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The Birds of Pembrokeshire and its Islands.

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RAMSEY ISLAND.

THE SOUTH END OF

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AND ISLANDS

ROCKS

THE

BIRDS OF PEMBROKESHIRE

AND ITS ISLANDS.

BY

THE REV. MURRAY A. MATHEW, M.A., F.LS.,

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MEMBER OF THE BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS’ UNION, OF STONE HALL,
PEMBROKESHIRE; AND VICAR OF BUCKLAND DINHAM, SOMERSET.

ONE OF THE AUTHORS OF THE ‘‘ BIRDS OF DEVON.’

WD ton Dwy a fyde,

LONDON :
RoE hORAMEAR,
18, PRINCES STREET, CAVENDISH SQUARE.

1894

[All Rights Reserved.]

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BREA GH:

HAVING been compelled to resign the living of Bishop's
Lydeard, in West Somerset, in consequence of long continued
ill health, we were induced to settle in North Pembrokeshire
on account of the healthiness of the climate; and were
further led to select this remote part of the kingdom through
anticipations of the sport to be enjoyed by its trout streams and
on its moors. A time entirely given over to open-air pursuits
was recommended as the best course to be adopted for the
recovery of health, and we are thankful to state that this
pleasant prescription met with entire success. Much of our
eight years’ residence in the county, which was not without
its clerical duties, as we became curate of our small parish,
was devoted to a study of its birds. All the noted bird
resorts were visited, as well as the various collections of
stuffed birds we could hear of within the county; while from
numerous sporting friends, and from others with a taste for
natural history, whatever information they were able to impart
was sought after and noted down. We now present the
result ; although meagre, it may serve as the foundation upon
which an ampler account of the birds of the county may some
day be based.

Buckland Dinham, 1894.

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CONTENTS.

Preface ...

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations

Key to Frontispiece ...

Materials for Book poe as
Physical Geography of Pembrokeshire
The Islands: Ramsey

Hy Grasholm La
7 Skomer and Skokholm
a Caldy ...

The Pembrokeshire Light-houses and Migration...
Census of the Birds of Pembrokeshire
I.— Residents
II.—Summer Visitors ae
III.—Autumn and Winter Visitors
IV.—Passing Migrants
V.—Occasional Visitors ae ore
VI.—Accidental Visitors, Waifs and Strays
VII.—Former Resident
VIII.—Introduced Species
IX.— Some Noticeable Absentees
X.—Some Characteristic Birds
XI.—Species Nesting in the County
Catalogue of Birds, with an account of each Species
Addendum
Index

Xs
xiii.
XVil.
Xxxii., xxiii.
XXVil.
XXX.
XXXIV.
XXXV.
xl.
xlil.
xliv.
xlv.
xlvi.
xlvi.
xlviii.
xlviii.
xlviii.

xlix.

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LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

Frontispiece, Rocks and Islands at the south end of Ramsey Island,

from a water-colour sketch by H. B. Wimbush... w=: sloiface Title
Key to Frontispiece ... ot ee ane ors Ban ach ees xi.
Gannets on their Nests, Grasholm... ori ae ae “ ae 60
Landing Place, Grasholm, with Kittiwakes on their nests... 103

.. At end of Book

Map of Pembrokeshire a S08 “0 oe
Map shewing the Islands and Light-houses abo 60 Sot ” ”

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KEY TO FRONTISPIECE.

South end of Ramsey Island.

1.—Ovof Thomas Williams, z.e., the Cave of Thomas Williams. Just here
is shewn the entrance to the cave; it is much frequented by Guillemots and
Kittiwakes. A little further round is a favourite Seal cave.

2.—Y Moel, z.e., the Conical Hill. This is the south end of Ramsey ; it is
a lofty cliff, at whose base is a rocky and pebbly beach, and between it and
Ynys-y-Cantwr (i.e., the isle of the Singer) there is a dangerous race of the
tide, known as 7w/-y-Gwyddel (z.e., the Irishman’s Hole); on the other side
of the Cantwr is Twil-y-dylan (.e., the Hole of the Ocean), the gorge through
which one passes. The little upright rock in the middle has no particular name ;
a boy fell off it about four years ago and fractured his skull.

3.— Ynys-y-Cantwr. This is a round grassy islet on the side next to Tzd/-y-
dylan, and has a fine Seal cave.

4.— Ynys-y-Gwalltawg (z.e., the Hairy Island), a lofty, round islet with a
grassy top, the abode of a large colony of Gulls its sides are well patronised by
Guillemots and Razorbills.

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INTRODUCTION.

I.—MAartTeERIALs.

MaTERIALs for compiling a book on the “ Birds of Pembroke-
shire’ are scanty. The inhabitants of the county, and of the Princi-
pality in general, are open to the charge, at least in bye-gone years,
that they were ¢curiost suorum, indifferent to the Fauna by which
they were surrounded. There are no Welsh ornithologists, so far as
we are aware, who lived earlier than the present century. It re-
mained for a stranger like Drayton, in his ‘‘ Polyolbion,” to describe
the noble race of Falcons that were to be found upon the rocky Pem-
brokeshire coasts. In an old map of the last century hanging up in
one of the rooms of the county club in Haverfordwest there are
some quaint marginal notes descriptive of the local curiosities, and
among these the salmon leap below Kilgerran Castle, and the
Falcons to be found on St. David’s Head are specified. In his
gossiping history of the county Fenton does not wander into the
fields of Natural History beyond expressing his wonder at the vast
multitudes of “ Eligoogs ” (common Guillemots) and other sea-fowl to
be met with in the St. David’s district. Coming to later years, we
have in the Zoologist for 1850 and 1851, ‘‘A Catalogue of Birds
taken in Pembrokeshire ; with Observations on their Habits, Man-
ners, &c., by Mr. James Tracy.” These consist of notes, some
of them excellent, that were supplied to Lord Emlyn, and by him
communicated to the Zoologist for 1850 and 1851. Mr. Tracy was
for many years (c. 1840—1860) a bird-stuffer at Pembroke, whose
father was one of Lord Cawdor’s keepers at Stackpole. He was
able to record one or two birds that may be considered classical,
as they afforded subjects for the beautiful illustrations in Mr. Yarrell’s
“British Birds.” Such are the young Greenland Falcon, shot on a
warren of Lord Cawdor’s at Stackpole; the Yellow-billed American

XIV. The Birds of Pembrokeshire.

Cuckoo, also from Stackpole, both illustrated in Mr. Yarrell’s well-
known work ; and the Red-Crested Pochard ; all three were presented
by Lord Cawdor to the Zoological Society of London, and may still
be seen in the Gallery of British Birds, at the Natural History
Museum at South Kensington. Unfortunately, Mr. Tracy’s notes are
incomplete, and do not extend beyond the Sandpipers and Plovers.’
In the Zoologist for 1866 and 1869 are contained the valuable notes on
the birds observed by Mr. Thomas Dix in the north-eastern corner of
the county, on the Cardiganshire borders, which serve to illustrate
the influence exercised by the Precelly Mountains on the dis-
tribution of birds in Pembrokeshire. Mr. Thomas Dix was born
in 1830, at Dicklebury, near Harleston, in Norfolk, and was a
friend of such well-known naturalists as Mr. Henry Doubleday, of
Epping, of Mr. Edward Newman, the founder and editor for many
years until his death, of the Zoo/ogist, and was also a friend and
correspondent of Mr. H. Stevenson, of Norwich, the author of the
“ Birds of Norfolk.” He was himself an accomplished and observant
naturalist, and an excellent taxidermist. He was appointed agent to
the Kilwendeage estate, in North Pembrokeshire, and this brought
him into the county, and enabled him to interest himself in its
natural history. His notes are full of value, and evince close and
accurate observation. His death, at the early age of 42, can only be
considered as a serious loss to the naturalists of the county. There
isa memoir of him in the Zoologist for 1873, from the pen cf his
friend, Mr. H. Stevenson, of Norwich. We knowof only one other
published account of Pembrokeshire birds, and this is a most able
paper on the rarer birds of the county, from the pen of our friend,
the Rev. C. M. Phelps, Vicar of St. Martin’s, Haverfordwest. Mr.
Phelps was, for many years, Curate of Tenby, and while he was
residing at that beautiful watering-place, wrote a paper for one of
the meetings of the Pembrokeshire Field Naturalists’ Club, which he
subsequently allowed to be printed in the seventh edition of Mason’s
“Guide to Tenby,” an excellent and most useful volume, full of
information. Mr. Phelps is an enthusiastic oologist ; and his expe-

‘ But he supplied much information subsequently to Mr. Dix, respecting the
omitted Gulls and Divers.

The Birds of Pembrokeshire. XV.

riences are chiefly connected with the various nests he had himself
detected. We have made free use of his valuable paper in our work.

We must now mention those friends, sportsmen and _ naturalists
within the county, from whom we have been privileged to receive
assistance and information. First and foremost of these we rank
the late Mr. William Fortune, of Leweston. To quote Mr. Phelp’s
words: ‘At a period when natural history was all but unknown in
this remote part of Wales, he worked away single-handed at orni-
thology, oology, entomology, our wild mammalia and reptiles, to-
gether with ferns and sea-weeds.’’ When we took up our abode
at Stone Hall, which was within a walk of Leweston, we soon
formed Mr. Fortune’s acquaintance. This was only two years
before his lamented death, and he was then a very old man, very
deaf, and rather infirm, but still a keen and successful salmon
fisher. We paid him many visits, and had the pleasure of ex-
amining his beautiful collections, the birds all shot and mounted
by himself in life-like attitudes. At his death the greater part of
his birds was presented to the Literary Institute in Haverfordwest,
and some of the rarities were purchased for the Tenby Museum.
Among these was a beautiful group of a pair of Montagu’s Harriers
with their young in down, that had been secured on Leweston
Mountain. The late Mr. John Stokes, of Cuffern, a near neighbour
and great friend of Mr. Fortune’s, was another excellent sportsman
and field naturalist, from whom we received much information re-
specting the rare birds that had been observed by him on his
picturesque estate. From Sir Hugh Owen, Bt., we have received a
list of all the rarer birds he has met with during his long career as a
sportsman, most of them having fallen to his unerring gun, chiefly
in the neighbourhood of Fishguard and Goodwick. Mr. Henry
Mathias, of Haverfordwest, also furnished us with a list of county
birds, adding his experiences as a collector for many years. We are
indebted to him for much information supplied both vva voce and in
correspondence. His collection of birds was presented by him to
the Museum at Tenby. For the district around St. David’s we have
to thank our friend and correspondent, Mr. Mortimer Propert, for
supplying us with many valuable notes. Mr. Propert, together with

Xvi. The Birds of Pembrokeshire.

his father, Dr. Propert, and his brother, the Rey. Sydney Propert, has
formed a very beautiful collection of birds’ eggs, all obtained around
St. David’s, and on the islands of Ramsey and Grasholm, the
Bishop’s Rock, &c. These are chiefly sea-birds’ eggs. The series of
Guillemots’ eggs is hardly to be surpassed in any private collection ;
and there are some very fine and handsome specimens of the eggs of
the Chough, Raven, Common Buzzard, Peregrine, &c., &c. There
are no very important collections of birds in the county. We have
already mentioned those of Mr, Fortune, and Mr. Mathias, and we
have only one other to describe, and this, perhaps, the most interest-
ing of the three, is that in the possession of Lord Cawdor, at Stack-
pole. Although several of the rarest of the birds were long ago pre-
sented, as we have already related, to the National Collection, yet
there are many scarce and valuable birds still preserved in it. Most
of the birds were shot on the Stackpole estate, and were set up by
Mr. James Tracy, of Pembroke. We were allowed the privilege of
inspecting this interesting collection, and were at the time furnished
by Lord Cawdor with particulars respecting the capture of some
of the rarest of the birds. We have been informed that there is
also a collection of birds at Slebech, the seat of Baron de Ritzen,
but we have not seen it, and consequently are unable to state
what it contains. The Rev. Clennell Wilkinson, Rector of Castle
Martin, and for some time President of the Pembrokeshire Field
Naturalists’ Club, gave us much information respecting the birds
of the Castle Martin district, and we had the pleasure of visiting
the celebrated Stack Rocks in his company. We are indebted to
many friends, too numerous to mention, for delightful days ot sport
over the romantic covers of North Pembrokeshire ; thus giving us the
opportunity of rambling, gun in hand, over some of the wildest
portions of the county, and of observing the birds that frequented
them, and we must, while thus recording our thanks, pay a tribute
of gratitude to our old friend, the late Colonel John Owen, of
Rosebush, through whose kindness we participated in many a
good Woodcock shoot at beautiful Trecwn, and in the wild covers
adjoining the Tufton Arms.

We must not forget to record our indebtedness to Mr. Frederick

The Birds of Pembrokeshire. XVii.

Jeffreys, the bird-stuffer in Bridge Street, Haverfordwest, who has now
for several years sent us information of every rare bird that has come
into his hands. Mr. Charles Jefferys, naturalist, of Tenby, has sup-
plied us with many valuable and interesting notes respecting the birds
to be found in his neighbourhood, and also on Caldy Island, almost
the only one of the beautiful Pembrokeshire islands we have not our-
selves visited. In the National Collection of British Birds at South
Kensington there are many labelled as having been the gift of the
Rev. A. Morgan. This was the late Chancellor Morgan, of Machen,
Monmouthshire, uncle to Sir Hugh Owen, to whose gun most, if
not all, of these specimens were due. Our thanks must be given
also to Dr. Propert, of St. Davids, who has kindly assisted us in
compiling our account of the various Pembrokeshire islands, cor-
recting what we had written, and adding some interesting matter
from his own extended experience.

II.—Puysicat GroGRAPHY.

Pembrokeshire is one of the smaller Welsh counties, and 1s ex-
ceeded in area by nearly all the English counties, Bedford, Hunting-
don, Rutland, and Middlesex excepted. It occupies the south- westerly
portion of the Principality, and is bounded on the north-east by
Cardiganshire, on the north, north-west and west by the St. George’s
Channel, on the south by the Bristol Channel, and on the east by
Carmarthenshire and Carmarthen Bay. It lies between 51° 36’, and
52° 7', N. lat., and 4° 30’ and 5° 20’ W. long. The length, from
Strumble Head on the north coast to St. Gowan’s Head on the south,
is 31 miles. The average width from east to west barely exceeds 21
miles. The area is 628 square miles, or 401,691 acres. The chief
geographical feature of the county is the extent of its sea-coast,
which must exceed a hundred miles in length, owing to indentations
in the form of numerous bays and estuaries. Its western shores
furnish many wonderful and conspicuous examples of denudation by
atmospheric and marine agencies; the hard and igneous rocks, for
instance, stand out boldly on the north and south extremities of St.
Bride’s Bay, but the softer old red sandstone, silurian, and coal
measure strata lying between them have been weathered by the

Cc

XViii. The Birds of Pembrokeshire.

atmosphere, and worn back by the ceaseless beating of the ocean
waves, so as to form the picturesque bay which now commands our
admiration. The same influences account for the multitude of
beautiful islands that stud the coast. We propose to treat of the
chief of them in some detail further on. Pembrokeshire possesses
numerous streams wherein trout are abundant, and also sewin (salmo
cambricus), the latter being known only within the borders of the
United Kingdom, in the streams and rivers of Wales, Devonshire,
Cornwall, and Ireland. It is exceedingly well watered, also, by
numerous springs, but it is without any important river. The
Eastern Cleddau and the Western Cleddau, uniting at Landshipping,
broaden out into the noble estuary of Milford Haven, and alone are
entitled to the name of river, while the Nevern, and Gwaen, in the
north of the county, each flowing through a beautiful, wooded valley
to the sea, are well known for the excellent sport they afford the fly
fisher, and are the only other streams of sufficient importance for
mention. The climate of Pembrokeshire is, as may naturally be
expected, mild and humid, when it is stated that the prevalent
winds are from the south-westward, and right over the sea where the
Gulf Stream flows. The rainfall, too, is sometimes excessive. We
are informed by a writer of authority that the annual rainfall of the
county varies from about 31 to 4o inches, and may be averaged at
about 36 inches. These figures are possibly quite correct if the obser-
vations of a long series of years be taken. We have, however, for
the sake of comparison, taken the daily records of measurements of
rainfall in ten different parts of the county for the comparatively
short period of ten years; that is, from 1881 to 1890 inclusive, and
we find the annual average of these ten years to be 43 inches, the
highest annual average, 59 inches, occurring in 1882, and the lowest,
30 inches, in 1887. But in spite of these drawbacks the air, a de-
lightful compound of sea and mountain breezes, is fairly bracing, and
in fine weather the skies appear to be bluer than they are in England.
The surface of the county is diversified by hill and dale, and the
soil varies in quality according to its locality. The anthracite coal
measures extend from St. Bride’s Bay due eastward to Carmarthen
Bay, and seem to divide the county into two unequal parts, differing

The Birds of Pembrokeshire. abd,

from each other in many particulars. In the southern portion the
soils afforded by the carboniferous limestone and old red sandstone
are of good quality, and the farms on Lord Cawdor’s estate in Castle
Martin and the adjoining parishes may vie in excellence and fertility
with any in the kingdom, This district is celebrated for a compact
and hardy race of pure black cattle, which has been long known and
highly prized as the ‘“ Castle Martin breed.” Horses, too, of the
“Pembrokeshire breed,” find their home here, and are often sent
away into the English markets. The soil of the coal districts is very
poor, but there is some improvement to the northward, and all along
the coast line it is eminently suited to the cultivation of barley, the
crops produced in the neighbourhood of St. David’s obtaining high
prices for malting purposes. The northern part of the county is
chiefly composed of ‘‘ mountain,’
covered with furze and heather, with occasional parcels of good
alluvial land in the valleys. The lofty Precelly Mountains, that form
the chief watershed, are drawn zigzag across from the northern coast

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z.e., barren, uncultivated ground,

south-eastward through the heart of the county, cutting off a small
portion on the Cardigan side. Their loftiest peaks, Foel Eryr and
Foel Cwm Cerfwyn, rise 1,700 feet above the sea-level. The latter
is marked on the ordnance map as 1,758 feet, and is surmounted by
a cairn and flag-staff. These beautiful hills materially affect the dis-
tribution of the summer migrants in the county. On their north-
eastern, or Cardigan side, the Redstart, Garden Warbler, Wood
Wren, and Wryneck are all to be noted, whereas, on their western
side, and in the central and southern portions of the county, these
birds are either entirely unknown, or but very rarely seen. The
coast on the north of the county is more lofty and precipitous than
it is in the south, where sandhills and warrens, or ivy-covered cliffs
of inconsiderable altitude make up the sea front. Following the
coast from the northern boundary of the county from Cardigan Bar
at the mouth of the Teifi, a noble salmon river that forms the north-
eastern boundary for some distance, we meet with a succession of
bays, and lofty promontories. First comes Newport Bay, bounded
on the south-west by the bold and rocky Dinas Head; then follows
Fishguard Bay, with the sands and oozes of Goodwick. To the

XK, The Birds of Pembrokeshtre.

west of Fishguard Bay rises the grand promontory of Pen Caer, a
mass of trap and granite, attaining the height of 800 feet above the
sea, and visible from almost every part of the county, appearing at a
distance like vast fortifications and castles.! Here, too, is Strumble
Head. Continuing the rocky and lofty coast, in which wooded
valleys, each with its little stream, make an occasional inlet, we next
reach St. David’s Head, forming, with Ramsey Island, the northern
point of the grand crescent of St. Bride’s Bay, the island of
Skomer constituting the southern point. Looking down upon
St. Bride’s Bay from the high ground above it, from the top
of Cuffern Mountain, for instance, we have a glorious scene.
Its islands, Ramsey and Skomer, to the north and south,
with Grasholm some fifteen miles from the shore out in the centre
of the bay, and many another small rocky islet close in shore,
afford points to catch the shifting lights, here dark with passing
clouds, there bathed in sunshine, the deep green waters of the bay
shining likea mirror. Bordering on St. Bride’s Bay are the extensive
Newgale Sands, to the north of them the romantic little port of Solva
is cut out in a deep fissure between the cliffs, and stands on its tiny
stream. Southwards are the favourite watering-places of Broad and
Little Haven, with their sandy shores, and then we turn the promontory
to the south, where the famous estuary of Milford Haven broadens out
beyond St. Ann’s Head. To the east of Milford Haven succeeds a
tamer coast, much indented, and with many a “point” or “head”
projecting southwards into the Bristol Channel. Soon after turning
Linney Head eastwards we reach the well-known “ Stacks,” famous
in the summer for their hosts of cliff birds. Then, after rounding
Lord Cawdor’s beautiful park at Stackpole, we soon arrive at Tenby,
with Caldy Island fronting it to the south-west ; and then a mile or
two brings us to the boundary of the county, to Marros Sands and
the Laugharne Marshes in Carmarthenshire. The general character
of Pembrokeshire is bare and wind-swept ; the few trees on the high
grounds are all bent towards the east by the prevailing westerly
winds ; and, although in many parts of the county there are some fine

' Pen Caer—the Castle Hill.

The Birds of Pembrokeshire. SX

and extensive woodlands, yet from their being situated chiefly in deep
valleys, these seldom catch the eye until they are closely approached,
and so do not take away from the universal treeless appearance of
the landscape. And when they are entered they will be found to
contain no lofty forest trees ; there are none in the county, except at
Picton Castle, where in the grounds there is some fine timber ; the
Pembrokeshire trees in general are of no height or size, and are chiefly
the ash, oak, sycamore, alder, and beech. The elm is very rare,
especially in the north of the county; plantations of larch, spruce,
and hazel thrive, and grow rapidly ; the soil of the county is excel-
lently suited to the rhododendron that affords a favourite cover to
pheasants and woodcocks, and attains, as at Trecwn, a gigantic size
in its lofty and wide-circling clumps. Hedges and hedgerow timber,
are almost entirely absent; the fields are fenced by banks con-
structed of stones and turfs, which afford but slight restraint to the
active little black cattle, that leap them at will like deer, and are
commonly to be encountered straying far from their pastures. In
many places lofty masses of trap rock crop out from the ground,
rising up like islands ; some of these are castellated, others are of
grotesque shape, such as the well-known “Lion” rock at Treffgarne,
that resembles a couchant lion, a conspicuous object at a great
distance, and visible from almost every part of the county, like Roch
Castle, a ruin standing on a rocky eminence about a mile inland
from St. Bride’s Bay, that also forms a point not to be avoided in
the landscape. Many of these isolated rocks afford nesting sites to
Buzzards, White Owls, Kestrels, Jackdaws, and Starlings. Although
we were, on the whole, much disappointed with the Ornis of the
county; its native birds being but few in number, and only one or
two of the species abundant ; and its visitors—considering the great
extent of its diversified coast, that trends so far into the sea
towards the south and south-west that it might well be expected to
attract passing birds—being but few and scanty ; yet, from our experi-
ence, we found it a delightful county to reside in; its people, in
every class, are most friendly and hospitable ; and the sport, in its
bright and rapid trout-streams, on its furze-clad ‘ mountains,” and
in its swampy covers, quite sufficient to give pleasure and content-

Xxii. The Birds of Pembrokeshire.

ment to any reasonable sportsman. We ascribe the paucity of its
birds to the Precelly Mountains barring the entrance of some
species, as we have already pointed out; and from studying the
reports received by a Committee of the British Association from the
lighthouses and light-ships around the coast of the various birds that
strike against their lanterns at the great annual migration periods in
the spring and autumn, we have concluded that there is evidence in
them that numerous birds, in their movements from south to north,
or from east to west and zce versd, as they go to and fro over the
St. George’s and Bristol Channels, only skirt the shores of Pembroke-
shire, and of South Wales in general, and seldom visit us. Mr. J.
H. Salter, of University College, Aberystwyth, has informed us that
he has experienced the same disappointment with respect to the
birds of Cardiganshire. Coming into that county from Norfolk,
which is famous for the abundance and variety of the ducks and
waders upon its coasts and “broads,” he was struck by the absence
of Sandpipers upon the shores, and by the general scarcity of bird
life.
II].—TueE IsLanps.

Were it not for the islands off the coast there would be little to
write about the Birds of Pembrokeshire, but these are, in the
summer time, when the various cliff birds resort to them to nest, so
thronged with countless birds, that they serve to redeem the county
from the charge we have had elsewhere to bring against it of being,
comparatively, uninteresting to the ornithologist, and also afford a
justification for our book, which, without them, we should have felt
no incentive to compile. Anyone who has ever visited these
beautiful islands, especially in bright summer weather, cannot fail to
have been impressed with the scenes presented to him, which will
for ever live in his memory. The most important of them in size,
and in extent of bird population, are Ramsey, Grasholm, Skomer,
Skokholm, and Caldy. Besides these there are various others,
satellites of the larger islands, or rocky islets and ‘“‘stacks,” more or
less distant from the coast, such as the Bishops’ Rocks, where the
Greater Black-backed Gull, the Sea-Pie, &c., nest ; Skokholm Stack,
tenanted by acolony of the Common Tern ; the “ Eligoog Stacks,” off

ROCKS AND ISLANDS AT THE SOUTH END OF RAMSEY ISLAND,

The Birds of Pembrokeshire XXiil.

the coast to the south of Pembroke; St. Margaret’s Isle, connected
at low water with Caldy, &c., &c., and the Midland, a small island,
yet sufficiently large to afford summer pasture to sheep, between
Skomer and the coast. The Danish names of all the islands in-
dicate their former occupation by the Danes, who had _ besides
various settlements upon the sea board of the county.

Ramsey— Danish, the “ Strong Island.” }
Taking the islands in order from the north, we have first to i)
describe the one that, in our opinion, is the most picturesque in its
rocky scenery, and the brightest in its summer garb of flowers, if 2 Oe) 4
beautiful Ramsey. To anyone approaching it by land, as he $2

draws near to St. David’s, its lofty central peaks seem to be the

boundary of the coast, but he will find that they are separated

by a channel two miles in width, Ramsey Sound, which he will |

. have to cross, embarking at the life-boat station, the little har-
= bour of Portstinnan, Little would he imagine that this now quiet |

ae and deserted spot was once thronged with numerous ships, and

% MN ° was an important port in the time of the occupation of Britai
aa < by the Romans, to whom Menzevia, as they called St. Davi

§ &- and its adjacent peninsula, was one of their chief stations, ~

° whic two of their great military roads convered from the
eastern side of the kingdom. The passage across to the island
is usually more easily accomplished than the return, for on the

suddenly to arise in the afternoon, and then, as the tide always
runs with tremendous force in the Sound, and the numerous rocks
below the water cause countless eddies and back currents with
son’ broken water, locally termed ‘‘shots,” a choppy sea immediately
esses up, and the row back will be long and arduous, and accom-
panied by a good wetting. The island was formerly part of the
great estates attached to the See of St. David’s, and is occupied
partly as a farm, 200 acres being under cultivation. But the chief
produce are rabbits that are sent to central markets. There is a
remarkable absence of any reptiles or vermin, excepting rats, which
abound, and have been known to make raids upon the eggs of the

Xxiv. The Birds of Pembrokeshire.

sea birds on the cliffs. Ramsey is about two miles long from north to
south, by a mile wide, and there is a solitary farmhouse upon it. Its
bright contrasted colours in the summer time make it a scene of
great beauty, and these colours are due to the sea-weeds that girt the
bases of the cliffs, to the varied tints of the rocks, and, not the least,
to the ferns and flowers with which the cliffs are decked from their
summits to the water’s edge. Nor must we omit to mention the
flecks of white which are dotted about everywhere by the pure-
plumaged birds. On the summits, and on the shelves of the cliffs,
the sea-thrift (Statice) will have its cushions of pink flowers, to be
replaced, later on, by the more brilliant tints of the heather blooms.
Growing in tangles among the ferns and heath are the briars of
a very sweet-scented pure white rose’ (Rosa spinosissima), whose
flowers vie in purity with those of the sea campions (Sv/ene maritima),
and give an appearance in many places as if the cliffs were sprinkled
with snow. Great patches of fern (Asplentum marinum, and more
rarely Asplentum lanceolatum) crop out from sheltered niches, and
form, in many cases, the beautiful roofs of numerous caves, which are
the home of the seal and its companions. Rows of freckled bells of
the foxglove (Digitalis purpureus), whose spikes are particularly long
and handsome, now purple, now white, here and there gracefully
wave their drooping heads, while the Cambrian rocks are profusely
splashed with the bright orange lichens that are so familiar in Mr.
Brett’s charming landscapes of the Cornish coast. The cliffs them-
selves are many coloured, here coal black, here dark grey, and where
the waves lap their bases are rimmed with coral-red sea-weeds. The
intense blue of the sky overhead, and the glinting green sea-water
beneath, are an appropriate colour-setting to the brilliant picture. At
the south-west end of the island the cliffs are more varied in form,
and are more deeply honey-combed by the waves than they are at
the north, and some fantastic rocky islets are close in shore. Two
of these are known as Yuys-y-Cantwr and Ynys-bery, and are
separated by a narrow gorge, called Zzw//-y-dillyn, just wide enough
for a boat under oars to pass, through which the tide races with

1 Also very common, as Dr. Propert informs us, on the Burrows, and in some
of the valleys of the adjoining mainland.

The Birds of Pembrokeshire. XXV.

great velocity, so as to render the passage, except in the finest
weather, somewhat dangerous. On getting through, the bay of
Dillyn is reached, and is found to be nearly surrounded by towering
precipices, presenting, on a bright day, a scene of beauty and
grandeur rarely to be met with. Here the Guillemots and the
Razorbills chiefly congregate, and are also numerous on the westward
face of the island, where are some fine cliffs, particularly Al/t-/elyn-
Jawr, and Alit-felyn-fach, towering sheer and perpendicular over the
sea dashing against them beneath; and here are placed numerous
nests of the pretty Kittiwakes, that seem to cling, like Martins’ nests,
to the least attachment provided by any ledge or niche. Here, too,
the Shags have their malodorous abodes, with Herring Gulls and
countless Jackdaws, while the nests of the Peregrine and Raven
have also been taken on their lofty crags. At the north end of the
island is a colony of Puffins that on Ramsey seem anxious to keep
themselves distinct from the great concourse of other birds, and
here, too, in the cliffs are numerous caves, in which Choughs and
Pigeons build, the latter, probably, a mixed company of Stock Doves,
escaped farm-yard Pigeons, and Rock Doves. Mr. Mortimer
Propert, of St. David’s, our friend and authority for the birds of
Ramsey and the St. David’s Peninsula, assures us that he is pretty
confident that he has identified Rock Doves among the Ramsey
Pigeons. The visitor to Ramsey will not be long upon the island
before he will recognise a pair of Ravens, and hear their hoarse
croaking challenge. He will also probably see Buzzards, Peregrines,
and Kestrels. When we were upon the island we remember that we
knelt upon the top of the cliff to look over into a Buzzard’s nest that
was only some twenty feet below. A few Sea-Pies nest upon the
island, and there are various small birds, such as Rock and Meadow
Pipits, Stone Chats, &c., tenanting it, and we started a Blackbird
near the farm. Besides the birds we have already mentioned, the
Lesser Black-backed Gull nests on the slopes of the cliffs, at their
summits; a pair of Greater Black-backed Gulls have nested
occasionally on the extreme top of Vuys-y-bery, and Cormorants breed
in about equal numbers with Shags. We have seen little parties of
Manx Shearwaters flying over Ramsey Sound, and it is possible that
a few may nest upon the island.
D

XXVi. The Birds of Pembrokeshire.

We have been very fortunate to obtain from Mr. H. B. Wimbush
permission to take a photograph of one of his sketches of Ramsey
for the frontispiece to our volume, which gives a very faithful ren-
dering of the peculiar shapes of the rocks at the south-westend. We
wished at first to have reproduced the sketch as a chromo-lithograph,
being anxious to give some representation of the brilliant colouring
that is so marked a feature of the island, but were deterred by the
cost, as well as by the fear of disappointment and failure in the
result, and must hope, therefore, that after the description we have
attempted above of the varied hues that deck beautiful kaleidoscopic
Ramsey, our readers may be capable of supplying them for them-
selves. Mr. Wimbush paints the rocky coasts of the St. David’s
headland, and of Ramsey, with a most loving and appreciative brush,
as he was himself educated at St. David’s by Dr. Propert, and went
egging oftentimes on Ramsey in company with the Doctor’s two
sons, the Rev. Sydney and Mr. Mortimer Propert, when all three
used often to risk their lives, when boys, in dangling by a rope
over its dangerous cliffs while collecting the eggs of the Pere-
grine, Buzzard, and Raven, and those of the Guillemot and other
cliff-birds upon their ledges. We have been privileged to see some
charming drawings of the St. David’s coast in Mr. Wimbush’s
studio at Finchley, in which every detail in the cliffs, every rock and
pebble on the beach below, the sandy shore with its rippling fringe
of waves, are rendered with an exquisite fidelity, the result being a
combined sea and landscape of great beauty and artistic power. The
cliff-birds’ eggs from Ramsey are finely-marked specimens. Curious
and handsome varieties of the eggs of the Guillemot, Razorbill, and
Kittiwake may be obtained. Any visitor to St. David’s who is at all
an oologist ought not to fail to request permission—sure to be
courteously granted—to inspect the wonderful series of eggs in Dr.
Propert’s cabinet, all of them taken by the Doctor and his sons on
Ramsey, Grasholm, and the Bishop’s Rocks. We ourselves possess
some beautiful eggs of the various Ramsey birds, including those of
the Chough, Common Buzzard, Sea-Pie, and Greater Black-backed
Gull, the last from the Bishop’s Rocks, and are, in particular, proud
of our varieties of the eggs of the Kittiwake. We have also egg

The Birds of Pembrokeshire. XXVil.

ascribed to the Rock Dove from Ramsey, but as we could not be
certain as to their identification, have not ventured to place them in
our cabinet.

The rocky islets in the neighbourhood of Ramsey require to be
briefly mentioned, as they are all tenanted by numerous sea-birds.
About four miles to the westward of St. David’s Head lie the North
Bishops, consisting of a good-sized grass-topped rock, and several
smaller rocks, with passages between. On these may be found all
the commoner sea-birds, and on the larger rock there is an abundance
of Puffins, and some Greater Black-backed Gulls. To the south-
ward of these rocks, at a distance of about two miles, is Careg-
Rhosson, a cluster of rocks very like the North Bishops in character,
consisting of one large rock covered with grass, and surrounded by
smaller rocks with deep water channels between them, through which a
strong tideway runs. These also are well patronized by sea-birds,
and contain, perhaps, the largest colony of Greater Black-backed Gulls.
These rocks are about three miles to the westward of the north
end of Ramsey. Next to Careg-Rhosson comes the Daufraich, or
Dyfich, about a mile to the south, a rocky islet inhabited by
Guillemots, and a few Razorbills; and to the south-westward,
again, about a mile distant, stands the South Bishop, upon which a
fine lighthouse is erected. No birds breed on this rock, but many
pass it on migration, numbers frequently dashing against the light.
There are several smaller rocks between the Bishops and Ramsey
that make the coast dangerous, and the strong tides very often
occasion high seas.

Grasholm, Danish “ Gresholm,” the “ Green sland.”

On looking at amap of Pembrokeshire it will be observed that the
most westerly part of the county, on the north, is occupied by
Ramsey Island, and that on the south by Skomer Island; from a
line joining these two islands, St. Bride’s Bay runs inward towards
the east for about eight miles, the coast line forming about three-
fourths of a complete circle, Newgale Sands lying at the north-
eastern extremity of the bay. From the northern end of these sands,
not far from Newgale Bridge, there is an extensive sea view, the

XXViil. The Birds of Pembrokeshire.

central part of which is occupied by several islands, varying in size
and appearance, the most important of them being the one nearest
to the observer, distant about fifteen miles, known as Grasholm, and
the one farthest from him, distant about twenty-one miles, distin-
guished, as may be observed in fine clear weather, by a slender, tall,
pointed tower, known as the Smalls Lighthouse.

The geographical position of these islands may perhaps be more
accurately described by saying that they lie almost in a straight line
bearing west-three-quarters-north from Skomer Island. The distance
from Skomer to Grasholm is six miles; on the same course, three
miles farther on is a cluster of half-tide rocks called the Barrels,
and from the Barrels four miles still further westward is reached the
Smalls Lighthouse. About half-way between the Barrels and the
Smalls lie the Hats, a group of sunken rocks, with eight feet of
water over them at low tide. Around these islands and rocks, as if
to make some of them still more perilous, is deep water, and between
them very strong currents set, in many places forming dangerous
‘‘races.” Grasholm, however, being of sufficient size, divides these
currents, so that a triangular space of dead water is formed on its
northern and southern sides.

From Porthclais, the seaport of St. David’s, Grasholm bears
south-west-by-west-three-quarters-west, and is distant from it about
twelve miles. On approaching the island it appears to be more or
less conical in shape; the surface slopes down from north to south,
and is fairly covered with green rank grass. Seen from the north
the cliff is precipitous, its top being occupied by the chief Gannet
colony ; on some of the ledges and in the clefts are many other nests.
From the top of the cliff up to the grassy summit, all available and
suitable spots are occupied by Kittiwakes and other birds. On the
east side of the island, close to a half-tide rock, is a sort of cleft or
cave, where, in fine weather, landing is practically easy, and on the
southern side is a deep gully, forming a small natural harbour, with
a shelf of rock on one side, upon which a boat can be easily hauled
up. The outer, or western side, being exposed to the western
ocean, is, as may be expected, the more weathered and eroded, and
offers no facilities for landing. From the southern end the ascent is

The Birds of Pembrokeshire. XXix.

easy, and on reaching the grassy part the attention is immediately
arrested by the countless numbers of Puffins which come into view;
these on rising and flying overhead, for the moment completely
shade the sun. There are also Gulls, but not so numerous, such
as the Herring Gull, the Lesser Black-backed Gull, and the Greater
Black-backed Gull, and nearly all round the island the pretty and
sociable Kittiwake is to be met with in large colonies, and may
readily be got at; on one occasion, Mr. Mortimer D. Propert
found four Kittiwake’s eggs in one nest, which is an unusual
occurrence, for the Kittiwake mostly lays two eggs, sometimes three,
and very rarely four. Razorbills and Guillemots likewise are found
in very great numbers and in close proximity to the Gannets.

The Gannets, of course, form the most attractive feature of
Grasholm, which holds a conspicuous place in our account of the
county Ornis, as it is the only spot off the coast of Pembrokeshire
that furnishes a nesting station to these fine birds that are said to
have been originally a settlement from Lundy, where they sustained
such persecution from the hands of the channel pilots and other egg
stealers, that many of them were driven to forsake that island in
search of a more inaccessible, solitary, and peaceful residence.
Here, on Grasholm, the Gannet is found at all ages and in every
stage of its growth, and no sight can be more striking and
impressive than the beautiful and brilliant plumage of these birds,
as seen in the early morning sun, when some are sitting on their
plateau and ledges, some on their nests, and others flying about
fishing in pursuit of food. In addition to the main colony, where
one can walk about among the nests, which are large structures, and
not over savoury from the remains of decaying fish, there are on the
north-west of the island two or three smaller colonies, and the total
number of Gannets’ nests were, in the spring of 1886, estimated by
Mr. Mortimer D. Propert at two hundred and fifty, so that at that
time there were upon Grasholm about five hundred breeding
Gannets.

We have been fortunate in having been able to procure from
Mr. C. Jefferys, of Tenby, two very interesting photographs of
Grasholm, one representing the Kittiwakes on their nests close to the

KONG The Birds of Pembrokeshevre.

landing-place, the other giving a picturesque view of some of the
Gannets ; the island seen to the right is merely the small rock,
mentioned above, that is submerged at high water.

Skomer, Danish, ‘‘ The Rocky.”

Although not so gaily decked with flowers as Ramsey, Skomer is,
to the ornithologist, the most interesting of all the Pembrokeshire
Islands, on account of the incredible number of birds resorting to it
in the summer, probably exceeding those to be found on any other
island of equal size off England, Scotland, or Ireland. These multi-
tudes are mainly composed of countless Puffins and myriads of Manx
Shearwaters, the last locally known as “ Cock/es,” from the grunting
ery of the birds when in their holes. Skomer forms the southern
horn of the crescent of St. Bride’s Bay and, like Ramsey, is parted
from the mainland by a narrow sound, some two miles wide, of deep
water, through which the tide also rushes with great force, where
there are numerous sunken rocks, so that it is rather dangerous to
navigate in a small boat when there Is anything like a sea, as is often
the case. In area Skomer contains about 7oo acres. There is but
one house upon the island, a substantial dwelling ; about 250 acres
are in cultivation, and are excellently stocked with Partridges that,
owing to the absence of rats, thrive well and afford good sport in the
season. Like Ramsey, Skomer is also well supplied with numerous
springs of beautiful water. Here and there large citadel-looking
rocks of trap crop up, giving to the island its Danish name of
Skomer, “The Rocky”; in their clefts numerous White Owls have
their roosting places. Remains of an ancient occupation are visible
in sepulchral barrows, and in the rough outlines of dwelling-places
and enclosures. A conspicuous mark on the eastern side of the
island is a lofty upright stone ; there are several similar ones on the
mainland that are said to mark victories gained by Earl Harold over
the Danes. The village of Haroldston has been supposed by some
to take its name from such a memorial.t To reach Skomer, a boat-

' However, the number of places in the county whose names end in the Saxon
ton (¢own), make it probable that Haroldston is only one of them.

