The Project Gutenberg eBook of Birds Of Guernsey, by Cecil Smith, F.Z.S..

12. HEN HARRIER. Circus cyaneus, Linnaeus. French, "Busard St. Martin."^[6]—The Hen Harrier, perhaps, occurs rather more frequently than the Marsh Harrier, but it can only be considered a rare occasional visitant. In June, 1876, I saw one young Hen Harrier, which had been shot in Herm in the April of that year, about the same time as the Iceland Falcon, and by the same keeper, who had brought it to Mr. Couch to stuff. Another was shot in Herm on the 19th of June, 1877. This bird is now in Mr. Maxwell's collection, where I saw it on the 27th of June. It was first reported to me by Mr. Jago, the bird-stuffer in Guernsey.

These are the only two Channel Island specimens of the Hen Harrier which I have been able to find. I have never shot it myself or seen it alive. It is, however, included in Professor Ansted's list, but marked as occurring in Guernsey only.

[13. Omitted.]

14. MONTAGU'S HARRIER. Circus cineraceus, Montagu. French, "Busard Montagu," "Busard cendré."—Montagu's Harrier is certainly a more frequent visitant to the Islands than either the Hen Harrier or the Marsh Harrier. Miss C.B. Carey records one in the 'Zoologist' for 1873 as having been shot in Alderney in July of that year. She adds that it was an adult male in full plumage, and that she saw it herself at Mr. Couch's shop. In the 'Zoologist' for 1874 she records another Montagu's Harrier—a young one—shot in Herm in July of that year. She adds that—"It was brought to Mr. Couch to skin. He found a whole Lark's egg, and also the shell of another, in its throat. He showed me how the whole egg was sticking in the empty shell of the broken one."

All the Harriers seem to have a special liking for eggs. In his notice of the Marsh Harrier Professor Newton says, in his edition of Yarrell,' that birds' eggs are an irresistible delicacy; and, in speaking of the food of the present species, he says it consists chiefly of grasshoppers, reptiles, small mammals, birds and their eggs; these last, if their size permit, being often swallowed whole, as was the case in the instance mentioned by Miss Carey. Mr. Howard Saunders also says he can bear witness to the egg-eating propensities of the Harriers.

Besides the two recorded by Miss C.B. Carey, I saw one—a young bird—in Mr. Maxwell's collection, which had been killed at Herm, and another—a young male—at Mr. Jago's, the bird-stuffer, which had also been killed at Herm. There were also two young birds in the bird-stuffer and carpenter's shop at Alderney, both of which had been killed in that Island shortly before my last visit, June, 1878.

As mistakes may occasionally arise in identifying specimens, especially in immature plumage, it may be as well to notice a distinction between the Hen Harrier and Montagu's Harrier, which has been pointed out by Mr. Howard Saunders, and which holds good in all ages and in both sexes. This distinction is, that in the Hen Harrier the outer web of the fifth primary is notched, whereas in Montagu's Harrier it is plain, or, in other words, the Hen Harrier has the exterior web of the primaries, up to and including the fifth, notched, and in Montagu's Harrier this is only the case as far as the fourth.^[7] This distinction is very useful in identifying young birds and females, which are sometimes very much alike. In fully adult males the orange markings on the flanks and thighs, and the greyish upper tail-coverts of Montagu's Harrier, distinguish it immediately at a glance from the Hen Harrier, in which those parts are white.

Montagu's Harrier is not included by Professor Ansted in his list, nor is there a specimen in the Museum.

15. LONGEARED OWL. Asiootus, Linnaeus. French, "Hibou vulgaire," "Hibou moyen due."—The Long-eared Owl seems only a very rare and accidental visitant to the Channel Islands. I have never met with it myself, but Mr. Couch records the occurrence of one in the 'Zoologist' for 1875, p. 4296:—"I have a Long-eared Owl, shot at St. Martin's on the 9th of November in that year." This is the only occurrence I can be sure of, except that Mr. Couch, about two years afterwards, sent me a skin of a Guernsey-killed Long-eared Owl; but this may have been the bird mentioned above, as he sent me no date with it.

As it is partially migratory, and its numbers in the British Islands, especially in the Eastern Counties, are increased during the autumn by migratory arrivals, a few may wander, especially in the autumn, to the Channel Islands, but it can only be rarely.

Professor Ansted includes it in his list, and marks it as having been found both in Guernsey and Sark. There is no specimen of the Long-eared Owl at present in the Museum. If there has been one it must have got moth-eaten, like many of the other birds there, and been destroyed.

