26 THE ESSEX NATURALIST.
ever occurred with any degree of frequency it represents a
dramatic change.
The value of the pre-Roman birds is the fact that we are
able to attribute them definitely to a dated period. The impor-
tance of finding proof of the existence of the Domestic Fowl
in pre-Roman Britain is very great, yet the remains of four
naturally occurring species, the Raven, Buzzard, Heron and
Bewick's Swan, are of even greater interest to the naturalist. We
thus have evidence of the occurrence of these birds nearly two
thousand years ago. The number of bones of the Raven that
were found suggests that this species was common before the
invading Romans had landed on our shores, and although I know
of no nesting occurrence after 1890 yet it was a common breeder
till about the middle of the nineteenth century. Although it is
probable that the Buzzard nested at one time in Essex we have
no definite knowledge nor that Bewick's Swan was ever anything
more than an occasional visitor, yet these bones are the earliest
evidence of the occurrence of these species. In spite of the fact
that writings on falconry have given us ancient allusions to the
Heron, which is so well represented by a number of heronries
to-day, yet the two bones from Colchester outdate all other
records by over a thousand years.
From 11th century sources we obtain the earliest mention
of the Pheasant in Britain, showing that this fine bird was
naturalised in this country before the Norman invasion and that
it was probably introduced by the Romans. In the same tract
we find also the earliest Essex records of the Magpie, Crane and
Partridge. We learn that at this time the Magpie was eaten,
but this need not occasion surprise, as this happens to-day in
France in spite of the abundance of the bird there. What
deductions may we make from the mention of the Crane? J. H.
Gurney argues that this species must have been at one time a
tolerably common bird in some parts of the country, as bones
in a semi-fossilised condition have been excavated. In the list
of what was commanded for the feast in September, 1465, when
Neville, the Chancellor of England, was made Archbishop of
York, we find 204 Cranes. There is evidence to show that this
bird bred in England. Turner, writing on birds in 1544, states
"Cranes, moreover, breed in England in marshy places, I myself
"have very often seen their pipers, though some people born