BIRDS the others were shot in the valley of the Avon in Gloucestershire. 175. Curlew-Sandpiper. Tringa iubar quota (Guldenstadt). A flight of curlew-sandpipers appeared on the Cofton reservoir in September, 1885, some of which were shot, and, having been taken into Birmingham to be mounted, came into the hands of the present writer. This appears to be the only record of the occurrence of this bird in the county. 176. Sanderling. Calidris arenaria (Linn.). Hastings mentions the sanderling as having been shot on the Teme in December, 1826 ; and Lees gives Longdon Marsh as a locality where it has been seen. A specimen in the Worcester Museum is labelled ' Salwarp ' ; and that is all the information to hand of the sanderling as a Worcestershire bird. 177. Common Sandpiper. Tetanus hypoleucus (Linn.). This is a very regular spring visitor to our streams, but only as a passage bird on its way to its breeding places on the moors in the western country. About the first week in May it appears, but soon departs, coming again in the early part of September, at which time the greater number are young birds. 178. Green Sandpiper. Totanus ochropm (Linn.). The green sandpiper can only be mentioned as an irregular and rare visitor to our county, appearing in spring and autumn, and never nesting with us. It is usually, perhaps always, found singly, and not unfrequently in some quiet pool or brook, and more rarely in the larger rivers. I remember on one occasion seeing a bird of this species resting in a very upright posture on a dead branch projecting from the stagnant water of a pool by the side of the Midland Railway between Evesham and Ashchurch, as I was passing in the train. That was in the autumn of 1880. Nearly all the specimens which have come into my hands have been shot from pools in little-frequented pasture fields. 179. Spotted Redshank. Totanus fuscus {Lmn.). Only once have I met with the present species in Worcestershire. In the village of Cleeve Prior there was originally a village green, now enclosed and converted into gar- dens, in the middle of which was a consider- able sized horsepond, and in that pond a spotted redshank was shot on August 15 th, 1848, which at once came into my hands, and is now in my collection. 1 80. Greenshank. Totanus canescens (Gmelin;. As a Worcestershire bird, this rests on the authority of Hastings and on Lees, who state that one was shot on the Teme as long ago as 1826. I have a specimen which was shot out of a flight in the adjoining part of Gloucester- shire, but it is a not unlikely bird to be met with on migration. 181. Common Curlew. Nmnenius arquata (Linn.). The curlew can only be mentioned as an occasional visitor to Worcestershire, and in- deed is more frequently seen passing over, or resting for a time on some hill-top on its way. The well-known whistle is often heard in the night ; and as the barred quills are sometimes picked up and mistaken for those of falcons, it is not unlikely that our fields and meadows are more often frequented by the curlew than is supposed. Lees says that it appears occasion- ally on the Severn and the Teme. [Whimbrel. Numenius phaopus (Linn.). Hastings says that the whimbrel has been met with on the Severn and Teme, but the writer has seen no Worcestershire specimen, nor any confirmatory record of its appearance in the county.] 182. Black Tern. Hydrochelidon nigra (Linn.). An occasional black tern appears on our rivers in the spring, that is in April or early in May, but only at long intervals. As the species is becoming scarce in Great Britain, it may not be amiss to note a few instances of its occurrences in Worcestershire. Lees mentions one killed in 1855, but gives no locality, and he also speaks of its appearing on the Severn. An adult male was shot on the Avon, where it divides the counties of Wor- cester and Warwick, on April 5th, 1853. Another was seen on the Avon on May 9th, 1884, near Harvington ; and an adult female was shot on the same stream, and very near the same place, on April 24th, 1891. Others have been seen of which I have heard, but of which I have no note ; and an occasional im- mature bird of this species has appeared in the autumn. [White-winged Black Tern. Hydrocheli- don leucoptera (Schinz). There is no record of this rare and remark- able-looking bird having been certainly seen in Worcestershire, though there is no reason- able doubt that one shot on the Avon at Welford, on May 8th, 1884, had passed through the county on its course up the Avon. And that it did pass up the Avon to the place where it was shot is well known, 167
