1. White-tailed Eagle. Haliaeetus
albicilla, Linnsaeus. French, “Aigle
pygarque,” “Pygarque ordinaire.” -- The
White-tailed Eagle is an occasional but by no means
uncommon visitant to all the Islands. I have
seen specimens from Alderney, Guernsey, and Herm, and
have heard of its having been killed in Sark more
than once. It usually occurs in the autumn, and,
as a rule, has a very short lease of life after its
arrival in the Islands, which is not to be wondered
at, as it is considered, and no doubt is, mischievous
both to sheep and poultry; and in so thickly populated
a country, where every one carries a gun, a large bird
like the White-tailed Eagle can hardly escape notice
and consequent destruction for any length of time.
It might, however, if unmolested, occasionally remain
throughout the winter, and probably sometimes wanders
to the Islands at that time, as Mr. Harvie Brown records
(’Zoologist’ for 1869, one as
having been killed, poisoned by strychnine, in Herm
in the month of January. This was, no doubt, a
late winter visitant, as it is hardly possible that
the bird can have escaped for so long a time, as it
would have done had it visited the Islands at its
usual time, October or November. All the Channel
Island specimens of the White-tailed Eagle which I
have seen have been young birds of the first or second
year, in the immature plumage in which the bird is
known as the Sea Eagle of Bewick, and in which it
is occasionally mistaken for the Golden Eagle, which
bird has never, I believe, occurred in the Islands.
Of course in the adult plumage, when this bird has
its white tail and head, no such mistake could occur,
but in the immature plumage in which the bird usually
makes its appearance such a mistake does occasionally
happen, and afterwards it becomes difficult to convince
the owner that he has not a Golden Eagle; in fact
he usually feels rather insulted when told of his
mistake, and ignores all suggestions of anything like
an infallible test, so it may be as well to mention
that the birds may be distinguished in any state of
plumage and at any age by the tarsus, which in the
White-tailed Eagle is bare of feathers and in the
Golden Eagle is feathered to the junction of the toes.
I have one in my possession shot at Bordeaux harbour
on the 14th of November, 1871, and I saw one in the
flesh at Mr. Couch’s, the bird-stuffer, which
had been shot at Alderney on the 2nd of November in
the same year; and Mr. MacCulloch writes to me that
one was wounded and taken alive in the parish of the
Forest in Guernsey in 1845. It was said to be
one of a pair, and he adds “I have
known several instances of its appearance since both
here (Guernsey) and in Herm,” but unluckily he
gives no dates and could not remember at what time
of year any of the occurrences he had noted had taken
place. This is to be regretted, as although the
bird occurs almost every autumn indeed,
so frequently as to render mention of further instances
of its occurrence at that time of year unnecessary its
occurrence in the spring is rare, and some of those
noted by Mr. MacCulloch might have been at that time
of year. As it is, I only know of one spring
occurrence, and that was reported to me by Mr. Couch
as having taken place at Herm on the 23rd of March,
1877.
The White-tailed Eagle is included
in Professor Ansted’s list, but its range in
the Islands is restricted to Guernsey. There is
one in the museum, probably killed in Guernsey, in
the plumage in which the Channel Island specimens
usually occur, but no note is given as to locality
or date.
2. Osprey. Pandion halioeetus,
Linnaeus. French, “Balbusard.” -- I
have never met with the Osprey myself in the Channel
Islands, nor have I, as far as I remember, seen a
Channel Island specimen. I include it, however,
on the authority of a note kindly sent to me by Mr. MacCulloch, who says: “An Osprey
was shot at St. Samsons, in Guernsey, on the 29th
of October, 1868. I cannot, however, say whether
at the time it was examined by a competent naturalist,
and as both the Osprey and the White-tailed Eagle
are fishers, a mistake may have been made in naming
it.” Of course such a mistake as suggested
is possible, but as the Guernsey fishermen and gunners,
especially the St. Samsons men, are well acquainted
with the White-tailed Eagle, I should not think it
probable that the mistake had been made. The
bird, however, cannot be considered at all common
in the Islands; there is no specimen in the Guernsey
Museum, and Mr. Couch has never mentioned to me having
had one through his hands, or recorded it in the ‘Zoologist,’
as he would have done had he had one; neither does
Mrs. Jago (late Miss Cumber), who used to do a good
deal of stuffing in Guernsey about thirty years ago,
remember having had one through her hands. There
can be no reason, however, why it should not occasionally
occur in the Islands, as it does so both on the French
and English side of the Channel. The wonder rather
is that it is so rare as it appears to be.
The Osprey, however, is mentioned
in Professor Ansted’s list, and only marked
as occurring in Guernsey.
3. Greenland Falcon.
Falco candicans, Gmelin -- I was much
surprised on my last visit to Alderney, on the 27th
of June, 1878, on going into a small carpenter’s
shop in the town, whose owner, besides being a carpenter,
is also an amateur bird-stuffer, though of the roughest
description, to find, amongst the dust of his shop,
not only the Purple Heron, which I went especially
to see, and which is mentioned afterwards, but a young
Greenland Falcon which he informed me had been shot
in that island about eighteen months ago. This
statement was afterwards confirmed by the person who
shot the bird, who was sent for and came in whilst
I was still in the shop. Unfortunately, neither
the carpenter nor his friend who shot the bird had
made any note of the date, and could only remember
that the one had shot the bird in that Island about
eighteen months ago and the other had stuffed it immediately
after. This would bring it to the winter of 1876-77,
or, more probably, the late autumn of 1876. In
the course of conversation it appeared to me that
the Snow Falcon as they called this bird was
not entirely unknown to the carpenter or his friend,
though neither could remember at the time another
instance of one having been killed in that Island.
It is, however, by no means improbable that either
this species or the next mentioned, or both, may have
occurred in the Islands before, as Professor Ansted,
though he gives no date or locality, includes the
Gyr Falcon in his list of Channel Island birds.
As all three of the large northern white Falcons were
at one time included under the name of Gyr Falcons,
and, as Professor Ansted gives no description of the
bird mentioned by him, it is impossible to say to
which species he alluded. We may fairly conclude,
however, that it was either the present species or
the Iceland Falcon, as it could hardly have been the
darker and less wandering species, the Norway Falcon,
the true Gyr Falcon of falconers, Falco gyrfalco
of Linnaeus, which does not wander so far from its
native home, and has never yet, as far as is at present
known, occurred in any part of the British Islands,
and certainly not so far south as the Channel Islands.
This latter, indeed, is an extremely southern latitude
for either the Greenland or Iceland Falcon, the next
being in Cornwall, from which county both species
have been recorded by Mr. Rodd. Neither species,
however, is recorded as having occurred in any of the
neighbouring parts of France.
4. Iceland Falcon.
Falco islandus, Gmelin -- An Iceland
Falcon was killed on the little Island of Herm on
the 11th of April, 1876, where it had been seen about
for some time, by the gamekeeper. It had another
similar bird in company with it, and probably the pair
were living very well upon the game-birds which had
been imported and preserved in that island, as the
keeper saw them kill more than one Pheasant before
he shot this bird. The other fortunately escaped.
The bird which was killed is now in my possession,
and is a fully adult Iceland Falcon, and Mr. Couch,
the bird-stuffer who skinned it, informed me a male
by dissection. Though to a certain extent I have
profited by it, so far as to have the only Channel
Island example of the Iceland Falcon in my possession,
I cannot help regretting that this bird was killed
by the keeper, as it seems to me not impossible that
the two birds being together in the island so late
as the 11th of April, and certainly one, probably
both, being adult, and there being plenty of food for
them, might, if unmolested, have bred in the island.
Perhaps, however, this is too much to have expected
so far from their proper home. It would, however,
have been interesting to know how late the birds would
have remained before returning to their northern home;
but the breeding-season for the Pheasants was beginning,
and this was enough for the keeper, as he had actually
seen two or three Pheasants some hens killed
before he shot the Falcon. As these Falcons can
only be considered very rare accidental visitants
to the Islands, it may be interesting to some of my
readers to mention that they may distinguish them
easily by colour, the Greenland, Falco candicans,
being always the most white, and the Norway bird the
Gyr Falcon of falconers being the darkest,
the Iceland Falcon (the present species) being intermediate.
This is generally a good guide at all ages, but occasionally
there may be some difficulty in distinguishing young
birds, especially as between the Iceland and the Norway
Falcon. In a doubtful case in the Channel Islands,
however, it would always be safer to consider the
bird an Iceland rather than a Norway Falcon.
5. Peregrine Falcon.
Falco peregrinus, Tunstall. French, “Faucon
pelerin.” -- The Peregrine can now, I
think, only be considered an autumnal visitant to
the Islands, though, if not shot or otherwise destroyed,
it would, no doubt, remain throughout the winter, and
might perhaps have been resident, as Mr. MacCulloch
sends me a note of one killed in Herm in December.
All the Channel Island specimens I have seen have
been young birds of the year, and generally killed
in October or November. Adult birds, no doubt,
occasionally occur, but they are comparatively rare,
and it certainly does not breed anywhere in the Islands
at present, though I see no reason why it should not
have done so in former times, as there are many places
well suited to it, and a constant supply of sea-birds
for food. Mr. MacCulloch also seems to be of
opinion that the Peregrine formerly bred in the Islands,
as he says, speaking, however, of the Falconidae
generally, “There must have been a time when
some of the species were permanent residents, for the
high pyramidal rock south of the little Island of
Jethou bears the name of ‘La Fauconniere,’
evidently denoting that it must have been a favourite
resort of these birds, and there are other rocks with
the same name.” Certainly the rock here
mentioned looks much like a place that would be selected
by the Peregrine for breeding purposes, but that must
have been before the days of excursion steamers once
or twice a week to Jethou and Herm. Occasionally
a young Peregrine is made to do duty as a Lanner, and
is recorded in the local papers accordingly (see ‘Star’
for November 11th, 1876, copying, however, a Jersey
paper), but in spite of these occasional notes there
is no satisfactory reason for supposing that the true
Lanner has ever occurred in either of the Islands.
The birds, however, certainly resemble each other
to a certain extent, but the young Lanner in which
state it would be most likely to occur, may always
be distinguished from the young Peregrine by its whiter
head, and the adult has more brown on the head and
neck.
The Peregrine is included in Professor
Ansted’s list, but only marked as occurring
in Guernsey and Sark. There is no specimen at
present in the Museum.
6. HOBBY. Falco subbuteo,
Linnaeus. French, “Le Hobereau.”
The Hobby can only be considered as a rather rare
occasional visitant, just touching the Islands on
its southern migration in the autumn, and late in
the autumn, for Mr. MacCulloch informs me that a Hobby
was killed in the Islands, probably Guernsey, in November,
1873, and Mr. Couch, writing to me on the 10th of
November, told me he had had a Hobby brought to him
on the 8th of the same month. Both of these occurrences
seem rather late, but probably the Hobby only touches
the Islands for a very short time on passage, and
quite towards the end of the migratory period.
I do not know of any instance of the Hobby having occurred
in the Islands on its northern migration in the spring,
or of its remaining to breed.
It is included in Professor Ansted’s
list, and only marked as occurring in Guernsey.
There is no specimen in the Museum.
7. MERLIN. Falco aesalon,
Bris., 1766. French, “Faucon
Émerillon.” -- The pretty little
Merlin is a much more common autumnal visitant to
the Islands than the Hobby, but, like the Peregrine,
the majority of instances are young birds of the year
which visit the Islands on their autumnal migration.
When I was in Guernsey in November, 1875, two Merlins,
both young birds, were brought in to Mr. Couch’s.
Both were shot in the Vale, and I saw a third near
Cobo, but did not shoot it. This also was a young
bird. In some years Merlins appear to be
more numerous than in others, and this seems to have
been one of the years in which they were most numerous.
Unlike the Hobby, however, the Merlin does occasionally
visit the Islands in the spring, as I saw one at Mr.
Jago’s, the bird-stuffer in Guernsey, which had
been killed at Herm in the spring of 1876. This
is now in the collection of Mr. Maxwell, the present
owner of Herm. Though the Merlin visits the Islands
both in the spring and autumn, I do not know that there
is any instance of its having remained to breed, neither
do I know of an occurrence during the winter.
In the ‘Zoologist’ for 1875 Mr. Couch,
in a communication dated November 29th, 1874, says “A
Merlin a female was shot in
the Marais, which had struck down a Water Rail
a minute or two before it was shot. After striking
down the Rail the Merlin flew into a tree, about ten
yards from which the man who shot it found the Rail
dead. He brought me both birds. The skin
of the Rail was broken from the shoulder to the back
of the skull.”
The more common prey, however, of
the Merlin during the time it remains in the Islands
is the Ring Dotterell, which at that time of year is
to be found in large flocks mixed with Purres and
Turnstones in all the low sandy or muddy bays in the
Islands.
The Merlin is included in Professor
Ansted’s list, but only marked as occurring
in Guernsey. There is no specimen in the Museum
at present.
8. KESTREL. Falco tinnunculus,
Linnaeus. French, “Faucon cresserelle.” -- The
Kestrel is by far the commonest hawk in the Islands,
and is resident throughout the year. I do not
think that its numbers are at all increased during
the migratory season. It breeds in the rocky
parts of all the Islands. The Kestrel does not,
however, show itself so frequently in the low parts even
in the autumn as on the high cliffs, so
probably Ring Dotterell, Purres, and Turnstones do
not form so considerable a part of its food as they
do of the Merlin. Skylarks, Rock and Meadow Pipits,
and, in the summer, Wheatears, with a few rats and
mice, seem to afford the principal food of the Kestrel,
and to obtain these it has not to wander far from
its breeding haunts.
The Kestrel is quite as common in
Alderney and Herm, and even in the little Island of
Jethou, as it is in Guernsey and Sark. One or
two pairs, perhaps more, breed on the before-mentioned
rock close to Jethou “La Fauconniere,”
though a few pairs of Kestrels breeding there would
scarcely have been sufficient to give it its name.
It is mentioned in Professor Ansted’s
list, but only marked as occurring in Guernsey and
Sark. There are two specimens, a male and female,
in the Museum.
9. SPARROWHAWK. Accipiter
nisus, Linnaeus. French, “L’Epervier,”
“Tiercelet.” -- The Sparrowhawk,
though a resident species and breeding in the Islands,
is by no means so common as the Kestrel. In fact,
it must certainly be considered rather a rare bird,
which perhaps is not to be wondered at, as it is a
more tree-breeding bird and less given to nesting
amongst the rocks than the Kestrel. It does so
sometimes, however, as I saw one fly out of some ivy-covered
rocks near Petit Bo Bay the last time I was in the
Islands on the 27th of May, 1878. I am certain
this bird had a nest there, though the place was too
inaccessible to be examined closely. The trees,
however, at the Vallon or Woodlands would be much
more likely nesting-places, especially as it might
have an opportunity of appropriating a deserted nest
of a Magpie or a Wood Pigeon, rather a favourite nesting-place
of the Sparrowhawk.
Professor Ansted includes the Sparrowhawk
in his list, but confines it to Guernsey and Sark;
and probably, as a resident and breeding bird, he
is right as far as my district is concerned, but I
should think it must occasionally occur both in Alderney
and Herm, though I have never seen a specimen from
either Island, nor have I seen the bird about alive
in either. There is one specimen in the Museum.
10. COMMON BUZZARD. Buteo
vulgaris, Leach. French, “Buse.” -- The
Buzzard is a tolerably regular, and by no means uncommon,
autumnal visitant, specimens occurring from some of
the Islands almost every autumn. But it is, I
believe, an autumnal visitant only, as I do not know
of a single specimen taken at any other time of year,
nor can I find a record of one. I have seen examples
in the flesh from both Alderney and Herm, in both
of which Islands it occurs at least as frequently
as it does in Guernsey, though still only as an autumnal
visitant.
It is included in Professor Ansted’s
list, but only marked as occurring in Guernsey, and
there is one specimen in the Museum.
11. ROUGHLEGGED BUZZARD. Buteo
lagopus, Gmelin. French, “Archibuse
pattue” or “Buse pattue.” -- Though
its visits seem not so absolutely confined to the
autumn as the Common Buzzard, the Rough-legged Buzzard
is a much more uncommon visitant to the Channel Islands,
and can only be looked upon as a rare occasional straggler.
Mr. MacCulloch informs me that one was killed near
L’Hyvreuse, which is perhaps now more commonly
known as the New Ground, in Guernsey, about Christmas,
1870, and I found one at the bird-stuffer and carpenter’s
shop at Alderney, which had been shot by his friend
who shot the Greenland Falcon, but I could get no
information about the date except that it was late
autumn or winter, and about two years ago. These
are the only Channel Island specimens of which I have
been able to glean any intelligence. Probably,
however, it has occurred at other times and been overlooked.
As it may have occasionally been mistaken for the
more common Common Buzzard, I may say that it is always
to be distinguished from that bird by the feathered
tarsus. On the wing, perhaps, when flying overhead,
the most readily observed distinction is the dark
band on the lower part of the breast. I have,
however, seen a very dark variety of the Rough-legged
Buzzard, in which nearly the whole of the plumage was
a uniform dark chocolate-brown, and consequently the
dark band on the breast could not be seen even when
one had the bird in one’s hand, and had it not
been for the feathered tarsus this bird might easily
have been mistaken for a very dark variety of the
Common Buzzard, and when on the wing it would have
been impossible to identify it. Indeed, though
it was immediately distinguishable from the Common
Buzzard by its feathered legs, there was some little
difficulty about identifying it, even when handling
it as a skin.
Professor Ansted includes the Rough-legged
Buzzard in his list, but only marks it as occurring
in Guernsey. There is no specimen at present
in the Museum.
12. MARSH HARRIER. Circus
Oeruginosus, Linnaeus. French, “Busard
des Marais.” -- This seems
to be the least common of the Harriers in the Channel
Islands, though it does occur occasionally, and perhaps
more frequently than is generally supposed.
There are two specimens in the Museum
in Guernsey both in immature plumage; in that state,
in fact, in which this bird most commonly occurs,
and in which it is the Bald Buzzard of Bewick.
Miss C.B. Carey records one in
the November number of the ‘Zoologist’
for 1874 in the following words: “In
the May of this year an adult male Marsh Harrier was
found in Herm. Unfortunately it got into the hands
of some person who, I believe, kept it too long before
bringing it over to be preserved, so that all that
remains of it is the head.” I had no opportunity
of examining this bird myself, not even the head, but
I am disposed to doubt its being fully adult, as it
seems to me much more probable that it was much in
the same state as those in the Museum, in which state
it is much more common than in the fully adult plumage.
Miss Carey seems only to have seen the head herself,
so there may easily have been a mistake on this point.
Mr. MacCulloch writes me word that
a Marsh Harrier was killed in Herm in May, 1875.
It may be just possible, however, that this is the
same bird recorded by Miss C.B. Carey, and that
Mr. MacCulloch only heard of it in the May of the
following year, and noted it accordingly. This,
however, is mere supposition on my part, for which
I have no reason except that both birds were said
to have been killed in Herm, and both in May.
Professor Ansted mentions the Marsh
Harrier in his list, but marks it as only found in
Guernsey.
12. HEN HARRIER. Circus cyaneus,
Linnaeus. French, “Busard St. Martin.” -- The
Hen Harrier, perhaps, occurs rather more frequently
than the Marsh Harrier, but it can only be considered
a rare occasional visitant. In June, 1876, I
saw one young Hen Harrier, which had been shot in
Herm in the April of that year, about the same time
as the Iceland Falcon, and by the same keeper, who
had brought it to Mr. Couch to stuff. Another
was shot in Herm on the 19th of June, 1877. This
bird is now in Mr. Maxwell’s collection, where
I saw it on the 27th of June. It was first reported
to me by Mr. Jago, the bird-stuffer in Guernsey.
These are the only two Channel Island
specimens of the Hen Harrier which I have been able
to find. I have never shot it myself or seen it
alive. It is, however, included in Professor Ansted’s
list, but marked as occurring in Guernsey only.
[13. Omitted.]
14. MONTAGU’S HARRIER.
Circus cineraceus, Montagu. French, “Busard
Montagu,” “Busard cendre.” -- Montagu’s
Harrier is certainly a more frequent visitant to the
Islands than either the Hen Harrier or the Marsh Harrier.
Miss C.B. Carey records one in the ‘Zoologist’
for 1873 as having been shot in Alderney in July of
that year. She adds that it was an adult male
in full plumage, and that she saw it herself at Mr.
Couch’s shop. In the ‘Zoologist’
for 1874 she records another Montagu’s Harrier a
young one shot in Herm in July of that year.
She adds that “It was brought to
Mr. Couch to skin. He found a whole Lark’s
egg, and also the shell of another, in its throat.
He showed me how the whole egg was sticking in the
empty shell of the broken one.”
All the Harriers seem to have a special
liking for eggs. In his notice of the Marsh Harrier
Professor Newton says, in his edition of Yarrell,’
that birds’ eggs are an irresistible delicacy;
and, in speaking of the food of the present species,
he says it consists chiefly of grasshoppers, reptiles,
small mammals, birds and their eggs; these last, if
their size permit, being often swallowed whole, as
was the case in the instance mentioned by Miss Carey.
Mr. Howard Saunders also says he can bear witness
to the egg-eating propensities of the Harriers.
Besides the two recorded by Miss C.B.
Carey, I saw one a young bird in
Mr. Maxwell’s collection, which had been killed
at Herm, and another a young male at
Mr. Jago’s, the bird-stuffer, which had also
been killed at Herm. There were also two young
birds in the bird-stuffer and carpenter’s shop
at Alderney, both of which had been killed in that
Island shortly before my last visit, June, 1878.
As mistakes may occasionally arise
in identifying specimens, especially in immature plumage,
it may be as well to notice a distinction between
the Hen Harrier and Montagu’s Harrier, which
has been pointed out by Mr. Howard Saunders, and which
holds good in all ages and in both sexes. This
distinction is, that in the Hen Harrier the outer web
of the fifth primary is notched, whereas in Montagu’s
Harrier it is plain, or, in other words, the Hen Harrier
has the exterior web of the primaries, up to and including
the fifth, notched, and in Montagu’s Harrier
this is only the case as far as the fourth. This
distinction is very useful in identifying young birds
and females, which are sometimes very much alike.
In fully adult males the orange markings on the flanks
and thighs, and the greyish upper tail-coverts of
Montagu’s Harrier, distinguish it immediately
at a glance from the Hen Harrier, in which those parts
are white.
Montagu’s Harrier is not included
by Professor Ansted in his list, nor is there a specimen
in the Museum.
15. LONGEARED OWL. Asiootus,
Linnaeus. French, “Hibou vulgaire,”
“Hibou moyen due.” -- The
Long-eared Owl seems only a very rare and accidental
visitant to the Channel Islands. I have never
met with it myself, but Mr. Couch records the occurrence
of one in the ‘Zoologist’ for 1875, : “I have a Long-eared Owl, shot
at St. Martin’s on the 9th of November in that
year.” This is the only occurrence I can
be sure of, except that Mr. Couch, about two years
afterwards, sent me a skin of a Guernsey-killed Long-eared
Owl; but this may have been the bird mentioned above,
as he sent me no date with it.
As it is partially migratory, and
its numbers in the British Islands, especially in
the Eastern Counties, are increased during the autumn
by migratory arrivals, a few may wander, especially
in the autumn, to the Channel Islands, but it can
only be rarely.
Professor Ansted includes it in his
list, and marks it as having been found both in Guernsey
and Sark. There is no specimen of the Long-eared
Owl at present in the Museum. If there has been
one it must have got moth-eaten, like many of the
other birds there, and been destroyed.
16. SHORTEARED OWL. Asio accipitrinus,
Pallas. French, “Hibou brachyote.” -- Unlike
the Long-eared Owl, the Short-eared Owl is a regular
autumnal visitant to the Channel Islands, arriving
about October in considerable numbers, but remaining
only for a short time, as I do not know of any making
their appearance after the end of November, and the
majority of those that have arrived seem to pass on
about that time, not remaining throughout the winter,
and I hear of no instances of their occurring on the
spring migration, so the majority must pass north by
a different line from that pursued by them on the
southern migration.
There is only one specimen at present
in the Museum. Professor Ansted mentions it in
his list, but only as found in Guernsey and Sark; but
it is quite as common in Alderney, from which Island
I have seen specimens, and I think also from Herm,
but I cannot be quite sure about this, though of course
there can be no reason why it should not be found
there, as Herm is only three miles as the crow flies
from Guernsey.
17. BARN OWL. Aluco flammeus,
Linnaeus. French, “Chouette effraie.” -- I
have never seen the Barn or Yellow Owl alive in the
Channel Islands myself, but Mr. MacCulloch does not
consider it at all rare in Guernsey, and Mr. Jago
informs me the Barn Owls have taken possession of a
pigeon-hole in a house in the Brock Road opposite his,
and that he sees and hears them every night.
Some years ago he told me he shot one near the Queen’s
Tower. He was not scared like the man who shot
one in the churchyard, and thought he had shot a cherubim,
but he had to give up shooting owls, as the owner
of the pigeon-hole where the owls have taken up their
abode remonstrated with him, and he has since refrained,
though he has had several chances. The vacancy
caused by the one being shot was soon filled up.
The Barn Owl is mentioned in Professor
Ansted’s list, and restricted to Guernsey and
Sark. There are two specimens in the Museum, both
of which are said to have been killed in Guernsey.
18. REDBACKED SHRIKE. Lanius
Collurio, Linnaeus. French, “Pie-grièche
écorcheur.” -- The Red-backed Shrike
may be considered a tolerably regular, but not very
common, summer visitant to the Channel Islands.
In June, 1876, I several times saw a male bird about
the Vallon, in Guernsey. The female no doubt
had a nest at the time in the Vallon grounds, but
I could not then get in there to search for it.
As the Red-backed Shrike frequently
returns to the same place every year, I expected again
to find this bird, and perhaps the female and the
nest this year, 1878, about the Vallon, but I could
see nothing of either birds or nest, though I searched
both inside and outside the Vallon grounds.
Young Mr. Le Cheminant, who lives
at Le Ree and has a small collection of Guernsey eggs
mostly collected by himself in the Island, had one
Red-backed Shrike’s egg of the variety which
has the reddish, or rather perhaps pink, tinge.
There were also some eggs in a Guernsey collection
in the Museum. These were all of the more ordinary
variety. There were also two skins a
male and female in the Museum. The
bird seems rather local in its distribution about
the Island, as I never saw one about the Vale in any
of my visits, not even this year, 1878, when I was
there for two months, and had ample opportunity of
observing it had it been there. There are, however,
plenty of places nearly as well suited to it in the
Vale as about the Vallon or Le Ree. I have never
seen it in either of the other Islands, though no
doubt it occasionally occurs both in Sark and Herm,
if not in Alderney.
Professor Ansted includes the Red-backed
Shrike in his list, and marks it only as occurring
in Guernsey. I have no evidence of any other Shrike
occurring in the Islands, though I should think the
Great Grey Shrike, Lanius excubitor, might
be an occasional autumn or winter visitant to the
Islands; but I have never seen a specimen myself or
been able to glean any satisfactory information as
to the occurrence of one, either from the local bird-stuffers
or from Mr. MacCulloch, or any of my friends who have
so kindly supplied me with notes; neither does Professor
Ansted mention it in his list.
19. SPOTTED FLYCATCHER. Muscícapa
grisola, Linnaeus. French, “Gobe-mouche
gris.” -- The Spotted Flycatcher is a
regular and numerous summer visitant, generally quite
as numerous in certain localities as in England, its
arrival and departure being about the same time.
It occurs also in Sark and Herm, and probably in Alderney,
but I do not remember having seen one there.
In Guernsey it is perhaps a little local in its distribution,
avoiding to a great extent such places as the Vale
and the open ground on the cliffs, but in all the
gardens and orchards it is very common.
Spotted Flycatchers appear, however,
to vary in numbers to a certain extent in different
years. This year, 1878, they came out in great
force, especially on the lawn at Candie where they
availed themselves to a large extent of the croquet-hoops,
from which they kept a good look-out either for insects
on the wing or on the ground, and they might be as
frequently seen dropping to the ground for some unfortunate
creeping thing that attracted their attention as rising
in the air to give chase to something on the wing.
Certainly, when I was in Guernsey about the same time
in 1866, Spotted Flycatchers did not appear to be
quite so numerous as in 1878. This was probably
only owing to one of those accidents of wind and weather
which render migratory birds generally, less numerous
in some years than they are in others, however much
they may wish and endeavour, which seems to be their
usual rule, to return to their former breeding stations.
Professor Ansted mentions the Spotted
Flycatcher in his list, but does not add, as he usually
does, any letter showing its distribution through
the Islands. This probably is because it is generally
distributed through them all. There is no specimen
in the Museum.
20. GOLDEN ORIOLE. Oriolus
galbula, Linnaeus. French, “Le
Loriot.” -- I have never seen the
bird alive or found any record of the occurrence of
the Golden Oriole in Guernsey or the neighbouring Islands,
and beyond the fact that there was one example a
female in the Museum (which may have been
from Jersey) I had been able to gain no information
on the subject except of a negative sort. No
specimen had passed through the hands of the local
bird-stuffers certainly for a good many years, for
Mr. Jago’s mother who about twenty or thirty
years ago, when she was Miss Cumber, had been for
some considerable time the only bird-stuffer in the
Island, told me she did not know the bird, and had
never had one through her hands. It seemed to
me rather odd that a bird which occurs almost every
year in the British Islands, occasionally even as far
west as Ireland, as a straggler, and which is generally
distributed over the continent of Europe in the summer,
should be totally unknown in the Channel Islands.
Consequently writing to the ‘Star’ about
another Guernsey bird a Hoopoe which
had been recorded in that paper, I asked for information
as to the occurrence of the Golden Oriole in the Islands,
and shortly after the following letter signed “Tereus”
appeared in the ’Star’: “Concerning
the occurrence of the Golden Oriole I cannot speak
from my own personal knowledge, but I believe there
can be no doubt that the bird has been occasionally
seen here. Its presence, however, must be much
more rare than that of the Hoopoe, for a bird of such
plumage as the Oriole would be more likely to attract
even more attention than the comparatively sober-coloured
Hoopoe, and if half so common as the latter would
be sure to fall before the gun of the fowler.
There was a specimen of the female bird in the Museum
of the Mechanics’ Institution, but I am not
sure about its history, and I have some reason to
suppose it was shot in Jersey. Our venerable national
poet, Mr. George Metivier, has many allusions to the
Oriole in his early effusions, whether written
in English, French, or our vernacular dialect.
It seems to have been an occasional visitor at St.
George’s; but in Mr. Metivier’s early
days the island was far more wooded than it is at
present, and it is possible that the wholesale destruction
of hedgerow elms and the grubbing-up of so many orchards
in order to employ the ground more profitably in the
culture of early potatoes and brocoli, by which the
island has lost much of its picturesque beauty, may
have had the effect of deterring some of the occasional
visitors from alighting here in their periodical migrations.”
Signed “Tereus.”
A short time after the appearance
of this letter in the ‘Star’ on the 16th
of May, 1878, Mr. MacCulloch himself wrote to me on
the subject and said: “I had yesterday
a very satisfactory interview with Mr. George Metivier.
He is now in his 88th or 89th year. He told me
he was about thirteen when he went to reside with
his relations, the Guilles, at St. George. There
was then a great deal of old timber about the place
and a long avenue of oaks, besides three large cherry
orchards. One day he was startled by the sight
of a male Oriole. He had never seen the bird
before. Whether it was that one that was killed
or another in a subsequent year I don’t know,
but he declares that for several years afterwards
they were seen in the oak trees and among the cherries,
and that he has not the least doubt but that they
bred there. One day an old French gentleman of
the name of De l’Huiller from the South of France,
an emigrant, noticed the birds and made the remark ’Ah!
vous avez des loriots ici;
nous en avons beaucoup chez
nous, ils sont grands gobeurs de
cerises.’ It would appear from this
that cherries are a favourite food with this bird,
and the presence of cherry orchards would account
for their settling down at St. George. I believe
they are said to be very shy, and the absence of wood
would account for their not being seen in the present
day.”
