Birds of Guernsey (1879) by Cecil Smith

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My first acquaintance with the Crossbill was in Sark on the 25th of
June, 1866, when I saw a very fine red-plumaged bird in a small
fir-plantation in the grounds of the Lord of Sark. It was very tame, and
allowed me to approach it very closely. I did not see any others at that
time amongst the fir-trees, though no doubt a few others were there. On
my return to Guernsey on the following day I was requested by a
bird-catcher to name some birds that were doing considerable damage in
the gardens about the town. Thinking from having seen the one in Sark,
and from his description, that the birds might be Crossbills, I asked
him to get me one or two, which he said he could easily do, as the
people were destroying them on account of the damage they did. In a day
or two he brought me one live and two dead Crossbills, and told me that
as many as forty had been shot in one person's garden. The two dead ones
he brought me were one in red and the other in green plumage, and the
live one was in green plumage. This one I brought home and kept in my
aviary till March, 1868, when it was killed by a Hawk striking it
through the wires. It was, however, still in the same green plumage when
it was killed as it was when I brought it home, though it had moulted
twice.

The Crossbill did not appear at that time to be very well known in
Guernsey, as neither the bird-catcher nor the people in whose gardens
the birds were had ever seen them before or knew what they were. This
year (1866), however, appears to have been rather an exceptional year
with regard to Crossbills, as I find some recorded in the 'Zoologist'
from Norfolk, the Isle of Wight, Sussex, and Henley-on-Thames, about the
same time; therefore there must have been a rather widely-spread flight.
From that time I did not hear any more of Crossbills in the Islands till
December, 1876, when Mr. Couch sent me a skin of one in reddish plumage,
writing at the same time to say--"The Crossbill I sent from its being
so late in the season when it was shot--the 11th of December; there were
four of them in a tree by Haviland Hall. I happened to go into the
person's house who shot it, and his children had it playing with."

I do not know that there is any evidence of the Crossbill ever having
bred in the Islands, though it seems to have made its appearance there
at almost all times of year. Mr. MacCulloch mentions its feeding on the
apple-pips, and doing damage in the orchards accordingly, and I know it
is generally supposed to do so, and has in some places got the name of
"Shell Apple" in consequence, but though I have several times kept
Crossbills tame, and frequently tried to indulge them with apples and
pips, I have never found them care much about them; and a note of
Professor Newton's, in his edition of 'Yarrell,' seems to agree with
this. He says:--"Of late it has not been often observed feeding on
apples, very possibly owing to the greatly-increased growth of firs, and
especially larches, throughout the country. In Germany it does not seem
ever to have been known as attacking fruit-trees."

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

73. COMMON STARLING. _Sturnus vulgaris_, Linnaeus. French, "Etourneau
vulgaire."--The Starling is sometimes very numerous in the autumn, but
those remaining throughout the year and breeding in the Island are
certainly very few in number, as I have never seen the Starling in any
of my summer visits; and Mr. MacCulloch tells me "the Starling may
possibly still breed here, but it certainly is not common in summer. A
century ago it used to nest in the garrets in the heart of the town." As
to its not being common in summer, that quite agrees with my own
experience, but a few certainly do breed in the Island still, or did so
within a very few years, as Miss C.B. Carey had eggs in her collection
taken in the Island in 1873 or 1874, and I have seen eggs in other
Guernsey collections, besides those in the Museum. When I was in
Guernsey in November, 1871, Starlings were certainly unusually
plentiful, even for the autumn, very large flocks making their
appearance in all parts of the Island, and in the evening very large
flocks might be seen flying and wheeling about in all directions before
going to roost. Many of these flocks I saw fly off in the direction of
Jersey and the French coast, and they certainly continued their flight
in that direction as long as I could follow them with my glass, but
whether they were only going to seek a roosting-place and to return in
the morning, or whether they continued their migration and their place
was supplied by other flocks during the night, I could not tell, but
certainly there never seemed to be any diminution in their numbers
during the whole time I was there from the 1st to the 16th of November.
I think it not at all improbable that many of these flocks only roosted
out of the Island and returned, as even here in Somerset they collect in
large flocks before going to roost, and fly long distances, sometimes
quite over the Quantock Hills, to some favourite roosting-place they
have selected, and return in the morning, and the distance would in many
places be nearly as great. These flocks of Starlings seem to have
continued in the Island quite into the winter, as Miss Carey notes, in
the 'Zoologist' for 1872, seeing a flock in the field before the house
at Candie close to the town as late as the 6th of December, 1871. At the
same time that there were so many in Guernsey, Starlings were reported
as unusually numerous in Alderney, but how long the migratory flocks
remained there I have not been able to ascertain.