The Birds of Pembrokeshire. KIS

man has to be secured at the village of Marloes, distant some two
miles from the little port of embarkation at Martin’s Haven. As
one crosses the sound a small island, called the Midland, has to be
rounded, and then the landing place of Skomer comes in view with
the water near the shore (we are supposing the visit is paid in the
summer), thickly covered with birds, Puffins exceeding all the other
birds in number in a vast proportion; little parties of Guillemots
and Razorbills will be seen diving and fishing; and there will be
numerous Gulls, some resting on the water, others flying to and fro,
while single Cormorants and Shags will be noticed passing with
rapid flight low over the water, occasionally alighting above some
school of fish, to dive and fly after them in the green depths. No
visitor to Skomer can escape being astonished at the hosts of Puffins
that are dispersed all over the island, and are so tame that they
hardly trouble to move out of his way. In walking, one is sure,
sooner or later to find one’s foot slipping through into some Puffin’s
burrow, to the astonishment of the bird sitting placidly upon its egg.
The whole demeanour of the Puffins may be said to be placid ; it 1s
not easy either to hurry orto frighten them, Every now and then they
may be seen scuttling out of their holes, making off in a ridiculous
manner, with much rolling and tumbling head over heels before they
can rise on wing; and unless they face the wind, or are on an
eminence, Puffins are unable to fly; when these conditions are not
present they can be easily captured. All along the edge of the cliff,
see how thickly they are congregated ; their white breasts turned to-
wards you have the appearance of monster snow flakes. As you
approach the only notice the birds will take is to fall in, in a closer
order, those outside drawing together with an absurd kind of military
precision until the host is drawn up upon the very scarp four or five
deep. And even then, unless one advances close up to them, they
will remain stolidly motionless, regarding the stranger without fear,
and with much indifference out of their queer little eyes. Throw a
stone at them—but this only as an experiment, and without cruel
intention—and the bird near which it passes will only duck its
head. As we were watching a great body of Puffins wheeling back-
wards and forwards over the water, we suddenly noticed one with

XXXIl. The Birds of Pembrokeshire.

pure white wings that was a very conspicuous object among its
companions. After a while this bird flew close to where we were
seated upon a cushion of Sea Pink, and might easily have been
secured had we had a gun. In the dwelling-house we were shown a
pure albino Puffin that was justly considered a great rarity. The
Puffins arrive upon the island, as we were informed, with great
punctuality on the rst of April, and leave it early in August. It was
at the end of May when we paid our never-to-be-forgotten visit, and
there were then numerous young Puffins hatched in the burrows,
judging from the numbers of old birds that we saw flying in from the
sea with bunches of small fish hanging like ribbands from their
mandibles. In our account of the Manx Shearwater in the body of
the book we have given our experiences of this interesting bird on
Skomer, so need not repeat them here. All day long Herring Gulls
may be observed quartering the island in their vigilant quest after
young rabbits; they frequently dig them out of the stops; while the
Puffins and Shearwaters are continually worrying the breeding rab-
bits in their earths. Since the Sea Birds’ Preservation Act was
passed the rabbits on Skomer have greatly fallen off in number ; the
annual take, which used to be 9,000, is now reduced to barely 3,000 ;
a very serious loss to the tenant.

A grand cliff at Wick Haven, facing to the south-west, is the
chief breeding station of the Guillemots, Razorbills, and Kittiwakes.
Here, on the higher ledges, the two first sat row upon row, in places
five and six deep, and every coign of vantage on the top of the
cliff was tenanted by the inevitable Puffins. The lower ledges were
occupied by countless Kittiwakes, either sitting upon, or standing
close by, their nests, that, like the structures of the House Martin,
seemed at a distance to be made of mud, and to be plastered against
the face of the cliff. In reality they are built of sea-weed and
grass, that become cemented together by the mutings of the birds.
The cries of the various birds created a deafening concert ; while
their frequent arrivals, departures, and transits across the field of
vision, had almost a bewildering effect. A little further on a colony
of Lesser Black-backed Gulls had a station on the summit, and we
were able to walk among their nests, some containing eggs. Choughs

The Birds of Pembrokeshtre. XXXIiii.

and Ravens were noticed, but the absence of all Hawks occasioned
surprise ; not even a Kestrel was visible. There are no Buzzards
nesting any longer upon the island, but we were told that a pair of
Peregrines had an eyrie there, and that Buzzards paid an occasional
visit.

Skomer resembles both Ramsey and Lundy in being without bush
or tree, and is, in consequence, without any attraction for the soft-
billed summer migrants, the /wrdide, or small birds that nest in
leafy shelters. The short-eared Owl occasionally remains to breed;
the Rev. C. M. Phelps possesses an egg taken from a nest upon
the ground. A few Curlews, Peewits, and Sea-Pies nest upon the
island ; we found the last with young just out of the egg among the
sprouting bracken ; we also disturbed a single Whimbrel, that started
up at our feet, and ran off slowly with trailing wings as if it had a nest.
Other birds on the island are Wheatears, Rock and Meadow Pipits ;
Storm Petrels that nest in the chinks of an old wall above the cliff ;
Carrion Crows, Jackdaws, Cormorants, and Shags.

The cliffs of Skomer present a great variety of colours, in this
resembling those of Ramsey. At places they are coal black—this
is at their base where they vividly contrast with the green sea-water
and sea-weeds of coral and other hues; higher up are larger masses
of deep orange, while patches of brown and grey, of different shades,
are also intermingled. Seals frequent the caves in all the Pembroke-
shire islands, and are often to be seen.

About four miles to the south-west of Skomer is the smaller island
of Skokholm, “the rocky islet,” of about 200 acres, which is held
with Skomer, and affords summer pasturage for sheep; there is no
house upon it. It rises to a considerable elevation above the sea,
and, like Skomer, abounds in cliff birds; and is tenanted by
numerous Manx Shearwaters, and by great numbers of rabbits. To
the east is a small island called Skokholm Stack, where there is a
little colony of Common Terns. At the time when the Roseate
Tern used to breed in some numbers on the Scilly Islands it is just
possible that a pair or two nested on Skokholm, as they used to be
seen occasionally flying off the coast of the adjacent mainland at
Dale ; this beautiful species has now, for many years, entirely aban-

E

XXXiv. The Birds of Pembrokeshire.

doned all its breeding stations off the south-west parts of the king-
dom, and is very rarely seen at the present day on any part of the
south-west coasts.

Caldy, Danish, perhaps from cald, the same as in Cauldron, and
signifying the Boiling Island,’ from the swift and agitated
waters off its rocky shores.

Caldy, a somewhat tamer island, and of less elevation than either
Ramsey or Skomer, faces Tenby to the south-west, and is parted
from it by Caldy Sound, about 24 miles in width. Like Lundy, it
had in old times a considerable population ; there were once up-
wards of thirty houses uponit, and a Priory ; the ruins of the last
are stillto be seen. At the present day there is only the mansion of
the proprietor. Caldy, whose ancient British name was Ynys Pyrr,
“the island of Pyrus,” is about a mile in length by half-a-mile in
breadth, and contains an area of 611 acres. On the north side it is
composed of mountain limestone ; the southern part is old red sand-
stone. It is a well-cultivated and fertile farm, and there are some
extensive limestone quarries. In 1828 the present fine light-house
was erected, which contains a powerful dioptric fixed light, at a
height of 211 feet above the sea, and in clear weather it is said to be
visible at a distance of 26 miles. There are a good many cliff birds
upon Caldy in the summer, that chiefly inhabit its channel, or south,
side. These consist of Guillemots, Razorbills, Puffins, Herring
Gulls, and a few pairs of Shags. Some Manx Shearwaters formerly
nested upon the island, and Mr. C. Jefferys, of Tenby, believes that
a few still do so, in the fissures of the cliffs. On the Tenby side of
Caldy is situated St. Margaret’s Island, perforated with vast caverns,
and at low water connected with Caldy by a reef of rocks. Here
some forty to fifty pairs of Herring Gulls nest, and a pair of greater
Black-backed Gulls have also bred here of late years, and a few
pairs of Shags, with numerous Guillemots and Razorbills, while a few
Puffins inhabit the rabbit earths on the summit of the cliff. Mr.
Jefferys informs us that, when he was on St. Margaret’s Island in May,
1893, he frightened four or five Manx Shearwaters out of holes and
fissures :—‘‘ They appeared to come from cracks about half-way down

The Birds of Pembrokeshire. XXXV.

the cliffs, and may, or may not, have been nesting there ; it certainly
looks as if they were.” He adds: “I believe the Chough still
breeds at the back of Caldy, 7.2, on the Channel side; they did so
some four or five years ago, and this spring (1893) I saw a pair
flying about St. Margaret’s, having come from the direction of
Caldy.” Mr. E. W. H. Blagg, who was visiting Tenby in the summer
of 1887, tells us that he saw a large flock of Manx Shearwaters
flying off Caldy on several evenings.

II].—TuHE PEMBROKESHIRE LIGHT-HousES AND MIGRATION.

Both in the St. George’s and Bristol Channels, and on either side
of them, there are so many light-houses, some of them placed on
rocks, or islands, miles out at sea, that they might well serve as
points of direction to the passing flocks of migrating birds in the
spring and autumn, helping them to their flight-lines ; while obser-
vations made from them would be of the greatest service to ornitho-
logists, as they would disclose what birds pass the county, the
periods of their passage, and the duration of the movements of the
respective species. For several years (from 1879-1887) a committee
appointed by the British Association supplied the keepers of light-
houses and light-ships around the British Isles with forms on which
they might enter the various birds that were attracted by their lights,
with the condition of the weather, and the directions of flight, fur-
nishing those of the most important stations with copies of
illustrated books on British birds, in order that they might identify
the species that came under their notice. The annual reports that
were compiled from the information forwarded from a large propor-
tion out of the total number of light-houses contain most valuable and
interesting matter, although they are necessarily somewhat fragmen-
tary and incomplete; and have shed much light upon the wonderful
seasonal movements of birds to and from our islands. We have
carefully studied the reports from the Pembrokeshire light-houses,
all of them well situated, the Smalls, in particular, from its position
fifteen miles out at sea, in the centre of St. Bride’s Bay, where it
is almost exactly opposite to the light-house on the Tuskar Rock,

XXXVi. The Birds of Pembrokeshire.

that stands seven miles off the Wexford coast, might well be expected
to afford considerable information respecting the passage of birds
between Pembrokeshire and Ireland. The light-house on the
South Bishop’s Rock, off the St. David’s peninsula; the two light-
houses at the entrance of Milford Haven; the tall light-house on
Caldy, are all important stations, from which the returns are of great
interest. Such light-houses as those in Cardigan Bay, on the Smalls,
and on Lundy, are of special value, from their isolated position so
many miles from land, where they must necessarily attract birds that
make their aerial journeys well out at sea. In fine weather the birds
fly wide of, or high above, the light-houses, but in stormy, or misty
weather, they flutter about them during the night and the early hours
of the morning in a bewildered manner, and hundreds perish from
dashing themselves violently against the lanterns. We are quite
unable to arrive at any beyond the most general conclusions, as the
materials for forming any adequate theory are as yet far too scanty,
from the returns supplied from the South Bishop’s, the Smalls, the
Milford, and the Caldy light-houses. They serve, however, to reveal
the fact that several species, commonly regarded as stay-at-homes
are to be included among the birds that are impelled by the migra-
tory instinct; and they lead the ornithologist to formulate the
canon that all birds migrate, although he is well aware that one or
two species, such as the Dipper,’ the Pheasant, and the Partridge,
might be adduced as exceptions. Such familiar birds as the Robin,
the Hedge Accentor, and the House Sparrow, are common migrants.
Flocks of Rooks have been noted at the Smalls leaving the Pem-
brokeshire coast for Ireland in the spring, and returning in the
autumn. The Zwurdide are the most restless of the migratory birds,
and appear to be on the move almost throughout the year. A great
number of Blackbirds and Thrushes perish by dashing on autumn
nights against the lanterns of the South Bishop’s and the Smalls
Light-houses; a hundred, or more, have been picked up dead in the
course of a few hours. The migrations of some species are con-
tinuously extended over along period. ‘The first Wheatear appeared

! The Dipper is, doubtless, an occasional migrant, as is proved by the appear-
ance from time to time of the Scandinavian Black-bellied Dipper ( C7vclus »relano-
gaster) in the Eastern Counties of England.

The Birds of Pembrokeshire, XXXVil.

on the Tuskar Rock on March tst in 1883, and others were seen
passing at intervals until May 26th. At the same station Swallows, all
making towards the north-west, continued to be seen from April 2gth
until June 21st inthat same year. Their return south in the autumn
is extended over an equally long period ; on Caldy they were noted
to be flying south from August 31st until November rrth. Swallows
make their journeys by daylight, being always observed to pass during
the forenoon. The southward migration of the Goldcrest was noted
on the Tuskar Rock to begin as early as July 27th in 1883.

We learn much from these interesting reports concerning the
dates on which some of our winter visitors leave our coasts for
their northern breeding stations ; they remain with us much later in
the spring than they are commonly supposed to do. ‘ Hundreds
of Skua Gulls” were seen passing the Tuskar Rock so late as May
28th in 1883; others again on May 31st; others on June 7th or
June 8th, and even as late as June 22nd. Some of these Skuas
were observed to be heading south, We believe that, very often,
the direction of the flight of birds as they are passing any particular
station may furnish no correct guide as to the goal they are aiming
at. The wind prevailing at the time may lead them to be flying
quite contrary to their course until they meet with one suitable to
their journey, and they may then have to retrace hundreds of miles
that they have been driven from their desired flight-line. The Great
Northern Diver leaves St. George’s Channel about May rst for the
north, and returns again in October. At intervals during the winter,
as has been observed at Lundy, flocks of Guillemots and Razorbills
re-visit the islands that form their summer nesting stations, stay for
the night, and disappear again in the morning. Such unlikely birds
as Water Rails and Moor-hens are included among the birds noticed
at night in the autumn at the South Bishop’s and Smalls. The
small soft-billed birds that arrive in the spring do not find their
return journey to the woods and copses, in which they nest, any
more exempt from peril than their departure in the stormy autumn.
Thirty-five Whitethroats were killed against the Tuskar Light during
the misty night of May rath, 1884; while ‘‘ scores” of Chiffchaffs
perished on the night of April 22nd that same year. We learn
that Cuckoos arrive in small flocks; eleven were seen passing

XXXViii. The Birds of Pembrokeshtre.

the Nash Light, heading north-west, on April r5th. Accurious fact is
reported from one of the Milford Haven light-houses respecting the
Puffins ; it is stated that they annually strike against the light at the
beginning of September, and do not do so at any other season in
the year.

The great bulk of the migrants that arrive in this country in the
autumn come from the northern parts of Europe, and land upon the
eastern and north-eastern shores of England and Scotland. Those
that reach the western and south-western counties, and South Wales,
cross England by river valleys chiefly ; a very large number of birds
make their passage over the narrowest part of the island, where we
have the boundary between England and Scotland, and, striking the
Solway Firth, travel down the north-west coasts. But eventually it
is only a fraction, and that a fraction with its denominator ever
increasing, that reaches the shores of South Wales and the south-west
peninsula of England. The Knot, for example, still visits More-
cambe Bay, on the coast of Lancashire, in thousands every autumn
and winter, where the flocks are well known to the local shore-
gunners by the pretty name of “ School-girls,” but it is a species that
has, for some years, been extremely rare on our Pembrokeshire sands
and oozes. We think that it may be regarded as a fact that the
extreme south-west parts of the United Kingdom participate, in a
comparatively small degree, in the great autumn rush of birds from
the continent. Nor do they share, to any very much greater extent,
in the spring migrants that reach us from the south and south-east.
Our summer visitors come to us from very great distances, and
there are few that wing their way only from the south of Europe
and from Northern Africa. The Swallows, the Cuckoo, and many
of the Warblers, have to return from their winter quarters about the
Equator, or even from so far to the south as the Cape. They
approach us by crossing France, by the Rhine valley to the east, or
vid Spain, the west coast of France, and directly across the Bay of
Biscay to the west. The greater number traverse the English
Channel at its narrowest part at the Straits of Dover, and, landing
on the Sussex coast, disperse inland to the north, east, and west ;
but the main body, with respect to several species, becomes exhausted
before the extreme western counties can receive their contingent, and

The Birds of Pembrokeshire. KON

for this reason our Pembrokeshire Ornis is poor in respect to its
summer migrants. Many also cross from projecting Capes on the
coast of Normandy to the nearest headlands opposite; thus the
neighbourhood of the Start Light-house in South Devon is a great
landing-place ; but these birds chiefly stock the counties of Devon,
Cornwall, and Dorset, and only a few, if any, pass on northwards
across the Bristol Channel. A few occasional visitors from the South
of Europe, of which the Rose Pastor and the Little Bittern may be
cited as examples, that not unfrequently cross the English Channel
become absorbed by the southern counties of England, and only a
rare straggler out of the number passes over the Bristol Channel into
South Wales. Thisis thereason why South European species, not very
rare in some of the English counties, are either without any record in
Pembrokeshire, or have been noted there only in single instances.
We cannot resist the conclusion that Pembrokeshire is, when com-
pared with counties that are more fortunate in their position, some-
what of a bird-forsaken district. We have called attention elsewhere
to the absence of American species, and have considered that others,
besides the two which have been noted, may probably have occurred
without recognition; for if we are correct in our opinion that
American birds reach us mainly overland, across the north of Asia
and Europe, and travel down our western coasts, it is reasonable to
expect that so many would be met with in Pembrokeshire as have
been recorded from the better-watched shores of Devon and Corn-
wall.

The spring and autumn migrants that fall to the share of Ireland
do not appear to reach it, except to a very slight extent, by passing
over our county. Birds arriving from the continent traverse the
centre of England by river valleys, and, reaching the estuary of the
Severn, an important highway, continue their flight over the Bristol
Channel far to the south of the Welsh counties. Others come from
the north-west, crossing England to the north and, passing the Isle of
Man, land on the northern shores of Ireland; while the greater
part of the summer visitors come up from North Africa, by the
route of Spain and the Bay of Biscay, and fetch the south of Ireland
after a long, but rapidly executed, passage high in the air, and
directly over the water. Many also arrive v/a@ the English Channel,

dE The Birds of Pembrokeshire.

and either round, or pass over the Land’s End district of Cornwall.
But we think that Pembrokeshire takes but little part in the flux
and reflux of Hibernian birds.!

CENSUS OF THE BIRDS OF PEMBROKESHIRE.

The list of the county birds supplied by Mr. H. Mathias, of
Haverfordwest, to Mason’s “‘ Guide to ‘Tenby ”’ contains 191 species,
but two ofthese, the Aivecrest, and Briinnich’s Guillemot, we are
unable to accept. We have so often received brightly plumaged
males of the Goldcrest, sent to us as Zirecrests, that we suspect a
similar mistake in this instance, particularly as we have been unable
to trace any Pembrokeshire /ivecres¢, and have never discovered one
in any of the existing collections of county birds. In a list of birds
nesting on Skomer Island that we received from a friend the
Firecrest is actually included! With regard to Briinnich’s Guillemot
there is no doubt that a confusion has been made between that
species and the &Rinzged Guillemot (Uria lacrymans), for Mr.
Mathias assured us that Sriinznich’s Guillemot (sic) nested on
Skomer, whereas this northern form of Guillemot is not known to
nest anywhere south of Greenland, and the few accidental specimens
that have been reported as having been obtained upon our coasts
are viewed by competent ornithologists with much suspicion. The
Rey. C. M. Phelps, at the foot of Mr. Mathias’ list, adds two birds
that are omitted in it, the Golden Oriole and the Rose Coloured
Pastor, thus bringing the total to 191, as given above. In our
account of the birds of Pembrokeshire, including three doubtful
occurrences, we can only bring the gross total to 236. On the
opposite side of the Bristol Channel we have been able to catalogue
as many as 300 species for the much larger county of Devon, and
264 species for the county of Somerset. Mr. Howard Saunders, in
his “‘Manual of British Birds,” the most recent authority on the subject,
gives the total number of birds for the British Isles as 368, so that

From the reports from the South Bishop’s and Smalls Light-houses we find
that Blackbirds, Thrushes, Sky-larks, Linnets, Chaffinches, House Sparrows,
Starlings, and Rooks, pass over to Ireland w/@ the Pembrokeshire Coast.

The Birds of Pembrokeshire. xli.

Pembrokeshire is deficient by no less than 132 of this number. No
doubt, the small number of birds we can record for Pembrokeshire
is due, in great part, to the want of observers who might have noted
occurrences that are not included in any of the existing lists ; and
we think, also, that the county is left out in the cold, so to speak, by
many birds that either pass its coasts in their migrations, or do not
extend their flight so far towards the south-west as to reach it ; and
we have pointed out that the Precelly Mountains act as a barrier to
exclude from it several of the smaller summer visitants. But we think
it very probable that an ornithologist posted at a good position, such
as at Pembroke, for instance, might have it in his power to make
additions to our list. It will be observed that we have been able to
set down only ¢wo stragglers from America. In whatever way
American birds reach the British Islands, whether by crossing the
Atlantic far to the north, where it is narrowest, and then striking
and following down the coasts either on the east or west, or by coming
chiefly overland v@ the north of Asia and Europe, the extended
littoral of Pembrokeshire might have been expected to have inter-
cepted as many American species as the coasts of North Devon and
Cornwall ; and as, for those two counties, at least a dozen American
birds have been recorded, some additions to the Pembrokeshire list
might be fairly anticipated in this direction.

Our 235 species on the Pembrokeshire list are composed of :

Ti: Residents... ane Re cae wes 81
I Summer Visitors ee oe ot 27
III. Winter Visitors se: ee BBY sas 43
IV. Passing Migrants in Spring and Autumn 8
Ve Occasional Visitors ... wats at dan 54
VI. Waifs and Strays se oa B02 15
VII. One former Resident (Black Guillemot) ... I
VIII. Introduced Species ae ae ee 4

233
To which may be added three doubtful occurrences 3

236

xlii.

The Birds of Pembrokeshire.

After detailing these in order we shall proceed to describe :
IX. Some Absentees, that might reasonably be expected in the

county.

X. Some Characteristic Birds ; and lastly,
XI. The species that nest, and are known to have nested, within

the county confines.

(I.) The Residents are 81 in number, and are the following :—

Mistle-thrush
Song-thrush
Blackbird
Stonechat
Redbreast
Goldcrest
Hedge-sparrow
Dipper
Long-tailed T
Great Tit
Coal Tit
Marsh Tit
Blue Tit

Wren

Pied Wagtail
Grey Wagtai
Meadow Pipit
Rock Pipit
Tree Creeper
Goldfinch
Greenfinch
House-sparrow
Chaffinch
Linnet
Redpoll
Bullnnch
Corn Bunting

Yellow-hammer
Reed Bunting
Starling
Chough

Jay

Magpie
Jackdaw
Carrion Crow
Rook

Raven

Sky-lark
Wood-lark
Green Woodpecker
Kingfisher
Barn Owl
Tawny Owl
Hen Harrier
Buzzard
Sparrow-hawk
Peregrine
Merlin

Kestrel
Cormorant
Shag

Gannet

Heron
Common Sheldrake

Wild Duck

Ring Dove

Stock Dove

Rock Dove
Partridge

Red Grouse

Water Rail
Moor-hen

Coot

Golden Plover (?)
Ringed Plover
Lapwing

Oyster Catcher
Snipe

Woodcock

Dunlin (?)

Curlew

Kittiwake

Herring Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Greater Black-backed Gull
Storm Petrel
Manx Shearwater
Little Grebe
Razorbill

Common Guillemot
Puffin

Although all the above are entitled to be classed as residents,
yet their numbers vary according to the seasons, some of them, such
as the Goldcrest, Redpoll, Merlin, Snipe, Woodcock, &c., being
more numerous in the winter, when they are reinforced by arrivals
from the north; while others, like the Mistle-thrush, Goldfinch,
&c., are scarce, comparatively, in the winter, owing to the bulk of

them having migrated to the south.

The greater number of the

clifi birds, too, have left us in the winter, to disperse themselves far

The Birds of Pembrokeshire. xliii.

and wide over the adjacent seas, and many of them have wandered
into far lower latitudes. Of the whole number very few indeed
remain stationary ; our own home-bred birds have left us by the
winter for the south, and have been replaced by strangers coming in
from the north, until the spring calls these last back to their
northern breeding grounds, and our own birds return to the familiar
spots in which they have been reared. Out of all the residents,
perhaps, the Dipper, the Pheasant, and the Partridge may be cited
as the only stay-at-homes.

Since the commencement of the present century the county has
lost the Marsh Harrier, the Kite, and the Black Guillemot from its
list of Resident Birds, and has acquired the Starling, previously
only a winter visitor, and the Ring-necked Pheasant (Phasianus
torquatus), that appears to have been introduced about seventy
yearsago. The Mistle-thrush is rare in the winter, most of the birds
leaving us in the early autumn. Some of the Conirostres, or seed-
eating small birds, are fewer in number than they are in general in
England ; the House-sparrow is scarce in most parts of the county,
and in some places in the north is seldom seem. The Linnet,
Goldfinch, and Yellow-hammer are numerous, as are also the
Chaffinch and Greenfinch. The Sky-lark is not abundant any-
where, and the Wood-lark is rare and local, and seems to be
disappearing. The Hen Harrier, we think, annually decreases in
numbers ; so, too, does the Chough, which used to be an abundant
species on the coast, and the diminution in its numbers is not to be
entirely explained by persecution. Although not so common as it
was in bye-gone years, the Buzzard still fairly holds its own ; a corres-
pondent has informed us that as recently as in the month of April in
the present year (1894), in a walk from Solva to St. David’s Head,
along some seven or eight miles of the cliff, he encountered five pairs
of this fine bird. A pair or two of Merlins nest in the wilder parts of
the county, and the bird is not uncommon as a winter visitor. The
Red Grouse may still exist on the Precelly Mountains, but in very
reduced numbers, and for want of preservation is in danger of
becoming lost; on the same mountains it is probable that a few
Golden Plovers and Dunlins breed, as there are places very suitable
for them, and they are known to nest at no great distance in the

xliv. The Birds of Pembrokeshire.

adjoining county of Cardigan. The Common Snipe nests throughout
the county, but at the present time there is not a tithe of its ancient
numbers. The multitudes of cliff birds that resort to the islands off
the coast in the summer to nest is the most important feature in the
Ornis of the county ; the island of Skomer is, probably, the largest
nesting station of the Manx Shearwater in the British Isles, and
Grasholm is one of the few breeding places of the Gannet.

(II.) The summer visitors are 27 :—

Ring-Ouzel Wood Warbler Swift

Wheatear Sedge Warbler Nightjar

Whinchat Grasshopper Warbler Wryneck

Redstart Tree Pipit Cuckoo
Whitethroat Red-backed Shrike Turtle Dove
Blackcap Spotted Flycatcher Quail

Garden Warbler Swallow Corn Crake
Chiffchaff Martin Common Sandpiper
Willow Warbler Sand Martin Common Tern

The Redstart is extremely rare, and the only instance we know of
its having bred in the county is the one reported by Mr. Dix on the
Gardigan side of the Precelly Mountains. We have seen statements
in the local papers that the Nightingale has been heard singing in the
summer time near Clarbeston, in the centre of the county. But the
bird is unknown in south-west Wales, and the song of some other bird
must have been taken for its notes. The Garden Warbler occurs
rarely only in the north-eastern part of the county; the Precelly
Mountains shut it off from visiting the central and southern districts,
where it is never seen. The Blackcap is scarce. The Chiffchaff is
the most abundant of all the small summer visitors; the Willow
Wren is far from numerous, and the Wood Wren is very local, and is
only found at all commonly on the eastern side of the Precelly
Mountains ; it is never seen in the centre of the county, and appears
to be rare inthe south. The Sedge Warbler is abundant by streams
that are fringed with cover; the Grasshopper Warbler is rare and is
very local. The Red-backed Shrike is rare, and seems to confine
itself to the south of the county. The Spotted Flycatcher is
abundant. The Turtle Dove is rare, and the only record of its
nesting comes from the neighbourhood of Pembroke. The
Wryneck is rare and local. The Quail is an irregular summer

The Birds of Pembrokeshire. xlv.

migrant; in some years it is common, especially in the St. David’s
district, and in the north of the county.

(III.) The autumn and winter visitors are 43 :—

Redwing Pintail Curlew Sandpiper
Fieldfare Teal, B. Purple Sandpiper
Black Redstart Shoveller Green Sandpiper
Siskin Tufted Duck Redshank
Brambling Scaup Greenshank

Snow Bunting Pochard Common Gull
Long-eared Owl Goldeneye Brown-headed Gull
Short-eared Owl, B. Long-tailed Duck Great Skua

Bittern Common Scoter Pomatorhine Skua
Spoonbill Goosander Richardson’s Skua
White-fronted Goose -Red-breasted Merganser Buffon’s Skua
Brent Goose Smew Great Northern Diver
Barnacle Goose Grey Plover Red-throated Diver
Bewick’s Swan Grey Phalarope

Wigeon Jack Snipe

The Siskin is rare, and is not noted every winter. The Short-
eared Owl occasionally remains to nest. The Wigeon and Teal are
the only ducks that arrive in any numbers; a few Teal may breed with
us on quiet pools. The Oceanic Diving Ducks, such as the Tufted
Duck, Scaup, and Common Scoter, are sometimes numerous in the
bays in the winter. Bewick’s Swan is seen almost every winter; many
flocks are sometimes noticed passing overhead in severe weather.
All the Wild Geese appear to be rare in Pembrokeshire, with the
exception of the coast frequenting species, the Brent and the
Barnacle. And this is a little singular, because enormous flocks
arrive regularly every autumn and winter in Glamorganshire, and
some detachments might be expected to continue their flight a little
farther towards the west. We have been informed that small flocks
are occasionally seen on the Laugharne marshes just over the
Pembrokeshire border in Carmarthenshire,—also on the marshes
near Tenby. On Miss Talbot’s estate of Margam, in Glamorgan-
shire, over a thousand Greylag Geese make their appearance every
autumn, and one winter an enormous flock was seen there, chiefly of
White-fronted Geese, that was computed to number at least 6,000
birds. The Greylag Goose is almost unknown on the opposite
coasts of Somerset, and we are without a single record of its

xlvi. The Birds of Pembrokeshire.

occurrence in Pembrokeshire. The highly-preserved estate of
Margam may have been found by the birds to offer them undis-
turbed feeding-grounds, and they would naturally avoid marshes
and flats that were almost daily shot over. This is, doubtless, one
of the reasons that the large flats in south Pembrokeshire, which
appear to be very suited to them, remain unvisited. The Goosander
is more often seen than the Red-breasted Merganser, and the Smew
is rare. The Sandpipers are generally scarce on the Pembrokeshire
coast at the present day ; Goodwick Sands, in former times, were
visited by numerous waders, but they are now greatly disturbed, and
are chiefly the exercise ground for training horses, and the birds are
scared away. On the many occasions, at different times of the
year, when we have passed the creeks and oozes connected with
Milford Haven, we have been struck by the absence on them of
Sandpipers of any species. They are probably constantly watched,
and every bird that appears shot at, and frightened off. The Skua
Gulls pass down St. George’s Channel in the autumn, and in fine
weather keep far out at sea; it is only in severe gales that they are
driven to approach the shore, and their appearance is therefore
irregular. The Great Northern and Red-throated Divers are
frequently common in Milford Haven.

(IV.) Passing migrants, that are usually seen both in spring and

autumn, are only 8 :—

Yellow Wagtail Sanderling Arctic Tern
Turnstone Bar-tailed Godwit Black Tern
Knot Whimbrel

Of these the Yellow Wagtail is more commonly seen in August
on its way south. The Knot may sometimes be found on the coast
during the winter. The Bar-tailed Godwit used to be numerous on
the oozes in the autumn ; it is now a rare bird.

(V.) The occasional visitors supply a longer list, and are 54 in

number :—

Lesser Whitethroat Golden Oriole Cirl Bunting

Bearded Tit Great Grey Shrike Rose-coloured Pastor
Nuthatch Waxwing Hooded Crow

White Wagtail Pied Flycatcher Great Spotted Woodpecker
Blue-headed Yellow Hawfinch Lesser Spotted Woodpecker

W agtail Crossbill Hoopoe

The Birds of Pembrokeshtre. xl vii.

Marsh Harrier Eider Duck Little Tern
Montagu’s Harrier, B. Velvet Scoter Glaucous Gull
Rough-legged Buzzard Spotted Crake Little Gull
White-tailed Eagle Crane Sabine’s Gull

Kite Stone Curlew Leach’s Petrel
Honey-Buzzard Dotterel Black-throated Diver
Hobby Avocet Great-crested Grebe
Little Bittern Great Snipe Red-necked Grebe
Night Heron Little Stint Sclavonian Grebe
Bean Goose Ruff Eared Grebe
Whooper Wood Sandpiper Little Auk

Gadwall Spotted Redshank

Garganey Black-tailed Godwit

One or two of these, such as the White Wagtail and the Great-
crested Grebe, may be regular visitors, the former in the summer,
the latter in the winter. There is at least one breeding-station of
the Great-crested Grebe in Wales, on Llangorse Lake, in
Breconshire, and we think it must regularly appear on the fine sheet
of water at Stackpole every season. The Lesser Whitethroat is
almost unknown in the county. We have heard of Bearded Tits
from Breconshire, and from both the eastern and western sides of
Carmarthenshire, and think it probable a few pairs may nest in
South Wales. It is singular that we should know of but one
instance of the Nuthatch having occurred in Pembrokeshire ; it
appears to be a scarce bird throughout the south of the Principality.
The Pied Flycatcher is fairly common in most parts of Wales, and
is known to breed in Carmarthenshire, preferring woods at some
elevation where there is old timber, but it does not extend so far as
Pembrokeshire, in which it is very rarely seen, and where we have
no instance of its nest. With the exception of the Green
Woodpecker, and the Tree Creeper, scansorial birds are rare in
such a comparatively treeless county as Pembrokeshire. The
Hoopoe is not rare. We have no recent instance of the Marsh
Harrier having nested in the county; it was once a common
resident. Montagu’s Harrier is very rare, and we only know of a
single nest. The Kite is only a rare occasional visitor, and it is
long since it has nested in the county. From evidence we have
accumulated we think it probable that in the adjoining counties of
Cardigan, Carmarthen, and Brecon there may be at the present day

xIviii. The Birds of Pembrokeshire.

at least six or seven pairs of Kites annually nesting, in great danger,
we fear, of destruction ; we wish such interesting birds could obtain
protection. In the report of the Scientific Society of the University
College of Wales, Aberystwyth, for 1892-93, it is stated that the
Kite “ still exists in small and decreasing numbers at no great
distance from us. Two pairs, with their nests, were seen, May 23rd,
1893.” Of many of the occasional visitors we possess but a single
instance, but some of them must have occurred oftener, without
having been reported ; and we feel confident that observation may
yet extend the list.

(VI.) The accidental visitors, or waifs and strays are 15 :—

Melodious Warbler Red-footed Falcon Pallas’s Sand-grouse
Bee Eater American Bittern Baillon’s Crake
Yellow-billed Cuckoo Glossy Ibis Roseate Tern
Scops Owl Ruddy Sheldrake Greater Shearwater
Greenland Falcon Red-crested Pochard Fulmar

Two of these, the Yellow-billed Cuckoo, and the American
Bittern, are wanderers from America. Another Yellow-billed Cuckoo
has occurred at Lundy Island, no very great distance from Stackpole,
where the Pembrokeshire specimen was obtained, and the American
Bittern has appeared in North Devon, and also in Cornwall.

(VII.) Former resident.

At the beginning of the present century Colonel Montagu de-
tected the Black Guillemot on the cliffs near Tenby, and also at St.
David’s. It seems to have disappeared very soon after his visit to
the county, as we can discover no mention of it in any subsequent
references to the cliff birds, nor have we met with anyone who has
ever seen a Pembrokeshire specimen of this northern species.

(VIIL.) The introduced species are 4 :—

Egyptian Goose Pheasant Red-legged Partridge
Mute Swan Ring-necked Pheasant
We are not aware that any Egyptian Geese are now kept on any
ornamental waters in the county. The Mute Swan exists on the lake
at Stackpole in what may be considered as virtually a wild state ; as
it is free to depart and return at will, and leaves every autumn when
the food supply fails, coming back again in the spring to nest and

The Birds of Pembrokeshire. Sclixx,

to remain throughout the summer. The Pheasant thrives in Pem-
brokeshire remarkably well; the Red-legged Partridge refuses to
become a resident, doubtless finding the climate too humid.

(IX.) Some noticeable absentees.

Directly we began to study the Birds of Pembrokeshire we were
struck by the number of absentees. Many birds were wanting that
we felt confident ought toappear. We were, at first, led to attach
our chief interest to scheduling these non-appearances, although
this might seem rather a negative way to work the County Ornis.
The character of the county doubtless accounts for several birds
being non-resident that are not uncommon in many other parts of
the kingdom; in such a treeless district scansorial birds would not
be expected. The following is a list of species that are common
in most of the English counties, as also in Central and Eastern
Wales, that are either never seen, or are extremely rare, in Pem-
brokeshire ; of those marked with an asterisk we are without a single

instance :—
Redstart Great Grey Shrike Great Spotted Woodpecker
*Nightingale Red-backed Shrike Lesser Spotted Woodpecker
Lesser Whitethroat Pied Flycatcher Wryneck
Garden Warbler Hawfinch *Osprey
*Dartford Warbler *Tree Sparrow *Greylag Goose
Wood Wren *Mealy Redpoll *Black Grouse
*Reed Warbler *Twite Spotted Crake
Nuthatch Cirl Bunting Stone-Curlew
Ray’s Wagtail Woodlark Dotterel

Of these, the Reed Warbler, the Garden Warbler, and the Lesser
Whitethroat, appear to be very rare throughout Wales, as they arealso
in the south-west counties of England. The Reed Warbler is stated
to nest in Breconshire, at Llangorse Lake. In a county so mild in
temperature and so abounding in furze-brakes on sheltered hill-sides,
the Dartford Warbler might well be expected, but we have not suc-
ceeded in detecting it. Ray’s Wagtail, in Pembrokeshire, is only
seen as it passes in spring and autumn, and there is no instance of its
having remained to nest. The Red-backed Shrike is rare ; and the
Great Grey Shrike does not seem to reach often so far to the west
after arriving in the autumn on the eastern coasts of the kingdom.
The Pied Flycatcher is almost unknown in Pembrokeshire, although

G

IL The Birds of Pembrokeshire.

it is not uncommon as a visitor to other parts of Wales in the
summer, and it is known to nest as near to Pembrokeshire as in
the adjacent county of Carmarthen. It is fond of woods containing
old trees on hill-sides at some elevation above the sea; Mr. Cam-
bridge Phillips reports it as quite a common bird in Breconshire.
The Tree Sparrow is rare and local in South Wales ; it occurs in
Breconshire. We know of no South Wales example of the Mealy
Redpoll. Mr. J. H. Salter, of Aberystwyth, has searched the moors
in Cardiganshire in vain for the Twite, of which we have no record
in Pembrokeshire ; in Breconshire it would seem to be not uncom-
mon. We know of only one occurrence of the Nuthatch; the
Greater and Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers are rare visitors, while the
Wryneck is scarce and local. We have no Pembrokeshire Osprey,
although the bird in former years very probably occasionally put in
an appearance on Milford Haven. Wild Geese, in these days, are
but seldom seen; there is not a single instance of a county specimen
of the Greylag Goose. The Black Grouse is now extinct; in old times
it was a resident, as its bones may be found to-day in the Bone
Caves near Tenby. The Norfolk Plover occurs only very rarely in
winter. ‘The Dotterel is also rare; as is also the Spotted Crake, in
spite of the shelter offered to it by the numerous moors and marshes
throughout the county.

(IX.) Some characteristic birds.

