Birds of Guernsey (1879) by Cecil Smith

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The White-tailed Eagle is included in Professor Ansted's list, but its
range in the Islands is restricted to Guernsey. There is one in the
museum, probably killed in Guernsey, in the plumage in which the Channel
Island specimens usually occur, but no note is given as to locality or
date.

2. OSPREY. _Pandion halioeetus_, Linnaeus. French, "Balbusard."--I have
never met with the Osprey myself in the Channel Islands, nor have I, as
far as I remember, seen a Channel Island specimen. I include it,
however, on the authority of a note kindly sent to me by Mr. MacCulloch,
who says:--"An Osprey was shot at St. Samsons, in Guernsey, on the 29th
of October, 1868. I cannot, however, say whether at the time it was
examined by a competent naturalist, and as both the Osprey and the
White-tailed Eagle are fishers, a mistake may have been made in naming
it." Of course such a mistake as suggested is possible, but as the
Guernsey fishermen and gunners, especially the St. Samsons men, are well
acquainted with the White-tailed Eagle, I should not think it probable
that the mistake had been made. The bird, however, cannot be considered
at all common in the Islands; there is no specimen in the Guernsey
Museum, and Mr. Couch has never mentioned to me having had one through
his hands, or recorded it in the 'Zoologist,' as he would have done had
he had one; neither does Mrs. Jago (late Miss Cumber), who used to do a
good deal of stuffing in Guernsey about thirty years ago, remember
having had one through her hands. There can be no reason, however, why
it should not occasionally occur in the Islands, as it does so both on
the French and English side of the Channel. The wonder rather is that it
is so rare as it appears to be.

The Osprey, however, is mentioned in Professor Ansted's list, and only
marked as occurring in Guernsey.

3. GREENLAND FALCON. _Falco candicans_, Gmelin.--I was much surprised
on my last visit to Alderney, on the 27th of June, 1878, on going into a
small carpenter's shop in the town, whose owner, besides being a
carpenter, is also an amateur bird-stuffer, though of the roughest
description, to find, amongst the dust of his shop, not only the Purple
Heron, which I went especially to see, and which is mentioned
afterwards, but a young Greenland Falcon which he informed me had been
shot in that island about eighteen months ago. This statement was
afterwards confirmed by the person who shot the bird, who was sent for
and came in whilst I was still in the shop. Unfortunately, neither the
carpenter nor his friend who shot the bird had made any note of the
date, and could only remember that the one had shot the bird in that
Island about eighteen months ago and the other had stuffed it
immediately after. This would bring it to the winter of 1876-77, or,
more probably, the late autumn of 1876. In the course of conversation it
appeared to me that the Snow Falcon--as they called this bird--was not
entirely unknown to the carpenter or his friend, though neither could
remember at the time another instance of one having been killed in that
Island. It is, however, by no means improbable that either this species
or the next mentioned, or both, may have occurred in the Islands before,
as Professor Ansted, though he gives no date or locality, includes the
Gyr Falcon in his list of Channel Island birds. As all three of the
large northern white Falcons were at one time included under the name of
Gyr Falcons, and, as Professor Ansted gives no description of the bird
mentioned by him, it is impossible to say to which species he alluded.
We may fairly conclude, however, that it was either the present species
or the Iceland Falcon, as it could hardly have been the darker and less
wandering species, the Norway Falcon, the true Gyr Falcon of falconers,
_Falco gyrfalco_ of Linnaeus, which does not wander so far from its
native home, and has never yet, as far as is at present known, occurred
in any part of the British Islands, and certainly not so far south as
the Channel Islands. This latter, indeed, is an extremely southern
latitude for either the Greenland or Iceland Falcon, the next being in
Cornwall, from which county both species have been recorded by Mr. Rodd.
Neither species, however, is recorded as having occurred in any of the
neighbouring parts of France.

