A catalogue of birds, observed in south-eastern Durham, and in north-western Cleveland : with an appendix, containing the classification and nomenclature of all the species included therein / by John Hogg.

John Hogg

Date:: 1845

Credit: A catalogue of birds, observed in south-eastern Durham, and in north-western Cleveland : with an appendix, containing the classification and nomenclature of all the species included therein / by John Hogg. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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$ficult to be found. This spring, a pair built in an inverted garden pot, ij- which was placed over a tender annual in ray garden, and the female laid four greenish-blue eggs. The birds came in and went out by the' j|> hole in the end of the pot. But a cat, having observed them, over-l ij turned the pot in her attempt to catch one, and so put to flight the . h unlucky pair, before the period of their incubation had been completed]*! 37. Stonechat or Moor Tit, Saxicola ruhicola. In this district a jlji local species, and somewhat rare ; keeping out of the cultivated spots.] and inhabiting alone the bare moors and commons. Its cry is pe- 1* culiar. j»i 38. Whinchat or Grasschat, Saxicola ruhetra. Here a bird of pas- sage, and very common in the summer. The male is handsome. Tht Js English name, as usually written, is ^^;/^^V^chat, but this, I conceive, UiIb probably an error for windc\\a.i: because the bird perches generalljjBff on the top of a thorn hedge or high plant, as if to catch the wind, anc MI then utters a monotonous and chattering note. Whin, in the north] ll is synonymous with furze or gorse of the south, of England. * 39. Burrow-chat, Wheatear or White-rump, Saxicola (Enanthe Iti Abundant on the sand links along our coast, where it arrives early in tlu lit spring, and breeds in the deserted rabbit-holes. It also frequents tin ; ( river-embankment near the Tees. It is delicious eating, although ii Iti this neighbourhood it is neglected as a luxury for the table. i !iii 40. Sedge Warbler, Salicaria Phragmitis. The sedge-bird is com mon in our low and marshy grounds during summer. It is indefatigabh jl, in singing, both by day and oftentimes by night, and is likewise famec In for its powers of imitating other song-birds. jl, 41. Black-cap, Curruca atricapilla. This sombre-coloured specie is the best and most melodious of our northern songsters, as the night |ij ingale is unknown here. Arriving about the time of the redstart, it i i not unfrequent in the spring in our gardens and plantations, wdiereii lu it nidificates. It is, I believe, an established fact, that most of the songsters re ||^ quire considerable warmth and dryness of climate. Some birds, whe kept in cages, will not sing unless they are placed in a very warm si | tuation. The chief singing birds in the more northern countries, sue , as Norway and South Lajjland, are the fieldfare, redwing, and soiii i; other Merulidae ; but are there any of the true songsters, or Aedonida within the Arctic circle ? The nightingale does not come further tha the immediate vicinity of the city of York (see Yarrell’s Birds, i. 278 in the northcni division of England, by reason of the comparati\ t coldness of the climate : nor does it generally visit Cornwall, nor ce$