16. SHORTEARED OWL. Asio accipitrinus, Pallas. French, "Hibou brachyôte."—Unlike the Long-eared Owl, the Short-eared Owl is a regular autumnal visitant to the Channel Islands, arriving about October in considerable numbers, but remaining only for a short time, as I do not know of any making their appearance after the end of November, and the majority of those that have arrived seem to pass on about that time, not remaining throughout the winter, and I hear of no instances of their occurring on the spring migration, so the majority must pass north by a different line from that pursued by them on the southern migration.

There is only one specimen at present in the Museum. Professor Ansted mentions it in his list, but only as found in Guernsey and Sark; but it is quite as common in Alderney, from which Island I have seen specimens, and I think also from Herm, but I cannot be quite sure about this, though of course there can be no reason why it should not be found there, as Herm is only three miles as the crow flies from Guernsey.

17. BARN OWL. Aluco flammeus, Linnaeus. French, "Chouette effraie."—I have never seen the Barn or Yellow Owl alive in the Channel Islands myself, but Mr. MacCulloch does not consider it at all rare in Guernsey, and Mr. Jago informs me the Barn Owls have taken possession of a pigeon-hole in a house in the Brock Road opposite his, and that he sees and hears them every night. Some years ago he told me he shot one near the Queen's Tower. He was not scared like the man who shot one in the churchyard, and thought he had shot a cherubim, but he had to give up shooting owls, as the owner of the pigeon-hole where the owls have taken up their abode remonstrated with him, and he has since refrained, though he has had several chances. The vacancy caused by the one being shot was soon filled up.

The Barn Owl is mentioned in Professor Ansted's list, and restricted to Guernsey and Sark. There are two specimens in the Museum, both of which are said to have been killed in Guernsey.

18. REDBACKED SHRIKE. Lanius Collurio, Linnaeus. French, "Pie-grieche écorcheur."—The Red-backed Shrike may be considered a tolerably regular, but not very common, summer visitant to the Channel Islands. In June, 1876, I several times saw a male bird about the Vallon, in Guernsey. The female no doubt had a nest at the time in the Vallon grounds, but I could not then get in there to search for it.

As the Red-backed Shrike frequently returns to the same place every year, I expected again to find this bird, and perhaps the female and the nest this year, 1878, about the Vallon, but I could see nothing of either birds or nest, though I searched both inside and outside the Vallon grounds.

Young Mr. Le Cheminant, who lives at Le Ree and has a small collection of Guernsey eggs mostly collected by himself in the Island, had one Red-backed Shrike's egg of the variety which has the reddish, or rather perhaps pink, tinge. There were also some eggs in a Guernsey collection in the Museum. These were all of the more ordinary variety. There were also two skins—a male and female—in the Museum. The bird seems rather local in its distribution about the Island, as I never saw one about the Vale in any of my visits, not even this year, 1878, when I was there for two months, and had ample opportunity of observing it had it been there. There are, however, plenty of places nearly as well suited to it in the Vale as about the Vallon or Le Ree. I have never seen it in either of the other Islands, though no doubt it occasionally occurs both in Sark and Herm, if not in Alderney.

Professor Ansted includes the Red-backed Shrike in his list, and marks it only as occurring in Guernsey. I have no evidence of any other Shrike occurring in the Islands, though I should think the Great Grey Shrike, Lanius excubitor, might be an occasional autumn or winter visitant to the Islands; but I have never seen a specimen myself or been able to glean any satisfactory information as to the occurrence of one, either from the local bird-stuffers or from Mr. MacCulloch, or any of my friends who have so kindly supplied me with notes; neither does Professor Ansted mention it in his list.

19. SPOTTED FLYCATCHER. Muscicapa grisola, Linnaeus. French, "Gobe-mouche gris."—The Spotted Flycatcher is a regular and numerous summer visitant, generally quite as numerous in certain localities as in England, its arrival and departure being about the same time. It occurs also in Sark and Herm, and probably in Alderney, but I do not remember having seen one there. In Guernsey it is perhaps a little local in its distribution, avoiding to a great extent such places as the Vale and the open ground on the cliffs, but in all the gardens and orchards it is very common.

Spotted Flycatchers appear, however, to vary in numbers to a certain extent in different years. This year, 1878, they came out in great force, especially on the lawn at Candie where they availed themselves to a large extent of the croquet-hoops, from which they kept a good look-out either for insects on the wing or on the ground, and they might be as frequently seen dropping to the ground for some unfortunate creeping thing that attracted their attention as rising in the air to give chase to something on the wing. Certainly, when I was in Guernsey about the same time in 1866, Spotted Flycatchers did not appear to be quite so numerous as in 1878. This was probably only owing to one of those accidents of wind and weather which render migratory birds generally, less numerous in some years than they are in others, however much they may wish and endeavour, which seems to be their usual rule, to return to their former breeding stations.

Professor Ansted mentions the Spotted Flycatcher in his list, but does not add, as he usually does, any letter showing its distribution through the Islands. This probably is because it is generally distributed through them all. There is no specimen in the Museum.

