Birds of Guernsey (1879) by Cecil Smith

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Professor Ansted does not include the Little Gull in his list, and there
is no specimen in the Museum.

173. GREAT SHEARWATER. _Puffinus major_, Faber. French, "Puffin
majeur."[38]--I think I may fairly include the Great Shearwater in my
list as an occasional wanderer to the Islands, as, although I have not a
Channel Island specimen, nor have I seen it near the shore or in any of
the bays, I did see a small flock of four or five of these birds in
July, 1866, when crossing from Guernsey to Torquay. We were certainly
more than the Admiralty three miles from the land; but had scarcely lost
sight of Guernsey, and were well within sight of the Caskets, when we
fell in with the Shearwaters. They accompanied the steamer for some
little way, at times flying close up, and I had an excellent opportunity
of watching them both with and without my glass, and have therefore no
doubt of the species. There was a heavyish sea at the time, and the
Shearwaters were generally flying under the lee of the waves, just
rising sufficiently to avoid the crest of the wave when it broke. They
flew with the greatest possible ease, and seemed as if no sea or gale of
wind would hurt them; they never got touched by the breaking sea, but
just as it appeared curling over them they rose out of danger and
skimmed over the crest; they never whilst I was watching them actually
settled on the water, though now and then they dropped their legs just
touching the water with their feet.

The Great Shearwater is not mentioned in Professor Ansted's list, and
there is no specimen in the Museum.

174. MANX SHEARWATER. _Puffinus anglorum_, Temminck. French, "Petrel
Manks."--The Manx Shearwater can only be considered as an occasional
wanderer to the Channel Islands, and never by any means so common as it
is sometimes on the opposite side of the Channel about Torbay,
especially in the early autumn. I have one Guernsey specimen, however,
killed near St. Samson's on the 28th September, 1876.[39] As far as I
can make out the Manx Shearwater does not breed in any part of the
Channel Islands, but being rather of nocturnal habits at its
breeding-stations, and remaining in the holes and under the rocks where
its eggs are during the day, it may not have been seen during the
breeding-season; but did it breed anywhere in the Islands more birds,
both old and young, would be seen about in the early autumn when the
young first begin to leave their nests; and the Barbelotters would
occasionally come across eggs and young birds when digging for Puffins'
eggs.

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

175. FULMAR PETREL. _Fulmarus glacialis_, Linnaeus. French, "Petrel
fulmar."--The Fulmar Petrel, wandering bird as it is, especially during
the autumn, at which time of year it has occurred in all the western
counties of England, very seldom finds its way to the Channel Islands,
as the only occurrence of which I am aware is one which I picked up dead
on the shore in Cobo Bay on the 14th of November, 1875, after a very
heavy gale. In very bad weather, and after long-continued gales, this
bird seems to be occasionally driven ashore, either owing to starvation
or from getting caught in the crest of a wave when trying to hover close
over it, after the manner of a Shearwater, as this is the second I have
picked up under nearly the same circumstances, the first being in
November, 1866, when I found one not quite dead on the shore near
Dawlish, in South Devon. It must be very seldom, however, that the
Fulmar visits the Channel Islands, as neither Mr. Couch nor Mrs. Jago
had ever had one through their hands, and Mr. MacCulloch has never heard
of a Channel Island specimen occurring.

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

176. STORM PETREL. _Thalassidroma pelagica_ Linnaeus. French,
"Thalassidrome tempete."--Mr. Gallienne, in his remarks published with
Professor Ansted's list, says, "The Storm Petrel breeds in large
numbers in Burhou, a few on the other rocks near Alderney, and
occasionally on the rocks near Herm; these are the only places where
they breed, although seen and occasionally killed in all the Islands." I
can add to these places mentioned by Mr. Gallienne the little island,
frequently mentioned before, near Sark, Le Tas, where Mr. Howard
Saunders found several breeding on the 24th June, 1878. I could not
accompany him on this expedition, so he alone has the honour of adding
Le Tas to the breeding-places of the Storm Petrel in the Channel
Islands, and he very kindly gave me the two eggs which he took on that
occasion. When I visited Burhou in June, 1876, I was unsuccessful in
finding more than part of a broken egg and a wing of a dead bird. But
Colonel L'Estrange, who had been there about a fortnight before, found
two addled eggs, but saw no birds. I thought at the time that I had been
too late and the birds had departed, but this does not seem to have been
the case, as Captain Hubback wrote to me in July of this year (1878),
and said, "Do you not think that perhaps you were early on the 14th of
June? Of the six eggs I took on the 2nd of July this year, two were
quite fresh, three hard-sat, and one deserted." I have no doubt he was
right, as the wing of the dead bird I found was, no doubt, that of one
that had come to grief the year before, and the egg was one which had
been sat on and hatched, and might therefore have been one of the
previous year; and the same, possibly, might have been the case with
Col. L'Estrange's two addled eggs. It appears, however, to be rather
irregular in its breeding habits, nesting from the end of May to July or
August. In Burhou the Storm Petrel bred mostly in holes in the soft
black mould, which was also partly occupied by Puffins and Babbits, but
occasionally under large stones and rocks. We did not find any breeding
on the islands to the north of Herm, but they may do so occasionally, in
which case their eggs would probably be mostly placed under large rocks
and stones, where the Puffins find safety from the attacks of the
various egg-stealers. At other times of year than the breeding-season,
the Storm Petrel can only be considered an occasional storm-driven
visitant to the Islands.