The Starling is included in Professor Ansted's list, but marked as only
occurring in Guernsey and Sark. There are two specimens in the Museum
and some eggs.

74. CHOUGH. _Pyrrhocorax graculus_, Linnaeus. French, "Crave."--The
Chough is a common resident in Guernsey, breeding amongst the high rocks
on the south and east part of the Island, and in the autumn and winter
spreading over the cultivated parts of the Island, sometimes in
considerable flocks, like Rooks.

As Jackdaws are by no means numerous in Guernsey, and as far as I have
been able to make out never breed there, the Choughs have it all their
own way, and quite keep up their numbers, even if they do not increase
them, which I think very doubtful, though I can see no reason why they
should not, as their eggs are always laid in holes in the cliffs, and
very difficult to get at, and at other times of year the birds are very
wary, and take good care of themselves, it being by no means easy to get
a shot at them, unless by stalking them up behind a hedge or rock; and
as they are not good eating, and will not sell in the market like
Fieldfares and Redwings, no Guernsey man thinks of expending powder and
shot on them; so though not included in the Guernsey Bird Act, the
Choughs on the whole have an easy time of it in Guernsey, and ought to
increase in numbers more than they apparently do. In Sark the Choughs
have by no means so easy a time, as the Jackdaws outnumber them about
the cliffs, and will probably eventually drive them out of the
Island--indeed, I am afraid they have done this in Alderney, as I did
not see any when there in the summer of 1876, nor in this last summer
(1878); and Captain Hubbach writes me word he has seen none in Alderney
himself this year (1878). I, however, saw some there in previous
visits, but now for some reason, probably the increase of Jackdaws, the
Choughs appear to me nearly, if not quite, to have deserted that Island.
In Herm and Jethou there are also a few Choughs, but Jackdaws are the
more numerous in both Islands. No Choughs appear to inhabit the small
rocky islets to the northward of Herm, though some of them appear to be
large enough to afford a breeding-place for either Choughs or Jackdaws,
but neither of these birds seem to have taken possession of them;
probably want of food is the occasion of this. Mr. Metivier, in his
'Rimes Guernseaise,' gives "Cahouette" as the local Guernsey-French name
of the Chough, though I suspect the name is equally applicable to the
Jackdaw.

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

75. JACKDAW. _Corvus monedula_, Linnaeus. French, "Choucas," "Choucas
gris."--I am quite aware that many Guernsey people will tell you that
there are no Jackdaws in Guernsey, but that their place is entirely
taken by Choughs. Mr. MacCulloch seems to be nearly of this opinion, as
he writes me--"I suppose you are right in saying there are a few
Jackdaws in Guernsey, but I do not remember ever to have seen one here;"
and he adds--"I believe they are common in Alderney," which is
certainly the case; as I said above, they have almost, if not quite,
supplanted the Choughs there. There are, however, certainly a few
Jackdaws in Guernsey, as I have seen them there on several occasions,
but I cannot say that any breed there, and I think they are only
occasional wanderers from the other Islands, Sark, Jethou, and Herm,
where they do breed. Mr. Gallienne's note to Professor Ansted's list
seems to agree very much with this, as he says--"The Jackdaw, which is
a regular visitor to Alderney, is rarely seen in Guernsey." It is now,
however, resident in Alderney, as well as in Sark, Jethou, and Herm.

It is mentioned in Professor Ansted's list, but only marked as occurring
in Guernsey and Sark, nothing being said about Alderney and the other
Islands in spite of Mr. Gallienne's note. There is no specimen at
present in the Museum.

76. RAVEN. _Corvus corax_, Linnaeus. French, "Corbeau," "Corbeau
noir."--The Raven can now only be looked upon as an occasional
straggler. I do not think it breeds at present in any of the Islands, as
I have not seen it anywhere about in the breeding-season since 1866,
when I saw a pair near the cliffs on the south-end of the Island in
June; but as the Raven is a very early breeder, these may have only been
wanderers. It is probably getting scarcer in Guernsey, as I have not
seen any there since; and the last note I have of Ravens being seen in
the Island is in a letter from Mr. Couch, who wrote me word that two
Ravens had been seen and shot at several times, but not obtained, in
November, 1873. I have not seen a Raven in any of the other Islands, and
do not know of one having occurred there.