After thus detailing the absentees, and others that are very scarce,
although not rare in other parts of the kingdom, we turn with more
satisfaction to enumerate those that may be considered as the
characteristic birds of the county, that are rarely absent from lending
life and charm to its varied scenery. On its cliffs along the coast the
Buzzard, the Peregrine, the Raven, and the Chough, with the Wheat-
ear and the Rock Pipit, may be still encountered ; and it would be
a rare event, indeed, to visit any part of the shores, and to find them
all absent. In the north of the county the Hen Harrier still quarters
the wilder moors. The Water Ouzel and the Grey Wagtail are com-
mon by every stream, and on the mountains have for their summer
companions the Ring Ouzel and the common Sandpiper. The pretty
Stonechat can be seen on every common, and is one of the charac-

The Birds of Pembrokeshire. li.

teristic small birds. The Cuckoo and the Nightjar rejoice in the
wilder parts of the county, where they are exceptionally plentiful.
The Red Linnet, the Yellow-hammer, and the Chaffinch are very
abundant. The Chiffchaff and the Sedge Warbler are by far the
best represented among the soft-billed summer migrants ; the former
occasionally passes the winter with us, and we have ourselves seen it
in January at Stone Hall. The Common Snipe breeds throughout
the county ; a walk in the spring across any common will be en-
livened by its strange “drumming” in the air. In the summer,
some of the cliffs along the coast, and most of the islands, are
thronged with innumerable birds ; among them the Gannet and Manx
Shearwater are remarkable, as they have nesting stations in but few
other places in the kingdom,

(XI.) Species nesting in the county.

Dr. Propert, of St. David’s, has supplied us with a list of the
birds that, according to his experience as an oologist, nest within
the county, comprising a total of 81 species. Several are absent
that could not be expected to breed in his treeless district which,
nevertheless, have their nesting stations in the woods and copses
inland, or in the south of the county ; while others can be added
that are to be met with on the Precelly Mountains. According to
our census we atrive at a total of 113 nesting birds ; that is made up
of :—

Residents soe 409 ane abe an ong Yi)
Summer Visitors a ae ins Aas seo)
Winter Visitor (Short-eared Owl) tue ae od
Occasional Visitor (Montagu’s Harrier) as eee AL
Introduced Species (Mute Swan and Pheasant) ie G2

110

To these we believe that we may add three others that
are probably residents in small numbers, Teal,
Golden Plover, and Dunlin is an sf =

lii. The Birds of Pembrokeshire.

Since the commencement of the century we have lost three species
that formerly nested in the county ; viz., the Marsh Harrier, the Kite,
and the Black Guillemot.

The number of our breeding birds, 113, may be compared with
those that have been ascertained to nest in the district surrounding
Aberystwyth, in the neighbouring county of Cardigan. These are
stated to be 94, comprising 68 resident species, and 26 summer
migrants. This list, however, is considered to be incomplete, and
additional nesting birds may yet be detected.

We can only regret that materials are not at hand to enable us to
present a brief sketch of the Ornis of South Wales in general, as we
feel persuaded it is far from being so scanty as anyone who examines
our account of the Birds of Pembrokeshire, its extreme western
county, might suppose it to be. The Great Western Railway runs
along the coast in many places as it traverses South Wales, and the
traveller who looks out from the carriage windows of the train will
see many a stretch of sand and ooze that look as if they were
acceptable to the class of waders. We have seen the mouth of the
Carmarthen river, at Ferryside, and some of the oozes we have
mentioned occasionally covered with birds, as we have journeyed to
and fro ; and have often thought that the fine counties of Carmarthen
and Glamorgan, especially the latter, with its beautiful peninsula of
Gower, its extended coast, numerous bays, and muddy inlets, would
yield an interesting and much fuller list of birds. We can but pray—
exoriare aliguts/ who will take the work in hand to record in either
of these counties some particulars of their Fauna.

In our account of the Birds of Pembrokeshire we have given no
description of the various birds, nor have we entered into the subject
of classification ; as these matters are fully treated of in the standard
works on British Birds. We have followed the arrangement of the
Ibis List ; and to anyone who may be tempted by our book to seek
for more information respecting the birds mentioned in it we can
heartily commend Mr. Howard Saunders’ very useful ‘ Manual of
British Birds.”

The Birds of Pembrokeshire.

MISTLE THRUSH, Zurdus viscivorus.—Although not so numerous
as it has become of late years in some English counties, this fine
Thrush is fairly common as a resident throughout Pembroke-
shire. There were always several nests in our grounds at Stone
Hall, the birds frequently selecting some tree close to one of
the paths, from which they would angrily scold the passer by.
About the middle of July these Thrushes flock, and soon after the
majority disappear, having migrated south. We have seen the
broods of young birds in our kitchen garden, helping the Black-
birds in their raids upon the fruit. The beautiful eggs of the
Mistle Thrush occur in two varieties, one in which the red
markings are on an apple green ground, the other having a
ground of creamy white.

SONG THRUSH, Zwrdus musicus——A common resident. After the
severe winter of 1880 there was scarcely a Thrush left in North
Pembrokeshire. We neither heard the delightful song, nor saw
an example of the bird in the following spring and summer.
We were told of one that had been shot in the summer (this
seemed a sacrilege !) in a garden at Fishguard ; and it took two
seasons before the woods and copses became again replenished
by immigrants. Mr. Dix considered the Song Thrush to be
rather a scarce bird in the north-east corner of the county.

REDWING, Turdus iliacus—A common winter visitor. The little
flock that arrives at some favourite locality in the autumn does
not stray far from it unless exceptionally severe weather sets in,

I

2 The Birds of Pembrokeshire.

and on the approach of spring the birds assemble in the nearest
tall trees, and sing in concert a low sweet song, the notes of
which are very pleasing to anyone standing below. The Red-
wings vary greatly in their numbers, some seasons being abun-
dant, at others few are seen.

FIELDFARE, Zurdus pilaris—A common winter visitor. In
severe weather great numbers of Fieldfares used to appear in our
neighbourhood. They seemed to be quite as susceptible to the
cold as the Redwings. One very long-protracted frost, when
the ground was deeply covered with snow, we caught and
brought numbers of the starving birds into our kitchen; but it
was all in vain we offered them various kinds of food; none of
them ever survived longer than a fortnight. Flocks of Field-
fares have remained with us until the end of April, when they
were much tamer than they were during the winter, and, collect-
ing on the tops of the trees, would keep up a not unpleasing
chattering. We consider that in the north of the county Field-
fares were every winter more plentiful than Redwings, the
mountain character of the district being unsuited to the latter
birds.

BLACKBIRD, Zwrdus merula.—A common resident. Its numbers
rapidly increase when there has been a succession of mild
winters, but like all the members of the Thrush family, it suffers
much in a severe frost. The Blackbird is exceedingly pug-
nacious. One hard winter, when the snow lay for weeks upon
the ground, and the temperature day after day was considerably
below the freezing- point, our Blackbirds were nearly starved, and
several times a day we put plates of barley-meal, bread, and
scraps of meat at our dining-room window for their relief.
Hungry as they were, the assembled birds, at least a score, never
began to feed without a desperate combat, and the surface of the
snow would be black with the feathers of the belligerents. One
summer’s evening a fox was seen to jump up into the air and
capture a Blackbird as it flew out of one of our small covers.

The Birds of Pembrokeshire. 3

Clever fox! Blackbirds are among the most restless of birds,
and seem to be always on the move, as we learn from the
reports of the movements of birds received from the lighthouses
round the coast. There is hardly a day in the year when some
do not strike against the lights. Many of these birds may be
only making short local journeys, and taking their flight across
the water from point to point.

RING OUZEL, Zurdus forquatus.—A summer visitor. A few some-
times remain in this country for the winter. The station of the
Ring Ouzel is to be sought for on the moors and hills. When
we have been fishing in the summer months in the small
streams which run down from the bogs on the Precelly Moun-
tains, we have frequently encountered pairs of Ring Ouzels,
whose angry chatterings and impatience of our intrusion
plainly revealed that we were near their nests. Mr. Dix writes :
“Although I have not seen this bird, I have every reason to
believe it breeds (occasionally at least) in this district. My
young friend, Arthur Phillips, of Newcastle Emlyn, took some
eggs in 1867, when he distinctly saw the bird leave the nest.”

WHEATEAR, Saxicola enanthe.—A summer visitor. Common all
round the coast, and very numerous on the Precelly Hills. On
their arrival in the spring we used to see Wheatears for a few
days about our fields at Stone Hall, but they soon moved on
towards the hills. Mr. Dix writes: “I was agreeably surprised
to find this bird breeding about the north-eastern portion of the
Precelly Mountains.” Indeed, in our experience, the Wheatear
is the most numerous of all the small birds to be found on those
lofty hills during the summer months,

WHINCHAT, Pratincola rubetya.—A summer visitor. Although
Mr. Dix wrote that the Whinchat was decidedly rare in his
district, which was the north-eastern corner of the county
immediately adjoining Cardiganshire, we have found that it is

4 The Birds of Pembrokeshire.

pretty generally distributed, and have seen it on the Precelly
Hlils at Rosebush, on Cuffern Mountain, at St. David’s, at Stone
Hall, where we have seen the nest, &c, &c.

STONECHAT, Saxicola rubicola.—A common resident. This pretty
little species is so numerous, to be seen everywhere, by the road-
side, perched on the furze on every common, on the coast as
well as far inland, that it is well entitled to be considered one of
our characteristic county birds. Mr. Dix states that it is to be
found “particularly on the hillsides which are covered with
furze: they are generally to be seen in pairs, and, like the
Hedge-Sparrow, in close company. During the severe weather
last February three pairs were in constant attendance upon
some men who were moving earth from an old bank: they
perched upon some bushes near by, watching for anything that
might turn up in the shape of food, when down they came
within a foot of the tools; they kept close watch, for several
times I saw three or four fly down at the same moment, and so
intent were they in their search that one was caught by a hat
being placed over it, the man thinking I wished to have
it.’ We have found the nest frequently in our fields round
Stone Hall,a commonly chosen site being a small furze-bush in
which it would be placed close to the ground. However severe
the weather we do not believe that these little birds go very far
away from the spot where they were bred.

REDSTART, Ruticilla phoenicurus.—A summer visitor. Reported
to be abundant in the neighbouring county of Cardiganshire ; it
is, however, extremely rare with us in Pembrokeshire, where we
have never once seen it. Mr. Dix mentions a pair that nested in
an old bee-house at Kilwendeage, in the north-east of the
county, in the summer of 1866, and returned to the same spot
the following year. He adds: “This species is not at all
numerous, I have only seen three birds besides those that bred
at Kilwendeage ; the men working in the gardens had never seen
any before.” A few Redstarts are occasionally seen in the south
of the county, as we learn from friends and correspondents.

The Birds of Pembrokeshire. 5

BLACK REDSTART, Auxicil/a titys—A winter visitor, not com-
mon. From its extent of coast Pembrokeshire appears to be
peculiarly suited to this species, and it has occurred both on the
northern and the southern shores of the county. In the north
it has been seen several times and shot by Sir Hugh Owen at
Goodwick : ‘‘ Single specimens on the moors in hard weather.”
In the south, the Rev. Clennell Wilkinson has seen it in his
garden at Castle Martin. Mr. Tracy mentions two examples
that occurred in the autumn of 1847; one killed by Mr. George
Hughes, of the Coburg Hotel, Tenby, on the eaves of the hotel ;
the other by himself, with an air cane, loaded with small shot
on the water trough of his neighbour’s house in Pembroke ; and
Mr. Dix was informed by him that he considered the species a
regular winter visitor to Pembroke, where it might be seen
frequenting the walls of the old castle. There is an example of
the Black Redstart in the Mathias Collection in the Tenby
Museum. Mr. Charles Jefferys informs us that he used to see
one or two Black Redstarts every autumn at Tenby, but for
several years has failed to see or hear of any.

REDBREAST, Zrithacus rubecula—A common resident. During
the extreme cold in the winter of 1880 Robins and many other
small birds, such as Hedge-sparrows, Wrens, Chaffinches, Blue
and Great Tits, flocked into our house for warmth and shelter.
We had at least half-a-dozen Robins distributed between the
hall, kitchen, and dining-room. The little visitors became quite
tame, hopping fearlessly about on the carpet, and picking up
the crumbs thrown to them. In this way they were all
preserved until the arrival of the welcome thaw, when they
returned to the outside world. One summer a Robin used
to come in at our dining-room window, and alighting on the
table would amuse himself by pecking at the pen with which
one of us might be writing, and by playing with the writing
implements in general. He would spend hours with us, flying
to the top of somebody’s head, and remaining there whenever
the cat came into the room. Sometimes he would make his

6 The Birds of Pembrokeshire.

appearance at, and enter, the bedroom windows. After several
months of this familiarity, which was altogether uninvited, he
suddenly disappeared, having fallen a victim, we feared, to some
cat or hawk. One summer a Thrush feeding on our lawn was
watched by a Robin that flew down and seized a worm from it
directly it caught one. This would be done again and again
until the Robin’s appetite was satisfied. The Thrush made no
resistance, seeming to take the theft as a matter of course, and
suffered itself to be treated in this manner day after day. We
fancied it had in some way been hypnotized by the Robin.
Every year among the Robins’ nests that we detected in our
grounds at Stone Hall there would be one containing pure white
eggs, by no means a common variety.

WHITETHROAT, Sylvia cinerea —A common summer visitor.
Next to the Chiffchaff and the Spotted Flycatcher, the common
Whitethroat is the most abundant of the small summer visitors,
being generally dispersed and numerous throughout the county.

LESSER WHITETHROAT, Sylvia curruca.—This species is not
included in their lists either by Mr. Dix or by Mr. Tracy. It
does not appear to visit the adjoining county of Cardiganshire,
which is far richer in the smaller summer birds than Pembroke-
shire. We have, ourselves, never met with it, and it is a little
bird that cannot easily escape detection. We have seen no
specimens of it in any collection of stuffed birds in the county.
We only admit it doubtfully on account of information supplied
us by Mr. Mathias, of Haverfordwest, who tells us that when he
was a boy of 14 or 15 he found a nest of this species at
Lamphey, being at that time well acquainted with both the
Common and Lesser Whitethroats through having taken the
nests of both of them on many occasions in Gloucestershire.
He adds that in the summer of 1882, a pair of these little
birds frequented Hayguard Hay bottom in the parish of Dale,
where he watched them closely on several days hoping to find
the nest, ‘but they were too much for me, nettles and thorns

The Birds of Pembrokeshire. yy

making more impression on my hands than they did fifty
years before.”

BLACKCAP, Sylvia atricapilla—A summer visitor, far from com-
mon. We could never detect this beautiful songster at Stone
Hall until the small fruit began to ripen in the kitchen-garden.
Writing of it in his neighbourhood Mr. Dix says, “ First heard on
12th April ; three or four pairs bred in the plantations near, but
it is not numerous.” In Mr. Tracy’s list, which refers chiefly to
the birds observed in the south of the county, the Blackcap is
stated to be common.

GARDEN WARBLER, Sylvia hortensis.—This is another of the
small summer visitors, which is common in Cardiganshire, and
seems to avoid our county. We have never seen it, although
from where he wrote, on the borders of Cardiganshire, Mr. Dix
was able to report of it ‘about as numerous as, and seen about a
week after, the Blackcap.” In the south of the county Mr.
Tracy obtained a Garden Warbler in September, 1849, and
states that it was the only one he ever saw. It passed into the
collection of Lord Cawdor, at Stackpole.

GOLDCREST, Regulus cristatus.—A common resident, receiving
accessions to its numbers in the winter from northern countries.
Mr. Dix saw a flock of about fifty in a plantation on 6th Novem-
ber. Goldcrests were always numerous in the larch plantations
at Stone Hall, where we came across numbers of their beautiful
nests. One we found close to the house was entirely lined with
the feathers of the Green Woodpecker. ‘There was a nest of
these birds in an adjoining sycamore tree. We have had several
bright plumaged male Goldcrests sent to us by friends for Fire-
crests. Although the Firecrest is extremely likely to occur zz
the winter-time in Pembrokeshire, we have not yet either seen or
heard of a county specimen. It may be useful to remark that
the Firecrest is always to be easily distinguished from the Gold-
crest by the white line above the eye.

8 The Birds of Pembrokeshire.
CHIFFCHAFF, Phylloscopus rufus.—This tiny bird is by far the

most numerous of our summer visitors, and is greatly in excess
of the Willow Warbler. In the shrubberies at Stone Hall, in
the spring of 1885, we noticed eleven nests of the Chiffchaff,
and only one of the Willow Warbler, and this, we think, is
an approximation to the relative numbers in which these birds
occur. From our experience in various parts of England, we
have come to regard the Chiffchaff as more a bird of the hills,
and the Willow Warbler as belonging to the plains. In North
Devon, where we once resided, it was moderately hilly, and
there the two birds were met with in about equal numbers.
Where we are living now, on the Radstock coal measures some
500 feet above the sea-level, the Chiffchaff is very numerous,
and the Willow Warbler is seldom seen, just as is the case
in North Pembrokeshire. In his north-eastern corner of the
county, when he was at the other side of the Precelly Mountains
which greatly influence the distribution of the Warblers with us,
cutting many species entirely off from our northern and central
districts, Mr. Dix had failed to notice this preponderance of the
Chiffchaff we have pointed out. He observes of the Willow
Warbler: “ Much less numerous than in the east of England ;” and
of the Chiffchaff, “‘ This is about equal in number to the Willow
Warbler,” and he considered that the Chiffchaff was more
numerous in his neighbourhood in the autumn than it was in the
spring. A few Chiffchaffs remain with us for the winter; we
have seen one at Stone Hall in the beginning of January.

WILLOW WARBLER, P2yWoscopus trochilus.s— A not very
numerous summer visitor. A nest found at Stone Hall, near a
pond much frequented by Herons, was entirely lined with the
small grey feathers of those birds.

WOOD WARBLER, PiyWoscopus sibilatrix.—A scarce and very
local summer visitor. We greatly doubt if it occurs to the west
of the Precelly Mountains. We could never meet with itin the
woods at Stone Hall, or in the large covers of Trecwn, which we

The Birds of Pembrokeshire. 9

have visited in the summer on purpose to search for it, In the
south of the county Mr. Tracy considered it scarce: “Although
I can mostly procure a few specimens the latter end of April or
the first week in May, I think they do not stay here to breed,
for I have never found them later; and being so well acquainted
with the voices of the other Warblers, the peculiar twitter of the
Wood Warbler could not have escaped me.” Mr. Dix has a
very different account to give from his post on the Cardiganshire
borders. Writing of this species, he says : ‘‘ More generally dis-
tributed, and I think also more numerous, than in most parts of
England. One is almost sure to meet with this bird in a planta-
tion of beech and oak. It certainly prefers the beech to any
other tree; I have invariably found them upon or near this tree
when there are any in the plantation.”

MELODIOUS WARBLER, Ayfolais polyglotta.—Such, as we are
informed by Mr. Howard Saunders, is the correct name of a
delightful little songster that visited us at Stone Hall in the
summer of 1886. It is the Western form of the Icterine
Warbler, and is something like a Chiff-Chaff, differing, however,
from that bird in having the under parts of a bright sulphur
yellow. For so smalla bird it possesses a very powerful and
exquisite song, rich in clear, thrush-like notes. It took up its
station day after day in an ash tree by the side of a lane adjoin-
ing our house, and there warbled so sweetly that people who had
once heard it used to return again and again to listen. We
watched it one day as it was dancing up and down the branch it
was upon, fluttering its wings as we have also seen the Wood
Warbler do while pouring forth its song, and singing as if ina
very transport of joy. We have been asked ‘‘ Why did you not
shoot this bird so as to be sure as to your identification?” but who
could have had the heart to butcher so sweet a minstrel ? On
the other side of the tree which the bird frequented was a dense
woodcock cover, through which a small stream runs among a
thicket of willows and furze. Here we searched repeatedly for
the nest, feeling sure our little friend must have had a com-
panion, but so thick was the cover we failed to find it, and we

2

ie) The Birds of Pembrokeshire.

were also disappointed in not detecting our charming songster
the following spring, although there were many, besides our-
selves, keeping a watch for his appearance.

SEDGE WARBLER, 4crocephalus phragmitis.—A common summer
visitor. Next to the Chiff-chaff, perhaps, the most numerous of
the soft-billed summer visitors in Pembrokeshire. When we
were fishing in the Cleddy below our house in the spring and
summer, we were always provided with entertainment by the
Sedge Warblers that were very abundant in the tangled cover by
the side of the stream through which we had to force our way.
Their restless plunging into the bushes and out again, sometimes
scolding at us, sometimes trilling a few notes of their babbling
song, was most amusing. And every now and then we would
start one from its nest. After this experience of the abundance
of the bird in our locality it is curious to read that Mr. Tracy
considered it scarce, and that Mr. Dix had only heard it in one
place, “in some willow bushes near Cardigan.” We do not
consider that this is any proof of any inequality in the bird’s
distribution, but only that it points to these two excellent
observers and naturalists not having had at hand the country
that the Sedge Warbler alone frequents ; swampy, bushy places,
and the banks of brooks that are fringed with thick growth
of brambles, furze, and other suitable cover for the bird to nest
and harbour in.

GRASSHOPPER WARBLER, Zocustella nevia—A summer
visitor, scarce and very local. We never detected the singular
and not-to-be-mistaken song of this species at Stone Hall. The
Rey. Clennell Wilkinson pointed out to us a field near his
rectory at Castle Martin in a corner of which he had found a
Grasshopper Warbler’s nest several summers in succession, an
instance of the attachment of the bird to a certain locality. Sir
Hugh Owen has informed us that he has seen this species at
Goodwick. Mr. Dix writes: “the first time I heard this bird in
Wales was one afternoon in July, 1866—it was just within

The Birds of Pembrokeshire. II

Carmarthenshire, in a boggy place overgrown with alders and
rushes—since then I have heard the bird near Whitechurch, in
a similar locality. Last year two males came for a few even-
ings in July close to this house ; * they were in two small clumps
of blackthorn about forty yards from each other; they began
their peculiar whirring note about dark, when I have stood
within a few feet of them without their being the least dis-
turbed.” The Grasshopper Warbler has been noted by the
Rev. C. M. Phelps, near Tenby, and Mr. E. W. H. Blagg has
informed us that he detected some there in June, 1887.

HEDGE SPARROW, Accentor modularis——A common resident. In
a hard winter when we were feeding numerous small birds at
our dining-room window, a Hedge Sparrow asserted himself as
king of the company, not allowing any of the Chaffinches, Tits,
Green Linnets, &c., to touch the food until he had satisfied
himself. This conduct in a bird usually so unassuming and
gentle not a little astonished us, and it was also remarkable that
the other birds submitted to his dominion. Mr. Tracy states:
“ This species is very subject to warts on the beak and legs ;
how can this be accounted for?’’ We have never met with one
thus afflicted.

WATER OUZEL, or DIPPER, Cinclus aguaticus.—A common
resident, to be met by every stream. The Dipper is one of the
few birds that do not migrate, remaining faithful to his familiar
stream throughout the year. Nor does he appear to be put out
by the weather, however severe it may be. In one of the
coldest days of the very hard frost in the winter of 1880 we were
watching for wild duck by the Cleddy below Stone Hall, with our
beard and moustache a mass of icicles, when we heard a soft and
pleasing bird’s song evidently coming near to us, and looking in
the direction from whence it proceeded were astonished to see
a Dipper perched on a block of ice that was floating down mid-
stream singing away as if he were in the height of enjoyment !

* Llwynbedw, Kenarth, Llandyssil.

12 The Birds of Pembrokeshire.

Indeed, we must say that it has been under such surroundings
that we have most often heard this Mark Tapley of a bird
indulging in song. We often had the pleasure of being visited
by Water Ouzels at Stone Hall, a little brook running through
our grounds to feed our various ponds being the attraction.

BEARDED TITMOUSE, Panurus biarmicus.—A very rare occa-
sional visitor. Although this very handsome species is more
correctly a Reed Bunting than a Tit, we will not depart from the
old custom of including it among the lively and beautiful Tits.
We have authority for but one occurrence of it in the county.
We are informed by Sir Hugh Owen that he saw some Bearded
Tits “in reeds above Sealyham upper quarry bridge, about
1860.” Since then we have had news ofa more recent visit of
these rare little birds, if not actually to Pembrokeshire, yet to
Carmarthenshire, and but a mile or so over the border. Col.
Mathew tells us that when he was residing at Castellgorfod, a
little to the north of St. Clear’s, he sawa pair of Bearded Tits
there in November, 1891, among some alders that fringed a large
wood. ‘There was high rough grass and trash growing among
the alders, and a little stream close at hand. In the following
spring he saw a pair close to the house. One of them came
suddenly, it was a beautiful male, and settled on a tall rush at
the edge of a pond in the grounds, remaining there for some
minutes and permitting itself to be closely approached. This
almost countenances the supposition that the birds may have
nested, and may still nest in that locality. If they do we trust
that they will owe their safety to no one in the neighbourhood
being aware of their rarity.

LONG-TAILED TIT, Acvedula rosea—A common resident. This
minute species was very plentiful around Stone Hall, where the
larch and spruce covers afforded the members of the Tit family
both shelter and an abundance of the insect food they love. We
frequently came across its beautiful nest in the woods, and
noticed that the materials employed by the tiny architects varied

The Birds of Pembrokeshire. 13

with the situation. In an oak the nest would be constructed
of dead oak leaves and the grey lichens from the trunk of the
tree ; in a willow overhanging the stream the nest was made of
moss and Pheasant’s feathers; the bright feathers of a Cock
Pheasant’s neck were stuck around the tiny aperture as if for
decoration.

GREAT TIT, Parus major.—A common resident. In cold weather
in the winter, by hanging large lumps of suet by a string in front
of our dining-room window, we used to provide food for the
Tits, and great entertainment to ourselves in watching their
lively gestures. There would be often three or four of them on
the string at once, either sliding down towards the food, or
waiting their turn to feast on it, and the restless little birds
would be constantly coming and going throughout the day.
Directly the suet was finished they would tap at the window to
inform us that more was required ; and, at the beginning of the
winter they would even come and peck and flutter against the
glass to let us know that, in their opinion, the time was come for
us to hang out the expected food as usual. The Great Tit, the
Blue Tit, and the Coal Tit, were all daily visitors as long as our
relief was extended to them. The Marsh Tits never once came
to the suet, although there were plenty of them in the shrub-
beries close at hand. We used to find numerous nests of all
the common English Tits in our garden; the Great Tit, the
Blue Tit, and the Coal Tit always building in holes in walls,
while the Marsh Tit preferred a hole in a tree.

COAL TIT, Parus britannicus—A common resident. Mr. Dix
considered it more common than he had ever met with it in
England, and in our locality it was certainly an abundant
species. The nests we found were always lined with a thick welt
of rabbit’s fur.

MARSH TIT, Parus palustris—A common resident, very numerous
around Stone Hall. Curiously enough, Mr. Dix was never able
to detect it in his remote corner of the county. We have

2

14 The Birds of Pembrokeshire.

noticed that all the species of Tit are greedily fond of the oily
seeds of the sun-flower. One beautiful summer when we had
quite a plantation of these gaudy blooms we observed numerous
Tits apparently searching them, as we thought, for insects all
day long, and, as we knew them to be full of earwigs, we con-
sidered that they were hunting for these insects, and, like the
Robins, regarded them as special dainties, but on looking
closely at the flowers, we found that the seeds were what the little
birds were coming for, nor did they cease to visit the plants
as long as there was a single seed remaining. A pair of Marsh
Tits once had their nest in a hole in a willow tree a few yards
from our house. Standing close by the tree and keeping per-
fectly still, we kept watch upon the Tits when they were feeding
their young. Although we had our shoulder within a few inches
of the entrance to their nest they passed in and out quite fear-
lessly, one or other of the parent birds arriving about once a
minute with food. The number of the young within, and the
minuteness of each meal, some tiny spider or caterpillar, were
the occasions of this frequency, and it also bore witness to the
abundant supply of insect life close at hand.

BLUE TIT, Parus ceruleus.—A common resident, to be seen in our
shrubberies every day in the year. In severe weather these
little birds seek shelter, coming boldly into our house or into the
greenhouses. In the latter they did good service in hunting out
spiders and aphides.

NUTHATCH, Citta cesia.—Very rare in Pembrokeshire, where we
never once saw it, and are doubtful if it can be classed among
the resident birds. In his many years’ experience Mr. H.
Mathias has never met with it. Mr. Dix omits it in his list. We
think, therefore, Mr. Tracy was mistaken when he wrote that it
was “tolerably common.” The only Pembrokeshire specimen
of which we have knowledge is one that was shot by Baron de
Riitzen’s gardener at Slebech, Sept. 7th, 1893 ; for this informa-
tion we are indebted to Mr. F. Jeffreys, the Haverfordwest bird-

The Birds of Pembrokeshire. 15

stuffer. In the adjoining county of Carmarthenshire the Nut-
hatch is notuncommon. We saw a brood of young Nuthatches
in the grounds of Abergwili Palace in the summer of 1885.

WREN, 7Z7oglodytes parvulus.—A common resident, very abundant
in our grounds, where we used to detect numerous nests. One
we found was lined with the feathers of a Sparrow Hawk’s
breast, so the birds had evidently availed themselves of one that
had been shot in an adjoining plantation. A pair of Wrens
passed the whole of one severe winter in one of our green-
houses where they seem to have found plenty of food.

WHITE WAGTAIL, Motacilla alba—A summer visitor, no doubt
often overlooked and confounded with the next species. Writ-
ing as long ago as 1850, Mr. Tracy says: ‘I am convinced that
a few young birds of the Continental White Wagtail appear on
our coasts in the months of September and October.” But the
birds pass south again before either of those dates. Wesawa
flock of from 20 to 30 White Wagtails sitting on the telegraph
wires by Treffgarne Bridge towards the end of August, 1884, and
the birds were then evidently migrating. On 24th June, 1886,
we saw a pair of adult White Wagtails close to Clarbeston

Railway Station.

PIED WAGTAIL, Jtacilla lugubyis—A common resident. Mr
Dix writes : ‘‘I believe we have more during the winter than in
the summer. In September I noticed two or three parties of
from fifteen to twenty, which, I believe, were migrating; they
appeared to consist of two or three families. I have, invariably,
during the winter, seen this bird in pairs, male and female, so
there is some reason to think they pair for life. They seem
particularly fond of being in a sheep-fold, seldom entirely

leaving it.”

GREY WAGTAIL, Motacilla melanofe-—A common resident;
equally abundant throughout the year. We agree with Mr.

16 The Birds of Pembrokeshire.

Dix in considering this beautiful species, ‘ the Common Wag-
tail” of Pembrokeshire, breeding by every little stream. We
have found the nest within a few feet of our hall door at Stone
Hall.

BLUE-HEADED YELLOW WAGTAIL, J/aclla flava.—A rare
summer visitor from the south. Writing to us from Dale on 18th
October, 1886, Mr. H. Mathias informs us: ‘‘I am now able to
say for certain that the Greyheaded Wagtail is to be found in
Pembrokeshire. My friend, the Rev. Lyte Stradling, an orni-
thologist, told me one day, when we were shooting together,
and talking over Pembrokeshire birds, that he had seen a pair
of Greyheaded Wagtails on the flat, between the lime kilns and
the small bridge, dividing the parishes of Marloes and Dale, on
more than one occasion, and yesterday afternoon there was
one running about the road in front of my abode at this place.
I had a good opportunity of watching it, for it was not five
yards from my window to the stream of water by the side of the
road, along which it was seeking for food. From the brightness
of its colour, I am disposed to think it was an adult male.”

YELLOW WAGTAIL, Mofacilla raii.—A passing visitor in spring
and autumn ; rare in Pembrokeshire, and occurring only in the
southern parts of the county; we have never ourselves seen it.
Mr. Dix writes: “I have only once been able to identify this
bird in this district, when five were seen on 24th August, 1867.
Mr. Tracy, of Pembroke, says: “ Tolerably common in small
flocks, at the latter end of August and September, frequenting
pasture fields where cattle are grazing. I have oftentimes
wondered how they avoided being trodden on by the cattle.
Good old specimens are very scarce.” It is very doubtful if
this species nests within the confines of the county.

MEADOW PIPIT, Axthus pratensis—A common resident. Mr.
Dix says: ‘‘ Breeds on the mountains and bogs. I have seen
this bird on the tops of the mountains, where, excepting the

The Birds of Pembrokeshire. Y/

Skylark, it is the only bird to be seen; in such places I have
often heard it singing, as it stood upon a stone or a bunch of
heath. About September, or the beginning of October, it
comes down into the more sheltered parts, following the plough
in small flocks.” He adds: ‘“‘ They are constantly to be found
in the sheep-fold, running fearlessly about.”

TREE PIPIT, 4xz¢hus trivialis—A common summer visitor. Mr.
Dix writes: “Generally distributed, but is by no means
numerous.” We used to see it every summer at Stone Hall,
and noted it at St. David’s, &c., &c.

ROCK PIPIT, Anthus obscurus—A common resident, only on the
coast. Watching some Rock Pipits one day as they were run-
ning about at the foot of some sandhills we were amused by
their gestures, which not a little imitated those of the common
Ring Plover. They would run rapidly a few paces, and then,
like that bird, bring themselves up with a sudden jerk, stand
still, and then run on again for a short distance, again to stop,
and run on. Mr. Mortimer Propert, of St. David’s, one sum-
mer took a nest of the Rock Pipit on the Bishop’s Rock. It
was extremely compact, and constructed of bents thickly lined
inside with horse-hairs. To procure the horse-hairs the Pipits
must have flown to and fro over three miles of water to Ramsey
Island, the nearest point where they would find a horse. We
have never seen any of the vinous-breasted, greyer-backed Rock
Pipits, in Pembrokeshire, that are summer visitors to this king-
dom from the north of Europe, and go by the name of the
Scandinavian Rock Pipit, and are not very rare.

GOLDEN ORIOLE, Oviolus galbula.—A very rare summer visitor
from the south. We are informed by Sir Hugh Owen that he
saw a Golden Oriole at Goodwick in May, 1870; and the Rev.
C. M. Phelps, in the “ Tenby Guide,” is an authority for this
beautiful bird having been seen elsewhere in the county.

3

18 The Birds of Pembrokeshire.

GREAT GREY SHRIKE, Zanius excubitor—aA very rare winter
visitor. This species is far from rare in the winter on the
northern and eastern coasts of England, and, like many other
birds visiting this kingdom from the east, very rarely penetrates
so far to the west as to reach the south-western corner of Wales.
Indeed, the only county example we know of is one we have
been informed of by Mr. H. Mathias, that was killed some
years ago by the late Rev. W. Webb-Bowen, of Camrose, at
Wolfsdale in that parish. This is the specimen that was in the
collection of Mr. R. J. Ackland, at Boulston.

RED-BACKED SHRIKE, Zaxius collurio.—A summer visitor,
very rarely seen in the north of the county. Mr. Dix states that
he had only once seen it in his district. When we used to
drive into Haverfordwest from Stone Hall we frequently saw a
pair of these birds on the telegraph wires by the roadside, as we
drew near to the town. But some seasons would pass without
our seeing any. Mr. Tracy thought the Red-backed Shrike
was “common, and pretty equally distributed in pairs over
the county,” but we must join issue with him, as we have never
once seen a Red-backed Shrike in the Fishguard or St. David’s
district, nor, indeed, at any place in the north of the county.
Mr. Jeffereys informs us that a pair nest annually in some low
bushes on the Black Rock, a mile or two out of Tenby, and that
he has never heard of any others in the Tenby district. And
Mr. E. W. H. Blagg tells us that he found a nest, with four
fresh eggs, June 21st, 1887, at Tenby.

WAXWING, Ampelis garrulus.—A rare, irregular, winter visitor.
This beautiful bird, at irregular intervals, makes its appearance
in flocks on the eastern coasts of England, but very rarely
wanders so far as to our western counties. In those years when
they arrive in unusual numbers (as they did in the winter of
1849-50), a few are generally recorded from all parts of the
kingdom, so that we consider it highly probable that Pembroke-
shire may have shared in one or other of these exceptional

The Birds of Pembrokeshire. 19

visitations ; but the species is not included in any lists we have
received, nor do we know of a specimen in any collection.
Mr. Dix mentions one that was obtained just over our borders
in Carmarthenshire: “I am informed by my friend, Mr. J.
Phillips, of Newcastle-Emlyn, that a single bird of this species
was shot a few years since near Llandyssil, in Carmarthen-
shire.”

SPOTTED FLYCATCHER, Muscicapa grisola—A common sum-
mer visitor. This little bird was very numerous around us at
Stone Hall, where one summer we detected six or seven of its
nests close to our house.

PIED FLYCATCHER, Muscicapa atricapilla—A rare summer
visitor, only occasionally noticed. We have never met with it
in the county. Of late years the Pied Flycatcher has been
ascertained to be far from an uncommon bird in many districts
in northern and central Wales, generally frequenting woods at
some elevation above the sea-level on mountain sides, where it
nests in holes in oak trees. But we have no record of its nest
ever having been obtained in Pembrokeshire, where it appears to
be only a rare passing visitor. There are specimens in Lord
Cawdor’s collection at Stackpole Court that were obtained in
the neighbourhood, and Mr. Dix was informed by Mr. Tracy
that the bird was occasionally seen in spring andautumn. It Is
not included in the lists of county birds supplied us by Mr. H.
Mathias and Sir Hugh Owen.

SWALLOW, Airundo rustica—A common summer visitor. We
used to greet the Swallows on roth April, as an average date, at
Stone Hall, where they were always numerous, and nested in all
our outbuildings, bringing off two broods of young in the course
of the summer. When the May Fly was “up” on the Cleddy
below our house it was a grand time for the Avrundines. In
company with numerous Sparrows and Chaffinches they gathered
to the feast, and most eagerly pursued the chase of the dancing

20

The Birds of Pembrokeshire.

ephemere. The tiny Sand Martins appeared to have no difficulty
in bolting them, and we could hear the snap of their mandibles
as one disappeared inside. One day a Swift in headlong pursuit
collided against our head and fluttered stunned to the ground,
but soon recovered and rose again on wing. The greater
number of our Swallows left us in North Pembrokeshire about
the middle of September ; some had gone before in August,
and very few remained in the early days of October.

MARTIN, Chelidon urbica—A common summer visitor. As Mr.

Dix also observed in his district, the Martins were not so
numerous with us as the Swallows, but we generally had a few
pairs nesting about the house. They arrived about a fortnight
after the Swallows, and departed again in detachments in Sep-
tember and October.

SAND MARTIN, Cottle riparia.A common summer visitor. The

Sand Martins were generally first seen some day in the last week
of March, flying about Welshhook Bridge, below our house. They
were always abundant, perhaps more so even than the Swallows,
nesting in banks and in the sides of gravel pits and old quar-
ries. Owing to the want of suitable nesting places Mr. Dix
failed to observe this species in his district, writing: “I have
only once seen this bird, where four or five were skimming over
the river by Cardigan Bridge.”

TREE CREEPER, Certhia familiaris—A common resident. ‘To

be seen in our grounds at Stone Hall every day in the year.
Although numerous, we but seldom detected the nest, which
was usually placed behind the ivy creeping over some old tree,
where the moss of which it was constructed exactly imitated the
colour of its surroundings and aided in its concealment.

GOLDFINCH, Cardwelis elegans. — A common resident. Still

abundant, in spite of the persecution sustained from bird-
catchers, who take great numbers in the autumn when the birds

The Birds of Pembrokeshire. 21

collect upon the coast. We have been informed that thirty-
three dozen were caught at one time at Fishguard. Mr. Dix
says: “I have seen as many as sixty or eighty in a flock in the
autumn and winter, feeding upon the seeds of the grasses in the
meadows.” One summer we detected six nests in our grounds ;
the raspberry canes and some old plum trees covered with
lichens, in the kitchen garden, providing the favourite sites.

SISKIN, Cirypsomitris spinus.—A winter visitor ; rare. Mr. Tracy
says: ‘Taken occasionally in the autumn feeding on the seeds
of the birch and alder.” Not included by Mr. Dix, but in
the list supplied us by Mr. H. Mathias. The bird-catchers
catch a few, but not every winter, and inform us that it is never
numerous. A flock of about twenty appeared in an alder-bed
at Stone Hall at the beginning of December, 1866.

GREENFINCH, Zigurinus chloris—A common resident. Only
too numerous in our grounds, where in the old ivy-covered
walls there were always plenty of nests. We were no admirers
of this bright-plumaged bird, because of his ceaseless attacks
upon our garden seeds in the spring. All had to be netted
over, or nothing would have escaped him. One pair of Green-
finches had the audacity to build their nest immediately above
our seed bed, but they did not meet with the success they had,
doubtless, anticipated.

HAWFINCH, Coccothraustes vulgaris—A very rare winter visitor.
In Mr. H. Mathias’ list. We saw a pair in the collection of the
late Mr. Fortune, at Leweston, that he had shot near his resi-
dence. Sir Hugh Owen obtained one at Llanstinan in the
spring of 1854. A Sparrow-hawk, shot by the late Baron de
Riitzen, at Slebech, September 13th, 1889, was in the act of
carrying off a Hawfinch, which was secured with it. Not
included by Mr. Dix.