It is included in Professor Ansted's list, and marked as occurring in
Alderney, Sark, Jethou, and Herm.

With this bird ends my list of the Birds of Guernsey and the
neighbouring Islands. It contains notices of only 176 birds, 21 less
than Professor Ansted's list, which contains 197; but it seems to me
very doubtful whether many of these 21 species have occurred in the
Islands. I can find no other evidence of their having done so than the
mere mention of the names in that list, as, except the few mentioned in
Mr. Gallienne's notes, no evidence whatever is given of the when and
where of their occurrence; and we are not even told who was responsible
for the identification of any of the birds mentioned. I have no doubt,
however, that any one resident in the Islands for some years, and taking
an interest in the ornithology of the district, would be able to add
considerably to my list, as Miss C.B. Carey, had she lived, would no
doubt have enabled me to do. I think it very probable, mine having been
only flying visits, though extending over several years and at various
times of year, I may have omitted some birds, especially amongst the
smaller Warblers and the Pipits, and perhaps amongst the occasional
Waders. There is one small family--the Skuas--entirely unrepresented in
my list; I am rather surprised at this as some of them, especially the
Pomatorhine--or, as it is perhaps better known, the Pomerine--Skua,
_Stercorarius pomatorhinus_, and Richardson's Skua, _Stercorarius
crepidatus_, are by no means uncommon on the other side of the Channel,
about Torbay, during the autumnal migration; but I have never seen
either species in the Island, nor have I seen a Channel Island skin, nor
can I find that either the bird-stuffers or the fishermen and the
various shooters know anything about them. I have therefore, though I
think it by no means; unlikely that both birds occasionally occur,
thought it better to omit their names from my list.

Professor Ansted has only mentioned one of the family--the Great Skua,
_Stercorarius catarrhactes_,--in his list, which also may occasionally
occur, as may Buffon's Skua, _Stercorarius parasiticus_; but neither of
these seem to me so likely to occur as the two first-mentioned, not
being by any means so common on the English side of the Channel.

In bringing my labours to a conclusion I must again thank Mr. MacCulloch
and others, who have assisted me in my work either by notes or by
helping in out-door work.

FINIS.

ENDNOTES.

[1] _a_ Alderney.
_e_ Guernsey.
_i_ Jersey.
_o_ Sark.
_u_ Jethou and Herm.]

[2] This was nearly the whole of the Vale, including L'Ancresse Common.

[3] Fourteen "livres tournois" are about equal to L1.

[4] This Act is passed annually at the Chief Pleas after Easter.

[5] _Falco aesalon_, Tunstall, H.S. 1771. _Falco aesalon_, Gmelin, Y.,
1788.

[6] See Temminok.

[7] See 'Birds of Spain,' by Howard Saunders, Esq., published in the
works of the Societe Zoologique de France, where he says:--"_C.
ceruginosus_ et _C. cyaneus_ ont les lisieres exterieures des remiges
emarginees, jusqu'a et y comprise la cinquieme, et cette forme se trouve
en presque toutes les _Circus_ exotiques. En _C. swainsonii_ (the Pallid
Harrier) et _C. cineraceus_ cette emargination successive se borne a la
quatrieme." We have little to do with this distinction, except as
between _C. cyaneus_ and _C. cineraceus, C. aeruginosus_ being otherwise
sufficiently distinct, and _C. swainsonii_ not coming within our limits.