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

77. CROW. _Corvus corone_, Linnaeus. French, "Corneille noire."--The
Crow is pretty common, and breeds in most of the Islands, and probably
at times commits considerable depredations amongst the eggs and young of
the Gulls and Shags--at all events it is by no means a welcome visitor
to the breeding stations of the Gulls, as in this summer (1878) I saw
four Crows about a small gullery near Petit Bo Bay, one of which flew
over the side of the cliff to have a look at the Gulls' eggs, probably
with ulterior intentions in regard to the eggs; but one of the Gulls saw
him, and immediately flew at him and knocked him over: what the end of
the fight was I could not tell, but probably the Crow got the worst of
it, as several other Gulls went off to join their companion as soon as
they heard the row; and the Crows trespassed no more on the domain of
the Gulls--at least whilst I was there, which was some time.

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

78. HOODED CROW. _Corvus cornix_, Linnaeus. French, "Corbeau mantele,"
"Corneille mantelee."--The Hooded Crow can only be considered an
occasional autumnal and winter visitant. I have never seen it myself in
the Islands, though many of my visits to Guernsey have been in the
autumn. Mr. Couch, however, reports a small flock of Hooded Crows being
in Guernsey in November, 1873, one of which was obtained. Mr. MacCulloch
writes me word that the Hooded Crow is a very rare visitant, and only,
as far as he knows, in very cold weather; and he adds--"It is strange
that we should see it so rarely, as it is very common about St. Maloes."
Colonel l'Estrange, however, informed me that one remained in Sark all
last summer--that of 1877--and paired with a common Crow,[13] but we
could see nothing of the couple this year. I believe it is not at all
uncommon for these birds to pair in Scotland and other places where both
species are numerous in the breeding-season, but this is the only
instance I have heard of in the Channel Islands--in fact, it is the only
time I have heard of the Hooded Crow remaining on till the summer.

The Hooded Crow is included in Professor Ansted's list, and marked as
occurring in Guernsey and Sark; and there are two specimens in the
Museum.

79. ROOK. _Corvus frugilegus_, Linnaeus. French, "Freux", "Corbeau
Freux."--I have never seen the Rook in the Islands myself, even as a
stranger, but Mr. Gallienne in his notes to Professor Ansted's list,
says, speaking of Guernsey, "The Rook has tried two or three times to
colonise, but in vain, having been destroyed or frightened away." Mr.
MacCulloch also writes me word much to the same effect, as he says "I
have known Rooks occasionally attempt to build here (Guernsey), but they
are invariably disturbed by boys and guns, and driven off. They
sometimes arrive here in large flocks in severe winters."

The Rook is mentioned in Professor Ansted's list as occurring in
Guernsey only, and there are two specimens in the Museum, both probably
Guernsey killed.

80. MAGPIE. _Pica rustica_, Scopoli. French, "Pie", "Pie
ordinaire."--The Magpie is resident and tolerably common in Guernsey,
breeding in several parts of the Island; it is also resident, but I
think not quite so common, in Sark. I do not remember having seen it in
Alderney, and the almost entire absence of trees would probably prevent
it being anything more than an occasional visitant to that Island.

It is included in Professor Ansted's list, but marked as only occurring
in Guernsey; and there are two specimens in the Museum.

81. LESSER SPOTTED WOODPECKER. _Picus minor_, Linnaeus. French, "Pie
epeichette."--As may be expected, the Woodpeckers are not strongly
represented in the Islands, and the present species, the Lesser Spotted
Woodpecker, is the only one as to the occurrence of which I can get any
satisfactory evidence.