HOUSE SPARROW, Passer domesticus—A common resident.

but rather scarce in the “ mountain ” districts. Mr. Dix writes:

22 The Birds of Pembrokeshire.

“Comparatively a scarce bird; during the severe weather last
February, I did not notice more than three or four together at
any time in the yards. Nothing has struck me more than the
scarcity of this bird.” When we first went to reside at Stone
Hall we had no Sparrows there. At length one or two appeared,
and their increase was rapid. It was not until we one day
visited Llanrian, on the north coast, that we saw Sparrows in
anything like the numbers to which we have been accustomed
in England. The old church tower there is thickly covered
with ivy in which hundreds of Sparrows were harbouring and
nesting. The absence of cornlands, and the sparsely inhabited
country, in which isolated mountain farms are far apart, would
account for the comparative scarcity of the House Sparrow, in
most places a far too abundant pest. Mr. Jefferys informs us
that the House Sparrow is by no means common at Tenby.

CHAFFINCH, /vingi/la celebs—A common resident, by far the
most numerous, after the Common Linnet, of the whole finch
tribe in the county. Mr. Dix thought it ‘by far the most
numerous of the Conirostres, exceeding in numbers all the others
combined.” He adds that he had never noticed any separation
of the sexes, or addition to its numbers during the winter. He
thought the Chaffinch the only small bird that, in his district,
was as numerously represented as it is in the south and east of
England. Wedo not agree with him in this opinion. The
Common Linnet and the Yellow Hammer, not to mention several
other small birds, are quite as abundant in Pembrokeshire as we
ever met them in the English counties we were familiar
with. At Stone Hall our Chaffinches were remarkably tame, very
often coming into the house to pay us visits, and they would
build their nests as close to us as they could in the creepers
trained around our windows. One pair that did so came in
daily at the dining-room window to feed on any seeds that fell
on the floor from our various cages, and finding the eggs in
the nest to be unusually large and brightly coloured, the effect,
we considered, of the hen bird’s good feeding, we appropri-

The Birds of Pembrokeshtre. 23

ated one or two of them for our collection. ‘During the
severe winter in January, 1867,” writes Mr. Dix, “ several Chaf-
finches were frozen to death. On the night of the r4th the
thermometer fell to five degrees below zero; the next morning
four of these birds were brought to me quite dead and stiff,—
all of them had their heads under their wings as though they
died asleep, —doubtless starvation had something to do with it,
but I am persuaded the cold killed them. The 3oth October
following, I saw the largest flock I ever noticed. There must
have been five or six hundred birds ; they were in a small field
close to the mountains ; I watched them for some time without
seeing a single bird of any other species.”

BRAMBLING, /ingilla montifringilla.—A winter visitor ; rare and
irregular. We had so many beech trees in our grounds, the
mast of which is a favourite food with this species, that every
winter we were on the watch for it, confidently expecting its
appearance. But we never once saw it, and it seems to be a
rare bird in Pembrokeshire—at least, in the north of the county.
It is not included by Mr. Dix. Mr. Tracy says that it is “ very
common some winters, feeding in flocks with Chaffinches in
farmyards, and in woods on the beech mast.” Sir Hugh Owen
has obtained specimens at Goodwick, and the Rev. Clennell
Wilkinson at Castle Martin; and Mr. H. Mathias has also met
with it. We have also a note of its occurrence near Tenby.

LINNET, Zixota cannabina.—A common resident. This, one of
our favourites among the smaller birds, because of its general
cheerfulness and bright little song, is very numerous with us, as
might well be expected in a county so abounding in furze.
We used to detect a number of nests in all our brakes, and in
the autumn and winter never failed to observe large flocks in the
stubbles and turnip fields of “ Brown” Linnets, as they are then
aptly called, because of their uniform grey brown winter

plumage.

24 The Birds of Pembrokeshire.

LESSER REDPOLL, Zinofa rufescens—A resident in small num-
bers, and acommon winter visitor. A pair were seen, evidently
nesting, by the late Mr. Stokes, of Cuffern, in the spring of
1887, at Ferny Glen, near Roch, in a larch tree. Small flocks
regularly appear in the autumn, and one of about a dozen birds
generally visited our gardens every winter, remaining with us
until the spring had well advanced. Mr. Dix states: ‘‘I have
seen one flock of about twenty this winter, on 3rd January ;
they were feeding on some alders near Cardigan.” Mr. Tracy
considered this small species “rare,” adding, “a few frequent
the mountainous part of the county.” Mr. Jefferys, of Tenby,
has informed us that among some eggs sent to him from Boncath
to be named, was one marked: ‘Found here in May, nest like
Goldfinch,” which proved to be an egg of the Lesser Redpoll.

BULLFINCH, 2yrrhula europea—A common resident. In the
spring and summer the birds are, for the most part, concealed in
the leafy copses where they are nesting, and, as Mr. Dix well
remarks, they appear to be more numerous during the winter,
because they then leave the woods. We had always nests in
our grounds at Stone Hall, and never interfered with these
delightful little birds, in spite of the bad character they bear
with gardeners for their destruction of fruit and other buds. One
winter our paths were littered with the husks of our lilac buds ; a
flock of Bullfinches had been frequenting the bushes for days,
and we thought sorrowfully that our garden in the following
spring would miss the sweet perfume of the flowers; but, to our
surprise, we had as good a show of bloom as we had ever had,
so we then concluded the birds had only done us good by a
judicious thinning of superabundant buds. We are never
without several Bullfinches in our aviary, the larger Russian
variety and our homely ‘‘ Hoop,” because there are no other
little birds that are so easily tamed and become so affectionate.
Mr. Tracy remarks: ‘‘ Bullfinches, in confinement, if fed on
hempseed, soon change colour, and in two or three years
become black. One kept for several years at an inn in Pem-

The Birds of Pembrokeshtre. 25

broke was quite black, and afterwards changed again to his

original colour, which was considered an ill omen, as the land-
lord died the same year.”

[PINE GROSBEAK, Pinicola enucleator—Although we believe that
this north European species has no claim to a place on the list
of Pembrokeshire birds, yet we are obliged to admit it because
of a piece of ancient history of which it would not do to evince
our ignorance. In Mr. Harting’s useful ‘ Handbook of British
Birds,” at p. 113, it is stated that “several” of these birds
appeared in Pembrokeshire “date not mentioned, Fox, Synops.
Newcastle Mus., p. 65.” And the following appears as a note in
Professor Newton’s edition of Yarrell’s ‘British Birds,” vol. i,
p. 178: “A flock of about a hundred unknown birds came to a
hempyard in Pembrokeshire in Sept., 1694, as reported by a Mr.
Roberts to Léhwyd Phil. Trans., xxvil., pp. 464, 466, who sus-
pected they were ‘ Virginia Nightingales’ (Cavdénalis virginianus),
but later writers suggested they were Pine Grosbeaks.” They
may have been anything ; if we might venture a guess, we should
say “ Common Crossbills.’’]

CROSSBILL, Zoxia curvirostra—An irregular visitor, at all seasons
of the year. The absence of apple orchards in Pembrokeshire
may partly account for the infrequency of the appearance of
the Common Crossbill in the county. We know of only two
records of its occurrence. Mr. Tracy met with a single speci-
men, one sent to him about 1858 from Angle, a village on the
coast to the south-west of Pembroke, and Mr. Dix states that
during the autumn of 1868, a year when Crossbills were
observed at several localities in the West of England, a few
were seen in the lower part of the county, and that he heard of
three having been killed near Stackpole Court.

CORN BUNTING, Zmberiza miliaria.—Resident, but local, and
never seen far from the coast. Is, perhaps, more plentiful
immediately around St. David’s than anywhere else in the
county. We have never met with it more than five miles

4

26 The Birds of Pembrokeshire.

inland. Mr. James Tracy states that it is plentiful at
Pembroke all the year round. Mr. Dix writes: “As I was
driving over the mountains to Narberth last February, I
counted five on one bush, and saw at least a dozen others.”
Mr. E. W. H. Blagg tells us that he found the Corn Bunting
very abundant in the neighbourhood of Tenby.

YELLOW HAMMER, Zyeriza citrinellan—Resident. One of
our most abundant small birds. They are believed by the
Welsh people to encourage snakes to enter their nests to devour
the young birds, and are on this account held by them in great
aversion. In other parts of the world this species has evil
things reported of it in the folk-lore, and is much persecuted.

CIRL BUNTING, Z£yberiza cirlus—A rare occasional visitor. No
record of its having nested in the county. There are speci-
mens in the Stackpole Court collection. Is stated to have
been seen near Tenby, and is included in Mr. Mathias’ list.
One shot, according to Rev. C. M. Phelps, near Solva. Mr.
Howard Saunders, who spent the summer of 1893 at Dinas, in
the north of the county, has informed us that while he was there
he one day “had a perfect view” of a male Cirl Bunting. We
never ourselves detected one, nor could Mr. Dix include this
species among the birds noted by him in his district. In their
long experience, as keen oologists, Dr. Propert and his sons
never met with the Cirl Bunting in the neighbourhood of St.
David's.

REED BUNTING, Zideriza scheniclus —Resident, scarce. A few
on the Cleddy, beneath Stone Hall, where we have found the
nest. Also to be met with on the furze on bogs. We one day
shot a very pretty fawn-coloured variety on Brimaston Moun-
tain. Mr. Dix thought this species “by no means common,”
adding, ‘a few are seen by the rivers in suitable localities.”
This is rather a solitary bird, one we never remember to have
seen in flocks.

The Birds of Pembrokeshire. 27

SNOW BUNTING, Plectrophenax nivalis.—A winter visitor, rather
rare. Never seen by us, Sir Hugh Owen has met with it near
Fishguard. Mr. Tracy says, ‘‘often obtained in a severe
winter.” In Mr. Mathias’ list, but does not appear to have
occurred to Mr. Dix. “White Buntings” are reported to have
been seen about the rocks at the Smalls Lighthouse on October
17th, 1884. These were doubtless Snow Buntings migrating.

STARLING, Sturnus vulearis.—Common resident ; vast arrivals in
the autumn. When we took up our residence in the county in
1880, the Starling was only then a nesting species in a few
localities. We heard of one or two instances of its breeding at
St. David’s, but there were no nests in our immediate neigh-
bourhood. Before we left Stone Hall we had numerous nests
in hollow trees in our grounds, and the bird appeared to be
rapidly establishing itself throughout the county. Its numbers
in the autumn and throughout the winter are almost beyond
belief. A large plantation of laurels at Stone Hall close to the
house was occupied as a roosting place, and had to be destroyed
on account of the offensive smell caused by the birds. Another
great roosting-place in our neighbourhood was in a small fir
plantation at the back of the singular Treftgarne Rocks. Here,
as the trees failed to supply sufficient perches to the birds, the
heather on the mountain adjoining was occupied by them for
several acres, and the ground was whitened over by their
mutings. The flocks of an afternoon, as the birds collected to
fly to their roosting places, were a sight to behold. The air
was almost darkened as the immense concourse passed, and the
sound of the wings could be heard at a considerable distance.
On its way through the sky the vast assemblage indulged in
wonderful evolutions, at one time suddenly contracting into
the form of an enormous balloon ; at another time, as suddenly
expanding, it shot out into a gigantic black ribband drawn
across the heavens. Numbers roosted in the rhododendrons
in our grounds, and as flock after flock arrived, we beheld them
darting suddenly vertically downwards on to their perches,
where there would be some confusion and chattering before

28

The Birds of Pembrokeshire.

peace and quiet prevailed. The flocks feeding on our
lawn were never without some few cripples, either one-legged
birds, or birds deficient in a toe or two; and we used to wonder
whether they were liable to foot disease, or whether the lame
birds had been injured by some cruel shot fired (perhaps
hundreds of miles away) “into the brown” of the flocks.
Writing as long ago as 1866, Mr. Dix says of the Starling: “It
arrives about the middle of October in large flocks, leaving
again in February. One pair stayed and bred about a mile
from here last season ; it was the only instance I heard of. It
seems strange that they should leave during the breeding season ;
it cannot be from the want of food, as in a damp climate like
this worms are plentiful, and stone walls, thatched cottages, and
ruinous buildings are common enough to accommodate them.”
Mr. Tracy, giving his experience of the Starling in the south of
the county about 1850, speaks of it as a winter visitor, arriving
in October in immense flocks, and adds: “A few pairs remain
and breed here, and during the last four or five years [the
nesting birds] have increased very considerably.” Mr. Jefferys,
however, informs us that the Starling is decidedly rare during
the breeding season in the neighbourhood of Tenby. We are
very fond of the Starling. He is not only a cheerful and lively
bird, with a most amusing song that imitates very many other
birds, and very domestic in his habits, loving to approach and
haunt our dwellings, but he is at all times harmless, and useful
in devouring countless injurious grubs, and his occasional thefts
of fruit we are most willing to condone; and then we have,
from long observation, formed a very high opinion of his peace-
able disposition. Watching the large flocks feeding on the
pastures, how rarely any of the birds appear to quarrel. As
they search for food those in the rear fly over to the front, and
are then superseded by those behind flying over them in turn,
and so the flock advances, eagerly examining and probing the
grass with their beaks on the hunt for beetles and worms, and
when one bird makes a capture those nearest immediately run
up to search more diligently the lucky spot, while all the time

The Birds of Pembrokeshire. 29

their operations are conducted with perfect friendliness and
amiability. One hard winter, when day after day we fed
numerous starving birds at our dining-room window, we had
among them a little flock of about a dozen Starlings, and we
never observed any pushing or crowding or contention among
them. However hungry they might be, each bird seemed to
give way to the other, and we thought their conduct was a per-
fect pattern of gentlemanly behaviour, and the good opinion we
had always held of the Starlings was greatly confirmed.

ROSE-COLOURED PASTOR, fastor voseus.—A rare occasional
visitor inthe spring and autumn. In the Tenby Guide the Rev.
C. M. Phelps states that the Rose Pastor has been seen in Pem-
brokeshire without specifying either locality or date, but we
believe it was in the neighhourhood of St. Florence. The Rev.
Clennell Wilkinson has informed us that he is pretty certain that
he has seen a Rose Pastor at Castle Martin.

CHOUGH, Pyrrhocorax graculus—Resident. There can be no doubt
that 50 years ago the Chough was a common bird on the coast
allthe way round from Tenby to St. David’s Head, and on towards
Cardiganshire about Dinas, &c, It is now rapidly becoming
scarce, and if it were not for its sagacity in building in holes and
crannies of inaccessible cliffs, it would long ago have been ex-
terminated, as all its eggs would have been taken to meet the
demands of collectors. In describing his birds-nesting expe-
riences, our friend the Rev. C. M. Phelps well says: “If the
Raven’s nest be difficult to get at, much more is that of the
Chough. Like the Raven he chooses the highest cliffs ; but he
does more. He finds out all the deepest holes, and there he
places his nest out of sight and out of reach. And should there
be a dark chasm or cauldron anywhere in the neighbourhood, in
the darkest depths of that chasm the nest and eggs will be
securely hidden. In one instance, at St. David’s, the nest was
built in the roof of a cave. At low tide only could the cave be
approached, and then, to get into it a brother oologist had to strip
and swim across a deep, cold pool, only to find the nest far

30

The Birds of Pembrokeshire.

beyondhisreach inadeep hole in the roof of the cavern. Inanother
case, also at St. David’s, the nest was placed under an extremely
over-hanging cliff of purple silurian, in a hole six or eight feet
deep. This hole was some 4o feet from the rocks below, and
was impregnable, as it could neither be reached from the summit
nor fromthe shore. I have known a third placed in a narrow
chasm, 150 feet in depth, and with walls of rock as sheer as the
sides of a house.” In former days, Mr. Phelps says, according
to tradition, the Choughs nested in the ruins of the Bishop’s
Palace at St. David’s, until they were driven out by Jackdaws,
but as the nests could there have been easily robbed, he sus-
pects they were “human Jackdaws.” The nest, he states, is
large, and lined with wool. He one day saw a large flock of
Choughs wheeling about the lofty rocky promontory known as
Dinas Head. We have seen the Chough on Ramsey Island.
His longer wings and more buoyant flight serve easily to dis-
tinguish him from the Jackdaw, and his cry is also unmistakable.
Our friend, Mr. Mortimer Propert, of St. David’s, possesses
some beautiful clutches of Chough’s eggs, all taken by himself
on his romantic coast. Some of his eggs are the largest we
have ever seen, and are slightly pyriform, like varieties we have
seen of other species of Corvéde. Young Choughs are very
easily tamed, and are very familiar and impudent. One kept by
Mr. Tracy was omnivorous in its diet, and liked to have its
head scratched by children. ‘ When alone he is constantly
chattering, squalling, and making a variety of noises, but I have
not heard him distinctly articulate any word yet, although he
appears equally capable with the Parrot.” Mr. Samuel Gurney,
writing to the Zoologist for 1857, describes the ruins of Manor-
beer Castle, near Tenby, as being at that date frequented by
Choughs ‘‘which bred there in great abundance.” He was
told by the village schoolmaster that in the breeding season
and in the winter the Choughs were very tame, collecting
in numbers around the school-room door at the time the
school broke up in order to pick up pieces of bread thrown to
them by the children. An anecdote was told him of one

The Birds of Pembrokeshire. 31

of the Choughs that had been brought up by some children
who lived about two miles from the village. Whenever they
left home to go to school the bird would precede them, and
arrive there a few minutes after they had started, and some
twenty minutes before them. This it did so regularly that the
master knew when the children might be expected.” Mr.
Charles Jefferys, of Tenby, informs us that he believes the
Chough still breeds at the back of Caldy, ze, on the channel
side of the island. They certainly did some four or five years
ago, and in the spring of 1893 he saw a pair flying about the
adjacent island of St. Margaret’s that had come from the direc-
tion of Caldy.' During the ten years he has resided in Tenby
he has never known any eggs of the Chough, or young, to be
taken in the immediate neighbourhood, and, as far as he is
aware, no birds have been killed on Caldy ; still, they each year
become rarer. Six or seven years ago he used to see them pretty
often about the cliffs between Tenby and Lydstep, but very
rarely sees one now. A friend of ours who was paying a
summer visit to Tenby recently tells us that he shot a Chough
on the beach there that was flying at a considerable distance
from him in the midst of a flock of Jackdaws. Apart from the
persecution they meet with, the Choughs appear to be dying out
in Pembrokeshire just as they are in Cornwall and Devonshire,
where in former years they were equally numerous. When he
was staying at Tenby in June, 1887, Mr. E. W. H. Blagg tells
us that he saw several old Choughs on the coast by Giltar.

JAY, Garrulus glandarius.—Resident ; not common. Ina county
with so few woods as Pembrokeshire this bird of the coppice
would naturally be somewhat scarce, and in the woods where he
occurs he is, unfortunately, the object of constant persecution
at the hand of keepers. We had plenty of Jays around us at
Stone Hall, and derived constant amusement from their clever

"In the Report of the Migration of Birds, as observed at Lighthouses, for 1881,
Mr. Ebben writes from Caldy Lighthouse: ‘* The Chough breeds upon the island,
and never goes away.”

32 The Birds of Pembrokeshire.

mimicry of other birds. So cleverly did they copy the mating
notes of our friends the Brown Owls, that we have frequently
gone out on our lawn to look up into a tree expecting to see an
Owl upon one of its branches, when an impudent Jay has
fluttered out. We took a young one out of a nest in the
shrubbery one year, and brought it up in a cage, side by side
with an accomplished Ring-necked Parrakeet (Paleornts torqua-
tus). The Jay soon learned all the Polly’s words, and would
repeat them in the Polly’s ridiculous voice, to the great indigna-
tion of that bird, who for a long time sulked in silence in
consequence. One summer we had quite a plague of rats and
field mice in our kitchen garden, and all our peas were being
fast devoured. To destroy these pests we put poisoned pieces
of bread about the garden, and, unfortunately, these were seen
and carried off by the Jays, the result being that we found their
dead bodies lying all over our grounds. After this we saw no
Jays for several years. The survivors not only left us, but must
have represented to their fellows that our covers were danger-
ous, and it was only after a long interval that confidence was
restored, and any Jays returned to us.

MAGPIE, Pica rustica.—A common resident. Very numerous
about all the wild and unpreserved districts of the county.
Such numbers used to resort to our covers to roost that one
winter we shot many of them, and the rest, taking the hint that
we did not desire their presence, left us for a time. When we
first waged war against them we were astonished at their
indifference to our gun. We shot two or three out of a tree,
and the others perched on it only craned their necks towards
us, keeping up a great chattering, and never thought of flying
away. We had many lying dead upon the ground before there
was any attempt to escape. It was not until after several nights
of slaughter that the birds judged it to be advisable to give our
woods a wide berth. Magpies are great devourers of eggs,
young birds, &c., and it was on account of our Pheasants that
we wished to frighten them away. In severe winters they are

The Birds of Pembrokeshire. 33

almost the only birds that keep sleek and fat, as they then feast
upon the starving smaller birds. Mr. Dix writes of the Mag-
pie: “Very common, but so readily destroyed that I fear it will
soon be a rarity; still, as there are large tracts of country
without a gamekeeper, it has a chance for the present. It is a
very destructive bird, and in many places is quite a pest. I
have heard of a place, in the extreme south of the principality,
where they used to congregate at night like Rooks: it took all
the keeper’s time to watch them till some poison was laid, and
the following morning he picked up two or three barrows full of
the dead birds. The country people are very superstitious,
finding omens in numberless occurrences, and this bird is most
carefully watched, as upon the number seen together, the
direction of their flight, &c., depends a great deal of good or
bad luck.”

JACKDAW, Corvus monedula—A common resident. Very abun-
dant on the cliffs, about all old buildings, such as the ruins of the
Bishop’s Palace at St. David’s, Pembroke Castle, &c., about
isolated dwellings in the wilder part of the county, where the
birds fill up all the chimneys with their nests, and in doing this
were a great plague to us at Stone Hall, and nesting also in
hollow trees. To be seen with Rooks robbing the grain in the
autumn from the stooks in the corn-fields. It is the custom in
Pembrokeshire for the stooks to be left out a month or six weeks
before “ leading in,” and the birds have thus an Opportunity to
take their full tithe. Nor do they neglect to attack the ricks in
the farm-yard, and we were often compelled to drive them away
by shooting at them. In spite of all their mischief the Jackdaws
are great favourites of ours, and we always enjoyed seeing them
and watching their lively gestures on the coast, where their noisy
chatter would be greatly missed. At St. David’s gardening
operations, especially in the Deanery garden, are carried on
under great difficulties, owing to the impudent thefts of the
Jackdaws that swarm there at all times of the year; and little
can be had in the way of fruit or vegetables without careful pro-

5

34 The Birds of Pembrokeshire.

tection by nets, &c. Fishing tackle and hooks, and a great
variety of curious things, have been found in the Jackdaws’ nests
in the ruins of the Bishop’s Palace at St. David’s.

CARRION CROW, Corvus corone.—A common resident. In the
‘*mountain ” parts of the county this destructive and mischievous
bird is so numerous as to be quite a pest. He is always thieving,
and on the watch for newly dropped lambs, young rabbits,
wounded game, eggs of all kinds, chickens, &c. Great used to
be our indignation at finding throughout the spring freshly sucked
Pheasants’ eggs lying everywhere about our covers. From the
bare district around us the Crows would gather in our plantations
at the nesting season, vexing our ears all day long with their
discordant croaks. We never left them alone, and it was only
when the nest was so successfully concealed as to escape our
search that the black marauders were able to bring out a brood.
When the young are first out of the nest they keep together for
some weeks, and are then to be easily approached and shot.
One spring we took over twenty nests in our small plantations,
and had a grand series of seventy Crows’ eggs as the result.
One nest, cleverly hidden in an ivy-covered tree, was detected
owing to the shells of Pheasants’ and Moorhens’ eggs, more than
a dozen lying on the ground beneath. Most of these eggs still
contained the whites, showing that it is the yelk only that the
old birds carry in their beaks to their precious young. A Crow’s
nest is a veritable fortress, constructed of such a mass of sticks
and twigs as to be quite impenetrable to shot if it is fired up at
from below. It is closely and thickly lined with sheep’s wool,
and is such a perfect nest as to be gladly adopted by various
other birds when they have the chance, such as Brown Owls,
Kestrels, Sparrow Hawks, &c. Carrion Crows are devoted parents.
Cunning as they are in keeping out of danger at other times, we
have frequently had them fly boldly up to our gun when we
have been near the nest containing their fledgelings. In dry
weather in the middle of the summer we used to see the Crows
searching the shallows of the Cleddy for fresh water mussels and

The Birds of Pembrokeshire, 35

small trout. In a long continued drought they suffered severely,
and numbers would be found lying about dead. In his district,
Mr. Dix states that they went by the name of the “ Farmers’
Crow,” and were terribly destructive, particularly to the young
lambs of the mountain sheep, and adds: “It is surprising how
quickly they kill them; stealing upon them when asleep they
effect their object by first tearing the eye out, and by repeated
blows through the socket. They generally attack the young and
weakly lambs.” When we were on Skomer we were informed by
Mr. Vaughan Davies that the eggs were taken from a Carrion
Crow’s nest on the island, and were replaced by the eggs of one
of the farm-yard Pullets, and that in due time these substituted
eggs were all hatched out by the Crow, and the Chickens then
taken fromthe nest were all ddack. As there were no black Fowls
upon the island at the time this was regarded as a prodigy, due
to the agency of the Crows !

HOODED CROW, Corvus cornix.—A winter visitor. Has become
rare in the county, and in the West of England generally, in
the last thirty years. At the time Mr. Tracy published his
notes, nearly fifty years ago, a few used to visit the coast in
the autumn, but did not stay long. One was shot at Pembroke,
in December, 1889, and sent to Jeffrys, at Haverfordwest, for
preservation, and one frequented the cliffs at Tenby, in the
winter of 1892; these are the only examples we have heard
of in recent years.

ROOK, Corvus frugilegus—Resident, and abundant. The county
appears to suit the requirements of the Rook, as it is numerous
in all districts, and is evidently increasing in numbers. In the
severe winter of 1880 thousands perished. ‘Their dead bodies
were to be seen high up in the trees suspended frozen among the
branches, and when the deep snow disappeared hundreds were
discovered to have been buried beneath it, especially in the
vicinity of small splashets, where the birds had sought in vain for
food. The Rooks from Sealyham, where there is a vast rookery,
used to pass over Stone Hall regularly twice every day, in the

36

The Birds of Pembrokeshire.

morning shortly after sunrise, when they would be on their way
to disperse in search of food over the mountain country beyond,
and in the evening at sunset, on their return to their rookery.
Whatever the weather they never seemed to deviate more thana
foot or two from their aerial path, and we have often watched
them in stormy winds doing their utmost to keep to it. The
“mountains” evidently afforded them an abundant supply of
varied food, and we ascribe to this their numbers throughout
the county, in many parts of which there are very extensive
and densely populated rookeries. Although the Rook is a
great thief, stealing grain, potatoes, eggs, and murdering young
rabbits and small birds whenever he gets the chance almost
as persistently as the Carrion Crow himself, yet we have always
considered that the evil he does is outbalanced by the good,
in his devouring such countless hosts of injurious worms and
grubs that, if they were not thus kept in check, would soon
reduce the whole country to a state of desolation and sterility.

RAVEN, Corvus corax.—Resident. The Raven is still in sufficient

numbers to justify our considering it as one of the characteristic
birds of the county. We scarcely ever visited any part of the
coast without beholding a Raven, or a pair of Ravens, and often
have we seen them flying overhead far inland. The Rey. C. M.
Phelps thought that there were about twelve nests of the Raven
on the cliffs, following the coast round from south to north, and
there is also a nest or two in each of the islands of Ramsey and
Skomer, and on a few places inland, in some of the old castle
walls, and they are said to have bred (and possibly may still do
so) on the Treffgarne Rocks. ‘Their nests are often placed
on sites which are beyond the reach of any who might wish
to rob them. We visited a nest in his parish of Castle Martin,
in company with the Rey. Clennell Wilkinson, the Rector,
that was placed on a shelf on the cliff beneath a great over-
hanging crag, the waves dashing against pointed rocks far below.
This nest, which was an enormous stack of sticks thickly lined
with sheep’s wool, had evidently been added to by the pair of

The Birds of Pembrokeshire. 37

birds year after year, and had probably been occupied by genera-
tion after generation of Ravens. While we were watching it, the
Ravens, in their anger and excitement, kept on performing ex-
traordinary evolutions in the air, at one instant shooting vertically
upwards, the next instant, swooping down and disappearing
behind a neighbouring cliff, they would again dart upwards, and
sometimes suddenly swoop so close to our heads that we could
feel the vibration of the air as they darted by. All the time they
barked and croaked their wrath at our intrusion. It would
have been perfectly easy to have shot them both, and we have
heard with regret that a nest of Ravens, that had been long
established on the coast, a little to the east of Tenby, was des-
troyed through the keepers shooting the old birds when they
offered themselves as easy victims at the breeding season.
Ravens nest very early in the year; Mr. Tracy saw eggs in a nest
on 14th February in 1842, and took six from another nest
on 4th April in that year. In Dr. Propert’s splendid collection
of eggs, there is a very fine and remarkable clutch of Ravens’
eggs that were taken by Mr. Mortimer Propert, on Ramsey
Island, in the spring of 1885 : the eggs are large in size, and are
pyriform in shape, like the eggs of the Guillemot. We have
in our cabinet an exactly similar clutch of six eggs, taken a year
or two since at romantic Tintagel, in Cornwall. The Rev. C.
M. Phelps writes : “ Just beyond Pendine (in the neighbourhood
of Tenby) rises Gilman Point, a lofty headland of limestone.
Gilman introduces us to an important personage, Corvus corax
—the Raven. How persecuted this bird is! I verily believe
he has been driven from other parts of South Wales to find
4 more secure home on the wild coast of Pembrokeshire.
Here he nests in the most inaccessible cliffs. It is no easy matter
to take a Raven’s nest. The cliff is often 200 feet high and
more. A nest taken last week was placed in such a cliff, and
some go feet from the top. The summit of this cliff considerably
overhung its base, so that the man dangled in mid-air during his
descent. In another case, at St. David’s, the nest was located
in the roof of a cavern, and the collector, suspended over the

38 iy he Birds of Pembrokeshire.

entrance, had to be pulled in, while yet swinging, by another
rope. Precious are the eggs taken at sucha risk! The Raven
is probably our earliest breeder. All the nests I have seen were
robbed somewhere between 28th February and the 12th March.
How the bird manages to brave the piercing north-easterly gales,
accompanied by sleet and hail, which dash with the utmost force
against the nest on the exposed face of the cliffs in our neigh-
bourhood (Tenby) I cannot imagine.”

SKYLARK, 4Zauda arvensis—A common resident ; reinforced by
migrantsin the autumn. Fairly common and distributed through-
out the county. Mr. Dix says: ‘“ More numerous in the moun-
tains than in the more enclosed parts; certainly not so common
as in England, but I think there can be no doubt that we have
an increase of numbers in the autumn, at which time they come
more into the valleys.” We never saw in Pembrokeshire such
large flocks of Skylarks as we have noted in England flying
before approaching severe weather in the winter.

WOODLARK, AZauda arborea.—Resident, but scarce and local,
Has been much persecuted by birdcatchers. The Rev. C. M.
Phelps only once saw a Woodlark in the neighbourhood of
Tenby. Mr. Tracy says it was common in his day around
Pembroke. We had none nesting in our fields at Stone Hall,
where we only saw it in small flocks in the winter months. We
once saw a flock consisting of about thirty in a small furze brake.
A few pairs were reported as nesting between Letterstone and
Fishguard, but the whole time we were in the county we never
once heard the song of this bird, and as we were constantly
driving about during the summer we must have done so had any
been in the district. We believe that it has become much more
scarce since Mr. Tracy and Mr. Dix penned their notes upon the
birds of the county. Writing in 1866, Mr. Dix could then say
of the Woodlark that it was ‘‘ very generally distributed, and a
constant resident. It is an early breeder. I saw a young one
that could fly in the beginning of May, and I have every reason

The Birds of Pembrokeshire. 39

to believe there was a second brood, for in July four more young
ones appeared, and they are now generally in the same locality
with the old birds. They are now in small flocks of eight or
ten apparently family parties. During the severe weather last
February a flock of five came into the yard, feeding by the
stable-doors and in the cattle yards; they were very tame, often
allowing me to get within four or five yards of them. I have
heard this bird singing every month throughout the year.” The
local birdcatchers used to obtain 36s. a dozen for fresh caught
Woodlarks, hens and cocks taken together, so it is no wonder
that they sought after them persistently, and have nearly
obliterated this sweet songster from our county list.

SWIFT, Cyfse/us apus——A summer visitor ; local; numerous in
places. To be seen about the old castles, such as Kilgerran and
Pembroke, about the cathedral at St. David’s, &c., &c. Also
evidently nesting in places in the cliffs on the coasts, in crags
inland, in old cottage and farm-house roofs and chimneys, &c.,
&c. We always had plenty of Swifts about us at Stone Hall,
and imagined that many bred in some rocks by the banks of the
Cleddy. They generally arrived with us on 4th May, and left
us again in the first week of August, but we have seen oneas late
as 30th September.

NIGHTJAR, Caprimulgus europeus.—A summer visitor ; common.
The “mountain” country, especially where furze and bracken
abound, is much affected by this singular looking bird, and in
such places we have often flushed it in the day-time from its
perch on an old furze stump, or from the ground where it has
been sheltering beneath a furze bush. It is not uncommon in
September in turnip fields, where we have met with it when after
the partridges. On summer evenings we generally noticed one
or two wheeling about our grounds. To quote our friend, the
Rey. C. M. Phelps, ‘ all over Pembrokeshire, wherever there is
waste or fern-covered land—whether it be on the boulder-strewn
mountain-side of the north, or on the heath-clad rocks near St.
David’s, and in the treeless wind-swept districts of Castle Maitin

40 The Birds of Pembrokeshire.

and St. Bride’s, there you will be likely to hear of an evening
the peculiar whirr of the Night-jar, and on the bare ground you
may find its lovely marbled eggs. NearSt. David’s there lies an
old encampment, probably Danish, called Penllan. ‘Two years
in succession a nest was taken here. The eggs lay on the bare
dry, rough ground, surrounded by withered furze and green
bracken; but, oh! such beauties they were, like two large
grapes, only marbled and mottled with stone colour and cream,
and purplish brown and grey. They are the finest Night-jars’
eggs I have ever seen, and are now in Dr. Propert’s collection.”
One day when we were driving in a lane a Night-jar rose from
the side of the hedge, and flying in front for a few yards settled
lengthwise on a rail, and so closely did the colour of its plumage
match the wood that we had difficulty in distinguishing the bird
as we passed within a few feet of it. When there are young
birds, the Night-jars tumble about in front of anyone approaching
the spot, feigning to be crippled, and attempt to decoy the
stranger away, as we have often witnessed.

GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKER, Dendrocopus major.—A rare
occasional visitor. In a county so sparsely timbered as Pem-
brokeshire the tree frequenting birds would be naturally rare.
We have never once seen the handsome Pied Woodpecker, but
have been informed that it has been seen at Picton; also at
Castle Martin; and Sir Hugh Owen has met with it at Land-
shipping, and knew of one killed many years ago at Williamston.
One that had been killed close to the border of the county
towards Carmarthenshire was brought to Jeffreys, the birdstuffer
in Haverfordwest, about Easter, 1886. Mr. Jefferys, of Tenby,
informs us that he has received a fair number of Great Spotted
Woodpeckers from Carmarthenshire, in which county, with its
finer timber, Woodpeckers would be naturally more numerous
than they are in such a bare county as Pembrokeshire. Mr.
Tracy mentions an example of the Great Spotted Woodpecker
that was shot at Lawrenny. Both species of the Spotted Wood-
pecker are fond of fruit, and in our county there is not much in
the way of fruit to attract them.

The Birds of Pembrokeshire. 4I
LESSER SPOTTED WOODPECKER, Dendrocopus minor.—A

rare occasional visitor. Appears to be even scarcer in the
county than the preceding species. Sir Hugh Owen has seen it
at Goodwick. It is included by Mr. H. Mathias in his list, but
neither this species nor the Great Spotted Woodpecker occurred
to Mr. Dix. We have never seen it, although we were always
on the look-out for it in our woods.

GREEN WOODPECKER, Gecinus viridis—A common resident.
This is the only common Woodpecker in the county, and has
been seen by us in all parts of it where there are trees. It is
very common at Stone Hall, where we always had a nest close
to the house, and where the cry of the bird was so incessantly
heard throughout the spring and summer that we ceased to
regard it as being in any degree a weather sign. Mr. Dix states
that in his district it was common in the wooded dingles, and
more so where there are old trees, particularly ash. With us the
bird generally placed its nest in a decayed sycamore, and we
were astonished one day at the heat communicated by the
young birds to the wood when we put our hand on the tree just
beneath the entrance hole to the nest. Many trees are worked
upon by the birds before they finally select the site for the nest ;
they doubtless find some of them harder than they expected, and,
after boring them to some depth, leave them for a softer and
more decayed tree.

WRYNECK, Jjx sorquil/a.—A summer visitor ; rare ; it is very doubt-
fulif it nests in the county. Only once seen by us at Stone Hall
in April, when it was evidently only on passage. We have never
heard the not-to-be-mistaken cry of the Wryneck anywhere in
the county. We were informed by Mr. Moore, the head-keeper
at Picton Castle, that he saw the birds there on the fine trees in
the park during the summer months. If he is correct the birds
probably nest there. Mr. Dix writes: “I heard this bird for the
first time on 6th April ; it was not numerous at any time during
the summer.” The Wryneck is included in Mr. Mathias’ list,
but Mr. Jefferys has no record of it from the neighbourhood of
Tenby.

6

42 The Birds of Pembrokeshire.

KINGFISHER, Adcedo ispida.—A common resident. We used to
note many of these beautiful birds by the banks of the Gleddy,
and generally had one in our grounds, where its favourite perch
would be on the branch of a larch that projected over a fish-
pond. Here it would sit for hours together on the watch for any
perch or tench fry that might venture into the shallows, and was
a beautiful object when its brilliant plumage was lit up by the
sunshine. Mr. Dix considered the Kingfisher rare in his dis-
trict, but had been informed that it was common in the south of
the county. In very severe frosts we have occasionally come
upon a frozen out Kingfisher, sitting disconsolately, with all its
bright feathers ruffled, upon a twig by the side of a frozen pool ;
but, as we have never picked up a dead Kingfisher, we believe
these birds do not succumb to the weather, but manage to pull
through somehow or other.

BEE-EATER, Aerops apiaster—A very rare accidental visitor from
the south. There is a specimen in the collection of Mr. H.
Mathias, now with his other birds at the Tenby Museum. This
was killed near the village of Johnston, about 1854. Mr. Tracy
picked up a Bee-eater, he does not state in what year, on some
high ground near the sea coast. It had not been long dead,
and he succeeded in skinning and mounting it. It passed into
the collection of the late Mr. John Stokes, of Cuffern, in whose
hospitable house we have often seen it.

HOOPOE, Upupa epops.—An occasional visitor, both in the spring
and autumn. Not very rare. There are many Pembrokeshire
Hoopoes on record, and if the bird is not noted every year,
only a short interval passes before one is seen. Mr. Tracy
knew of seven examples. The one in Mr. Mathias’ collection
was shot in March, 1850, at St. David’s. One was captured,
after having been seen about for several days, inside a cottage,
at St. Twynell’s. This was on March 17, 1847. Another,
about the same time, was taken on board the Waterford
steamer, at the mouth of Milford Haven. The Hoopoe has
also occurred near Pembroke. Sir Hugh Owen has told us of

The Birds of Pembrokeshire. 43

one at Williamston. In more recent times we have notes of
one shot at Solva, in the autumn of 1886, and of another at
Broadmoor, Littlehaven, April 16, 1888.

CUCKOO, Cuculus canorus.—A common summer visitor. The
Cuckoo appears to delight in the mountain parts of the county.
We used to look out for its first appearance at Stone Hall, in
the last week of April, and the zoth of that month is the earliest
date on which we first welcomed its familiar cry. We heard a
Cuckoo one year calling as late as at the end of the first week in
July ; it is unusual to hear the voice of the Cuckoo after mid-
summer. By the banks of the Cleddy Cuckoos were specially
numerous. While we have been fishing we have heard six or
seven calling at once, and the birds were constantly flying back-
wards and forwards about the stream. Mr. Tracy observes that
he never found a Cuckoo’s egg, except in the nests of the
Meadow Pipit and the Tree Pipit, but the birds avail themselves,
doubtless, of a larger selection than this of small birds to take
charge of their introduced young. Mr. Mortimer Propert met
with its egg in the nests of the Meadow Pipit, Sky-lark, Hedge-
sparrow, and Robin. The nest of the common Pied Wagtail is
very often chosen,

THE AMERICAN YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO, Coccyzus ameri-
canus.—A very rare waif from America. Only one in the
county, and this is the specimen that is in the Gallery of British
Birds at the South Kensington Natural History Museum,
labelled “ The Carolina Cuckoo,” having been presented by
Lord Cawdor, on whose estate at Stackpole it was obtained in
1832 or 1833. Mr. Tracy gives the following particulars of its
capture in the Zoologist for 1850: ‘* The specimen from which
Mr, Yarrell figured his bird was killed by my brother near
Stackpole Court. I first noticed it on the top of an ash tree in
the act of feeding on some small insects on the wing very
similar to the Golden-crests. Seeing it appeared a nonde-
script, it was shot immediately, and nothing more observed
as to its habits.” This species of Cuckoo rears its own young,
a brood of six or eight in number.