20. GOLDEN ORIOLE. Oriolus galbula, Linnaeus. French, "Le Loriot."—I have never seen the bird alive or found any record of the occurrence of the Golden Oriole in Guernsey or the neighbouring Islands, and beyond the fact that there was one example—a female—in the Museum (which may have been from Jersey) I had been able to gain no information on the subject except of a negative sort. No specimen had passed through the hands of the local bird-stuffers certainly for a good many years, for Mr. Jago's mother who about twenty or thirty years ago, when she was Miss Cumber, had been for some considerable time the only bird-stuffer in the Island, told me she did not know the bird, and had never had one through her hands. It seemed to me rather odd that a bird which occurs almost every year in the British Islands, occasionally even as far west as Ireland, as a straggler, and which is generally distributed over the continent of Europe in the summer, should be totally unknown in the Channel Islands. Consequently writing to the 'Star' about another Guernsey bird—a Hoopoe—which had been recorded in that paper, I asked for information as to the occurrence of the Golden Oriole in the Islands, and shortly after the following letter signed "Tereus"^[8] appeared in the 'Star':—"Concerning the occurrence of the Golden Oriole I cannot speak from my own personal knowledge, but I believe there can be no doubt that the bird has been occasionally seen here. Its presence, however, must be much more rare than that of the Hoopoe, for a bird of such plumage as the Oriole would be more likely to attract even more attention than the comparatively sober-coloured Hoopoe, and if half so common as the latter would be sure to fall before the gun of the fowler. There was a specimen of the female bird in the Museum of the Mechanics' Institution, but I am not sure about its history, and I have some reason to suppose it was shot in Jersey. Our venerable national poet, Mr. George Métivier, has many allusions to the Oriole in his early effusions, whether written in English, French, or our vernacular dialect. It seems to have been an occasional visitor at St. George's; but in Mr. Métivier's early days the island was far more wooded than it is at present, and it is possible that the wholesale destruction of hedgerow elms and the grubbing-up of so many orchards in order to employ the ground more profitably in the culture of early potatoes and brocoli, by which the island has lost much of its picturesque beauty, may have had the effect of deterring some of the occasional visitors from alighting here in their periodical migrations." Signed "Tereus."

A short time after the appearance of this letter in the 'Star' on the 16th of May, 1878, Mr. MacCulloch himself wrote to me on the subject and said:—"I had yesterday a very satisfactory interview with Mr. George Métivier. He is now in his 88th or 89th year. He told me he was about thirteen when he went to reside with his relations, the Guilles, at St. George. There was then a great deal of old timber about the place and a long avenue of oaks, besides three large cherry orchards. One day he was startled by the sight of a male Oriole. He had never seen the bird before. Whether it was that one that was killed or another in a subsequent year I don't know, but he declares that for several years afterwards they were seen in the oak trees and among the cherries, and that he has not the least doubt but that they bred there. One day an old French gentleman of the name of De l'Huiller from the South of France, an emigrant, noticed the birds and made the remark—'Ah! vous avez des loriots ici; nous en avons beaucoup chez nous, ils sont grands gobeurs de cerises.' It would appear from this that cherries are a favourite food with this bird, and the presence of cherry orchards would account for their settling down at St. George. I believe they are said to be very shy, and the absence of wood would account for their not being seen in the present day."

I have no doubt that Mr. MacCulloch is right that the cherry orchards, to say nothing of other fruit trees, tempted the Golden Orioles to remain to breed in the Island, for they are "grand gobeurs" not only of "cerises," but of many other sorts of fruit, particularly of grapes and figs—in grape countries, indeed, doing a deal of damage amongst the vineyards. This damage to grapes would not, however, be much felt in Guernsey, as all the grapes are protected by orchard-houses. But though the grapes are protected, and most, if not all, the cherry orchards cut down, still there is plenty of unprotected fruit in Guernsey to tempt the Golden Oriole to remain in the Islands, and to bring the wrath and the gun of the gardener both to bear upon him when he is there. This, however, only shows that from the time spoken of by Mr. Métivier down to the present time very few Golden Orioles could have visited Guernsey, and still fewer remained to breed; for what with their fruit-eating propensities and their bright plumage, hardly a bird could have escaped being shot and subsequently making its appearance in the bird-stuffers' windows, and affording a subject for a notice in the 'Star,' or some other paper. I think therefore, on the whole, that though Guernsey still affords many temptations to the Golden Oriole, and is sufficiently well-wooded to afford shelter to suit its shy and suspicious habits, yet for some reason or other the bird has not visited the Island of late years even as an accidental visitant, or, if so, very rarely.