4. ICELAND FALCON. _Falco islandus_, Gmelin.--An Iceland Falcon was
killed on the little Island of Herm on the 11th of April, 1876, where it
had been seen about for some time, by the gamekeeper. It had another
similar bird in company with it, and probably the pair were living very
well upon the game-birds which had been imported and preserved in that
island, as the keeper saw them kill more than one Pheasant before he
shot this bird. The other fortunately escaped. The bird which was killed
is now in my possession, and is a fully adult Iceland Falcon, and Mr.
Couch, the bird-stuffer who skinned it, informed me a male by
dissection. Though to a certain extent I have profited by it, so far as
to have the only Channel Island example of the Iceland Falcon in my
possession, I cannot help regretting that this bird was killed by the
keeper, as it seems to me not impossible that the two birds being
together in the island so late as the 11th of April, and certainly one,
probably both, being adult, and there being plenty of food for them,
might, if unmolested, have bred in the island. Perhaps, however, this is
too much to have expected so far from their proper home. It would,
however, have been interesting to know how late the birds would have
remained before returning to their northern home; but the
breeding-season for the Pheasants was beginning, and this was enough for
the keeper, as he had actually seen two or three Pheasants--some
hens--killed before he shot the Falcon. As these Falcons can only be
considered very rare accidental visitants to the Islands, it may be
interesting to some of my readers to mention that they may distinguish
them easily by colour, the Greenland, _Falco candicans_, being always
the most white, and the Norway bird--the Gyr Falcon of falconers--being
the darkest, the Iceland Falcon (the present species) being
intermediate. This is generally a good guide at all ages, but
occasionally there may be some difficulty in distinguishing young birds,
especially as between the Iceland and the Norway Falcon. In a doubtful
case in the Channel Islands, however, it would always be safer to
consider the bird an Iceland rather than a Norway Falcon.

5. PEREGRINE FALCON. _Falco peregrinus_, Tunstall. French, "Faucon
pelerin."--The Peregrine can now, I think, only be considered an
autumnal visitant to the Islands, though, if not shot or otherwise
destroyed, it would, no doubt, remain throughout the winter, and might
perhaps have been resident, as Mr. MacCulloch sends me a note of one
killed in Herm in December. All the Channel Island specimens I have seen
have been young birds of the year, and generally killed in October or
November. Adult birds, no doubt, occasionally occur, but they are
comparatively rare, and it certainly does not breed anywhere in the
Islands at present, though I see no reason why it should not have done
so in former times, as there are many places well suited to it, and a
constant supply of sea-birds for food. Mr. MacCulloch also seems to be
of opinion that the Peregrine formerly bred in the Islands, as he says,
speaking, however, of the _Falconidae_ generally, "There must have been
a time when some of the species were permanent residents, for the high
pyramidal rock south of the little Island of Jethou bears the name of
'La Fauconniere,' evidently denoting that it must have been a favourite
resort of these birds, and there are other rocks with the same name."
Certainly the rock here mentioned looks much like a place that would be
selected by the Peregrine for breeding purposes, but that must have been
before the days of excursion steamers once or twice a week to Jethou and
Herm. Occasionally a young Peregrine is made to do duty as a Lanner, and
is recorded in the local papers accordingly (see 'Star' for November
11th, 1876, copying, however, a Jersey paper), but in spite of these
occasional notes there is no satisfactory reason for supposing that the
true Lanner has ever occurred in either of the Islands. The birds,
however, certainly resemble each other to a certain extent, but the
young Lanner in which state it would be most likely to occur, may always
be distinguished from the young Peregrine by its whiter head, and the
adult has more brown on the head and neck.

The Peregrine is included in Professor Ansted's list, but only marked as
occurring in Guernsey and Sark. There is no specimen at present in the
Museum.

6. HOBBY. _Falco subbuteo_, Linnaeus. French, "Le Hobereau." The Hobby
can only be considered as a rather rare occasional visitant, just
touching the Islands on its southern migration in the autumn, and late
in the autumn, for Mr. MacCulloch informs me that a Hobby was killed in
the Islands, probably Guernsey, in November, 1873, and Mr. Couch,
writing to me on the 10th of November, told me he had had a Hobby
brought to him on the 8th of the same month. Both of these occurrences
seem rather late, but probably the Hobby only touches the Islands for a
very short time on passage, and quite towards the end of the migratory
period. I do not know of any instance of the Hobby having occurred in
the Islands on its northern migration in the spring, or of its remaining
to breed.