44 The Birds of Pembrokeshire.

BARN OWL, S¢rix flammea.—A resident far from common. In
driving about the county we have very seldom seen any of these
Owls beating the fields for mice in the dusk of a summer’s eve.
We had one or two inhabiting some old ivy-covered ash trees
in the covers at Stone Hall, and occasionally saw one flushed
when we were shooting through woods in the north of the
county, but we believe in Pembrokeshire the majority of the
Barn Owls find their abodes in nooks and crannies in cliffs,
both inland and on the coast. We were informed that Barn
Owls are numerous on Skomer Island, there inhabiting such
places as we have described. The Rev. C. M. Phelps knew of
a colony of Barn Owls in the Coygan, a huge mass of lime-
stone rock, close to Laugharne Marsh. ‘The old castles, such
as Carew, Pembroke, &c., also afford, in their ivy-clad ruins,
suitable nesting places. Although the Barn Owl is generally a
solitary recluse, we have, in our experience, met with two in-
stances of its living in society in such numbers that the associa-
tion might fairly be termed an “ Owlery.” One of these had its
location in some old cottages, just below a beautiful Henry
VII. church tower. The roofs of the cottages all communi-
cated, and were tenanted by such a number of Barn Owls that
at last the cottagers rose up against them, being annoyed by
the smell and the noises proceeding from the birds, and we
were informed that between forty and fifty were either driven
out or destroyed. The other instance of an “ Owlery” oc-
curred in the roof of a country house, where the venerable birds
might have been undisturbed had they kept themselves from
the young Pheasants, whose coops were at no distance from the
house. But one season when every ove of the young Pheasants
had been carried off war was proclaimed, and the roof entered,
and about a dozen adult Owls were found and killed, besides
Owlets in various stages of growth. The floor was discovered to
be littered over with the remains of the Pheasants. Tell it not
in Gath! Mr. Dix writes that in his district the Barn Owl was
“ not common ; I have only seen two specimens during the past
year.”

The Birds of Pembrokeshire. 45

LONG-EARED OWL, 4svo ofus.—A winter visitor; scarce. We
believe we have heard the cry of this Owl in the winter time in
the fir plantations at Stone Hall. The bird-stuffers receive a
few occasionally. The Long-eared Owl is included in all the
lists we have examined, with the exception of that of Mr. Dix,
who evidently never met with it.

SHORT-EARED OWL, Asio brachyotus.—A common winter visitor ;
also, perhaps, a resident in limited numbers. When Snipe-
shooting in the autumn and winter, we never failed to flush
some Short-eared Owls out of long grass and rushes. They
would fly a little distance and then settle again, sometimes
alighting on a stump of furze or on a small hillock, and keeping
watch upon us until we walked on, The Rev. C. M. Phelps
believes that a pair or two nest on Skomer Island, and has re-
ceived the eggs taken from a nest found there upon the ground.

TAWNY OWL, Sérix aluco—A common resident. This is the
common Owl of the county, and is abundant in all woods and
plantations. We had numbers at Stone Hall, where it was no
infrequent sight to see one or two roosting during the day on
the roof of the house among the chimney pots. ‘They nested
in old Crows’ nests ; quarrelled with the Jackdaws for possession
of unoccupied Pigeons’ boxes, sometimes, by eating the young
Jackdaws, giving a very strong hint of their desire to occupy
them, and we have also known them to nest in chimneys. In
the spring they would hoot throughout the day as well as at
night, and on warm mornings in the summer we have seen them
sitting out on bare branches sunning themselves. So numerous
were they around us that a gentleman visiting at St. Lawrence
Rectory, just beneath us, who went out into the Rectory garden
one fine night and imitated their hoots, declared that he soon
counted twenty-six or twenty-seven Owls replying to him from
either side of the valley. Very often at night an Owl would
perch on the ledge of our bedroom window and hoot to us, but
such visits as these would sometimes disturb and alarm our
guests. Although we had so many Tawny Owls in our planta-

46

The Birds of Pembrokeshire.

tion, we never missed any of our young Pheasants, and are
certain that the Owls never molested them, confining them-
selves almost exclusively to the rats and mice. One summer
a regrettable incident occurred.. Passing one morning through
one of the covers we detected an old Crows’ nest in an oak tree
we had not before noticed, and in order to ascertain if it was
occupied or not, we fired a shot at it, when immediately great
was the commotion in the nest, and a Brown Owl fluttered to
our feet with one of her wings slightly injured. We got our
man to climb the tree, when he found that we had slain the five
Owlets that were in the nest by our unlucky shot. After in-
terring these victims at the foot of the tree, we carried the Owl
carefully home, and placing her in an empty stable at once set
some traps and supplied her with plenty of mice. As soon as
night arrived she was speedily discovered by her disconsolate
spouse, and so great was the hooting kept up by the two birds
that no one who slept on that side of the house could get any
rest. Inthe morning it was found that the injured Owl had
contrived to escape by dragging herself through a wonderfully
small hole at the bottom of the stable door, and we saw no more
of her for a day or two, until we discovered that she had found
a retreat in a corner of the shrubbery, where she was fed re-
gularly all through the summer by the male bird, who not only
showed his devotion in this way to his injured partner, but also
took to himself a second wife, and successfully brought off a
family of Owlets in an old Crows’ nest in a Scotch fir, not far
removed from the sanctuary of wife No. 1.

SCOP’S OWL, Scofs giu.—Accidental visitor; very rare. Only

one instance of its occurrence. A beautiful specimen was
caught by a labouring man near Pembroke in the spring of
1868. He was trimming a hedge at the time when it fluttered
out from the bottom. Mr. Dix saw it in Mr, Tracy’s shop.

MARSH HARRIER, Circus ceruginosus—Formerly a common

resident, but now only a rare accidental visitor. When we were
shooting Snipe near Stone Hall, in the winter of 1880, a fine

The Birds of Pembrokeshire. 47

old male Marsh Harrier flew within a few feet of us, and we
might easily have shot it. Sir Hugh Owen has informed us of
one shot some years ago on Jordanston Moor, not far from
Fishguard, and of another that he saw hovering over the legions
of wild fowl on the decoy at Orielton. There is one in the
plumage of the first year in Lord Cawdor’s collection that was
shot near Stackpole Court. Writing about the birds to be
found in the neighbourhood of Laugharne, the Rev. C. M.
Phelps says: “People speak of a bird they call the ‘ Duck
Hawk.’ He is represented as a big fellow, and given to attack
the various kinds of sea and freshwater Duck that come sailing
up the Laugharne river with the flowing tide. One sunny
morning, some four years ago, I, myself, saw some such Hawk
of considerable size on a sandbank near the mouth of the Tave.
He flew across the estuary to the Warley Point before I could
make him out. What can this ‘Duck Hawk’ be?” To this
question of Mr. Phelps we are able to reply that the ‘* Duck
Hawk” is one of the old names of the Marsh Harrier, the bird
being very fond of attacking and feeding upon wild fowl, and
the bird frequenting the Laugharne river may, with all proba-
bility, be referred to this species.

HEN HARRIER, Circus cyaneus.—Resident, but becoming scarce.
Fifty years ago the Hen Harrier was, no doubt, as Mr. Tracy
describes, “‘ common, breeds on heaths and furzy moors, pretty
generally distributed over the county.” But this bird is, at the
present day, but sparingly represented, and that only in the
wilder parts of the county. The larger raptorial birds soon fell
victims to improved sporting fire-arms, and to more general
game preserving, and the Harriers in particular being quite
defenceless at the breeding season, from their habit of laying
their eggs upon the ground, were easily found and either trapped
or shot. It is a wonder there are any remaining. When Snipe
shooting over the remoter and wilder districts in the north of
the county, we have frequently come across the Hen Harrier,
and have had the opportunity of shooting many in all stages of

48

The Birds of Pembrokeshire.

plumage had we cared to do so, but we had no desire to lend
a hand in the extermination of this interesting and harmless
bird. One day in the winter we saw three old males beating
a part of Rhinderston Common in line, and we have known
and regretted the capture of several old birds in the spring
time on Cuffern Mountain. At Cuffern there is a case contain-
ing a pair of old Hen Harriers, with their young in down, from
a nest found on the Cuffern estate.

MONTAGU’S HARRIER, Circus cineraceus——A summer visitor ;

rare. The late Mr. Fortune found a nest of this Harrier close
to his residence at Leweston, July 2, 1854, containing an egg
and three young birds in down. He succeeded in obtaining
the two old birds and mounted them with the young, and the
case is now to be seen in the Museum at Tenby, and is a beau-
tiful example of his skill in taxidermy. The egg was presented
to the collection of the Rev. C. M. Phelps. ‘This is the only
instance of the occurrence of Montagu’s Harrier in the county
of which we can find a record, but it must doubtless have been
both shot and trapped occasionally without recognition.

BUZZARD, Zuteo vulgaris.—There are so many Boncaths in the

county, either hamlets or inns, that we have in this fact a sure
witness to the former abundance of the Common Buzzard in
Pembrokeshire, ‘‘ Boncath ” being the Welsh name of the bird.
At the present day we are only able to state that there are a
few Buzzards left in the county, and that there may be possibly
still some half dozen nesting stations of the bird on the islands,
and on the cliffs along the coast. We have seen the Buzzard
at Stone Hall, and have several times spared it when we have
been Woodcock shooting in warm bottoms not far from the sea.
The bird has flown foolishly up to us, or has crossed low over
head, presenting an easy shot. We have seen a Buzzard’s
nest on a cliff on Ramsey Island, and possess an egg from it,
one of a clutch taken by Mr. Mortimer Propert. All the
Pembrokeshire Buzzards’ eggs that we have seen are large in

The Birds of Pembrokeshire. 49

size, the one we have is larger than any in a long series of con-
tinental eggs in our cabinet, but, as the Rev. C. M. Phelps
remarks, ‘they are not as a rule richly marked.” The Rey.
C. M. Phelps agrees with us in estimating the present breeding
stations of the Buzzard to be about six, and he adds that they
are all on high cliffs. Mr. Dix writes: “In May, 1866, I had
the unexpected pleasure of seeing a pair of Buzzards at Llan-
granog, on the Cardiganshire coast, where I have no doubt
they had a nest. I was first struck by their peculiar, plaintive
note, greatly resembling the mewing of a kitten. Never having
seen this bird on the wing before, and they being some 300 ft.
above me, I was some time before I could be sure of the
species. They were mobbed by several Crows and Jackdaws ;
as they wheeled and doubled about their rounded wings gave
them a very unhawk-like appearance. I was glad to find they
had selected so safe a nesting place, it being a shelving rock
overgrown with ferns and grass.”

ROUGH-LEGGED BUZZARD, Archibuteo lagopus.—A rare visitor
in the autumn. This is one of the species that crosses over
into the Eastern counties of England from the continent at
irregular intervals, and very rarely penetrates to the south-west
of the kingdom. When shot or trapped it might very well be
confounded by people who were not well up in birds with the
Common Buzzard, from which it is always to be easily separated
by its feathered tarsi; Mr. Mathias has informed us that ex-
amples of the Rough-legged Buzzard have been obtained in the
county, but is unable to supply dates and localities. The only
one we ourselves knew of is one that was shot near St. Bride’s,
in October, 1889.

WHITE-TAILED EAGLE, Haliaétus albiciila.—A rare occasional
winter visitor. Although one of the highest points of the
Precelly Mountains is known by the name of Foel-Eryr “the
Eagle’s Peak,” we cannot ascertain that any species of Eagle has
nested within recent years in Pembrokeshire, or has been

7

50

The Birds of Pembrokeshire.

observed as a frequent visitor to the county. Sir Hugh Owen
has informed us that in the winter of 1851 an Eagle was seen
almost daily in the neighbourhood of Haverfordwest, more par-
ticularly frequenting the covers of Picton Castle and Slebech,
and that it escaped being shot. This bird was supposed to have
been a Golden Eagle, but with more probability may be con-
sidered to have been an immature White-tailed Eagle, a species
not unseldom observed as a straggler along the western coasts of
the kingdom. Then, another Eagle, of whose occurrence we do
not possess the date, that was seen on Skomer, and was thought
to have been a Spotted Eagle, and was not obtained, was more
likely a young White-tailed Eagle on passage. In Lord
Cawdor’s collection, at Stackpole Court, we have seen a young
White-tailed Eagle that had been shot near Carmarthen, and
with this bird we exhaust our meagre record of the Eagles
seen or obtained in the south-west corner of the Principality.

SPARROW -HAWK, Accipiter nisus.— A common resident ;

numerous in the wilder unpreserved parts of the county. This
dangerous and recklessly courageous bird was very plentiful at
Stone Hall, where we suffered much from his attacks upon the
game. Scores of times we used to see a male Sparrow-hawk
fluttering against our windows endeavouring to reach our cage
birds inside, or watching them from the porch; and in the
summer, when some of the cages would be brought out of
doors, we repeatedly had to mourn over the death of some of
our pets that had been killed by the marauder striking
them through the wires. The Snipe that dropped into the
marshy meadow below our house were regularly worked by
Sparrow-hawks, anda stile in one of the covers was the favourite
place to which they were carried and eaten, so that the ground
beneath was littered with Snipe feathers. For some time we
attributed this destruction to Merlins, until one day we came
upon a male Sparrow-hawk with a freshly-killed Snipe in his
feet, which we picked up as the bird flew off. Any bunch of
Teai that appeared upon the river used to be persecuted by

The Birds of Pembrokeshire. SI

Sparrow-hawks, until we have known them all to be killed one
after the other. The Ring-doves in the plantations were also
frequent victims, being knocked off their perches on the trees,
then eaten on the ground below. The appearance of two or
three Sparrow-hawks about the places where the young
Pheasants were fed was also regarded as ominous of mischief,
but they succeeded in carrying off very few, as there was plenty
of cover for the Pheasants to hide themselves in from the
destroyer. Needless to say that we waged war against the
Sparrow-hawks, taking their nests and shooting all we could, but
we never seemed to make any impression upon their numbers.
The young Hawks, while they are still in the nest, keep up a
wailing cry, which generally betrays its position, although it
might otherwise have remained undetected in the thick upper
branches of some old spruce.

KITE, AMlvus ictinus—Once a common resident, now only a rare
occasional visitor. The Rev. C. M. Phelps states that when he
was a boy he often heard of, and saw the Kite glide over the
farm yards, and threaten the unhappy hens with the loss of their
chickens. This was on the mountains, ‘‘ some seven miles from
Fishguard.” But it is now long since there were any resident
Pembrokeshire Kites. Indeed, sixty years ago, the Kite had
become a scarce bird in South Wales. Mr. T. C. Heysham,
the well-known naturalist, of Carlisle, was anxious to obtain a
specimen from Monmouthshire, but had to wait for three years
before his correspondent in that county was able to secure one.
At last he had a male Kite forwarded to him in April, 1837,
that had been caught in a trap, and was informed that the game-
keepers had by that time rendered the Kite a very rare bird.
For this interesting note we are indebted to the courtesy of the
Rev. H. A. Macpherson, of Carlisle. We have ourselves heard
from old people that they can remember the Kite as quite a
common bird when they were young. We have been informed
by Mr. Mathias that a Kite was killed about 1835, upon the
Moat Estate, by a keeper of the late W. H. Scourfield Esq.,

52 The Birds of Pembrokeshire.

and passed into the collection of Mr. Ackland, of Boulston.
In February, 1854, Mr. Mathias himself saw a Kite on two
occasions, and believes it to be the same bird that was shot
shortly after in Carmarthenshire. There is a Kite in Lord
Cawdor’s collection at Stackpole. As recently as the summer
of 1893 Mr. Howard Saunders had a fine view of a Kite at
Dinas. This bird may have belonged to a little colony of Kites
that still exists in Central Wales. Mr. C. Jefferys, of Tenby,
informs us that he has seen a Kite passing over at Pendine, and
that at the present time Kites still nest in Carmarthenshire, at a
locality that had better not be disclosed, where there was a nest
in the summer of 1893.

HONEY-BUZZARD, Pernis apivorus.—A rare occasional visitor,
both in spring and autumn. This is a tree-frequenting species,
particularly fond of the beech, not likely to be often met with in
Pembrokeshire, where we have only one record of its occurrence.
We have been informed by Sir Hugh Owen that he saw a
Honey-Buzzard at Creselly, in the year 1851.

GREENLAND FALCON, Hierofalco candicans.—A rare accidental
visitor from the far north. A fine specimen of this beautiful
Falcon shot many years ago on Lord Cawdor’s estate may still be
seen in the Gallery of British Birds, at the South Kensington
Natural History Museum. In the Zoologist, for 1850, Mr.
James Tracy, of Pembroke, gives the following particulars of its
capture: ‘Thespecimen from which Mr. Yarrell made the drawing
in his excellent work on British Birds was killed on a warren on
the estate of the Earl of Cawdor, was set up by me, and after-
wards given by the Earl to the Zoological Society. It had been
observed by my father, his lordship’s keeper, for eight or ten
days, and had, almost on each day, killed and partly devoured a
cock Pheasant. It was very shy, always perched on the highest
rocky eminences, and, therefore, difficult to get at; but was
accidentally come on and shot in the act of rising from a cock
Pheasant it had recently killed.”

The Birds of Pembrokeshire. 53

PEREGRINE FALCON, falco peregrinus—Resident. The cliffs
along the Pembrokeshire coast were once famous for their
Falcons. In his description of Milford Haven, old Drayton says,
in his ‘f Polyolbion ” :—

‘* By Nature, with proud cliffs environed about,
To crown the goodly road ; where builds the falcon stout,
Which use the gentil call ; whose fleet and active wings
It seems that Nature made when most she thought of Kings ;
Which manag’d to the lure her high and gallant flight,
The vacant, sportful man so greatly doth delight.
That with her nimble quills his soul doth seem to hover,
And by the very pitch that lusty bird doth cover,
That those proud eyries bred whereas the scorching sky
Doth singe the sandy wilds of spiceful Barbary ;
Or underneath our pole, where Norway’s forest wide,
Their high cloud-touching heads in winter snow do hide,
Out-brave not this our kind in mettal, nor exceed
The falcon which sometimes the British cliffs so breed.”

An old map of the county, published many years ago by T.
Kitchen, and dedicated to Sir William Owen, Bart., has printed
on its margins sundry information respecting the local antiquities
and natural history. In those days the Peregrine Falcon was
probably far more numerous than it is now, and the map
quaintly states that “in the rocks about the promontory called
St. David’s Head, excellent Falcons have their aires and breed.”
About the year 1850 Mr. Tracy considered that from Caldy
Island round to St. David’s as many as twelve pairs of Peregrine
Falcons might be counted during the months of May and June.
There would be many more pairs on the rocky coast between
St. David’s and Dinas Head. Writing to us in the summer of
1893, Mr. Howard Saunders states: ‘* There are a pair of
Peregrines on Dinas Island on the N.W. side, and of Buzzards,
which have had their nest on the N. side, I think. The
Peregrines are certainly on the S.W. aspect.” The Rev. C. M.
Phelps was himself acquainted with some half dozen breeding
stations of the Peregrine. He says: “One of the Falcon
strongholds is on a grand range of cliffs in St. Bride’s Bay, some
250 feet in perpendicular height. In August these cliffs are
quite purple and golden with heather and gorse; at their base

54

The Birds of Pembrokeshire.

the lace-like waves of blue St. Bride’s roll in one after the other,
and there, soaring round and round with shrill cries and screams
are the two Peregrines. At another breeding place, some miles
farther on, I assisted at the taking of a nest in 1876. It was
curiously placed under two large stones on a grassy platform
half way down the cliff. There were four handsome eggs,
rather under-sized and hard set.” We have never been to any
spot upon the coast without seeing a Peregrine, or a pair of
Peregrines, and were often visited by them at Stone Hall, which
is only six miles from the sea-coast. We almost trod upon a
Peregrine one day in one of the covers, that rose at our feet off
a freshly-killed rabbit. We consider it rare for a Peregrine to
attack ground game. On another occasion a party of four
Herons was noticed flying most uneasily down the valley
of the Cleddy, uttering harsh cries of alarm, with a fine
Falcon (i.e., the female Peregrine) following in pursuit. The
Falcon did not strike at the Herons, and seemed to be only
amusing herself with the fear she had inspired. One fine
summer’s day we watched an attempt by a pair of Peregrines to
secure a tame Pigeon at Druidston, on the coast of St. Bride’s
Bay. The birds made alternate sweeps at the Pigeon without
success, and the quarry at last saved itself by taking to ground
in some crevice in the cliff, when the disappointed Falcons flew
out to sea, after one or two angry barks. Mr. Tracy gives the
following interesting notes on the nests of the Peregrine, which
he says are placed in the most inaccessible parts of the cliff.
The birds lay four eggs, sometimes five, and, in one instance,
he observed six young. ‘They make no nest, but lay their
eggs in a cavity of the rock, where a little loose clayey earth has
been deposited ; sometimes in the old nest of the Raven, or
Carrion Crow, but I never saw a nest without a little earth in it.
They fix upon the situation early in March, and lay about the
first week in April. Both male and female sit in turn on the
eggs. I have known an instance where the male hatched and
reared the young ones, when the female had been killed; and
also, when the male had been shot, the female has continued

The Birds of Pembrokeshire. 55

the work of incubation. When they have young ones they are
not to be deterred from their nests, nor will they—even if fired
upon—desert their offspring. On one occasion, I remember my
father and myself firing at a pair of these birds, and the female
returned to the nest almost immediately. We repeated this
three times before we succeeded in getting her. In almost
every instance where I observed a nest of this fine bird the
following birds have had nests in the immediate vicinity, that is
within roo or 150 yards:—The Guillemot and Razorbill, in
immense numbers, within a few feet, Puffins, the Kestrel, Raven,
Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, Red-legged Crow, Great Black-
backed Gull, one nest; Lesser Black-backed Gull, several
nests; Herring-Gull, common; Kittiwakes, in thousands ;
Common and Green Cormorants, Swifts and Sand-Martins.
And yet none of them showed any signs of alarm at the
approach of so formidable a foe. I do not recollect a nest
where the Herring-Gulls, Guillemots, Razorbills, and Puffins
were not abundant. The old birds ‘give you plenty of notice,
by their harsh cry, when you are in the immediate vicinity of
their nest, and it is not difficult to find the spot selected, the
same old arched cavity being occupied every year. In one in-
stance eleven pairs of Herons were breeding on the ledges of
the rocks, within 150 yards of the nest of the Peregrine
Falcon.” Mr. Charles Jefferys, of ‘Tenby, informs us that the
Peregrine still nests yearly below Lydstep, and also in the
neighbourhood of the Stacks.

HOBBY, Fuxlco subbuteo.—A summer visitor; rare; also seen in
autumn when on passage. There are but few records of the
Hobby, but it has probably sometimes occurred undetected.
Sir Hugh Owen saw one at Goodwick in 1871, and writes to
us: ‘Can’t mistake a Hobby with his black-brown back,
cream-coloured breast, and great length of wing, like a gigantic
Swift.” One shot at Dale, October 3rd, 1888, was brought to
Jeffreys, the bird-stuffer, in Haverfordwest ; another, at about
the same date, was obtained at the Rhysgwyllt, Letterston.

56 The Birds of Pembrokeshire.

The Hobby, being quite a bird of the woods, would not often
be expected in such a bare and generally treeless county as
Pembrokeshire.

MERLIN, aio esalon—Resident; also a winter visitor. A few
Merlins are resident, and the nest has been taken at various
places in the county. We have heard of young birds having
been taken from a nest near St. David’s, and one of them was
kept for some time there, at Bryn-y-garn. In the summer of
1886 Sir Hugh Owen saw a brood of young Merlins at Good-
wick, in a patch of heather on the top of the cliff, at a spot where
he has known the nest to have been placed for several years.
We have also heard of a nest near Maenchlogog, on the Precelly
Mountains. And the Rev. C. M. Phelps evidently met with a
nest on the coast in the south of the county. He found a nest
on the top of one of the high sand-hills, not far from Tenby,
which contained four eggs, and surmised that they might be
those of the Merlin. In the winter the Merlin is far from un-
common, and we have seen it at Stone Hall on numerous
occasions. One day, when we were waiting quietly in a small
larch plantation for a shot at a Woodcock, we suddenly detected
a male Merlin sitting on a branch level with our head, and only
a few feet from us. The bird remained motionless on its perch
so long as we stood still, and only flew off when we moved on.
Mr. Tracy reports that during a period of fifteen or eighteen
years he received as many as eight or nine Merlins to set
up for different gentlemen in the county. In his district Mr.
Dix considered the Merlin not uncommon as an autumn and
winter visitor, and that immature birds were the most
numerous. Sir Hugh Owen once caught a Merlin near Good-
wick in a rat trap. The bird was little injured, and the second
day after its capture was tame enough to feed from his hand.

RED-FOOTED FALOON, Zinnunculus vespertinus.—A very rare
accidental straggler from the south. Writing to us from
Cuffern, on May sth, 1887, our friend, the late Mr. John
Stokes, informed us: ‘‘ Two days ago I saw at Ferny Glen two

The Birds of Pembrokeshire. 57

small Hawks, one nearly black, and the other a brownish black ;
very pointed wings, like a common Swift, and about eight to
ten inches in length. I have never seen them before, and I put
them down to be the Red-legged Falcon.” Mr. John Stokes
was an excellent ornithologist, and we have little doubt that he
was correct in the name he gave to these rare visitors. Ferny
Glen is only distant about a mile from the coast of St. Bride’s
Bay. Sir Hugh Owen has informed us that an example of the
Red-footed Falcon was obtained at ‘Tregwynt, a well-wooded
spot on the northern coast of the county, and a noted Wood-
cock cover, at the time when it was the residence of Mr.
Llewellin, now many years ago, but could give us no particulars
as to the season, sex, &c., of this rarity.

KESTREL, Zinnunculus alaudarius.—A common resident. The
most numerous of all our Hawks, to be met with all over the
county, nesting in woods, in old ruins, and in many places on the
cliffs all round the coast. The Kestrel was common in our
plantations at Stone Hall, and an old Crow’s nest was generally
occupied by it, and we have taken some very pretty varieties of
its handsome eggs. One summer we witnessed a conflict that
was maintained for several days between a pair of Crows and a
pair of Kestrels for the possession of an old nest in a hedge-row
elm: it ended in favour of the Kestrels, and a brood was suc-
cessfully brought off. One bitter day we started a Kestrel off
the snow-covered ground, and seeing it drop something as it flew
off, went up to the spot and found a partly devoured Starling.
We do not believe that Kestrels attack small birds unless they are
unable to procure mice or insects, or are driven hard to find food
for their young, when we have known them to carry off young
Pheasants. One very foggy day, we shot a Kestrel by mistake,
as it was fluttering low through the bushes, when we took it for a
Woodcock. On picking it up, we found it had a diseased
mandible, and was little more than a skeleton, having evidently
been unable to feed. We have found a pair of Kestrels at every
station of cliff birds we have visited, whether on the mainland or

on the islands.
8

58 The Birds of Pembrokeshire.

CORMORANT, Phalacrocorax carbo.—A common resident. There
are nesting stations at various places on the coast, on Ramsey
and Skomer Islands, &c. There are some twenty to thirty pair
of Cormorants about Lydstep Head, near Tenby, as Mr. C.
Jefferys informs us; a colony nests on trees at Slebech ; and
some Herons that nested at Poyntz Castle on St. Bride’s Bay,
were driven from their nests upon the cliffs by Cormorants, who
took possession of them for themselves. The nesting places of
the Cormorants emit an abominable stench from putrid fish
remains, and are not delightful to linger near. In the summer-
time, when the streams are low and clear, numerous Cormorants
come inland, and work great havoc among the trout; and we
always regarded it as an evil omen when we saw one or two of
them heading up our valley. It is almost impossible to
approach these poachers, as there is generally a sentinel perched
on some tree by the river-side, while one or two others are
working the adjoining pools. When fishing we would occasionally
come upon a Cormorant so gorged with trout as to be unable to
fly. One day we ran back for a gun to do execution on the
caitiff, but just as we were approaching within range he uttered
an unearthly cry, and vomiting his spoils, made off heavily
on wing. Cormorants are often entangled and caught in fishing
nets, and the birds of the year, with their white breasts, are con-
sidered by the fishermen to belong to another species, and have
been sent to us as great rarities. A Cormorant, a short time
since, was picked up dead, near Tenby, with an oyster clinging
to and closing its mandibles. The bird was stuffed with the
oyster, and is now at Bath.

We have received the following particulars of this strange
occurrence from Mr. C. Jefferys, of Tenby :—

CoRMORANT CAUGHT BY AN OYSTER.

“On August 22nd, 1892, the sea being somewhat rough for
that time of year, the man in charge of the bathing-machines on
the North Sands, Tenby, saw some 300 to 4oo yards from shore,
something dark which kept appearing and disappearing between

The Birds of Pembrokeshire. 59

the waves. Being unable to make out what it really was, and at
first thinking it might be one of the bathers in danger, he took a
boat and went out. Before reaching the object he saw it was a
large bird, that appeared to be using every effort to rise from the
water, and yet was unable to do so, its head being held down by
some unseen weight. With a little trouble he secured the bird,
and brought it to shore alive. It proved to be an adult Cor-
morant, weighing between 71% and 734 lbs., and attached to its
lower mandible was a large oyster ; which was afterwards found to
weigh between 9 and 10 oz. When the bird was brought me it
was dead, but the oyster was still attached. It held to about an
inch of the lower mandible, which in the bird’s fearful struggles to
get free had broken off short, the only attachment between it and
the bird being the skin of the throat, which had twisted up like
a piece of catgut. The Cormorant, when diving for food, must
have seized the open oyster, which closed on the bill. The bird
was buoyant enough to bring the oyster to the surface, but was
unable to rise from the water, and must eventually have been
drowned, as it could with difficulty keep its head above the
surface. Mr. A. K. Cunninghame, of Bath, who was on the
shore at the time, purchased the bird from the man who obtained
it, and brought it to me to set up.”

SHAG, Pialacrocorax graculus—A common resident; perhaps,
even more numerous than the Cormorant. There are small
colonies on St. Margaret’s Island, and on the Channel side of
Caldy Island, near Tenby; on Skomer and Ramsey Islands, and
at various places on the coast. Mr. Dix, who paid a visit to the
Stack Rocks to see the enormous numbers of Guillemots that
frequent them in the summer, states that on the west side of the
Great Stack is a cave, in which Shags breed in safety, as it is
perfectly inaccessible.

GANNET, Sw/a bassana.— Resident; only on Grasholm. The
Pembrokeshire Gannets are supposed to be a colony from
Lundy Island, whence the birds were driven by the continued
persecution they sustained at the hands of the channel pilots,

60

The Birds of Pembrokeshire.

and other robbers of their nests. Mr. Mortimer Propert, of St.
David’s, who has repeatedly visited Grasholm, reports them to
be rapidly increasing in numbers. In the spring of 1886 Mr.
Propert estimated that there were at least 250 nests on the
island, in four separate colonies. So remote is Grasholm,
some seventeen miles from the shore in the centre of St. Bride’s
Bay, and is both difficult to reach and not easy to get away
from, that the Gannets might be expected to have at last found
a place of security. However, a year or two since they were
the victims of a raid, the particulars of which were made
public, and excited at the time no little indignation. Since
then, we believe, they have enjoyed peace. Accident, or stress
of weather, occasionally drives the Gannet, inhabitant as it is of
the wide ocean, far inland, and we have heard of a young one
in the spotted plumage having been picked up by our friend and
neighbour, the Jate Capt. O. T. Edwardes, of Tyrhos, on such an
unlikely spot as Tyrhos Common. In November, 1887, Sir
Hugh Owen reported to us that there were several immature
Gannets in Goodwick Bay, that were fairly tame, and two of
them seemed more pleased to be caught than to be turned
adrift again. They were probably injured by the repeated gales.

HERON, Ardea cinerea.—A common resident. Although there are

no large Heronries in the county, there are numerous small
breeding stations, and the bird is generally distributed and
fairly common, Our fishponds at Stone Hall were constantly
visited by Herons that came from Sealyham, where there are a
few nests in one of the covers. We have counted seven
together of a summer’s evening by one of our ponds, and we
never went down to the Cleddy at any day in the year without
seeing one or two, and after a long-continued drought in the
summer, the birds would be especially numerous, as they then
had better opportunities for capturing the eels, small trout,
&c., that form their prey. Herons suffer severely after a long-
continued spell of frost, when we have come across them
perfectly starving. We captured one once, and brought him

GANNETS ON THEIR NESTS, GRASHOLM,

The Birds of Pembrokeshire. 61

home, and put him in our carriage house, where he preferred to
perch upon a high dog-cart. Here we fed him for about a
fortnight, until we thought he had almost become strong
enough to be restored to liberty, but one morning were vexed
to find him lying dead upon the ground. We have often seen
Herons perched upon the oak trees bordering one of our
ponds. Here they would sit for some time before they
descended to the shallow end of the pond in search of frogs
and small fish or water-rats, and we believe they are expert
catchers and devourers of these rodents. Some Herons nest
upon the cliffs of the coast; we have already related how those
at Poyntz Castle were dispossessed by Cormorants. The ejected
Herons are stated to have migrated to Slebech, where they have
formed a heronry. ‘There is a heronry at Llanmilo, near
Pendine, just over the borders of the county in Carmarthen-
shire, which, we are informed, consists of about thirty nests.
Mr. Tracy mentions another at Linney Head, where the Herons
nest in company with Cormorants and Guillemots. The nests,
from six to twelve in number, are arranged side by side on the
ledges of the rocks, and are quite inaccessible.

LITTLE BITTERN, 4rdetta minuta.—A rare, occasional visitor ;
only two or three instances. One in the collection of Mr.
H. Mathias, and given by him with his other birds to Tenby
Museum, was captured beneath the wheel of the mill, near
Merlin’s Bridge, Haverfordwest. This was an adult. At the
sale at Camrose House, in the summer of 1881, we noticed an
immature Little Bittern in a case in one of the bedrooms. It
was indifferently stuffed, and we could learn no particulars about
it, but it had, probably, been obtained on the estate. There is
also a specimen in Lord Cawdor’s collection, at Stackpole, that
is said to have been procured in the county.

NIGHT HERON, Wyeticorax griseus.—An occasional visitor. Mr.
Dix writes that an immature specimen, in the Stackpole Court
collection, was shot near Pembroke mill-pond by Mr. Tracy,

62

The Birds of Pembrokeshire.

about the year 1857. Within twenty yards of the same spot
Mr. Tracy shot another, which he forwarded to Mr. Dix. ‘This
was on December 7th, 1868. It proved to be a male, and had a
single occipital plume about three inches long, white, tipped with
dark brown ; the back and wings were beautifully shot with olive
green; the white spots on the back and wing coverts, Mr. Dix
adds, were more distinct and larger than they are represented in
Yarrell’s figure. Mr. H. Mathias has informed us that a Night
Heron was shot in the Lord’s meadow, at Lamphey, when he was
a boy. Two others were killed near Kingsbridge, Pembroke ;
one of these Mr. Mathias saw in the shop of Mr. Tracy, at
Pembroke, immediately after it was shot. These two specimens
are, without doubt, those mentioned by Mr. Dix. In 1876,
three Night Herons roosted for several days in a tree in a garden
belonging to Canon Lewis, at St. David’s, within thirty yards of
the Cathedral. One was shot, on May rath, and proved a fine
adult male, with three white occipital plumes. This handsome
specimen is now in the possession of Dr. Propert, of St. David’s.
The Night Heron, like many of the family, is a nocturnal
feeder, hiding itself, and roosting during the day in thick bushes
and trees.

BITTERN, Botaurus stellaris—A rare, occasional winter visitor.

The Bittern is nowa very rare bird in Pembrokeshire, and there
are but few instances of its occurrence of late years. It was
more common fifty years ago, in Mr. Tracy’s time. He used to
recelve a few every winter, and, about the year 1842, he states
that he had no less than thirteen Bitterns to set up, all killed
the same week, the weather being very severe at the time. Bit-
terns have been obtained occasionally at Tregwynt, in the north
of the county. Sir Hugh Owen has shot them at Goodwick.
One was killed at Dale, February 2nd, 1888. Two were brought
to Jeffreys, the bird-stuffer in Haverfordwest, in the severe
winter of 1890. One of these was from Tregwynt. A white
Bittern is said to have been seen near Solva, in the winter of
1886. It escaped slaughter, and was probably a Spoonbill. In

The Birds of Pembrokeshtre. 63

former days, the Bittern was a resident wherever there were mires
and reed and rush-grown bogs for it to skulk in, and was,
doubtless, a common Pembrokeshire bird.

AMERICAN BITTERN, Botaurus Jlentiginosus. — A very rare,
accidental straggler from America—only one specimen—that
obtained at St. David’s, in October, 1872 (vide Zoologist for 1883,
p. 341). This bird was seen and identified by Mr. Cecil Smith,
the author of ‘The Birds of Somerset.” Mr. Smith states that
he saw it in the possession of Mr. Greenway, who had shot it.
Mr. Greenway had recorded it at the time in Land and Water,
with some doubt as to its being the American Bittern. It is
singular that only two stragglers from America, this species and
the Yellow-billed Cuckoo, have occurred on the coasts of
Pembrokeshire, while upwards of a dozen have been noticed on
the no very distant coasts of Devon and Cornwall. We can only
surmise that others may have visited us without having been
noticed or recorded.

SPOONBILL, P/atalea /eucorodiai—An occasional visitor in the
winter ; not very rare, sometimes arriving in considerable flocks.
The direction from which the Pembrokeshire Spoonbills reach
us is somewhat of a puzzle. The bird is a common species in
Holland, and, therefore, as might naturally be expected, a
regular visitor to the eastern counties of England. But birds
crossing the German Ocean do not penetrate so far to the west
as the Principality, save in a very few exceptional instances. We
must, therefore, look to some other quarter for our Spoonbills,
and are inclined to believe that they come to us from the south
of Spain v7é the Bay of Biscay. Flocks of Spoonbills have been
observed in the winter-time on the north coast of Cornwall,
and this would seem to favour the route we have suggested. We
learn from Mr. H. Mathias that, in the years 1854 and 1855, as
many as eleven Spoonbills were shot on the shores of Milford
Haven. The specimen in Mr. Mathias’ collection at the Tenby

64

The Birds of Pembrokeshire.

Museum was killed near Mallock Bridge in 1854. In 1885, five
or seven were shot in one day near the same bridge. Mr.
Mathias saw all these birds in Tracy’s shop, in Pembroke,
soon after they were set up. Several of them were young birds,
and one of them was so small and so ill-fledged that it seemed
wonderful how it could have reached the Pembrokeshire coast.
Sir Hugh Owen has told us that a flock of seven Spoonbills was
seen on Goodwick Sands in 1856. Mr. Dix saw an immature
Spoonbill in ‘Tracy’s shop in 1867, and was informed that two
or three are seen about Pembroke almost every year. One was
killed near St. David’s, on October 31st, 1890, as we learn from
Mr. Mortimer Propert, who saw the bird when he was out with
the hounds on a stubble field, in company with some farm-yard
Geese a few days before it was shot. It was finally killed ona
farm called Arglof, midway between St. David’s and Solva, and
was, as we heard from Jeffreys, the bird-stuffer, a very fine,
white bird, but without a crest. In most of the instances we
have given above, of the visits of the Spoonbill to Pembroke-
shire the dates were not supplied to us, but we believe that,
as in the south-western counties of England, they were all
during the winter, in this differing from the appearances of the
bird in the eastern counties, where it is in general seen in the

spring.

GLOSSY IBIS, Plegadis falcinellus—An occasional visitor; very

rare; only one instance. Mr. Tracy mentions a Glossy Ibis, a
fine adult, that was shot at Slebech, in the autumn of 1834, and
was in the possession of the gamekeeper. Mr. Thomas Hall,
birdstuffer, of London Wall, in the Zoo/ogis¢ for 1858, mentions
another that was killed so near to the borders of the county as
Laugharne Marsh. ‘This was on April rg in that year.