I have no doubt that Mr. MacCulloch
is right that the cherry orchards, to say nothing
of other fruit trees, tempted the Golden Orioles to
remain to breed in the Island, for they are “grand
gobeurs” not only of “cerises,”
but of many other sorts of fruit, particularly of grapes
and figs in grape countries, indeed, doing
a deal of damage amongst the vineyards. This
damage to grapes would not, however, be much felt in
Guernsey, as all the grapes are protected by orchard-houses.
But though the grapes are protected, and most, if
not all, the cherry orchards cut down, still there
is plenty of unprotected fruit in Guernsey to tempt
the Golden Oriole to remain in the Islands, and to
bring the wrath and the gun of the gardener both to
bear upon him when he is there. This, however,
only shows that from the time spoken of by Mr. Metivier
down to the present time very few Golden Orioles could
have visited Guernsey, and still fewer remained to
breed; for what with their fruit-eating propensities
and their bright plumage, hardly a bird could have
escaped being shot and subsequently making its appearance
in the bird-stuffers’ windows, and affording
a subject for a notice in the ‘Star,’ or
some other paper. I think therefore, on the whole,
that though Guernsey still affords many temptations
to the Golden Oriole, and is sufficiently well-wooded
to afford shelter to suit its shy and suspicious habits,
yet for some reason or other the bird has not visited
the Island of late years even as an accidental visitant,
or, if so, very rarely.
The Golden Oriole is mentioned in
Professor Ansted’s list, and marked as having
occurred in Guernsey and Sark, but nothing more is
said about the bird. Probably Guernsey was mentioned
as a locality on account of the female specimen in
the Museum, but with this exception I have never heard
of its making its appearance in Sark even as a straggler.
21. DIPPER. Cinclus aquaticus,
Bechstein. French, “Aquassiere,”
“Cincle plongeur.” -- The
Dipper or Water Ouzel, though not very common, less
so, indeed, than the Kingfisher, is nevertheless a
resident species, finding food all through the year
in the clear pools left by the tide, and also frequenting
the few inland ponds, especially the rather large
ones, belonging to Mr. De Putron in the Vale, where
there is always a Dipper or a Kingfisher to be seen,
though I do not think the Dipper ever breeds about
those ponds in fact there is no place there
which would suit it; but though I have never found
the nest myself in Guernsey, I have been informed,
especially by Mr. Gallienne, that the Dipper makes
use of some of the rocky bays, forming his nest amongst
the rocks as it would on the streams of Dartmoor and
Exmoor.
Captain Hubboch, however, writes me
word he saw one in Alderney in the winter of 1861-62,
and there seems no reason why a few should not remain
there throughout the year as in Guernsey.
All the Guernsey Dippers I have seen,
including the two in the Museum, which are probably
Guernsey-killed, have been the common form, Cinclus
aquations. The dark-breasted form, Cinclus
melanogaster, may occur as an occasional wanderer,
though the Channel Islands are somewhat out of its
usual range. There being no trout or salmon to
be protected in Guernsey, the Dipper has not to dread
the persecution of wretched keepers who falsely imagine
that it must live entirely by the destruction of salmon
and trout ova, though the contrary has been proved
over and over again.
Professor Ansted includes the Dipper
in his list, but only marks it as occurring in Guernsey.
22. MISTLETOE THRUSH. Turdus
viscivorus, Linnaeus. French, “Merle
Draine,” “Grive Draine.” -- I
quite agree with the remarks made by Professor Newton,
in his edition of ‘Yarrell,’ as to the
proper English name of the present species, and that
it ought to be called the Mistletoe Thrush. I
am afraid, however, that the shorter appellation of
Missel Thrush will stick to this bird in spite of all
attempts to the contrary. In Guernsey the local
name of the Mistletoe Thrush is “Geai,”
by which name Mr. Metivier mentions it in his ’Dictionary
of Guernsey and Norman French.’ He also
adds that the Jay does not exist in this Island.
This is to a certain extent confirmed by Mr. MacCulloch,
who says he is very doubtful as to the occurrence
of the Jay in the Island, and adds that the local
name for the Mistletoe Thrush is “Geai.”
Mr. Gallienne, in a note to Professor Ansted’s
list, confirms the scarcity of the Jay, as he says
the Rook and the Jay are rarely seen here, although
they are indigenous to Jersey. The local name
“Geai” may perhaps have misled him
as to the occasional appearance of the Jay. I
have never seen a real Jay in Guernsey myself.
As far as I am able to judge from
occasional visits to the Island for the last thirty
years the Mistletoe Thrush has greatly increased in
numbers in Guernsey, especially within the last few
years, and Mr. MacCulloch and others who are resident
in the Island quite agree with me in this. I
do not think its numbers are much increased at any
time of year by migrants, though a few foreigners
may arrive in the autumn, at which time of year considerable
numbers of Mistletoe Thrushes are brought into the
Guernsey market, where they may be seen hanging in
bunches with Common Thrushes, Redwings, Blackbirds,
Fieldfares, Starlings, and an occasional Ring Ouzel.
Fieldfares and Mistletoe Thrushes usually sell at
fourpence each, the rest at fourpence a couple.
Professor Ansted mentions it in his
list, but confines it to Guernsey and Sark. This
is certainly not now the case, as I have seen it nearly
as numerous in Alderney and Herm as any of the other
Islands. There is a specimen in the Museum.
23. SONG THRUSH. Turdus musicus,
Linnaeus. French, “Grive,” “Merle
Grive.” -- Very common and resident
in all the Islands, and great is the destruction of
snails by Thrushes and Blackbirds in fact,
nowhere have I seen such destruction as in the Channel
Islands, especially in Guernsey and Herm, where every
available stone seems made use of, and to considerable
purpose, to judge from the number of snail-shells to
be found about; and yet the gardeners complain quite
as much of damage to their gardens, especially in
the fruit season, by Blackbirds and Thrushes, as the
English gardeners and seem equally unready to give
these birds any credit for the immense destruction
of snails, which, if left alone, would scarcely have
left a green thing in the garden.
The local name of the Thrush is “Mauvis.”
It is, of course, included in Professor Ansted’s
list, but with the Fieldfare, Redwing, and Blackbird,
marked as only occurring in Guernsey and Sark.
All these birds, however, are equally common in Alderney,
Herm, and Jethou. There is also a specimen of
each in the Museum.
24. REDWING. Turdus iliacus,
Linnaeus. French, “Grive mauvis,”
“Merle mauvis.” -- A
regular and numerous winter visitant to all the Islands,
arriving about the end of October, and those that are
not shot and brought into the market departing again
in March and April.
25. FIELDFARE. Turdus pilaris,
Linnaeus. French, “Grive litorne,”
“Merle litorne.” -- Like
the Redwing, the Fieldfare is a regular and numerous
winter visitant, and arrives and departs about the
same time.
When in Guernsey in November, 1871,
I did not see either Redwings or Fieldfares till a
few days after my arrival on the 1st; after that both
species were numerous, and a few days later plenty
of them might be seen hanging up in the market with
the Thrushes and Blackbirds, but for the first few
days there were none to be seen there. Probably
this was rather a late year, as neither bird could
have arrived in any numbers till the first week in
November, and in all probability not till towards
the end of the week.
26. BLACKBIRD. Turdus merula,
Linnaeus. French, “Merle noir.”–
The Blackbird is a common and numerous resident in
all the Islands in the Bailiwick of Guernsey.
The Guernsey gardeners, like their brethren in England,
make a great fuss about the mischief done by Blackbirds
in the gardens, and no doubt Blackbirds, like the
Golden Orioles, are “grand gobeurs” of
many kinds of fruit; but the gardeners should remember
that they are equally “grand gobeurs”
of many kinds of insects as well, many of the most
mischievous insects to the garden, including wasps
(I have myself several times found wasps in the stomach
of the blackbird) forming a considerable portion of
their food, the young also being almost entirely fed
upon worms, caterpillars, and grubs; and when we remember
that it is only for a short time of the year that the
Blackbird can feed on fruit, which in most cases can
be protected by a little care, and that during the
whole of the other portion of the year it feeds on
insects which would do more damage in the garden than
itself, it will be apparent that the gardener has
really no substantial ground of complaint.
As in England, variations in the plumage
of the Blackbird are not uncommon. I have one
Guernsey specimen of a uniform fawn colour, and another
rather curiously marked with grey, the tail-feathers
being striped across grey and black. This is
a young bird recently out of the nest, and I have
no doubt would, after a moult or two, have come to
its proper plumage, probably after the first moult,
as seems to me frequently the case with varieties
of this sort, though I have known a Blackbird show
a good deal af white year after year in the winter,
resuming its proper plumage in the summer; and Mr.
Jago mentions a case of a Blackbird which passed through
his hands which was much marked with grey. This
bird was found dead, and the owner of the estate on
which it was found informed Mr. Jago that it had frequented
his place for four years, and that he had seen it
with its mate during the summer; so in this case the
variation certainly seems to have been permanent.
27. RING OUZEL. Turdus torquatus,
Linnaeus. French, “Merle a plastron.” -- I
do not think the Ring Ouzel is ever as common in the
Channel Islands as it is on migration in South Devon.
A few, however, make their appearance in each of the
Islands every autumn, but they are never very numerous,
and do not remain very long, arriving generally about
the end of September and remaining till the end of
November or beginning of December, during which time
a few may always be seen hung up in the market.
Many of the autumnal arrivals are young birds of the
year, with the white crescent on the breast nearly
wanting or only very faintly marked.
Mr. Gallienne, in his remarks appended
to Professor Ansted’s list, says the Ring Ouzel
stays with us throughout the year, but is more plentiful
in winter than in summer. But I have never myself
seen one either dead or alive in the spring or summer.
It may, however, occasionally visit the Island in
the spring migration, but I know of no authentic instance
of its remaining to breed, nor have I seen the eggs
in any Guernsey collection. I have seen specimens
of the Ring Ouzel from Alderney, and it appears to
me about equally common at the same time of year in
all the Islands. Mr. MacCulloch, however, writes
to me: “From what I have heard the
Ring Ouzel is more common in Alderney than Guernsey,
where it is seen mostly on the southern cliffs.”
The south end of the Island is no doubt its favourite
resort in Guernsey. As far as Alderney is concerned
Captain Hubback, R.A., who has been quartered there
at different times, says he has never seen one there;
but I do not think he has been much there in the early
autumn.
Professor Ansted includes it in his
list, and marks it as occurring in Guernsey and Sark.
There are several, both male and female and young,
in the Guernsey Museum.
28. HBDGESPARROW. Accentor
modularis, Linnaeus. French, “Mouchet,”
“Traîne buisson,” “Accenteur
mouchet.” -- The Hedgesparrow is, I think,
quite as common as in England, and resident throughout
the year in all the Islands. According to Mr.
Metivier’s ‘Dictionary’ its local
name is “Verdeleu,” and he describes it
as “Oiseau qui couvre les
oeufs de Coucou.” In Guernsey,
however, Cuckoos are much too numerous for the Hedgesparrow
to afford accommodation for them all.
Professor Ansted mentions the Hedgesparrow
in his list, but restricts it to Guernsey and Sark.
I have, however, frequently seen it in Alderney and
Herm, and the little Island of Jethou.
29. ROBIN. Ericathus rubecula,
Linnaeus. French. “Bec-fin rouge-gorge,”
“Rouge gorge.” The Robin, like the
Hedgesparrow, is a common resident in all the Islands,
and I cannot find that its numbers are increased at
any time of year by migration. But on the other
hand I should think a good many of the young must
be driven off to seek quarters elsewhere by their
most pugnacious parents, for of all birds the Robin
is by far the most pugnacious with which I am acquainted,
and deserves the name of “pugnax”
much more than the Ruff, and in a limited space like
Jethou and Herm battles between the old and the young
would be constant unless some of the young departed
altogether from the Island.
Professor Ansted includes the Robin
in his list, but, as with the Hedgesparrow, only mentions
it as occurring in Guernsey and Sark. It is,
however, equally common in Alderney, Jethou, and Herm.
30. REDSTART. Ruticilla phoenicurus,
Linnaeus. French, “Rouge-queue,”
“Bec-fin des murailles.” -- I
should not have included the Redstart in this list,
as I have never seen it in the Islands myself, but
on sending a list of the birds I intended to include
to Mr. MacCulloch, he wrote to say “You
mention Tithy’s Redstart; the common one is also
seen here.” In consequence of this information
I looked very sharply out for the birds during the
two months (June and July) which I was in Guernsey
this year (1878), but I never once saw the bird in
any of the Islands, nor could I find any one who had;
and such a conspicuous and generally well known bird
could hardly have escaped observation had it been in
the Island in any numbers. I may add that I have
had the same bad luck in all my former visits to the
Islands, and never seen a Redstart. I suppose,
however, from Mr. MacCulloch’s note that it occasionally
visits the Islands for a short time on migration,
very few, if any, remaining to breed.
It is included in Professor Ansted’s
list, but only marked as occurring in Guernsey.
There is, however, no specimen at present in the Museum.
31. BLACK REDSTART. Ruticilla
titys, Scopoli. French, “Rouge queue
Tithys.” -- The Black, or Tithys Redstart,
as it is sometimes called, is a regular and by no
means uncommon autumnal visitant to Guernsey.
It seems very much to take the place of the Wheatear,
arriving about the time the Wheatear departs, and
mostly frequenting the same places. In Guernsey
it is most common near the sea about the low part of
the Island, from L’ancresse Common to Perrelle
Bay. In habits it puts one very much in mind
of the Wheatear, being very fond, like that bird, of
selecting some big stone or some other conspicuous
place to perch on and keep a look-out either for intruders
or for some passing insect, either flying or creeping,
for it is an entirely insect-feeding bird.
I have never seen the Black Redstart
about the high part of the Island amongst the rocks,
which I am rather surprised at, as in the south coast
of Devon it seems particularly partial to high cliffs
and rocks, such as the Parson and Clerk Rock near
Teignmouth; but in Guernsey the wild grassy commons,
with scattered rocks and large boulders, and occasionally
a rough pebbly beach, especially the upper part of
it where the pebbles join the grass, seem more the
favourite resort of this bird than the high rocks,
such places probably being more productive of food.
It is of course quite useless to look for this bird
in the interior of the Island in gardens and orchards,
and such places as one would naturally look for the
Common Redstart.
The male Black Redstart may be immediately
distinguished from the Common Redstart by the black
breast and belly, and by the absence of the white
mark on the forehead. The male Black Redstart
has also a white patch on the wing caused by the pale,
nearly white, margins of the feathers. The females
are more alike, but still may easily be distinguished,
the general colour of the female Black Redstart being
much duller a dull smoke-brown instead
of the reddish brown of the Common Redstart.
Some slight variations of plumage
take place in the Black Redstart at different ages
and seasons, which have led to some little difficulties,
and to another supposed species, Ruticilla cairii
of Gerbe being suggested, but apparently quite
without reason. I have never seen the Black Redstart
in the Islands at any time of year except the autumn,
and do not know of its occurrence at any other time.
Professor Ansted includes it in his
list, but gives no locality; and there is no specimen
in the Museum.
32. STONECHAT. Pratincola
rubicola, Linnaeus. French, “Tarier
rubicole,” “Traquet pâtre,”
“Traquet rubicole.” -- The
Stonechat is a numerous and regular summer visitant,
breeding in all the Islands, but I do not think any
remain throughout the winter; of course a few scattered
birds may occasionally do so in some sheltered locality,
but I have never seen one in the Islands as late as
November. Both in the Vale and on the Cliffs
in the higher part of the Island the Stonechat is very
common, and the gay little bird, with its bright plumage
and sprightly manner, may be seen on the top of every
furze bush, or on a conspicuous twig in a hedge in
the wilder parts of the Island, but is not so common
in the inland and more cultivated parts, being less
frequently seen on the hedges by the roadside than
it is here, Somersetshire, or in many counties in
England. In Alderney it is quite as common as
in Guernsey, and I saw two nests this year (1878)
amongst the long grass growing on the earthworks near
the Artillery Barracks; it is equally common also
both in Jethou, Sark, and Herm.
There were a great many Stonechats
in the Vale when I was there this year (1878).
Generally they seemed earlier in their breeding proceedings
than either Wheatears, Tree Pipits, or Sky Larks,
which were the three other most numerous birds about
that part of the Island, as there were several young
ones about when we first went to live in the Vale early
in June; still occasionally nests with eggs more or
less hard sat might be found, but the greater number
were hatched when fresh eggs of Tree Pipits and
Sky Larks were by no means uncommon.
Professor Ansted includes the Stonechat
in his list, but marks it as confined to Guernsey
and Sark. There is a specimen in the Museum.
33. WHINCHAT. Pratincola rubetra,
Linnaeus. French, “Tarier ordinaire,”
“Traquet tarier.” -- The Whinchat
seems to me never so numerous as the Stonechat, and
more local in its distribution during the time it
is in the Islands. It is only a summer visitant,
and I doubt if it always remains to breed, though
it certainly does so occasionally, as I have seen
it in Guernsey through June and July mostly in the
south part of the Island, near Pleimont. In my
last visit to the Islands, however, in June and July,
1878, I did not see the Whinchat anywhere, neither
did I see one when there in June, 1876.
Professor Ansted includes the Whinchat
in his list, and marks it as occurring in Guernsey
and Sark. There is no specimen in the Museum.
34. WHEATEAR. Saxicola Oenanthe,
Linnaeus. French, “Motteux cul
blanc,” “Traquet moteux.” -- A
very common summer visitant to all the Islands, arriving
in March and departing again in October, none remaining
through the winter at least, I have never
seen a Wheatear in the Islands as late as November
on any occasion. In the Vale, where a great many
breed, the young began to make their appearance out
of the nest and flying about, but still fed by their
parents, about the 16th of June. In Guernsey
it is rather locally distributed, being common all
round the coast, both on the high and low part of the
Island, but only making its appearance in the cultivated
part in the interior as an occasional straggler.
It is quite as common in Alderney and the other Islands
as it is in Guernsey, in Alderney there being few or
no enclosures, and no hedgerow timber. It is
more universally distributed over the whole Island,
in the cultivated as well as the wild parts.
Professor Ansted includes it in his
list, but marks it as only occurring in Guernsey and
Sark. There are several specimens in the Museum,
but I did not see any eggs either there or in young
Le Cheminant’s collection. This is probably
because in Guernsey the Wheatear has a great partiality
for laying its eggs under large slabs and boulders
of granite perfectly immovable; the stones forming
one of the Druids’ altars in the Vale, were
made use of to cover a nest when I was there.
35. REED WARBLER. Acrocephalus
streperus, Vieillot. French, “Rousserolle
effarvatte,” “Bec-fin des
roseaux.” -- I did not find out the
Reed Warbler as a Guernsey bird till this year (1878),
though it is a rather numerous but very local summer
visitant. But Mr. MacCulloch put me on the right
track, as he wrote to me to say “The
Reed Warbler builds in the Grand Mare. I have
seen several of their curious hanging nests brought
from there.” This put me on the right scent,
and I went to the place as soon as I could, and found
parts of it a regular paradise for Reed Warblers,
and there were a considerable number there, who seemed
to enjoy the place thoroughly, climbing to the tops
of the long reeds and singing, then flying up after
some passing insect, or dropping like a stone to the
bottom of the reed-bed if disturbed or frightened.
On my first visit to the Grand Mare I had not time
to search the reed-beds for nests. But on going
there a second time, on June 17, with Colonel l’Estrange,
we had a good search for nests, and soon found one
with four eggs in it which were quite fresh. This
nest was about three feet from the ground, tied on
to four reeds, and, as usual, having no support
at the bottom, was made entirely of long dry bents
of rather coarse grass, and a little of the fluff
of the cotton plant woven amongst the bents outside,
but none inside. We did not find any other nests
in the Grand Mare, though we saw a great many more
birds; the reeds, however, were very thick and tall,
high over our heads, so that when we were a few feet
apart we could not see each other, and the place was
full of pitfalls with deep water in them, which were
very difficult to be seen and avoided. Many of
the nests, I suspect, were amongst the reeds which
were growing out of the water. Subsequently, on
July the 12th, I found another Reed Warbler’s
nest amongst some reeds growing by Mr. De Putron’s
pond near the Vale Church; this nest, which was attached
to reeds of the same kind as those at the Grand Mare,
growing out of water about a foot deep: it was
about the same height above the water that the other
was from the ground; it had five eggs in it hard sat.
There were one or two pairs more breeding amongst these
reeds, though I could not very well get at the place
without a boat, but the birds were very noisy and
vociferous whenever I got near their nests, as were
the pair whose nest I found. There were also
a few pairs in some reed-beds of the same sort near
L’Eree.
These are all the places in which
I have been able to find the Reed Warbler in Guernsey.
I have not found it myself in Alderney, but Mr. Gallienne,
in his remarks published with Professor Ansted’s
list, says: “I have put the Reed
Wren as doubtful for Guernsey, but I have seen the
nest of this bird found at Alderney.” In
the list itself it is marked as belonging to Guernsey,
Alderney, and Sark.
The Reed Warbler, though entirely
insectivorous, is a very tame and amusing cage-bird,
and may easily be fed on raw meat chopped fine and
a little hard-boiled egg; but its favourite food is
flies, and of these it will eat any quantity, and
woe even to the biggest bluebottle that may buzz through
its cage, for the active little bird will have it in
a moment, and after a few sharp snaps of the beak
there is quite an end of the bluebottle. Daddy
long-legs, too, are favourite morsels, and after a
little beating about disappear down the bird’s
throat legs, wings, and all, without any
difficulty. The indigestible parts are afterwards
cast up in pellets in the same manner as with Hawks.
I have never seen the nearly-allied
and very similar Marsh Warbler, Acrocephalus palustris,
in Guernsey, but, as it may occasionally occur, it
may be as well perhaps to point out what little distinction
there is between the species. This seems to me
to consist chiefly in the difference of colour, the
Reed Warbler, Acrocephalus streperus, at all
ages and in all states of plumage, being a warmer,
redder brown than Acrocephalus palustris, which
is always more or less tinged with green. The
legs in A. streperus are always darker than
in A. palustris; the beak also in A. palustris
seems rather broader at the base and thicker.
This bird also has a whitish streak over the eye,
which seems wanting in A. streperus. These distinctions
seem to me always to hold, good even in specimens
which have been kept some time and have faded to what
has now generally got the name of “Museum colour.”
Mr. Dresser, in his ‘Birds of
Europe,’ points out another distinction which
no doubt is a good one in adult birds with their quills
fully grown, but fails in young birds and in adults
soon after the moult, before the quills are fully
grown, and also before the moult if any quills have
been shed and not replaced. This distinction is
that in A. streperus the second (that is the
first long quill, for the first in both species is
merely rudimentary) is shorter than the fourth, and
in A. palustris it is longer.
Though I think it not at all improbable
that the Marsh Warbler, Acrocephalus palustris,
may occur in Guernsey, I should not expect to find
it so much in the wet reed-beds in the Grand Mare and
at the Vale pond as amongst the lilac bushes and ornamental
shrubs in the gardens, or in thick bramble bushes
in hedgerows and places of that sort.
36. SEDGE WARBLER. Acrocephalus
schoenobaenus, Linnaeus. French, “Bee-fin
phragmite.” -- The Sedge Warbler
is by no means so common as the Reed Warbler, though,
like it, it is a summer visitant, and is quite as
local. I did not see any amongst the reeds which
the Reed Warbler delighted in, but I saw a few amongst
some thick willow hedges with thick grass and rushes
growing by the side of the bank, and a small running
stream in each ditch. Though perfectly certain
the birds were breeding near, we could not find the
nests. So well were they hidden amongst the thick
grass and herbage by the side of the stream that Colonel
l’Estrange and myself were quite beaten in our
search for the nest, though we saw the birds several
times quite near enough to be certain of their identity.
I did not shoot one for the purpose of identification,
as perhaps I ought to have done, but I thought if I
shot one it would be extremely doubtful whether I
should ever find it amongst the thick tangle certainly
unless quite dead there would not have been a chance.
I felt quite certain, however, that all I saw were
Sedge Warblers; had I felt any doubt as to the possibility
of one of them turning out to be the Aquatic Warbler,
Acrocephalus aquaticus, I should certainly
have tried the effect of a shot. As it is quite
possible, however, that the Aquatic Warbler may occasionally,
or perhaps regularly, in small numbers, visit the
Channel Islands, as they are quite within its geographical
range, I may point out, for the benefit of any one
into whose hands it may fall, that it may easily be
distinguished from the Sedge Warbler by the pale streak
passing through the centre of the dark crown of the
head.
The Sedge Warbler is not mentioned
by Professor Ansted in his list, and there is no specimen
of either this or the Reed Warbler in the Museum.
37. DARTFORD WARBLER. Melizophilus
undatus, Boddaert. French, “Pitchou
Provencal,” “Bee-fin Pittechou.” -- The
Dartford Warbler is by no means common in the Channel
Islands indeed I have never seen one there
myself, but Miss C.B. Carey records one in the
‘Zoologist’ for 1874 as having been knocked
down with a stone in the April of that year and brought
into Couch’s shop, where she saw it. I have
no doubt of the correctness of this identification,
as Miss Carey knew the bird well. I see no reason
why it should not be more common in Guernsey than is
usually supposed, as there are many places well suited
to it, but its rather dull plumage, and its habit
of hiding itself in thick furze-bushes, and creeping
from one to another as soon as disturbed, contribute
to keep it much out of sight, unless one knows and
can imitate its call-note, in which case the male
bird will soon answer and flutter up to the topmost
twig of the furze-bush in which it may have previously
been concealed, fluttering its wings, and repeating
the call until again disturbed. This is the only
occurrence of which I am aware in any of the Islands,
included in the limits I have prescribed for myself;
but Mr. Harvie Brown has recorded two seen by him near
Greve de Lecq, in Jersey, in January. See ‘Zoologist’
for 1869, .
It is not included in Professor Ansted’s
list, and there is no specimen in the Museum.
38. WHITETHROAT. Sylvia rufa,
Boddaert. French, “Fauvette grise,”
“Bec-fin Grisette.” -- The
Whitethroat has hitherto perhaps been better known
by the name used in the former edition of ‘Yarrell’
and by Messrs. Degland and Gerbe, Curruca
cinerea, but in consequence of the inexorable
rule of the British Association the name “rufa,”
given by Boddaert in 1783, has now been accepted for
this bird. I have not generally thought it necessary
to point out these changes, but in this instance it
seemed necessary to do so, as in the former edition
of ‘Yarrell’ the Chiffchaff was called
by the name Sylvia rufa, and this might possibly
have caused some confusion unless the change had been
pointed out.
The Whitethroat is by no means so
common in the Channel Islands as it is in England,
and though a regular summer visitant it only makes
its appearance in small numbers. A few, however,
may be seen about the fields and hedgerows in the
more cultivated parts of the country. It certainly
has not got the reputation for mischief in the garden
it has in England, as none of the gardeners I asked
about it, and who were complaining grievously of the
mischief done by birds, ever mentioned the Whitethroat,
or knew the bird when asked about it.
Professor Ansted includes the bird
in his list, and restricts it to Guernsey, but I see
no reason why it should not occur equally in Sark
and Herm. There is no specimen at present in the
Museum.
39. LESSER WHITETHROAT. Sylvia
curruca, Linnaeus. French, “Bee-fin
babillard.” -- Like the Whitethroat,
the Lesser Whitethroat is a regular, but by no means
a numerous summer visitant to Guernsey. I saw
a few in the willow-hedges about the Grand Mare, and
in one or two other places near there, and young Le
Cheminant had one or two eggs in his collection, probably
taken about L’Eree.
The Lesser Whitethroat is included
in Professor Ansted’s list, and only marked
as occurring in Guernsey. There is at present
no specimen in the Museum.
40. BLACKCAP. Sylvia atricapilla,
Linnaeus. French, “Fauvette a tete
noire,” “Bec-fin a tete
noire.” -- Though generally known
as the Guernsey Nightingale, the Blackcap, though
a regular, is by no means a numerous summer visitant.
I have, however, always seen a few about every time
I have been in the Island in the summer. There
are a few eggs in the Museum, and in Le Cheminant’s
collection.
The Blackcap is mentioned by Professor
Ansted in his list, and restricted to Guernsey.
There is only one specimen a female at
present in the Museum.
41. WILLOW WREN. Phylloscopus
trochilus, Linnaeus. French, “Bee-fin
Pouillat.” -- The Willow Wren is a tolerably
numerous summer visitant, I believe, to all the Islands,
though I have only seen it myself in Guernsey and
Sark. In Guernsey I have seen it about the Grand
Mare, and in some trees near the road about St. George,
and about the Vallon on the other side of the Island.
It remains all the summer and breeds.
Professor Ansted has not included
it in his list, although it seems tolerably well known,
and has a local name “D’mouaiselle,”
which Mr. Metivier, in his ‘Dictionary,’
applies to the Willow Wren of the English. This
name, however, is probably equally applicable to the
Chiffchaff.
42. CHIFFCHAFF. Phylloscopus
collybita, Vieillot. French, “Bee-fin
veloce.” -- The Chiffchaff is certainly
more common in Guernsey than the Willow Wren.
In Guernsey I have seen it in several places; about
Candie, where a pair had a nest this summer in the
mowing-grass before the house; near the Vallon; and
about St. George. I have also seen it in Sark,
but not in either of the other Islands, though no doubt
it occurs in Herm, if not in Alderney.
It is mentioned by Professor Ansted
as occurring in Guernsey and Sark. I have never
seen the Wood Wren in Guernsey, and, judging from its
favourite habitations here in Somerset, I should not
think it at all likely to remain in the Channel Islands
through the summer, though an occasional straggler
may touch the Islands on migration. There is no
specimen of either the Chiffchaff or Willow Wren in
the Museum.
43. GOLDEN-CRESTED WREN. Regulus
cristatus, Koch. French, “Roitelet
ordinaire.” -- The Golden-crest
is resident in the Islands, but not very numerous,
and I doubt if its numbers are regularly increased
in the autumn by migrants, as is the case in the Eastern
Counties of England. Migratory flocks, however,
sometimes make their appearance; and Mr. MacCulloch
writes to me “The Golden-crest occasionally
comes over in large flocks, apparently from Normandy,
flying before bad weather. This, however, cannot
be said to have been the cause of the large flight
that appeared here so recently as the last days in
April,” 1878. This flock was mentioned
in the ‘Star’ of April the 27th as follows: “A
countryman informs us that a few days since, whilst
he was at L’ancresse Common, he saw several
flocks of these smallest of British birds, numbering
many hundreds in each, settle in different parts of
the Common before dispersing over the Island.
In verification of his words he showed us two or three
of these tiny songsters which he had succeeded in knocking
down with a stick.” This large migratory
flock had entirely disappeared from L’ancresse
Common when we went to live there for two months in
May of the same year; there was not then a Golden
Crest to be seen about the Common. The whole
flock had probably resumed their journey together,
none of them having “dispersed over” or
remained in the Island, and certainly, as far as I
could judge, the numbers in other parts of the Island
had not increased beyond what was usual and one might
ordinarily expect. I have not been able to learn
that the migratory flock above spoken of extended
to any of the other Islands.
The Golden-crested Wren is mentioned
by Professor Ansted, and marked as occurring in Guernsey
and Sark. There are two a male and
female in the Museum.