The Golden Oriole is mentioned in Professor Ansted's list, and marked as having occurred in Guernsey and Sark, but nothing more is said about the bird. Probably Guernsey was mentioned as a locality on account of the female specimen in the Museum, but with this exception I have never heard of its making its appearance in Sark even as a straggler.

21. DIPPER. Cinclus aquaticus, Bechstein. French, "Aquassière," "Cincle plongeur."—The Dipper or Water Ouzel, though not very common, less so, indeed, than the Kingfisher, is nevertheless a resident species, finding food all through the year in the clear pools left by the tide, and also frequenting the few inland ponds, especially the rather large ones, belonging to Mr. De Putron in the Vale, where there is always a Dipper or a Kingfisher to be seen, though I do not think the Dipper ever breeds about those ponds—in fact there is no place there which would suit it; but though I have never found the nest myself in Guernsey, I have been informed, especially by Mr. Gallienne, that the Dipper makes use of some of the rocky bays, forming his nest amongst the rocks as it would on the streams of Dartmoor and Exmoor.

Captain Hubboch, however, writes me word he saw one in Alderney in the winter of 1861-62, and there seems no reason why a few should not remain there throughout the year as in Guernsey.

All the Guernsey Dippers I have seen, including the two in the Museum, which are probably Guernsey-killed, have been the common form, Cinclus aquations. The dark-breasted form, Cinclus melanogaster, may occur as an occasional wanderer, though the Channel Islands are somewhat out of its usual range. There being no trout or salmon to be protected in Guernsey, the Dipper has not to dread the persecution of wretched keepers who falsely imagine that it must live entirely by the destruction of salmon and trout ova, though the contrary has been proved over and over again.

Professor Ansted includes the Dipper in his list, but only marks it as occurring in Guernsey.

22. MISTLETOE THRUSH. Turdus viscivorus, Linnaeus. French, "Merle Draine," "Grive Draine."—I quite agree with the remarks made by Professor Newton, in his edition of 'Yarrell,' as to the proper English name of the present species, and that it ought to be called the Mistletoe Thrush. I am afraid, however, that the shorter appellation of Missel Thrush will stick to this bird in spite of all attempts to the contrary. In Guernsey the local name of the Mistletoe Thrush is "Geai," by which name Mr. Métivier mentions it in his 'Dictionary of Guernsey and Norman French.' He also adds that the Jay does not exist in this Island. This is to a certain extent confirmed by Mr. MacCulloch, who says he is very doubtful as to the occurrence of the Jay in the Island, and adds that the local name for the Mistletoe Thrush is "Geai." Mr. Gallienne, in a note to Professor Ansted's list, confirms the scarcity of the Jay, as he says the Rook and the Jay are rarely seen here, although they are indigenous to Jersey. The local name "Geai" may perhaps have misled him as to the occasional appearance of the Jay. I have never seen a real Jay in Guernsey myself.

As far as I am able to judge from occasional visits to the Island for the last thirty years the Mistletoe Thrush has greatly increased in numbers in Guernsey, especially within the last few years, and Mr. MacCulloch and others who are resident in the Island quite agree with me in this. I do not think its numbers are much increased at any time of year by migrants, though a few foreigners may arrive in the autumn, at which time of year considerable numbers of Mistletoe Thrushes are brought into the Guernsey market, where they may be seen hanging in bunches with Common Thrushes, Redwings, Blackbirds, Fieldfares, Starlings, and an occasional Ring Ouzel. Fieldfares and Mistletoe Thrushes usually sell at fourpence each, the rest at fourpence a couple.

Professor Ansted mentions it in his list, but confines it to Guernsey and Sark. This is certainly not now the case, as I have seen it nearly as numerous in Alderney and Herm as any of the other Islands. There is a specimen in the Museum.

23. SONG THRUSH. Turdus musicus, Linnaeus. French, "Grive," "Merle Grive."—Very common and resident in all the Islands, and great is the destruction of snails by Thrushes and Blackbirds—in fact, nowhere have I seen such destruction as in the Channel Islands, especially in Guernsey and Herm, where every available stone seems made use of, and to considerable purpose, to judge from the number of snail-shells to be found about; and yet the gardeners complain quite as much of damage to their gardens, especially in the fruit season, by Blackbirds and Thrushes, as the English gardeners and seem equally unready to give these birds any credit for the immense destruction of snails, which, if left alone, would scarcely have left a green thing in the garden.

The local name of the Thrush is "Mauvis." It is, of course, included in Professor Ansted's list, but with the Fieldfare, Redwing, and Blackbird, marked as only occurring in Guernsey and Sark. All these birds, however, are equally common in Alderney, Herm, and Jethou. There is also a specimen of each in the Museum.

24. REDWING. Turdus iliacus, Linnaeus. French, "Grive mauvis," "Merle mauvis."—A regular and numerous winter visitant to all the Islands, arriving about the end of October, and those that are not shot and brought into the market departing again in March and April.

