a single in- stance. A female or immature male was killed at Welland, and presented to the Worces- ter Museum by Mr. Turner, on September 6th, 1 861. A male in mature plumage was shot some years since in the Avon valley, in the near part of Gloucestershire, which came into the hands of the writer. 164. Ringed Plover. JEgia/itis /liaticu/a (Linn.). It is very seldom that this bird is seen in- land, and is certainly rare in Worcestershire. Neither Hastings nor Lees mentions it, but the writer has seen one which was shot by the side of the Avon at Offenham, and several others on the same river in the near parts of Gloucestershire. 165. Golden Plover. Charadrius p/uvia/is, Linn. No single instance of the breeding of the golden plover in Worcestershire has come to the knowledge of the writer, but there is a male which has partially assumed the black breast of summer in the Worcester Museum, which was killed near Droitwich. It appears not uncommonly during the winter in flights, generally associating with lapwings. 166. Lapwing. Vane//us vu/garis, Bechstein. A common and indeed an abundant resi- dent, though not breeding very numerously. After the disastrous floods on the Avon in 1879, which carried away so much of the hay from the low - lying meadows and left them in the condition of mud-flats, vast num- bers of lapwings came upon them to feed, and a perfect babble of their voices could be heard all through the night. Towards morning they left the meadows and rested for the day in the open fields. [67. Oyster-Catcher. Linn. Htematopus ostra/egus, Hastings did not include the oyster - catcher in his list of Worcestershire birds, but observed that it had been shot on the Teme, near Ludlow. It has, however, been killed more than once since that date (1834), at several places in the county, but it can only be recorded as a very occasional straggler. Ac- cording to Lees it has been shot on the Teme, and was seen flying about the Severn in Janu- ary, i860. I have seen several which were shot in the vale of the Avon, though not in the county. 165