44. FIRE-CRESTED WREN. Regulus
ignicapillus, C.L. Brehm. French, “Roitelet
a triple bandeau.” -- I have a pair of
these killed in Guernsey about 1872, but I have not
the exact date; and Mr. Couch, who knew the Fire-crested
Wren well, writing to me on the 23rd of March, 1877,
says: “I had the head and part of
a Fire-crest female brought me by a young lady.
She told me her brother knocked down two, and the other
had a beautiful red and gold crest; so it must have
been the male.” As Mr. Couch knew both
the Goldcrest and Fire-crest well, and the distinction
between them, I have no doubt he rightly identified
the bird which was brought to him. These and
the pair in my collection are the only Guernsey specimens
I can be certain of.
The ‘Star’ newspaper,
however, in the note above quoted as to the migratory
flock of Golden-crests, says: “It
may be a fact hitherto unknown to many of our readers
that the Fire-crested Wren, very similar in appearance
to the Golden-crested Wren, is not very uncommon in
our Island. The Fire-crested Wren so closely
resembles its confrere, the Golden-crested
Wren, that only a practised eye can distinguish the
difference between them.” I do not quite
agree with the ‘Star’ as to the Fire-crest
not being “very uncommon,” though it occasionally
occurs. I do not think it can be considered as
anything but a rare occasional straggler. And
this from its geographical distribution, which is rather
limited, is what one would expect; it is not very common
on the nearest coast of France or England, though
it occasionally occurs about Torbay, which is not
very far distant.
The name Fire-crest has probably led
to many mistakes between this bird and the Golden-crest,
as a brightly-coloured male Gold-crest has the golden
part of the crest quite as bright and as deeply coloured
as the Fire-crest; and the female Fire-crest has a
crest not a bit more deeply coloured than the female
Gold-crest. In point of fact the colour of the
crest is of no value whatever in distinguishing between
the birds, and the “practised eye” would
find itself puzzled if it only relied upon that.
The French name for the Fire-crest,
however, “Roitelet a triple bandeau,”
is much more descriptive, as under the golden part
of the crest there is a streak of black, and under
that again a streak of white over the eye, and a streak
of black through the eye; there is also a streak,
or rather perhaps a spot of white, under the eye.
The Gold-crest has only the streak of black immediately
under the gold crest; below that the whole of the
side of the face and the space immediately surrounding
the eye is a uniform dull olive-green. If this
distinction is once known and attended to the difference
between the two birds may be immediately detected
by even the unpractised eye.
A very interesting account of the
nesting of this bird is given by Mr. Dresser, in his
‘Birds of Europe,’ he having made a journey
to Altenkirchen, where the Fire-crest is numerous,
on purpose to watch it in the breeding-season.
The nest he describes as very like that of the Golden-crest;
the eggs also are much like those of that bird, though
a little redder in colour.
The Fire-crest is not mentioned in
Professor Ansted’s list, and there is no specimen
at present in the Museum.
45. WREN. Troglodytes parvulus,
K.L. Koch. French, “Roitelet,”
“Troglodyte mignon,” “Troglodyte
ordinaire.” -- The Wren is common
and resident in all the Islands, and very generally
distributed, being almost as common amongst the wild
rocks on the coast as in the inland parts. On
the 7th of July, 1878, I found a Wren’s nest
amongst some of the wildest rocks in the Island; the
hinder part of the nest was wedged into a small crevice
in the rock very firmly, the nest projecting and apparently
only just stuck against the face of the rock.
A great deal of material had been used, and the nest,
projecting from the face of the rock as it did, looked
large, and when I first caught sight of it I thought
I might have hit upon an old Water Ouzel’s nest.
On getting close, however, I found it was only a Wren’s,
with young birds in it. I visited this nest several
times, and saw the old bird feeding her young.
I could not, however, quite make out what she fed them
with, but I think with insects caught amongst the
seaweed and tangle amongst the rocks. After the
young were flown I took this nest, and was astonished
to find, when it was taken out of the crevice, how
much material had been used in wedging it in, and
how firmly it was attached to the rock. This was
certainly necessary to keep it in its place in some
of the heavy gales that sometimes happen even at that
time of year; in a very heavy north-westerly gale
it would hardly have been clear of the wash of the
waves at high water.
The Wren is included in Professor
Ansted’s list, but marked as only occurring
in Guernsey. There is no specimen in the Museum.
46. TREE-CREEPER. Certhia
familiaris, Linnaeus. French, “Grimpereau,”
“Grimpereau familier.” -- The
Tree-creeper is resident and not uncommon in all the
Islands, except perhaps Alderney, in which Island I
have never seen it. In Guernsey it may be seen
in most of the wooded parts, and frequently near the
town, in the trees on the lawns at Candie, Castle
Carey, and in the New Ground. I have never seen
it take to the rocks near the sea, like the Wren.
It is mentioned in Professor Ansted’s
list, and marked as occurring in Guernsey and Sark.
There is no specimen in the Museum.
47. GREAT TIT. Parus major,
Linnaeus. French, “Mésange Charbonnière.” -- The
Paridae are by no means well represented in the Islands,
either individually or as to number of species; and
the Guernsey gardeners can have very little cause
to grumble at damage done to the buds by the Tits.
The Great Tit is moderately common and resident in
Guernsey, but by no means so common as in England.
During the whole two months I was in the Island this
last summer, 1878, I only saw two or three Great Tits,
and this quite agrees with my experience in June and
July, 1866, and at other times.
The Great Tit is included in Professor
Ansted’s list, but only marked by him as occurring
in Sark.
48. BLUE TIT. Parus caeruleus,
Linnaeus. French, “Mésange bleue.” -- Like
the Great Tit, the Blue Tit is resident in all the
Islands, but by no means numerous. In Guernsey
it is pretty generally distributed over the more cultivated
parts, but nowhere so numerous as in England.
It is included in Professor Ansted’s list, and
marked as occurring in Guernsey and Sark.
I have not included either the Cole
Tit or the Marsh Tit in this list, as I have never
seen either bird in the Islands, and have not been
able to find that they are at all known either in
Guernsey or any of the other Islands.
Professor Ansted, however, includes
the Cole Tit in his list, and marks it as occurring
in Guernsey, but no other information whatever is given
about it; and there is no specimen in the Museum, as
there is of both the Great and the Blue Tits.
I have not succeeded in getting a specimen myself.
49. LONG-TAILED TIT. Acredula
caudata, Linnaeus. French, “Masange
a longue queue.” -- The Long-tailed Tit
is certainly far from common in Guernsey at present,
and I have never seen it in the Islands myself.
But Mr. MacCulloch writes me word “The
Long-tailed Tit is, or at least was, far from uncommon.
Probably the destruction of orchards may have rendered
it less common. The nest was generally placed
in the forked branch of an apple-tree, and so covered
with grey lichens as to be almost indistinguishable.
I remember, in my youth, finding a nest in a juniper-bush.”
It is included in Professor Ansted’s
list, and marked as occurring in Guernsey and Sark.
There is, however, no specimen now in the Museum.
I am very doubtful as to whether I
ought to include the Bearded Tit, Panurus biarmicus
of Linnaeus, in this list. There are a pair in
the Museum, but these may have been obtained in France
or England. One of Mr. De Putron’s men,
however, described a bird he had shot in the reeds
in Mr. De Putron’s pond in the Vale, and certainly
his description sounded very much as if it had been
a Bearded Tit; but the bird had been thrown away directly
after it was shot, and there was no chance of verifying
the description.
50. WAXWING. Ampelis garrulus,
Linnaeus. French, “Jaseur de Bohême,”
“Grand Jaseur.” -- As would seem
probable from its occasional appearance in nearly
every county in England, the Waxwing does occasionally
make its appearance in Guernsey as a straggler.
I have never seen it myself, but Mr. MacCulloch writes
me word “I have known the Bohemian
Waxwing killed here on several occasions, but have
not the date.”
An interesting account of the nesting
habits of this bird, and the discovery of the nests
and eggs by Mr. Wolley, was published by Professor
Newton in the ‘Ibis’ for 1861, and will
be found also in Dresser’s ‘Birds of Europe.’
and in the new edition of ‘Yarrell,’ by
Professor Newton.
It is included in Professor Ansted’s
list, and marked as occurring in Guernsey; and there
is one specimen in the Museum.
51. PIED WAGTAIL. Motacilla
lugubris, Temminck. French, “Bergeronette
Yarrellii.” -- The Pied Wagtail has probably
been better known to some of my readers as Motacilla
Yarrellii, but, according to the rules of nomenclature
before alluded to, Motacilla lugubris of Temminck
seems to have superseded the probably better-known
name of Motacilla Yarrellii.
For some reason or other the Pied
Wagtail has grown much more scarce in Guernsey than
it used to be; at one time it was common even about
the town, running about by the gutters in the street,
and several were generally to be seen on the lawn
at Candie. But this last summer that
of 1878 I did not see one about Candie,
or indeed anywhere else, except one pair which were
breeding near the Vale Church; and when there in November,
1875, I only saw one, and that was near Vazon Bay.
Mr. MacCulloch has also noticed this growing scarcity
of the Pied Wagtail, as he writes to me “Of
late years, for some reason or other, Wagtails of
all sorts have become rare.” In the summer
of 1866, however, I found the Pied Wagtail tolerably
common.
It is included in Professor Ansted’s
list, and marked as occurring in Guernsey and Sark.
52. WHITE WAGTAIL. Motacilla
alba, Linnaeus. French, “Lavendiere,”
“Hoche-queue grise,” “Bergeronette
grise.” -- The White Wagtail is
still scarcer than the Pied, but I saw one pair evidently
breeding between L’ancresse Road and Grand Havre.
The White Wagtail so much resembles the Pied Wagtail,
that it may have been easily overlooked, and may be
more common than is generally known.
The fully adult birds may easily be
distinguished, especially when in full breeding plumage,
as the back of the Pied Wagtail is black, while that
of the White Wagtail is grey. After the autumnal
moult, however, the distinction is not quite so easy,
as the feathers of the Pied Wagtail are then margined
with grey, which rather conceals the colour beneath;
but if the feathers are lifted up they will be found
to be black under the grey margins. The young
birds of the year, in their first feathers, cannot
be distinguished, and the same may be said of the
eggs.
The White Wagtail is included in Professor
Ansted’s list, but marked as only occurring
in Guernsey. There is no specimen either of the
Pied or White Wagtail in the Museum.
53. GREY WAGTAIL. Motacilla
melanope, Pallas. French, “Bergeronette
jaune.” -- The Grey Wagtail is by
no means common in the Islands, though it may occasionally
remain to breed, as I have seen it both in Guernsey
and Sark between the 21st of June and the end of July
in 1866, but I have not seen it in any of the Islands
during the autumn. It is, however, no doubt an
occasional, though never very numerous, winter visitant,
probably more common, however, at this time of year
than in the summer, as I have one in winter plumage
shot in Guernsey in December, and another in January,
1879, and there is also one in the Museum in winter
plumage.
Professor Ansted includes it in his
list, and marks it as occurring in Guernsey and Sark.
54. YELLOW WAGTAIL. Motacilla
raii, Bonaparte. French, “Bergeronnette
flaveole. -- As far as I have been able to judge the Yellow Wagtail is only an
occasional visitant on migration. A few, however, may sometimes remain to
breed. I have one Channel Island specimen killed in Guernsey the last week
in March. Mr. MacCulloch, however, writes me word that in some years they i.e., Yellow Wagtails are
not very uncommon, but of late, for some reason or
other, Wagtails of all sorts have become rare.
He adds “I am under the impression
that we have more than one Yellow Wagtail.”
It is, therefore, possible that the Greyheaded Wagtail,
the true Motacilla flava of Linnaeus, may occasionally
occur, or in consequence of the bright yellow of portions
of its plumage the last-mentioned species the
Grey Wagtail may have been mistaken for
a second species of Yellow Wagtail. I have not
myself seen the Yellow Wagtail in either of the Islands
during my summer visits in 1866, 1876, or 1878; so
it certainly cannot be very common during the breeding-season,
or I could scarcely have missed seeing it.
Professor Ansted has not included
it in his list, and there is no specimen at present
in the Museum.
55. TREE PIPIT. Anthus trivialis,
Linnaeus. French, “Pipit des
arbres,” “Pipit des buissons.” -- A
very numerous summer visitant to all the Islands,
breeding in great numbers in the parts suited to it.
In the Vale it was very common, many of the furze-bushes
on L’Ancresse Common containing nests.
The old male might constantly be seen flying up from
the highest twigs of the furze-bush, singing its short
song as it hovered over the bush, and returning again
to the top branch of that or some neighbouring bush.
This continued till about the middle of July, when
the young were mostly hatched, and many of them flown
and following their parents about clamorous for food,
which was plentiful in the Vale in the shape of numerous
small beetles, caterpillars, and very small snails.
The young were mostly hatched by the beginning of July,
but I found one nest with young still in it in a furze-bush
about ten yards from high water-mark as late as the
27th of July, but the young were all flown when I
visited the nest two days afterwards. The Tree
Pipits have all departed by the middle of October,
and I have never seen any there in November.
The Tree Pipit is mentioned in Professor
Ansted’s list, but no letters marking the distribution
of the species amongst the Islands are given.
There is no specimen of this or either of the other
Pipits in the Museum.
56. MEADOW PIPIT. Anthus pratensis,
Linnaeus. French, “Le cujelier,”
“Pipit des près,” “Pipit
Farlouse.” -- The Meadow Pipit is
resident and breeds in all the Islands, but is by
no means so numerous as the Tree Pipit is during the
summer. I think, however, its numbers are slightly
increased in the autumn, about the time of the departure
of the Tree Pipits, by migrants.
It is included by Professor Ansted
in his list, but marked as occurring only in Guernsey.
57. ROCK PIPIT. Anthus obscurus,
Latham. French, “Pipit obsur,” “Pipit
spioncelle.” -- Resident and numerous,
breeding amongst the rocks and round the coast of
all the Islands. It is also common in all the
small outlying Islands, such as Burhou, and all the
little rocky Islands that stretch out to the northward
of Herm, and are especially the home of the Puffin
and the Lesser Black-backed Gull. On all of these
the Rock Pipit may be found breeding, but its nest
is generally so well concealed amongst the thrift
samphire, wild stock, and other seaside plants which
grow rather rankly amongst those rocks, considering
how little soil there generally is for them and what
wild storms they are subject to, that it is by no
means easy to find it, though one may almost see the
bird leave the nest.
The Bock Pipit is included in Professor
Ansted’s list, but marked as only occurring
in Guernsey. All the Rock Pipits I have
seen in the Channel Islands have been the common form,
Anthus obscurus; I have never seen one of the
rufous-breasted examples which occur in Scandinavia
and the Baltic, and have by some been separated as
a distinct species under the name of Anthus rupestris.
58. SKY LARK. Alauda arvensis,
Linnaeus. French, “Alouette des
champs.” -- Mr. Metivier, in his ‘Dictionary,’
gives Houedre as the local Guernsey-French name of
the Sky Lark. As may be supposed by its having
a local name, it is a common and well-known bird,
and is resident in all the Islands. I have not
been able to find that its numbers are much increased
by migrants at any time of year, though probably in
severe weather in the winter the Sky Larks flock a
good deal, as they do in England. The Sky Lark
breeds in all the Islands, and occasionally places
its nest in such exposed situations that it is wonderful
how the young escape. One nest we found by a
roadside near Ronceval; it was within arm’s
length of the road, and seemed exposed to every possible
danger. When we found it, on the 15th of June,
there were five eggs in it, fresh, or, at all events,
only just sat on, as I took one and blew it for one
of my daughters. On the 19th we again visited
the nest; there were then four young ones in it, but
they were so wonderfully like the dry grass which
surrounded the nest in colour that it was more difficult
to find it then than when the eggs were in it, and
except for the young birds moving as they breathed
I think we should not have found it a second time.
A few days after July the 3rd there
was very heavy rain all night. Next day we thought
the Sky Larks must be drowned (had they been Partridges
under the care of a keeper they would have been), but
as it was only one was washed out of the nest and
drowned; the rest were all well and left the nest
a few days after. So in spite of the exposed
situation close to a frequented road, on a bit of common
ground where goats and cows were tethered, nets and
seaweed, or “vraic,” as it is called in
Guernsey, spread for drying, dogs, cats, and children
continually wandering about, and without any shelter
from rain, the old birds brought off three young from
their five eggs.
The Sky Lark is mentioned in Professor
Ansted’s list as occurring only in Guernsey
and Sark. It is, however, quite as common in Alderney
and Herm. There is no specimen in the Museum.
59. SNOW BUNTING. Plectrophanes
nivalis, Linnaeus. French, “Ortolan
de neige,” “Bruant de
neige.” -- The Snow Bunting is probably
a regular, though never very numerous, autumnal visitant,
remaining on into the winter. It seems to be
more numerous in some years than others. Mr. Mac
Culloch tells me a good many Snow Buntings were seen
in November, 1850.
Mr. Couch records one in the ‘Zoologist’
for 1874 as having been killed at Cobo on the 28th
of September of that year. This seems rather an
early date. When I was in Guernsey in November,
1875, I saw a few flocks of Snow Buntings, and one a
young bird of the year which had been killed
by a boy with a catapult, was brought into Couch’s
shop about the same time, and I have one killed at
St. Martin’s, Guernsey, in November, 1878; and
Captain Hubbach writes me word that he shot three out
of a flock of five in Alderney in January, 1863.
Professor Ansted mentions the Snow
Bunting in his list as occurring in Guernsey and Sark,
and there is a specimen at present in the Museum.
60. BUNTING. Emberiza miliaria,
Linnaeus. French, “Le proyer,”
“Bruant proyer.” -- The
Bunting is resident in Guernsey and breeds there, but
in very small numbers, and it is very local in its
distribution. I have seen a few in the Vale.
I saw two or three about the grounds of the Vallon
in July, 1878, which were probably the parents and
their brood which had been hatched somewhere in the
grounds.
It is mentioned in Professor Ansted’s
list as occurring only in Guernsey. There is
one specimen in the Museum.
61. YELLOW HAMMER. Emberiza
citrinella, Linnaeus. French, “Bruant
jaune.” -- The Yellow Hammer, though
resident and breeding in all the Islands, is by no
means as common as in many parts of England. In
Alderney perhaps it is rather more common than in Guernsey,
as I saw some near the Artillery Barracks this summer,
1878, and Captain Hubbach told me he had seen two
or three pairs about there all the year. In Guernsey,
on the other hand, I did not see one this summer, 1878.
I have, however, shot a young bird there which certainly
could not have been long out of the nest. I have
never seen the Cirl Bunting in any of the Islands,
nor has it, as far as I know, been recorded from them,
which seems rather surprising, as it is common on the
South Coast of Devon, and migratory, but not numerous,
on the North Coast of France; so it is very probable
that it may yet occur.
The Yellow Hammer is included in Professor
Ansted’s list, and marked as occurring in Guernsey
and Sark. There are also a pair in the Museum.
62. CHAFFINCH. Fringilla caelebs,
Linnaeus. French, “Pinson ordinaire,”
“Grosbec pinson.”–
The Chaffinch is resident, tolerably common, and generally
distributed throughout the Islands, but is nowhere
so common as in England. In Guernsey this year,
1878, it seemed to me rather to have decreased in
numbers, as I saw very few, certainly not
so many as in former years, though I could
not find that there was any reason for the decrease.
It is, of course, mentioned in Professor
Ansted’s list, but by him only marked as occurring
in Guernsey and Sark. There is only one a
female at present in the Museum.
63. BRAMBLING. Fringilla montifringilla,
Linnaeus. French, “Pinson d’Ardennes.”
“Grosbec d’Ardennes.” -- The
Brambling can only be considered an occasional autumn
and winter visitant, and probably never very numerous.
I have never seen the bird in the Channel Islands myself.
I have, however, one specimen a female killed
in Brock Road, Guernsey, in December, 1878, and I
have been informed by Mr. MacCulloch that he had a
note of the occurrence of the Brambling or Mountain
Finch in January, 1855. It cannot, however, be
looked upon as anything more than a very rare occasional
straggler, by no means occurring every year.
It is mentioned in Professor Ansted’s
list, and marked as occurring in Guernsey and Sark.
There is no specimen at present in the Museum.
64. TREE SPARROW. Passer montanus,
Linnaeus. French, “Friquet.” -- The
Tree Sparrow breeds, and is probably resident in the
Islands. Up to this year, 1878, I have only seen
it once myself, and that was on the 7th of June, 1876,
just outside the grounds of the Vallon in Guernsey.
From the date and from the behaviour of the bird I
have no doubt it had a nest just inside the grounds.
I could not then, however, make any great search for
the nest without trespassing, though I got sufficiently
near the bird to be certain of its identity.
This year, 1878, I could not see one anywhere about
the Vallon, either inside or outside the grounds.
I saw, however, one or two about the Vale, but they
were very scarce. I have not myself seen the
Tree Sparrow in any of the other Islands.
It is included in Professor Ansted’s
list, and marked as occurring in Sark only. I
have not seen a specimen at Mr. Couch’s, or any
of the other bird-stuffers, but there is one in the
Museum and some eggs, all of which are probably Guernsey.
65. HOUSE SPARROW. Passer
domesticus, Linnaeus. French, “Moineau
domestique,” “Grosbec moineau.” -- The
House Sparrow is very numerous throughout the Islands,
abounding where there are any buildings inhabited
by either man, horses, or cattle. In the gardens
near the town of St. Peter’s Port, in Guernsey,
it is very common, and does a considerable amount
of mischief. It is, however, by no means confined
to the parts near the town, as many were nesting in
some ilex trees near the house we had on L’Ancresse
Common, although the house had been empty since the
previous summer, and the garden uncultivated; so food
till we came must have been rather scarce about there.
As the wheat is coming into ear the Sparrows, as in
England, leave the neighbourhood of the town and other
buildings and spread themselves generally over the
country, for the purpose of devouring the young wheat
while just coming into ear and still soft. In
Alderney, owing probably in a great measure to the
absence of cottages, farm-buildings, and stables at
a distance from the town, and also perhaps owing to
the absence of hedges, it is not so numerous in the
open part, and consequently not so mischievous, being
mostly confined to the town, and to the buildings about
the harbour-works. The young wheat, however,
is still a temptation, and is accordingly punished
by the Sparrows.
The House Sparrow is mentioned by
Professor Ansted in his list, but no letters are given
marking the general distribution over the Islands,
probably because it is so generally spread over them.
The local Guernsey-French name is “Grosbec,”
for which see Metivier’s ‘Dictionary.’
66. HAWFINCH. Coccothraustes
vulgaris, Pallas. French, “Grosbec.” -- The
Hawfinch or Grosbeak, as it is occasionally called,
is by no means common in Guernsey, and I have never
seen it there myself, but I have a skin of one killed
in the Catel Parish in December, 1878; and Mr. MacCulloch
informs me it occasionally visits that Island in autumn,
but in consequence of its shy and retiring habits
it has probably been occasionally overlooked, and
escaped the notice of the numerous gunners to whom
it would otherwise have more frequently fallen a victim.
The bird-stuffer and carpenter in Alderney had one
spread out on a board and hung up behind his door,
which had been shot by his friend who shot the Greenland
Falcon, in the winter of 1876 and 1877, somewhere about
Christmas. I know no instance of its remaining
to breed in the Islands, though it may occasionally
do so in Guernsey, as there are many places suited
to it, and in which it might well make its nest without
being observed. As it seems increasing in numbers
throughout England, it is by no means improbable that
it will visit the Channel Islands more frequently.
The Hawfinch is included in Professor Ansted’s
list, and by him marked as occurring only in Guernsey.
There are two specimens in the Museum.
67. GREENFINCH. Coccothraustes
chloris, Linnaeus. French, “Grosbec
verdier,” “Verdier ordinaire.” -- The
Greenfinch is a common resident, and breeds in all
the Islands, but is certainly not quite so common as
in England. It is more numerous perhaps in Guernsey
and Sark than in Alderney; it is also pretty common
in Jethou and Herm.
It is included in Professor Ansted’s
list, but only marked as occurring in Guernsey and
Sark. There is no specimen in the Museum.
68. GOLDFINCH. Carduelis elegans,
Stephens. French, “Chardonneret,”
“Grosbec chardonneret.” -- The
Goldfinch is resident in and breeds in all the Islands.
In Guernsey I was told a few years ago that it had
been much more numerous than it then was, the bird-catchers
having had a good deal to answer for in having shortened
its numbers. It is now, however, again increasing
its numbers, as I saw many more this year (1878) than
I had seen before at any time of year. There
were several about the Grand Mare, and probably had
nests there, and I saw an old pair, with their brood
out, at St. George on the 5th of June, and soon after
another brood about Mr. De Putron’s pond, where
they were feeding on the seeds of some thistles which
were growing on the rough ground about the pond.
I have also seen a few in Alderney; and Captain Hubbach
writes me word that the Goldfinch was quite plentiful
here (Alderney) in the winter of 1862 and 1863.
But he adds “I have not seen one here
this year.” So probably its numbers are
occasionally increased by migratory flocks in the
winter.
Professor Ansted includes the Goldfinch
in his list, but marks it as occurring only in Guernsey
and Sark. There is no specimen in the Museum.
69. SISKIN. Carduelis spinus,
Linnaeus. French, “Tarin,” “Grosbec
tarin.” -- The Siskin can only be
looked upon as an occasional, accidental visitant indeed,
I only know of one instance of its occurrence, and
that is recorded by Mr. Couch at of the ‘Zoologist’
for 1875 in the following words: “I
have the first recognised specimen of the Siskin;
a boy knocked it down with a stone in an orchard at
the Vrangue in September.” This communication
is dated November, 1874. I have never seen the
Siskin in any of the Channel Islands myself, and Mr.
MacCulloch writes me word “I have
never heard of a Siskin here, but, being migratory,
it may occur.” I see, however, no reason
to doubt Mr. Couch’s statement in the ‘Zoologist,’
as the bird was brought into his shop. He must
have had plenty of opportunity of identifying it, though
he does not tell us whether he preserved it. There
can, however, be no possible reason why the Siskin
should not occasionally visit Guernsey on migration,
as it extends its southern journey through Spain to
the Mediterranean and across to the North-western
Coast of Africa; and the Channel Islands would seem
to lie directly in its way.
The Siskin, however, is not mentioned
in Professor Ansted’s list, and there is no
specimen at present in the Museum.
70. LINNET. Linota cannabina,
Linnaeus. French, “Linotte,”
“Grosbec linotte.” -- The
Linnet is resident and the most numerous bird in the
Islands by far, outnumbering even the House Sparrow,
and it is equally common and breeds in all the Islands.
The Channel Islands Linnets always appear to me extremely
bright-coloured, the scarlet on the head and breast
during the breeding-season being brighter than in any
British birds I have ever seen. Though the Linnet
is itself so numerous, it is, as far as I have been
able to ascertain, the only representative of its
family to be found in the Channel Islands; at least
I have never seen and had no information of the occurrence
of either the Lesser Redpole, the Mealy Redpole, or
the Twite, though I can see no reason why each of
these birds should not occasionally occur.
The Linnet is included in Professor
Ansted’s list, but marked by him as only occurring
in Guernsey and Sark; and there is a specimen in the
Museum.
71. BULLFINCH. Pyrrhula europaea,
Vieillot. French, “Bovreuil commun.” -- Miss
C.B. Carey, in the ‘Zoologist’ for
1874, mentions a Bullfinch having been brought into
Couch’s shop in November of that year, and adds “This
bird is much more common in Jersey than it is here.”
Miss Carey is certainly right as to its not being common
in Guernsey, as I have never seen the bird on any
of my expeditions to that Island, nor have I seen
it in either of the other Islands which come within
my district.
Professor Ansted includes the Bullfinch
in his list, but oddly enough only marks it as occurring
in Guernsey and Sark, although Mr. Gallienne, in his
remarks published with the list, says “The
Bullfinch occasionally breeds in Jersey, but is rarely
seen in Guernsey,” so far agreeing with Miss
Carey’s note in the ‘Zoologist,’
but he does not add anything about Sark. There
is no specimen in the Museum.
72. COMMON CROSSBILL. Loxia
curvirostra, Linnaeus. French, “Bec-croise,”
“Bec-croise commun.” -- The
Crossbill is an occasional visitant to all the Islands,
and sometimes in considerable numbers, but, as in
England, it is perfectly irregular as to the time of
year it chooses for its visits. Mr. MacCulloch
writes me word “The Crossbill is
most uncertain in its visits. Many years will
sometimes pass without a single one being heard of.
When they do come it is generally in large flocks.
I have known them arrive in early autumn, and do great
havoc amongst the apples, which they cut up to get
at the pips. Sometimes they make their appearance
in the winter, seemingly driven from the Continent
by the cold.”
My first acquaintance with the Crossbill
was in Sark on the 25th of June, 1866, when I saw
a very fine red-plumaged bird in a small fir-plantation
in the grounds of the Lord of Sark. It was very
tame, and allowed me to approach it very closely.
I did not see any others at that time amongst the
fir-trees, though no doubt a few others were there.
On my return to Guernsey on the following day I was
requested by a bird-catcher to name some birds that
were doing considerable damage in the gardens about
the town. Thinking from having seen the one in
Sark, and from his description, that the birds might
be Crossbills, I asked him to get me one or two, which
he said he could easily do, as the people were destroying
them on account of the damage they did. In a day
or two he brought me one live and two dead Crossbills,
and told me that as many as forty had been shot in
one person’s garden. The two dead ones
he brought me were one in red and the other in green
plumage, and the live one was in green plumage.
This one I brought home and kept in my aviary till
March, 1868, when it was killed by a Hawk striking
it through the wires. It was, however, still
in the same green plumage when it was killed as it
was when I brought it home, though it had moulted
twice.
The Crossbill did not appear at that
time to be very well known in Guernsey, as neither
the bird-catcher nor the people in whose gardens the
birds were had ever seen them before or knew what they
were. This year (1866), however, appears to have
been rather an exceptional year with regard to Crossbills,
as I find some recorded in the ‘Zoologist’
from Norfolk, the Isle of Wight, Sussex, and Henley-on-Thames,
about the same time; therefore there must have been
a rather widely-spread flight. From that time
I did not hear any more of Crossbills in the Islands
till December, 1876, when Mr. Couch sent me a skin
of one in reddish plumage, writing at the same time
to say “The Crossbill I sent from
its being so late in the season when it was shot the
11th of December; there were four of them in a tree
by Haviland Hall. I happened to go into the person’s
house who shot it, and his children had it playing
with.”
I do not know that there is any evidence
of the Crossbill ever having bred in the Islands,
though it seems to have made its appearance there
at almost all times of year. Mr. MacCulloch mentions
its feeding on the apple-pips, and doing damage in
the orchards accordingly, and I know it is generally
supposed to do so, and has in some places got the name
of “Shell Apple” in consequence, but though
I have several times kept Crossbills tame, and frequently
tried to indulge them with apples and pips, I have
never found them care much about them; and a note of
Professor Newton’s, in his edition of ‘Yarrell,’
seems to agree with this. He says: “Of
late it has not been often observed feeding on apples,
very possibly owing to the greatly-increased growth
of firs, and especially larches, throughout the country.
In Germany it does not seem ever to have been known
as attacking fruit-trees.”
The Crossbill is included in Professor
Ansted’s list, and only marked as occurring
in Guernsey and Sark. There is no specimen in
the Museum.
73. COMMON STARLING. Sturnus
vulgaris, Linnaeus. French, “Étourneau
vulgaire.” -- The Starling is sometimes
very numerous in the autumn, but those remaining throughout
the year and breeding in the Island are certainly
very few in number, as I have never seen the Starling
in any of my summer visits; and Mr. MacCulloch tells
me “the Starling may possibly still breed here,
but it certainly is not common in summer. A century
ago it used to nest in the garrets in the heart of
the town.” As to its not being common in
summer, that quite agrees with my own experience,
but a few certainly do breed in the Island still, or
did so within a very few years, as Miss C.B.