25. FIELDFARE. Turdus pilaris, Linnaeus. French, "Grive litorne," "Merle litorne."—Like the Redwing, the Fieldfare is a regular and numerous winter visitant, and arrives and departs about the same time.

When in Guernsey in November, 1871, I did not see either Redwings or Fieldfares till a few days after my arrival on the 1st; after that both species were numerous, and a few days later plenty of them might be seen hanging up in the market with the Thrushes and Blackbirds, but for the first few days there were none to be seen there. Probably this was rather a late year, as neither bird could have arrived in any numbers till the first week in November, and in all probability not till towards the end of the week.

26. BLACKBIRD. Turdus merula, Linnaeus. French, "Merle noir."—- The Blackbird is a common and numerous resident in all the Islands in the Bailiwick of Guernsey. The Guernsey gardeners, like their brethren in England, make a great fuss about the mischief done by Blackbirds in the gardens, and no doubt Blackbirds, like the Golden Orioles, are "grand gobeurs" of many kinds of fruit; but the gardeners should remember that they are equally "grand gobeurs" of many kinds of insects as well, many of the most mischievous insects to the garden, including wasps (I have myself several times found wasps in the stomach of the blackbird) forming a considerable portion of their food, the young also being almost entirely fed upon worms, caterpillars, and grubs; and when we remember that it is only for a short time of the year that the Blackbird can feed on fruit, which in most cases can be protected by a little care, and that during the whole of the other portion of the year it feeds on insects which would do more damage in the garden than itself, it will be apparent that the gardener has really no substantial ground of complaint.

As in England, variations in the plumage of the Blackbird are not uncommon. I have one Guernsey specimen of a uniform fawn colour, and another rather curiously marked with grey, the tail-feathers being striped across grey and black. This is a young bird recently out of the nest, and I have no doubt would, after a moult or two, have come to its proper plumage, probably after the first moult, as seems to me frequently the case with varieties of this sort, though I have known a Blackbird show a good deal af white year after year in the winter, resuming its proper plumage in the summer; and Mr. Jago mentions a case of a Blackbird which passed through his hands which was much marked with grey. This bird was found dead, and the owner of the estate on which it was found informed Mr. Jago that it had frequented his place for four years, and that he had seen it with its mate during the summer; so in this case the variation certainly seems to have been permanent.

27. RING OUZEL. Turdus torquatus, Linnaeus. French, "Merle à plastron."—I do not think the Ring Ouzel is ever as common in the Channel Islands as it is on migration in South Devon. A few, however, make their appearance in each of the Islands every autumn, but they are never very numerous, and do not remain very long, arriving generally about the end of September and remaining till the end of November or beginning of December, during which time a few may always be seen hung up in the market. Many of the autumnal arrivals are young birds of the year, with the white crescent on the breast nearly wanting or only very faintly marked.

Mr. Gallienne, in his remarks appended to Professor Ansted's list, says the Ring Ouzel stays with us throughout the year, but is more plentiful in winter than in summer. But I have never myself seen one either dead or alive in the spring or summer. It may, however, occasionally visit the Island in the spring migration, but I know of no authentic instance of its remaining to breed, nor have I seen the eggs in any Guernsey collection. I have seen specimens of the Ring Ouzel from Alderney, and it appears to me about equally common at the same time of year in all the Islands. Mr. MacCulloch, however, writes to me:—"From what I have heard the Ring Ouzel is more common in Alderney than Guernsey, where it is seen mostly on the southern cliffs." The south end of the Island is no doubt its favourite resort in Guernsey. As far as Alderney is concerned Captain Hubback, R.A., who has been quartered there at different times, says he has never seen one there; but I do not think he has been much there in the early autumn.

Professor Ansted includes it in his list, and marks it as occurring in Guernsey and Sark. There are several, both male and female and young, in the Guernsey Museum.

28. HBDGESPARROW. Accentor modularis, Linnaeus. French, "Mouchet," "Traîne buisson," "Accenteur mouchet."—The Hedgesparrow is, I think, quite as common as in England, and resident throughout the year in all the Islands. According to Mr. Métivier's 'Dictionary' its local name is "Verdeleu," and he describes it as "Oiseau qui couvre les oeufs de Coucou." In Guernsey, however, Cuckoos are much too numerous for the Hedgesparrow to afford accommodation for them all.

Professor Ansted mentions the Hedgesparrow in his list, but restricts it to Guernsey and Sark. I have, however, frequently seen it in Alderney and Herm, and the little Island of Jethou.

