This assemblage of curious and amusing birds belongs to ten several genera of the Linnæan system, and are all of the ordo of passeres save the Jynx and Cuculus, which are picæ, and the Charadrius (Œdicnemus) and Rallus (Ortygometra), which are grallæ.
These birds, as they stand numerically, belong to the following Linnæan genera:—
| 1, | Jynx. | 13. | Columba. |
| 2,6,7,9,10,11,16,18, | Motacilla. | 17. | Rallus. |
| 3,4,5,15, | Hirundo. | 19. | Caprimulgus. |
| 8, | Cuculus. | 14. | Alauda. |
| 12, | Charadrius. | 20. | Muscicapa. |
Most soft-billed birds live on insects, and not on grain and seeds, and therefore at the end of summer they retire: but the following soft-billed birds, though insect-eaters, stay with us the year round:—
| RAII NOMINA. | ||
| Redbreast, Wren, | Rubecula. Passer troglodytes. | These frequent houses, and haunt out-buildings in the winter: eat spiders. |
| Hedge-sparrow, | Curruca. | Haunt sinks for crumbs and other sweepings. |
| White-wagtail, Yellow-wagtail, | ||
| Grey-wagtail, | Motacilla alba. Motacilla flava. Motacilla cinerea. | These frequent shallow rivulets near the spring heads, where they never freeze: eat the aureliæ of Phryganea. The smallest birds that walk. |
| Wheatear, | Œnanthe. | Some of these are to be seen with us the winter through. |
| Whinchat, | ||
| Stone-chatter, | Œnanthe secunda. Œnanthe tertia. | |
| Golden-crowned wren, | Regulus cristatus. | This is the smallest British bird: haunts the tops of tall trees; stays the winter through. |
A LIST OF THE WINTER BIRDS OF PASSAGE ROUND THIS NEIGHBOURHOOD, RANGED SOMEWHAT IN THE ORDER IN WHICH THEY APPEAR.
| RAII NOMINA. | |||
| 1. | Ring-ousel, | Merula torquata. | This is a new migration, which I have lately discovered about Michaelmas week, and again about the 14th March. |
| 2. | Redwing, | Turdus iliacus. | About old Michaelmas. |
| 3. | Fieldfare, | Turdus pilaris. | Though a percher by day, roosts on the ground. |
| 4. | Royston-crow, | Cornix cinerea. | Most frequent on downs. |
| 5. | Woodcock, | Scolopax. | Appears about old Michaelmas. |
| 6. | Snipe, | Gallinago minor. | Some snipes constantly breed with us. |
| 7. | Jack-snipe, | Gallinago minima. | |
| 8. | Wood-pigeon, | Œnas. | Seldom appears till late; not in such plenty as formerly. |
| 9. | Wild-swan, | Cygnus ferus. | On some large waters. |
| 10. | Wild-goose, | Anser ferus. | ) |
| 11. | Wild-duck, | Anas torquata minor. | ) |
| 12. | Pochard, | Anas fera fusca. | ) |
| 13. | Wigeon, | Penelope. | ) On our lakes and streams. |
| 14. | Teal, breeds with us in Wolmer Forest, | Querquedula. | ) |
| 15. | Gross-beak, | Coccothraustes. | ) These are only wanderers that |
| 16. | Cross-bill, | Loxia. | ) appear occasionally, and are not |
| 17. | Silk-tail, | Garrulus bohemicus. | ) observant of any regular migration. |
The birds, as they stand numerically, belong to the following Linnæan genera:—
| 1,2,3, | Turdus. | 9,10,11,12,13,14, | Anas. |
| 4, | Corvus. | 15,16, | Loxia. |
| 5,6,7, | Scolopax. | 17, | Ampelis. |
| 8, | Columba. |
Birds that sing in the night are but few.