EGYPTIAN GOOSE, Crenalopex egyptiacus—Introduced. This

species is included in Mr. Mathias’ list. We know of no recent
instances of its having occurred at large, nor do we know of any
ornamental waters within the county where it is kept. Any

The Birds of Pembrokeshire. 65

that have been obtained must have wandered away from lakes
where fowl are preserved, perhaps at a considerable distance, as
these Geese are notorious stragglers.

BEAN GOOSE, Axser segetum.—An occasional winter visitor. All

the wild Geese, with the exception of the Brent Goose, are rare
in Pembrokeshire at the present day. During our eight years
residence in the county the Bean Goose alone occurred to
ourselves. In the severe winter of 1880 a flock of seven or
eight frequented the neighbourhood of Stone Hall, and once or
twice were seen by us flying low over our grounds.

[PINK-FOOTED GOOSE, 4xser brachyrhynchus.—This species is

included by Mr. Mathias, but as it appears to be unknown in the
south-western parts of the kingdom, we are doubtful if it was
correctly identified. It is a very common winter visitor to the
eastern counties of England. ]

WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE, 4xser albifrons. — An occasional

winter visitor in severe weather. Has been seen by Sir Hugh
Owen at Goodwick. One received by Jeffreys, the Haverfordwest
bird-stuffer, from Fishguard, in December, 1890.

BRENT GOOSE, Zernicla brenta.—A winter visitor, sometimes

abundant. We are informed by Sir Hugh Owen, that Brent
Geese usually appear on the sands at Goodwick, at the first
northerly or north-easterly gale between September 29th and
October 7th; and again later in the winter. They are also
seen at Broadmoor, near St. Bride’s Bay, where two were shot
on October 15th, 1888 ; also on the Milford Haven creeks, &c.

BARNACLE GOOSE, Bernicla leucopsis—A winter visitor, not so

numerous as the preceding species. Has been shot by Sir Hugh
Owen, on Goodwick sands, where it generally arrives about the
first of October, and is often met with in company with the

9

66

The Birds of Pembrokeshire.

flocks of Brent Geese. It has also occurred at Orielton, near
Milford Haven, as we are informed by Col. Saurin. A freshly
shot specimen was washed ashore near St. David’s, at the begin-
ning of December, 1893, as we learn from Mr. Mortimer Propert.

MUTE SWAN, Cygnus olor.—tIntroduced. The chief station in the

county of these beautiful birds is at Stackpole Court, where a
number frequent the romantic lake in the park in what may be
considered a wild state. The lake winds about in a serpentine
shape, its banks, at places, bordered by finely timbered woods,
and at one part, on the side towards the sea, by a warren.
At its extremity towards the sea a narrow range of sandhills
separates it from the shore. The Swans come and go as they
like, and are most numerous during the summer, when there
are nearly a hundred on the lake, many pairs being engaged in
nesting. In the autumn, when the weeds die down beyond their
reach, and the water is high, most of the Swans disappear, and
in the middle of winter, not more than eight or ten will be found
remaining. A few of the birds visit the Milford Haven creeks,
and one is occasionally shot on the neighbouring marshes, but
the majority evidently leave the county altogether, and probably
migrate far to the south. The few Mute Swans that occasionally
appear on the estuary of Taw and Torridge, in North Devon,
may be stragglers from the Stackpole flock. The Swans all
return again to their Pembrokeshire home in the spring. Lord
Cawdor informed us that he never introduced any fresh blood,
and that the number of Swans varied with the abundance of the
American weed, that, after twenty-five years, had begun to
diminish, and had almost died out in some parts of the water.

WHOOPER, Cygnus mustcus.— A rare, occasional winter visitor ; not

many on record. One, in the collection of the late Mr. John
Stokes, at Cuffern, was shot many years ago at Pantyphillip, some
three miles inland to the south of Fishguard. One at Stack-
pole frequented the lake there for some time, until it was shot
by Lord Cawdor, with his rifle, from the bridge crossing the lake.

The Birds of Pembrokeshire. 67

Singularly enough, that same day, a party shooting through
the covers in the park, brought in a specimen of Bewick’s Swan
that had been shot out of a flock of six or seven passing over-
head. Among the “various” captured in the decoy at Orielton,
a Swan Is included, but the species is not given.

BEWICK’S SWAN, Cygxus bewicki—An occasional winter visitor.
This small species of Swan is a not uncommon visitor to the
S.W. parts of the kingdom, and cannot be considered rare in
Pembrokeshire, where, during our own limited acquaintance with
the county, we knew of several instances of its occurrence, and
secured a fine example for our collection. On Nov. roth, 1887,
a fine adult was shot on Trevithan Pool, near St. David’s, by Mr.
Harding Harries. The bird was seen on the water in company
with a flock of tame geese, and when Mr. Harries approached,
instead of taking wing, it swam among the geese and endeavoured
to conceal itself in their midst, sinking its body as much as it
could, and bending down its graceful neck. Mr. Harries waded
into the water, and, with a single shot, laid the beautiful stranger
dead upon its back. Five other Bewick Swans, all immature
birds, were shot by a farmer, near St. David’s, in the winter of
1887; all these are said to have been plucked and roasted.
Another young Bewick’s Swan, in dirty white plumage, was shot
near St. David’s, in December, 1890, and sent to Jeffreys, in
Haverfordwest, to be stuffed. Many Swans, probably all belong-
ing to this species, were observed in various parts of the county
that severe winter, and flocks, numbering fifty birds, were seen
flying over. Mr. Jefferys, of Tenby, informs us that he received
a specimen of Bewick’s Swan from the neighbourhood of St.
David’s, evidently a favourite locality for the birds, as it is the
nearest point to the opposite coast of Ireland, where these swans
are seen by the thousand during the winter, and that he sold it to
a Mr. Mason, of Burton-on-Trent. A flock of Wild Swans, num-
bering about fifteen, is reported as having been seen at St.
David’s at the beginning of November, 1892. These were pro-
bably Bewick’s Swans.

68 The Birds of Pembrokeshtre.

COMMON SHELDRAKE, Zadorna cornuta.— Resident. This
handsome duck has been seen by Sir Hugh Owen, on the sands
at Goodwick. Mr. Dix states that a pair or two nest on sand-
hills below Milford Haven. Numbers nest on sandhills near
Laugharne, just beyond the eastern borders of the county, in
Carmarthenshire. A Sheldrake was captured, with other fowl,
on Orielton decoy, one winter.

RUDDY SHELDRAKE, Zadorna casarca. — Accidental visitor.
During the summer of 1892, a large number of Ruddy Shel-
drakes visited this country, an immigration almost as extra-
ordinary in its way as the incursions of Pallas’ Sandgrouse, and
flocks appeared at many places on all the coasts of England,
Ireland, Wales, and Scotland, and many examples were shot.
One was obtained out of a small flock near St. David’s during the
month of July that year. These birds had probably come from
North Africa. This beautiful species, which also bears the
name of the Brahminy Duck, and is abundant in India, is com-
monly kept on ornamental ponds, and the few occurrences
which had been previously noted in this kingdom have been
usually regarded as escapes.

WIGEON, Mareca stenelofe—A common winter visitor. The
Wigeon occurs in flocks in the autumn and winter all round the
coast, and a few visit inland rivers and ponds. We have seen
Wigeon in the Cleddy below Stone Hall, and have occasionally
flushed and shot single birds from small pools and ditches when
Snipe shooting. The Wigeon is by far the most numerous of all
the ducks that visit us in the autumn. On the decoy at
Orielton in eight seasons (1877-1885), 4,150 Wigeon were taken
as against 1,197 Wild Duck and 2,975 Teal in the same period.
We append a list of fowl supplied us by Col. Saurin, of Orielton,
taken in the decoy from 1877-1885. We believe this list is
published by Sir R. Payne Gallwey, Bart., in his book on
“Decoys.” The Orielton decoy was partially constructed in
1868, and added to in 1871, 1873, and 1876. No record of
fowl taken was kept before 1877.

The Birds of Pembrokeshire. 69

ORIELTON DECOY (Cot. Saurin).
(Near Milford Haven.)

First Birds|Last Birds
taken. taken.

Season. Duck. |Wigeon| Teal. | Pintail. pie Various | Total.

1877-78 | Nov. 28 | Feb. 15 5 | 504 | 341 ° fo) 3 853

1878-79 | Aug. 22| Feb. 11 | 183 | 452 | 871 6 4 15 | 1531

1879-80 | Sept. 17| Feb. 14} 244 | 604 | 485 6 6 23 | 1368

1880-81 Sept. 30} Feb. 26| 100 | 275 | 317 2 I 16 7i1

1881-82 | Sept. 28} Feb. 23] 70 | 535 | 190 I I 5 802

1882-83 | Sept. 16| Feb. 10} 85 | 643 | 264 I I 3 997

1883-84 | Aug. 25/ Feb. 23} 150 | 562 | 363 3 I I | 1080

1884-85 | Nov. 1 | Feb. 22 360 | 575 | 144 | 9 2 I 1091

= Besides these 1 Sheldrake, 1 Barnacle Goose, 1 Pochard, and 2 Gadwall have

7

been taken. The ‘‘ various” include Swans, Pheasants, Snipe, Water-hens,
Coots and Divers.

PINTAIL, Dajila acuta.—A winter visitor; scarce. Sir Hugh
Owen has seen and killed many Pintails on Goodwick Moor.
But only 28 were taken on Orielton Decoy in eight seasons,
and this fact would indicate that this species is rare. We have
never met with it ourselves, It is a most excellent bird for the
table.

WILD DUCK, Azxas boscas.—Resident ; common ; breeds all over
the county in suitable places, on wet moors, by the side of
streams and ponds. We had several broods every season

70 The Birds of Pembrokeshire,

below Stone Hall, on the Cleddy, and by the side of tiny
streams joining that river. The Wild Duck must have been
far more abundant fifty years ago. In a meadow below Stone
Hall the remains of an ambush at a bend of the stream still
exist. Concealed within it an old farmer, who lived close at
hand, used to shoot the Ducks as the flocks flew up and down
the stream just at daybreak, or at dusk, and is reported to have
often picked up twenty or more before his breakfast. In snowy
weather, accompanied by rough northerly winds, we have our-
selves seen great numbers of Duck on the Cleddy, and have
had good sport with them. The rougher the wind the greater
used to be our success, as the wind both prevented the birds
from hearing our approach, and impeded their flight. We
found a brood one summer close to the house, and the old
Duck permitting herself to be caught, we carried them all to
one of our ponds, but they did not stay there, quickly wandering
off again to the river.

GADWALL, Chawlelasmus streperus.—An occasional winter visitor ;
rare. ‘Che Gadwall is included in Mr. Mathias’ list, and is said
to have been shot near Pembroke. We have seen a pair
stuffed in a case at Orielton, that were taken in the Decoy with
other fowl. One in the gallery of British birds at South
Kensington Natural History Museum was presented by Lord
Cawdor, and came in all likelihood from the lake at Stackpole.

GARGANEY, Querguedula circia.—An occasional summer visitor ;
rare. Included in Mr. Mathias’ list. Specimens in the Stack-
pole Court collection. Three were shot on a pond on a farm
called Bramble, near Pen-y-cwm, in the north of the county,
February 28, 1888.

TEAL, Quergquedula creccaa—A common winter visitor; perhaps,
also a resident in limited numbers. Although we have no
evidence that it does so, we consider it extremely likely that a
few pairs of Teal may nest annually in suitable places in the

The Birds of Pembrokeshire. 71

county. Every winter little flocks of Teal made their appear-
ance on the Cleddy beneath Stone Hall, where it was compar-
atively easy to get shots at them by following the river in its
windings, as the birds generally dropped into corners of the
stream where willows and rushes afforded shelter. Very fre-
quently, too, we used to come across single Teal when after
Snipe, flushing them from drains, warm ditches, and small
rush-bordered pools, thus adding variety to our bag. A buff-
coloured Teal in the National Collection at South Kensington
was presented by Lord Cawdor, and came from Stackpole.

SHOVELLER, Sfatula clypeata—A winter visitor, not very
common. Occasionally the Shoveller deserts the sea wrack on
the coast, and comes inland to feed on the fresh water ponds,
and one day when Woodcock-shooting at Trecwn, we disturbed
three Mallard Shovellers from the small lake at the head of the
cover. In their full adult plumage the Mallard Shovellers are
among the handsomest of our British Wild Ducks. We have
always found this species most excellent for the table.

RED-CRESTED POCHARD, Picdigula rufina.—A very rare acci-
dental winter visitor from the south of Europe. Only one
occurrence; Mr. Tracy informed Mr. Dix, that he shot a female
Red-crested Pochard at Stackpole, and that Lord Cawdor took
it up to London to be identified. The date is not given. This
is the bird included in Dr. Gray’s Catalogue of the British
birds in the British Museum, and is still in the National Collec-
tion at South Kensington. In his “Handbook of the Rarer
British Birds” (pp. 159, 160), Mr. Harting mentions wo
Pembrokeshire Red-crested Ducks, but we have no doubt that
both his entries refer to the same bird, the one killed at Stack-
pole, which Lord Cawdor presented to the British Museum.

TUFTED DUCK, /iligula cristata.—A winter visitor ; common.
This small species, one of the most active in diving of all the
diving Ducks, is occasionally met with on inland ponds. We

72 The Birds of Pembrokeshire.

have seen it in little parties on the lake at Stackpole in the
early spring, and one winter one was shot on one of the ponds
at Stone Hall. It may occasionally remain to nest. Great
numbers are to be seen during the winter diving in the shallows
in Goodwick Bay.

SCAUP, /udicula marila—A winter visitor; common. This is
more of a maritime species, and is very rarely met with at any
distance from the coast. In general it keeps some little distance
out at sea, where it may be met with throughout the winter in
large flocks. Sir Hugh Owen sees it commonly off Goodwick.
It is hardly worth powder and shot for the table, as the flesh
is strong and rank,

POCHARD, fuligula ferina—A winter visitor; not uncominon.
Has occurred to ourselves on small ponds, some distance from
the coast. Some are taken on the decoy, at Orielton. Mr.
Dix mentions one that was shot on a pond in his neighbourhood.
This species is also an accomplished diver.

GOLDEN-EYE, Clangula glaucion.—A winter visitor; not very
common. Mr. Dix states that a few are seen most winters, but
that adult Mallards are rare. In the severe winter of 1880 we
saw several in immature plumage, on the Cleddy, below Stone
Hall. Two adult Mallards in the National Collection at South
Kensington are labelled ‘‘ Pembrokeshire,” and were presented
by Lord Cawdor. The Golden-eye is often met with on the
bays along the coast, in company with Scaups, Pochards, and
Tufted Ducks, a few Common Scoters sometimes mingled with
them, all diving together in the shallows over some favourite
feeding-grounds.

LONG-TAILED DUCK, arelda glacialis.—An occasional winter
visitor; rare. There are two immature birds of this species in
Lord Cawdor’s collection that had been shot at Stackpole. Mr.
Tracy informed Mr. Dix that one was shot at Haverfordwest, on

The Birds of Pembrokeshire. 73

June rsth, 1843, a remarkable date for this northern bird to
have been found so far to the south. From his description, this
specimen appears to have been in almost complete summer
plumage. It had one white scapular feather, and a few white
feathers on the crown of the head, and on the back of the neck ;
the white feathers remaining on the head and neck were about a
quarter of an inch longer than the others.

EIDER DUCK, Somateria mollissima.—An occasional winter visitor;
rare. We saw some adults of this beautiful bird in the Stack-
pole collection, that had been obtained at Stackpole, or on the
coast between Stackpole and Tenby. Mr. Dix mentions an
immature male that had been shot near Pembroke, as also being
in Lord Cawdor’s collection, and an adult male, which he
believes had been killed in Carmarthenshire. A young male
Eider was shot at Dale, January 18th, 1891.

SCOTER, @demia nigra.—A winter visitor; not rare. Mr. Dix
states that immature birds are not uncommon on the coast.
Numbers are seen occasionally in Goodwick Bay. Sir Hugh
Owen shot one off the pier head at Goodwick.

VELVET SCOTER, @demia fusca. — A rare winter visitor.
Mr. Mathias has told us of one that was brought into Tracy’s
shop at Pembroke many years ago. Six were seen in Good-
wick Bay on November 16, 1886, as we were informed by Sir
Hugh Owen. Mr. Charles Jefferys informs us that one was
picked up exhausted on the shore at Tenby, in December,
1889, and brought to him alive. ‘This species can readily be
distinguished, with glasses, at some considerable distance on the
water, owing to the white speculum on the wings.

GOOSANDER, MMereus merganser.—A regular winter visitor; not
uncommon. One shot by Mr. W. Summers on the lake at
Heathfield in the early spring of 1884, was sent to us, and
although infested by a large parasite was in good condition; it
was a female. Heathfield is several miles from the coast.

Io

74 The Birds of Pembrokeshire.

Another was obtained at Tregwynt, on the north coast, in
January, 1888. We ourselves watched one swimming and
diving in the lake at Stackpole, March 22, 1888. Mr. H. W.
Evans, of Solva, possesses a pair of Goosanders in his collection,
male and female, that were shot in Solva harbour. Mr. Dix says
the Goosander occurs more frequently than the Red-breasted
Merganser. The Mallard Goosander, in full plumage, is the
most beautiful of all the divers that visit our estuaries and bays
in the winter time.

RED-BREASTED MERGANSER, JMergus serrator—A_ winter
visitor; rare. In Mr. Mathias’ list. Mr. Dix says ‘‘ occasionally
obtained.” We know of no recent occurrences.

SMEW, Mergus albellus—A winter visitor ; not uncommon. In
Mr. Mathias’ list. Has been shot by Sir Hugh Owen, at
Goodwick. Mr. Dix says: ‘A beautiful adult male in
the Earl of Cawdor’s collection, was shot on the lake at Stack-
pole Court. Immature birds are not infrequently seen In
its pretty black and white pie plumage, and with its hand-
some crest, the Mallard Smew is another conspicuous species,
that we have distinguished at a great distance on the water.
It is one of the tree-building species like the Golden-eye and
some other ducks, and its pure white eggs are still considered
as rarities by oologists. It nests in Lapland and the north of
Europe.

RING-DOVE, Columba palumbus.—Resident. To be met with in
all the wooded parts of the county, but it cannot be considered
abundant anywhere, and we never saw such flocks in the winter
time as are commonly observed in England. We had many
Ring-doves in our plantations at Stone Hall, where they were
constantly harried and devoured by the too numerous Sparrow-
hawks. Occasionally the birds would do us damage in the
kitchen garden, but as we always liked to see them about our
trees we never permitted them to be interfered with. In the
early months of the year they used to feed greedily in our

The Birds of Pembrokeshire. 75

grounds on the roots of the Pilewort Crowfoot (Ranunculus
ficaria), for which they were to be seen searching about in
small flocks. Mr. Dix considered that Ring-doves were more
numerous in his north-eastern corner of the county than they
were in the south, and remarks that few persons have any idea
of the damage they do to turnips and rape during the winter
months.

STOCK-DOVE, Columba palumbus.—Resident ; chiefly to be found
upon the coast. We were informed by Mr. Moore, the head-
keeper at Picton Castle, that a few pairs of Stock-doves nested
in some hollow trees in the park, and we believe we saw some
of the birds one day when we were crossing the park in his
company. We learn from Mr. C. Jefferys, of Tenby, that
Stock-doves frequent and nest in the ivy-coloured cliffs near
that delightful watering-place. We believe that many of the
Pigeons that frequent the cliffs in the St. David’s district, and
are generally considered to be Rock-doves, are either Stock-
doves or escaped farmyard Pigeons. We never detected a
Stock-dove among our Ring-doves at Stone Hall.

ROCK-DOVE, Columba livia—Resident. Mr. Tracy, writing fifty
years ago, stated that a few pairs then nested in the cliffs on the
coast. But we must state that we have never seen a Pembroke-
shire specimen of this species, and some eggs sent to us from
St. David’s were evidently too large for those of the Rock-
dove. However, from what Mr. Mortimer Propert tells us, we
believe that there may be a pair or two of genuine Rock-doves
nesting in the caves on Ramsey Island. We have ourselves, on
various visits to that most romantic and charming island, seen
many Pigeons flying along the cliffs, but were never able to get
sufficiently near them to be certain what they were. Mr. E. W.
H. Blagg, of Cheadle, Staffordshire, who was staying at Tenby in
the summer of 1887, assures us that he saw Rock-doves in the
neighbourhood of the Stack Rocks, and also at the ‘‘ Huntsman’s
Leap,” a name given to a deep fissure in the cliffs, where there is
a sheer descent of a hundred feet or more to the beach below.

76 The Birds of Pembrokeshire.

“ Atthe latter spot,” he writes, ‘‘I can call to mind seeing a few
Doves come out of the deep fissures in the steep cliffs, far away
below us, so that we had a good view of their w/zte rumps, and
this was my first introduction to Rock-doves ; since then, in
1892, I have seen crowds of wild Rock-doves in the Shetlands.”
He adds further “ Stock-doves i have known well all my life.
Of course there are lots of them near Tenby, and I have come
across plenty of them on the coast of Carnarvonshire ; ¢hey
seem to prefer ivy-covered cliffs, not very high as a rule, but
I think the Rock-Doves like cliffs that are too wild and steep
for ivy to grow on them, with caves and deep fissures to shelter
ine

TURTLE DOVE, Zurtur communis.—A summer visitor ; scarce. A
few pairs nest in the south of the county. In driving about the
northern districts we have occasionally noted a single Turtle
Dove in May and June. We saw one at Solva, towards the end
of May, 1887, and another near St. David’s, and one was shot
at Stone Hall as late in the year as October 23rd, 1887. We
know of no instance of the nest having been found in the north
of the county, neither did Mr. Dix, who considered the Turtle
Dove only a straggler to Pembrokeshire. He states that it has
been known to breed in the woods at Orielton, near Pembroke,
but he believed only on one occasion. He writes: “On 2oth
June, 1867, I was surprised to see one fly across a small field
here, which was being sown with turnips; the same morning,
within a less distance than a mile, I heard two others in different
plantations ; three pairs were regularly heard and seen here for
about ten days ; I was careful they should not be disturbed, as I
hoped they would remain through the summer ; however, they
all left, and we have had none since: their note is so peculiar it
is not easy to suppose they would remain unnoticed, more par-
ticularly as they were several times mentioned to me during the
time they remained.”

PALLAS’S SAND- GROUSE, Syrrhaptes paradoxus. — This
singular bird, whose first appearance in the British Isles was

The Birds of Pembrokeshire. 77

noted early in July, 1859, at Tremadoc, at the north end of
Cardigan Bay, was observed in Pembrokeshire at each of its great
visitations in 1863 and 1888. A female bird was shot near
Haverfordwest, February 8th, 1864 ; and is recorded in Professor
Newton’s excellent account of the first immigration of the species
to this country in the volume of the Zézs for 1854, page 211. The
Haverfordwest specimen was the last reported occurrence of this
bird in Great Britain on its first visitation. Sir Hugh Owen has
informed us that a Sand-Grouse was shot in Pembrokeshire, in the
spring of 1870; this occurrence is singular, as no other Sand-
Grouse is recorded from the British Isles in the year 1870. In
the second, and still more numerous irruption of Pallas’s Sand-
Grouse, in 1888, a female was shot in the parish of Ambleston,
on 28th May in that year; and about that date, we heard from
Mr. Mortimer Propert that some “strange birds” had been seen
near St. David’s, that were probably a flock of Sand-Grouse.
The home of this species is to be found on the steppes of Tartary,
and the cause which induced it to wander so far away, and in
such numbers, is quite unknown.

PHEASANT, Pahasianus colchicus and torquatus.—Introduced.
The Pheasant thrives remarkably well in Pembrokeshire, not
only in the preserves, but in the wild unpreserved districts in
the county, where it meets with all its requisites—water, shelter
and food. It delights in the stiff fox-covers of from four feet to
five feet high furze, which are so numerous, and in these, as we
have often experienced, neither dogs nor beaters will avail to
flush it. The birds shot in these impenetrable covers are worth
some trouble to obtain, being fine and heavy, and of most excel-
lent flavour. The ring-necked Pheasant (/. torqguatus) 1s NOW
the predominant variety throughout the county. It is said to
have been introduced by Sir John Owen, Bt., of Orielton, some
fifty or sixty years ago, and it has extended itself even to the
remote “mountain” districts, ‘The Rev. W. Scott, rector of
Slebech, has told us that when he was a boy at school in Car-
marthen, he well remembers the town crier one day being sent

78

The Birds of Pembrokeshire.

about the streets to request the people to abstain from injuring
the Pheasants that had just been turned down upon an estate at
no great distance from the town. This, doubtless, had refer-
ence to the ring-necked birds, and was, probably, their first
introduction in that part of Carmarthenshire. We have only
very rarely encountered specimens of the old breed of red birds
in the covers in North Pembrokeshire. In very severe winters,
after deep snows and long protracted frosts, we have once or
twice picked up dead and frozen hen birds in our covers, but
we never came across a dead cock bird in such weather, and
believe that these hardy birds can find a subsistence for them-
selves almost anywhere, and are practically omnivorous, When
Snipe shooting, we have often put up and shot straying cock
Pheasants in unexpected places, on the barest hill tops, and in
the wettest bogs. No doubt, a considerable number of Pheasants
fall victims to the foxes that swarm beyond all reason in some
parts in the north of the county ; several times we have had our
setter draw up to and stand a fox kennelled in some trash on
the “mountain,” with one of our Pheasants half-eaten by his
side, and we have wondered whether it was the “ varmint ” that
we allowed to trot off towards our covers, or the remains of
game that had been winded by our dog.

RED-LEGGED PARTRIDGE, Caccadis rufa.—Introduced. Lord

Cawdor in the south of the county, and Mr. J. Worthing-
ton, of Glyn-y-mel, Fishguard, in the north, have attempted
to naturalise the red-legged Partridge, but have met with no
success. We have seen the fine, healthy young birds reared
at Glyn-y-mel, but they soon disappeared after they were
turned out in fields where it seemed likely they would remain,
nor were any ever met with afterwards during the shooting
season in the neighbourhood. Mr. Moore, the head keeper at
Picton Castle, has told us that he once shot a single example of
this species at Picton, and this is the only one that, to our
knowledge, has been obtained anywhere at large within the
county. Attempts to introduce the red-legged Partridge have
also failed both in Devonshire and Dorsetshire, and it seems

The Birds of Pembrokeshtre. 79

natural to conclude that the climate of the south-west of the
kingdom is too humid for it. We cannot think of any other
reason to account for its refusing to establish itself in the various
(in all other respects) suitable districts on which it has been
turned out.

PARTRIDGE, Zerdix cinerea —Although not to be numbered as
ranking among the Partridge counties, owing to the comparative
scarcity of cornfields and its generally “mountain ’’ character,
Pembrokeshire, nevertheless, seems to be well adapted to this
well-known and favourite bird, and in the southern districts,
notably on Lord Cawdor’s estates in the parishes of Castle
Martin, &c., it is fairly plentiful, and very good bags are made.
In good seasons, such as the Jubilee year, for instance, it is
also sometimes abundant in the wilder parts of the county, and
we have had excellent sport. In hard winters, when snow lies
long upon the ground, great numbers of Partridges perish.
Many are starved and frozen, and many more fall victims to
vermin that can then more easily discover them, and we have
found their remains lying about the fields. A wet June, when
there are frequent thunderstorms, is also disastrous, as then the
young broods perish almost to a bird, and the sportsman will
find the fields bare of coveys when September comes. We
have had our own stock reduced to almost a vanishing point,
but a couple of good seasons will work like magic; the birds
seem to spring up again from nowhere, and plenty of em-
ployment is again provided for setters and_breech-loaders.
Owing to the quantity of furze and other rough cover, the
Pembrokeshire partridges, in the north of the county especially,
suffer little at the hands of poachers, as it is almost impossible
to take them with nets.

QUAIL, Coturnix communis——An irregular summer visitor. One
or two are noted every season, and in certain years it is
numerous. Mr. Tracy writes: ‘I receive a specimen or two
almost every autumn, or during the winter.” The only occur-

80

The Birds of Pembrokeshire.

rences which came under our own notice were all of single
birds obtained in the winter months. Captain O. T. Edwardes,
of Tyrhos, shot one in December, on Tyrhos Common, close
to Stone Hall. Mr. Dix writes: “An adult female was shot at
Boncath, near here, on September 7th, 1867, and was sent to
me a day or two afterwards; it was flushed from amongst some
rushes in a wet springy meadow, where in winter we usually
find snipes. This singularly agrees with the observations in the
‘Birds of Norfolk.’ Eight or nine years ago five were seen
near here, of which three were shot; and about twelve years
ago three were seen near Eglwyswrw, and all were shot; they
were all found in and near similar cover to the bird I have. I
think I never saw a bird so loaded with fat as that sent me;
although rolled up in four or five thicknesses of newspaper, the
grease went through all, and the feathers were so saturated that
I almost despaired of cleaning them.” Mr. Dix was an intimate
friend of Mr. H. Stevenson, the author of the “ Birds of Nor-
folk,” and on referring to that admirable work, we find (vol. i,
p. 431) that Mr. Stevenson attributes the scarcity of the Quail
in the county of Norfolk, at the present day, to the fact that the
rough, swampy places that were the birds favourite grounds,
have all been enclosed and ploughed up. In the Zoologist for
1870, Mr. Dix records the abundance of Quail in Cardiganshire
and North Pembrokeshire that year. There were many nests,
and. he himself heard of 330 having been killed by eighteen
sportsmen, who supplied him with their lists, and thinks that
the total number bagged may have been from four to five times
that number. Nearly the whole were shot in September. Early
in October several sportsmen looked after Quails, but could
find none. The first Quail was noticed in the middle of July,
near a field in which two nests were subsequently found.
“This was a barley field, and when it was cut, about August
14th, two nests were found; one contained eggs. Near the
other nine young ones, just hatched, were seen; these remained
near the same spot for some time. Another nest with eggs was
found within a day or two of the above date, and not more than

The Birds of Pembrokeshire. 81

two hundred yards distant.” We cannot but think the date
here given is rather a late one for the birds to be found nesting,
and would point to the flight having reached Pembrokeshire
late in the summer. The birds would certainly begin to nest
immediately on their arrival. Mr. Dix states that although
there were so many Quail in the north of the county, only one
or two were seen in the south; 1870 was a great year for Quails
all over the kingdom, especially in the west and south-west. In
1893, Quail were again numerous in most parts of England, and
were met with commonly in North Pembrokeshire, and many were
killed in the St. David’s district. The report from the Small’s
Lighthouse mentions Quail appearing there on the morning of
September 3rd, 1885, indicating the departure of the birds
towards the south. We cannot gather whether this refers to a
single bird, or to a passing flock.

RED GROUSE, Zagopus scoticus.—Resident? We fear that it is
extremely doubtful if a single Red Grouse is left on the Precelly
Mountains. Formerly a few broods were to be found there,
and Col. John Owen, of Rosebush, used to get a few brace on
the hills. In the autumn of 1885, a lady of our acquaintance
received a present of a brace that had been shot there, and
these are the last that we have ourselves heard of. Mr.
Mortimer Propert tells us that he saw what he believed to be
Grouse on Brennin Fawr, near Crymmych, on September 9th,
1892. This is on the Cardiganshire side of the Precelly range.

BLACK GROUSE, Zé¢rao tetrix.We cannot say how long ago
the Biack Grouse ceased to exist as an indigenous bird in the
county. Mr. Dix states that he had heard of a few in the
neighbourhood of Fishguard, but he certainly referred to those
the late Mr. Barham turned down at Trecwn in his attempt to
naturalize the birds upon his beautiful estate. However, the
birds never nested, and soon wandered away, and were all shot
down. We have never met with a sportsman who had ever

II

82 The Birds of Pembrokeshire,

shot a Black Grouse in the county, and only a few and limited
localities in it are suited to the bird. The Black Grouse has
disappeared, apparently, from several districts in South Wales,
where it was once common. Its former abundance is supposed
to be attested by the number of inns scattered about, bearing
the sign of the “‘ Black Cock.” This may either witness to the
presence of the bird, or only to its heraldic representative, as
the Black Cock is the old crest of the Mathew family, at one
time owners of large estates in various parts of South Wales,
just as numerous inns standing on what was once their property,
still bear the sign of the ‘‘Black Lion,” from the three rampant
black lions that are on their shield. In the summer of 1878,
Mr. Edward Laws, of Tenby, and Professor Rolleston, of
Oxford, discovered bones of the Black Grouse in the Longbury
Bank Cave, near Tenby.

WATER-RAIL, Rallus aqguaticus—Resident. We had numerous
Water-Rails at Stone Hall, and often saw them feeding on the
lawn in company with Moor-hens. In the dusk, when they were
running on the garden paths, we sometimes took them for rats.
We used to see plenty of them by the Cleddy when fishing, and
in the winter sometimes flushed them from little ditches bor-
dered by brambles and furze, when we were after the Snipe.
We do not think they were more numerous in winter than at
any other season, although some people might imagine them to
be so because they are then more often seen, as much of the
cover they can skulk in has then died down. Unless the spots
frequented by the Rails are actually visited with a good dog
accustomed to hunt them, they might be altogether undetected
and considered rare, although in point of fact quite numerous,
and that close at hand. In many parts of the country, where to
our knowledge it is a common resident, the Water-Rail, for the
above reason, is regarded as quite a rare bird, and we have once
or twice had one sent to us to be named. A Water-Rail was
seen on the Smalls Rock, by the Lighthouse, October rsth,
1880; others on November 6th, 1883 (‘“‘ Migration Reports”).

The Birds of Pembrokeshire. 83

SPOTTED CRAKE.—An occasional visitor in the autumn; rare.
To our surprise we never ourselves encountered this bird at
large in Pembrokeshire, and every season we were shooting over
ground exactly similar to that in which we had been accustomed
to meet with the bird in other parts of the kingdom. It is
evidently a rarity in the county. Sir Hugh Owen has shot it
occasionally on Goodwick Moor ; and we know of one that was
shot in the neighbourhood of Fishguard, in October, 1888.
Mr. C. Jefferys has informed us that he shot a Spotted
Crake near Tenby. There is a specimen in the Stackpole
Court collection, and the bird is included in Mr. Mathias’
list. The Spotted Crake would seem to be equally scarce in
the neighbouring county of Cardiganshire, where Mr. J. H.
Salter informs us that he has not yet come across a single
specimen.

BAILLON’S CRAKE, Porzana baillont.Accidental ; only two on
record. Sir Hugh Owen has informed us that he saw two of
the ‘‘ Lesser Spotted Crake” on Goodwick Moor, in the autumn
of 1869, and shot one of them. ‘The bird “looked like a field-
mouse when swimming.” He has since recognised his specimen
in Yarrell as Baillon’s Crake.

CORN CRAKE, Cvex pratensis.—Summer visitor. The Corn-Crake
is numerous in most parts of the county, where it arrives about
the middle of April. We often saw it on our lawn at Stone
Hall, and always had one or two nests close at hand. In the
shooting season we noted it until the end of October, the latest
birds being always found on wet places on high ground. We
owned a setter that was very clever in catching and bringing us
Corn-Crakes, and we would take the birds from him and let
them go. One season he caught us a Corn-Crake several days
in succession at the same corner in a field, which, we thought,
indicated that the birds do not stray far from their place of
birth until they migrate.

84 The Birds of Pembrokeshire.

MOOR-HEN, Gad/inula chloropus.—Common resident. Numerous
everywhere in the county by the side of streams, ponds, &c.
At Stone Hall we had numbers, semi-domesticated, that fed on
the lawns, and nested by the fishponds. By one of our ponds
we counted seven nests one summer. As soon as the young
birds can take care of themselves, the old birds evidently drive
them away, as no increase was observable in the number usually
frequenting the grounds, as must have been the case had all the
broods remained. Occasionally we noted a nest in a tree over-
hanging the water five or six feet from the surface, but the
usual site would be among the grasses and rushes at the edge of
the ponds. Rhododendron bushes were often selected, and for
several years in succession there was a nest in the boat house.
When snow has been on the ground we always found that the
banks of the Cleddy had numerous tracks of foxes, and sup-
posed the “‘ varmints” were after the Moor-Hens and rats. The
Moor-Hen appears to have been scarce in the part of the
county with which Mr. Dix was acquainted, and he expresses
his surprise at their rareness, as the country was so well suited
to them. A single Moor-Hen was noticed at the lantern of the
South Bishop’s Lighthouse at 1 a.m., on October gth, 1884,
indicating that it was then migrating. We should have thought
the Moor-Hen an unlikely species to be affected by the migrat-
ing impulse.

COOT, Fudica atvaa—Resident ; but confined to the few large ponds
in the county, such as those at Orielton, Heathfield Stackpole,
&c., where there are rushes, &c., for their nests. Mr, Dix con-
siders the Coot ‘‘a regular winter visitor, but not numerous.”
Sir Hugh Owen has shot Coots at Goodwick.

[GREAT BUSTARD, O#is tarda,—We have no record of this fine
bird in Pembrokeshire, but venture to include it, as one has
been obtained in recent years so near to it as at Llanelly in
Carmarthenshire. ‘This occurence is related in the Zoo/ogist for

The Birds of Pembrokeshire. 85

1891, p. 104. During Christmas week, 1890, a female Great
Bustard was shot near Llanelly, and was sent to a bird-stuffer at
Carmarthen. Pembrokeshire is at a great distance from the old
haunts of the Great Bustard, and at the time the bird still existed
as an indigenous species it very seldom wandered, and we do
not believe that our county was ever likely to have been visited
by it. ]

STONE CURLEW, @acnemus scolopax.—A winter visitor; very
rare ; only one occurrence known tous. The Stone Curlew is
a common summer visitor to the eastern counties, to Salisbury
Plain, &c., but is only known in the south-west as an occa-
sional straggler in the winter months. One was shot by Mr.
Browne Edwardes near St. David’s in January, 1891, and
recorded at the time in a local paper.

[COLLARED PRATINCOLE, Glaveola pratincola—A very rare
accidental visitor from the south. It is the lucky fate of the
Pratincole when it wanders northwards to the British Isles to
be more often seen only than to be secured. This rare bird
is included in Mr. Mathias’ list on the strength of one that
was seen several times by Mr. Bowen at Llanstinan many
years ago. Mr. Bowen pursued the bird for some time, and
had one unsuccessfu! shot at it. Mr. Mathias went to Llan-
stinan on purpose to search for it, but was not fortunate enough
to see it. ]

GOLDEN PLOVER, Ciaradrius pluvialis.—A winter visitor ; per-
haps, also, a resident. Mr. Dix says, “common on the moun-
tains in winter, they were seen here last year by the second week
in October.” Although we have ourselves failed to detect the
Golden Plover among the birds nesting on the Precelly Moun-
tains, we think it extremely likely that a few pairs may breed
there, and we are the more inclined to this opinion as we have
only been able to search a limited portion of the mountains on

86

The Birds of Pembrokeshire.

the western side. The Golden Plover nests on the Breconshire
Mountains, and commonly on the moors in North Wales, and
the Precelly Mountains offer very suitable ground for their
summer quarters. Mr. J. H. Salter, of University College,
Aberystwyth, informs us that Golden Plovers breed sparsely on
the Cardiganshire hills. We used to see large flocks every
autumn and winter around Stone Hall, and often shot them
when we were after Snipe, getting them within range by imitat-
ing their whistling call. In the very cold spring of 1886, when
a black frost with snow lasted for a stretch of six or seven
weeks, the lower parts of the county were visited by tens of
thousands of Golden Plovers. The birds might be seen on the
muddy shores of Milford Haven, and in all the meadows adjoin-
ing the coast, searching in vain for food. We actually saw some
in the town of Haverfordwest. We saw others on the hard
turnpike road that ran in front of our dog-cart like chickens.
A few visited our kitchen garden at Stone Hall. Starving as
they were, they did not perish in such numbers as the poor
Peewits, that during this cruel frost we found lying about dead
and frozen in the fields by scores.

GREY PLOVER, Sguvatarola helvetica.—A winter visitor; not

common; in Mr. Tracy’s experience, ‘‘only in severe weather
are they seen on our shores, and are then very easily obtained,
as they are by no means shy.” We have found the Grey Plover
to have avery different disposition in other parts of the kingdom
where we have shot it, but never without a very careful stalk,
as we always found it to be one of the very wildest birds, even
more suspicious and difficult to approach than the Curlew itself.
Sir Hugh Owen has seen the Grey Plover at Goodwick, but is
not able to include it in the list of birds that have fallen to his
gun, a sufficient proof of its extreme wariness.

