Page:VCH Staffordshire 1.djvu/174

A HISTORY OF STAFFORDSHIRE ... I believe it is an ancient route and in pleistocene times was a great migratory highway and that it has been gradually abandoned by the majority of migrants since the formation of the present coast line . . . Staffordshire appears to be the natural boundary between the habitats of northern and southern species of birds in Great Britain, for example it forms the northern boundary of the Nightingale, the Nuthatch, the Reed Warbler and perhaps of the Hobby, and on the other hand to limit on the south the haunts of the Red Grouse and the Sandpiper ... A hill route migration in which the Dotterel and the Rough-legged Buzzard are prominent species also affects our county. The list of Staffordshire birds though somewhat deficient in aquatic species otherwise compares favourably with those of adjoining counties. At the time of publication of the Birds of Staffordshire (1893) no fewer than 234 species were included in the county list, of which 66 were then considered as residents, 30 as summer migrants, 18 as winter migrants and 120 as occasional visitors and stragglers. A revision of this list shows that considerable alterations must be made in order to gain a correct idea of our county avifauna. Three new species may be added since 1893, namely white-tailed eagle, shore-lark and flamingo. On the other hand the records of the following species must be considered as too doubtful to be retained in the list : black redstart (mistaken identification of eggs), pine-grosbeak and great black woodpecker ; and the following species were included in error, not having been recorded within the limits of our county : Bewick's swan, long-tailed duck, purple sandpiper, black- tailed godwit ; while the following species must be regarded as escapes and are not included in the British list : Virginian colin, Canada goose, Egyptian goose, summer duck. In the case of the following species the evidence is at present insufficient to admit them into our list : Aquatic warbler, Dartford warbler, firecrest, mealy redpoll, crested-lark, bean-goose, little crake, eared grebe, little stint, grey plover. The evidence is also somewhat unsatisfactory with regard to two species mentioned below, but they are retained in the list : blue-headed wagtail and marsh-harrier. The revised total, including the 3 new species and exclusive of the 21 which have been removed from the list, now amounts to 216 Of these 94 breed regularly in the county and 9 others have been known to nest, while there is some reason to suppose that the hobby, shoveler .and spotted-crake may nest occasionally, and the hen-harrier, honey buzzard, kite, raven, bittern and bearded-tit undoubtedly bred formerly in the county. The following species regularly nest in the county : 1. Mistle-Thrush 10. Lesser Whitethroat 19. Grasshopper- Warbler 2. Song-Thrush n. Blackcap 20. Hedge-Sparrow 3. Blackbird 12. Garden-Warbler 21. Dipper 4. Ring-Ouzel 13. Goldcrest 22. Long-tailed Tit 5. Wheatear 14. Chiffchaff 23. Great Tit 6. Whinchat 15. Willow- Warbler 24. Coal-Tit 7. Redstart 16. Wood-Warbler 25. Marsh-Tit 8. Redbreast 17. Reed-Warbler 26. Blue Tit 9. Whitethroat 18. Sedge-Warbler 27. Nuthatch 140