Carey had eggs in her collection taken in the Island
in 1873 or 1874, and I have seen eggs in other Guernsey
collections, besides those in the Museum. When
I was in Guernsey in November, 1871, Starlings were
certainly unusually plentiful, even for the autumn,
very large flocks making their appearance in all parts
of the Island, and in the evening very large flocks
might be seen flying and wheeling about in all directions
before going to roost. Many of these flocks I
saw fly off in the direction of Jersey and the French
coast, and they certainly continued their flight in
that direction as long as I could follow them with
my glass, but whether they were only going to seek
a roosting-place and to return in the morning, or
whether they continued their migration and their place
was supplied by other flocks during the night, I could
not tell, but certainly there never seemed to be any
diminution in their numbers during the whole time
I was there from the 1st to the 16th of November.
I think it not at all improbable that many of these
flocks only roosted out of the Island and returned,
as even here in Somerset they collect in large flocks
before going to roost, and fly long distances, sometimes
quite over the Quantock Hills, to some favourite roosting-place
they have selected, and return in the morning, and
the distance would in many places be nearly as great.
These flocks of Starlings seem to have continued in
the Island quite into the winter, as Miss Carey notes,
in the ‘Zoologist’ for 1872, seeing a
flock in the field before the house at Candie close
to the town as late as the 6th of December, 1871.
At the same time that there were so many in Guernsey,
Starlings were reported as unusually numerous in Alderney,
but how long the migratory flocks remained there I
have not been able to ascertain.
The Starling is included in Professor
Ansted’s list, but marked as only occurring
in Guernsey and Sark. There are two specimens
in the Museum and some eggs.
74. CHOUGH. Pyrrhocorax graculus,
Linnaeus. French, “Crave.” -- The
Chough is a common resident in Guernsey, breeding amongst
the high rocks on the south and east part of the Island,
and in the autumn and winter spreading over the cultivated
parts of the Island, sometimes in considerable flocks,
like Rooks.
As Jackdaws are by no means numerous
in Guernsey, and as far as I have been able to make
out never breed there, the Choughs have it all their
own way, and quite keep up their numbers, even if they
do not increase them, which I think very doubtful,
though I can see no reason why they should not, as
their eggs are always laid in holes in the cliffs,
and very difficult to get at, and at other times of
year the birds are very wary, and take good care of
themselves, it being by no means easy to get a shot
at them, unless by stalking them up behind a hedge
or rock; and as they are not good eating, and will
not sell in the market like Fieldfares and Redwings,
no Guernsey man thinks of expending powder and shot
on them; so though not included in the Guernsey Bird
Act, the Choughs on the whole have an easy time of
it in Guernsey, and ought to increase in numbers more
than they apparently do. In Sark the Choughs
have by no means so easy a time, as the Jackdaws outnumber
them about the cliffs, and will probably eventually
drive them out of the Island indeed, I
am afraid they have done this in Alderney, as I did
not see any when there in the summer of 1876, nor in
this last summer (1878); and Captain Hubbach writes
me word he has seen none in Alderney himself this
year (1878). I, however, saw some there in previous
visits, but now for some reason, probably the increase
of Jackdaws, the Choughs appear to me nearly, if not
quite, to have deserted that Island. In Herm
and Jethou there are also a few Choughs, but Jackdaws
are the more numerous in both Islands. No Choughs
appear to inhabit the small rocky islets to the northward
of Herm, though some of them appear to be large enough
to afford a breeding-place for either Choughs or Jackdaws,
but neither of these birds seem to have taken possession
of them; probably want of food is the occasion of
this. Mr. Metivier, in his ‘Rimes Guernseaise,’
gives “Cahouette” as the local Guernsey-French
name of the Chough, though I suspect the name is equally
applicable to the Jackdaw.
The Chough is mentioned in Professor
Ansted’s list, but marked as only occurring
in Guernsey and Sark. There are two specimens
in the Museum.
75. JACKDAW. Corvus monedula,
Linnaeus. French, “Choucas,”
“Choucas gris.” -- I am quite
aware that many Guernsey people will tell you that
there are no Jackdaws in Guernsey, but that their place
is entirely taken by Choughs. Mr. MacCulloch
seems to be nearly of this opinion, as he writes me “I
suppose you are right in saying there are a few Jackdaws
in Guernsey, but I do not remember ever to have seen
one here;” and he adds “I believe
they are common in Alderney,” which is certainly
the case; as I said above, they have almost, if not
quite, supplanted the Choughs there. There are,
however, certainly a few Jackdaws in Guernsey, as
I have seen them there on several occasions, but I
cannot say that any breed there, and I think they are
only occasional wanderers from the other Islands,
Sark, Jethou, and Herm, where they do breed.
Mr. Gallienne’s note to Professor Ansted’s
list seems to agree very much with this, as he says “The
Jackdaw, which is a regular visitor to Alderney, is
rarely seen in Guernsey.” It is now, however,
resident in Alderney, as well as in Sark, Jethou, and
Herm.
It is mentioned in Professor Ansted’s
list, but only marked as occurring in Guernsey and
Sark, nothing being said about Alderney and the other
Islands in spite of Mr. Gallienne’s note.
There is no specimen at present in the Museum.
76. RAVEN. Corvus corax,
Linnaeus. French, “Corbeau,”
“Corbeau noir.” -- The Raven
can now only be looked upon as an occasional straggler.
I do not think it breeds at present in any of the Islands,
as I have not seen it anywhere about in the breeding-season
since 1866, when I saw a pair near the cliffs on the
south-end of the Island in June; but as the Raven
is a very early breeder, these may have only been
wanderers. It is probably getting scarcer in Guernsey,
as I have not seen any there since; and the last note
I have of Ravens being seen in the Island is in a
letter from Mr. Couch, who wrote me word that two
Ravens had been seen and shot at several times, but
not obtained, in November, 1873. I have not seen
a Raven in any of the other Islands, and do not know
of one having occurred there.
Professor Ansted includes it in his
list, and marks it as only occurring in Guernsey.
There is no specimen at present in the Museum.
77. CROW. Corvus corone,
Linnaeus. French, “Corneille noire.” -- The
Crow is pretty common, and breeds in most of the Islands,
and probably at times commits considerable depredations
amongst the eggs and young of the Gulls and Shags at
all events it is by no means a welcome visitor to
the breeding stations of the Gulls, as in this summer
(1878) I saw four Crows about a small gullery near
Petit Bo Bay, one of which flew over the side of the
cliff to have a look at the Gulls’ eggs, probably
with ulterior intentions in regard to the eggs; but
one of the Gulls saw him, and immediately flew at
him and knocked him over: what the end of the
fight was I could not tell, but probably the Crow got
the worst of it, as several other Gulls went off to
join their companion as soon as they heard the row;
and the Crows trespassed no more on the domain of
the Gulls at least whilst I was there, which
was some time.
Professor Ansted includes the Crow
in his list, but only marks it as occurring in Guernsey
and Sark. There is no specimen in the Museum.
78. HOODED CROW. Corvus cornix,
Linnaeus. French, “Corbeau mantele,”
“Corneille mantelée.” -- The
Hooded Crow can only be considered an occasional autumnal
and winter visitant. I have never seen it myself
in the Islands, though many of my visits to Guernsey
have been in the autumn. Mr. Couch, however,
reports a small flock of Hooded Crows being in Guernsey
in November, 1873, one of which was obtained.
Mr. MacCulloch writes me word that the Hooded Crow
is a very rare visitant, and only, as far as he knows,
in very cold weather; and he adds “It
is strange that we should see it so rarely, as it
is very common about St. Maloes.” Colonel
l’Estrange, however, informed me that one remained
in Sark all last summer that of 1877 and
paired with a common Crow, but we could see nothing
of the couple this year. I believe it is not at
all uncommon for these birds to pair in Scotland and
other places where both species are numerous in the
breeding-season, but this is the only instance I have
heard of in the Channel Islands in fact,
it is the only time I have heard of the Hooded Crow
remaining on till the summer.
The Hooded Crow is included in Professor
Ansted’s list, and marked as occurring in Guernsey
and Sark; and there are two specimens in the Museum.
79. ROOK. Corvus frugilegus,
Linnaeus. French, “Freux”, “Corbeau
Freux.” -- I have never seen the
Rook in the Islands myself, even as a stranger, but
Mr. Gallienne in his notes to Professor Ansted’s
list, says, speaking of Guernsey, “The Rook
has tried two or three times to colonise, but in vain,
having been destroyed or frightened away.”
Mr. MacCulloch also writes me word much to the same
effect, as he says “I have known Rooks occasionally
attempt to build here (Guernsey), but they are invariably
disturbed by boys and guns, and driven off. They
sometimes arrive here in large flocks in severe winters.”
The Rook is mentioned in Professor
Ansted’s list as occurring in Guernsey only,
and there are two specimens in the Museum, both probably
Guernsey killed.
80. MAGPIE. Pica rustica,
Scopoli. French, “Pie”, “Pie
ordinaire.” -- The Magpie is resident
and tolerably common in Guernsey, breeding in several
parts of the Island; it is also resident, but I think
not quite so common, in Sark. I do not remember
having seen it in Alderney, and the almost entire
absence of trees would probably prevent it being anything
more than an occasional visitant to that Island.
It is included in Professor Ansted’s
list, but marked as only occurring in Guernsey; and
there are two specimens in the Museum.
81. LESSER SPOTTED WOODPECKER.
Picus minor, Linnaeus. French, “Pie
épeichette.” -- As may be expected,
the Woodpeckers are not strongly represented in the
Islands, and the present species, the Lesser Spotted
Woodpecker, is the only one as to the occurrence of
which I can get any satisfactory evidence.
Professor Ansted, however, includes
the Greater Spotted Woodpecker in his list, and marks
it as occurring in Guernsey only; and there is one
specimen of the Green Woodpecker, Gecinus viridis,
in the Museum, but there is no note whatever as to
its locality; so under these circumstances I have
not thought it right to include either species.
But as to the occurrence of the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker,
though I have not seen it myself, nor have I a Channel
Island specimen, I have some more evidence; for in
reply to some questions of mine on the subject, Mr.
Couch wrote to me in April, 1877, “Respecting
the Woodpecker, you may fully rely on the Lesser Spotted
as having been shot here, four examples having passed
through my hands; and writing from memory I will, as
near as possible, tell you when and where they were
shot. I took a shop here in 1866. In the
month of August, 1867, there was one brought to me
alive, shot in the water lanes, just under Smith’s
Nursery by a young gent at the College; he wounded
it in the wing. I wanted too much to stuff it
(2d.); he took the poor bird out, fixed it somewhere;
he and his companions fired at it so often they blew
it to atoms. The same year, early in September,
one was shot at St. Martin’s; I stuffed that
for a lady: there were four in the same tree;
the day following they were not to be found.
The second week in October, the same year I had one,
and stuffed it for the person who shot it out at St.
Saviour’s; there were two besides in the same
tree, but I had neither one myself. In 1868,
I stuffed one that was shot at St. Peter’s, in
December; it was taken home the Christmas Eve.
These were all I have had, but I have heard of their
being seen about since, twice or three times.”
In addition to this letter, which I have no reason
to doubt, Mr. MacCulloch wrote me word “We
have in the Museum a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, shot
near Havilland Hall, in November, 1855; I saw it before
it was stuffed.” This bird was not in the
Museum this year, (1878), as I looked everywhere for
it, so I suppose it was moth-eaten and thrown away,
like many others of the best specimens in the Museum,
after the years of neglect they have been subject
to. From these letters, there can be no doubt
whatever that the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker has been
occasionally procured in Guernsey, and that it may
be considered either an occasional autumnal visitant,
remaining on into winter, or, what is more probable,
a thinly-scattered resident.
It is included in Professor Ansted’s
list, and marked as only occurring in Guernsey.
As above stated, the specimen formerly in the Museum
no longer exists.
82. WRYNECK. Yunx torquilla,
Linnaeus. French, “Torcol ordinaire.” -- The
Wryneck, or, as it is called in Guernsey-French, “Parle”
is generally a numerous summer visitant to the Islands,
arriving in considerable numbers, about the same time
as the mackerel, wherefore it has also obtained the
local name of “Mackerel Bird.” It
is generally distributed through the Islands, remaining
through the summer to breed, and departing again in
early autumn, August, or September. Its numbers,
however, vary considerably in different years, as in
some summers I have seen Wrynecks in almost every
garden, hedgerow, or thick bush in the Island; always
when perched, sitting across the branches or twigs,
on which they were perched, and never longways or climbing,
as would be the case with a Woodpecker or Creeper;
and the noise made by the birds during the breeding-season,
was, in some years, incessant; this was particularly
the case in the early part of the summer of 1866,
when the birds were very numerous, and the noise made
was so great that on one occasion I was told that
the Mackerel Birds seriously interrupted a scientific
game of Croquet, which was going on at Fort
George, by the noise they made; I can quite believe
it, as, though I was not playing in the game, I heard
the birds very noisy in other parts of the Island.
This last summer, however (1878), I saw very few Wrynecks only
four or five during the whole of the two months I was
in the Islands, and hardly heard them at all.
It is included in Professor Ansted’s
list, but only marked as occurring in Guernsey and
Sark. There are two specimens in the Museum.
83. HOOPOE. Upupa Epops,
Linnaeus. French, “La Huppe,” “Huppe
ordinaire.” -- The Hoopoe, as may
be supposed from its geographical range and from its
frequent occurrence in various parts of England, is
an occasional visitant to the Channel Islands during
the seasons of migration, occurring both in spring
and autumn with sufficient frequency to have gained
the name of “Tuppe” in Guernsey-French.
Though occurring in spring and autumn, I am not aware
that it ever remains to breed, though perhaps it might
do so if not shot on every possible occasion.
This shooting of every straggler to the Channel Islands
is a great pity, especially with the spring arrivals,
as some of them might well be expected to remain to
breed occasionally if left undisturbed; and the proof
of the Hoopoe breeding in the Channel Islands would
be much more interesting than the mere possession
of a specimen of so common and well-known a bird:
if a local specimen should be wanted, it could be
obtained equally well in autumn, when there would be
no question as to the breeding. The autumn arrivals
seem also to be most numerous, at least judging from
the specimens recorded during the last four or five
years, as Mr. Couch records one, a female, shot near
Ronseval, in Guernsey, on the 26th of September; and
another also in Guernsey, shot on the 23rd of September;
I have one, obtained in Alderney in August, though
I have not the exact date; and another picked up in
a lane in St. Martin’s parish, in Guernsey,
on the 24th of August. During the same time I
only know of one spring occurrence; that was on April
the 10th of this year (1878), when two were seen,
and one shot in Herm, as recorded in the ‘Star’
newspaper, for April the 13th; this one I saw soon
afterwards at Mr. Jago’s, the bird-stuffer.
These birds were probably paired, and would therefore
very likely have bred in Herm, had one of them not
been shot, and the other accordingly driven to look
for a mate elsewhere. It would pay, as well as
be interesting, as I remarked in a note to the ‘Star’
in reference to this occurrence of the pair of Hoopoe’s,
to encourage these birds to breed in the Islands whenever
they shewed a disposition to do so, as, though rather
a foul-feeder and of unsavoury habits in its nest,
and having no respect for sanitary arrangements, the
Hoopoe is nevertheless one of the most useful birds
in the garden.
The Hoopoe is included in Professor
Ansted’s list, but only marked as occurring
in Guernsey and Sark. There are now only two specimens
in the Museum, and these have no note of date or locality,
but a few years ago there were several more, and one
or two I remember were marked as having been killed
in the spring; the rest were probably autumnal specimens.
84. CUCKOO. Cuculus canorus,
Linnaeus. French, “Coucou gris.” -- The
Cuckoo is one of the commonest and most numerous summer
visitants to the Islands, and is generally spread
over all of them; it arrives about the same time that
it does in England, that is to say, about the middle
of April. I know earlier instances even
as early as February have been recorded,
but these must have been recorded in consequence of
some mistake, probably some particularly successful
imitation of the note. Mr. MacCulloch seems to
think that the time of their arrival is very regular,
as he writes to me to say, “The Cuckoo generally
arrives here about the 15th of April; sometimes as
early as the 13th, as was the case this year (1878);
the first are generally reported from the cliffs at
St. Martin’s, near Moulin Huet, the first land
they would make on their arrival from Brittany.”
Very soon after their arrival, however, they spread
over the whole Island of Guernsey, as well as all the
other neighbouring islands, in all of which they are
equally plentiful; they seem to cross from one to
the other without much considering four or five miles
of sea, or being the least particular as to taking
the shortest passage across from island to island.
As usual, there were a great number of Cuckoos in
the Vale whilst I was there this summer (1878); but
I was unfortunate in not finding eggs, and in not seeing
any of the foster-parents feeding their over-grown
proteges: this was rather surprising,
as there were so many Cuckoos about, and many must
have been hatched and out of the nest long before we
left at the end of July. I should think, however,
Tree and Meadow Pipits, Skylarks and Stonechats,
from their numbers and the numbers of their nests,
must be the foster-parents most usually selected;
other favourites, such as Wagtails, Hedgesparrows,
and Robins, being comparatively scarce in that part
of the Island, and Wheaters, which were numerous, had
their nests too far under large stones to give the
Cuckoo an opportunity of depositing her eggs there.
I should have been very glad if I could have made
a good collection of Cuckoos’ eggs in the Channel
Islands, and, knowing how common the bird was, I fully
expected to do so, but I was disappointed, and consequently
unable to throw any light on the subject of the variation
in the colour of Cuckoos’ eggs, as far as the
Channel Islands are concerned, or how far the foster-parents
had been selected with a view to their eggs being
similar in colour to those of the Cuckoo about to
be palmed off upon them. The only Cuckoos’
eggs I saw were a few in the Museum, and in one or
two other small collections: all these were very
much the same, and what appears to me the usual type
of Cuckoo’s egg, a dull greyish ground much
spotted with brown, and a few small black marks much
like many eggs of the Tree or Meadow Pipit. It
is hardly the place here to discuss the question how
far Cuckoos select the nest of the birds whose eggs
are similar to their own, to deposit their eggs in,
or whether a Cuckoo hatched and reared by one foster-parent
would be likely to select the nest of the same species
to deposit its own eggs in; the whole matter has been
very fully discussed in several publications, both
English and German; and Mr. Dresser has given a very
full resume of the various arguments in his
‘Birds of Europe’; and whilst fully admitting
the great variation in the colour of the Cuckoos’
eggs, he does not seem to think that any particular
care is taken by the parent Cuckoo to select foster-parents
whose eggs are similar in colour to its own; and the
instances cited seem to bear out this opinion, with
which, as far as my small experience goes, I quite
agree.
Whilst on the subject of Cuckoos I
may mention, for the information of such of my Guernsey
readers who are not ornithologists, and therefore
not well acquainted with the fact, the peculiar state
of plumage in which the female Cuckoo occasionally
returns northward in her second summer; I mean the
dull reddish plumage barred with brown, extremely
like that of the female Kestrel: in this plumage
she occasionally returns in her second year and breeds;
but when this is changed for the more general plumage
I am unable to state for certain, but probably after
the second autumnal moult. The changes of plumage
in the Cuckoo, however, appear to be rather irregular,
as I have one killed in June nearly in the normal
plumage, but with many of the old feathers left, which
have a very Kestrel-like appearance, being redder than
the ordinary plumage of the young bird; some of the
tail-feathers, however, have more the appearance of
the ordinary tail-feathers of the young Cuckoo soon
after the tail has reached its full growth: the
moult in this bird must have been very irregular,
as it was not completed in June, when, as a rule,
it would have been in full plumage, unless, as may
possibly be the case, this bird was the produce of
a second laying during the southern migration, and
consequently, instead of a year, be only about six
months old. This, however, is not a very common
state of plumage; but it is by no means uncommon to
find a Cuckoo in May or June with a good deal of rusty
reddish barred with brown, forming a sort of collar
on the breast. I merely mention these rather abnormal
changes of plumage, as they may be interesting to
any of my Guernsey readers into whose hands a Cuckoo
may fall in a state of change and prove a puzzle as
to its identity. The Cuckoo departs from the Channel
Islands much about the same time that it does from
England on its southern migration in August or September.
Occasionally, however, this southern migration during
the winter seems to be doubted, as a clerical friend
of mine once told me that a brother clergyman, a well
educated and even a learned man, told him, when talking
about Cuckoos and what became of them in winter, that
“it was a mistake to suppose they migrated, but
that they all turned into Sparrow-hawks in the winter.”
As my friend said, could any one believe this of a
well-educated man in the nineteenth century?
The Cuckoo is mentioned in Professor
Ansted’s list, but only marked as occurring
in Guernsey and Sark. There are three specimens,
one adult and two young, in the Museum, as well as
some very ordinary eggs.
85. KINGFISHER. Alcedo ispida,
Linnaeus. French, “Martin Pécheur.” -- The
Kingfisher is by no means uncommon, is generally spread
over the Islands, and is resident and breeds at all
events in Guernsey, if not in the other Islands also.
It is generally to be seen amongst the wild rocks
which surround L’Ancresse Common, where it feeds
on the small fish left in the clear pools formed amongst
the rocks by the receding tide; it is also by no means
uncommon amongst the more sheltered bays in the high
rocky part of the Island; it is also to be found about
the small ponds in various gardens. About those
in Candie Garden I have frequently seen Kingfishers,
and they breed about the large ponds in the Vale in
Mr. De Putron’s grounds; they also occasionally
visit the wild rocky islets to the northward of Herm,
even as far as the Amfrocques, the farthest out of
the lot. As well as about the Vale ponds, the
Kingfisher breeds in holes in the rocks all round the
Island. I have not myself seen it in Alderney,
but Captain Hubbach writes me word he saw one there
about Christmas, 1862. I think its numbers are
slightly increased in the autumn by migrants, as I
have certainly seen more specimens in Mr. Couch’s
shop at that time of year than at any other; this
may perhaps, however, be accounted for, at all events
partially, by its being protected by the Sea Bird
Act during the summer and in early autumn, where the
‘Martin pécheur’ appears as one
of the “Oiseaux de Mer.”
It is included in Professor Ansted’s
list, and only marked as occurring in Guernsey and
Sark. There are three specimens now in the Museum.
86. NIGHTJAR. Caprimulgus
enropaeus, Linnaeus. French, “Engoulevent
ordinaire.” -- The Nightjar is a
regular autumnal visitant, a few perhaps arriving
in the spring and remaining to breed, but by far the
greater number only making their appearance on their
southward migration in the autumn. The Nightjar
occasionally remains very late in the Islands, as
Miss Carey records one in the ‘Zoologist’
for 1872 as occurring on the 16th of October; and
I have one killed as late as the 12th of November:
this bird had its stomach crammed with black beetles,
not our common domestic nuisances, but small winged
black beetles: these dates are later than the
Nightjar usually remains in England, though Yarrell
notices one in Devon as late as the 6th of November,
and one in Cornwall on the 27th of November.
Colonel Irby, on the faith of Fabier, says the Nightjars
cross the Straits of Gibraltar on their southward journey
from September to November; so these late stayers
in Cornwall and Guernsey have not much time to complete
their journey if they intend going as far south as
the coast of Africa; perhaps, however the Guernsey
ones have no such intention, as Mr. Gallienne, in
his remarks published with Professor Ansted’s
list, says “The Nightjar breeds here, and I have
obtained it summer and winter.” Mr. MacCulloch
tells me the Goatsucker is looked upon by the Guernsey
people as a bird of ill-omen and a companion of witches
in their aerial rambles. The bird-stuffer in
Alderney had some wings of Nightjars nailed up behind
his door which had been shot in that Island by himself.
Professor Ansted includes the Nightjar
in his list, but only marks it as occurring in Guernsey
and Sark. There are two specimens, a male and
female, in the Museum, but no date as to time of their
occurrence.
87. SWIFT. Cypselus apus,
Linnaeus. French, “Martinet de
Muraille.” -- The Swift is a tolerably
numerous summer visitant to all the Islands, but I
think most numerous in Sark, where hundreds of these
birds may be seen flying about the Coupee, amongst
the rocks of which place and Little Sark they breed
in considerable numbers. Mr. MacCulloch and Mr.
Gallienne appear to think the Swift rare in Guernsey,
as Mr Gallienne says in his remarks on Professor Ansted’s
list, “The swift appears here (Guernsey) in
very small numbers, but is abundant in Sark;”
and Mr. MacCulloch writes me word, “I consider
the Swift very rare in Guernsey.” I certainly
cannot quite agree with this, as I have found them
by no means uncommon, though certainly rather locally
distributed in Guernsey. One afternoon this summer
(1878) Mr. Howard Saunders and I counted forty within
sight at one time about the Gull Cliff, near the old
deserted house now known as Victor Hugo’s house,
as he has immortalised it by describing it in his
‘Travailleurs de la Mer.’ The Swifts
use this and two similar houses not very far off for
breeding purposes, a good many nesting in them, and
others, as in Sark, amongst the cliffs. Young
Le Cheminant had a few Swifts’ eggs in his small
collection, probably taken from this very house, as
the Swift is certainly, as Mr. MacCulloch says, rare
in other parts of Guernsey. In Alderney the Swift
is tolerably common, and a good many pairs were breeding
about Scott’s Hotel when I was there this year
(1878). Probably a good many Swifts visit the
Islands, especially Alderney, for a short time on
migration, principally in the autumn, as once when
I was crossing from Weymouth to Guernsey, on the 18th
of August, I saw a large flock of Swifts just starting
on their migratory flight; they were plodding steadily
on against a stormy southerly breeze, spread out like
a line of skirmishers, not very high, but at a good
distance apart; there was none of the wild dashing
about and screeching which one usually connects with
the flight of the Swift, but a steady business-like
flight; they went a little to the eastward of our course
in the steamer, and this would have brought them to
land in Alderney or Cape la Hague.
Professor Ansted included the Swift
in his list, but oddly enough, considering the remark
of Mr. Gallienne above quoted, marks it as only occurring
in Guernsey. There is no specimen at present in
the Museum.
88. SWALLOW, Hirundo rustica,
Linnaeus. French, “Hirondelle de
Cheminée.” -- According to Metivier’s
‘Dictionary,’ “Aronde”
is the local Guernsey-French name of the Swallow,
which is a common summer visitant to all the Islands,
and very generally distributed over the whole of them,
and not having particular favourite habitations as
the Martin has. It arrives and departs much about
the same time that it does in England, except that
I do not remember ever to have seen any laggers quite
so late as some of those in England. A few migratory
flocks probably rest for a short time in the Islands
before continuing their journey north or south, as
the case may be; the earliest arrivals and the latest
laggers belong to such migratory flocks, the regular
summer residents probably not arriving quite so soon,
and departing a little before those that pay a passing
visit; consequently the number of residents does not
appear at any time to be materially increased by such
wandering flocks.
Professor Ansted includes the Swallow
in his list, but only marks it as occurring in Guernsey
and Sark. There is no specimen of any of the
Hirundines in the Museum.
89. MARTIN. Chelidon urbica,
Linnaeus. French, “Hirondelle de
fenêtre.” -- The House Martin is
much more local than the Swallow, but still a numerous
summer visitant, like the Swallow, arriving and departing
about the same time that it does in England. It
is spread over all the Islands, but confined to certain
spots in each; in Guernsey the outskirts of the town
about Candie Road, and the rocks in Fermain and Petit
Bo Bay, seem very favourite nesting-places. In
Alderney there were a great many nests about Scott’s
Hotel and a few more in the town, but I did not see
any about the cliffs as at Fermain and Petit Bo in
Guernsey.
Professor Ansted includes it in his
list, but only marks it as occurring in Guernsey and
Sark.
90. SAND MARTIN. Cotyle riparia,
Linnaeus. French, “Hirondelle de
rivage.” -- When I first made out my
list of Guernsey birds I had omitted the Sand Martin
altogether, as I had never seen it in the Islands,
but Mr. MacCulloch wrote to me to say, “Amongst
the swallows you have not noticed the Sand Martin,
which is our earliest visitant in this family and
by no means uncommon.” In consequence of
this note, as soon as I got to the Island this year
(1878), in June, I went everywhere I could think likely
to look for Sand Martins, but nowhere could I find
that the Sand Martins had taken possession of a breeding-station.
Knowing from my own experience here that Sand Martins
are fond of digging their nest-holes in the heads
of quarries, (I had quite forty nest-holes in my quarry
this year, and forty pairs of Sand Martins inhabiting
them), I kept a bright look-out in all the stone-quarries
in the Vale, and they are very numerous, but I did
not see a single Sand Martin’s hole or a single
pair of birds anywhere; and it appeared to me that
the sandy earth forming the head was not deep enough
before reaching the granite to admit of the Sand Martins
making their holes; and they do not appear to me to
have fixed upon any other sort of breeding place in
the Island; neither could Mr. MacCulloch point one
out to me; so I suppose we must consider the Sand
Martin as only a spring visitant to this Island, not
remaining to breed. The same seems to me to be
the case in Alderney, as Captain Hubbach writes to
tell me he “saw some Sand Martins about the quarry
here (in Alderney), for two or three days at the beginning
of April, but cannot say whether they remained here
to breed or not.” I suppose they continued
their journey, as I did not see any when there in June;
I have not seen any in Sark or either of the other
small Islands.
Professor Ansted includes the Sand
Martin in his list, and marks it as occurring in Guernsey
and Sark.
91. WOOD PIGEON. Columba palumbus,
Linnaeus. French, “Colombe ramier.” -- The
Wood Pigeon is resident and breeds in several places
in Guernsey; but fortunately for the Guernsey Farmers,
who may congratulate themselves on the fact, the Wood
Pigeons do not breed in very great numbers. I
may mention the trees in the New Ground, Candie Garden,
the Vallon and Woodlands, as places where Wood Pigeons
occasionally breed. No doubt the number of Wood
Pigeons is occasionally increased by migratory, or
rather perhaps wandering, flocks, as Mr. Couch, in
a note to the ‘Zoologist,’ dated October
the 21st, 1871, says, “On Tuesday a great number
of Wood Pigeons rested and several were shot.”
Mr. MacCulloch also writes me, “The Wood Pigeon
occasionally arrives in large numbers. A few
years ago I heard great complaints of the damage they
were doing to the peas;” but luckily for the farmers
these wandering flocks do not stay long, or there would
be but little peas, beans, or grain left in the Islands;
and the Wood Pigeons would be more destructive to
the crops in Guernsey than in England, as there are
not many acorns or Beech masts on which they could
feed; consequently they would live almost entirely
on the farmer; and to show the damage they would be
capable of doing in this case, I may say that in the
crops of two that I examined some time ago not
killed in Guernsey however I found, in
the first, thirty seven beech-masts in the crop, and
eight others in the gizzard, sufficiently whole to
be counted; and in the crop of the other the astonishing
number of seventy-seven beech-masts and one large
acorn; the gizzard of this one I did not examine.
I only mention this to show the damage a few Wood
Pigeons would do supposing they were restricted almost
entirely to agricultural produce for their food, as
they would be in Guernsey if they lived there in any
great numbers.
The Wood Pigeon is mentioned by Professor
Ansted and marked as only occurring in Guernsey, and
probably as far as breeding is concerned this is right
(of course with the exception of Jersey); but wandering
flocks probably occasionally visit Alderney as well.
There is no specimen in the Museum.
