Chapter IV: Part 4

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 Pecheur."--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 pêcheur' 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 aërial 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 Coupée, 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 Métivier'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;"[15] 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, "Râle 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, "Râle des prés," "Râle de terre" ou "de Genet," "Poule d'eau de genet."--The Landrail is a common summer visitant, breeding certainly in Guernsey, Sark, and Alderney,[16] 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 Grebes 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 Eperons, 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, "Oedicneme criard," "Poule d'Aurigny."[17]--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 huppé."--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. Morrës, 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. _Ægialitis hiaticula_, Linnaeus. French, "Grand pluvier à collier," "Pluvier à 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. _Ægialitis cantianus_, Latham. French, "Pluvier à 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.[18] 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, "Hiûtrier 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 cendré."--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 Fauconnière.' 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.