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

7. MERLIN. _Falco aesalon_,[5] Bris., 1766. French, "Faucon
Emerillon."--The pretty little Merlin is a much more common autumnal
visitant to the Islands than the Hobby, but, like the Peregrine, the
majority of instances are young birds of the year which visit the
Islands on their autumnal migration. When I was in Guernsey in November,
1875, two Merlins, both young birds, were brought in to Mr. Couch's.
Both were shot in the Vale, and I saw a third near Cobo, but did not
shoot it. This also was a young bird. In some years Merlins appear to be
more numerous than in others, and this seems to have been one of the
years in which they were most numerous. Unlike the Hobby, however, the
Merlin does occasionally visit the Islands in the spring, as I saw one
at Mr. Jago's, the bird-stuffer in Guernsey, which had been killed at
Herm in the spring of 1876. This is now in the collection of Mr.
Maxwell, the present owner of Herm. Though the Merlin visits the Islands
both in the spring and autumn, I do not know that there is any instance
of its having remained to breed, neither do I know of an occurrence
during the winter. In the 'Zoologist' for 1875 Mr. Couch, in a
communication dated November 29th, 1874, says--"A Merlin--a female--was
shot in the Marais, which had struck down a Water Rail a minute or two
before it was shot. After striking down the Rail the Merlin flew into a
tree, about ten yards from which the man who shot it found the Rail
dead. He brought me both birds. The skin of the Rail was broken from the
shoulder to the back of the skull."

The more common prey, however, of the Merlin during the time it remains
in the Islands is the Ring Dotterell, which at that time of year is to
be found in large flocks mixed with Purres and Turnstones in all the
low sandy or muddy bays in the Islands.

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

8. KESTREL. _Falco tinnunculus_, Linnaeus. French, "Faucon
cresserelle."--The Kestrel is by far the commonest hawk in the Islands,
and is resident throughout the year. I do not think that its numbers are
at all increased during the migratory season. It breeds in the rocky
parts of all the Islands. The Kestrel does not, however, show itself so
frequently in the low parts--even in the autumn--as on the high cliffs,
so probably Ring Dotterell, Purres, and Turnstones do not form so
considerable a part of its food as they do of the Merlin. Skylarks, Rock
and Meadow Pipits, and, in the summer, Wheatears, with a few rats and
mice, seem to afford the principal food of the Kestrel, and to obtain
these it has not to wander far from its breeding haunts.

The Kestrel is quite as common in Alderney and Herm, and even in the
little Island of Jethou, as it is in Guernsey and Sark. One or two
pairs, perhaps more, breed on the before-mentioned rock close to Jethou
"La Fauconniere," though a few pairs of Kestrels breeding there would
scarcely have been sufficient to give it its name.

It is mentioned in Professor Ansted's list, but only marked as
occurring in Guernsey and Sark. There are two specimens, a male and
female, in the Museum.

9. SPARROWHAWK. _Accipiter nisus_, Linnaeus. French, "L'Epervier,"
"Tiercelet."--The Sparrowhawk, though a resident species and breeding in
the Islands, is by no means so common as the Kestrel. In fact, it must
certainly be considered rather a rare bird, which perhaps is not to be
wondered at, as it is a more tree-breeding bird and less given to
nesting amongst the rocks than the Kestrel. It does so sometimes,
however, as I saw one fly out of some ivy-covered rocks near Petit Bo
Bay the last time I was in the Islands on the 27th of May, 1878. I am
certain this bird had a nest there, though the place was too
inaccessible to be examined closely. The trees, however, at the Vallon
or Woodlands would be much more likely nesting-places, especially as it
might have an opportunity of appropriating a deserted nest of a Magpie
or a Wood Pigeon, rather a favourite nesting-place of the Sparrowhawk.

Professor Ansted includes the Sparrowhawk in his list, but confines it
to Guernsey and Sark; and probably, as a resident and breeding bird, he
is right as far as my district is concerned, but I should think it must
occasionally occur both in Alderney and Herm, though I have never seen a
specimen from either Island, nor have I seen the bird about alive in
either. There is one specimen in the Museum.

10. COMMON BUZZARD. _Buteo vulgaris_, Leach. French, "Buse."--The
Buzzard is a tolerably regular, and by no means uncommon, autumnal
visitant, specimens occurring from some of the Islands almost every
autumn. But it is, I believe, an autumnal visitant only, as I do not
know of a single specimen taken at any other time of year, nor can I
find a record of one. I have seen examples in the flesh from both
Alderney and Herm, in both of which Islands it occurs at least as
frequently as it does in Guernsey, though still only as an autumnal
visitant.

It is included in Professor Ansted's list, but only marked as occurring
in Guernsey, and there is one specimen in the Museum.

