THE IBIS. NEW SERIES. No. I. JANUARY 1865. I.-On the Distribution of Birds in Great Britain during the Nesting-season. By A. G. MORE, F.L.S. [Part I. With a Map.-Plate I.] ALL books on British ornithology give some indication, more or less exact, of the range or distribution of the several birds. Still I am not aware that any one in this country has yet made this branch of ornithology a special subject of study, interesting as it is in itself, and important in many scientific points of view. Whether we wish to compare the respective range of the different branches of our Fauna and Flora, or to contrast their distribution in Great Britain with their range on the Continent, whether it is our object to estimate the effect of climate, prevailing winds, soil, geographical position, or the influence of man, all these most interesting questions can only be properly investigated when we have sufficiently exact data in each of the classes. Thus it is hoped that an attempt to illustrate the distribution of our birds on a regular and methodical plan will not be without its use. Our census is necessarily limited to the nesting-season, that being the only time when the birds can be treated as stationary; and, for the sake of uniformity, we have adopted the districts already employed by Mr. H. C. Watson in his great work on N. S.-VOL. I. B the geographical distribution of British plants, the 'Cybele Britannica.' The present outline is confessedly imperfect, not only from the insufficient number of observers, but because it has been thought better in many cases to withhold information of a doubtful character, rather than run the risk of mixing good with bad authority; and as no pains have been spared to investigate every disputed point, it is hoped that the results may be accepted as tolerably accurate so far as they go. Had our scheme any claim to completeness, it might no doubt be considered partly as a record of the present and past distribution of several species now fast decreasing through the progress of cultivation and drainage, and, we regret to add, the persecution of game-preservers and collectors. It might also become a measure of the future increase of other birds which seem to flourish under the protecting hand of man. The present results might also be used as a means of ascertaining some particulars of the movements of birds which remain in Britain all the year, and yet are partially migratory. This might be accomplished by noting the districts which a bird frequents during summer or winter only, or in which any species is more numerous at one season than another. It is hoped that all who may feel interested in the subject of this paper will not fail to point out any inaccuracy which they may observe, and that they will also endeavour to supply the omissions unavoidable in a first attempt. It is suggested that such additions might form an interesting subject for communication to the 'Ibis,' even if only one additional district can be filled up on good authority. Full lists of the nesting-birds of South and North Wales, of the North-west of England, and of almost any part of Scotland are especially desired. In acknowledging how much is due to the kind cooperation of the many friends and correspondents who have assisted in this undertaking, I have especially to thank Dr. J. A. Smith of Edinburgh, the Rev. George Gordon of Birnie, and Mr. Robert Gray, Secretary to the Natural History Society of Glasgow, who have not only furnished me with information themselves, but have taken great pains in collecting lists from various parts of Scotland. My friend Mr. Alfred Newton has constantly assisted me with his advice and criticism, and I have also to return my warmest thanks to Mr. H. C. Watson, who has been repeatedly consulted in the preparation of this paper, and who has kindly allowed the accompanying map to be borrowed from the 'Cybele Britannica.' The Latin names here used are taken from Mr. G. R. Gray's 'British Museum Catalogue of the Eggs of British Birds' (1852); the order followed is that of Yarrell. Roman numerals