200 THE ESSEX NATURALIST
They must have had a good breeding season, for by the late summer of
1948 they were completely re-established, in spite of the way they are perse-
cuted here by everyone with a gun.
RED-BACKED SHRIKE
While never common, before the war one or two could be seen every
summer. Since 1945 I have seen only one.
COMMON AND RED-LEGGED PARTRIDGE
Both species have increased considerably.
SNIPE
Fairly common. Before the war it was very common, but has decreased
a good deal, undoubtedly owing to the drying up and draining of wet land.
LONG-TAILED TIT
Here, at any rate, this species has not suffered from the 1946-7 winter as
much as one might expect, in fact, there seem to be as many around as before.
WHIMBREL
This species, as a passage migrant, seems to be more common than before.
Reason unknown to me. Little flocks of four or five birds fly over saltings
and inland regularly between April and November.
I. Rainier.
The Wood-lark and other birds at Warley
While I have been stationed at Warley Barracks I have been much im-
pressed by the wealth of bird life in a small area. During the early part of the
nesting season of 1949 I was able to map many nesting sites and to spend
considerable time watching some of the birds, particularly a nesting pair of
Wood-Larks (Lullula arborea). Five nests of this species were found within
the barracks area. I first saw one pair of the birds on April 13th when I
watched the hen feeding. She walked along the edge of a drive carrying a
grub in her beak, she then put the grub down while she searched for more in
a tuft of grass. Before passing on to another tuft she picked up the first
grub and this procedure was repeated until five or six grubs had been col-
lected.
The cock was singing from April 13th to April 29th. He did not sing
and was rarely seen while the hen was sitting. His song was again heard
on May 15th, 16th and 17th but only for a short period after dawn. He did
not sing again until after the young had left the nest. The breeding time-
table of this pair was as follows :
April 23rd. Hen building nest with dry grass collected from a distance
of about three feet.
April 28th. Nest completed.
April 29th—May 3rd. Neither bird seen.
May 3rd. First egg laid. Additional eggs were laid on each suc-
ceeding day, one being taken on May 6th. No incubation took
place during the laying period and the birds left the area after each
egg was laid.
May 8th. Incubation commenced.
I was away between May 18th and 22nd. On the 23rd I found four
young in the nest.
While the young were being fed the parents always landed some five
feet from the nest and approached it by a well worn path and a small tunnel.
When leaving they flew straight from the nest over my hide. The excreta was
removed from the nest in a manner similar to that of the Hedge-Sparrow.