92. ROCK DOVE. Columba livia,
Linnaeus. French, “Colombe biset.” -- I
have never seen the Rock Dove in any of the Islands,
though there are many places in all of them that would
suit its habits well; and Mr. MacCulloch writes to
me to say, “I have heard that in times past the
Rock Pigeon used to breed in large numbers in the caves
around Sark”; but this certainly is not the
case at present. Captain Hubbach also writes
to me from Alderney, “There were some Rock Doves
here in the winters of 1862 and 1863; I shot two or
three of them then.” Probably a few yet
remain in both Alderney and Sark, though they certainly
are not at all numerous in either island.
Professor Ansted includes the Rock
Dove in his list, and marks it as occurring in Guernsey
and Sark. There is no specimen in the Museum.
Professor Ansted also includes the Stock Dove, Columba
aenas, Linnaeus, in his list as occurring in Guernsey
and Sark; but I think he must have done so on insufficient
evidence, as I have never seen it and not been able
to gain any information about it; neither does Mr.
Gallienne say anything about it in his notes appended
to the list; so on the whole I think it better to
omit it in my list; but as it may occur at any time,
especially as it is certainly increasing considerably
in numbers in the West of England, I may mention that
it may be immediately distinguished from the Rock
Dove by the absence of the white rump, that part being
nearly the same colour as the back in the Stock Dove,
and from the Wood Pigeon, Columba palumbus,
by its smaller size and the entire absence of white
on the wing. It is perhaps more necessary to
point out this difference, as the Stock Dove frequently
goes by the name of the Wood Pigeon; indeed Dresser
has adopted this name for it, the Wood Pigeon being
called the Ring Dove, as is very frequently the case.
93. TURTLE DOVE. Turtur vulgaris,
Eyton. French, “Colombe tourterelle.” -- The
Turtle Dove is a regular, but probably never very
numerous summer visitant, arriving and departing about
the same time as in England. Neither Miss Carey
nor Mr. Couch ever mention it in their notes on Guernsey
birds in the ‘Zoologist’: and Mr.
MacCulloch, writing to me about the bird, does not
go farther than to say “The Turtle Dove has,
I believe, been known to breed here.” In
June, 1866, however, I shot one in very wild weather,
flying across the bay at Vazon Bay; so wild was the
weather with drifting fog and rain that I did not know
what I had till I picked it up; in fact, when I shot
it I thought it was some wader, flying through the
fog towards me. This summer (1878) I saw two
at Mr. Jago’s which had been shot at Herm in
May, just before I came; and in June I saw one or
two more about in Guernsey. The pair shot in
Herm would probably have bred in that island if they
had been left unmolested.
Professor Ansted mentions it in his
list, but only as occurring in Guernsey, and there
is one specimen in the Museum.
94. QUAIL. Coturnix communis,
Bonnaterre. French, “Caille.” -- I
have never seen the Quail in the Islands myself, and
it cannot be considered more than an occasional straggler;
there can be no doubt, however, that it sometimes
remains to breed, as there are some eggs in the Museum
which I have reason to believe are Guernsey taken,
and Mr. MacCulloch writes me word that “Quails
certainly visit us occasionally, and I remember having
seen their eggs in my youth”; and Mrs. Jago (late
Miss Cumber), who was herself a bird-stuffer in Guernsey
a good many years ago, told me she had had two Quails
through her hands during the time she had been stuffing;
but evidently she had not had very many, nor did she
think them very common, as she did not know what they
were when they were brought to her, and she was some
time before she found anyone to tell her. The
Quail breeds occasionally, too, in Alderney, as the
bird-stuffer and carpenter had some Quail’s and
Landrail’s eggs; these he told me he had taken
out of the same nest which he supposed belonged originally
to the Landrail, as there were rather more Landrail’s
than Quail’s eggs in it.
Professor Ansted includes the Quail
in his list, but marks it as occurring only in Guernsey.
There is a specimen in the Museum, and, as I said
before, several eggs.
95. WATER RAIL. Rallus aquations,
Linnaeus. French, “Rale d’eau.” -- The
Water Rail is not very common in Guernsey, but a few
occur about the Braye Pond, and in other places suited
to them; and, I believe, occasionally remain to breed,
as Mr. Jago, the bird-stuffer, told me he had seen
a pair of Water Rails and four young, his dog having
started them from a hedge near the Rousailleries farm;
the young could scarcely fly. I saw one at the
bird-stuffer’s at Alderney, which had been shot
in that Island; and the bird-stuffer told me they
were common, and he believed they bred there, but
he had no eggs. Their number, however, is, I
think, rather increased in the autumn by migrants;
at all events, more specimens are brought to the bird-stuffers
at that time of year. I have before mentioned
the incident of the Water Rail being killed by the
Merlin, recorded by Mr. Couch in the ‘Zoologist’
for 1875.
The Water Rail is included in Professor
Ansted’s list, and marked as occurring in Guernsey
and Sark. There are two specimens in the Museum.
96. SPOTTED CRAKE. Porzana
maruetta, Leach. French, “Poule
d’eau marouette.” -- I have
some doubt as to the propriety of including the Spotted
Crake in my list, but, on the whole, such evidence
as I have been able to collect seems in favour of
its being at all events occasionally seen and shot,
though its small size and shy skulking habits keep
it very much from general notice. Mr. MacCulloch,
however, writes to me to say the Spotted Rail has
been found here; and one of Mr. De Putron’s
labourers described a Rail to me which he had shot
in the Vale Pond in May, 1877, which, from his description,
could have been nothing but a Spotted Rail.
This is all the information I have
been able to glean, but Professor Ansted includes
it in his list, and marks it as occurring in Guernsey.
There are also two pretty good specimens in the Museum,
which I have no doubt were killed in Guernsey.
97. LANDRAIL. Crex pratensis,
Bechstein. French, “Rale des près,”
“Rale de terre” où
“de Genet,” “Poule d’eau
de genet.” -- The Landrail is a common
summer visitant, breeding certainly in Guernsey, Sark,
and Alderney, and probably in Herm, though I cannot
be quite so sure about the latter Island. It
seems to be rather more numerous in some years than
others, as occasionally I have heard them craking in
almost every field. But the last summer I was
in the Islands (1878) I heard very few. The Corn
Crake arrives and departs much about the same time
as in England, and I have never been able to find
that any stay on into the winter, or even as late
as November.
It is included in Professor Ansted’s
list, but only marked as occurring in Guernsey and
Sark. There are two specimens in the Museum.
98. MOORHEN. Gallinula chloropus,
Linnaeus. French, “Poule d’eau
ordinaire.” -- I have not seen the
Moorhen myself in Guernsey, but Mr. Couch, writing
to me in December, 1876, told me that Mr. De Putron
informed him that Coots, Waterhens, and Little Grèbes
bred that year in the Braye Pond; and Mr. De Putron,
to whom I wrote on the subject, said the information
I had received was perfectly correct. I see no
reason to doubt the fact of the Moorhen occasionally
breeding in Mr. De Putron’s pond, and perhaps
in other places in the Island, especially the Grand
Mare. But I do not believe they breed regularly
in either place; they certainly did not in this last
summer (1878), or I must have seen or heard them.
As far as Mr. De Putron’s pond is concerned,
I could not have helped hearing their loud call or
alarm note had only one pair been breeding there;
I have, however, a young bird of the year, killed in
Guernsey in November, 1878.
Professor Ansted includes it in his
list, and marks it as only occurring in Guernsey.
There are two specimens in the Museum, probably both
Guernsey killed.
99. COMMON COOT. Fulica atra,
Linnaeus. French, “Foulque,”
“Foulque macroule.” -- In
spite of Mr. De Putron’s statement that the Coot
bred in the Braye Pond in the summer of 1876, I can
scarcely look upon it in the light of anything but
an occasional and never numerous autumnal visitant;
and its breeding in the Braye Pond that year must have
been quite exceptional. In the autumn it occurs
both in the Braye Pond and on the coast in the more
sheltered parts. I have the skin of one killed
in the Braye Pond in November, 1876, which might have
been one of those bred there that year.
Professor Ansted includes the Coot
in his list, but only marks it as occurring in Guernsey.
There is no specimen in the Museum.
100. LITTLE BUSTARD. Otis
tetrax, Linnaeus. French, “Outarde
canepetière,” “Poule de
Carthage.” -- The Little Bustard can
only be considered a very rare occasional visitant
to the Channel Islands, and very few instances of
its occurrence have come under my notice. The
first was mentioned to me by Mr. MacCulloch, who wrote
me word that a Little Bustard was killed in Guernsey
in 1865, but unfortunately he gives no information
as to the time of the year. Another was shot by
a farmer in Guernsey early in March, 1866, and was
recorded by myself in the ‘Zoologist’
for that year. Mr. Couch also recorded one in
the ‘Zoologist’ for 1875, “as having
been shot at the back of St. Andrew’s (very
near the place where one was shot fifteen years ago)
on the 20th of November, 1874.” This bird
is now in the possession of Mr. Le Mottee, at whose
house I saw it, and was informed that it had been shot
at a place called the Éperons, in the parish
of St. Andrew’s, on the date above mentioned.
These are all the instances of the occurrence of the
Little Bustard in the Channel Islands that I have been
able to gain any intelligence of, but they are sufficient
to show that although by no means a common visitant,
it does occasionally occur on both spring and autumn
migration.
It is not included in Professor Ansted’s
list. There is, however, a specimen in the Museum,
which I was told, when I saw it in 1866, had been
killed the previous year, but there is no date of the
month, and I should think, from the state of plumage,
it was an autumn-killed specimen: it is still
in the Museum, as I saw it there again this year,
1878. This is probably the bird mentioned by Mr.
MacCulloch as killed in 1865, and also very likely
the one spoken of by Mr. Couch, in 1875, as having
been killed in St. Andrew’s fifteen years ago;
but there seems to have been some mistake as to Mr.
Couch’s date for this one, as, had it been killed
so long ago as 1860, it would in all probability have
been included in Professor Ansted’s list, and
mentioned by Mr. Gallienne in his remarks on some
of the birds included in the list.
101. THICK-KNEE. Oedicnemus
scolopax, S.G. Gmelin. French, “Oedicnème
criard,” “Poule d’Aurigny.” -- The
Thick-knee, Stone Curlew, or Norfolk Plover, as it
is called, though only an occasional visitant, is
much more common than the Little Bustard; indeed, Mr.
MacCulloch says that “it is by no means uncommon
in winter. The French call it ’Poule
d’Aurigny,’ from which one might suppose
it was more common in this neighbourhood than elsewhere.”
Miss C.B. Carey records one in the ‘Zoologist’
as killed in November, and Mr. Couch another as having
been shot on the 31st December. I have also seen
one or two hanging up in the market, and others at
Mr. Couch’s, late in November; and one is recorded
in the ‘Guernsey Mail and Telegraph’ as
having been shot by Mr. De Putron, of the Catel, on
the 3rd January, 1879. From these dates, as well
as from Mr. MacCulloch’s remark that it is not
uncommon in the winter, it would appear that as
in the Land’s End district in Cornwall the
Thick-knee reverses the usual time of its visits to
the British Islands, being a winter instead of a summer
visitant; and probably for the same reason, namely,
that the latitude of the Channel Islands, like that
of Cornwall, is about the same as that of its most
northern winter range on the Continent.
Professor Ansted includes it in his
list, but only marks it as occurring in Guernsey.
There is one specimen in the Museum.
102. PEEWIT. Vanellus vulgaris,
Bechstein. French, “Vanneau huppe.” -- The
Peewit is a common and rather numerous autumn and winter
visitant to all the Islands, though I have never seen
it in such large flocks as in some parts of England,
especially in Somerset. Those that do come to
the Islands appear to take very good care of themselves,
for I have always found them very difficult to get
a shot at, and very few make their appearance in the
market. Though generally a winter visitant, I
have seen occasional stragglers in summer. On
the 9th July this year (1878), for instance, I saw
one fly by me in L’Ancresse Bay; this was either
a young bird, or, if an adult, was not in breeding
plumage, as I could clearly see that the throat was
white– not black, as in the adult
in breeding plumage. A few days afterwards, July
19th, another or, perhaps, the same was
shot by some quarry-men on the common; this was certainly
a young bird of the year, and I had a good opportunity
of looking at it. In spite of occasional stragglers
of this sort making their appearance in the summer,
I have never been able to find that the Peewit breeds
on any of the Islands; but, by the 9th of July, stragglers,
both old and young, might easily come from the opposite
coast of Dorsetshire, where a good many breed, or from
the north of France.
Professor Ansted includes the Peewit
in his list, but only marks it as occurring in Guernsey.
There is no specimen in the Museum at present.
103. GREY PLOVER. Squatarola
helvetica, Linnaeus. French, “Vanneau
pluvier.” -- The Grey Plover is
a regular but by no means numerous visitant to the
coast of all the Islands during the winter months,
but I have never found it in flocks like the Golden
Plover. A few fall victims to the numerous gunners
who frequent the shores during the autumn and winter,
and consequently it occasionally makes its appearance
in the market, where I believe it often passes for
a Golden Plover, especially in the case of young birds
on their first arrival in November; but for the sake
of the unknowing in such matters, I may say that they
need never be deceived, as the Grey Plover has a hind
toe, and also has the axillary plume or the longish
feathers under the wing black, while the Golden Plover
has no hind toe and the axillary plume white:
a little attention to these distinctions, which hold
good at all ages and in all plumages, may occasionally
save a certain amount of disappointment at dinner
time, as the Grey Plover is apt to taste muddy and
fishy, and is by no means so good as the Golden Plover.
It is included in Professor Ansted’s
list, but only marked as occurring in Guernsey.
There are two specimens in the Museum, both in winter
plumage. Indeed, I do not know that it even remains
long enough in the Channel Islands to assume, even
partially, the black-breast of the breeding plumage,
as it so often does in England.
104. GOLDEN PLOVER. Charadrius
pluvialis, Linnaeus. French, “Pluvier
dore.” -- A common winter visitant
to all the Islands, arriving about the end of October
or beginning of November, and remaining till the spring,
sometimes till they have nearly assumed the black breast
of the breeding-season; but I do not know that the
Golden Plover ever breeds in the Islands, at all events
in the present day.
Professor Ansted includes the Golden
Plover in his list, and marks it as occurring in Guernsey
and Sark. There is one specimen in the Museum,
probably killed rather late in the spring, as it is
assuming the black breast.
105. DOTTEREL. Eudromias morinellus,
Linnaeus. French, “Pluvier guignard.” -- The
common Dotterel is a rare occasional visitant to the
Channel Islands, occurring, however, on both the spring
and autumn migration, as Mr. MacCulloch says he has
a note of a Dotterel killed in May, 1849; he does
not say in which of the Islands, but probably in Guernsey;
and I have a skin of one, a fine full-plumaged bird,
according to Mr. Couch, who forwarded me the skin,
a female by dissection, killed in Herm on the 26th
of April, 1877. Another skin I have is that of
a young bird of the year, killed in the autumn, I
should think early in the autumn August
or September; and the Rev. A. Morres, who kindly gave
me this last one, has also a skin of one killed at
the same time; both of these were Guernsey killed.
The Dotterel is included in Professor
Ansted’s list, and by him marked as having occurred
in Guernsey and Sark. I should think Alderney
a more likely place for the bird to have occurred
than Sark, but I have not been able to gain any information
about its occurrence there; neither the carpenter
bird-stuffer nor his sporting friend had a skin or
any part of the bird. There is no specimen now
in the Museum.
106. RING DOTTEREL. AEgialitis
hiaticula, Linnaeus. French, “Grand
pluvier a collier,” “Pluvier
a collier.” -- The Ring Dotterel is very
common in all the Islands in places suited to it.
Some remain throughout the summer, and a few of these,
but certainly very few, may breed in the Islands;
the great majority, however, of those that frequent
the coast in the winter are migrants, arriving in
the autumn and departing again in the spring.
Some, however, appear to arrive very early, and cannot
have bred very far off, perhaps on the neighbouring
coast of France or Dorset. I have the following
note on the subject in the ‘Zoologist’
for 1866, which gives the time of their arrival pretty
correctly. During the first two or three weeks
after my arrival that was on the 21st of
June, 1866 I found Ring Dotterels excessively
scarce even on parts of the coast, where, on other
visits later in the year, I had found them very numerous.
Towards the middle of July, however, they began to
frequent their usual haunts in small parties of six
or seven, most probably the old birds with their young.
These parties increased in number to twenty or thirty,
and before my departure, on the last day of July, they
mustered quite as thickly as I had ever seen them before.
On another summer visit to Guernsey, from the 3rd
to the 19th of June, 1876, I did not see any Ring
Dotterel at all, though at the time Kentish Plover
were common in most of the bays in the low parts of
the Island. The Ring Dotterel must therefore
have selected some breeding-place separate from the
Kentish Plover, probably not very far off; but I do
not believe it breeds at all commonly in the Islands.
This agrees very much with what I saw of the Ring
Dotterel this year (1878); there were a few in L’Ancresse
and one or two other bays, but none in Grand Havre,
close to which I was living, and I very much doubt
if any of those I saw were breeding. Neither
Colonel l’Estrange nor I found any eggs, though
we searched hard for them both in ’76 and ’78;
neither did we find any eggs either in Herm or Alderney.
Professor Ansted includes the Ring
Dotterel in his list, but marks it as only occurring
in Guernsey. There is a specimen in the Museum.
107. KENTISH PLOVER. AEgialitis
cantianus, Latham. French, “Pluvier
a collier interrompu.” I have always looked
upon the Kentish Plover as only a summer visitant
to the Islands, never having seen it in any of my
visits in October and November; but Mr. Harvie Brown
mentions (’Zoologist’ for 1869) seeing
some of these birds in January, at Herm, feeding with
the Ring Dotterel, but he says they always separated
when they rose to fly. If he is not mistaken,
which my own experience inclines me to think he was,
we must look upon the Kentish Plover as partially
resident in the Islands, the greater number, however,
departing in the autumn. Until this summer (1878)
I have been unsuccessful in finding the eggs of the
Kentish Plover, though I have had many hard searches
for them; and they are very difficult to find, unless
the bird is actually seen to run from the nest, or
rather from the eggs, for, as a rule, nest there is
none, the eggs being only placed on the sand, with
which they get half buried, when they may easily be
mistaken for a small bit of speckled granite and passed
by. In the summer of 1866, a friend and myself
had a long search for the eggs of a pair we saw and
were certain had eggs, as they practised all the usual
devices to decoy us from them, till my friend, actually
thinking one of the birds to be badly wounded, set
his dog at it; after this all chance was over:
this was in a small sandy bay, called Port Soif,
near the Grand Rocques Barracks. I mention this
as I am certain these birds had eggs or young somewhere
close to us, and this was the farthest point towards
Vazon Bay from the Vale I found them breeding.
The sandy shores of Grand Havre and L’Ancresse
Bay seemed to be their head breeding-quarters in Guernsey.
Though I only found one set of eggs in Grand Havre,
I am sure there were three or four pairs of birds breeding
there; the two eggs I found were lying with their thick
ends just touching each other and half buried in sand;
there was no nest whatever, not even the sand hollowed
out; they were in quite a bare place, just, and only
just, above the high-water line of seaweed. I
should not have found these if it had not been for
the tracks of the birds immediately round them.
In L’Ancresse Bay I was not equally fortunate,
but there were quite as many pairs of birds breeding
there. In Herm the shell-beach seems to be their
head breeding-quarters, and there Mr. Howard Saunders,
Colonel l’Estrange and myself found several sets
of eggs, generally three in number, but in one or
two instances four: these were probably hard-sat;
in one instance, with four eggs, the eggs were nearly
upright in the sand, the small end being buried, and
the thick end just showing above the sand. In
no instance in which I saw the eggs was there the
slightest attempt at a nest; but Colonel l’Estrange
told me that in one instance, in which he had found
some eggs a day or two before I got to Guernsey, quite
the end of May, he found there was a slight attempt
at a nest, a few bents of the rough herbage which grew
in the sand just above high-water mark having been
collected and the nest lined with them. I have
not found any eggs in Alderney, but I have no doubt
they breed in some of the sandy bays to the north of
the Island occasionally, if not always, as I have
seen them there in the breeding-season, both in 1876
and in 1866. This summer (1878) I was so short
a time in that Island that I had not time to search
the most likely places, but Captain Hubbach wrote
me “I do not think the Kentish Plover
remained here to breed this year, although I saw some
about in April.”
Professor Ansted includes the Kentish
Plover in his list, but only marks it as occurring
in Guernsey. There is one specimen, a male, in
the Museum.
108. TURNSTONE. Strepsilas
interpres, Linnaeus. French, “Tourne
pierre,” “Tourne pierre
a collier.” The cosmopolitan Turnstone is
resident in the Channel Islands; throughout the year
its numbers, however, are much increased in the autumn
by migrants, many of which remain throughout the winter,
leaving the Islands for their breeding-stations in
the spring. Some of those that remain throughout
the summer I have no doubt breed in the Islands, as
I have seen the old birds about with their young and
shot one in July; and on the 8th of June, 1876, I
saw a pair in full breeding plumage in L’Ancresse
Bay; I saw them again about the same place on the
16th: these birds were evidently paired, and
I believe had eggs or young on a small rocky island
about two or three hundred yards from the land, but
there was no boat about, and so I could not get over
to look for the eggs. Col. l’Estrange obtained
some eggs on one of the rocky islands to the north
of Herm, which certainly were not Tern’s eggs
as he supposed, and I believe them to have been Turnstone’s;
unluckily he did not take the eggs himself, but the
boatman who was with him took them, so he did not
see the bird go off the nest. This last summer
(1878) I was in hopes of being more successful either
in Guernsey itself or in Herm, or the rocks near there,
but I did not see a single Turnstone alive the whole
time I was in Guernsey. I think it very likely,
however, I should have been successful in Herm, as
I visited it several times both by myself and with
Col. l’Estrange and Mr. Howard Saunders; our
first visit was on June the 21st, when we did not
see a single Turnstone; but this was afterwards accounted
for, as on a visit to Jago, the bird-stuffer, a short
time afterwards, I found him skinning a splendid pair
of Turnstones which had been shot in Herm a few days
before our visit on the 17th or 18th of June; the
female had eggs ready for extrusion; I need not say
I did not exactly bless the person who, in defiance
of the Guernsey Sea Birds Act, had shot this pair
of Turnstones, as had they been left I have no doubt
we should have seen them, and probably found the eggs,
and quite settled the question of the Turnstone’s
breeding there. I have long been very sceptical
on this subject, but now I have very little doubt,
as I think, seeing the birds about, paired, in Guernsey
in June and the pair shot in Herm, the female with
eggs in June, pretty well removes any doubt as to
the Turnstone breeding in the Islands, and I do not
see why it should not, as it breeds quite as far south
in the Azores, and almost certainly in the Canaries.
Mr. Rodd, however, tells me he does not believe in
its breeding in the Scilly Islands, though it is seen
about there throughout the year, as it is in the Channel
Islands. Mr. Gallienne, in his remarks on Professor
Ansted’s list, merely says, “The Turnstone
is found about the neighbourhood of Herm throughout
the year.” It occurs also in Alderney in
the autumn, but I have not seen it there in the breeding-season.
Professor Ansted includes it in his
list, but only marks it as occurring in Guernsey.
There are a male and female, in breeding plumage, in
the Museum, and also one in winter plumage.
109. OYSTERCATCHER, Haematopus
ostralegus, Linnaeus. French, “Hiutrier
pie.” -- The Guernsey Bird Act includes
these birds under the name ‘Piesmarans,’
which is the name given to the Oystercatcher by all
the French-speaking fishermen and boatmen, and which
I suppose must be looked upon only as the local name,
though I have no doubt it is the common name also
on the neighbouring coast of Normandy and Brittany.
The Oystercatcher is resident all the year, and breeds
in all the Islands; I think, however, its numbers
are considerably increased in the autumn by migratory
arrivals; certainly the numbers actually breeding in
the Islands are not sufficient to account for the
immense flocks one sees about in October and November.
There seem, however, to be considerable numbers remaining
in flocks throughout the summer, without apparently
the slightest intention of separating for breeding
purposes, as I have often counted as many as forty
or fifty together in June and July. The Oystercatcher
breeds in Guernsey itself about the cliffs. Mr.
Howard Saunders, Colonel l’Estrange and myself
found one very curiously placed nest of the Oystercatcher
on the ridge of a hog-backed rock at the bottom of
the cliff, near the south end of the Island; it was
not much above high-water mark, and quite within reach
of heavy spray when there was any sea on: we
could distinctly see the eggs when looking down from
the cliffs on them, and the two old birds were walking
about the ridge of rock as if dancing on the tight-rope;
how they kept their eggs in place on that narrow ridge,
exposed as it was to wind and sea, was a marvel.
The Oystercatcher breeds also in both the small Islands,
Jethou and Herm, on almost all the rocky islands to
the north of Herm, in Sark and Alderney, and on Burhou,
near Alderney, where I found one clutch of three of
the most richly marked Oystercatcher’s eggs I
ever saw: these, as well as another clutch, also
of three eggs, were placed on rather curious nests;
they were on the smooth rock, but in both cases the
birds had collected a number of small stones and made
a complete pavement of them, on which they placed
their eggs; there was no protection, however, to prevent
the eggs from rolling off. Both in Burhou as well
as on the Amfroques and other rocks to the north of
Herm, the eggs of the Oystercatchers, as well as of
the other sea-birds breeding there, had been ruthlessly
robbed by fishermen and others, who occasionally visit
these wild rocks and carry off everything in the shape
of an egg, without paying any respect to the Bird
Act, which professes to protect the eggs as well as
the birds.
Professor Ansted includes the Oystercatcher
in his list, but only marks it as occurring in Guernsey
and Sark. There is an Oystercatcher and also
a few of the eggs in the Museum.
110. CURLEW. Numenins arquata,
Linnaeus. French, “Courlis,”
“Grand courlis cendre.” -- A
good many Curlews are to be found in the Islands throughout
the year, but I do not believe any of them breed there;
I have seen them in Guernsey, Jethou, Herm and Alderney,
all through the summer, but always in flocks on the
mud and seaweed below high-water mark, whenever they
can be there, searching for food, and quite as wild
and wary as in the winter. I have never seen them
paired, or in any place the least likely for them
to be breeding. I know Mr. Gallienne, in his
remarks to Professor Ansted’s list, says, “Although
I have never heard of the eggs of either the Curlew
or Whimbrel being found, I am satisfied they breed
here (I think at Herm), as they stay with us throughout
the year.” I cannot from my observation
agree with this supposition of the Curlew breeding
in the Islands; nor can I agree with the statement
made by a writer in ‘Cassel’s Magazine’
for June or July, 1878, that he found a young Curlew
in the down on one of the Islands near Jethou, probably
from the description ‘La Fauconniere.’
The writer of this paper in ‘Cassel’s
Magazine’ was evidently no ornithologist, and
must, I think, have mistaken a young Oystercatcher,
of which several pairs were breeding there at the
time, for a young Curlew; his description of the cry
of the old birds as they flew round was much more
like that of the Oystercatcher than the Curlew.
All of the boatmen also, with whom I have been about
at various times, agree that the Curlews do not breed
in the Islands, though they are quite aware that they
remain throughout the year, and as many of them, in
spite of the Guernsey Bird Act, are great robbers
of the eggs of the Gulls, Puffins, and Oystercatchers,
all of which they know well, they would hardly miss
such a fine mouthful as the egg of the Curlew if it
was to be found. No doubt the number of Curlews
is largely increased in the autumn by migratory visitors,
which remain throughout the winter and depart again
in the spring: though numerous during autumn
and winter, they are very wild and wary, and, as everywhere
else where I have had any experience of Curlews at
that time of year, very difficult to get a shot at;
consequently very few find their way into the market.
The Curlew is mentioned in Professor
Ansted’s list, but only marked as occurring
in Guernsey and Sark. There are two specimens
in the Museum.
111. WHIMBREL. Numenius phaeopus,
Linnaeus. French, “Courlis corlieu.” -- A
good many Whimbrel visit all the Islands during the
spring migration, and a few may stay some little time
into the summer, as I have seen them as late as June,
but, as far as I have been able to make out, none
breed there; a few also may make their appearance on
the autumn migration, but very few in comparison with
those which appear in the spring, and I have never
seen any there at that time. Purdy, one of the
Guernsey boatmen, who is pretty well up in the sea
and shore birds, told me the Whimbrel occurred commonly
in May, but not on the autumn migration. He added
that it was known there as the “May-bird,”
and was very good to eat, and much easier to shoot
than a Curlew, in which he is quite right.
Professor Ansted includes the Whimbrel
in his list, and marks it only as occurring in Guernsey
and Sark. There are two specimens in the Museum.
112. REDSHANK. Totanus calidris,
Linnaeus. French, “Chevalier gambette.” -- An
occasional but never numerous visitant to all the
Islands, on both spring and autumn migrations; none
appear to remain through the summer. I have,
however, a Redshank in full breeding plumage, killed
in Guernsey as late as the 23rd of April.
Professor Ansted includes the Redshank
in his list, but only marks it as occurring in Guernsey.
There are two specimens in the Museum.
113. GREEN SANDPIPER. Totanus
ochropus, Linnaeus. French, “Chevalier
cul blanc.” -- The Green Sandpiper
is an irregular, very scarce (not so numerous indeed
as the Redshank) visitant on the spring and autumn
migration. I have seen what was probably a family
party about Vazon Bay, in Guernsey, quite at the end
of July, but I do not believe this bird ever breeds
in the Islands: those I saw were probably the
parents and young brood of an early-breeding pair,
on their return from some not very distant breeding-ground.
Such parties seem only to pay the Islands a very short
visit on their return from their breeding-ground; at
least I have never seen a Green Sandpiper in the Islands
as late as October or November; it may, however, occasionally
occur in the winter, as I have a specimen from Torbay
killed in December.
Professor Ansted does not include
the Green Sandpiper in his list, though he does the
Wood Sandpiper, giving, however, no locality for it.
I have never seen this latter bird in the Islands,
however; nor have I been able to find that one has
ever passed through the hands of any of the local
bird-stuffers, and I cannot help thinking a mistake
has been made; as both birds may, however, occur,
and they are something alike, I may, for the benefit
of my Guernsey readers, mention that they may immediately
be distinguished; the axillary plume or long feathers
under the wing, in the Green Sandpiper, being black
narrowly barred with white; and in the Wood Sandpiper
the reverse, white with a few dark bars and markings;
the tail also, in the Green Sandpiper, is much more
distinctly and boldy barred with black and white.
Alive and on the wing they may be immediately distinguished
by the pure white rump and tail-coverts of the Green
Sandpiper, which are very conspicuous, especially
as the bird rises; the white on the same parts of the
Wood Sandpiper is much marked with brown, and consequently
never appears so conspicuously. There is one
Green Sandpiper at present in the Museum, which there
seems no reason to doubt is Guernsey killed.
114. COMMON SANDPIPER. Totanus
hypoleucos, Linnaeus. French, “Chevalier
guignette.” -- The Common Sandpiper,
or Summer Snipe as it is sometimes called, is a spring
and autumn visitant, but never a numerous one, sometimes,
however, remaining till the summer. One of Mr.
De Putron’s men told me he had seen one or two
about their pond all this summer (1878), and he believed
they bred there; but as to this I am very sceptical;
I could see nothing of the bird when I visited the
pond in June and July, and I fancy the birds stayed
about, as they do sometimes about my own pond here
in Somerset, till late perhaps in May, and then departed
to breed elsewhere. The latest occurrence I know
of was one recorded by Mr. Couch in the ‘Zoologist’
for 1874, as having been killed on the 3rd of October.
Mr. Couch adds that this was the first specimen of
the Common Sandpiper he had had since he had been in
the Islands.
The Common Sandpiper is included in
Professor Ansted’s list, and marked as occurring
in Guernsey and Sark. There is no specimen in
the Museum.