Professor Ansted, however, includes the Greater Spotted Woodpecker in
his list, and marks it as occurring in Guernsey only; and there is one
specimen of the Green Woodpecker, _Gecinus viridis_, in the Museum, but
there is no note whatever as to its locality; so under these
circumstances I have not thought it right to include either species. But
as to the occurrence of the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, though I have not
seen it myself, nor have I a Channel Island specimen, I have some more
evidence; for in reply to some questions of mine on the subject, Mr.
Couch wrote to me in April, 1877, "Respecting the Woodpecker, you may
fully rely on the Lesser Spotted as having been shot here, four examples
having passed through my hands; and writing from memory I will, as near
as possible, tell you when and where they were shot. I took a shop here
in 1866. In the month of August, 1867, there was one brought to me
alive, shot in the water lanes, just under Smith's Nursery by a young
gent at the College; he wounded it in the wing. I wanted too much to
stuff it (2s. 6d.); he took the poor bird out, fixed it somewhere; he
and his companions fired at it so often they blew it to atoms. The same
year, early in September, one was shot at St. Martin's; I stuffed that
for a lady: there were four in the same tree; the day following they
were not to be found. The second week in October, the same year I had
one, and stuffed it for the person who shot it out at St. Saviour's;
there were two besides in the same tree, but I had neither one myself.
In 1868, I stuffed one that was shot at St. Peter's, in December; it was
taken home the Christmas Eve. These were all I have had, but I have
heard of their being seen about since, twice or three times." In
addition to this letter, which I have no reason to doubt, Mr. MacCulloch
wrote me word--"We have in the Museum a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, shot
near Havilland Hall, in November, 1855; I saw it before it was stuffed."
This bird was not in the Museum this year, (1878), as I looked
everywhere for it, so I suppose it was moth-eaten and thrown away, like
many others of the best specimens in the Museum, after the years of
neglect they have been subject to. From these letters, there can be no
doubt whatever that the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker has been occasionally
procured in Guernsey, and that it may be considered either an occasional
autumnal visitant, remaining on into winter, or, what is more probable,
a thinly-scattered resident.

It is included in Professor Ansted's list, and marked as only occurring
in Guernsey. As above stated, the specimen formerly in the Museum no
longer exists.

82. WRYNECK. _Yunx torquilla_, Linnaeus. French, "Torcol
ordinaire."--The Wryneck, or, as it is called in Guernsey-French,
"Parle"[14] is generally a numerous summer visitant to the Islands,
arriving in considerable numbers, about the same time as the mackerel,
wherefore it has also obtained the local name of "Mackerel Bird." It is
generally distributed through the Islands, remaining through the summer
to breed, and departing again in early autumn, August, or September. Its
numbers, however, vary considerably in different years, as in some
summers I have seen Wrynecks in almost every garden, hedgerow, or thick
bush in the Island; always when perched, sitting across the branches or
twigs, on which they were perched, and never longways or climbing, as
would be the case with a Woodpecker or Creeper; and the noise made by
the birds during the breeding-season, was, in some years, incessant;
this was particularly the case in the early part of the summer of 1866,
when the birds were very numerous, and the noise made was so great that
on one occasion I was told that the Mackerel Birds seriously interrupted
a scientific game of _Croquet_, which was going on at Fort George, by
the noise they made; I can quite believe it, as, though I was not
playing in the game, I heard the birds very noisy in other parts of the
Island. This last summer, however (1878), I saw very few Wrynecks--only
four or five during the whole of the two months I was in the Islands,
and hardly heard them at all.

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

83. HOOPOE. _Upupa Epops_, Linnaeus. French, "La Huppe," "Huppe
ordinaire."--The Hoopoe, as may be supposed from its geographical range
and from its frequent occurrence in various parts of England, is an
occasional visitant to the Channel Islands during the seasons of
migration, occurring both in spring and autumn with sufficient frequency
to have gained the name of "Tuppe" in Guernsey-French. Though occurring
in spring and autumn, I am not aware that it ever remains to breed,
though perhaps it might do so if not shot on every possible occasion.
This shooting of every straggler to the Channel Islands is a great pity,
especially with the spring arrivals, as some of them might well be
expected to remain to breed occasionally if left undisturbed; and the
proof of the Hoopoe breeding in the Channel Islands would be much more
interesting than the mere possession of a specimen of so common and
well-known a bird: if a local specimen should be wanted, it could be
obtained equally well in autumn, when there would be no question as to
the breeding. The autumn arrivals seem also to be most numerous, at
least judging from the specimens recorded during the last four or five
years, as Mr. Couch records one, a female, shot near Ronseval, in
Guernsey, on the 26th of September; and another also in Guernsey, shot
on the 23rd of September; I have one, obtained in Alderney in August,
though I have not the exact date; and another picked up in a lane in St.
Martin's parish, in Guernsey, on the 24th of August. During the same
time I only know of one spring occurrence; that was on April the 10th of
this year (1878), when two were seen, and one shot in Herm, as recorded
in the 'Star' newspaper, for April the 13th; this one I saw soon
afterwards at Mr. Jago's, the bird-stuffer. These birds were probably
paired, and would therefore very likely have bred in Herm, had one of
them not been shot, and the other accordingly driven to look for a mate
elsewhere. It would pay, as well as be interesting, as I remarked in a
note to the 'Star' in reference to this occurrence of the pair of
Hoopoe's, to encourage these birds to breed in the Islands whenever they
shewed a disposition to do so, as, though rather a foul-feeder and of
unsavoury habits in its nest, and having no respect for sanitary
arrangements, the Hoopoe is nevertheless one of the most useful birds in
the garden.