29. ROBIN. Ericathus rubecula, Linnaeus. French. "Bec-fin rouge-gorge," "Rouge gorge." The Robin, like the Hedgesparrow, is a common resident in all the Islands, and I cannot find that its numbers are increased at any time of year by migration. But on the other hand I should think a good many of the young must be driven off to seek quarters elsewhere by their most pugnacious parents, for of all birds the Robin is by far the most pugnacious with which I am acquainted, and deserves the name of "pugnax" much more than the Ruff, and in a limited space like Jethou and Herm battles between the old and the young would be constant unless some of the young departed altogether from the Island.

Professor Ansted includes the Robin in his list, but, as with the Hedgesparrow, only mentions it as occurring in Guernsey and Sark. It is, however, equally common in Alderney, Jethou, and Herm.

30. REDSTART. Ruticilla phoenicurus, Linnaeus. French, "Rouge-queue," "Bec-fin des murailles."—I should not have included the Redstart in this list, as I have never seen it in the Islands myself, but on sending a list of the birds I intended to include to Mr. MacCulloch, he wrote to say—"You mention Tithy's Redstart; the common one is also seen here." In consequence of this information I looked very sharply out for the birds during the two months (June and July) which I was in Guernsey this year (1878), but I never once saw the bird in any of the Islands, nor could I find any one who had; and such a conspicuous and generally well known bird could hardly have escaped observation had it been in the Island in any numbers. I may add that I have had the same bad luck in all my former visits to the Islands, and never seen a Redstart. I suppose, however, from Mr. MacCulloch's note that it occasionally visits the Islands for a short time on migration, very few, if any, remaining to breed.

It is included in Professor Ansted's list, but only marked as occurring in Guernsey. There is, however, no specimen at present in the Museum.

31. BLACK REDSTART. Ruticilla titys, Scopoli. French, "Rouge queue Tithys."—The Black, or Tithys Redstart, as it is sometimes called, is a regular and by no means uncommon autumnal visitant to Guernsey. It seems very much to take the place of the Wheatear, arriving about the time the Wheatear departs, and mostly frequenting the same places. In Guernsey it is most common near the sea about the low part of the Island, from L'ancresse Common to Perrelle Bay. In habits it puts one very much in mind of the Wheatear, being very fond, like that bird, of selecting some big stone or some other conspicuous place to perch on and keep a look-out either for intruders or for some passing insect, either flying or creeping, for it is an entirely insect-feeding bird.

I have never seen the Black Redstart about the high part of the Island amongst the rocks, which I am rather surprised at, as in the south coast of Devon it seems particularly partial to high cliffs and rocks, such as the Parson and Clerk Rock near Teignmouth; but in Guernsey the wild grassy commons, with scattered rocks and large boulders, and occasionally a rough pebbly beach, especially the upper part of it where the pebbles join the grass, seem more the favourite resort of this bird than the high rocks, such places probably being more productive of food. It is of course quite useless to look for this bird in the interior of the Island in gardens and orchards, and such places as one would naturally look for the Common Redstart.

The male Black Redstart may be immediately distinguished from the Common Redstart by the black breast and belly, and by the absence of the white mark on the forehead. The male Black Redstart has also a white patch on the wing caused by the pale, nearly white, margins of the feathers. The females are more alike, but still may easily be distinguished, the general colour of the female Black Redstart being much duller—a dull smoke-brown instead of the reddish brown of the Common Redstart.

Some slight variations of plumage take place in the Black Redstart at different ages and seasons, which have led to some little difficulties, and to another supposed species, Ruticilla cairii of Gerbe being suggested, but apparently quite without reason. I have never seen the Black Redstart in the Islands at any time of year except the autumn, and do not know of its occurrence at any other time.

Professor Ansted includes it in his list, but gives no locality; and there is no specimen in the Museum.

32. STONECHAT. Pratincola rubicola, Linnaeus. French, "Tarier rubicole," "Traquet pâtre," "Traquet rubicole."—The Stonechat is a numerous and regular summer visitant, breeding in all the Islands, but I do not think any remain throughout the winter; of course a few scattered birds may occasionally do so in some sheltered locality, but I have never seen one in the Islands as late as November. Both in the Vale and on the Cliffs in the higher part of the Island the Stonechat is very common, and the gay little bird, with its bright plumage and sprightly manner, may be seen on the top of every furze bush, or on a conspicuous twig in a hedge in the wilder parts of the Island, but is not so common in the inland and more cultivated parts, being less frequently seen on the hedges by the roadside than it is here, Somersetshire, or in many counties in England. In Alderney it is quite as common as in Guernsey, and I saw two nests this year (1878) amongst the long grass growing on the earthworks near the Artillery Barracks; it is equally common also both in Jethou, Sark, and Herm.