115. BARTAILED GODWIT. Limosa
lapponica, Linnaeus. French, “Barge
rousse.” -- The Bar-tailed Godwit
is a regular and sometimes rather numerous spring
and autumn visitant. In May, 1876, a considerable
number of these birds seem to have rested on the little
Island of Herm, where the keeper shot three of them;
two of these are now in my possession, and are very
interesting, as though all shot at the same time I
believe on the same day they are in various
stages of plumage, the most advanced being in thorough
breeding-plumage, and the other not nearly so far
advanced; and the third, which I saw but have not got,
was not so far advanced as either of the others.
In the two which I have the change of colour in the
feathers, without moult, may be seen in the most interesting
manner, especially in the least advanced, as many of
the feathers are still parti-coloured, the colouring
matter not having spread over the whole feather; in
the most advanced, however, nearly all the feathers
were fully coloured with the red of the breeding-plumage.
This red plumage remains till the autumn, when it is
replaced, after the moult, by the more sombre and
less handsome grey of the winter plumage. Though
the Bar-tailed Godwit goes far north to breed, not
breeding much nearer than Lapland and the north of
Norway and Sweden, both old and young soon show themselves
again in the Channel Islands on their return journey,
as I shot a young bird of the year in Herm the last
week in August. Most of the autumn arrivals,
however, soon pass on to more southern winter quarters,
only a few remaining very late, perhaps quite through
the winter, as I have one shot in Guernsey as late
as the 14th of December; this one, I need hardly say,
is in full winter plumage, and of course presents
a most striking difference to the one shot in Herm
in May.
The Bar-tailed Godwit is included
in Professor Ansted’s list, but only marked
as occurring in Guernsey. It is, however, as I
have shown, perhaps more common in Herm, and it also
occurs in Alderney. There is a series of these
in the Museum in change and breeding-plumage.
The Blacktailed Godwit is also included
in Professor Ansted’s list, but I have never
seen the bird in the Islands or been able to glean
any information concerning it, and there is no specimen
in the Museum.
116. GREENSHANK. Totanus canescens,
Gmelin. French, “Chevalier gris,”
“Chevalier aboyeur.” -- The Greenshank
can only be considered a rare occasional visitant.
I have never shot or seen it myself in the Islands,
but Miss C.B. Carey records one in the ‘Zoologist’
for 1872 as having been shot on the 2nd of October
of that year, and brought to Mr. Couch’s, at
whose shop she saw it.
The Greenshank is included in Professor
Ansted’s list, but there is no letter to note
which of the Islands it has occurred in. There
is no specimen in the Museum.
117. RUFF. Machetes pugnax,
Linnaeus. French, “Combatant,” “Combatant
variable.” -- The Ruff is an occasional
but not very common autumn and winter visitant; it
occurs, probably, more frequently in the autumn than
the winter. Mr. MacCulloch writes me, “I
have a note of a Ruff shot in October, 1871.”
This probably was, like all the Guernsey specimens
I have seen, a young bird of the year in that state
of plumage in which it leads to all sorts of mistakes,
people wildly supposing it to be either a Buff-breasted
or a Bartram’s Sandpiper. Miss C.B.
Carey records one in the ‘Zoologist’ for
1871 as shot in September of that year; this was a
young bird of the year. Miss C.B. Carey also
records two in the ‘Zoologist’ for 1872
as having been shot about the 13th of April in that
year; these she describes as being in change of plumage
but having no ruff yet; probably the change of colour
in the feathers was beginning before the long feathers
of the ruff began to grow; and this agrees with what
I have seen of the Ruff in confinement; the change
of colour in the feathers of the body begins before
the ruff makes its appearance.
Professor Ansted includes the Ruff
in his list, and only marks it as occurring in Guernsey.
There is no specimen in the Museum at present.
118. WOODCOCK. Scolopax rusticola,
Linnaeus. French, “Bécasse ordinaire.” -- The
Woodcock is a regular and tolerably common autumnal
visitant to all the Islands, arriving and departing
about the same time as in England, none,
however, remaining to breed, as is so frequently the
case with us. There might be some good cock shooting
in the Islands if the Woodcocks were the least preserved,
but as soon as one is heard of every person in the
Island who can beg, borrow, or steal a gun and some
powder and shot is out long before daylight, waiting
for the first shot at the unfortunate Woodcock as
soon as there should be sufficient daylight.
In fact, such a scramble is there for a chance at a
Woodcock that a friend of mine told me he got up long
before daylight one morning and went to a favourite
spot to begin at; thinking to be first on the ground,
he sat on a gate close by waiting for daylight; but
so far from his being the first, he found, as it got
light, three other people, all waiting, like himself,
to begin as soon as it was light enough, each thinking
he was going to be first and have it all his own way
with the cocks. Besides the gun, another mode
of capturing the Woodcocks used till very lately to
be, and perhaps still is, practised at Woodlands and
some other places where practicable in Guernsey.
Nets are set across open paths between the trees,
generally Ilex, through which the Woodcocks take their
flight when going out “roading,” as it
is called that is, when on their evening
excursion for food; into these nets the Woodcocks
fly and become easy victims.
Professor Ansted includes the Woodcock
in his list, but only marks it as occurring in Guernsey
and Sark. There is one specimen in the Museum.
119. SOLITARY SNIPE. Scolopax
major, Gmelin. French, “Grande
bécassine.” -- I have never been
fortunate enough to shoot a Solitary Snipe myself
in the Channel Islands, neither have I seen one at
any of the bird-stuffers; but that is not very likely,
as the shooter of a Solitary Snipe only congratulates
himself on having killed a fine big Snipe, and carries
it off for dinner, but, from some of the descriptions
I have had given me of these fine big Snipes, I have
no doubt it has occasionally been a Solitary Snipe.
Mr. MacCulloch also writes me word that the Solitary
Snipe occasionally occurs.
It is included in Professor Ansted’s
list, and marked by him as occurring in Guernsey and
Sark. There is no specimen at present in the
Museum.
120. SNIPE. Gallinago gallinaria,
Gmelin. French, “Bécassine ordinaire.” -- The
Common Snipe is a regular and rather numerous autumnal
visitant to all the Islands, remaining through the
winter and departing again in the spring, some few
remaining rather late into the summer. I am very
sceptical myself about the Snipe breeding in the Channel
Islands in the present day, although I was told one
or two were seen about Mr. De Putron’s pond
late this summer, and were supposed to be breeding
there; however, I could see nothing of them when there
in June and July, although, as I have said before,
Mr. De Putron kindly allowed me to search round his
pond for either birds or eggs. Mr. MacCulloch,
however, thinks they still breed in Guernsey, as he
writes to me to say, “I believe that Snipes
continue to breed here occasionally; I have heard of
them, and put them up myself in summer.”
If they do, I should think the most likely places
would be the wild gorse and heath-covered valleys
leading down to the Gouffre and Petit Bo Bay,
as there is plenty of water and soft feeding places
in both; I have never seen one there, however, though
I have several times walked both those valleys and
the intervening land during the breeding-season, and
I should think all these places were much too much
overrun with picnic parties and excursionists to allow
of Snipes breeding there now. Should the Snipe,
however, still breed in the Island, it would be as
well to give it a place in the Guernsey Bird Act,
as it is much more worthy of protection during the
breeding-season than many of the birds there mentioned.
Sometimes in the autumn I have seen and shot Snipe
in the most unlikely places when scrambling along
between huge granite boulders lying on a surface of
hard granite rock, where it would be perfectly impossible
for a Snipe to pick up a living; indeed with his sensitive
bill I do not believe a Snipe, if he found anything
eatable, could pick it off the hard ground. Probably
the Snipes I have found in these unlikely places were
not there by choice, but because driven from their
more favourite places by the continual gunning going
on in almost every field inland.
The Snipe is included in Professor
Ansted’s list, but only marked as occurring
in Guernsey: it is difficult to say why this should
be, when the Solitary Snipe and the Jack Snipe are
marked as occurring in Guernsey and Sark, and all
three are, at least, as common in Alderney as in the
other two Islands. There is one specimen in the
Museum.
121. JACK SNIPE. Gallinago
gallinula, Linnaeus. French, “Bécassine
Jourde.” -- The Jack Snipe is a regular
autumnal visitant to all the Islands, but never so
numerous as the Common Snipe. A few may always
be seen, however, hung up in the market with the Common
Snipes through the autumn and winter.
Professor Ansted includes it in his
list, and marks it only as occurring in Guernsey and
Sark. There is no specimen at present in the Museum.
122. KNOT. Tringa canutus,
Brisson. French, “Bécasseau canut,”
“Bécasseau maubèche.” -- Common
as the Knot is on the south and west coast of England
during autumn and winter, it is by no means so common
in the Channel Islands. I have never shot it
there myself in any of my autumnal expeditions.
Miss C.B. Carey records one, however, in the ‘Zoologist’
for 1871, as having been shot on September the 23rd
of that year; and Mr. Harvie Brown mentions seeing
a solitary Knot far out on the shore at Herm in January,
1869. These are the only occasions I am certain
about, although it probably occurs sparingly every
year, but I have never seen it even in the market,
and were it at all common a few certainly would have
occasionally found their way there.
Professor Ansted includes it in his
list, but only marks it as occurring in Guernsey.
There is no specimen at present in the Museum.
123. CURLEW SANDPIPER. Tringa
subarquata, Gueldenstaedt. French, “Bécasseau
cocorli.” -- The Curlew Sandpiper, or
Pigmy Curlew as it is sometimes called, can only be
considered a rare occasional visitant to the Channel
Islands. I have never seen or shot one there myself,
but Mr. Couch records one in the ‘Zoologist’
for 1874 as having been shot near the Richmond Barracks
on the 5th of October of that year. Colonel L’Estrange
told me also that some were seen in a small bay near
Grand Rocque in the autumn of 1877. It may, however,
have occurred at other times and been passed over
or looked upon as only a Purre, from which bird, however,
it may immediately be distinguished by its longer legs
and taller form when on the ground, and by the white
rump.
It is not included in Professor Ansted’s
list, and there is no specimen in the Museum.
124. PURRE or DUNLIN. Tringa
alpina, Linnaeus. French, “Bécasseau
brunette,” “Bécasseau variable.” -- The
Purre is resident in all the Islands throughout the
year in considerable numbers, which however are immensely
increased in the autumn by migratory arrivals, most
of which remain throughout the winter, departing in
the spring for their breeding stations. Though
resident throughout the year, and assuming full breeding
plumage, I am very doubtful as to the Purre breeding
in the Islands; I have never been able to find eggs,
nor, as a rule, have I found the bird anywhere but
on its ordinary winter feeding-ground, amongst the
mud and seaweed between high and low water mark.
The most likely parts to find them breeding seem to
be some of the high land and heather in Guernsey and
the sandy common on the northern part of Herm, near
which place I saw a few this summer (1878) in perfect
breeding plumage, and showing more signs of being
paired than they generally do, and in parts of Alderney.
Professor Ansted has not mentioned
it in his list. There are two specimens in the
Museum, both in breeding plumage.
125. LITTLE STINT. Tringa
minuta, Leishler. French, “Bécasseau
échasses,” “Bécasseau minute.” -- The
Little Stint is only an occasional and never numerous
autumnal visitant. I have seen one or two in the
flesh at Mr. Couch’s, killed towards the end
of October, but I have never seen one alive or shot
one myself.
It is included in Professor Ansted’s
list, and marked as occurring in Guernsey only.
There is no specimen in the Museum.
126. SANDERLING. Calidris
arenaria, Linnaeus. French, “Sanderling
variable.” -- The Sanderling is a regular
and rather early autumn visitant to all the Islands,
as I have shot one as early as the end of August in
Cobo Bay in Guernsey; this is about the time the Sanderling
makes its first appearance on the opposite side of
the Channel at Torbay. I have not met with it
later on in October and November, but no doubt a few
remain throughout the winter as they do in Torbay,
where I have shot Sanderlings as late as the
27th of December; a few also probably visit the Islands
on their return migration in the spring. The two
in the Museum seem to bear out this, as one is nearly
in winter plumage, and the other is assuming the red
plumage of the breeding season, and could not have
been killed before April or May.
The Sanderling is included in Professor
Ansted’s list, and marked by him as occurring
in Guernsey and Sark.
127. GREY PHALAROPE. Phalaropus
fulicarius, Linnaeus. French, “Phalarope
gris,” “Phalarope roussâtre,”
“Phalarope phatyrhinque.” -- The
Grey Phalarope is a tolerably regular and occasionally
numerous autumnal visitant to all the Islands, not,
however, arriving before the end of October or beginning
of November. At this time of year the greater
numbers of birds are in the varied autumnal plumage
so common in British-killed specimens, showing partial
remains of the summer plumage; but one I have, killed
in November, 1875, was in most complete winter plumage,
there not being a single dark or margined feather
on the bird. This perfect state of winter plumage
is by no means common either in British or Channel
Island specimens, so much so that I do not think I
have seen one in such perfect winter plumage before.
The Grey Phalarope is included in
Professor Ansted’s list, but no letters marking
its distribution through the Islands are added, perhaps
because it was considered to be generally distributed
through all of them. There is no specimen at
present in the Museum.
128. HERON. Ardea cinerea,
Linnaeus. French, “Heron cendre”,
“Heron huppe.” -- A
good many Herons may be seen about the Islands at all
times of the year; those that remain through the summer,
though scattered over all the Islands, are probably
all non-breeding birds. I have seen them fishing
along the shore in Guernsey, Herm, Alderney, and the
rocky islands north of Herm, but I have never seen
or heard of an egg being found in either of the Islands,
nor have I ever seen anything that bore the most remote
resemblance to the nest of a Heron. Mr. MacCulloch,
however, writes to me as follows: “The Heron
is said to breed occasionally on the Amfrocques and
others of those small islets north of Herm.”
Mr. Howard Saunders, Col. L’Estrange, and
myself, however, visited all these islets this last
breeding season (1878), and though we saw Herons about
fishing in the shallow pools left by the tide, we could
see nothing that would lead us to suppose that Herons
ever bred there, in fact, though Herons have been
known to breed on cliffs by the sea; the Amfroques
and all the other little wild rocky islets are apparently
the most unlikely places for Herons to breed on.
In Guernsey itself, however, it is more likely that
a few Herons formerly bred, and that there was once
a small Heronry in the Vale. As Mr. MacCulloch
writes to me, “There is a locality in the parish
of St. Samson, at the foot of Delancy Hill, in the
vicinity of the marshes near the Ivy Castle, formerly
thickly wooded with old elms, which bears the name
of La Heroniere. It may have been a resort of
Herons, but I am bound to say the name may have been
derived from a family called ‘Heron,’ now
extinct.” It seems to me also possible that
the family derived their name from being the proprietors
of the only Heronry in Guernsey. In the place
mentioned by Mr. MacCulloch there are still a great
many elm trees quite big enough for Herons to build
in, supposing they were allowed to do so, which would
not be likely at the present time. The number
of Herons in the Channel Islands seems to me to be
considerably increased in the autumn, probably by
wanderers from the Heronries on the south coast of
Devon and Dorset; on the Dart and the Exe, and near
Poole.
The Heron is included in Professor
Ansted’s list, but only marked as occurring
in Guernsey. There is no specimen at present in
the Museum.
129. PURPLE HERON. Ardea purpurea,
Linnaeus. French, “Heron pourpre.” -- The
Purple Heron is an occasional accidental wanderer to
all the Islands. Mr. MacCulloch writes me word,
“I have notes of that beautiful bird, the Purple
Heron, being killed here (Guernsey) in May, 1845,
and in 1849; also in Alderney on the 8th May, 1867.”
Curiously enough Mr. Rodd records the capture of one,
a female, near the Lizard, in Cornwall, late in April
of the same year. When at Alderney this summer
(1878) I was told that a Heron of some sort, but certainly
not a Common Heron, had been shot in that Island about
six weeks before my visit on the 27th of June.
Accordingly I went the next morning to the bird-stuffer,
Mr. Grieve, and there I found the bird and the person
who shot it, who told me that it rose from some rather
boggy ground at the back of the town that
he shot at it and wounded it, but it flew on towards
the sea; and as it was getting rather late he did not
find it till next morning, when he found it dead near
the place he had marked it down the night before.
It was in consequence of going to look up this bird
that I found the Greenland Falcon before mentioned,
which had been shot by the same person. These
are all the instances I have been able to collect
of the occurrence of the Purple Heron in the Channel
Islands.
It is, however, included in Professor
Ansted’s list, and marked as occurring in Guernsey,
probably on the authority of one of the earlier specimens
mentioned by Mr. MacCulloch. There is no specimen
at present in the Museum.
130. SQUACCO HERON. Ardeola
cornuta, Pallas. French, “Heron
crabier.” -- I have in my collection
a Guernsey-killed specimen of the Squacco Heron, which
Mr. Couch informed me was shot in that island in the
summer of 1867, and from inquiries I have made I have
no doubt this information is correct. Mr. MacCulloch
also writes to me to say, “A Squacco Heron was
shot in the Vale Parish on the 14th of May, 1867, no
doubt the one Couch sent to you.” This was
duly recorded by me in the ‘Zoologist’
for 1872, and is, I believe, the first recorded instance
of its occurrence in the Channel Islands.
It is not mentioned in Professor Ansted’s
list, and there is no specimen in the Museum.
131. BITTERN. Botaurus stellaris,
Linnaeus. French, “Heron grand butor,”
“Le grand butor.” -- Bitterns
were probably at one time more common in Guernsey
than they are at present, drainage and better cultivation
having contributed to thin their numbers, as it has
done in England; and Mr. MacCulloch tells me that
in his youth they were by no means uncommon.
Of late years, however, they have become much more
uncommon, though, as he adds, specimens have been shot
within the last three or four years. They seem
now, however, to be confined to occasional autumnal
and winter visitants. Mr. Couch says (’Zoologist’
for 1871): “On the 30th December,
1874, after a heavy fall of snow, I had a female Bittern
brought to me to be stuffed, shot in the morning in
the Marais; and on the 2nd of January following
another was shot on the beach near the Vale Church.
I had also part of some of the quill-feathers of a
Bittern sent to me for identification by Mrs. Jago,
which had been killed in the Islands the last week
in January, 1879.” These are the most recent
specimens I have been able to get any account of.
The bird-stuffer in Alderney (Mr. Grieve) and his friend
told me they had shot Bitterns in that island, but
did not remember the date.
The Bittern is included in Professor
Ansted’s list, but only marked as occurring
in Guernsey. There is no specimen in the Museum.
132. AMERICAN BITTERN. Botaurus
lentiginosus, Montagu. French, “Heron
lentigineux.” -- This occasional straggler
from the New World has once, in its wanderings, reached
the Channel Islands, and was shot in Guernsey on the
27th October, 1870, and was duly recorded by me in
the ‘Zoologist’ for 1871; it is now in
my collection. This is the only occurrence of
this bird in the Channel Islands yet recorded; but
as the bird occasionally crosses to this side of the
Atlantic several specimens having occurred
in the British Islands it may possibly occur
in Guernsey or some of the Channel Islands again.
It may, therefore, be as well to point out the principal
distinctions between this bird and the Common Bittern
last mentioned. Between the adult birds there
can be no mistake: the longer and looser feathers
on the fore part of the neck, which are slightly streaked
and freckled with dark brown, may be immediately distinguished
from the much shorter and more regularly marked feathers
on the neck of the adult American Bittern. This
distinction, however, is not perfectly clear in young
birds; but, at any age or in any state of plumage,
the birds may be immediately distinguished by the
primary quill-feathers, which in the American Bittern
are a uniform dark chocolate-brown without any marks
whatever, while in the Common Bittern they are much
marked and streaked with pale yellowish brown; this
may be always relied on at any age or in any plumage.
The American Bittern is not mentioned
in Professor Ansted’s list, no specimen having
been found in the Channel Islands till after the publication
of his list, and of course there is no specimen in
the Museum.
133. LITTLE BITTERN. Ardetta
minuta, Linnaeus. French, “Heron Blongios.” -- I
only know of one occurrence of the Little Bittern in
the Channel Islands, and that was towards the end of
November, 1876; and Mr. Couch writes to me as follows
on the 3rd of December: “A very good Little
Bittern was caught alive in the Vale Road; after being
shot at and missed by two men, a young man in the
road threw his pocket-handkerchief at it and brought
it in to me alive.” Mr. Couch also informed
me, when he forwarded me the specimen, that it was
a male by dissection. It is now in my collection,
and is a young bird of the year. I am rather
sorry that as Mr. Couch got it alive he did not forward
it to me in that state, as, unless it had been wounded
by the two shots, I have no doubt I should have been
able to keep it alive and observe its habits and changes
of plumage as it advanced towards maturity.
The Little Bittern is included in
Professor Ansted’s list, and marked as occurring
in Guernsey. There is no specimen in the Museum.
134. SPOONBILL. Platalea leucorodia,
Linnaeus. French, “Spatule blanche.” -- An
occasional but by no means common visitant to the Channel
Islands. I have been able to hear of but very
few instances of its occurrence or capture of late
years; Mr. Couch, however, writes me, in a letter
dated November, 1873, that a Spoonbill was brought
to him to stuff. In all probability this is the
same bird recorded by Mr. Broughton in the ‘Field’
for October 25th, 1873, and in the ‘Zoologist’
for January, 1874. This is the only very recent
specimen I have been able to trace; but Mr. Broughton
in his note mentions the occurrence of one about twenty
years before; and Mrs. Jago, who, when she was Miss
Cumber, did a good deal of bird-stuffing in Guernsey,
told me she had stuffed a Spoonbill for the Museum
about twenty years ago. This is probably the
other one mentioned by Mr. Broughton, and he may have
seen it in the Museum; it is not there, however, now either
having become moth-eaten, and consequently thrown
away, or lost when the Museum changed its quarters
across the market-place. Mr. MacCulloch does not
seem to consider the Spoonbill such a very rare visitant
to the Channel Islands, as he writes to me, “The
Spoonbill is not near so rare a visitor as you seem
to think; specimens were killed here in 1844, and in
previous years, and again in 1849, and in October,
1873. They are seldom solitary, but generally
appear in small flocks. I forget whether it was
in 1844 or 1849 that flocks were reported to have been
seen in various parts of England, even as far west
as Penzance. I think that in one of these years
as many as a dozen were seen here in a flock.”
Mr. Rodd, in his ‘List of the Birds of Cornwall,’
does not mention either of these years as great years
for Spoonbills, only saying, “Occasionally,
and especially of late years, observed in various parts
of the county; a flock of several was seen and captured
at Gwithian; others have been obtained from the neighbourhood
of Penzance, and also from Scilly.”
The Spoonbill is included in Professor
Ansted’s list, and marked as occurring in Guernsey.
There is no specimen at present in the Museum, the
one stuffed by Miss Cumber having, as above mentioned,
disappeared.
135. WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE. Anser
albifrons, Scopoli. French, “Oie
rieuse, où a front blanc.” -- None
of the Grey Geese seem common in Guernsey; neither
the Greylag, the Bean, nor the Pink-footed Goose have,
as far as I am aware, been obtained about the Islands,
nor have I ever seen any either alive or in the market,
where they would be almost sure to be brought had
they been shot by any of the fishermen or gunners
about the Islands. There is one specimen, however,
of the White-fronted Goose in the Museum, which I
have reason to believe was killed in or near Guernsey;
and this is the only specimen of this Goose which,
as far as I am aware, has been taken in the Islands.
The White-fronted Goose is included
in Professor Ansted’s list, and marked as occurring
in Guernsey. The Greylag and the Bean Goose are
also included in the list, the Greylag marked as occurring
in Guernsey and Sark, and the Bean as only in Guernsey;
but no information beyond the letter marking the locality
is given as to either; and the only specimen in the
Museum is the White-fronted Goose above mentioned,
neither of the others being represented there now,
nor do I remember ever having seen a specimen of either
there.
136. BRENT GOOSE. Bernicla
brenta, Brisson. French, “Oie cravant,”
“Bernache cravant.” -- The
Brent Goose is a regular winter visitant to all the
Islands, varying, however, in numbers in different
years: sometimes it is very numerous, and affords
good sport during the winter to the fishermen, who
generally take a gun in the boat with them as soon
as the close season is over, sometimes before.
The flocks generally consist mostly of young birds
of the year; the fully adult birds, however, though
fewer in number, are in sufficient numbers to make
a very fair show.
Professor Ansted includes it in his
list, but only marks it as occurring in Guernsey and
Sark; it is, however, quite as common about Herm and
Alderney. There is no specimen at present in the
Museum.
137. MUTE SWAN. Cygnus olor,
Linnaeus. French, “Cygne tubercule.” -- I
do not believe this bird has ever visited the Channel
Islands in a thoroughly wild state, though it is pretty
widely spread over Europe; its range, however, being
generally more to the east than the Channel Islands.
Mr. Couch, however, at page 4939 of the ‘Zoologist’
for 1874, records the occurrence of two Mute Swans
on the 7th of September at the Braye Pond, where they
were shot. He also says that “five others
passed over the Island the same day; they were flying
low, and, judging from their colour, were young birds.”
As no one in the Islands keeps Swans, these were most
probably a family party that had strayed away from
the Swannery at Abbotsbury, on the opposite coast
of Dorset, where some three hundred and fifty pairs
still breed annually. I have myself seen as many
six hundred and thirty birds there, the hens sitting
and the old males each resting quietly by the nest,
keeping guard over the female and the eggs. The
distance from the Abbotsbury Swannery, which is at
the extreme end of the Chesil Beach, in Dorsetshire,
to Guernsey is nothing great for Swans to wander;
and they often, both old and young (after the young
are able to fly), wander away from their home as far
as Exmouth on one side and Weymouth Bay or the Needles
on the other; and an expedition to Guernsey would
be little more than to one of these places, and by
September the young, which are generally hatched tolerably
early in June (I have seen a brood out with their
parents on the water as early as the 27th of May),
would be perfectly able to wander, either by themselves
or with their parents, as far as the Channel Islands,
and, as at this time they rove about outside the Chesil
Beach a good deal, going sometimes a long way out
to sea, there is no reason they should not do so.
It seems a great pity that these fine birds should
be shot when they wander across channel to Guernsey,
especially when it must be apparent to every one that
they are really private property. If the present
long close season is to be continued, the Mute Swan
might well be added to the somewhat unreasonable list
of birds in the Guernsey Sea-birds Act; at all events,
Swans would be better worth preserving than Plongeons
or Cormorants.
138. HOOPER. Cygnus musicus,
Bechstein. French, “Cygne sauvage.” -- The
Wild Swan or Hooper is an occasional visitor to
the Channel Islands in hard winters, sometimes probably
in considerable numbers, as Mrs. Jago (late Miss Cumber)
told me she had had several to stuff in a very hard
winter about thirty years ago; some of these were young
birds, as she told me some were not so white as others.
Mr. MacCulloch also says that the Hooper visits the
Channel Islands in severe winters; and the capture
of one is recorded by a correspondent of the ’Guernsey
Mail and Telegraph’ for 4th January, 1879, as
having been shot in that Island a few days before;
it is said to have been a young bird, grey in colour.
The writer of the notice, while distinguishing this
bird from the Mute Swan, does not, however, make it
so clear whether it was really the present species
or Bewick’s Swan; from the measurement of the
full length (5 f in.) given, however, it would
appear that it was the present species, as that would
be full length for it, while Bewick’s Swan would
be about one-third less; some description of the bill,
however, would have been more satisfactory. It
would certainly have been interesting to have had
some more particulars about this Swan, as this last
severe winter (1878 and 1879) has been very productive
of Swans in the south-west of England, the greater
number of those occurring in this county of Somerset,
however, curiously enough, having been Bewick’s
Swan, which is generally considered the rarer species.
Though Swans have been so exceptionally numerous in
various parts of England this winter, the above-mentioned
is the only occurrence I have heard of in the Channel
Islands.
The Hooper is included in Professor
Ansted’s list, but marked as only occurring
in Guernsey. There are two specimens in the Museum,
one adult and one young bird.
139. BEWICK’S SWAN. Cygnus
minor, Keys and Blasius. French, “Cygne
de Bewick.” -- I have very little
authority for including Bewick’s Swan in my
list of Guernsey birds; Mr. MacCulloch, however, writes
me word, “The Common Hooper has visited us in
severe winters, and is certainly not the only
species of wild Swan that has been shot here.”
In all probability the other must have been Bewick’s
Swan, which no doubt has occasionally occurred, perhaps
more frequently than is supposed, though not so frequently
as the Hooper. Probably the difference between
the two is not sufficiently known; it may, therefore,
be as well to point out the distinctions. Bewick’s
Swan is much smaller than the Hooper, but the great
outward distinction is, that in the Hooper the yellow
at the base of the bill extends to and includes the
nostrils, whereas in Bewick’s Swan the yellow
occupies a very small portion of the base of the bill,
not extending so far as the nostrils: this is
always sufficient to distinguish the two, and is almost
the only exterior distinction, but on dissection the
anatomical structure, especially of the trachea, shows
material difference between the two.
Professor Ansted includes Bewick’s
Swan in his list, and marks it as occurring in Guernsey.
There is, however, no specimen at present in the Museum.
140. WILD DUCK. Anas boschas,
Linnaeus. French, “Canard sauvage.”–The
Wild Duck is an occasional autumn and winter visitant.
I have never shot one myself in the Islands, but I
have several times seen Guernsey-killed ones in the
market. Though a visitant to all the Islands,
I do not believe the Wild Duck breeds, at all events
at present, in any of them; Mr. MacCulloch, however,
writes me word “The Wild Duck formerly bred
here;” and Mr. Gallienne, in his ‘Notes’
to Professor Ansted’s list, says “The
Wild Duck formerly bred in Guernsey rather abundantly,
but it seldom does so now. Last year a nest was
found on one of the rocks near Herm.” This
would be about 1861. The rocks to the northward
of Herm do not seem to me a likely place for the Wild
Duck to breed; however, there are one or two places
where they might possibly do so. A much more
likely place would be in some of the reed beds in the
Grande Mare, or even amongst the heather and gorse
above the high cliffs on the south and east side of
the Island, a sort of place they are fond
of selecting in this county, Somerset, where they frequently
nest amongst the heather high up in the hills, and
quite away from any water.
The Wild Duck is included in Professor
Ansted’s list, and marked as occurring in Guernsey
and Sark. There is no specimen at present in the
Museum.
141. PINTAIL. Dafila acuta,
Linnaeus. French, “Pilet,” “Canard
pilet.” The Pintail is an occasional
autumn and Winter visitant, but never very common.
I have one specimen, a female, killed in Guernsey in
November, 1871, and this Mr. Couch told me was the
only one he had had through his hands whilst in Guernsey;
and Captain Hubbach writes me word that he shot one
in Alderney in January, 1863. I have never seen
it in the Guernsey market, like the Wild Duck and
Teal.
Professor Ansted includes it in his
list, but only marks it as occurring in Guernsey.
There is one specimen, a male in full plumage, in the
Museum.
142. TEAL. Querquedula crecca,
Linnaeus. French, “Sarcelle d’hiver.” -- Like
the Wild Duck, the Teal is a regular but never numerous
visitant to all the Islands. A few make their
appearance in the Guernsey market in October and November,
and occasionally through the winter; but Teal do not,
as a rule, add much to the Guernsey sportsman’s
bag. In November, 1871, a friend of mine told
me that, after a long day’s shooting from daylight
till dark, he succeeded in bagging one Teal and one
Woodcock. I was rather glad I was not with him
on this occasion, but chose the wild shooting on the
shore, where I got one or two Golden Plovers, and
Turnstone and Ring Dotterel enough for a pie and,
by-the-bye, a very good pie they made.
Professor Ansted includes the Teal
in his list, and marks it as occurring in Guernsey
and Sark. There is no specimen in the Museum at
present.