11. ROUGHLEGGED BUZZARD. _Buteo lagopus_, Gmelin. French, "Archibuse
pattue" or "Buse pattue."--Though its visits seem not so absolutely
confined to the autumn as the Common Buzzard, the Rough-legged Buzzard
is a much more uncommon visitant to the Channel Islands, and can only be
looked upon as a rare occasional straggler. Mr. MacCulloch informs me
that one was killed near L'Hyvreuse, which is perhaps now more commonly
known as the New Ground, in Guernsey, about Christmas, 1870, and I
found one at the bird-stuffer and carpenter's shop at Alderney, which
had been shot by his friend who shot the Greenland Falcon, but I could
get no information about the date except that it was late autumn or
winter, and about two years ago. These are the only Channel Island
specimens of which I have been able to glean any intelligence. Probably,
however, it has occurred at other times and been overlooked. As it may
have occasionally been mistaken for the more common Common Buzzard, I
may say that it is always to be distinguished from that bird by the
feathered tarsus. On the wing, perhaps, when flying overhead, the most
readily observed distinction is the dark band on the lower part of the
breast. I have, however, seen a very dark variety of the Rough-legged
Buzzard, in which nearly the whole of the plumage was a uniform dark
chocolate-brown, and consequently the dark band on the breast could not
be seen even when one had the bird in one's hand, and had it not been
for the feathered tarsus this bird might easily have been mistaken for a
very dark variety of the Common Buzzard, and when on the wing it would
have been impossible to identify it. Indeed, though it was immediately
distinguishable from the Common Buzzard by its feathered legs, there was
some little difficulty about identifying it, even when handling it as a
skin.

Professor Ansted includes the Rough-legged Buzzard in his list, but
only marks it as occurring in Guernsey. There is no specimen at present
in the Museum.

12. MARSH HARRIER. _Circus Oeruginosus_, Linnaeus. French, "Busard
des Marais."--This seems to be the least common of the Harriers in the
Channel Islands, though it does occur occasionally, and perhaps more
frequently than is generally supposed.

There are two specimens in the Museum in Guernsey both in immature
plumage; in that state, in fact, in which this bird most commonly
occurs, and in which it is the Bald Buzzard of Bewick.

Miss C.B. Carey records one in the November number of the 'Zoologist'
for 1874 in the following words:--"In the May of this year an adult male
Marsh Harrier was found in Herm. Unfortunately it got into the hands of
some person who, I believe, kept it too long before bringing it over to
be preserved, so that all that remains of it is the head." I had no
opportunity of examining this bird myself, not even the head, but I am
disposed to doubt its being fully adult, as it seems to me much more
probable that it was much in the same state as those in the Museum, in
which state it is much more common than in the fully adult plumage. Miss
Carey seems only to have seen the head herself, so there may easily
have been a mistake on this point.

Mr. MacCulloch writes me word that a Marsh Harrier was killed in Herm in
May, 1875. It may be just possible, however, that this is the same bird
recorded by Miss C.B. Carey, and that Mr. MacCulloch only heard of it in
the May of the following year, and noted it accordingly. This, however,
is mere supposition on my part, for which I have no reason except that
both birds were said to have been killed in Herm, and both in May.

Professor Ansted mentions the Marsh Harrier in his list, but marks it as
only found in Guernsey.

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

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

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

As mistakes may occasionally arise in identifying specimens, especially
in immature plumage, it may be as well to notice a distinction between
the Hen Harrier and Montagu's Harrier, which has been pointed out by Mr.
Howard Saunders, and which holds good in all ages and in both sexes.
This distinction is, that in the Hen Harrier the outer web of the fifth
primary is notched, whereas in Montagu's Harrier it is plain, or, in
other words, the Hen Harrier has the exterior web of the primaries, up
to and including the fifth, notched, and in Montagu's Harrier this is
only the case as far as the fourth.[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
brachyote."--Unlike the Long-eared Owl, the Short-eared Owl is a regular
autumnal visitant to the Channel Islands, arriving about October in
considerable numbers, but remaining only for a short time, as I do not
know of any making their appearance after the end of November, and the
majority of those that have arrived seem to pass on about that time, not
remaining throughout the winter, and I hear of no instances of their
occurring on the spring migration, so the majority must pass north by a
different line from that pursued by them on the southern migration.

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

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

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