[8] "Tereus," I soon found, as I expected, was Mr. MacCulloch.

[9] These reeds are the common reed Spires, Spire-reed, or Pool-reed.
_Arundo phragmites_. See 'Popular Names of British Plants,' by Dr.
Prior, p. 219.

[10] This name of Temminck is no doubt applied to the Continental form,
_Acredula caudata_, of Linnaeus, not to the British form now elevated
into a species under the name _Acredula rosea_, of Blyth. Owing to want
of specimens I have not been able to say to which form the Channel
Island Long-tailed Tit belongs, probably supposing them to be really
distinct from _A. rosea_. _A. caudata_ may, however, also occur, as both
forms do occasionally, in the British Islands.

[11] See Temminck's 'Man. d'Ornith.'

[12] Dresser's 'Birds of Europe,' _fide_ Degland's Grebe.

[13] Where both forms are common this constantly happens--indeed, so
constantly that Professor Newton, in his new edition of 'Yarrell,' has
made but one species of the Black Crow and the Grey or Hooded Crow,
_Corvus corone_ and _Corvus cornix_, on the several grounds that there
is no structural difference between the two; that their habits, food,
cries, and mode of nidification are the same (in considering this, of
course both forms must be traced throughout the whole of their
geographical range, and not merely through the British Islands); that
their geographical distribution is sufficiently similar not to present
any difficulty; that they breed freely together; and that their
offsprings are fertile, a very important consideration in judging
whether two forms should be separated or joined as one species. This
last seems to me to present the greatest difficulty, and the evidence at
present appears scarcely conclusive. Of course in the limits of a note
to a work like the present it is impossible to discuss so large a
question. I can only refer my readers to Professor Newton's work, where
they will find nearly all that can be said on the subject, and the
reasons which have induced him to come to the conclusion he has.

[14] Rim. Gu., p. 35.

[15] Query, was this done by a migratory flock, as peas would be ripe
about June or July, when migratory flocks of Wood Pigeons would not be
likely to occur; or was the damage to newly sown peas in the spring?

[16] For one instance see notice of the Quail; and the bird-stuffer had
several other eggs besides those in the same nest as the Quails.

[17] _Fide_ Mr. MacCulloch.

[18] See 'Dresser's Birds of Europe.'

[19] For the last, see Temminck's 'Man, d'Ornithologie.'

[20] _See_ 'Zoologist' for 1867, p. 829.

[21] Temminck, 'Man. d'Ornithologie.'

[22] _See_ Temminck, 'Man. d'Ornithologie.'

[23] The one above mentioned.

[24] See 'Zoologist' for 1870, p. 2244.

[25] "Hucard" in Guernsey French (see 'Metevier's Dictionary,') who also
says "Notre Hucard est le Whistling Swan ou Hooper des Anglais."

[26] See Temminck's 'Man. d'Ornithologie.'

[27] See also Metivier's Dictionary.

[28] See note in 'Zoologist' for 1866.

[29] 'De la Mue du Bec et des Ornements Palpebraux du Macareux Arctique
apres la Saison des Amours.' Par le Docteur Louis Bureau; 'Bulletin de
la Societe Zoologique de France.'

[30] 'Zoologist' for 1869.

[31] _See_ Temininck, 'Man. d'Ornithologie.'

[32] Temminck, 'Man. d'Ornithologie.'

[33] Le Tas is often written L'Etat, but, as Professor Ansted says,
"There can be no doubt it alludes to the form of the rock, viz., 'Tas,'
a heap such as is made with hay or corn."

[34] See Temminck's 'Man. d'Ornithologie.'

[35] Buffon.

[36] See Temminck's 'Man. d'Ornithologie.'

[37] _See_ 'Zoologist' for 1869, p. 1560.

[38] _See_ Temminck, 'Man. d'Ornithologie.'

[39] This is since my note to Mr. Dresser, published in his 'Birds of
Europe,' when I said I had never seen it in the Channel Islands,
although it probably occasionally occurred there.

INDEX.