The Hoopoe is included in Professor Ansted's list, but only marked as
occurring in Guernsey and Sark. There are now only two specimens in the
Museum, and these have no note of date or locality, but a few years ago
there were several more, and one or two I remember were marked as having
been killed in the spring; the rest were probably autumnal specimens.

84. CUCKOO. _Cuculus canorus_, Linnaeus. French, "Coucou gris."--The
Cuckoo is one of the commonest and most numerous summer visitants to the
Islands, and is generally spread over all of them; it arrives about the
same time that it does in England, that is to say, about the middle of
April. I know earlier instances--even as early as February--have been
recorded, but these must have been recorded in consequence of some
mistake, probably some particularly successful imitation of the note.
Mr. MacCulloch seems to think that the time of their arrival is very
regular, as he writes to me to say, "The Cuckoo generally arrives here
about the 15th of April; sometimes as early as the 13th, as was the case
this year (1878); the first are generally reported from the cliffs at
St. Martin's, near Moulin Huet, the first land they would make on their
arrival from Brittany." Very soon after their arrival, however, they
spread over the whole Island of Guernsey, as well as all the other
neighbouring islands, in all of which they are equally plentiful; they
seem to cross from one to the other without much considering four or
five miles of sea, or being the least particular as to taking the
shortest passage across from island to island. As usual, there were a
great number of Cuckoos in the Vale whilst I was there this summer
(1878); but I was unfortunate in not finding eggs, and in not seeing any
of the foster-parents feeding their over-grown _proteges_: this was
rather surprising, as there were so many Cuckoos about, and many must
have been hatched and out of the nest long before we left at the end of
July. I should think, however, Tree and Meadow Pipits, Skylarks and
Stonechats, from their numbers and the numbers of their nests, must be
the foster-parents most usually selected; other favourites, such as
Wagtails, Hedgesparrows, and Robins, being comparatively scarce in that
part of the Island, and Wheaters, which were numerous, had their nests
too far under large stones to give the Cuckoo an opportunity of
depositing her eggs there. I should have been very glad if I could have
made a good collection of Cuckoos' eggs in the Channel Islands, and,
knowing how common the bird was, I fully expected to do so, but I was
disappointed, and consequently unable to throw any light on the subject
of the variation in the colour of Cuckoos' eggs, as far as the Channel
Islands are concerned, or how far the foster-parents had been selected
with a view to their eggs being similar in colour to those of the
Cuckoo about to be palmed off upon them. The only Cuckoos' eggs I saw
were a few in the Museum, and in one or two other small collections: all
these were very much the same, and what appears to me the usual type of
Cuckoo's egg, a dull greyish ground much spotted with brown, and a few
small black marks much like many eggs of the Tree or Meadow Pipit. It is
hardly the place here to discuss the question how far Cuckoos select the
nest of the birds whose eggs are similar to their own, to deposit their
eggs in, or whether a Cuckoo hatched and reared by one foster-parent
would be likely to select the nest of the same species to deposit its
own eggs in; the whole matter has been very fully discussed in several
publications, both English and German; and Mr. Dresser has given a very
full _resume_ of the various arguments in his 'Birds of Europe'; and
whilst fully admitting the great variation in the colour of the Cuckoos'
eggs, he does not seem to think that any particular care is taken by the
parent Cuckoo to select foster-parents whose eggs are similar in colour
to its own; and the instances cited seem to bear out this opinion, with
which, as far as my small experience goes, I quite agree.

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