143. EIDER DUCK. Somateria
mollissima, Linnaeus. French, “Canard
eider,” “Morillon eider.” -- The
Eider Duck occasionally straggles to the Channel Islands
in the autumn, but very seldom, and the majority of
those that do occur are in immature plumage. I
have one immature bird, killed in Guernsey in the
winter of 1876; and that is the only Channel Island
specimen that has come under my notice, and I think
almost the only one Mr. Couch had had through his
hands.
The Eider Duck is included in Professor
Ansted’s list, and marked as occurring in Guernsey.
The King Eider is also included in the list, but no
letter marking the distribution through the Islands
is given, and no information beyond the mere name,
so I should think in all probability this must have
been a mistake, especially as I can find no other
evidence whatever of its occurrence. There is
no specimen of either bird in the Museum.
144. COMMON SCOTER. Oidemia
nigra, Linnaeus. French, “Macreuse,”
“Canard macreuse.” -- The
Scoter is a common autumn and winter visitant to all
the Islands, generally making its appearance in considerable
flocks; sometimes, however, the flocks get broken
up, and single birds may then be seen scattered about
in the more sheltered bays. Some apparently remain
till tolerably late in the spring as Mr. MacCulloch
wrote me word that a pair of Scoters were killed in
the last week in April, 1878, off the Esplanade; he
continues, “I had only a cursory glance of them
as I was passing through the market in a hurry, and
I am not sure they were not Velvet Scoters. The
male had a great deal of bright yellow about the nostrils.”
Mr. MacCulloch, however, told me afterwards, when I
asked him more about them, and especially whether
he had seen any white about the wing, that he had
not seen any white whatever about them, so I have but
little doubt that they were Common Scoters, and he
could hardly have failed to be struck by the conspicuous
white bar on the wing, by which the Velvet Scoter,
both male and female, may immediately be distinguished
from the Common Scoter. As on the South Coast
of Devon or Dorset, a few scattered Scoters non-breeding
birds, of course remain throughout the
summer. I have one, a male, killed off Guernsey
on July 19th: this bird is in that peculiar state
of plumage which all the males of the Anatidae
put on from about July to October, and in which many
of them look so like the females.
The Common Scoter is included in Professor
Ansted’s list, and marked only as occurring
in Guernsey. The Velvet Scoter is also included
in Professor Ansted’s list, and marked as occurring
in Guernsey; but there seems to be no other evidence
of its having occurred in the Islands; and a mistake
may easily have been made, however, as the Velvet Scoter
occurs tolerably frequently on the south coast of Devon,
though never in such numbers as the Common Scoter;
it may, of course, occur in the Channel Islands occasionally.
There is no specimen of either bird in the Museum.
145. GOOSANDER. Mergus merganser,
Linnaeus. French, “Grand Harle.” -- The
Goosander is a regular and tolerably numerous visitant
to all the Islands, arriving in the autumn and remaining
throughout the winter. The heavy-breaking seas
of the Channel Islands do not appear to disturb the
composure of these birds in the least, for once, on
my voyage home on the 16th November, 1871, I saw a
small flock of Goosanders off Herm, close to the steamer;
they were swimming perfectly unconcerned in a heavy-breaking
sea, which made the steamer very lively, dipping first
one and then the other paddle-box into the water; as
we got close up to them they rose, but only flew a
short distance and pitched again in the white water.
They seem to me to keep the sea better than the Red-breasted
Merganser at least, I have not seen them
seek shelter so much in the different bays.
The Goosander is included in Professor
Ansted’s list, but only marked as occurring
in Guernsey. There is no specimen in the Museum
at present, though I think there used to be one, but
I suppose it has got moth-eaten and been thrown away.
146. RED-BREASTED MERGANSER.
Mergus serrator, Linnaeus. French, “Harle
Huppe.” -- Like the Goosander, the Red-breasted
Merganser is a regular and by no means uncommon autumn
and winter visitant to the Channel Islands. It
seems to me, as I said before, that these birds seek
the more sheltered bays during wild squally weather
more than the Goosanders do; not but what they can
keep the sea well even in bad weather, but I have
never seen or shot the Goosander close to the shore
seeking smooth water, as I have done the Red-breasted
Merganser. The greater number of Red-breasted
Mergansers killed in the Channel Islands which I have
seen have been either females or males that had not
assumed the full adult plumage in fact,
in that state of plumage in which they are the “Dun
Diver” of Bewick; full-plumaged adult males do,
however, occur as well as females and young males,
or males in a state of change.
Professor Ansted includes the Red-breasted
Merganser in his list, but only marks it as occurring
in Guernsey. There are two specimens in the Museum a
male in full plumage and a female or young male.
147. SMEW. Mergus albellus,
Linnaeus. French, “Harle piette,”
“Harle étoile,” “Petit
harle huppe.” -- The Smew can
only be considered an occasional accidental autumnal
visitant, and the few that do occur are generally
either females, young males, or males still in a state
of change. I do not know of any instance in which
a full-plumaged male has occurred in the Channel Islands.
It is mentioned in Professor Ansted’s
list, and marked as occurring in Guernsey only.
There are two specimens in the Museum, both females
or immature males, or, at all events, males which
have not begun to assume their proper plumage after
the summer change.
148. LITTLE GREBE. Podiceps
minor, Gmelin. French, “Grebe castagneux.” -- The
Little Grebe, or Dabchick, occurs occasionally in the
Islands, mostly as an autumnal or winter visitant.
I have occasionally seen freshly-killed ones hanging
up in the market in November; I have, however, never
seen it alive or shot it in the Islands. Mr. Couch,
writing to me in December, 1876, told me that Mr. De
Putron had told him that Little Grèbes had bred
in his pond in the Vale the summer before, and Mr.
De Putron afterwards confirmed this; they can only
breed there occasionally, however, as there were certainly
none breeding there in 1878, when I was there.
The Little Grebe is included in Professor
Ansted’s list, and marked by him as occurring
in Guernsey only. There are two specimens in the
Museum and some eggs, which were said to be Guernsey,
and probably were so, perhaps from the Vale Pond.
149. EARED GREBE. Podiceps
nigricollis, Sundeval. French, “Grebe
oreillard.” -- The Eared Grebe is an
occasional autumnal visitant to the Islands, remaining
on till the winter; it is never very numerous; in
some years, however, it appears to visit the Islands
in greater numbers than in others, as Mr. Couch mentions,
at of the ‘Zoologist’ for 1875,
that, amongst other grèbes, four Eared Grèbes
were brought to him between the 4th and 13th of January.
I do not know, however, that it ever occurs at any
time of year except the winter and autumn; and I have
never seen a Channel Island specimen in breeding plumage,
or even in a state of change.
The Eared Grebe is included in Professor
Ansted’s list, but only marked as occurring
in Guernsey. There is now no specimen in the Museum.
150. SCALAVONIAN GREBE. Podiceps
auritus, Linnaeus. French, “Grebe
cornu où Esclavón.” -- The
Sclavonian Grebe is a regular and rather numerous
autumn and winter visitor to all the Islands.
In rough weather it may be seen fishing about the
harbour at Guernsey when it can find any protection
from the rough seas that so often rage all round the
Island, and which drive it to seek shelter either about
the harbour or some of the more protected bays.
I do not know that it has ever bred in the Islands,
but there was a very fine specimen in full breeding-plumage
at the late Mr. Mellish’s, which I often saw
there; and, on subsequent inquiry from his son, Mr.
William Mellish, he wrote in 1878 to me to say, “The
Sclavonian Grebe was killed by my brother Alfred at
Arnold’s Pond, just the other side of the Vale
Church to the one on which you were.” This
Arnold’s Pond is the one I have so often mentioned
before as Mr. De Putron’s. I have not been
able to ascertain the exact date at which this bird
was killed, but it must have been some time in the
spring, as it was in full breeding-plumage. There
is also one in full breeding-plumage in the Museum,
so it must occasionally stay on some time into the
spring. The young birds and adults in winter plumage,
when it is the Dusky Grebe of Bewick, are very much
like the Eared Grebe in the same state of plumage;
but they may always be distinguished, the Sclavonian
Grebe always being rather the larger and having the
bill straighter, and making a more regular cone than
that of the Eared Grebe, which is slightly turned
up. In the full breeding-plumage there can be
no possibility of confounding the two species.
The Sclavonian Grebe is included in
Professor Ansted’s list, but only marked as
occurring in Guernsey. There are two specimens
in the Museum, one in full breeding-plumage and one
in winter plumage.
151. RED-NECKED GREBE. Podiceps
griseigena, Boddaert. French, “Grebe
jou-gris.” -- I have never seen a Channel
Island specimen of the Red-necked Grebe in full breeding-plumage
as I have the Sclavonian, but it is a tolerably regular
autumn and winter visitant, and in some years appears
to be the more numerous of the two. Certainly
in November, 1875, this was the case, and the Red-necked
Grebe was commoner than either the Great-crested or
the Sclavonian Grebe, especially about the Guernsey
coast between St. Peter’s Port and St. Samson’s,
where I saw several; and a good many were also brought
into Mr. Couch’s about the same time more than
usual. One which I obtained had slight traces
of the red about the throat remaining, otherwise this
one was like the others which I saw in complete winter
plumage.
The Red-necked Grebe is included in
Professor Ansted’s list, but only marked as
occurring in Guernsey. There is one specimen in
the Museum.
152. GREAT-CRESTED GREBE. Podiceps
cristatus, Linnaeus. French. “Grebe
huppe.” -- The Great-crested Grebe
is a regular autumn and winter visitant to the Channel
Islands, but not, I think, in quite such numbers as
at Teignmouth and Exmouth and along the south coast
of Devon. I have not shot this bird in the Channel
Islands myself, nor have I seen it alive: but
I have seen several Guernsey-killed specimens.
These were all young birds or adults in winter plumage;
and I have one, a young bird of the year, killed in
the Guernsey harbour late in November, 1876.
It is included in Professor Ansted’s
list, but only marked as occurring in Guernsey.
There is one specimen, a young bird of the year, in
the Museum.
153. GREAT NORTHERN DIVER. Colymbus
glacialis, Linnaeus. French, “Plongeon
imbrim.” -- The Great Northern Diver
is a common autumn and winter visitant to all the
Islands, arriving early in November, perhaps even
about the last week in October. The earliest date
at which I have seen it myself was on the 9th November.
A considerable majority of these autumnal visitants
are young birds of the year, the rest being adults
in winter plumage; but, as is the case on the south
coast of Devon, a few occasionally remain so late
on in the spring as to have fully attained the breeding-plumage.
There is one Guernsey-killed specimen in perfect,
or nearly perfect, breeding-plumage in the Museum,
which I think was killed some time in May by Mr. Peter
Le Newry, a well-known fisherman and gunner living
in Guernsey, who procured a good many specimens for
that establishment, but, unluckily, no note as to date
or locality has been preserved; he told me he had
killed this bird late in the spring, but could not
when I saw him remember the exact date. It must
not be supposed that because this bird occasionally
remains in the Islands late into the spring, and assumes
its full breeding-plumage before leaving, that it
ever remains to breed or avails itself of the protection
so kindly afforded to it and its congeners, as well
as their eggs, by the Guernsey Bird Act.
The Great Northern Diver is included
in Professor Ansted’s list, but only marked
as occurring in Guernsey. There are four specimens
in the Museum in full breeding plumage and change.
154. BLACK-THROATED DIVER. Colymbus
arcticus, Linnaeus. French, “Plongeon
a gorge noir.” -- The Black-throated
Diver is a much less common visitor to the Islands
than either the Great Northern or Red-throated Diver;
it does, however, occasionally occur in the autumn
and winter; all the specimens that have been obtained
are either immature or in winter plumage, and I do
not know of a single instance in which it has been
procured in full plumage as the Great Northern has.
In the ‘Zoologist’ for 1875 Mr. Couch
records the occurrence of a Black-throated Diver on
the 19th of January of that year, and of another on
the 30th of the same month; these are the most recent
occurrences of which I am aware. No doubt the
young Black-throated Diver may be occasionally mistaken
for and passed over as the young Northern Diver; but
it may always be known by its much smaller size, being
intermediate between that bird and the Red-throated
Diver, from which, however, it may always be distinguished
by wanting the white spots on the back and wing-coverts
which are always present in the winter plumage of the
adult Red-throated Diver, and the oval marks on the
margins of the feathers of the same parts in the young
birds of the year.
The Black-throated Diver is included
in Professor Ansted’s list, and marked as only
occurring in Guernsey. There is one specimen,
an immature bird, in the Museum.
155. RED-THROATED DIVER. Colymbus
septentrionalis, Linnaeus. French, “Plongeon
a gorge rouge,” “Plongeon cat-marin.” -- The
Red-throated Diver is a regular autumn and winter
visitant to the Islands, and rather the most common
of the three Divers. As with the Northern Diver,
it occasionally remains until it has nearly assumed
its full breeding-plumage, but it does not occur so
frequently in that plumage as it does on the south
coast of Devon and Dorset; indeed I have never found
either this bird or the Great Northern Diver so common
in the Channel Islands as they are about Exmouth and
Teignmouth, even in the ordinary winter plumage; probably
the mouths of rivers were more attractive to them
as producing more food than the wild open seas of the
Channel Islands. Owing to its various changes
of plumage, from age or time of year, the Red-throated
Diver has been made to do duty as more than one species,
and is the Speckled Diver of Pennant, Montagu and
Bewick.
It is mentioned in Professor Ansted’s
list, but marked as only occurring in Guernsey.
There is no specimen at present in the Museum.
156. GUILLEMOT. Alca troile,
Linnaeus. French, “Guillemot a capuchon,”
“Guillemot troile.” -- The Guillemot
is very common about the Channel Islands in Autumn
and winter, but is seldom seen during the summer season
except near its breeding stations, which, as far as
my district is concerned, are very few. It does
not breed in Guernsey, Sark, or Herm, or even on the
rocky islands to the north of Herm. In Alderney,
I am told, it has one small station on the mainland
on the side nearest the French coast. I was told
of this by the person who shot the Greenland Falcon,
and by one or two of the fishermen on my last visit
to that Island. I had not time then to visit the
place, and on former visits I must quite have overlooked
it. Captain Hubbach, however, kindly promised
that he would visit the spot, and soon after I left,
about the middle of June, 1878, he did so, and his
account to me was as follows: “I
have been twice along the cliffs with my glass, but
have not seen either a Guillemot or Razorbill.
An old boatman here tells me that he took their eggs
off the rocks at the French side of Alderney last
year (1877), and that they bred there every year.
He describes the eggs as ’the same blue and
green and white ones with black spots that are on
the Ortack Rock.’” This very much confirms
what Mr. Gallienne says, in his notes to Professor
Ansted’s list “The Razorbill
and Guillemot breed on the Ortack Rock and on the
cliffs at Alderney.” This Ortack Rock is
to the west of Alderney, between Burhou and the Caskets,
and a considerable number of Guillemots and Razorbills
breed there, but it is not to be compared as a breeding
station for these birds with those at Lundy Island
and South Wales. During the summer a few Guillemots,
probably non-breeding birds, may be seen at sea round
Guernsey, and one or two stragglers may generally be
seen when crossing from Guernsey to Sark or Herm.
I have never seen the variety called the Ringed Guillemot,
Alca lacrymans, in the Channel Islands, but,
as it may occasionally occur, it is as well to mention
it, although it is now rightly considered only a variety
of the Common Guillemot, from which it differs only
in summer plumage, when it has a white ring round the
eye, and a white streak passing backwards from the
eye down the side of the neck: this distinction
is not apparent in the winter plumage, nor is there
any distinction between the eggs.
The Guillemot is included in Professor
Ansted’s list, but is only marked as occurring
in Guernsey and Sark. There are two specimens
in summer plumage in the Museum, and one in winter
plumage.
157. LITTLE AUK. Mergulus
alle, Linnaeus. French, “Guillemot
nain.” -- The Little Auk can only be
considered a rare occasional wanderer to the Channel
Islands, generally driven before the heavy autumnal
and winter gales. I only know of the occurrence
of two specimens: one of these was recorded by
Mr. Couch in the ‘Zoologist’ for 1875,
as having been killed on the 30th January in that
year; and I had a letter from Mr. Couch, dated the
20th December, 1872, in which he informed me that a
Little Auk had been taken alive in Guernsey on the
17th of that month: this one had probably, as
is often the case, been driven ashore during a gale,
and, being too exhausted to rise, had been taken by
hand.
The Little Auk is included in Professor
Ansted’s list, and marked as occurring in Guernsey
and Sark. There is no specimen at present in the
Museum.
158. PUFFIN. Fratercula arctica,
Linnaeus. French, “Macareux.” -- The
Puffin, or Barbelote as it is called by the Guernsey
sailors and in the Guernsey Bird Act, is a regular
and numerous summer visitant to the Islands, breeding
in considerable numbers in many places. None breed,
however, in Guernsey itself, or in any of the little
rocky islands immediately surrounding it. Some
breed on Sark and the islands about it, and a few
also on Herm; but their great breeding quarters about
these parts are from the Amfrocques to the north end
of Herm. On every one of the little rocky islands
between these places, and including the Amfrocques,
considerable numbers of Puffins breed, either in holes
in the soft soil which has accumulated on some of
these islands, or amongst the loose rocks and stones;
these latter, however, are the safest places for the
Puffin, as, in spite of the Guernsey Bird Act, which
protects the eggs as well as the birds, the Guernsey
fishermen are fond of visiting these islands whenever
they can for the purpose of what they call “Barbeloting;”
and they soon lift up the loose earth with their hands
and get at the eggs; but the Puffins, who have laid
in holes in the rocks and amongst loose stones, are
much better off, as a good big stone of two or three
tons is not so easily moved. I visited all these
little islands in the summer of 1878 with Mr. Howard
Saunders, and we found all the Puffins who had had
eggs in holes in the earth had been robbed almost
without an exception; the others, however, were pretty
safe. Besides these islands the Puffins breed
in Alderney itself, and on Burhou, where, however,
their eggs are robbed nearly as much as in the islands
north of Herm, especially the eggs of those who choose
holes in the soft earth. The Puffins do not seem
to be very regular in their time of nesting; at least,
when I was at Burhou on the 14th of June, 1876, I
found quite fresh eggs, eggs just ready to hatch, young
birds in the down, and young birds just beginning
to get a few feathers and almost able to take to the
water; it was fun to see one of these when he had
been unearthed waddle off to the nearest hole as fast
as his legs could carry him generally,
however, coming down every second or third step.
The reason for the irregularity in hatching was probably
owing to the first brood having been lost, the eggs
probably having been robbed. During the breeding
season the Puffins keep very close to their breeding-stations,
and do not apparently wander more than a few hundred
yards from them even in search of food; so that, unless
you actually visit the islands on which they breed,
you can form no idea of the number of Puffins actually
breeding in the Channel Islands. The number of
Puffins, however, at Burhou seem to me to have considerably
diminished of late years, for in the summer of 1866,
when going through the Swinge, we passed a great flock
of these birds; “in fact, for more than a mile
both air and water were swarming with them.” This
certainly was not the case in either 1876 or 1878,
though there were still a great many Puffins there;
probably the continued egg-stealing has had some effect
in reducing their numbers. After the breeding-season
the Puffins seem to leave the Channel Islands for the
winter, as they do at Lundy Island and in the British
Channel; they may return occasionally, as they do
in the Bristol Channel, for a short time in foggy
weather; but I have never seen a Puffin in any of my
passages in October and November, or in any boating
expedition at that time of year, and I have never
heard any of the boatmen talk about Barbelotes being
seen about in the winter. An unsigned paper, however,
in the ‘Star’ for April 27th, 1878, mentions
Puffins amongst other winter birds; but I very much
doubt their making their appearance in the winter except
as accidental visitants; there is one specimen, however,
in the Museum, which, judging by the bill, must have
been killed in the winter, or, at all events, to quote
Dr. Bureau, “âpres la saison des
amours.” Dr. Bureau, in a very interesting
paper on this curious change, or rather moult,
which takes place in the bill of the Puffin, and which
has been translated into the ‘Zoologist’
for 1878, where a plate showing the changes is given,
says that Puffins are cast ashore on the coast of
Brittany during the winter, for he says they leave
the coast, as I believe they do that of the Channel
Islands, and the only indication of their continuing
there is that dead birds are rolled on the shore after
severe gales in the autumn and winter; and “these
birds are clad in a plumage different to that worn
by those we get in the breeding-season. In the
orbital region, for instance, they have a spot, more
or less large, of a dusky brown; they have not the
red eyelids, nor the horny plates above and below
the eye, nor have they the puckered yellow skin at
the base of the bill, and, what is still more remarkable,
the bill is differently formed; it is neither of the
same size, shape, nor colour, and the pieces of which
it is composed are not even the same. It is small
sliced off (trongue) in front, especially at the lower
mandible, wanting the pleat (ourlet) at the base,
and flattened laterally on a level with the nostrils,
where a solid horny skin of a bright lead-colour is
replaced by a short membrane.” The whole
paper by Dr. Bureau on this subject is most interesting,
but is much too long for me to insert here; the nature,
however, of the change which takes place must be so
interesting to many of my readers who are familiar
with the Puffin in its breeding plumage, and who,
in spite of the Bird Act, perhaps occasionally enjoy
a day’s “Barbeloting,” that I could
not help quoting as much of the paper as would be
sufficient to point out the general nature of the
change.
The Puffin is included in Professor
Ansted’s list, but marked as occurring only
in Guernsey and Sark. There are two specimens
in the Museum; one in the ordinary summer plumage,
and one apparently in the winter plumage above described;
but it is difficult to be quite certain on the subject,
as it has been smeared over with bird-stuffer’s
paint, probably with the view of making it as like
the ordinary summer plumage as possible.
159. RAZORBILL. Alca torda,
Linnaeus. French, “Pingouin macroptere.” -- The
Razorbill is not by any means numerous in the Channel
Islands, but a few breed about Ortack, and, as has
been said before, in Alderney, but nowhere else; and
they are by no means so numerous as the Guillemot.
It is resident throughout the year, though perhaps
more common in the autumn than at any other time.
Mr. Harvey Brown, however, mentions seeing a small
flock swim by with the tide, at the north-end of Herm,
in January. Mr. MacCulloch writes me word he has
a note of a Razorbill Auk shot in Guernsey on the
14th February, 1847; this, of course, is only a young
Razorbill of the previous year, which had not at that
time fully developed its bill.
The Razorbill is included in Professor
Ansted’s list, but only marked as occurring
in Guernsey. There are two Razorbills in the Museum,
one in summer and one in winter plumage.
160. CORMORANT. Phalacrocorax
carbo, Linnaeus. French, “Grand cormoran.” -- The
Cormorant is by no means common in the Islands; I have
never seen it about Guernsey, though I have seen one
or two near Herm; I do not know that it breeds anywhere
in the Islands, except at Burhou, and there only one
or two pairs breed. I was shown the nesting-place
just at the opening of a small sort of cavern; there
was, however, only the remains of one egg that had
been hatched, and probably the young gone off with
its parents. I, however, received an adult bird
and a young bird of the year, shot in the harbour
at Alderney in August of that year, and those are
the only Channel Island specimens of the Cormorant
that I have seen.
Professor Ansted includes the Cormorant
in his list, and marks it as occurring only in Guernsey
and Sark. There is no specimen at present in
the Museum.
161. SHAG. Phalacrocorax graculus,
Linnaeus. French, “Cormoran largup.” -- The
Shag almost entirely takes the place, as well as usurps
the name, of its big brother, as in the Islands it
is invariably called the Cormorant. The local
Guernsey-French name “Cormoran” is
applicable probably to either the Shag or the Cormorant.
The Shag is the most numerous of the sea birds which
frequent the Islands, the Herring Gull not even excepted,
every nook and corner of the high cliffs in all the
Islands being occupied by scores of Shags during the
breeding-season. They take care, however, to
place their nests in tolerably inaccessible places
that cannot well be reached without a rope. The
principal breeding-places are in Guernsey,
about the Gull Cliffs, and from there to Petit Bo,
and a few, but not so many, on the rocks between there
and Fermain, wherever they can find a place; none
breed on the north or west side of the Island; in
Jethou and Herm, and on the rock called La Fauconniere,
a few also breed, but not so many as in Guernsey, and
we did not find any breeding on the Amfrocques or
the other rocks to the north of Herm. On Sark
they breed in great numbers, mostly on the west side
nearest to Guernsey, and on the Isle de Marchant or
Brechou, especially on the grand cliffs on both sides
the narrow passage which divides that Island from
the mainland of Sark, and from there to the Coupee,
and from there round Little Sark to the Creux Harbour
on the south-east. On the east side, that towards
the French coast, there are few or none breeding,
the cliffs not being so well suited to them; a great
number breed also on Alderney, on the high cliffs on
the south and east, but none on Burhou. The Shags
appear to breed rather earlier than the Herring Gulls;
when I was in the Islands in June, 1876, almost all
the Shags had hatched, and the young were standing
by their parents on the rocks close to their nests.
When I visited some of the breeding-places of the
Shags on the 27th of May, 1878, neither Gulls nor
Shags had hatched, but when I went to the Gull Cliff
on the 20th of June I found nearly all the Shags had
hatched, though none or very few of the Herring Gulls
had done so; some of the young Shags had left the nests
and were about on the water; others were nearly ready
to leave, and several were little things quite in
the down. Though it is generally easy to look
down upon the Shags on their nests, and to get a good
view at a short distance of the eggs and the young,
it is, as a rule, by no means easy to get at them
without a rope; in a few places, however, their nests
are more accessible, and a hard climb on the rocks,
perhaps with a burning sun making them almost too
hot to hold, will bring you within reach of a Shag’s
nest; but I would not advise any one who tries it
to put on his “go-to-meeting clothes,”
as the deposit of guano on the rocks will spoil anything;
and only let him smell his hands after his exploit they
do smell so nice! One of the parents generally
stands by the young after they are hatched, I suppose
to prevent them from wandering about and falling off
the rocks, as the positions of some of them seem very
critical, there being only just room for the family
to stand; the other parent is generally away fishing,
only returning at intervals to feed his family and
dry his feathers before making a fresh start; sometimes
one parent takes a turn to stay by the young, and
sometimes the other. The usual number of young
appeared to be three, sometimes only one or two; but
in these cases it is probable that a young one or
two may have waddled off the rock, or got into a crevice
from which the parents could not extricate it, accidents
which I should think frequently happen; or an egg
or two may have been blown from the nest, or egg or
young fallen a victim to some marauding Herring Gull
during the absence of the parents. The Shag assumes
its full breeding-plumage and crest very early; I
have one in perfect breeding-plumage, killed in February;
and Miss C.B. Carey mentions in the ‘Zoologist’
having seen one in Mr. Couch’s shop with its
full crest in January. I do not quite know at
what time the young bird assumes adult plumage, but
I have one just changing from the brown plumage of
the young to adult plumage. Many of the green
feathers of the adult are making their appearance
amongst the brown ones; this one I shot on the 26th
June, 1866, near the harbour Goslin, at Sark, near
a large breeding-station of Shags and Herring Gulls:
if it is, as I suppose, a young bird of the year,
it would show a very early change to adult plumage,
but of course it might have been a young bird of the
previous year; but, as a rule, young birds of the
previous year are not allowed about the breeding-stations,
any more than they are by the Herring Gulls.
The Shag is included in Professor
Ansted’s list, but curiously enough only marked
as occurring in Guernsey. There are two adult
specimens and one young bird and one young in down
in the Museum.
162. GANNET. Sula bassana,
Linnaeus. French, “Fou de bassan.” -- The
Gannet, or Solan Goose, as it is sometimes called,
is a regular autumn and winter visitant to all the
Islands, but never so numerous, I think, as on the
south coast of Devon; birds, however, in all states
of plumage, young birds as well as adults, and in
the various intermediate or spotted states of plumage,
make their appearance. It stays on through the
winter, but never remains to breed as it does regularly
at Lundy Island. I have seen both adults and
young birds fishing round Guernsey, and Mrs. Jago
(late Miss Cumber) told me she had had several through
her hands when she was the bird-stuffer there; she
also wrote to me on the 16th March, 1879, to say a
fully adult Gannet had been shot in Fermain Bay on
the 15th; and Mr. Grieve, the carpenter and bird-stuffer
at Alderney, had the legs and wings of an adult bird,
shot by him near that Island, nailed up behind the
door of his shop. I do not think, however, that
the strong tides, rough seas, and sunken rocks of the
Channel Islands suit the fishing operations of the
Gannet as well as the smoother seas of the south coast
of Devon; not but what the Gannet can stand any amount
of rough sea; and I have seen it dash after fish into
seas that one would have thought must have rolled it
over and drowned it, especially as it rose to the
surface gulping down its prey.
It is included in Professor Ansted’s
list, but only marked as occurring in Guernsey.
There are three specimens, an adult and two young,
in the Museum.
163. COMMON TERN. Sterna fluviatilis,
Naumann. French, “Hirondelle de
mer,” “Pierre garin.” The Common
Tern is a regular but not numerous spring and autumn
visitant to the Islands, some remaining to breed.
I do not know that it breeds anywhere in Guernsey
itself, but it may do so, for in the Vale in the summer
of 1878 I saw more than one pair about the two bays,
Grand Havre and L’Ancresse, all through the summer;
some of them certainly seemed paired, but I never
could find where their nests were; some of the others
apparently were non-breeding birds, as they did not
appear to be paired. These bays and along the
coast near St. Samson were the only places in Guernsey
itself that I saw the Terns; there were some also
about Herm, but we could not find any nests there;
but Mr. Howard Saunders and myself found a few pairs
breeding on one of the rocky islands to the north
of Herm; when we visited them on the 27th June, 1878,
we only found four nests, two with two eggs each and
two with only one egg each. Probably these were
a second laying, the nests having been robbed, as
had everything else on these Islands; there must have
been more than four nests there really, as there were
several pairs of birds about, but we could not find
any other nests; these four were on the hard rocks,
with little or no attempt at a real nest. This
was the only one of the small rocky islands on which
we found Terns breeding, though we searched every
one of them that had any land above water at high
tide; the others, of course, were useless. I had
expected for some time that Common Terns did breed
on some of these rocks, as I have an adult female
in full breeding-plumage, which had been shot on the
29th June, 1877, near St. Samson’s, which is
only about three miles from these Islands, and which
certainly showed signs of having been sitting; and
Mr. Jago, the bird-stuffer, had one in full breeding-plumage,
killed at Herm early in June, 1878; but several of
the sailors about, and some friends of mine who were
in the habit of visiting these islands occasionally,
seemed very sceptical on the subject; but Mr. Howard
Saunders and I quite settled the question by finding
the eggs, and we also thoroughly identified the birds.
The Common Tern seemed to be the only species of Tern
breeding on the rocks; we certainly saw nothing else,
and no Common Terns even, except on the one island
on which we found the eggs. The autumnal visitants
are mostly young birds of the year, some of them,
of course, having been bred on the Islands and others
merely wanderers from more distant breeding-stations.
No young Terns appeared to have flown when I left
the Islands at the end of July; at least, I saw none
about, though there were several adults about both
Grand Havre and L’Ancresse Bay. The same
remark applies to Herm, where my last visit to the
shell-beach was on the 22nd of July, when I saw several
adult Common Terns about, but no young ones with them;
all these were probably birds which had been robbed
of one or more clutches of eggs.
Professor Ansted includes the Common
Tern in his list, but only marks it as occurring in
Guernsey. There is one specimen in the Museum,
a young bird of the year.