Auk, Little, 178

Bittern, 152
Bittern, American, 153
Bittern, Little, 154
Blackbird, 34
Blackcap, 52
Brambling, 72
Bullfinch, 79
Bunting, 70
Bunting, Snow, 70
Bunting, Yellow, 71
Bustard, Little, 117
Buzzard, Common, 14
Buzzard, Rough-legged, 14

Chaffinch, 72
Chiffchaff, 53
Chough, 84
Coot, Common, 116
Cormorant, 184
Crake, Spotted, 114
Creeper, 59
Crossbill, Common, 80
Crow, 88
Crow, Hooded, 89
Cuckoo, 97
Curlew, 132

Dipper, 30
Diver, Black-throated, 174
Diver, Great Northern, 173
Diver, Red-throated, 175
Dotterel, 122
Dotterel, Ring, 123
Dove, Rock, 110
Dove, Turtle, 111
Duck, Eider, 165
Duck, Wild, 162
Dunlin, 145

Eagle, White-tailed, 1

Falcon, Greenland, 5
Falcon, Iceland, 6
Falcon, Peregrine, 8
Fieldfare, 34
Flycatcher, Spotted, 24

Gannet, 188
Godwit, Bar-tailed, 137
Goldfinch, 76
Goosander, 167
Goose, Brent, 157
Goose, White-fronted, 157
Grebe, Eared, 170
Grebe, Great Crested, 173
Grebe, Little, 169
Grebe, Red-necked, 172
Grebe, Sclavonian, 170
Greenfinch, 76
Greenshank, 139
Guillemot, 176
Gull, Brown-headed, 210
Gull, Common, 207
Gull, Great Black-backed, 209
Gull, Herring, 195
Gull, Lesser Black-backed, 203
Gull, Little, 213

Harrier, Hen, 17
Harrier, Marsh, 16
Harrier, Montagu's, 18
Hawfinch, 75
Hawk, Sparrow, 13
Hedgesparrow, 87
Heron, 148
Heron, Purple, 150
Heron, Squacco, 151
Hobby, 10
Hooper, 160
Hoopoe, 95

Jackdaw, 86

Kestrel, 12
Kingfisher, 101
Kittiwake, 194
Knot, 144

Landrail, 115
Lark, Sky, 68
Linnet, 78

Magpie, 91
Martin, 106
Martin, Sand, 107
Merganser, Red-breasted, 168
Merlin, 10
Moorhen, 115

Nightjar, 102

Oriole, Golden, 25
Osprey, 3
Ouzel, Ring, 36
Ouzel, Water, 30
Owl, Barn, 22
Owl, Long-eared, 20
Owl, Short-eared, 21
Oystercatcher, 130

Peewit, 120
Petrel, Fulmar, 216
Petrel, Storm, 216
Phalarope, Grey, 147
Pigeon, Wood, 108
Pintail, 163
Pipit, Meadow, 67
Pipit, Rock, 67
Pipit, Tree, 66
Plover, Golden, 122
Plover, Grey, 121

Plover, Kentish, 125
Puffin, 179
Purre, 145

Quail, 112

Rail, Water, 113
Raven, 87
Razorbill, 183
Redshank, 134
Redstart, 38
Redstart, Black, 39

Redwing, 33
Robin, 38
Rook, 90
Ruff, 139

Sanderling, 147
Sandpiper, Common, 136
Sandpiper, Curlew, 145
Sandpiper, Green, 135
Scoter, Common, 165
Shag, 185
Shearwater, Great, 213
Shearwater, Manx, 215
Shrike, Red-backed, 23
Siskin, 77
Smew, 169
Snipe, 142
Snipe, Jack, 144
Snipe, Solitary, 141
Sparrowhawk, 13
Sparrow, House, 74
Sparrow, Tree, 73
Spoonbill, 155
Starling, Common, 82
Stint, Little, 146
Stonechat, 41
Swallow, 106
Swan, Bewick's, 161
Swan, Mute, 158
Swan, Wild, 160
Swift, 104

Teal, 164
Tern, Arctic, 192
Tern, Black, 193
Tern, Common, 190
Tit, Blue, 60
Tit, Great, 59
Tit, Long-tailed, 61
Thick-knee, 18
Thrush, Song, 33
Thrush, Mistletoe, 31
Turnstone, 127

Warbler, Dartford, 49
Warbler, Reed, 44
Warbler, Sedge, 48
Wagtail, Grey, 64
Wagtail, Pied, 62
Wagtail, White, 63
Wagtail, Yellow, 65
Waxwing, 62

Wheatear, 43
Whimbrel, 133
Whinchat, 43
Whitethroat, 50
Whitethroat, Lesser, 52
Woodcock, 140

Woodpecker, Lesser Spotted, 91
Wren, 58
Wren, Fire-crested, 55
Wren, Golden-crested, 54
Wren, Willow, 53
Wryneck, 94

Yellowhammer, 71

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