represent the larger eighteen districts or "Provinces," and Arabic figures the thirty-eight smaller "Subprovinces," as laid down on the map. When a figure is enclosed in brackets, it is intended to show that the bird has been known to nest in the district, but has not done so of late years. The smaller Arabic figures indicate a greater degree of rarity, or that the bird has been ascertained to breed in the district only occasionally. The "Types of Distribution" afford a convenient formula for grouping the different species, according as they appear to prevail in the South, North, South-east, or South-west of Great Britain. Thus, "British type" includes birds which are tolerably general throughout Great Britain, though some of them become scarce or wanting in the north of Scotland. "English type" comprises birds more abundant in the south, and which do not reach far north in Scotland. "Germanic type," birds which have their head-quarters in the south-east of England, and become scarce as we advance to the north and west; for example, the Nightingale. Atlantic type," "birds which are more abundant on the western side of Great Britain, or which have their head-quarters in the south-west of England. "Scottish type," birds more abundant in Scotland than in England, and which become less numerous as we advance south. Highland type," mountain species, e. g. Snow Bunting, Golden Eagle, and Dotterel. The following are the particulars of Mr. Watson's "Provinces " and "Subprovinces," together with the names of the friends and correspondents who have furnished me with lists from each of the districts : PROVINCE I. "Peninsula." 1. Cornwall, Mr. E. H. Rodd. 2. Devon, Mr. J. Gatcombe, Mr. W. Ford, Rev. M. A. Mathews. 3. Somerset, Mr. W. D. Crotch, Mr. W. M. Richards. PROVINCE II. "Channel." 4. Wilts, Rev. A. C. Smith. Dorset, Rev. O. Pickard-Cambridge, Rev. J. H. Austen, Mr. H. Groves. 5. Hampshire, Professor Bell, Mr. R. Tindall, Mr. H. Rogers. Isle of Wight, Rev. C. A. Bury, Mr. H. Rogers. 6. Sussex, Mr. Knox, Mr. Borrer. PROVINCE III. "Thames." 7. Kent, Rev. H. Roundell, Mr. C. Gordon, Mr. G. Jell. Surrey, 8. Essex, Mr. H. Doubleday, Dr. C. R. Bree, Rev. J. C. Atkin- PROVINCE IV. "Ouse." 10. Suffolk, Mr. A. Newton, Rev. J. Farr. 11. Norfolk, Mr. A. Newton, Mr. T. Southwell, Mr. H. Stevenson, and Messrs. Gurney and Fisher's List, published in the 'Zoologist' for 1846. 12. Cambridge, Mr. F. Bond. Bedford (no list). Huntingdon, Mr. F. Bond. Northampton, Lord Lilford. PROVINCE V. "Severn." 13. Gloucester, Rev. F. J. Scott. Monmouth (no list). 14. Hereford, Mr. R. M. Lingwood, Mr. W. H. Powell, Mr. A. Hepburn. Worcester, Mr. G. A. Sheppard, Mr. J. Walcot. Warwick, Mr. R. F. Tomes. 15. Stafford, Sir J. H. Crewe, Mr. R. Garner's Natural History of Stafford.' Shropshire, Mr. W. H. Slaney, Mr. H. Shaw. PROVINCE VI. "South Wales." 16. Glamorgan (no list). 17. Carmarthen (no list). (no list). Brecon (no list). Radnor (no list). PROVINCE VII. "North Wales." 18. Montgomery (no list). Merioneth (no list). Denbigh (no list). Flint (no list). Carnarvon (no list). Anglesea (no list). The only authority for this district is Mr. T. C. Eyton's Attempt to ascertain the Fauna of Shropshire and North Wales," published in the 'Annals of Natural History,' vols. i. and ii. PROVINCE VIII. "Trent." 19. Lincoln, Rev. R. P. Alington, Mr. G. Adrian. 20. Leicester, Rev. A. Matthews and Mr. J. Harley's "Catalogue of the Land-birds of Leicestershire" in Macgillivray's 'British Birds,' vol. iii. p. 646. Rutland, Mr. W. Bell. Nottingham, Mr. H. Milner, Rev. R. Sutton. Derby, Sir John H. Crewe, Mr. O. Salvin, Rev. H. H. Crewe, Mr. J. J. Briggs. PROVINCE IX. "Mersey." 21. Cheshire, Mr. J. F. Brockholes, Mr. C. S. Gregson. Lancashire (South), Mr. J. F. Brockholes, Mr. C. S. Gregson. PROVINCE X. "Humber." 22. East Yorkshire, Rev. J. C. Atkinson, Mr. A. S. Bell. 23. West Yorkshire, Mr. Waterton, Mr. H. Smurthwaite, Mr. H. Reid. PROVINCE XI. "Tyne." 24. Durham, Rev. H. B. Tristram, Mr. J. Hancock. Northumberland, Mr. Selby, Mr. J. Hancock, Rev. H. B. Tristram. |