Chapter V: Part 5

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, "Becasse 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 becassine."--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, "Becasseau canut," "Becasseau 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_, Güldenstaedt. French, "Becasseau 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, "Becasseau brunette," "Becasseau 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, "Becasseau echasses," "Becasseau 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."[19]--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 cendré", "Heron huppé."--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 Heronière. 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.[20] 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."[21]--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."[22]--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.[23] 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."[24]

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, ou à 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 tuberculé."--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[25] 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 ft. 3 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."[26]--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 Huppé."--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 étoilé," "Petit harle huppé."--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, "Grèbe 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 Grebes 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, "Grèbe 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 p. 4380 of the 'Zoologist' for 1875, that, amongst other grebes, four Eared Grebes 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, "Grèbe cornu ou Esclavon."--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, "Grèbe 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. "Grèbe huppé."--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 à 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 à 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.