Handbook of Birmingham: Prepared for the Members of the British Association, 1886British Association for the Advancement of Science
History
Handbook of Birmingham: Prepared for the Members of the British Association, 1886
British Association for the Advancement of Science
Birmingham (England); Natural history -- England -- Birmingham
The Hedgehog, _Erinaceus Europæus_, common everywhere, hibernates in
a nest of leaves. The Mole, _Talpa Europæa_; abundant, pied and light
coloured varieties plentiful. The Common Shrew, _Sorex vulgaris_,
often, found dead on pathways. The Water Shrew, _S. fodiens_, is
more rare, but has been found near Tamworth, at Great Barr, and in
the Birmingham Botanical Gardens. The Lesser Shrew, _S. pygmæus_, is
omitted, as it is now generally considered to be but a variety of _S.
fodiens_.
CARNIVORA.
The Badger or Brock, _Meles taxus_, whilst rare, is very equally
distributed over the district. On April 14th, 1877, one was obtained
in the Foxhole Hill, in Bentley Big wood, near Atherstone; a female
and three young ones were taken alive in the spring of 1884, in a
wood, near Croxall; there are some more badgers in the same wood this
year, 1886. In March, 1885, a single one was captured at Bentley,
near Redditch; the keeper at Beaudesert reports that they are still
plentiful on Cannock Chase. The Otter, _Lutra vulgaris_, like the
Badger, though rare, still frequently occurs in the Midlands,
especially on the rivers Anker, Tame, and Trent, and their tributaries;
as well as the Warwickshire Avon. On the Tame, a few years since, a
female Otter and brood of young ones was seen several times swimming
near an osier bed in the Cliff meadows; another was shot when crossing
the river at the back of Broad Island, near Tamworth; two young ones
were killed in a hay field, close by Hopwas Wood; and a large Otter was
found in a brook at Wigginton, a mile from the river, and destroyed
after a desperate encounter; still another was seen trotting along the
banks of the Tame, close by the town of Tamworth; while the largest
Otter known to have been taken in the river Avon was captured on the
first of June, 1886, at its junction with the river Arrow; it weighed
28lbs. The Weasel, _Mustela vulgaris_, and the Stoat, _M. erminea_,
are both plentiful. The Polecat or Fitchet, _M. putorius_, is becoming
decidedly rare, only three having been recorded in the district during
the last few years; the first of these occurred at Alvecote Wood, the
second at Hints, in the neighbourhood of Tamworth, and the third at
Merivale, near Atherstone. The Pine Marten, _Martes abietum_, although
believed now to be absolutely extinct in the Midlands, used to be found
in Needwood Forest, and a specimen taken many years ago near Rugeley is
now in the possession of Mr. R. W. Chase. The Fox, _Vulpes vulgaris_,
being strictly preserved, is sufficiently abundant.
RODENTIA.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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