RINGED PLOVER, #¢gialitis hiaticula—A common resident on

the coast ; large flocks arrive in the autumn. This pretty bird
nests commonly at many places on the coast. Mr. Tracy gives

The Birds of Pembrokeshire. 87

the following interesting particulars of a nest: “A pair of these
birds nested on a rabbit warren on a high exposed piece of
ground (we think we know this spot at Stackpole). I took the
eggs from the nest, and in a week the female had laid her four
eggs again within a few yards of the former ones. These I again
took, and in thirteen days four more eggs were laid very near the
last nest, but these were decidedly much smaller than the
former ones. On visiting the place about three weeks after-
wards I again found a nest containing four eggs, but these were
a great deal smaller, and had almost lost their character, as they
were nearly round, and not pointed at the end, like the true
type of Plover’s eggs. One, which I suspect to have been the
last laid, was not larger than a Robin’s egg, and quite round,
clearly showing the female bird had completely exhausted
herself in her efforts to increase and multiply. I have no doubt
of their being the same pair, as there were no others seen near
the place.”

DOTTEREL, Zudromias morinellus.—A passing migrant in the
spring and autumn. This species is very rarely seen in Pem-
brokeshire. We are indebted to the Rev. Clennell Wilkinson,
rector of Castle Martin, for the information that one was shot in
his parish in the spring of 1888. It is not in Mr. Mathias’ list,
or in the one we have received from Sir Hugh Owen.

LAPWING, Vanel/us vulgaris.—Resident. The well-known Lap-
wing is one of our commonest birds, nesting in most districts of
the county, and to be seen commonly in large flocks in the
autumn and winter. In the bitter spring of 1886 numbers
perished, and were to be found lying dead by the frozen drains
in most of the meadows. We had many about our garden, and
placed food for them on the paths, barley-meal, &c., but they
would not touch it. We used to watch them from our windows
running on the lawn, and stopping with a jerk every few paces
to listen (like a thrush) for the movement of any worm beneath
the frozen ground.

88

The Birds of Pembrokeshire.

TURNSTONE, Strepsilas interpres.—An autumn visitor to the coast ;

rather rare. Sir Hugh Owen has shot the Turnstone on the
sands at Goodwick. We have heard of others at Angle and
Tenby, all immature birds in their first plumage. We have no
record of one obtained in the spring in the beautiful nesting
dress. Mr. Tracy considered this species scarce, and stated
that only an occasional one was to be met with in the autumn,
and mostly the young of the year. In August, 1892, several
Turnstones were shot near Tenby, where Mr. C. Jefferys
informs us that they are rare.

OYSTER-CATCHER, Hematopus ostralegus.— Resident. The

Oyster-catcher occurs in small numbers at various places on the
coast, and nests on the Bishop’s Rock, also on Skomer, where we
found pairs of old birds and their newly-hatched young on the
last day of May, 1886. In their handsome plumage of vividly-
contrasted black and white the old birds, as they flew anxiously
low overhead against the blue sky, were beautiful objects. Mr.
Tracy states that, on several occasions, he took the eggs of the
Oyster-catcher on a small island at the entrance of Milford
Haven, and Sir Hugh Owen has shot the bird on the sands at
Goodwick. The plaintive whistle of the Oyster-catcher, or Sea
Pie (to give it its commoner name), is one of the characteristic
bird-notes of the pebbly beaches around our coasts. We have
not often met with the bird on a sandy shore.

AVOCET, Recurvirostra avocetta.—A rare accidental visitor. The

singular and graceful Avocet, once a regular summer visitor in
considerable numbers to the fen-lands of the eastern counties of
England, is now only a chance visitor to our shores, and is very
rarely observed in the south-western parts of the kingdom.
When it now appears it is generally in the winter time. Mr.
Tracy states that he received two to stuff that had been killed
in the neighbourhood of Pembroke in the winter, but does not
give the dates. One of them is, doubtless, the beautiful speci-

The Birds of Pembrokeshire. 89

men in the Stackpole collection Mr. Dix speaks of as having
been killed near Pembroke. Mr. C. Jefferys has informed us
that an Avocet was shot near Tenby about the year 1883. We
know of no other occurrences. Two Avocets in Col. Montagu’s
collection, labelled “South Wales,” may have come from Pem-
brokeshire, a county with which the Colonel appears to have
been well acquainted.

GREY PHALAROPE, Pralaropus fulicarius.—An autumn visitor.
Our memory goes back to the time when the Grey Phalarope
was regarded as a very rare bird, each occurrence being carefully
chronicled. But for many years hardly an autumn has passed
without this pretty species being detected on our coasts, and
after severe gales great numbers are periodically intercepted on
their migration southwards from the shores of Greenland, and
driven into the English and Bristol Channels. Numbers are
also seen along the Welsh shores fronting St. George’s Channel,
and after an autumn gale we have heard of Phalaropes being
plentiful at Aberystwyth. The birds are wonderfully tame, and
quite fearless of man, and many suffer in consequence, being
easily killed by stones cast at them. Alas ! that the pretty little
tempest-tossed wanderers should receive so cruel a reception.
Some are carried by the wind far inland, and occur at alk
manner of unlooked-for places. We have a note of one that
was shot on a pond in Letterston village, six or seven miles from
the coast. Sir Hugh Owen has seen Grey Phalaropes at
Goodwick. One was shot at Castle Martin in November,
1886. One, obtained at Stackpole, is in the collection there.
Grey Phalaropes have often occurred on Caldy Island, and at
Tenby, and were numerous there in the autumn of 1891 ; others
in the autumn of 1893. The Haverfordwest birdstuffer fre-
quently receives them from the neighbourhood of Pembroke,
St. David’s, &c., and had many sent to him in the autumn of
1891. We have no instance of one having been obtained in
the spring in the red nesting plumage. In fine weather the Grey
Phalaropes pass our coasts at a considerable distance out at sea,

12

90 The Birds of Pembrokeshire.

perhaps, even far out in the Atlantic to the west of Treland.
They only approach the shores when driven in by rough
weather.

WOODCOCK, Svolopax rusticula—An autumn visitor, doubtless
also a resident in limited numbers. Although we have no in-
stance of a Woodcock’s nest having been found in the county,
it must certainly breed occasionally, if not regularly, in some of
the large covers. We had always formed to ourselves large
expectations of the sport to be had in Pembrokeshire in Wood-
cock shooting, and it was chiefly on this account that we were led
to fix for a time our residence in the county. But we were
greatly disappointed. The days of large bags seem to have
passed away ; and, although old sportsmen had great things to
tell of doings at some of the famous covers in by-gone years, in
our own experience Pembrokeshire seemed to rank far behind
Devonshire as a Woodcock county. Through the kindness of
our old friend Colonel John Owen, of Rosebush, who for many
years rented the Trecwn shooting, we had many days with him
in those beautiful covers where rhododendrons and alders com-
bine to make attractive lodgings for the Cocks, and on several
occasions found them plentiful ; one day we must have had over
a hundred flushes. In beating the Trecwn covers we generally
began by trying the wooded hill-sides in order to drive the
Cocks down into the large alder-beds in the valley, where we
would finish in the afternoon. Here the Cocks would be some-
times plentiful, and almost every step forward flushes would
ensue. Watching the ground carefully between the alder stools
we would occasionally detect a Cock, or a couple of Cocks,
squatting upon the ground; others moved elsewhere would fly
towards us, and settle at our feet. As the birds were flushed
again they often disappointed us of a shot by darting off through
the bushes, only a foot or two above the ground, when we dared
not fire for fear of hitting a beater, or one of the other guns, for
in such a cover it was next to impossible to keepin line. We
were careful not to shoot unless the Cocks topped the alders,

The Birds of Pembrokeshire. gt

or crossed us above them. Woodcock shooting with a party in
large alder covers is dangerous work, and a rash shot might
speedily afford employment for the doctors. We have enjoyed
good sport in the covers of Sealyham, Cuffern, Tregwynt, in the
woods near the Tufton Arms, &c., &c., and in our own small
covers at Stone Hall there would frequently be a good show of
Cocks, when a passing flight would drop in, and we have
flushed as many as 50 of a morning. We often had Cocks in
the kitchen garden, and among the rhododendrons and laurels
on the lawn. The covers at Slebech are noted for Woodcocks,
and in former years 60 would be bagged there in a day’s shoot.
In mild and wet weather the Cocks resort to the high furze on
hill-sides, and in such places we have found them in con-
siderable numbers. In snows, and in hard black frosts, they
leave the covers for the coast. In the severe winter of 1880
great numbers were shot at St. David’s. A friend tells us that
he then found one of the hotels there full of Woodcocks, and
sportsmen would go out and return in a couple of hours with
their pockets full. All the little furzy combes running down
towards the sea were thronged with them, and there was one
little spot close to the stream which runs at the back of the old
Cathedral where directly a Cock was shot another came and took
its place, and this went on throughout the day. In the beautiful
covers at Tregwynt which face the sea over 40 Cocks have
been killed in a day during a deep snow. We have flushed
numbers of Cocks some seasons up to the end of March, when
we have been fishing the Cleddy, and working our way through
covers bordering the stream, and as the Woodcock nests early
in the year we felt convinced that some of these late birds must
remain in the county to breed. We have seen a very pretty
variety that was shot in the south of the county, that had its
back and shoulders thickly mottled with small patches of white.
Sir Hugh Owen has told us that he has shot “ small dark Cocks
of only 7 ozs.” Many sportsmen look upon these extra small
birds as a distinct species, asserting that when they are flushed
they dart off at once, like a Snipe ; but Cocks vary much in size

92

The Birds of Pembrokeshire.

and weight, and we believe these very small-sized birds to be
merely the young birds of the year, and the offspring, probably,
of small birds. We invariably found the labourers, and farm
people in general, when we were out shooting, eager to give us in-
formation respecting any “‘ cyffylog,” or Woodcock, they had seen ;
it was evidently in their opinion, ¢4e sportsman’s bird, and in
comparison they attached but small importance to the “ Ze?-
vusen,” the Partridges, or to the “ faysants ;”” next to the Wood-
cock a hare, doubtless because of its extreme rarity, the
“‘ yseyfarnog,” was considered worthy of being reported. As is
well known, Woodcocks gladly avail themselves of any holly
bushes in the covers, because of the dry and warm shelter
afforded by their thick leaves. If, as a holly bush is approached,
the ground beneath it is carefully scrutinised, the bird may
sometimes be seen squatting, and we have frequently succeeded
in espying one. We remember being present at a shoot at
which, at the end of the day, four Cocks were found to be in-
cluded in the bag, all four having been potted on the ground
beneath the shelter of holly-bushes.

GREAT SNIPE, Galinago major.—A winter visitor, rare. The

Great Snipe never occurred to us in Pembrokeshire; it is at
all times very rare in the south-west of the kingdom. Mr.
Mathias includes it in his list. Mr. Tracy says: ‘‘The Great
Snipe has, in several instances, been killed in this county ;”
but he does not furnish localities and dates. We know of
no recent occurrence.

COMMON SNIPE, Gallinago celestis. — Resident; numerous

arrivals from the northin the autumn and winter. The Common
Snipe, like the Woodcock, is far less plentiful in the county than
it used to be. We have heard old sportsmen speak of the great
bags it was possible to make fifty or sixty years ago, not to be
accomplished anywhere now. Our old friend, the late Mr. John
Stokes, of Cuffern, once got between sixty and seventy couple in
a day and a half on the moors in the neighbourhood of the

The Birds of Pembrokeshire. 93

Tufton Arms belonging to the Trecwn estate, besides Woodcocks
and other game. There are still a few remote and almost
inaccessible spots adjoining the mountains where a good shot
might secure from twenty to thirty couple a day, but on all
easily reached grounds that in old days were alive with Snipe
the bird is now but sparingly represented. However, sportsmen
who are able to range over the wilder parts of the county still
meet with a few Snipe to give an agreeable variety to the bag,
and we used to get sixty couple or so in the course of the season
around Stone Hall. The Snipe still nests all over the county in
suitable places, and on a summer evening’s walk its peculiar
drumming is one of the country sounds certain to meet the ear.
There were every season a few nests at no great distance from
our residence, and the young birds generally ‘‘ came down” (the
local term for hatching off) successfully. Varieties of the
Snipe are not very common. Captain John Tucker Edwardes,
of Sealyham, firing into a wisp that rose one frosty morning by
the side of one of the small ponds at Stone Hall, shot a pure
white Snipe, and curiously enough did not observe it when it
was flushed among the other Snipe. We examined this speci-
men at Sealyham, and could not detect any darker feathers upon
it, and it was evidently a perfect albino. Sir Hugh Owen shot
a White Snipe at Llanstinan, in 1853, and another very light
coloured one in 1855, that he presented to Mr. John Stokes, of
Cuffern, by whom it was beautifully mounted. This bird we
found to be nearly completely white, one or two of the scapular
feathers only being a pale buff. One that fell to our own gun,
was a very pretty mealy variety, being powdered over the head
and shoulders with small specks of white. We have, once or
twice shot Snipe in the so-called Scolopax russata plumage,
but these we looked upon as large male birds in a transitional
stage of moult. We have seen Snipe in this red plumage in
the middle of April. The outline of the tail in the full, or
Common Snipe depends entirely on the growth of the tail
feathers ; if the outer feathers are not fully grown one has the
bird with pointed tail ; or, if the outer feathers have attained

94 The Birds of Pembrokeshire.

their full length while the central ones have not done so, then
there is the wedge-tailed Snipe that we have often shot at
the beginning of the autumn, specimens of which have once
or twice been forwarded to us, and supposed to be a distinct
variety. We have never seen one of the dark plumaged Snipe,
that used to be known as ‘‘Sabine’s Snipe,” in Pembrokeshire,
but among the myriads of Snipe that were formerly obtained we
doubt not it has occurred. The Welsh name of the Snipe,
“ oiach,” is a good rendering of the cry of the bird.

JACK SNIPE, Limnocryptes gailinula—A winter visitor. This
diminutive Snipe is fairly numerous, appearing about the middle
of September at its accustomed places on the moors, and on all
boggy places where there is sufficient cover for it to hide in.
We have heard sportsmen state that in seasons when Jack Snipe
are plentiful, the Common Snipe is scarce, and vice versa, but we
have not found this borne out in our experience. The abun-
dance of either species, at certain localities, depends entirely on
the weather. In severe frosts, the birds naturally congregate
about warm springs, or other damp places that remaining un-
frozen afford them food. The Jack Snipe is usually solitary ; but
may be occasionally met with in little flocks of upwards of a
dozen, on some favourite ground, just after their arrival in the
autumn, or immediately before their departure for the north in
the spring.

DUNLIN, Zynga alpina.—A winter visitor ; perhaps, also a resi-
dent. The Dunlin is common in the autumn and winter all
round the coast, wherever there are sands and oozes. Al-
though we failed to detect it in the summer-time, on the west-
ward front of the Precelly Mountains, we consider it extremely
probable that a pair or two may nest on those hills, especially as
it has been found breeding at no great distance in Cardigan-
shire, where Mr. J. H. Salter, of University College, Aberyst-
wyth, discovered its nest ‘‘on a large heather-grown peat bog,

The Birds of Pembrokeshtre. 95

some twelve miles from the sea.” (Zoologist, 1893, p. 269.)
And, in a letter to us, Mr. Salter gives the exact locality, the
Gors Teifi, and tells us “a pair or two breed here and there
all over the hills, but preferably in the neighbourhood of water.”

LITTLE STINT, Zynga minutaa—An occasional autumn visitor ;
rare. This tiny Sandpiper is sometimes met with on the sands
in company with the flocks of Dunlin. It has occurred on
Goodwick Sands to Sir Hugh Owen, and Mr. Jefferys, of Tenby,
informs us that a specimen was shot on the south sands there in
September, 1893. In Mr. Mathias’ list.

CURLEW SANDPIPER, 7Z7inga subarguata.—An autumn visitor.
To be seen in company with Dunlin on the sands, and to be
easily distinguished from them by their longer legs and more
upright carriage, and by the white upper tail coverts that
become visible directly the birds take wing. We imagine that
in spite of the distinctions we have pointed out, this species
(that we always found to be common, and sometimes abundant,
on the opposite coasts of North Devon) has been confounded with
the Dunlin, as it does not appear in either Mr. Tracy’s or Mr. Dix’s
lists, and is only included by Mr. Mathias. The shape of the
beak, which gives the bird its name, being slightly curved, like
that of the Curlew, is another distinguishing mark by which it
may be readily known.

PURPLE SANDPIPER, 7Z7ringa striata. — An autumn visitor ;
not uncommon. Mr. Tracy writes: ‘‘ Rather scarce ;” but Mr.
Dix considered it ‘‘about as numerous as the Knot.” This
species is never to be met with in large flocks, and but seldom
is seen on the sands or oozes. Anyone who wants to meet with
it must search the pebbly shores, on the rocks just above the
water’s edge, where two or three of these Sandpipers may be
found running briskly along hunting for food. Even in places
where it is not uncommon, the Purple Sandpiper does not
appear to be often shot, and it is very rarely brought in to the

96

The Birds of Pembrokeshire.

birdstuffers. It is not in Mr. Mathias’ list. From its habit of
running at the base of the cliffs among the rocks, with whose
tints the colour of its plumage greatly corresponds, this bird may
easily escape observation, and only a naturalist familiar with its
habits would be competent to detect it.

KNOT, Zvinga canutus——An autumn and winter visitor. Flocks of

Knots appear on the sand flats and oozes at the end of August
and beginning of September from their breeding station in the
far north. Mr. Tracy states that they were to be seen
commonly every autumn near Pembroke. Also on the sands at
Goodwick, &c. The flocks are foolishly tame when they first
arrive.

RUFF, Machetes pugnax.—An occasional autumn visitor; rare.

Not in any of the lists. This species, once common as a
resident and nesting bird in the fen districts of England, seems
to be very rarely obtained in Pembrokeshire, and we are only
able to include it on the strength of a single specimen that we
have seen at Cuffern, obtained by the late Mr. John Stokes,
many years ago from the neighbourhood of Pembroke. It
may very likely have been shot occasionally without being
recorded.

SANDERLING, Cadidris avenavia.—An autumn visitor; scarce ;

also sometimes seen on its passage northin the spring. The
Sanderling is occasionally to be seen on the sands in September
in small flocks, and one or two are sometimes to be found in
company with the Dunlin and Ring-Plovers. Sir Hugh Owen
has shot it on the sands at Goodwick. It has been seen on the
Newgale sands, where a female was shot on June rst, 1857,
which, Mr. Tracy states, had the ovaries well developed.

COMMON SANDPIPER, 7Z7ingotdes hypoleucus.—A summet visitor.

This pretty species, which sometimes goes by the name of the
“Summer Snipe,” arrives about the middle of April from the

The Birds of Pembrokeshire. 97

south, by which date we always noticed a pair or two by the
western Cleddy beneath Stone Hall. They remained for a
week or ten days, and then quitted us for their nesting places
higher up the stream. When fishing the brooks that run down
from the Precelly Mountains near Maenchlogog, in June and
July, we always found these Sandpipers abundant, and very
noisy and excited when we were near their nests or young. In
company with Ring Ouzels, Dippers, Common Snipe, Wheat-
ears, Grey Wagtails, and Whinchats, we were glad to welcome
them, and regarded their lively presence as they flew before us
up the stream with their peculiar jerking flight with pleasure, as
they added the charm of beauty and interest to our ramble.
Early in August the Sandpipers leave their nesting stations and
descend with their young to the mouths of the streams, by
whose banks they have spent the summer, and pass a couple of
months on the salt marshes and in the muddy creeks adjoining
the shore before they migrate southwards for their winter
quarters.

GREEN SANDPIPER, Héelodromas ochropus—An autumn visitor.
This Sandpiper, which is larger than the preceding species, and
is to be known by its conspicuous white tail, broadly barred with
black, and by its shrill whistle when it is flushed, makes its
appearance by the sides of pools and creeks near the coast about
the middle of August, and is fairlycommon. It has its favourite
stations on the marshes, and the places where it has been
noticed one year are almost certain to be revisited season after
season. Not unfrequently it occurs throughout the winter
months, and is always one of the very wildest of birds, and
difficult to approach. Sir Hugh Owen has seen it at Good-
wick. Mr. Tracy writes: “A few of these beautiful birds may
always be obtained about the margins of our fresh water rivers
and ponds during the autumn and winter.” Mr. Dix, in his
neighbourhood, considered the Green Sandpiper scarce, but
remarks that it was a regular visitor to certain spots every
August, only remaining for a few days. This species differs

13

98 The Birds of Pembrokeshire.

from other Sandpipers that place their eggs upon the ground in
swamps or at the edges of ponds and streams, by always selecting
the deserted nest of a Pigeon or Crow to breed in, at some con-
siderable height from the ground. It is believed, with some
probability, to occasionally nest in the British Isles, as it has
been noted in every month in the year, and young birds have
been met with so little advanced in plumage as to preclude the
idea that they could have come from any distance.

WOOD SANDPIPER, Zotanus glareola—A passing migrant in
the spring and autumn; very rare. Somewhat smaller than
the Green Sandpiper, and to be known from that bird by the
more slender bands of black drawn across the white tail, this
species is only occasionally seen as a chance visitor in the
British Isles. It is not included in any list of Pembrokeshire
birds that we know of. We came upon a Sandpiper one day in
the spring of 1886, that rose close at our feet by the side of one
of the small ponds at Stone Hall, and, being very well
acquainted with the Wood Sandpiper, we were both surprised
and pleased to identify it in the stranger, and are thus able to
add it to the County List of Birds.

REDSHANK, Zo¢anus ca/idris.—An autumn visitor. In Mr. Tracy’s
time, the well-known and vociferous Redshank was a common
bird in the creeks abutting on Milford Haven, and in all the
marshes around Pembroke, but it appears of late years to have
become scarce, even on its most favourite grounds. Sir Hugh
Owen has told us that it had become rare at the time he was
accustomed to shoot wild fowl about Milford Haven in his punt,
where, fifty or sixty years ago, it was probably a common nesting
species. He has since met with it at Goodwick, and we have
seen it, in small flocks, on Newgale sands. Mr. Dix states,
that in his time, it was common about the mud-flats of
Pembroke river. The Redshank, is probably, still a regular
autumn visitor to the county, although in greatly reduced

The Birds of Pembrokeshire. 99

numbers. A flock of twelve, we learn from the Migration
Report for 1883, alighted on the Tuskar Rock, seven miles off
the coast of Wexford, opposite St. Bride’s Bay, on May 18th,
1883.

SPOTTED REDSHANK, 7Zofanus fuscus. — An autumn visitor ;
rare. In Mr. Mathias’ list: his brother, Mr. Lewis Mathias, of
Lamphey Court, shot one in the Portclew Bottoms, near
Freshwater East. Mr. Mathias informs us that he had seen
several from time to time in Mr. Tracy’s shop at Pembroke.
These were all birds of the year, and had been obtained in the
autumn. Its longer bill and longer legs serve to distinguish
this bird from the Common Redshank. In the nesting season
it assumes a very singular plumage, in which it is black all over,
save that the feathers of the back, scapulars, flank, and tail are
tipped with semi-circular edgings of white, and the upper tail
coverts are pure white. In this plumage itis very rarely obtained
in the south-west of England.

GREENSHANK, Zotanus canescens.—An autumn visitor. This fine
Sandpiper is not very uncommon. Mr. Tracy says: ‘It is
occasionally taken in the autumn.” We have seen a fine
specimen at the house of Mr. John Worthington, Glyn-y-mel,
Fishguard, that was shot by Sir Hugh Owen, at Goodwick.
Our friend, the Rev. Marcus S. C. Rickards, vicar of Twig-
worth, Gloucester, obtained a Greenshank on Caldy Island,
during a recent visit to Tenby, He writes: “ Not many days
after my arrival, I rowed over to Caldy Island, on the shore of
which I started a Greenshank. After disembarking and walking
inland, I roused a pair by the margin of a pool. They rose
with the accustomed cry, and flew up the hills chasing and
toying around each other in a very graceful and interesting
manner. This was, to the best of my recollection, about the
25th August.” The Greenshank nests commonly by the sides
of lochs in the north of Scotland.

100 The Birds of Pembrokeshtre.

BAR-TAILED GODWIT, Zimosa /aponica.—An autumn visitor ;
to be seen occasionally on its passage northwards in the spring,
when it is in its bright chestnut breeding plumage. This species
is not uncommon on the sands and mud-flats around the coast
in September, when all the birds are in their ash-grey winter
plumage, some few of the adults still retaining a few of the
rufous feathers upon the breast. Mr. Tracy states that it was
common in his time around Pembroke ; Sir Hugh Owen has
met with it in small flocks on Goodwick sands, and Mr. C.
Jefferys, of Tenby, has informed us of one that was shot on the
south sands there in September, 1889. On their first arrival
the Godwits are very tame, and the flocks will permit the gunner
to walk up to them where they are feeding on the ooze in a
straggling line; the outer birds will run in towards the main
body on his approach, and the compact mass of birds will afford
the chance of a successful shot. We have, ourselves, had great
sport on many occasions on the mud-flats of the North Devon
rivers, and as these birds are excellent for the table we always
found them to be greatly appreciated by the friends among
whom we distributed our spoils. The Bar-tailed Godwit nests
in the far north of Lapland, &c., and well authenticated eggs are
scarce in collections.

BLACK-TAILED GODWIT, Zimosa cegocephalan—An occasional
autumn visitor ; rare. This is a bird with rather longer legs and
bill than the Bar-tailed Godwit, and although it was formerly one
of the waders that each spring visited the fen districts in the
east of England to nest it is now everywhere scarce, and only an
uncertain visitor either in the spring or autumn. Mr. Tracy
merely remarks that it is “scarce,” without giving particulars of
occurrences. It is included by Mr. Mathias in his list, and Sir
Hugh Owen informs us that he has shot it at Goodwick.

WHIMBREL, Wumenius pheopus.—A passing migrant ; seen on the
coasts in May and again in September when it is passing South-
Common. Mr. Tracy writes: “I strongly suspect this bird
breeds in the county, but I have been unable to find its eggs

The Birds of Pembrokeshire. IOI

I have watched several pairs, during the summer months, so late
as the latter end of June, that had every appearance of having
nests in the locality, but without success. They then generally
leave us about two months, as I do not see them again until
the latter end of September.” The Whimbrel breeds in the
Orkney and Shetland Islands, and its nest has not yet been
detected elsewhere in the British Islands. On the last day of
May, 1884, we were on Skomer Island, where we nearly trod
upon a Whimbrel among the fern. The bird ran slowly off with
trailing wings, and all the gestures of a bird just started from its
nest, until she disappeared the other side of a hillock. We were
following in pursuit of a wounded bird at the time, and un-
fortunately did not pause to search for a nest, and when we re-
turned subsequently to do so we found that we had lost the
position, and our investigations were fruitless. It would have
been very interesting to have taken eggs of the Whimbrel so far
to the south.

CURLEW, Nwmenius arqguata.—Common on the coasts, especially
in winter, when it is seen in flocks. Single birds often heard
and seen flying overhead some distance inland. We have
found pairs of Curlews in June on the summits of the Precelly
Mountains, and have little doubt they were nesting. During
severe frosts in the winter, Curlews visit the fields to search for
food, and Mr. Dix states that a flock of five appeared on a
water meadow near his residence, and, although the birds were
very watchful, one was shot, which proved in good condition.
We believe the Curlew occasionally nests on Skomer Island.

ARCTIC TERN, Sterna macrura.—Seen commonly on passage in the
spring and autumn in the estuaries and off the coast, at Mil-
ford, &c. Also in Goodwick Bay, where it has occurred to Sir
Hugh Owen.

COMMON TERN, Sterna fluviatilis—A common migrant off the
coast in spring and autumn. We learn from the boatmen that
there is a small colony of Common Terns on Skokholm Stack.

102 The Birds of Pembrokeshire.

In the spring of 1884, we were told that about twenty pairs
might be counted there. Some Common Terns were seen on
the Tuskar Rock on May 24th, 1883 ; and others were noticed
passing to the south-west, until May 27th. Some of these birds
may have been on their way to Skokholm.

ROSEATE TERN, Sterna dougalli.—Now only a rare visitor, but
perhaps, formerly a regular summer visitor, and nesting on
Skokholm Stack, where Mr. Mathias has informed us that some
used to breed in company with the Common Terns. Mr.
Mathias, who knows this beautiful species well on wing, has
several times (but not in recent years) seen Roseate Terns
fishing off the east shore of Dale parish within Milford Haven.
The disappearance of the Roseate Tern from the south-west of
Pembrokeshire cannot be accounted for, as we have no belief
that it was ever shot down or its nests robbed, and can
only be set side by side with its vanishing from the Scilly
Islands causelessly, and from other localities on our coasts that
it used to visit. The latest Pembrokeshire example of this now
rare bird that we can mention is one reported to us by the Rey.
Clennell Wilkinson, rector of Castle Martin, a beautiful adult in
perfect plumage, that was picked up dead some way inland in
the neighbourhood of Pembroke, in 1885.

LITTLE TERN, Szerna minuta.—Occasionally seen on the coast
when passing. In Mr. Mathias’ list. Has occurred to Sir
Hugh Owen at Goodwick. A stuffed specimen is preserved in
the Bank at Fishguard.

[SANDWICH TERN, Sterna cantiaca.—Although this species is
not included in any of the lists, we feel {certain that it must
occasionally visit the Pembrokeshire coasts, the Milford Haven
estuary, the neighbourhoods of Tenby, Fishguard, &c. But we
must at the same time state that it is very rarely seen off the
North Devon coast.]

-

LANDING PLACE, GRASHOLM, WITH KITTIWAKES ON THEIR NESTS.

The Birds of Pembrokeshire. 103

BLACK TERN, “ydvochelidon nigra—Seen occasionally on its
passage in the autumn. The Rey. Clennell Wilkinson has seen
Black Terns flying over a large pool of fresh water on the
Burrows in Castle Martin parish, and Sir Hugh Owen has shot
it at Goodwick. Included in Mr. Mathias’ list. The Black
Tern is a lacustrine species, and may often be met with flying
over pools in salt marshes near the coast. In such places we
have frequently seen it, the birds hawking about like large
Swallows.

KITTIWAKE, Rissa fridactyla. — An abundant resident. This
pretty species is by far the most numerous of the Pembroke-
shire Zavide. Great numbers nest on Ramsey, Skomer, and
Grasholm Islands ; also in places on the cliffs of the mainland,
as on cliffs at Flimstone, adjoining the Stack Rocks near Pem-
broke, where there is a large colony, &c. A breeding station
of the Kittiwake is a very interesting scene. On the ledges of
the cliff nearest to the water, and rising tier above tier, the
nests are thickly placed, and are constructed of seaweed lined
with grass, and look white from the droppings of the birds.
The Kittiwakes, sitting on the nests, look like white Doves, and
the cries of the birds fill the air. The Kittiwake is a maritime
species, and is never found away from the coast, unless it is
blown inland by violent gales, and is never to be seen in com-
pany with the Common and Brown-headed Gulls searching
freshly-ploughed fields for worms.

GLAUCOUS GULL, Larus glaucus. — A winter visitor; rare.
Specimens of this splendid Polar Gull are occasionally obtained
upon the coast. ‘here is a fine adult, with a white mantle, in
the Stackpole collection, that was shot many years ago, near
Tenby. In the winter of 1891, Mr. C. Jefferys, of Tenby,
informs us that he several times saw a Glaucous Gull flying about
in company with Herring Gulls.

104 The Birds of Pembrokeshire.

HERRING GULL, Zarus argentatus—A common resident. The
Herring Gull may be seen on our coasts all the year, and nests
in great numbers upon the various islands, and also on many
of the cliffs on the coasts. Since the Sea Birds’ Preservation
Act this Gull has greatly increased in numbers, and on Skomer
Island devours so many of the young rabbits, as to occasion
serious loss, as we were informed by Mr. Vaughan Davies, the
tenant. One of the sights of St. David’s is the number of
Herring Gulls that may always be seen in the fields surrounding
that romantic little cathedral city. In the spring our fields at
Stone Hall were visited by flocks of Herring Gulls, and, at all
times of the year, in rough weather, numbers of the birds
forsaking the shores would be seen searching the fields for food
far inland. We have received from Mr. C. Jefferys, of Tenby,
avery pretty photograph of a Herring Gull’s nest, taken 77 sttu,
with the three speckled eggs clearly visible. The nest is a large,
untidy structure of grass.

LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL, Zarus fuscus.— A common
resident. Not so numerous as the Herring Gull, this species is
nevertheless, well represented in Pembrokeshire, and nests

- upon the various islands, selecting the ground on the topmost
slopes of the cliffs, and there breeding in small societies of
from twenty to thirty pairs, apart from the other Gulls, in places
where it is perfectly easy to walk among the nests, and to
admire the beautiful clutches of eggs. This Gull is also a
greedy stealer and devourer of other birds’ eggs, young rabbits,
&c., and like the Herring Gull, comes far inland, visiting the
meadows in the spring, at which season we always saw some in
our fields at Stone Hall, in company with the Common and
Herring Gulls.

COMMON GULL, Zarus canus.—An autumn and winter visitor.
Although named the “ Common” Gull, this species is by no
means so numerous either as the Herring Gull, or the Kitti-
wake, and does not nest with us, going northwards in the spring

The Birds of Pembrokeshire. 105

to its breeding stations in Scotland, where it places its nest on
the ground at the edges of lochs. It is to be seen commonly
on the sands and mud flats on the shore during the winter, and
also very often on fields inland, and we have often been amused
by watching the scrambles between the Rooks and the Common
Gulls for worms when the birds have been closely following the
plough. In the winter of 1886, we several times saw, and once
or twice got very close to, a perfect albino Common Gull that,
with other Gulls, daily visited a field near Stone Hall. The
Common Gull was reported by Colonel Montagu to nest upon
Ramsey Island, but the nests he describes are evidently those
of the Kittiwakes.

GREATER BLACK-BACKED GULL, Zarus marinus.—Resident.
A few pairs of this fine and powerful Gull nest upon the islands
off our coasts. Mr. Mortimer Propert has taken its eggs on the
Bishop’s Rock, near St. David’s, and we are informed by Mr.
C. Jefferys, of Tenby, that a pair have nested on St. Margaret’s
Island, a small island connected by a reef of rocks, dry at low
water, with Caldy. The eggs were twice taken from this nest in
the summer of 1892. Mr. E, H. W. Blagg, of Cheadle,
Staffordshire, tells us that a pair of great Black Backed Gulls
nested on St. Margaret’s Island in 1887, when he was visiting
Tenby, and that there were three eggs in the nest on June roth.
It is probable that there are other nesting stations of the birds
on our coasts, where we trust they may be unmolested by the
egger. The Greater Black-Backed Gull seldom leaves the
shore, but we have occasionally noticed a pair in fields adjoin-
ing the coast. Mr, J. H. Salter, of Aberystwyth, writes to us
that he sees the Great Black Backed Gull “about the ‘ llyns’ or
pools on the hills in March ; it seems to go up there for the
lambing season, when Ravens and Buzzards are also specially
busy.”

BROWN-HEADED GULL, Zarus ridibundusx—An autumn and
winter visitor. Common on the coast, and often to be seen on
fields inland, in company with Common and Herring Gulls.

14

106 The Birds of Pembrokeshtre.

There is no nesting place of this pretty species, that breeds on
the ground in swampy places, and by the edges of lakes, in
Pembrokeshire, nor in any of the adjoining counties that we can
discover. Indeed, the only place in the Principality that we at
present know of (we consider there must be some others) where
the Brown-heads nest, is on Mochras Island, on the coast of
Merionethshire, where Mr. J. H. Salter found empty nests and
other traces that the birds had reared young, at the end of
June.

LITTLE GULL, Zarus minutus.—An occasional visitor ; rare. Mr.
H. Mathias informs us that examples of this small species, that
is no larger than a common Pigeon, have been obtained in the
county, but can furnish no particulars, and has not included it
in his list of birds supplied to Mason’s Guide to Tenby. We
are indebted to Mr. C. Jefferys, of Tenby, for telling us of the
occurrence of an adult Little Gull in winter plumage, at that
watering place, on the south sands, at the beginning of January,
1892. This specimen is now in the Tenby Museum, and we
have a very pretty photograph of it, with its wings extended, that
was kindly forwarded to us by Mr. C. Jefferys. There were two
seen when this bird was obtained, but the other, being only
slightly wounded, succeeded in escaping. As the Little Gull
has been observed at Lundy, and has frequently been obtained
on the coasts of Devon and Somerset, it is evidently no very
great stranger in the Bristol Channel, and we consider that it
must sometimes enter the fine harbour at Milford Haven, where,
no doubt, some of those mentioned by Mr. Mathias were
obtained.

SABINE’S GULL, Xema sabinit—A rare, occasional straggler from
the far north; only three occurrences. In Mr. Mathias’ list.
One killed by a keeper of Lord Cawdor was seen by Mr. Mathias
in Tracy’s shop, at Pembroke. This was a young bird in the
first year’s plumage, and is now in the collection at Stackpole.
In the first edition of his well-known work on “ British Birds,”

The Birds of Pembrokeshire. 107

page 422, vol. iii, Mr. Yarrell states: ‘‘I have notes of one killed
at Milford Haven, in the autumn of 1839.” Then, in the

Zoologist for 1892, page 423, Mr. Charles Jefferys, of Tenby,
relates the capture by himself of an immature Sabine’s Gull, on
November rath, that year, near the village of Amroth. ‘ There
was a strong wind blowing in shore and a heavy sea. It was
late in the afternoon, almost dusk, and the bird was flying along
the surf-line, as if looking for food. It was in good condition,
and is now being preserved.” Mr. C. Jefferys has since informed
us that this specimen is now in the Kelvin Grove Museum at
Glasgow. Sabine’s Gull is another very small species that is
extremely rare in this kingdom in its pretty adult plumage in
which it has a dark, lead-coloured cap and throat, the latter en-
circled by a black ring. It breeds beyond the Arctic circle, and
its forked tail, and the angle at the symphysis of the under
mandible, make it to be easily distinguished in all plumages from
the Little Gull, with which we have known it to be occasionally
confounded. After rough weather in the autumn this small
Gull is not very rare along our south-western coasts.

GREAT SKUA, Stercorarius catarrhactes—The Skuas, or Parasitic
Gulls, pass our coasts in the autumn on their way south from
their breeding stations in the north. In fine weather they keep
far out at sea, and it is only after exceptionally severe gales that
some of them are seen on the coasts. The Great Skua, a very
powerful and courageous bird, has nesting places on the Shetland
Isles, at Unst and Foula, where they are now preserved, or they
would soon have become exterminated by collectors of birds’
skins and eggs. All the Skuas kill and devour other birds, and
are greedy feeders upon carrion, and will chase and rob other
Gulls of their fish. The Great Skua is included by Mr. H.
Mathias in his list. He saw a specimen in Tracy’s shop at
Pembroke. Sir Hugh Owen informs us that it is always to be
seen in Goodwick Bay in a good herring season ; that he has
noticed it to be a very bold and savage bird, and that he has
shot it on Goodwick sands while eating carrion. It is dark

108 The Birds of Pembrokeshire.

fulvous in plumage, has some golden hackles on the throat, is
the largest of the Skua family, and may be at once known from
all the other species through the absence in its tail of any
elongated central feathers. The Skuas in some years continue
in southern waters until the spring is well advanced. On May
28, 1883, “hundreds of Skua Gulls” were noticed off the Tuskar
Rock, opposite St. Bride’s Bay; more on 31st; while others
were observed on June 7th, 8th, and even on June 22nd (Migra-
tion Report, 1883).

POMATORHINE SKUA, Séercorarius pomatorhinus.—This species
comes next in size to the Great Skua, and possesses in its adult
plumage two elongated central feathers in its tail which broaden
towards their tips. Ut is by far the commonest of the family
upon our coasts, and a few are to be seen every autumn, and
after heavy gales large flocks are observed. Dr. Propert
possesses one, an immature bird that we have seen at his house
in St. David’s, that was shot on Ramsey Sound. Sir Hugh
Owen has seen this Skua in Goodwick Bay, in all stages of
plumage, and calls it “the most falcon-like of the Gull tribe.”

RICHARDSON’S SKUA, Stercorarius crepidatus.—This is a smaller
species, to be at once recognised in the adult, by the two long
and jointed central tail feathers. It is more scarce on our
south-western coasts than the Pomatorhine Skua, but a season
rarely passes without one or two being noticed. Sir Hugh
Owen has shot an immature bird at Goodwick. There are
two well-marked varieties of this species, one with a white
breast and underparts, the other black all over, and in the black
birds the blackness differs in its intensity, in some being of a
rusty colour, in others of a deep coal black. The two varieties
freely interbreed, the result being birds of a mottled plumage.
We have seen examples pied black and white, the patches of
the two opposite colours being symmetrically placed, and giving
to the birds a very peculiar appearance.