There were a great many Stonechats in the Vale when I was there this year (1878). Generally they seemed earlier in their breeding proceedings than either Wheatears, Tree Pipits, or Sky Larks, which were the three other most numerous birds about that part of the Island, as there were several young ones about when we first went to live in the Vale early in June; still occasionally nests with eggs more or less hard sat might be found, but the greater number were hatched when fresh eggs of Tree Pipits and Sky Larks were by no means uncommon.

Professor Ansted includes the Stonechat in his list, but marks it as confined to Guernsey and Sark. There is a specimen in the Museum.

33. WHINCHAT. Pratincola rubetra, Linnaeus. French, "Tarier ordinaire," "Traquet tarier."—The Whinchat seems to me never so numerous as the Stonechat, and more local in its distribution during the time it is in the Islands. It is only a summer visitant, and I doubt if it always remains to breed, though it certainly does so occasionally, as I have seen it in Guernsey through June and July mostly in the south part of the Island, near Pleimont. In my last visit to the Islands, however, in June and July, 1878, I did not see the Whinchat anywhere, neither did I see one when there in June, 1876.

Professor Ansted includes the Whinchat in his list, and marks it as occurring in Guernsey and Sark. There is no specimen in the Museum.

34. WHEATEAR. Saxicola Oenanthe, Linnaeus. French, "Motteux cul blanc," "Traquet moteux."—A very common summer visitant to all the Islands, arriving in March and departing again in October, none remaining through the winter—at least, I have never seen a Wheatear in the Islands as late as November on any occasion. In the Vale, where a great many breed, the young began to make their appearance out of the nest and flying about, but still fed by their parents, about the 16th of June. In Guernsey it is rather locally distributed, being common all round the coast, both on the high and low part of the Island, but only making its appearance in the cultivated part in the interior as an occasional straggler. It is quite as common in Alderney and the other Islands as it is in Guernsey, in Alderney there being few or no enclosures, and no hedgerow timber. It is more universally distributed over the whole Island, in the cultivated as well as the wild parts.

Professor Ansted includes it in his list, but marks it as only occurring in Guernsey and Sark. There are several specimens in the Museum, but I did not see any eggs either there or in young Le Cheminant's collection. This is probably because in Guernsey the Wheatear has a great partiality for laying its eggs under large slabs and boulders of granite perfectly immovable; the stones forming one of the Druids' altars in the Vale, were made use of to cover a nest when I was there.

35. REED WARBLER. Acrocephalus streperus, Vieillot. French, "Rousserolle effarvatte," "Bec-fin des roseaux."—I did not find out the Reed Warbler as a Guernsey bird till this year (1878), though it is a rather numerous but very local summer visitant. But Mr. MacCulloch put me on the right track, as he wrote to me to say—"The Reed Warbler builds in the Grand Mare. I have seen several of their curious hanging nests brought from there." This put me on the right scent, and I went to the place as soon as I could, and found parts of it a regular paradise for Reed Warblers, and there were a considerable number there, who seemed to enjoy the place thoroughly, climbing to the tops of the long reeds and singing, then flying up after some passing insect, or dropping like a stone to the bottom of the reed-bed if disturbed or frightened. On my first visit to the Grand Mare I had not time to search the reed-beds for nests. But on going there a second time, on June 17, with Colonel l'Estrange, we had a good search for nests, and soon found one with four eggs in it which were quite fresh. This nest was about three feet from the ground, tied on to four reeds,^[9] and, as usual, having no support at the bottom, was made entirely of long dry bents of rather coarse grass, and a little of the fluff of the cotton plant woven amongst the bents outside, but none inside. We did not find any other nests in the Grand Mare, though we saw a great many more birds; the reeds, however, were very thick and tall, high over our heads, so that when we were a few feet apart we could not see each other, and the place was full of pitfalls with deep water in them, which were very difficult to be seen and avoided. Many of the nests, I suspect, were amongst the reeds which were growing out of the water. Subsequently, on July the 12th, I found another Reed Warbler's nest amongst some reeds growing by Mr. De Putron's pond near the Vale Church; this nest, which was attached to reeds of the same kind as those at the Grand Mare, growing out of water about a foot deep: it was about the same height above the water that the other was from the ground; it had five eggs in it hard sat. There were one or two pairs more breeding amongst these reeds, though I could not very well get at the place without a boat, but the birds were very noisy and vociferous whenever I got near their nests, as were the pair whose nest I found. There were also a few pairs in some reed-beds of the same sort near L'Eree.

These are all the places in which I have been able to find the Reed Warbler in Guernsey. I have not found it myself in Alderney, but Mr. Gallienne, in his remarks published with Professor Ansted's list, says:—"I have put the Reed Wren as doubtful for Guernsey, but I have seen the nest of this bird found at Alderney." In the list itself it is marked as belonging to Guernsey, Alderney, and Sark.

