ART. VI.-1. The Birds of Devon. By W. S. M. D'Urban, F.L.S., &c., and the Rev. Murray A. Mather, M.A., F.L.S. London, 1892.

2. The Birds of Cornwall and the Scilly Islands. By Edward Hearle Rodd. Edited by James Edmund Harting. London, 1880.

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OVERS of old-world poetry will remember how, when Michael Drayton desired to obtain initiation into the mysteries of the Bird Kingdom, he betook himself to a wood, and, having seated himself beneath a shady tree, fell into a trance :'Wherein methought some God or power divine Did my clear knowledge wondrously refine; For that amongst those sundry varying notes, Which the birds sent from their melodious throats, Each sylvan sound I truly understood,

Become a perfect linguist of the wood.'

This is the information we need for the solution of many a problem that baffles us. Unhappily the poet, instead of gratifying our desire, serves up a réchauffé of discarded fables, which we could have read for ourselves in the pages of Pliny.

But if there is still abundant room for labourers in this fair field of science, we may gauge the progress of a century with some measure of complacency by turning to the pages of Gilbert White. The Natural History of Selborne' may fairly take rank as 'one of the most delightful books in the English language.' Its influence was powerful enough to found a school of naturalists, who transferred their studies from the closet to the field; and if their research has disproved many of the conclusions of their founder, if they have turned his guesses at truth into established facts, they will be the first to acknowledge that these results have been obtained by pursuing the methods which he indicated, under conditions which were then unattainable. Much of the advance of which we have spoken, has been made within the last five-and-twenty years. The growth of interest finds recognition in the many recent county histories devoted exclusively to ornithology, a subject which received but a passing reference from earlier writers.

By the publication of the 'Birds of Devon,' the county takes the position to which it is fully entitled. It has produced many eminent naturalists, though their labours have sometimes been of an ephemeral character. Kingsbridge has always been a favourite centre of the fraternity; and it was there that Colonel Montagu compiled the Ornithological Dictionary,' which was

long the handbook of every student of the subject. Among the many merits of the 'Birds of Devon' is the fact that its authors have digested a literature at once bulky and conflicting, and have checked their personal observations by comparison with local lists, and the many fugitive notes which have found a place in the Transactions of learned societies, guide-books, magazines, and newspapers, during the last century. When we recall the contemptuous style in which such a writer as Seebohm sets aside the dogmatic assertions of some of his predecessors, it is well to warn the unwary that the last word has not yet been heard on such points as classification and nomenclature.

We shall not weary uninitiated readers with controversial technicalities, but it is necessary to state briefly the basis on which the present work is laid.

'The nomenclature and arrangement which have been followed are those adopted by the Committee of the British Ornithologists' Union in the List of British Birds, known as the "Ibis List," published in 1883. A few alterations have been made here and there, rendered necessary by the publication of Mr. Howard Saunders' useful "Manual of British Birds." Although the authors have thought it desirable to follow this List, as the best, it can be regarded only as provisional, and it is to be hoped it will soon undergo revision, as neither the position nor the names of the species are always to be considered as satisfactory.'

As the Avifauna of the British Isles differs widely in its distribution, so, in a minor degree, there are perceptible variations in different parts of the county. The limits are not arbitrary, but dictated by strongly-marked natural features. Devonshire has, however, a connexion with its neighbours which has induced the authors to widen the scope of their work, and refer to the ornithology of Somerset and Dorset. There is especially so close an affinity between the two westernmost counties of England that we have found it convenient to interweave much that is of common interest to the two. Gould remarks regretfully that very few people could name even onefourth of the birds which are their daily companions; and many will agree with his estimate when they learn that some 316 species have been noted in this district alone.

When we come to the proper scope of the work, we find that, after the most rigid scrutiny has been applied to every doubtful case, 292 species have been entered on the census of Devon. Among the rejected candidates enough might be selected to raise the total to 300. It will, however, be more in accordance with the best traditions of ornithology to take the lower figure, leaving the rest to establish their credentials at a future date.

Of

Of these some have failed to obtain recognition because the place of their capture is not duly attested. Others are believed to have escaped from confinement; while a portion are dismissed as dealers' shams.' Of the 292 species credited to Devon, 68 are casual and 49 accidental visitors. These occurrences are of supreme interest to experts. They throw much light on various abstract problems; and it is no depreciation of their value to science to say that it is to the birds which continue with us for the whole, or a considerable portion, of each year that general interest attaches. We must make one further deduction for passing visitors-sixteen-and we still have 159 species, whose presence among us during a part of the year can with certainty be counted upon. Of these 84 are residents, 30 summer migrants, 39 are winter visitors, while 6 are admittedly introduced species. It must be borne in mind that some, though included in the list of regular winter migrants, are

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irregular in their numbers. Some, among which are many the Ducks, are seldom plentiful; and winters have been known to pass without the presence being noted of such birds as the Siskin, Hawfinch, Brambling, Lesser Redpoll, and Snow Bunting. Of the passing or transient visitors, on the contrary, the rule will at times be broken by the appearance on the southern coast in autumn of vast flocks of Skuas, pursuing their predatory life, together with the Arctic, Common, and Black Terns.