The Birds of Pembrokeshire. 109

BUFFON’S SKUA, Stercorarius parasiticus—This, the smallest of
all the Skuas, also called the Long-tailed Skua, from the
extreme length of the two central foiz¢ed tail feathers, appears,
for the main part, to accomplish its migrations along the
eastern shores of the kingdom, as its appearance upon our
western coasts are so irregular as to be quite accidental. In
the stormy autumn of 1891 a number of these Skuas were blown
into the Bristol Channel, and many were obtained upon the
opposite coasts of Devon and Somerset, and some, no doubt,
put in at Milford Haven, but we are without record of any.
The only county specimen of which we have knowledge is a
young bird in the plumage of its first autumn that was sent to us
for examination by Mr. C. Jefferys, of Tenby, where it had been
shot while flying over the South Sands one day in the autumn
of 1889 or 1890. We were able at once to decide that it was a
young Buffon’s Skua, from the distinguishing test furnished by
Mr. Howard Saunders in his very useful Manuai of British
Birds. He points out that the “ readiest distinction, at any age,
is to be found in the shafts of the primaries. These are a// white
in the Arctic (Richardson’s) Skua, whereas in the Long-tailed
Skua ¢he two outer ones only on each side are white, the rest
being dusky.” Our friend, Mr. W. S. M. D’Urban, of Exmouth,
possesses an example of Buffon’s Skua, from the coast of South
Wales, one that was shot in January, 1892, at Rumney, near
Cardiff. All the Skuas are carnivorous, and besides feeding on
fish, will greedily devour dead animals, and will strike down and
eat other birds. A specimen of Buffon’s Skua, obtained some
years ago in Somerset, had actually struck down a Ring Dove, a
bird as large as itself, upon which it was feeding, when it was
disturbed and shot by a keeper.

STORM-PETREL, Pvocel/aria pelagica.—This tiny Petrel, commonly
known by the name of “ Mother Carey’s Chicken,” is resident
on Skomer Island, where it nests in the chinks of an old wall on
the top of the cliff, and probably nests also on other islands off
the Pembrokeshire coast. When we were on Skomer on the

110 The Birds of Pembrokeshire.

last day of May we visited this wall, but as the Storm-Petrels are
late in breeding there were no eggs there then, although we
distinctly perceived the unmistakable Petrel odour clinging in
places to the stones, showing that the birds were at that time
visiting the wall. The Storm Petrel does not lay its single white
egg before the end of June, or even later, for in the Zoologist
for 1886, p. 457, the Rev. H. A. Macpherson mentions an
adult and nestling that he saw in Leadenhall market, in London,
as late as 2oth September. Both, he was told, had come from
Skomer; the nestling was taken on 18th September, and was
fully feathered, but still retained some of the sooty down, especi-
ally upon the belly. After severe gales the little Storm Petrel
is occasionally picked up inland at some distance from the coast.
In stormy weather in the autumn some are captured at the Light
House on the South Bishop’s Rock; on the night of October
14, 1883, eight were taken; it was misty weather, with a S.E.
breeze, and a drizzling rain. A great number of small birds
struck that night against the light, ninety were killed, and two
hundred were taken in a net. Three ‘ Falcon Hawks and a
Large-horned Owl” were also present, and “made sad havoc
among them” (Migration Reports, 1883). It seems strange that
the Storm-Petrels should be betrayed into danger by the glare
of the Light House lights. One would have thought that, from
being always about and skimming over the water at night time,
they would have become accustomed to the lights ; we can only
suppose that in misty weather they are bewildered and become
reckless, and so approach too near to what in ordinary weather
they would be careful to avoid.

LEACH’S PETREL, Procel/aria leucorrhoa.—This is a little larger
than the Storm-Petrel, is of a browner black, has a grey line
across the edges of the wing-coverts, and a deeply forked tail,
so that one of its common names is the Fork-tailed Petrel. It
is not known to breed on any of our islands, but it is not very
rare, as a visitor in stormy weather, and, like the Storm-Petrel,
is occasionally picked up inland. The Rev. Clennell Wilkin-

The Birds of Pembrokeshire. III

son believes that a Petrel seen by him skimming over a pool in
the Burrows in his parish of Castle Martin one day in the summer
was a Fork-tailed Petrel. Mr. Dix states that it has been taken
several times after severe storms in Milford Haven, and saw one
in Tracy's shop in Pembroke that had been picked up near that
town,

MANX SHEARWATER, Pufinus Anglorum. — Local name
“Cockle.” Resident. The Manx Shearwater is, without doubt,
the most interesting of our Pembrokeshire birds, from the fact
that Skomer Island is the largest breeding-station, and may be
considered the metropolis, of the species in the British Isles.
The numbers there are almost incredible. And yet any visitor
to Skomer in the day time, who left the island before night,
would probably fail to see a solitary Shearwater, and if he was
ignorant of the indications of their presence, might depart quite
unaware of the vast bird population slumbering beneath his feet.
For, during the day, the ‘“ Cockles” are all asleep in their
burrows ; some of these they have stolen from, and perhaps
share with the rabbits, others they have excavated for themselves.
Some of the burrows go straight in, but the greater number have
yarious turns and twists, so that it is a tedious business, some-
times, to dig to and to reach the single white egg, which is
almost the size of an ordinary hen’s egg. We have sometimes
met small parties of these Shearwaters abroad on the sea during
the day-time, and during the autumn we have seen the water
covered by large flocks of them throughout the day, but certainly
at the nesting season they are almost exclusively nocturnal, and
do not come out from their holes to feed until quite late at
night. One beautiful summers night that we spent on
Skomer, with Mr. Mortimer Propert, for the purpose of
making acquaintance with the Shearwaters, we were greatly
surprised at the late hour they emerged from their burrows.
We went out several times after sunset to search for them,
but all in vain, none had appeared. Several times we re-
sumed our game at whist in Mr. Vaughan Davies’ hospitable

112

The Birds of Pembrokeshire.

house, before we went out and were successful in discovering
that the birds were at last upon the move, and this was close
upon eleven p.m. The birds were then flying in numbers over
the ground to and fro about the height of our heads, almost
brushing our faces as they flitted past. Their strange wailing
cry resounded on all sides, and they kept up an unearthly chorus
until the first streak of dawn. We saw numbers come forth
from holes at our feet, flapping with their wings for a yard or
two along the ground before they were able to rise into the air,
and it seemed as if it was necessary for them that the ground
should slightly incline downwards, in order that they might gain
a bite upon the air. The old sheep-dog of the farm was with
us, and amused herself by catching the Shearwaters one after
another, and bringing them uninjured to our hands. Not
wanting any, we would then toss them up into the air, and let
them go, once or twice getting the benefit of a vomit of the
greenish oil which the bird is able to discharge, either when
frightened, or for the purpose of defence. We watched the
birds for a long time in the calm and semi-twilight of the
beautiful night, and it appeared as if they flew about the island
for a long time before going out to sea, and that others were
constantly coming in again from the water. There seemed,
indeed, no diminution in the numbers flying over the island all
through the night, for when we at last retired to bed, we still
heard the same wailing cries, often close outside our bedroom
window. It was not until day dawned that the chorus gradually
died away, and rising early, and going out to take a walk over
the island, we detected but a single Shearwater sitting at the
entrance of its burrow, into which it scuttled on our approach.
Thrusting our arm inside, we found that it was a straight
burrow, as, lying down, we were just able to touch the egg at its
end, also the bird. Mr. Vaughan Davies informed us that one
year he ploughed cartloads of the poor “Cockles”’ into the
ground for manure, setting boys at night to knock them down
with sticks, and to kill them, as they came out of their holes.
Numbers of Manx Shearwaters nest on the adjoining island of

The Birds of Pembrokeshire. 113

Skokholm, which is uninhabited, and is merely a summer run
for sheep. A few may nest on Ramsey Island, and we have seen
the birds in Ramsey Sound, but Mr. Mortimer Propert is not
sure that they do. ‘The Shearwaters are occasionally seen in
flocks in Fishguard Bay. We were for some time doubtful, and
rather incredulous, as to any Shearwaters nesting on Caldy,
which in our opinion seemed too tame an island for them, but
after the evidence that we subjoin, it is without question that a
few do so, or at least upon the connected island of St. Margaret’s.
In the summer of 1887, Mr. E. W. H. Blagg, who was then
staying at Tenby, informs us that several evenings he saw a large
flock of Manx Shearwaters flying off Caldy Island, and believed
that the birds nested there. Mr. Dix states, ‘‘ numbers breed at
Caldy Island,”’ but we had an idea that they had ceased to do
so since he wrote this, a quarter of a century ago. On several
occasions, when we ourselves have visited Tenby, on making
inquiries, we failed to find anyone who could tell us if there
were still Shearwaters upon Caldy; indeed, we were once
expressly told that no such birds were known upon the island.
Writing to us upon this point, Mr. C. Jefferys, of Tenby, states :
“The Manx Shearwater wsed to breed upon Caldy, and I think
a few still do now in the fissures of the cliffs. I can give you
more decided information about St. Margaret’s Island, which, as
you know, is connected with Caldy by a reef of rocks, dry at low
water. While on this island last May (1893) I frightened out
of holes and fissures four or five Manx Shearwaters ; they
appeared to come from cracks about half-way down the cliffs,
and may, or may not, have been nesting there; it certainly looks
as if they were.” We believe, ourselves, that the “Cockles”
only frequent and nest on islands where there is a sufficient
quantity of soil upon the top for them to dig their burrows,
and that they are for this reason absent from islands that are
mere rock, but this would certainly not apply to Caldy, which
is suitable to the birds in every respect, except that it is too
much run over, and the birds may therefore have been frightened
away from it.

15

114 The Birds of Pembrokeshire.

GREATER SHEARWATER, Pufinus major. — An occasional
visitor; rare. Writing to us on September r8th, 1886, the Rev.
Clennell Wilkinson, rector of Castle Martin, says: ‘‘ The Greater
Shearwater I think I have seen washed up dead on the shore,
but that was some years ago, and I am not now very certain
about it.” This is a considerably larger and lighter coloured
bird than the Manx Shearwater, and is an irregular visitor,
sometimes in large flocks, from the Atlantic to the coasts of
Devon and Cornwall, and is well known to the people of the
Scilly Isles, so that it very probably enters the Bristol Channel
occasionally, and may occur in Milford Haven, &c.

FULMAR, Fulmarus glacialis.—A very rare accidental straggler in
the autumn and winter. This, the largest of the British Petrels,
is a well-known Polar species, inhabiting a few islands to the
extreme north of the British Isles ; St. Kilda, a remote island of
the Hebrides group, being its metropolis, and here the birds
annually resort to nest in incredible numbers. When obtained
anywhere in the south, the Fulmar is generally picked up, some-
times inland, either dead, or in an exhausted state, when it is in-
capable of flight. There is only a single instance of its occurr-
ence in Pembrokeshire, and this was one that was brought alive
to Mr. C. Jefferys, of Tenby, in December, 1890, having been
caught on a cod line in Tenby Bay.

GREAT NORTHERN DIVER, Colyméus glactatis. — A winter
visitor. The Great Northern Diver is a regular visitor in the
winter to our bays from the north, and is sometimes numerous
in Milford Haven. Adults, in full plumage, are rare. Mr.
Dix states that, after a severe gale, one was shot in Milford
Haven, at the beginning of December, 1865. Sir Hugh Owen
has shot the Great Northern Diver in Fishguard Bay. Immature
birds are most frequently obtained. From its powers of diving,
its rapid progress beneath the water, where it uses both wings
and feet, it is difficult for a boat rowed by good oars to overtake
the Great Northern Diver, and, as it can keep its body sub-

The Birds of Pembrokeshire. 115

merged, only showing its head and neck above the surface, sink-
ing again in a second at the flash of the gun before the shot
can reach it, its pursuit is not easy, and, as we have ourselves
witnessed on several occasions, it succeeds in making its escape,
or does not succumb until after a long chase. The Great
Northern Diver remains on the waters oft our coasts until the
end of April; from the Tuskar Rock Lighthouse we have the
report that the “ Black Divers” disappear about May rst, and are
not seen again until the following October.

BLACK-THROATED DIVER, Colymbus arcticus.—A winter visitor.
The Black-Throated Diver, a very beautiful bird in its full
breeding plumage, nests on some of the lochs in Scotland,
and comes south in the autumn and winter. It is by no means
acommon bird on the south west coasts, and our only authority
for giving it a place among the Birds of Pembrokeshire is its
being included by Mr. Mathias in his list. It is considerably
smaller than the Great Northern Diver, and although immature
birds of both species are alike in plumage, the Black-Throated
Diver may be always recognised by its smaller size. As we have
frequently shot the Black-Throated Diver in the winter months
on the North Devon tidal rivers, the Taw and Torridge, we have
no doubt that it visits Milford Haven, where it may have been
obtained and confounded with the commoner species of which
we have next to write.

RED-THROATED DIVER, Colymbus septentrionalis——A winter
visitor; common. Sometimes called the Speckled Diver, from
its pretty spotted back, this is the commonest of the three large
Divers that visit our bays and estuaries in the winter. Like the
Black-Throated Diver, the Red-Throated Diver also nests on the
Scotch lochs, where it is a familiar bird. It is common in the
winter in Milford Haven, Fishguard Bay, &c. Its spotted back
makes it readily distinguishable from the immature Black-Throated
Diver, whose back is without spots. In its full adult plumage

116 The birds of Pembrokeshire.

it has a red throat, and the top of the head and sides of the
neck are bluish grey, with white and black lines running down
the back of the neck, and on the back the white spots of the
winter dress have become so small as almost to have disappeared.
Our own acquaintance with the various Divers was made in the
estuaries of Devonshire, where we have occasionally seen the
Red-Throated Diver in flocks of a dozen or more. Writing
from Aberystwyth, Mr. J. H. Salter informs us that on April sth,
1893, he observed Red-Throated Divers passing northwards,
and that he had nearly twenty in sight at once.

GREAT CRESTED GREBE, Podiceps cristatus——A winter visitor.
Not very common in Pembrokeshire. Sir Hugh Owen has seen
it at Goodwick. Mr. Dix says: ‘* A few are seen during the
winter, but invariably in immature or winter plumage.” How-
ever, Sir Hugh Owen appears to have met with it in its adult
dress, as he informs us he has seen both the Great Crested and
the Tippet Grebes, the latter being the common name of the bird
in its full plumage.

RED-NECKED GREBE, Podiceps grisezgena.—A winter visitor ;
rare. Mr, Dix was informed by Mr. Tracy that he had several
times killed examples of the Red-Necked Grebe, the rarest
member of the family in the south west of England, on the mill-
pond at Pembroke. This species is not included by Mr.
Mathias.

SCLAYONIAN GREBE, Podiceps auritus——A winter visitor ; rare.
According to Mr. Dix a few specimens of this Grebe occur every
winter in their immature or winter plumage. Mr. Mathias
omits it from his list. It used to be the commonest of all the
Grebes in the winter time on the North Devon rivers, where we
have frequently shot it, and have sometimes seen three or four
of a day. It is thus likely to occur on the Pembrokeshire side
of the Bristol Channel. It is a much smaller species than either
the Great Crested Grebe or the Red-necked Grebe.

The Bivds of Pembrokeshtre. 117

EARED GREBE, Podiceps nigricollis—A winter visitor; rare. In
Mr. Mathias’ list. Mr. Tracy informed Mr. Dix that he had
several times obtained the Eared Grebe on the Pembroke river.
As they come upon our list the Grebes diminish in size one
after the other, and the Eared Grebe is smaller than the Sclavo-
nian Grebe, and the immature and winter plumaged birds may
be separated from one another by a glance at their bills. In the
Eared Grebe the bill curves slightly upwards, but in the Sclavo-
nian Grebe it is straight. Although all the Grebes in the nesting
season frequent fresh water ponds and lakes, yet in the winter
they occur in salt water, where we have met numbers of every
species on the British list at different times diving and fishing
among the rocks and sea weed, or in the shallow water close to
the shore.

LITTLE GREBE, Zachybaptes fluviatilis—Resident. The Little
Grebe, or Dabchick, as it is most commonly called, is the smallest
of the Grebe family, and is the only one that nests in Pembroke-
shire, and commonly throughout the British Isles. It is more
frequently seen in the winter months, because then there is less
cover of aquatic vegetation in which to conceal itself. We have
seen it on the Cleddy, beneath Stone Hall, and in hard weather
noticing two or three on the water in company have occasionally
stalked them, as from a distance we have taken them for Teal;
but as we approached their diving at once revealed to us what
they were. The Little Grebe frequents pools, lakes and the still
waters of rivers and streams wherever there is sufficient cover to
hide, and here it can easily escape detection, as it will dive, and
when it comes up again to breathe will do so among the leaves
and rushes by the bank, where it only thrusts its head above the
surface and cannot be seen. We have amused ourselves by
watching them diving in this way in our fish ponds, and although
quick sighted and familiar with their habits, they very frequently
managed to come up somewhere where we could not see them.
Like all the other Grebes this small species visits the tide-way in
the winter, where we have seen and shot it in salt water.

118 The Birds of Pembrokeshire.

RAZORBILL, Ala torda. — Resident. The great multitude of
cliff birds to be seen in the summer months on the various
islands off the Pembrokeshire coast, is one of the unique
features in the Ornis of the county. No one who has once
visited in May or June the beautiful islands of Skomer or
Ramsey, will ever forget the spectacle that has been presented
to his eyes, whether he be an ornithologist or not. The cele-
brated Stack Rocks, being within an easy reach both from
Tenby and Pembroke, are among the curiosities of the county
which all tourists feel compelled to inspect. And the scene is
one that well repays the trouble of journeying to the spot.
Caldy, St. Margaret’s Island, Skokholm, Skomer, Grasholm, and
Ramsey, besides various cliffs of the mainland, are all of them,
to a greater or less degree, visited by Razorbills, Puffins, and
Common Guillemots at the nesting season; and while the
Puffins lay their eggs in rabbit earths or in holes they excavate
for themselves, the Razorbills and Guillemots deposit their eggs,
without the least semblance of any nest, on the ledges of the
rocks, tier above tier. From our own experience, we are con-
fident that ifa census were to be taken of the three birds we
have mentioned, the Puffins, in their innumerable myriads, would
exceed the other two put together, and then, perhaps, in the
proportion of ten to one; the Guillemots are very numerous,
and would rank next, and last of all would come the Razorbills
that, although when regarded by themselves might justly be con-
sidered abundant, are yet not to be compared with the extraor-
dinary hordes of Puffins and Guillemots. As they fly off the
ledges of the cliff beneath one’s feet, as they pass one in the air,
or as they alight on their eggs on their return from the water, or
when viewed on its surface, swimming and diving in small
parties, the Razorbills, with their brown-black heads and backs,
and pure white underparts, present the appearance of great neat-
ness in their brightly contrasted plumage. The white lines,
too, across the mandibles, above the eyes, and across the
wings, are also plainly visible to the spectator, when the birds
approach him, as they will fearlessly, if he only remains quiet.

The Birds of Pembrokeshire. 11g

And all the while the air will be full of their crooning cry, and
the noises to be heard at any great breeding station of cliff
birds, Kittiwakes, &c., are also part and parcel of an experience
new and strange. After heavy and continued gales in the
summer and early autumn, countless cliff birds perish from
starvation, as they are then feeble from their moult, and unable
to capture the fish that desert the shallows around the shores,
and seek refuge from the tempest in deeper water ; and, at such
times, we have seen the sands (on the North Devon coast) strewn
for miles with Razorbills, Guillemots, and Kittiwakes, and every
wave has cast others, dead or dying, to our feet. Varieties of
the Razorbill are very rare. Indeed, the only one we have ever
heard of is one sooty-black all over, with the exception of a
dozen or two small white feathers scattered about the breast,
that Mr. C. Jefferys, of Tenby, has mentioned to us, that is now
in the museum of the Hon. Walter Rothschild, at Tring, and
was obtained at Tenby about the year 1886. As soon as the
young birds are strong enough to fish and to maintain them-
selves, and this is about the beginning of August, the cliff birds
leave their nesting stations, and scatter over the open sea, many
of them working towards the south, but numbers ascend the
Bristol Channel, where they may be seen in little flocks through-
out the winter, and we have ourselves encountered them in
December and January as far up as the Severn Tunnel in the
old days when we used to make the passage across in the
paddle-box steamer to Port Skewet. The eggs of the Razorbill
are very handsome, and beautiful varieties are met with. The
collection of cliff birds’ eggs formed by Dr. Propert from
Ramsey Island, is hardly to be surpassed, except, perhaps, by
that belonging to the national collection of British birds’ eggs at
South Kensington, and any ornithologist who finds himself at
St. David’s ought to inspect it, and will be sure to meet with a
courteous reception.

COMMON GUILLEMOT, Zomvia troile.—Resident. The Common
Guillemot is the well-known ‘‘ Eligoog” of Pembrokeshire; the
Stack Rocks, on which they nest in such numbers as almost

120

The Birds of Pembrokeshire.

completely to cover them, being often called “the Eligoog
Stacks.” What we have written above with respect to the
Razorbill, applies almost in so many words to the present
species. It is to be found upon all the islands, on some of
them, as upon Ramsey, in extraordinary numbers, and upon
some of the cliffs of the mainland. Three parts of the year the
Guillemots, as well as the other cliff birds, are dispersed upon
the open sea. They only resort to the islands and cliffs for the
summer months for the purpose of rearing their young. We
have visited the Stack Rocks in the early spring before the birds
had arrived upon them, only to find a few Herring Gulls and
Kittiwakes perched on their ledges, a Shag or two on the rocks
just above the sea level, and a pair of otters disporting them-
selves among the waves that lapped their base. A few weeks
later, and there would have been a transformation scene! The
Stacks would have been white with birds, the waters in their
neighbourhood would have been dotted over by little parties
diving and fishing, and there would have been an almost deafen-
ing noise proceeding from the multitude of birds. The Stacks
are two in number, distant some sixty or seventy yards only
from the shore, and reach in height almost to the level of the
cliff on whose top the spectator stands. The largest of them
is said to be only about thirty yards across on the summit, and
they both present the appearance of rocky towers rising out of
the water. The birds cover them from top to bottom, and are
huddled together on their tops as close together as they can
pack, but as the spaces after all are small, the total number of
birds cannot be large, and there is not on these Stacks and on
the cliffs in their neighbourhood, any more than a mere fraction
of the immense numbers to be found on Ramsey or Skomer,
where the birds are distributed over a great length of cliffs.
But even on these two islands the birds are not found every-
where, having their favourite cliffs, which are densely thronged
with them, while others are quite destitute of birds. Mr. Dix
rowed round the Stack Rocks one day, to discover that the
Guillemots were more numerous on their ledges fronting the sea

The Birds of Pembrokeshire. 121

than they were on those turned towards the land, although even
on these the numbers were astounding. Like the other diving
birds that pursue the fish beneath the water, the Guillemots use
their wings, and may be said to fly under the waves. One is
able to form some idea of the vast myriads of fish the seas
around our coasts must contain, when we consider the millions
of birds that are daily feeding upon them. No amount of
netting by fishermen is likely to produce any impression upon
the shoals of fish ; the only injury that man can inflict upon
them is in dredging the spawning beds. If only these could be
left in quiet, there would be no danger of our fish supply becom-
ing exhausted, however persistent and united the attacks made
upon it by larger fish, seals, birds, and fishermen. The variety
called the Bridled Guillemot (once held to be a distinct species,
and called Lomvia lacrymans), that has a white line curving a
short distance down the neck on either side from the eye,
occurs occasionally among the other Guillemots, but is rare ;
Mr. Mathias includes it in his list. On each of our visits to the
breeding stations of the birds, we have kept a close watch for
it, but among the thousands of Guillemots we have closely
approached on their ledges, we have never succeeded in detect-
ing one. The eggs of the Common Guillemot are well known
for their beauty, and one or two are generally carried away by
visitors to the Stacks as “ curios.” Some very beautiful varieties
may be picked out from among them, and we are not a little
proud of our own series procured from Ramsey and Lundy.
The farmers around St. David’s are said to feed their calves in
the summer with a custard made from the “ Eligoogs’”’ eggs
obtained on Ramsey. In the winter time we have seen numerous
Common Guillemots far up the Bristol Channel, off Clevedon
and Portishead, and often when we have been crossing the ferry
to Port Skewet, in company with Razorbills.

(BLACK GUILLEMOT, Uria grylle.—A century ago there were a
few Black Guillemots resident on the Pembrokeshire coast.
Colonel Montagu, writing in his Ornithological Dictionary in

16

122 The Birds of Pembrokeshire.

1802, says: ‘‘ We have seen it rarely on the coast of Wales near
Tenbeigh (séc), where a few breed annually; but nowhere else
that we could find from thence to St. David’s.” None now
breed south of the Isle of Man, and the bird has deserted
Anglesea, and the neighbourhood of Llandudno, in North
Wales, where it was reported to occur by Pennant, equally with
our coasts. There is no specimen of a Pembrokeshire Black
Guillemot now existing that we know of in any collection; nor
is the bird, in virtue of a chance straggler floated to our shores,
at the present day included in any list of the birds of the county.
The Black Guillemot is very abundant off the north-west of
Scotland, and is a species that does not wander far from its
habitat ; specimens reported from the Bristol or English Chan-
nels are few and far between. ]

LITTLE AUK, Mergulus alle.—An occasional winter visitor. The
Little Auk is the smallest in size of the cliff birds, and does
not belong to our coasts, to which it is only a visitor in the
winter, in very limited numbers, from Polar Seas, where it
resides in immense multitudes. It is not unfrequently picked
up dead upon the shore, or at some distance inland, after
rough weather. Sir Hugh Owen shot a Little Auk in Goodwick
Bay in 1880, where he has often seen it, and describes it as
having a very musical loud whistle, and as being always tame.
He has also seen it and heard its whistling note in early autumn.
It is included by Mr. Mathias in his list.

PUFFIN, /vatercula arctica.—Resident. This is the last of the
Pembrokeshire birds that is left to us to describe, and, in the
summer time, is by far the most numerous on the whole list ;
we do not believe that we should exaggerate were we to say that
the Puffins, in number, are then equal to all the other birds in
the county added together! They occur on almost every
station that is visited by the other cliff birds, wherever there are
facilities for making their burrows, but like some other species,
have their favourite quarters, being found on Ramsey only on

The Birds of Pembrokeshire. 123

the north end of the island, while the Razorbills and Guillemots
chiefly occupy its western and south-western cliffs, and the large
rocks standing out in the water to the south. On Skomer,
where their numbers are marvellous, the Puffins are distributed
all over the island, and there is scarcely a yard of ground free
from them, so that we were both surprised and amused by
coming on them at the least expected places. In walking
over the island every now and again, our feet would slip through
into a Puffin’s burrow, and sometimes, we fear, we sadly dis-
composed the bird sitting within upon her egg. The Rev. C.
M. Phelps has remarked that the eggs of the Skomer Puffins are
very fine, and, in some cases, unusually richly marked. The
same characteristic would seem to apply to the Puffins eggs
from any part of the Welsh coast, as some we obtained from the
neighbourhood of Barmouth, in North Wales, are very hand-
some, being of a pure white, and sparsely dotted over with grey
patches. The average Puffin egg is a dirty white egg, far from
ornamental in one’s cabinet. We had frequently been informed
by friends of the vast numbers of Puffins that inhabited Skomer,
but from their descriptions we were but little prepared for
what we actually saw. As our boat approached the island we
first came upon an immense mass of birds upon the water, that
proved to be acre upon acre of Puffins ; flocks were continually
arriving, and others leaving the main body, and all over the
surface of the sea there were smaller flocks. As we drew near
to the shore we found the cliffs in front of us so thickly covered
by Puffins as to look as if they were sprinkled with snow, and
the air was thick with single Puffins flying off the water with
ribbands of fish hanging from their mandibles, on their way to
feed the young in their burrows. The birds were ridiculously
tame, and when we landed, and were close to them, took but
slight heed of us, only fixing their little round eyes upon us,
and seeming to sit a little more upright upon the rocks. But
there was a continual movement amongst them of those
arriving and departing, and sitting down among the fern we for
some time watched the wonderful scene, and as we remained

The Birds of Pembrokeshire.

quiet some of the birds were emboldened to alight almost
within arm’s reach, and presently we saw a pure white Puffin,
white all over, save for the wings that were black, fly within a
few feet of us. In Mr. Vaughan Davies’ house there is pre-
served a beautiful specimen of a perfect albino Puffin that had
been obtained on the island, and we were informed that
varieties are rare, and that this was the only albino that had ever
occurred. Mr. Dix relates that on Caldy Island, where Puffins
are also numerous, there was in his time a very cruel custom
that we heartily trust has been put a stop to by the Sea Birds’
Preservation Act, viz., the men and boys of Tenby used to
slaughter the Puffins wholesale on Whit Monday, and adds:
“Tt is as much an institution with them as May Day with the
sweeps.” We are told that on Grasholm the Puffins are a week
or ten days later in nesting than they are on Skomer and
Ramsey. In the winter the Puffins disappear from all the
islands, and are distributed over the seas. They do not appear
to go far up the Bristol Channel, as the Guillemots and Razor-
bills do, as we have never met with any, and there are but few
instances of stragglers having been noticed on the Somerset
coasts. The singular fact is reported from one of the Light
Houses at the entrance to Milford Haven that Puffins strike
against the light annually at the beginning of September, and do
not do so at any other season of the year. At Caldy they visit
the Light House in the spring ; twenty occurred there at6 a.m
on March 4, 1886.

The Birds of Pembrokeshire. 125

ADDENDUM.

CRANE, Grus communis.—Mr. H. W. Evans, of Harbour House,
Solva, possesses a very fine example, an adult in full plumage,
of this rare occasional visitor to the British Islands, where, in
ancient days, it was a regular summer migrant to the eastern
counties. This specimen was captured April 28, 1893, on
Vachelich Farm, between Solva and St. David’s, and we have
been informed by Mr. Evans that it weighed 11} Ibs. in the
meat, and measured 6 ft. 9 in. across the extended wings from
tip to tip. ‘It had been seen on Clegyr Issaf Farm some days
before, and was in grand plumage and condition.” Mr. Evans
justly regards this beautiful bird as the prize in his collection of
British birds.

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Pa a er

INDEX.

Doubtful birds ave included between square brackets.

American Yellow-billed Cuckoo, 43
—— Bittern, 63

Arctic Tern, Io!

Auk, Little, 122

Avocet, 88

Baillon’s Crake, 83
Barnacle Goose, 65
Barn Owl, 44

Bar-tailed Godwit, 100
Bean Goose, 65

Bearded Tit, 12
Bee-eater, 42

Bewick’s Swan, 67
Bittern, American, 63
— Common, 62

—— Little, 61
Blackbird, 2

Blackcap, 7

Black Grouse, 81

— Guillemot, 121
— Redstart, 5

—— Tern, 103
Black-tailed Godwit, 100
Black-throated Diver, 115
Blue-headed Yellow Wagtail, 16
Blue Tit, 14

Bohemian Waxwing, 18
Brambling, 23

Brent Goose, 65

Bridled Guillemot, 121
Brown-headed Gull, 105
Brown Linnet (Linnet), 23
aoa Owl, 45

Buffon’s Skua, 109
Bullfinch, 24

Bunting, Cirl, 26

—— Corn, 25

— Reed, 26

Bunting, Snow, 27
— Yellow, 26

—— White (Snow), 27
Bustard, Great, 84
Buzzard, Common, 48
Honey, 52
Rough-legged, 49

Carrion Crow, 34
Chaffinch, 22
Chiff-Chaff, 8

Chough, 29

Cirl Bunting, 26

Coal Tit, 13
[Collared Pratincole], 85
Common Crossbill, 25
—- Guillemot, 119
—— Gull, 104

— Sandpiper, 96
—— Snipe, 92

—— Tern, Io!

Coot, 84

Cormorant, 58

Corn Bunting, 25
Corn-Crake, 83
Crake, Baillon’s, 83
—— Corn, $3
Spotted, 83
Crane, 125

Creeper, Tree, 20
Crossbill, Common, 25
Crow, Carrion, 34
— Hooded, 35
Cuckoo, 43

— American Yellow-billed, 43
Curlew, 101

—— Sandpiper, 95
—— Stone, 85

128

Dabchick (Little Grebe), 117
Dipper, 11

Diver, Black-throated, 115
Great Northern, 114
Red-throated, 115
Dotterel, 87

Dove, Ring, 74

Rock, 75

— Stock, 75

—— Turtle, 76

Duck, Eider, 73
Longtailed, 72
Tufted, 71

-— Wild, 69

Dunlin, 94

Eagle, White-tailed, 49

Eared Grebe, 117

Egyptian Goose, 64

Eider Duck, 73

‘* Eligoog ” (Common Guillemot),
119

Falcon, Greenland, 52
—— Peregrine, 53
Red-footed, 56
Fieldfare, 2
Flycatcher, Pied, 19
Spotted, 19
Fork-tailed Petrel, 110
Fulmar, 114

Gadwall, 70

Gannet, 59

Garden Warbler, 7
Garganey, 70
Glaucous Gull, 103
Glossy Ibis, 64
Godwit, Bar-tailed, 100
— Black-tailed, 100
Goldcrest, 7
Golden-eye, 72

— Oriole, 17

— Plover, 85
Goldfinch, 20
Goosander, 73

Goose, Barnacle, 65
Bean, 65

Brent, 65

—— Egyptian, 64

Index.

Goose, [Pink-footed], 65
White-fronted, 65
Grasshopper Warbler, 10
Great Bustard, 84
Crested Grebe, 116
—— Grey Shrike, 18
— Northern Diver, 114
— Skua, 107
Snipe, 92
—— Spotted Woodpecker, 40
Tit, 13
Greater Black-backed Gull, 105
Shearwater, 114
Grebe, Eared, 117
—— Great Crested, 116
— Little, 117
— Red-necked, 116
—— Sclavonian, 116
“Tippet ” (Great Crested), 116
Greenfinch, 21
Greenland Falcon, 52
Green Sandpiper, 97
Green Woodpecker, 41
Greenshank, 99
Grey Phalarope, 89
Plover, 86
Wagtail, 15
[Grosbeak Pine], 25
Grouse, Black, 81
Red, 81
Pallas’s Sand, 76
Guillemot, Black, 121
—— Common, 119
Ringed, 121
, Brown-headed, 105
Common, 104
Glaucous, 103
Greater Black-backed, 105
Herring, 104
Kittiwake, 103
Lesser Black-backed, 104
Little, 106
Sabine’s, 106

2

eae

Hammer, Yellow, 26
Marrier, Hen, 47
Marsh, 46
Montagu’s, 48
Hawfinch, 21

Hawk, Sparrow, 50
Hedge Sparrow, I!
Hen Harrier, 47
Hen, Moor, 84
Heron, 60

Night, 61
Herring Gull, 104
Hobby, 55
Honey-Buzzard, 52
Hooded Crow, 35
Hoopoe, 42

House Sparrow, 21

Ibis, Glossy, 64

Jackdaw, 33
Jack Snipe, 94
Jay, 31

Kestrel, 57
Kingfisher, 42
Kite, 51
Kittiwake, 103
Knot, 96

Lapwing, 87

Lark, Sky, 38

Wood, 38

Leach’s Petrel, 110

Lesser Blackbacked Gull, 104
— Redpoll, 24

—— Spotted Woodpecker, 41
White-throat, 6

Linnet, 23

—— ‘ Brown,” 23

Little Auk, 122

~—— Bittern, 61

—— Grebe, 117

= GullsT06!

— Stint, 95

—— Tern, 102

Long-eared Owl, 45
Long-tailed Duck, 72

—— Skua (Buffon’s), 109
—— Tit, 12

Magpie, 32
Manx Shearwater, II
Marsh Harrier, 46

Index

Marsh Tit, 13
Martin, 20

Sand, 20
Meadow Pipit, 16
Melodious Warbler, 9
Merganser, Red-breasted, 74
Merlin, 56

Mistle Thrush, 1
Montagu’s Harrier, 48
Moor Hen, 84

Mute Swan, 66

Night Heron, 61
Nightjar, 39
Nuthatch, 15

Oriole, Golden, 17
Ouzel, Ring, 3
Water, II
Owl, Barn, 44

—— Brown, 45
—— Long-eared, 45
— Scops, 46

—— Short-eared, 45
—— Tawny, 45
Oyster-Catcher, 88

Pallas’s Sand Grouse, 76
Partridge, 79
Red-legged, 78
Pastor, Rose-coloured, 29
Peregrine Falcon, 53
Petrel, Fork-tailed, 110
— Fulmar, 114
——. Leach’s, 1110
Storm, 109
Phalarope, Grey, 89
Pheasant, 77

—— Ring-necked, 77
Pied Flycatcher, 19
—— Wagtail, 15

{Pine Grosbeak], 25
[Pink-footed Goose], 65
Pintail, 69

Pipit, Meadow, 16
Rock, 17

Tree, 17

Plover, Golden, 85
—— Grey, 86

130

Plover, Ringed, 86
Pochard, 72

Red-crested, 71
Pomatorhine, Skua, 108
[Pratincole, Collared], 85
Puffin, 122

Purple Sandpiper, 95

Quail, 79

Rail, Water, 82

Raven, 36

Razor-bill, 118
Redbreast, 5

Red Grouse, 81

Redpoll, Lesser, 24
Redshank, 98

Spotted, 99
Redstart, 4

Black, 5

Redwing, 1

Red-backed Shrike, 18
Red-breasted Merganser, 74
Red-crested Pochard, 71
Red-footed Falcon, 56
Red-legged Partridge, 78
Red-necked Grebe, 116
Red-throated Diver, 115
Reed-bunting, 26
Richardson’s Skua, 108
Ring-Dove, 74

Ring Ouzel, 3

Ringed Guillemot, 121
Plover, 86

Rock Dove, 75

Rock Pipit, 17

Rook, 35

Roseate Tern, 102
Rose-coloured Pastor, 29
Rough-legged Buzzard, 49
Ruddy Sheldrake, 68
Ruff, 96

Sabine’s Gull, 106
Sanderling, 96

Sand Grouse, Pallas’s, 76
Sand Martin, 20
Sandpiper, Common, 96
Curlew, 95

Index.

Sandpiper, Green, 97
—— Purple, 95

—— Wood, 98
(Sandwich Tern], 102
Scaup, 72

Sclavonian Grebe, 116
Scop’s Owl, 46

Scoter, Common, 73
Velvet, 73

Sea Pie (Oyster Catcher), 88
Sedge Warbler, 10
Shag, 59

Shearwater, Greater, 114
Manx, III
Sheldrake, Common, 68
— Ruddy, 68
Short-eared Owl, 45
Shoveller, 71

Shrike, Great Grey, 18
—— Red-backed, 18
Siskin, 21

Skua, Buffon’s, 109
Great, 107
Longtailed, 109
— Pomatorhine, 108
—— Richardson’s, 108
Skylark, 38

Smew, 74

Snipe, Common, 92
—— Great, 92

—— Jack, 94

Snow Bunting, 27
Song Thrush, 1
Sparrow, Hedge, 11
—- House, 21
Sparrow Hawk, 50
Spoonbill, 63

Spotted Crake, 83
—— Flycatcher, 19
— Redshank, 99
Starling, 27

Stint, Little, 95

Stock Dove, 75
Stonechat, 4

Stone Curlew, 85
Storm Petrel, 109
Swallow, 19

Swan, Bewick’s, 67
—— Mute, 66

Swan, Whooper, 66
Swift, 39

Tawny Owl, 45
Teal, 70

Tern, Arctic, 101
Black, 103
— Common, 101
— Little, 102
Roseate, 102
— [Sandwich], 102
Thrush, Mistle, 1
—— Song, I

Tit, Bearded, 12
—— Blue, 14

— Coal, 13

—— Great, 13
—— Long-tailed, 12
— Marsh, 13

Tree Creeper, 20
—— Pipit, 17
Turnstone, 88
Turtle Dove, 76

Velvet Scoter, 73

Wagtail, Blue-headed, 16
— Grey, 15

—— Pied, 15

—— White, 15

— Yellow, 16
Warbler, Garden, 7
Grasshopper, 10
-— Melodious, 9

Index.

Warbler, Sedge, 10

—— Willow, 8

— Wood, 8

Water Ouzel (Dipper), 11

Water Hen (Moor Hen), 84

—-— Rail, 82
Waxwing, 18
Wheatear, 3
Whimbrel, roo
Whinchat, 3

131

White Bunting (Snow Bunting), 27

— Wagtail, 15
White-fronted Goose, 65
White-tailed Eagle, 49
White-throat, 6

—— —— Lesser, 6
Whooper, 66

Wigeon, 68

Wild Duck, 69
Willow Warbler, 8
Woodcock, 90

Wood Lark, 38
Sandpiper, 98
Warbler, 8

Woodpecker, Great Spotted, 4o

Green, 41

Lesser Spotted, 41
Wren, 15

Wryneck, 41

Yellow-billed American Cuckoo, 43

Yellow Hammer, 26
—— Wagtail, 16

London: Joun Bate & Sons, Printers, 87-89, Great Titchfield Street, W.

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