The Reed Warbler, though entirely insectivorous, is a very tame and amusing cage-bird, and may easily be fed on raw meat chopped fine and a little hard-boiled egg; but its favourite food is flies, and of these it will eat any quantity, and woe even to the biggest bluebottle that may buzz through its cage, for the active little bird will have it in a moment, and after a few sharp snaps of the beak there is quite an end of the bluebottle. Daddy long-legs, too, are favourite morsels, and after a little beating about disappear down the bird's throat—legs, wings, and all, without any difficulty. The indigestible parts are afterwards cast up in pellets in the same manner as with Hawks.

I have never seen the nearly-allied and very similar Marsh Warbler, Acrocephalus palustris, in Guernsey, but, as it may occasionally occur, it may be as well perhaps to point out what little distinction there is between the species. This seems to me to consist chiefly in the difference of colour, the Reed Warbler, Acrocephalus streperus, at all ages and in all states of plumage, being a warmer, redder brown than Acrocephalus palustris, which is always more or less tinged with green. The legs in A. streperus are always darker than in A. palustris; the beak also in A. palustris seems rather broader at the base and thicker. This bird also has a whitish streak over the eye, which seems wanting in A. streperus. These distinctions seem to me always to hold, good even in specimens which have been kept some time and have faded to what has now generally got the name of "Museum colour."

Mr. Dresser, in his 'Birds of Europe,' points out another distinction which no doubt is a good one in adult birds with their quills fully grown, but fails in young birds and in adults soon after the moult, before the quills are fully grown, and also before the moult if any quills have been shed and not replaced. This distinction is that in A. streperus the second (that is the first long quill, for the first in both species is merely rudimentary) is shorter than the fourth, and in A. palustris it is longer.

Though I think it not at all improbable that the Marsh Warbler, Acrocephalus palustris, may occur in Guernsey, I should not expect to find it so much in the wet reed-beds in the Grand Mare and at the Vale pond as amongst the lilac bushes and ornamental shrubs in the gardens, or in thick bramble bushes in hedgerows and places of that sort.

36. SEDGE WARBLER. Acrocephalus schoenobaenus, Linnaeus. French, "Bee-fin phragmite."—The Sedge Warbler is by no means so common as the Reed Warbler, though, like it, it is a summer visitant, and is quite as local. I did not see any amongst the reeds which the Reed Warbler delighted in, but I saw a few amongst some thick willow hedges with thick grass and rushes growing by the side of the bank, and a small running stream in each ditch. Though perfectly certain the birds were breeding near, we could not find the nests. So well were they hidden amongst the thick grass and herbage by the side of the stream that Colonel l'Estrange and myself were quite beaten in our search for the nest, though we saw the birds several times quite near enough to be certain of their identity. I did not shoot one for the purpose of identification, as perhaps I ought to have done, but I thought if I shot one it would be extremely doubtful whether I should ever find it amongst the thick tangle—certainly unless quite dead there would not have been a chance. I felt quite certain, however, that all I saw were Sedge Warblers; had I felt any doubt as to the possibility of one of them turning out to be the Aquatic Warbler, Acrocephalus aquaticus, I should certainly have tried the effect of a shot. As it is quite possible, however, that the Aquatic Warbler may occasionally, or perhaps regularly, in small numbers, visit the Channel Islands, as they are quite within its geographical range, I may point out, for the benefit of any one into whose hands it may fall, that it may easily be distinguished from the Sedge Warbler by the pale streak passing through the centre of the dark crown of the head.

The Sedge Warbler is not mentioned by Professor Ansted in his list, and there is no specimen of either this or the Reed Warbler in the Museum.

37. DARTFORD WARBLER. Melizophilus undatus, Boddaert. French, "Pitchou Provencal," "Bee-fin Pittechou."—The Dartford Warbler is by no means common in the Channel Islands—indeed I have never seen one there myself, but Miss C.B. Carey records one in the 'Zoologist' for 1874 as having been knocked down with a stone in the April of that year and brought into Couch's shop, where she saw it. I have no doubt of the correctness of this identification, as Miss Carey knew the bird well. I see no reason why it should not be more common in Guernsey than is usually supposed, as there are many places well suited to it, but its rather dull plumage, and its habit of hiding itself in thick furze-bushes, and creeping from one to another as soon as disturbed, contribute to keep it much out of sight, unless one knows and can imitate its call-note, in which case the male bird will soon answer and flutter up to the topmost twig of the furze-bush in which it may have previously been concealed, fluttering its wings, and repeating the call until again disturbed. This is the only occurrence of which I am aware in any of the Islands, included in the limits I have prescribed for myself; but Mr. Harvie Brown has recorded two seen by him near Grève de Lecq, in Jersey, in January. See 'Zoologist' for 1869, p. 1561.

It is not included in Professor Ansted's list, and there is no specimen in the Museum.