When we reach the 'casuals,' we touch the point where the number of 'appearances' are remarkable enough to be counted. Some were never common, while others are little else than stray visitors to the haunts once tenanted by their ancestors. The accidentals' stand last on the list. While repeating their importance, as clues to migration and many other subjects of inquiry, they possess little interest for the ordinary observer. The authors have given proof of a judicious scepticism by weeding the county list of twenty-nine species, on various grounds. Where a general resemblance permits it, the commoner species has occasionally been made to counterfeit the rarer as with the Rock and Water Pipits. As to others which have been duly verified, it is doubtful whether they were really procured within the confines of the county. Some bewildered and exhausted voyagers are carried to our shores involuntarily, like the White-winged Crossbill, which probably fell from the rigging of some ship passing up the Channel, and was washed ashore on the rocks at Exmouth. The Yellowbilled Cuckoo, a storm-driven waif, has been allowed a place among the distinguished strangers, on the strength of the speci

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men found dead beneath the lighthouse of Lundy. Of the 'rare birds' whose deaths are chronicled from time to time, many are doubtless escapes.' One-the Hawk-owl-had the luck to obtain the privilege of enrolment without the qualification of a post-mortem examination. Others, however, were less fortunate. According to Mr. Howard Saunders, the example of the Little Egrets, in full adult plumage, killed on the Exe in 1870, is the only one about which there can be no doubt as having been obtained in the British Islands. The Buff-backed Herons killed in Devonshire appear to be the only specimens which have really occurred in Britain. The Great Black-headed Gull, shot at Exmouth in 1859, . is likewise the only British killed specimen.'

All the four Continents have contributed to the list of accidental visitors to Devon; but since about thirty of them have been met with only once or twice, it would be superfluous to record their names, or to expect their return. Of the introduced species, six have been admitted to naturalization, including the Pheasant-viz. the Egyptian and Canada Goose, the Mute Swan, Summer Duck, and Red-legged Partridge, though the latter seems at present not to have established itself.

In the number of its species Devon ranks before the favoured county of Norfolk, and is surpassed only by Yorkshire. This, however, gives little idea of its position; for, could a census be taken of its feathered population, it may be questioned whether any other district would approach it. It does not attract the vast flocks of Wild-fowl which descend upon our eastern coast; but it offers to the delicate migrants from the South the retreat they love. In winter it is the rendezvous of flocks of residents and of the hardier migrants retiring from the more rigorous climate of the northern counties. Its Avifauna is distributed between North Devon, East Devon, the South Hams, and, perhaps, the Island of Lundy. There remains the district of Dartmoor, which, though scant in its own inhabitants, plays an important part in determining the occupants of other districts, by deflecting the streams of migration. The early ornithologists peopled this weird and then little-known region with Eagles, Goshawks, Great Bustards, and other marvels; but in truth it is singularly destitute of bird-life. The Ring Ouzel and the Water Ouzel, unlike in all else, have this in common, that they shun the haunts of men and add an indescribable charm to the desolation of the moor. The Dipper beguiles his task with a song, which seems to have caught its tone from the rush of water among the rocks or the dash of the waterfall; while the Ring Ouzel, flitting from heather to rock, pours forth a melody sweet as the Blackbirds' evensong,

evensong, but breathing of the wild freedom he loves. This, by the way, was the bird which warned John Oxenham of his fate.

'The ancient family of Oxenham, residing near South Tawton, on the northern borders of the Forest, used always, so runs tradition, to be visited by a fatal bird" with a white crest," which, seen by one of its members, foretold his speedy death.'

To satisfy the legend it is assumed that the white crest' is a confused recollection of the white collar' which in reality distinguishes this harbinger of death.

One beautiful little bird-the Grey Wagtail—the moorland wayfarer will remember with pleasure, displaying to the barren wastes the dainty dress and manners which seem formed to charm a crowd of observers. Few, however, of the feathered host care to endure the hardships of these lone places; the fat lands of the South Hams are more to their liking. There the plough turns up the rich, red earth to supply them with a plentiful table. There, too, are pleasant meadows, green as the emerald, and woods and coppices where they can trill their song all day, undisturbed by anything but the brook which babbles by their resting-place. There, too, is a climate which belies the too sweeping assertion of the Frenchman that the weather is toujours affreux. In these deep goyles and sheltered combes Spring steals a march on the northern regions; and the soft breath of the west, which calls up the flowers, brings a rich crop of insect life.

Start Point is distant but eighty miles from Cap de la Hague; and many of the foreign visitors arrive by the direct route across the Channel. Among these are Chiff-chaffs, Willowwrens, and White-throats, and sweet-voiced Black-caps to make the woods tuneful; Whinchats and Pipits, which spread themselves over the heaths; and Swallows, Martins, Wagtails, and Turtle-doves-a choice company to reinforce our residents. Then there is the African contingent, which enters Europe by the Gulf of Lyons, and shapes its course across France to the Bay of Biscay and thence to England; while others follow the coasts of Spain and Portugal to reach their destination. A large part, however, of the harbingers of Spring come by a different route. The great stream of birds which enters England by the Wash crosses the country to the Bristol Channel en route to Ireland; but before it leaves our waters, it breaks off into two smaller streams. One enters Somersetshire by Bridgwater Bay, and, passing between the Quantocks and the Blackdown Hills, follows the course of the

Culme,