ITS BIRDS
77
Cole Titmouse. Not uncommon in gardens, as well as in
some parts of the Forest.
Marsh Titmouse. Common. Its name is misleading, as it
is not a marsh bird in any sense.
Longtailed Titmouse. Resident and not uncommon. Fam-
ilies of ten or more keep together throughout the winter
and flit from tree to tree, scouring them for insects.
They never come to the lump of fat which is put out-
side my house for the other titmice.
Sand-Martin. Numbers used to breed in holes in the rail-
way cutting between Leytonstone and Wanstead. They
are the earliest of the swallows to appear, often arriving
in March.
House-Martin. Not so common as they ought to be. The
vast number of sparrows in the neighbourhood is hostile
WOODPIGEONS.
to their increase. A friend and neighbour increased the
number of house-martins' nests on his house from two to
ninety, simply by waging unsparing war on the sparrows.
Chimney Swallow. In the late summer these birds gather
in thousands to roost in the reed-bed in the pond in
Cook's Folly. This seems to be the general rendezvous
for the district, and at sunset they may be seen flying in
small companies from every direction towards this point.
The confused noise as they swarm like bees to gain a
foothold among the reeds is most remarkable. They
also use a large clump of bamboo by my pond for the
same purpose. In August 1855 a pure white swallow-
was observed at Epping.
Swift. Common from May to August.
Goatsucker or Nightjar. Frequently seen during summer
in the Forest, where they breed on the ground, laying
two oval eggs of a marbled gray colour. Unless my