164. ARCTIC TERN. Sterna macrura,
Naumann. French, “Hirondelle de
mer arctique.” -- The Arctic
Tern is by no means so common in the Islands as the
Common Tern, and is, as far as I can make out, only
an occasional autumnal visitant, and then young birds
of the year most frequently occur, as I have never
seen a Guernsey specimen of an adult bird. I do
not think it ever visits the Islands during the spring
migration; I did not see one about the Vale in the
summer of 1878, nor did Mr. Howard Saunders and myself
recognise one when we visited the rocks to the north
of Herm. It may, however, have occurred more frequently
than is supposed, and been mistaken for the Common
Tern, so it may be as well to point out the chief
distinctions: these are the short tarsus of the
Arctic Tern, which only measures 0.55 of an inch, whilst
that of the Common Tern measures 0.7 of an inch; and
the dark grey next to the shaft on the inner web of
the primary quills of the Arctic Tern, which is much
narrower than in those of the Common Tern. These
two distinctions hold good at all ages and in all
states of plumage; as to fully adult birds in breeding
plumage there are other distinctions, the tail of the
Arctic Tern being much longer in proportion to the
wing than in the Common Tern, and the bill being nearly
all red instead of tipped with horn-colour.
The Arctic Tern is not included in
Professor Ansted’s list, and there is no specimen
at present in the Museum.
165. BLACK TERN. Hydrochelidon
nigra, Linnaeus. French, “Guifette
noire,” “Hirondelle de mer
épouvantail.” -- The Black Tern is
by no means a common visitant to the Islands, and
only makes its appearance in the autumn, and then
the generality of those that occur are young birds
of the year. I have one specimen of a young bird
killed at the Vrangue on the 1st October, 1876.
It does not seem to occur at all on the spring migration;
at least I have never heard of or seen a Channel Island
specimen killed at that time of year. As this
is a marsh-breeding Tern, it is not at all to be wondered
at that it does not, at all events at present, remain
to breed in the Islands, there being so few places
suited to it, though it is possible that before the
Braye du Valle was drained, and large salt marshes
were in existence in that part of the Island, the
Black Tern may have bred there. I can, however,
find no direct evidence of its having done so, and
therefore can look upon it as nothing but an occasional
autumnal straggler.
The Black Tern is not included in
Professor Ansted’s list, and there is no specimen
in the Museum. These are all the Terns I have
been able to prove as having occurred in the Channel
Islands, though it seems to me highly probable that
others occur as the Sandwich Tern, the Lesser
Tern, and the Roseate Tern (especially if, as I have
heard stated, it breeds in small numbers off the coast
of Brittany). Professor Ansted includes the Lesser
Tern in his list, but that may have been a mistake,
as my skin of a young Black Tern was sent to me for
a Lesser Tern.
166. KITTIWAKE. Rissa tridactyla,
Linnaeus. French, “Mouette tridactyle.” -- The
Kittiwake is a regular and numerous autumn and winter
visitant to all the Islands, sometimes remaining till
late in the spring, which misled me when I made the
statement in the ‘Zoologist’ for 1866
that it did breed in the Channel Islands; subsequent
experience, however, has convinced me that the Kittiwake
does not breed in any of the Islands. Captain
Hubback, however, informed me that a few were breeding
on the rocks to the south of Alderney in 1878, but
when Mr. Howard Saunders and I went with him to the
spot on the 25th June, we found no Kittiwakes there,
all those Captain Hubback had previously seen having
probably departed to their breeding-stations before
our visit, and after they had been seen by him some
time in May. Professor Ansted includes the Kittiwake
in his list, but only marks it as occurring in Guernsey
and Sark. There are two specimens in the Museum,
an adult bird and a young one in that state of plumage
in which it is the Tarrock of Bewick and some of the
older authors.
167. HERRING GULL. Larus argentatus,
Gmelin. French, “Goéland argente,”
“Goéland a manteau bleu.” -- The
Herring Gull is very common, indeed the commonest
Gull, and is resident in all the Islands throughout
the year, breeding in nearly all of them in such places
as are suited to it. In Guernsey it breeds on
the high cliffs, from the so-called Gull Cliff, near
Pleinmont, to the Corbiere, the Gouffre, the Moye
Point to Petit Bo in considerable numbers; from Petit
Bo Bay to St. Martin’s Point much more sparingly.
In Sark it breeds in considerable numbers; on Little
Sark on both sides of the Coupee, and on nearly all
the west side; that towards Guernsey, especially about
Harbour Goslin, a place called the Moye de Moutton
near there, which is a most excellent place for watching
the breeding operations of this Gull as well as of
the Shags, as with a moderate climb on the rocks one
can easily look into several nests and see what both
old and young are about. On the island close
to Sark, called Isle de Merchant, or Brechou, especially
on the steep rocky side nearest to Sark; a great many
also breed on and about the Autelets: in fact,
almost all the grandest and wildest scenery in Sark
has been appropriated by the Herring Gulls for their
breeding-places, who, except for the Shags, hold almost
undisputed possession of the grandest part of the
Island. On the east side, or that towards France,
few or no Herring Gulls breed; the cliffs being more
sloping, and covered with grass and gorse, and heather,
are not at all suited for breeding purposes for the
Herring Gull. A few pairs have lately set up
a small breeding-station on the rock before mentioned
near Jethou, as La Fauconniere; a very few also breed
on Herm on the south part nearest to Jethou, but none
that we could see on the rocks to the north of Herm.
A great many breed also in Alderney on the south and
east sides, but none on the little island of Burhou,
which has been entirely appropriated by the Lesser
Black-backs; in all these places the Herring Gulls
and Shags take almost entire possession of the rocks,
the Lesser Black-backs apparently never mixing with
them; indeed, except a chance straggler or two passing
by, a Lesser Black-back is scarcely to be seen at
any of these stations. The Herring Gull and the
Lesser Black-back, though very distinct in their adult
plumage, and even before they fully arrive at maturity,
as soon as they begin to show the different colour
of the mantle, which they do in their second autumn,
when a few of either the dark or the pale grey feathers
appear amongst the brownish ones of the young bird,
are before this change begins very much alike.
In the down I think they are almost, if not quite,
indistinguishable after that in their first feathers,
and up to their first winter they appear to me distinguishable.
As far as the primary quills go I do not see much
difference; the shafts, perhaps, of the quills of the
Lesser Black-back are darker than those of the Herring,
but the difference if anything is very slight; but
the head and neck and the centres of the feathers
of the back of the Lesser Black-back are darker, more
of a dark smoky brown than those of the Herring Gull:
this difference of colour is even more apparent on
the under surface, including the breast, belly, and
flanks. The shoulder of the wing and the under
wing-coverts of the Lesser Black-back are much darker,
nearly dull sooty black, and much less margined and
marked with pale whitey brown than those of the Herring
Gull. The dark bands on the end of the tail-feathers
of the Lesser Black-back are broader and darker than
in the Herring Gull: this seems especially apparent
on the two outer tail-feathers on each side; besides
this, there is a slight difference in the colour of
the legs, those of the Lesser Black-back showing a
slight indication of the yellow of maturity.
I have noted these distinctions both from living specimens
of both species which I have kept, and noted their
various changes from time to time, and from skins
of both: unfortunately the two skins of the youngest
birds I have are not quite of the same age, one being
that of a young Herring Gull, killed at the Needles
in August, the other a young Lesser Black-back,
killed in Guernsey in December; but I do not think
that this difference of time from August to December,
the birds being of the same year, makes much difference
in the colour of the feathers; at least this is my
experience of live birds: it is not till the next
moult that more material distinctions begin to appear;
after that there can be no doubt as to the species.
Two young Herring Gulls which I have, and which I
saw in the flesh at Couch’s shop just after they
had been shot, seem to me worthy of some notice as
showing the gradual change of plumage in the Herring
Gull; they were shot on the same day, and appear to
me to be one exactly a year older than the other; they
were killed in November, when both had clean moulted,
and show examples of the second and third moult.
N, the oldest, has the back nearly uniform grey,
and the rump and upper tail-coverts white, as in the
adult. In N, the younger one, the grey feathers
on the back were much mixed with the brownish feathers
of the young bird, and there are no absolutely white
feathers on the rump and tail-coverts, all of them
being more or less marked with brown. The tail
in N has the brown on it collected in large and
nearly confluent blotches, whilst that of N is
merely freckled with brown. But perhaps the greatest
difference is in the primary quills; the first four
primaries, however, are much alike, those of N,
being a little darker and more distinctly coloured;
in both they are nearly of a uniform colour, only
being slightly mottled on the inner web towards the
base; there is no white tip to either. In N the fifth primary has a distinct white tip; the
sixth also has a decided white tip, and is much whiter
towards the base, the difference being quite as perceptible
on the outer as on the inner web. The seventh
has a small spot of brown towards the tip on the outer
web, the rest of the feather being almost uniform
pale grey, with a slightly darker shade on the outer
web, and white at the tip; the eighth grey, with a
broad white tip. In N the fifth primary has
no white tip; the sixth also has no white tip, and
not so much white towards the base; the seventh is
all brown, slightly mottled towards the base, and only
a very slight indication of a white tip; and the eighth
is mottled throughout. I think it worth while
to mention these two birds, as I have their exact dates,
and the difference of a year between them agrees exactly
with young birds which I have taken in their first
feathers and brought up tame. I may also add,
with regard to change of plumage owing to age, that
very old birds do not appear to get their heads so
much streaked with brown in the winter as younger
though still adult birds, as a pair which I caught
in Sark when only flappers, and brought home in July,
1866, had few or no brown streaks about their heads
in the winter of 1877-8, and in the winter of 1878-9
their heads are almost as white as in the breeding-season.
These birds had their first brood in 1873, and have
bred regularly every year since that time, and certainly
have considerably more white on their primary quills
than when they first assumed adult plumage and began
to breed. Probably this increase of white on
the primaries as age increases, even after the full-breeding-plumage
is assumed, is always the case in the Herring Gull,
and also in both the Lesser and Greater Black-backs,
thus distinguishing very old birds from those which,
though adult, have only recently assumed the breeding-plumage.
I know Mr. Howard Saunders is of this opinion, certainly
as far as Herring Gulls are concerned. Besides
the live ones, two skins I have, both of adult birds,
as far as breeding-plumage only is concerned, are
evidently considerably older than the other.
N, the youngest of these, shot in Guernsey
in August, when just assuming winter plumage, the
head being much streaked, even then, with brown, showing
that though adult it was not a very old bird, has
the usual white tip on the first primary, below which
the whole feather is black on both webs, and below
that a white spot on both webs, for an inch; the white,
however, much encroached upon on the outer part of
the outer web by a margin of black. In N,
probably the older bird, the first primary has the
white tip and the white spot running into each other,
thus making the tip of the feather for nearly two
inches white, with only a slight patch of black on
the outer web. On the second primary of N
the white tip is present, but no white spot; but on
the same feather of N there is a white spot on
the inner web, about an inch from the white tip; this
would, probably, in a still older bird, become confluent
with the white tip, as in the first primary. I
have not, however, a sufficiently old bird to follow
out this for certain. In N, the older bird,
the pale grey on the lower part of the feathers also
extends farther towards the tip, thus encroaching on
the black of the primaries from below as well as from
above. I think these examples are sufficient
to show that the white does encroach on the black
of the primaries as the bird grows older, till at last,
in very old birds, there would not be much more than
a bar of black between the white tip and the rest
of the feather; and this is very much the case with
the tame ones I caught in Sark in 1866, and which are
therefore, now in the winter of 1879, twelve and a
half years old; but I do not believe that at any age
the black wholly disappears from the primaries, leaving
them white as in the Iceland and Glaucous Gulls.
The Herring Gull is an extremely voracious bird, eating
nearly everything that comes in its way, and rejecting
the indigestible parts as Hawks do. Mr. Couch,
in the ‘Zoologist’ for 1874, mentions having
taken a Misseltoe Thrush from the throat of one; and
I can quite believe it, supposing it found the Thrush
dead or floating half drowned on the water. I
have seen my tame ones catch and kill a nearly full-grown
rat, and bolt it whole; and young ducks, I am sorry
to say, disappear down their throats in no time, down
and all. They are also great robbers of eggs,
no sort of egg coming amiss to them; Guillemots’
eggs, especially, they are very fond of; this may
probably account for there being no Guillemots
breeding in Guernsey or Sark, and only a very few at
Alderney; in fact, Ortack being the only place in the
Channel Islands in which they do breed in anything
like numbers.
Professor Ansted includes the Herring
Gull in his list, but only marks it as occurring in
Guernsey and Sark. There are two, an old and a
young bird, in the Museum.
168. LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL.
Larus fuscus, Linnaeus. French, “Goéland
a pieds jaunes.” -- The Lesser
Black-backed Gull is common in the Islands, remaining
throughout the year and breeding in certain places.
None of these birds breed in Guernsey itself, or on
the mainland of Sark, and very few, if any, on Alderney.
A few may be seen, from time to time, wandering about
all the Islands during the breeding-season; but these
are either immature birds or wanderers from their own
breeding-stations. About Sark a few pairs breed
on Le Tas and one or two other outlying
islets; their principal breeding-stations, however,
appear to be on the small rocky islands to the north
of Herm, on all of which, as far out as the Amfrocques,
we found considerable numbers breeding, or rather
attempting to do so; for this summer, 1878, having
been generally fine, all these rocks were tolerably
easily landed on, and the fishermen had robbed the
Lesser Black-backs to an extent which threatens some
day to exterminate them, in spite of the Guernsey Bird
Act, which professes to protect the eggs as well as
the birds; but a far better protection for these poor
Black-backs is a roughish summer, when landing on
these islands is by no means safe or pleasant, and
frequently impossible. On Burhou, near Alderney,
there are also a considerable number of Lesser Black-backs
breeding, though they fare quite as badly from the
Alderney and French fishermen as those on the Amfrocques
and other islands north of them do from the Guernsey
fishermen. On all these islands the nests of
the Lesser Black-backs were placed amongst the bracken,
sea stock, thrift, &c, which grew amongst the rocks,
and on the shallow soil which had collected in places.
When I was at Burhou in 1876 I found Lesser Black-backs
breeding all over the Island, some of the nests being
placed on the low rocks, some amongst the bracken and
thrift; so thickly scattered amongst the bracken were
the nests, that one had to be very careful in walking
for fear of treading on the nests and breaking the
eggs. On this Island there is an old deserted
cottage, sometimes used as a shelter by the lessees
of the Island, who go over there to shoot a few wretched
rabbits which pick up a precarious subsistence by
feeding on the scanty herbage; on the roof of this
cottage several of the Lesser Black-backs perched themselves
in a row whilst I was looking about at the eggs, and
kept up a most dismal screaming at the top of their
voices. The eggs, as is generally the case with
gulls, varied considerably both in ground colour and
marking; some were freckled all over with small spots dark
brown, purple, or black; others had larger markings,
principally collected at the larger end; the ground
colour was generally blue, green, or dull olive-green.
None of the Gulls had hatched when I was there on
the 14th of June, though some of the eggs were very
hard set; and on the 29th of July I received two young
birds which had been taken on Burhou; these still had
down on them when I got them, and were then difficult
to tell from young Herring Gulls. The distinctions
I have mentioned in my note of that bird were, however,
apparent, and the slight difference in the colour of
the legs is perhaps more easily seen in the live birds
than in skins which have been kept and faded into
“Museum colour.” It is some time,
however, before either bird assumes the proper colour,
either of the legs or bill, the change being very
gradual. After the autumnal moult of 1878, however,
the dark feathers of the mantle almost entirely took
the place of the brownish feathers of the young birds;
the quills, however, have still (February, 1879) no
white tips, and the tail-feathers are still much mottled
with brown. One Lesser Black-back, which I shot
near the Vale Church on the 17th of July, 1866, is
perhaps worthy of note as being in transition, and
perhaps a rather abnormal state of change considering
the time of year at which it was shot; it was in a
full state of moult; the new feathers on the head,
neck, tail-coverts, and under parts are white; the
tail also is white, except four old feathers, two
on each side not yet moulted, which are much mottled
with brown. The primary quills had not been moulted,
and are quite those of the immature bird, with no
white tip whatever. All the new feathers of the
back and wing-coverts are the dark slate-grey of the
adult, but the old worn feathers are the brownish
feathers of the young bird; these feathers are much
worn and faded, being a paler brown than is usual in
young birds. The legs and bill are also quite
as much in a state of change as the rest of the bird.
Before finishing this notice of the Lesser Black-back
I think it is worth while to notice that it selects
quite a different sort of breeding-place to the Herring
Gull; the nests are never placed on ledges on the
steep precipitous face of the cliffs, but amongst the
bracken and the flat rocks, as at Burhou, the only
rather steep rock I have seen any nests on was at
the Amfrocques, but there they were on the flattish
top of the rock, and not on ledges on the side.
Professor Ansted includes the Lesser
Black-backed Gull in his list, but only marks it as
occurring in Guernsey. There is one specimen in
the Museum.
169. COMMON GULL. Larus canus,
Linnaeus. French, “Goéland cendre,”
“Mouette a pieds bleus,” “La
Mouette d’Hiver”. -- The Common
Gull, though by no means uncommon in the Channel Islands
during the winter, never remains to breed there, nor
does it do so, I believe, any where in the West of
England, certainly not in Somerset or Devon, as stated
by Mr. Dresser in the ‘Birds of Europe,’
fide the Rev. M.A. Mathew and Mr. W.D.
Crotch, who must have made some mistake as to its breeding
in those two counties; in Cornwall it is said to breed,
by Mr. Dresser, on the authority of Mr. Rodd.
Mr. Dresser, however, does not seem to have had his
authority direct from either of these gentlemen, and
only quotes it from Mr. A.G. More. Mr. Rodd,
however, in his ’Notes on the Birds of Cornwall,’
published in the ‘Zoologist’ for 1870,
only says, “Generally distributed in larger
or smaller numbers along or near our coasts,”
which would be equally true of the Channel Islands,
although it does not breed there; however, as Mr.
Rodd is going to publish his interesting notes on
the Birds of Cornwall in a separate form, it is much
to be hoped that he will clear that matter up as far
as regards that county and the Scilly Islands.
Like the Herring and Lesser Black-backed Gull, the
Common Gull goes through several changes of plumage
before it arrives at maturity; like them it begins
with the mottled brownish stage, and gradually assumes
the blue-grey mantle of maturity; in the earlier stages
the primaries have no white spots at the tips.
The legs and bill, which appear to go through more
changes than in other Gulls, are in an intermediate
state bluish grey (which accounts for Temminck’s
name mentioned above) before they assume the pale yellow
of maturity: although at this time they have
the mantle quite as in the adult, there is a material
difference in the pattern of the primary quills, and
they do not appear to breed till their bills have
become quite yellow and their legs a pale greenish
yellow. I cannot quite tell at what age the Common
Gull begins to breed, for, although I have a pair which
have laid regularly for the last two years (they have
not, however, hatched any young, which perhaps is
the fault of the Herring Gulls, whom I have several
times caught sucking their eggs), I do not know what
their age was when I first had them as I did the Herring
Gulls from Sark and the Lesser Black-backs from Burhou;
I can only say when I first had them they had the
bills and legs blue; in fact they were in the state
in which they are the “Mouette a pieds
bleus” of Temminck.
Professor Ansted includes the Common
Gull in his list, and marks it as occurring in Guernsey
and Sark. There is no specimen in the Museum.
170. GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL.
Larus marinus, Linnaeus. French, “Goéland
a manteau noir.” -- The Great Black-backed
Gull is by no means so numerous in the Channel Islands
as the Herring Gull and the Lesser Black-back, and
is here as elsewhere a rather solitary and roaming
bird. A few, however, remain about the Channel
Islands, and breed in places which suit them, such
as Ortack, which I have before mentioned, as the breeding-place
of the Razorbill and Guillemot; and we found one nest
on one of the rocks to the north of Herm, but it had
been robbed, as had all the other Gulls’ nests
about there; we saw, however, the old birds about,
and Mr. Howard Saunders found one nest on the little
Island of Le Tas, close to Sark; it
was quite on the top of the Island, and there were
young in it. I have one splendid adult bird, shot
near the harbour in Guernsey, in March: I should
think this is rather an old bird, as, although there
are slight indications of winter plumage on the head,
the white tips of the primaries are very large, that
of the first extending fully two inches and a half,
which is considerably more than that of a fully adult
bird I have from Lundy Island. The Great Black-backed
Gull is sufficiently common and well known to have
a local name in Guernsey-French (Hublot or Ublat),
for which see ’Metivier’s Dictionary.’
Professor Ansted includes the Great
Black-backed Gull in his list, and marks it as only
occurring in Guernsey and Sark. There are three
specimens in the Museum an adult bird, a
young one, and a young one in down, with the feathers
just beginning to show. In the young bird the
head and neck were mottled and much like those of a
young Herring Gull in the same state; the back, thighs,
and under parts do not appear so much spotted as in
the young Herring Gull; the feathers on the scapulars
and wing-coverts were just beginning to show two shades
of brown, as in the more mature state; the same may
be said of the primary quills, which were also just
beginning to make their appearance; the tail, which
was only just beginning to show, was nearly black,
margined with white.
171. BROWN-HEADED GULL. Larus
ridibundus, Linnaeus. French, “Mouette
rieuse.” This pretty little Gull is a common
autumn and winter visitant to all the Islands, remaining
on to the spring, but never breeding in any of them,
though a few young and non-breeding birds may be seen
about at all times of the summer, especially about
the harbour. Being a marsh-breeding Gull, and
selecting low marshy islands situated for the most
part in inland fresh-water lakes and large pieces of
water, it is not to be wondered at that it does not
breed in the Channel Islands, where there are no places
either suited to its requirements or where it could
find a sufficient supply of its customary food during
the breeding-season. Very soon after they have
left their breeding-stations, however, both old and
young birds may be seen about the harbours and bays
of Guernsey and the other islands seeking for food,
in which matter they are not very particular, picking
up any floating rubbish or nastiness they may find
in the harbour. The generality of specimens occurring
in the Channel Islands are in either winter or immature
plumage, very few having assumed the dark-coloured
head which marks the breeding plumage. This dark
colour of the head, which is sometimes assumed as
early as the end of February, comes on very rapidly,
not being the effect of moult, but of a change of
colour in the feathers themselves, the dark colouring-matter
gradually spreading over each feather and supplanting
the white of the winter plumage; a few new feathers
are also grown at this time to replace any that have
been accidentally shed these come in the
dark colour. The young birds in their first feathers
are nearly brown, but the grey feathers make their
appearance amongst the brown ones at an earlier stage
than in most other gulls. The primary quills,
which are white in the centre with a margin of black,
vary also a good deal with age, the black margins growing
narrower and the white in places extending through
the black margin to the edge, so that in adult birds
the black margins are not so complete as in younger
examples.
Professor Ansted mentions the Laughing
Gull in his list, by which I presume he means the
present species, and marks it as only occurring in
Guernsey. There is no specimen in the Museum.
As it is just possible that the Mediterranean Black-headed
Gull, Larus melanocephalus, may occur in the
Islands, as it does so in France as far
as Bordeaux, and has once certainly extended its wanderings
as far as the British Islands, it may be
worth while to point out the principal distinctions.
In the adult bird the head of L. melanocephalus
in the breeding-season is black, not brown as in L.
ridibundus, and the first three primaries are
white with the exception of a narrow streak of black
on the outer web of the first, and not white with
a black margin as in L. ridibundus. In
younger birds, however, the primaries are a little
more alike, but the first primary of L. melanocephalus
is black or nearly so; in this state Mr. Howard Saunders
has given plates of the first three primaries of L.
melanocephalus and L. ridibundus, both being
from birds of the year shot about March, in his paper
on the Larinae, published in the ‘Proceedings
of the Zoological Society’ for the year 1878.
172. LITTLE GULL. Larus minutus,
Pallas. French, “Mouette pygmée.” -- I
have never met with this bird myself in the Channel
Islands, nor have I seen a Channel Island specimen,
but Mr. Harvie Brown, writing to the ‘Zoologist’
from St. Peter’s Port, Guernsey, under date January
25th, says, “In the bird-stuffer’s shop
here I saw a Little Gull in the flesh, which had been
shot a few days ago.” Mr. Harvie Brown does not
give us any more information on the subject, and does
not even say whether the bird was a young bird or
an adult in winter plumage; but probably it was a
young bird of the year in that sort of young Kittiwake
or Tarrock plumage in which it occasionally occurs
on the south coast of Devon.
Professor Ansted does not include
the Little Gull in his list, and there is no specimen
in the Museum.
173. GREAT SHEARWATER. Puffinus
major, Faber. French, “Puffin majeur.” -- I
think I may fairly include the Great Shearwater in
my list as an occasional wanderer to the Islands,
as, although I have not a Channel Island specimen,
nor have I seen it near the shore or in any of the
bays, I did see a small flock of four or five of these
birds in July, 1866, when crossing from Guernsey to
Torquay. We were certainly more than the Admiralty
three miles from the land; but had scarcely lost sight
of Guernsey, and were well within sight of the Caskets,
when we fell in with the Shearwaters. They accompanied
the steamer for some little way, at times flying close
up, and I had an excellent opportunity of watching
them both with and without my glass, and have therefore
no doubt of the species. There was a heavyish
sea at the time, and the Shearwaters were generally
flying under the lee of the waves, just rising sufficiently
to avoid the crest of the wave when it broke.
They flew with the greatest possible ease, and seemed
as if no sea or gale of wind would hurt them; they
never got touched by the breaking sea, but just as
it appeared curling over them they rose out of danger
and skimmed over the crest; they never whilst I was
watching them actually settled on the water, though
now and then they dropped their legs just touching
the water with their feet.
The Great Shearwater is not mentioned
in Professor Ansted’s list, and there is no
specimen in the Museum.
174. MANX SHEARWATER. Puffinus
anglorum, Temminck. French, “Petrel
Manks.” -- The Manx Shearwater can only
be considered as an occasional wanderer to the Channel
Islands, and never by any means so common as it is
sometimes on the opposite side of the Channel about
Torbay, especially in the early autumn. I have
one Guernsey specimen, however, killed near St. Samson’s
on the 28th September, 1876. As far as I can make
out the Manx Shearwater does not breed in any part
of the Channel Islands, but being rather of nocturnal
habits at its breeding-stations, and remaining in
the holes and under the rocks where its eggs are during
the day, it may not have been seen during the breeding-season;
but did it breed anywhere in the Islands more birds,
both old and young, would be seen about in the early
autumn when the young first begin to leave their nests;
and the Barbelotters would occasionally come across
eggs and young birds when digging for Puffins’
eggs.
The Manx Shearwater is not included
in Professor Ansted’s list, and there is no
specimen in the Museum.
175. FULMAR PETREL. Fulmarus
glacialis, Linnaeus. French, “Petrel
fulmar.” -- The Fulmar Petrel, wandering
bird as it is, especially during the autumn, at which
time of year it has occurred in all the western counties
of England, very seldom finds its way to the Channel
Islands, as the only occurrence of which I am aware
is one which I picked up dead on the shore in Cobo
Bay on the 14th of November, 1875, after a very heavy
gale. In very bad weather, and after long-continued
gales, this bird seems to be occasionally driven ashore,
either owing to starvation or from getting caught
in the crest of a wave when trying to hover close
over it, after the manner of a Shearwater, as this
is the second I have picked up under nearly the same
circumstances, the first being in November, 1866,
when I found one not quite dead on the shore near
Dawlish, in South Devon. It must be very seldom,
however, that the Fulmar visits the Channel Islands,
as neither Mr. Couch nor Mrs. Jago had ever had one
through their hands, and Mr. MacCulloch has never heard
of a Channel Island specimen occurring.
It is not included in Professor Ansted’s
list, and there is no specimen in the Museum.
176. STORM PETREL. Thalassidroma
pelagica Linnaeus. French, “Thalassidrome
tempête.” -- Mr. Gallienne, in his
remarks published with Professor Ansted’s list,
says, “The Storm Petrel breeds in large numbers
in Burhou, a few on the other rocks near Alderney,
and occasionally on the rocks near Herm; these are
the only places where they breed, although seen and
occasionally killed in all the Islands.”
I can add to these places mentioned by Mr. Gallienne
the little island, frequently mentioned before, near
Sark, Le Tas, where Mr. Howard Saunders
found several breeding on the 24th June, 1878.
I could not accompany him on this expedition, so he
alone has the honour of adding Le Tas to
the breeding-places of the Storm Petrel in the Channel
Islands, and he very kindly gave me the two eggs which
he took on that occasion. When I visited Burhou
in June, 1876, I was unsuccessful in finding more
than part of a broken egg and a wing of a dead bird.
But Colonel L’Estrange, who had been there about
a fortnight before, found two addled eggs, but saw
no birds. I thought at the time that I had been
too late and the birds had departed, but this does
not seem to have been the case, as Captain Hubback
wrote to me in July of this year (1878), and said,
“Do you not think that perhaps you were early
on the 14th of June? Of the six eggs I took on
the 2nd of July this year, two were quite fresh, three
hard-sat, and one deserted.” I have no doubt
he was right, as the wing of the dead bird I found
was, no doubt, that of one that had come to grief
the year before, and the egg was one which had been
sat on and hatched, and might therefore have been one
of the previous year; and the same, possibly, might
have been the case with Col. L’Estrange’s
two addled eggs. It appears, however, to be rather
irregular in its breeding habits, nesting from the
end of May to July or August. In Burhou the Storm
Petrel bred mostly in holes in the soft black mould,
which was also partly occupied by Puffins and Babbits,
but occasionally under large stones and rocks.
We did not find any breeding on the islands to the
north of Herm, but they may do so occasionally, in
which case their eggs would probably be mostly placed
under large rocks and stones, where the Puffins find
safety from the attacks of the various egg-stealers.
At other times of year than the breeding-season, the
Storm Petrel can only be considered an occasional storm-driven
visitant to the Islands.
It is included in Professor Ansted’s
list, and marked as occurring in Alderney, Sark, Jethou,
and Herm.
With this bird ends my list of the
Birds of Guernsey and the neighbouring Islands.
It contains notices of only 176 birds, 21 less than
Professor Ansted’s list, which contains 197;
but it seems to me very doubtful whether many of these
21 species have occurred in the Islands. I can
find no other evidence of their having done so than
the mere mention of the names in that list, as, except
the few mentioned in Mr. Gallienne’s notes,
no evidence whatever is given of the when and where
of their occurrence; and we are not even told who was
responsible for the identification of any of the birds
mentioned. I have no doubt, however, that any
one resident in the Islands for some years, and taking
an interest in the ornithology of the district, would
be able to add considerably to my list, as Miss C.B.
Carey, had she lived, would no doubt have enabled
me to do. I think it very probable, mine having
been only flying visits, though extending over several
years and at various times of year, I may have omitted
some birds, especially amongst the smaller Warblers
and the Pipits, and perhaps amongst the occasional
Waders. There is one small family the Skuas entirely unrepresented in my list;
I am rather surprised at this as some of them, especially
the Pomatorhine or, as it is perhaps better
known, the Pomerine Skua, Stercorarius
pomatorhinus, and Richardson’s Skua, Stercorarius
crepidatus, are by no means uncommon on the other
side of the Channel, about Torbay, during the autumnal
migration; but I have never seen either species in
the Island, nor have I seen a Channel Island skin,
nor can I find that either the bird-stuffers or the
fishermen and the various shooters know anything about
them. I have therefore, though I think it by
no means; unlikely that both birds occasionally occur,
thought it better to omit their names from my list.
Professor Ansted has only mentioned
one of the family the Great Skua, Stercorarius
catarrhactes, in his list, which also
may occasionally occur, as may Buffon’s Skua,
Stercorarius parasiticus; but neither of these
seem to me so likely to occur as the two first-mentioned,
not being by any means so common on the English side
of the Channel.
In bringing my labours to a conclusion
I must again thank Mr. MacCulloch and others, who
have assisted me in my work either by notes or by
helping in out-door work.